Discovered in the Fairylights - One more fic
And for my final offering of the day, a slightly longer fic:
The Wedding
"Shit!"
Bodie tsk-tsked loudly from the doorway as he watched his partner struggle with his lilac-coloured silk cravat. "Language, Raymond," he warned. "Don't forget you're due in church in..." - he checked his watch flamboyantly - "... less than fifty minutes."
Doyle glared at his reflection in the mirror. "And you can stop slouching around and make yourself useful. Get this bloody thing tied for me, will you?"
Bodie smiled and pushed himself away from the doorframe as Doyle turned to face him. As his hands deftly arranged the recalcitrant neckwear he found himself on the receiving end of a sheepish grin.
"Sorry. I'm a bit on edge."
"Yeah, I know." Bodie eyed up the cravat and decided it would pass muster. "There. Perfect." He smoothed the rumples in Doyle's jacket, feeling the familiar thrum of arousal that close contact with the other man never failed to ignite, even after so many years. "Bound to be on edge, aren't you? Only natural."
Doyle turned back to the mirror. "What do you think then? Do I look okay?"
Bodie was quite capable of enthusing about Doyle's looks for hours, but ruefully decided that this wasn't the time or the place.
"Yes, mate, you do. Rachel'll be proud of you."
"I hope so." Doyle pondered for a moment. "Never thought I'd be doing this, Bodie, eh?"
For one terrifying moment Bodie thought that his emotions were about to get the better of him, but to his relief he managed to keep them in check. He cuffed Doyle affectionately on the arm.
"Come on, Cinders. Your carriage awaits."
***
The ceremony went off without a hitch. The bride had looked stunning, and Ray... well, Ray had always had the ability to take Bodie's breath away, whether dressed in jeans and t-shirt, boiler suit, or Moss Bros' finest as he was today.
Bodie stood alone on the first-floor balcony of the country house hotel where the wedding reception was being held, a glass of excellent cognac in his hand. He looked down at the immaculately kept gardens below, watching as wedding guests sauntered and chatted in the warm evening sunshine and children chased excitedly across the manicured lawn. He spotted Ray and Rachel standing in front of the brilliantly coloured rhododendron bushes where they'd had photos taken earlier; the pair were deep in conversation and every now and again their laughter floated across to him. Even from a distance Bodie could see how blissfully happy they both looked.
He liked Rachel. She had been among the last batch of agents that Cowley had personally recruited, not long before the Old Man had finally taken his long-overdue retirement, and had proven herself to be one of the best of that year's intake. Ray and he had had more contact with the new recruits that year than they'd had previously, taking some of the pressure off Cowley's shoulders as he wound his workload down, and they'd both hit it off with Rachel straight away. But whereas he found her good company and enjoyed both working and socialising with her, it was obvious that Ray and she shared a much stronger connection. They had just clicked, right from the very start. Having watched their relationship deepen over time, it was no surprise to Bodie that they'd ended up here today, with him on the sidelines and Ray centre stage...
A shrill whistle intruded into his thoughts, and his attention snapped back to the here and now. Ray was crossing the lawn towards him, looking up at him with wine glass held aloft, no doubt indicating that a refill was required. Bodie snagged a bottle of the red that Ray favoured from a nearby table and awaited his partner's presence, feeling guiltily thankful at the thought of getting some time alone with him at last. When Ray finally joined him on the balcony - having been waylaid by numerous well-wishers en route - Bodie stared accusingly at the now loosened and dishevelled cravat. Ray looked back at him shamefacedly. "Bloody thing was choking me," he offered by way of excuse.
Bodie primped the still pristine example around his own neck in reply, then smiled indulgently as he topped up Ray's glass.
Ray came to stand closely beside him, and in companionable silence they watched the wedding guests below. A stocky red-headed young man had now taken Ray's place next to Rachel, his formal attire marking him as another member of the wedding party. As the two CI5 men watched he slipped an arm around the bride's waist and kissed her passionately.
Bodie glanced at his partner. "Penny for them," he murmured, intrigued by the pensive expression on Ray's face.
Ray sighed. "Was just wondering if they'll last as long as we have."
"Who knows?" Bodie replied with a shrug. "Not many people would have put their money on us twenty years ago."
"Apart from Cowley."
"Yeah, apart from Cowley." Bodie grinned. "Wily old bastard. He had us sussed before we'd even worked it out ourselves."
