"Explain to me again why we must do this...?" Illya Kuryakin eyed the object in his partner's hand suspiciously.

"It's tradition," Napoleon Solo explained. "Like blowing out candles on a birthday cake."

"So, we each wrap a finger around a piece of this...thing...then we make a wish, break it, and whoever ends up with the bigger half gets their wish. Correct?"

"By Jove, I think he's got it!" Napoleon said, holding out the dried wishbone from the Thanksgiving turkey they had catered in from a local restaurant.

"But what is the point?" Illya said, querulous to the end. "I have never received what I wished for when I have blown out my birthday candles."

Napoleon's mood dampened. "Illya...What was it you wished for? I would have bought it for you if you had dropped me a hint."

"Unfortunately, what I want is something that cannot be purchased," Illya said, smiling crookedly. "Still, maybe I will have better luck breaking this...thing."

"You'd have even *better* luck if you told me what it is you want," Napoleon said, searching his friend's face as if the answer were written there. "Christmas is coming up and I haven't gotten you your present yet. This is the perfect time to tell me..."

Illya's lips closed in a tight line.

"Alright," Napoleon sighed, knowing it would take nothing less than THRUSH's strongest truth serum to get the answer out of the stubborn Russian. "Make a wish then tell me when you're ready."

"Ready," Illya said with a bob of his head.

"Okay, when I count to three, we both pull hard. One...two...three!"

With a small cracking sound, the wishbone snapped. When the dust settled, so to speak, the blond agent held the bigger half.

"You win!" Napoleon cheered good-naturedly. "That means your wish will come true!"

><><

One month later, Illya Kuryakin unpacked the last of his belongings in the bedroom he would forever be sharing with UNCLE's CEA. Opening a fireproof box, his hands brushed over the contents: important papers, photographs of his family, trinkets from around the world...and the winning half of a broken wishbone.

After five years of hoping against hope, he had finally gotten his wish: Napoleon Solo had sworn to him his undying love...

Finis.