In The Pink - Short_Affair

[glennagirl.livejournal.com]

Interpret, Midnight Blue

My series of stories with April and Illya are listed below, and are links to them here on LJ.

A Tight Spot

April Daze
In With A Bang, Out With A Whimper
April's Dream
House of Monkeys
Moving In
Sorting Remnants
Seamless
The Morning After
The Mission's The Thing

A Timely Intervention

:~~~~~:~~~~~:~~~~~:

The blond agent took one final look at his creation, satisfied that the model would find it to her liking.  Those days in Paris had paid off with at least some familiarity about how to drape a woman's body, something that had other, more intimate rewards on occasion.

"Go ahead then, turn around and look." Illya found himself being slightly apprehensive in spite of his confidence.  Designing clothing, even the preliminaries, was still something he understood with limitations.  As April turned to look in the mirror, he found himself holding his breath.

"Oh.  Well, let's see…"  Not what he expected.

"You do not  approve?"  April was turning, viewing it from different directions.

"Darling, it's all very … um.. pink.  I think I've seen this look before on a Barbie Doll."  Illya's expression spoke first, then he found his voice.

"Barbie Doll?  What on earth is that?  I see you are determined to force me to re-interpret my vision... I shall need to start over.  I don't suppose Midnight Blue will work either?'  The look on Illya's face was purposeful in its intent; he knew how to look pitiful and in need of comfort.

"You're right, you do look like a doll, although I won't necessarily concede that to be a bad thing."  Did he wink at her?  April's heart flipped a little, but the mission was the thing after all.  April regretted having to say anything but, after all she wasn't a doll and this line of clothing was supposed to be mod and hip… The dress Illya was envisioning was for a debutante or socialite.  It was pretty, but she really did think Barbie had worn it first.

"Look Illya, it isn't wrong, and I think you interpret elegance very well; it just isn't right for the look we're trying to achieve.  We have an opportunity to get into this Monkey House and find out what the connection is to THRUSH, but it won't be with designs intended for haute couture.  I think your muse is a little more refined than the London Mod movement can handle."

Illya appreciated the kindness in April's explanation.  Obviously he himself was not an entirely 'hip' individual.  But she was, and so he settled on redesigning the garment that they would show to Daryl Mulrooney in hopes of infiltrating the fashion house that was suspected of being a THRUSH front.

"Very well Miss Dancer, we shall start over.  I bow to your expertise."  April liked the sound of that and, in a moment of unguarded yearning, she leaned in just a little too close to the man she had been attracted to since the first meeting between them.  Illya sensed it, remembered how many times he had resisted the urge to take the vivacious redhead in his arms and satisfy her curiosity.

"Oh, well… that's great Illya."  She knew she was blushing, and when she snuck a look at the blond it was evident he too was slightly flushed.

Not now girl… maybe never, but definitely not now.



Illustration by Robert Best

Comments

[mrua7.livejournal.com]

A nice interlude and use of the prompts. Yay, retiring to Illya, April and Monkey House....

[glennagirl.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the prompts looked good for it but I had this week's new ones so had to change it up a bit. Luckily it worked out ok :D Thanks for commenting and remembering the series.

[jantojones.livejournal.com]

I love the Monkey House story when I first read it. So many twists and turns. This one perfectly slotted in :-)

[glennagirl.livejournal.com]

Ah, great to know and thank you. Fitting in little vignettes among a larger collection of stories is sly and quite fun.

[lindafishes8.livejournal.com]

I enjoy these April teamed with Illya stories of yours!

[glennagirl.livejournal.com]

Thank you, I do enjoy writing them.

[lacik9.livejournal.com]

Your stories with April and Illya are terrific and you do a great job of capturing their emotions. It was clearly uncomfortable for her to tell him she didn't think the dress was right, but he handled it well.

[glennagirl.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much! I do feel like I know these two and the dynamics of their relationship, so it's nice to hear that it reads like the real thing.