The Rocky Start Affair

Fanfiction
Title:	The Rocky Start Affair
Author(s):	Rosemary C
Date(s):	1998
Length:
Genre:	slash
Fandom:	Man from U.N.C.L.E.
External Links:	online here
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The Rocky Start Affairis a Man from U.N.C.L.E. story by Rosemary C.

It was published in Declassified Affairs #1 and is online.

Reactions and Reviews

I found your story two months ago and tagged it for a weekend read. So I read it this past weekend and I just wanted to tell you how great I think it is!!! It was quite believable. There are many stories in MFU that are about how Illya and Napoleon met and become partners. Most are so sappy sweet or crude that I felt it was a waste of my time to read them. Not so with your story! Quite a refreshing change! I loved the part when Illya's boss in the Science department told Napoleon how brilliant Illya was as a scientist and that he was wasting his time at the London Headquarters! And the part where Illya chooses to shoot the THRUSH guard and risk being killed by the UNCLE agents who did not see the guard was amazing. I don't think I would have made the same choice! Thank you for a terrific read!

I really enjoyed the vast majority of this. :) I liked the way Napoleon started out wrestling with his own prejudices and found himself reevaluating Illya as soon as he met him. Their initial dialogue was fabulous (especially with Illya unexpectedly taking control of the conversation), and I loved Napoleon's inspired suggestion that they pretend the glorified night light is a bullet deflector. :) And I have to say that I was surprised, in the end, by the identity of the mole. I'd thought for sure you were going to pull an Agatha Christie on us and make the mole the redheaded secretary who was about to get married (and possibly leave her post at that point). I was a bit surprised (and, initially, disappointed) that it didn't seem very slashy, but by the time I'd gotten to the final showdown, I'd decided it didn't need to be. My only real criticism is that I think you drew the end out too long. It should have ended much sooner after we discovered that Illya was going to recover. As it currently stands, it drags a bit because it seemed like you were trying to direct it in a slashy direction and having trouble. But, overall, this is definitely one of the best plotful MUNCLE fics I've ever read, so thank you very much for writing and sharing!

I love this story so much. I'm not sure anymore how many times I've read it! This is a brilliant take on the partners' first meeting and the voices are so wonderful. I love your consistency of style and voice, the entire setup, and Napoleon's well-formed character. Your descriptions are detailed without being overly wordy. A truly enjoyable read. And I just noticed your e-mail addy and realized I've read your Harry Potter work. *g* I love when wonderful authors write in more than one fandom I know.

Your storyweaving was exquisitely spot-on in this one, Rosemary! I kept lingering over the words and images, even while I wanted to rush ahead with the action. Thanks for sharing it on Chrome&Gunmetal; do I dare hope that a sequel is forthcoming, detailing their early partnership in NY and their developing relationship?!

Wow!This is a great story. One of the best I've read about how they might have met. The villain isspotted pretty early on but that doesn't matter because it's only one of the issues you get to really care about. A really exciting read and very nice characterisation. Thank you for sharing it. :o)

The Rocky Start Affair by [Rosemary C.] is a straightforward detective story about betrayal within UNCLE ranks, where Illya is the main suspect and Napoleon is the hotshot investigator called in to sift truth from a smokescreen of lies. Their initial encounter in the canteen is particularly good reading. 30 pages. One of my favorites from this author.

Why this story must be read: One of the things I was quite keen to do while reccing MFUf was to find less usual sources than file 40. I love reading peoples recs from 40 but they are always revisits for me. I know that C and G is also a big well known archive but it seems to be less well represented here. This story is one I found new when looking for recs for Crack Van. I read it and only after loving it discovered that it was written by one of my favourite Harry Potter authors. It is one of my fav set ups.. how Ilya and Napoleon met, this one is credible and is also a good MFU story line. Also, at least to my probably warped mind, it is pre slash. All good stuff and by a great author, what more do you need?

Isn't that first encounter between Illya and Napoleon at lunch wonderful? Illya is so strong and edgy in this story - gotta love it!