"Not much ever got past him."
"Still doesn't."
"I thought Rachel might have asked him, y'know, if he hadn't been laid up. To give her away, I mean."
Bodie sidled even closer to him. "Nah, it was always going to be you. She thinks the world of you. Got a lot in common, Rachel and me - neither of us are immune to your charms."
Ray looked askance at Bodie's empty glass. "How many of those have you had?"
"Enough." Bodie's expression transformed into what could only be described as a leer. "And you know what they say... brandy makes you randy."
Ray's own expression was one of sublime innocence. "Is that what they say? Well, that's a new one on me..."
Bodie's hand suddenly sneaked inside Ray's jacket, pulling him closer still. "D'you realise that there's a sadly neglected four-poster bed in our room that's crying out to have its curtains crumpled?" he murmured teasingly into his partner's ear.
Ray's intake of breath was audible. "Oh god..." he hissed. He squirmed against Bodie and was rewarded with a husky groan into his curls.
"Give over, Bodie. We can't just disappear, I've got responsibilities."
Bodie pulled away slightly. "Yeah, yeah. I know. Father Of The Bride, and all that..."
He aimed his patent hard-done-by expression in Ray's direction and waited. The other man's reaction wasn't long in coming.
"Don't suppose they'll miss us, will they?"
Bodie snorted in reply. "What, those two? Have you seen them?"
He nodded in the direction of the garden below, and Ray glanced down to see Rachel and her new husband engaged in another lingering kiss. The sight galvanised him into action.
"Back in two ticks," he told Bodie with a wink, and set off at speed.
With what seemed like indecent haste he soon reappeared in view, sprinting across the lawn towards the happy couple, planting a quick peck on Rachel's cheek and a slap on the back of the groom, before turning and covering the fifty yards back to the hotel at what seemed to Bodie to be an alarming pace for a man of his years.
Bodie met him at the top of the stairs and eyed him accusingly. "If you're going to tell me now that you're knackered, I think I might have to strangle you," he warned. Ray grinned back at him. "Who me? Nah, peak of physical fitness, me."
He nodded towards an unopened bottle of bubbly which stood forlornly on a side table. "Grab that," he instructed. "I half-inched a couple of clean glasses on the way up." Never one to disobey an order, Bodie complied with alacrity and followed his partner up to the next floor, appreciating the view as Ray took the stairs two at a time.
"Peak of physical fitness, eh?" he asked as they reached the door of their room. Ray waggled his eyebrows in reply.
"Prove it to you if you like..."
It was fortunate that Bodie's keycard worked first time, CI5 expense accounts not usually running to the cost of replacing hotel room doors. Ray was bundled unceremoniously over the threshold, and as the door slammed behind them a throaty chuckle and a clink of glasses could be plainly heard.
And it wasn't only the bottle of bubbly that had its cork popped that night...
Title: The Wedding
Author: Sally Fell
Slash or Gen: Slash
Archive at ProsLib/Circuit: Yes
Disclaimer: Bodie and Doyle don't belong to me. If they did, do you think I'd be wasting my time sitting here typing this?
With thanks to probodie for the beta!
The Wedding
"Shit!"
Bodie tsk-tsked loudly from the doorway as he watched his partner struggle with his lilac-coloured silk cravat. "Language, Raymond," he warned. "Don't forget you're due in church in..." - he checked his watch flamboyantly - "... less than fifty minutes."
Doyle glared at his reflection in the mirror. "And you can stop slouching around and make yourself useful. Get this bloody thing tied for me, will you?"
Bodie smiled and pushed himself away from the doorframe as Doyle turned to face him. As his hands deftly arranged the recalcitrant neckwear he found himself on the receiving end of a sheepish grin.
"Sorry. I'm a bit on edge."
"Yeah, I know." Bodie eyed up the cravat and decided it would pass muster. "There. Perfect." He smoothed the rumples in Doyle's jacket, feeling the familiar thrum of arousal that close contact with the other man never failed to ignite, even after so many years. "Bound to be on edge, aren't you? Only natural."
Doyle turned back to the mirror. "What do you think then? Do I look okay?"
Bodie was quite capable of enthusing about Doyle's looks for hours, but ruefully decided that this wasn't the time or the place.
"Yes, mate, you do. Rachel'll be proud of you."
"I hope so." Doyle pondered for a moment. "Never thought I'd be doing this, Bodie, eh?"
