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at some point a mission goes Terribly, Horribly wrong. not just in terms of espionage or baddies killed, or even civilian casualties. it's a hot mess. all three agents are fucked up to varying degrees and at last its all over, objectively a jod done, the world saved and all, but obviously none of them can actually feel good about it.
gaby goes into deep sleep mode, sleeping off all the stress and injuries, only waking up for a couple hours here and there for food and new bandages, she's got into the routine since early morning when they all stumbled into the infirmary at their local base and they just brought her home, not even trying to wake her up. they know it wont work when she's healing
solo goes straight for the bottle, he even kind of wishes either of his partners had any objections, but this time its really only understandable, they know he wont get sucked in too deep, but he needs it right now. so they let him grab bottle and a couple packs of cigarettes to chase at the store even before they got to the infirmary. And yes, illya, he knows that a big wound on the back isn't a great incentive for drinking
illya though... he seems to have the hardest time of all, he tries at chess but it cant hold him for that long anyway. he tries cleaning his gun, that usually feels meditative but Fuck its not a great time right now... he even tries cleaning around their place, they've been living here for long enough that its gotten somewhat lived-in and there's things to move and dust to clean but to no one's surprise it takes him less than half an hour to completely run out of ideas. he's been slowly building up quiet frustration. he Already feels like shit and not having any control even now, when everything already happened? that's just torture. so, a very surprising decision is made
the evening air of this city feels surprisingly refreshing for a place with so many cars, but its a relief nonetheless. he looks at solo, sitting on the stone railing of this large, surprisingly roomy balcony and doesn't say a word, he likes the silence. and he likes to see solo unburdened by his usual routine smiles and looks, he actually looks his age now, which is a weird thought he catches his mind on, but it is there right? they're agents, being over 30, let alone mid-30 is basically a miracle, especially since they both started so early. solo never looks a day after 30 but right now? he's actually around 35, maybe 37 if you want to be mean.
illya smirks to himself, what is this? he needs to stop contemplating mortality. this mind of his really does need an "off" button. and with that he unceremoniously pulls the bottle of whiskey from solo's hand, getting an undignified grunt of surprise in response, and downs a couple big sips, just to finally shut up the sorrow, building itself a home in his mind right now.
he looks back at the somewhat taken aback cowboy and hands him back the bottle.
"can you hand me those cigarettes? i dont want to have to grope you just to have a smoke" he lets these words out so naturally that napoleon doesn't even register the moment when he gives the pack to peril. to the man who swears up and down to not drink, let alone smoke. ever, mission or not... and what was that about groping--
but kuryakin is already lighting up one of these, technically stolen, cigarettes and handing the pack back. he seems barely more relaxed than he was moments ago but solo knows that with him - thats volumes of pressurized stress falling off his shoulders. he goes through a couple deep breaths full of smoke before he just fully lets his shoulders down.
"i hope gaby wakes up for dinner, wouldn't want her missing meals" he speaks first again, so nonchalantly as if this isn't the most obscene actions that solo saw him partake in outside of murdering people in cold blood. he doesn't even seem to care about the increasingly bewildered gaze looking him up and down.
"i.. uh-- yeah, i guess you're right, um-- since when do you drink this easy? and since when did you start smoking??? that is most definitely not your first cigarette" solo starts way more fired up than he himself expected. this isn't to say that he never Suspected that peril might have some devils on his shoulders like the rest of us but he kind of didn't expect it to be so... simple. thats not how he expected to see illya drinking for the first time, and to be completely honest genuinely expected to be the first person to get him to smoke... this isn't it, obviously.
"oh come on, cowboy. im not little girl, i can handle some whiskey and shitty american mint cigarette" and now he finally actually looks at solo, seeing his silly face, so surprised at the fact that he - a russian man, can drink and smoke. of course he was trying very hard to keep himself under control but... after today, he can let his guard down just a bit. in this company he can. so, he just gives the man the only thing that will make his retort sound not like a jab but a joke, his only real weapon in this little game of theirs with solo - a simple, little bit tired, smile.
this takes napoleon even more by surprise and he takes a second to even realize what that russian asshole just said garnishing his insult of solo's marlboros, with that goddamn smile. seeing him like that will never get old, so the american accepts defeat and smiles back "well, if you're That shaken after everything that you're willing to smoke my "shitty mint cigarettes" then i also hope that gaby will wake up. after all, wouldn't want her going into complete hibernation" they both know its a joke but somewhere between those lines he really is worried about his partners and the one asleep is only a pinch less worrying than the one suddenly sharing his drinking habit--
"you wish i was in hibernation, you would have to cook less." like a tiny thunder across their somber quiet, chimes in gaby herself, loosely wrapped in her lightweight blanket and still a bit drowsy from her sleep. she didn't get woken up by the boys, she just felt a sudden urge to see them and who is she to deny her guts the privelege of seeing the only two men in the world who get to see her like this every night and morning.
both of those men were just a bit startled by the sudden (and eerily quiet) appearance of the third member of their team but solo had to defend his cooking first "i would have you know, that i very much enjoy cooking for all three of us and Not having you to try it means i have to navigate it myself since the red peril apparently has a dead sense of taste unless the dish is 60% fats"
"hey, i might not have perfect understanding of risotto but im still confident in my tastes. you just cook the weirdest shit and call it lunch" illya comes back into his slightly grumpy self, now accompanied by a puff of smoke to solo's face, which he himself turned to listen. he doesn't mind, the mint may be kind of shitty but at least he gets to steal a cheeky kiss from the man.
"hah, anyway, give me one of those too, my meds wont work and i dont care for meditation right now" and the small blanket form with the face of a pretty german girl produces a hand towards solo's vest pocket.
"are you guys both just going to steal mine from now on?" a jab that doesn't really mean much, but he still wants the answer to. and he gets it. two actually, at the same time, almost perfectly synchronized:
"oh, i dont smoke."
it's a dead quiet scene for a few seconds while each processes the sheer absurdity of this whole situation, before all three burst out laughing. its not that good a joke, really, but coming from these two, at the same time and after the grueling day on the job? its somehow the funniest thing they could've said in a million years. solo eventually hands the still giggling woman her cigarette and lights is up for her. somehow less bemused at the fact that she too, doesn't even stutter at the smoke entering her lungs, but stealing a kiss from her just ever so quickly.
"you know, for an agent, you blush so, so much qhen your guard is down" she smiles, of course they cant be just sweet, its always a one-up game of little jabs and retorts.
"its because he is a terrible spy. i said that long ago in rome and i stand by it now" illya is audibly smiling behind solo's back is still shaking off the laughter of a few moments earlier.
"oh come on, don't start this again, the two of you. i'm allowed to be a simple man when im around you" its not even really something he needs to say out loud, but it feels nice to make a stand on this one more time every once in a while.
"yeah-yeah, we know. still a terrible spy though" gaby says, simply returning his kiss in the form of a small peck on his cheek and proceeds to climb the railing he is seated on, right between him and illya. she always likes to be in between them, its nice for her warmth and for them not to bicker as much, so she wins twice.
with that, everyone is settled surprisingly snuggly, with solo and gaby on the stone railing of this balcony and illya right beside them. "not a fan of small cold seats" he says, already expecting a crude joke about either one of their laps being a very warm seat, to come right at him. he loves these stupid jokes, even though he'll never say.