section7mfu | Still Got It - Short Affair

Prompts - Compete / Gold
Word Count - 404

You can find the story below the cut, or you can click the pic to go to AO3.

1952

Nineteen year old Illya Kuryakin had been selected to represent the Soviet Union as part of the men’s gymnastics team*. The occasion was a double celebration as the games of the XV Olympiad, in Helsinki, were the first in which the Soviet Union was to compete. It was also a coup for the University of Georgia, who had been helping to develop his athletic abilities alongside his academic ones. Young Kuryakin’s education was being paid for by the security services, so the University had paid close attention to all his skills.

Illya had practiced hard, whenever he had free time, and kept himself at the peak of fitness. His instructors had even suggested he could be in line for a gold medal. The idea of that appealed to Illya, despite his natural shyness.

The day before the team were due to head to Finland, Illya had been putting in a few hours of training on the high bar, when disaster struck. As he’d begun to twist into a new position, he’d released his hands to change his grip. Unfortunately, he’d mistimed the re-grab, and missed the bar entirely. The sound of Illya’s leg breaking, as he landed badly on the mat, echoed around the gymnasium, and announced the end of his Olympics career. His instructors had been disappointed but, luckily, it was his mental acuity which had been the priority.

It had taken Illya a long time to get over missing his chance to compete in the Olympics. After a while, he’d soon realised his gymnastics skills weren’t needed. He’d continued to train, as it was excellent exercise for core body strength, but he knew it was something he would never need for his career.

1967

Thirty-four year old Illya Kuryakin tried to rub the soreness from his hands after swinging on a clothing rail in the premises of Agnes Sue**. Although he was in his mid-thirties, his abilities on the high bar were still with him. However, without hand guards, it was very painful. He wryly thought back to his younger days, and the time he realised that swing on a high bar wouldn’t be a needed skill, and smiled.

Since joining U.N.C.L.E. his athleticism, and gymnastic abilities, had come to his aid more times than he cared to remember.

*Illya mentioned in ‘The Yukon Affair’ that he had once trained for the Olympics
**The Hot Number Affair

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