THE
TULIP AFFAIR
Illya Kuryakin woke up in a grumpy mood.
A very
grumpy mood.
Napoleon Solo had been temporarily assigned to
the
A week without his friend was one week too long.
Lying in bed, Illya puzzled over this.
Before he was partnered with Napoleon, he had always been alone. He grew up an only child, and in school
and college he was more studious than outgoing. In the Russian Navy, he
was known as someone who could fix everything from computers to engines, but
other than that, there wasn't one man from his unit who could tell you anything
about their slightly built comrade---except that he had a voracious appetite!
And yet, ever since they started working as a
team, he and Napoleon always made a point to have lunch together to share
office gossip or to brainstorm ideas on how to thwart THRUSH or the latest
terrorist group rearing its ugly head. In recent months, they had begun
to set aside time in the evenings to go out to dinner or the movies at least
once a week.
It wasn't that Illya needed Napoleon. After all, he was used to working through
his lunch, tinkering in the Lab. And it wasn't like he had never gone to
a movie alone, or checked out the latest musicians at the local jazz club on
his own.
The problem was...it was no longer fun to do things by himself. To
his consternation, Illya realized he had slowly become dependent on
Napoleon. It wasn't necessary for them to be together all the time---he would not be able to
function effectively on missions, otherwise. No, it was just not having
Solo available to talk with or to laugh with that bothered him...
"And does he think of me while he is in
Throwing off his covers, Illya stomped into the
bathroom to get ready for work.
He was now in an exceptionally grumpy mood!
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"Excuse me, Mr. Kuryakin," a Lab
Assistant said, pushing open the door to the office Illya was allotted in
Section 8. "These just arrived for you..."
Illya looked up irritably from his calculations
and computations to see the Assistant was holding out a large vase filled with
tulips in a rainbow of colors, from vivid yellow to damask pink to Matador red.
"There must be some mistake..." Illya
said.
"No. The card is clearly addressed to
you, Sir," the Assistant set the vase down on Illya's workbench before
excusing himself.
Illya gave the vase an inquisitive poke with his
index finger. Perhaps to prove it was real? He searched his mind
for a reason why anyone would send him flowers. It wasn't his birthday...
Opening the sealed envelope that accompanied the
bouquet, Illya pulled out a Hallmark card. On the cover was the picture
of a little dark-haired boy sitting all alone on a porch, a mournful look on
his face. Inside it was blank save for a handwritten message in
Napoleon's handwriting:
I was passing by a floral shop and saw a display
of tulips in the window. For some reason they made me think of you and
how much I miss having you around. See you in a few days. In the
meantime, pick out a movie for us to watch when I get back!
~~Napoleon~~
Illya read the note three more times, the smile
on his face growing more pronounced with each read through.
Suddenly, Illya was in a happy mood.
An exceptionally
happy mood!
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