One Shots/Episodes

Allergies and a Spy

Illya trudged through the snow as he walked down an empty street along the outskirts of Paris. He had a paper sack full of bread, cheese and various fruits as well as a pound or two of meat. There was no wind and the snow fell in heavy sheets, making visibility scarce. There weren't many people out today due to the cold but Illya was sent on this errand by Solo who was waiting at the hotel with Leoda and Quina, whom he had noticed had been acting a bit down lately.

He shifted the bags under his arms and blew out a long sigh. Solo had chosen him to go on this errand because no one else wanted to deal with the cold and being from Russia, Solo immediately volunteered Illya for the job. Suddenly a small noise interrupted Illya's thoughts and he paused on the side of the street, listening for something in the almost deafening silence. Something was moving behind him and his muscles tensed as he slowly reached for his weapon under his jacket.

He spun around, his finger on the trigger, ready to eliminate the threat that had been following him for a while now. To his shock he saw nothing, only the large snowflakes falling in silence to the ground. He frowned then a small moan of some sort made him look down to his feet. Only inches from his toes sat a Siberian Husky puppy looking up at him with its bright blue eyes.

"Shoo." Illya said, but the puppy only cocked its head and inched forward. "Shoo." Illya said again, this time moving his foot out toward the animal.

The dog jumped back but returned to its former place at his feet and staring at him. Illya sighed and looked around him to see if maybe the owner was nearby. When no one came into his sights, Illya crouched with a sigh in front of the dog and looked at it curiously. He then put out his hand to pet it, an action which the puppy wholeheartedly engaged in, licking Illya's large hand which covered almost the entire length of the animal. A small grin tugged at the corner of his mouth as he realized this animal had no owner, but he knew where to find one.

Illya picked up the puppy, holding it carefully and easily with one hand while carrying the rest of his burden under the other arm. The puppy began to inspect his jacket and face as it tried to climb up the Russian's chest. Soon he reached the hotel and by then the dog had made it halfway into his jacket and had fallen asleep there. Illya made it to the door of their hotel when he stopped and set the puppy down next to his feet and knocking on the door. Solo opened it and on seeing his partner he asked,

"What took you so long?"

Illya only rolled his eyes and dropped his bags into Solo's arms. The American carried it inside where Quina sat on a sofa with a blanket wrapped around her, near the fire. Leoda was seated at the desk near the window with her letter that she wrote weekly to her father in South Germany. Illya kept his gaze on Quina then bent down and picked up the now waking puppy from the carpeted floor and shutting the door behind him. Over in the kitchen side, Solo, on seeing the puppy opened his mouth to speak, when Illya frowned at him. His partner only chuckled quietly and returned to the unpacking of the food.

Quina was watching the television which played a french comedy at which the young Portuguese chuckled. Illya slipped the puppy to his other arm and sat beside Quina who was facing the opposite direction. He then set the puppy on the couch beside him as Quina glanced back and asked,

"How on earth can you stand this weather?" she shivered and said, "It's freezing."

Leoda looked at them quickly and had to double take when she saw the puppy which was trying to climb on the back of the sofa. Illya cleared his throat and she looked at his quickly noticing his firm expresssion. She grinned and motioned her head to Quina in an attempt to urge Illya to show her.

"Well," Illya began, "I am Russian and where I was born and raised it can be very cold, so," He turned and grabbed the puppy and set it on his lap, "Just like this little one here, I was born and raised to resist it."