section7mfu | Another Close Call - 'Short Affair' Challenge

Prompts – Strap/Black
Word Count (approx.) – 366

Napoleon thrashed about in the water, in a vain attempt to escape the weights which had been strapped around his bound body. He had never been afraid of death itself, but dying by drowning had always been one of his greatest fears. Despite the futility of it, Solo continued to fight, his survival instincts over-riding everything.

He had managed to hold his breath for some time, but as his lungs began to burn with the need for oxygen, Napoleon’s body fell back on natural reflex and he tried to take a breath. The murky water flooded into him, and Solo knew that he had lost. Just before oblivion took him, a black shape obscured his vision and grabbed hold of him, but he didn’t have time to work out what it was.

Napoleon woke, and immediately closed his eyes against a bright glare. A few seconds later he tried again, and found himself looking up at the clear blue sky. He tried to think back on what had happened. The agent could remember drowning, and he thought he could recall something grabbing on to him. Turning his head to the side, Solo found Illya sitting beside him. The blond was dripping wet and seemed to be lost in his thoughts.

“Hey,” he said, his voice hoarse from his tortured lungs.

Illya turned at the sound of his partner’s voice and smiled.

“Welcome back, my friend.”

Napoleon returned the smile. “You seem pensive, Tovarish.”

“It was another close call Napoleon,” the Russian replied. “There are too many of those.”

“Please Illya, can we not analyse this now. I just lived through one of my worst fears.”

“I’m sorry, you are right.”

They fell into silence for a while, before Illya urged Napoleon to get moving, telling him he needed to be checked over in medical.

“That’s rich, coming from you,” Napoleon scoffed.

“Maybe I wouldn’t spend as much time in medical, if you came to my aid a bit sooner,” Kuryakin teased.

Napoleon was about to retort, when saw the twinkle in Illya’s eye, and the beginnings of a smirk at the corner of his lips. He settled for simply thanking his friend for another timely rescue.