For one terrifying moment Bodie thought that his emotions were about to get the better of him, but to his relief he managed to keep them in check. He cuffed Doyle affectionately on the arm.
"Come on, Cinders. Your carriage awaits."
***
The ceremony went off without a hitch. The bride had looked stunning, and Ray... well, Ray had always had the ability to take Bodie's breath away, whether dressed in jeans and t-shirt, boiler suit, or Moss Bros' finest as he was today.
Bodie stood alone on the first-floor balcony of the country house hotel where the wedding reception was being held, a glass of excellent cognac in his hand. He looked down at the immaculately kept gardens below, watching as wedding guests sauntered and chatted in the warm evening sunshine and children chased excitedly across the manicured lawn. He spotted Ray and Rachel standing in front of the brilliantly coloured rhododendron bushes where they'd had photos taken earlier; the pair were deep in conversation and every now and again their laughter floated across to him. Even from a distance Bodie could see how blissfully happy they both looked.
He liked Rachel. She had been among the last batch of agents that Cowley had personally recruited, not long before the Old Man had finally taken his long-overdue retirement, and had proven herself to be one of the best of that year's intake. Ray and he had had more contact with the new recruits that year than they'd had previously, taking some of the pressure off Cowley's shoulders as he wound his workload down, and they'd both hit it off with Rachel straight away. But whereas he found her good company and enjoyed both working and socialising with her, it was obvious that Ray and she shared a much stronger connection. They had just clicked, right from the very start. Having watched their relationship deepen over time, it was no surprise to Bodie that they'd ended up here today, with him on the sidelines and Ray centre stage...
A shrill whistle intruded into his thoughts, and his attention snapped back to the here and now. Ray was crossing the lawn towards him, looking up at him with wine glass held aloft, no doubt indicating that a refill was required. Bodie snagged a bottle of the red that Ray favoured from a nearby table and awaited his partner's presence, feeling guiltily thankful at the thought of getting some time alone with him at last. When Ray finally joined him on the balcony - having been waylaid by numerous well-wishers en route - Bodie stared accusingly at the now loosened and dishevelled cravat. Ray looked back at him shamefacedly. "Bloody thing was choking me," he offered by way of excuse.
Bodie primped the still pristine example around his own neck in reply, then smiled indulgently as he topped up Ray's glass.
Ray came to stand closely beside him, and in companionable silence they watched the wedding guests below. A stocky red-headed young man had now taken Ray's place next to Rachel, his formal attire marking him as another member of the wedding party. As the two CI5 men watched he slipped an arm around the bride's waist and kissed her passionately.
Bodie glanced at his partner. "Penny for them," he murmured, intrigued by the pensive expression on Ray's face.
Ray sighed. "Was just wondering if they'll last as long as we have."
"Who knows?" Bodie replied with a shrug. "Not many people would have put their money on us twenty years ago."
"Apart from Cowley."
"Yeah, apart from Cowley." Bodie grinned. "Wily old bastard. He had us sussed before we'd even worked it out ourselves."
"Not much ever got past him."
"Still doesn't."
"I thought Rachel might have asked him, y'know, if he hadn't been laid up. To give her away, I mean."
Bodie sidled even closer to him. "Nah, it was always going to be you. She thinks the world of you. Got a lot in common, Rachel and me - neither of us are immune to your charms."
Ray looked askance at Bodie's empty glass. "How many of those have you had?"
"Enough." Bodie's expression transformed into what could only be described as a leer. "And you know what they say... brandy makes you randy."
Ray's own expression was one of sublime innocence. "Is that what they say? Well, that's a new one on me..."
Bodie's hand suddenly sneaked inside Ray's jacket, pulling him closer still. "D'you realise that there's a sadly neglected four-poster bed in our room that's crying out to have its curtains crumpled?" he murmured teasingly into his partner's ear.
Ray's intake of breath was audible. "Oh god..." he hissed. He squirmed against Bodie and was rewarded with a husky groan into his curls.
"Give over, Bodie. We can't just disappear, I've got responsibilities."
Bodie pulled away slightly. "Yeah, yeah. I know. Father Of The Bride, and all that..."
He aimed his patent hard-done-by expression in Ray's direction and waited. The other man's reaction wasn't long in coming.
"Don't suppose they'll miss us, will they?"
Bodie snorted in reply. "What, those two? Have you seen them?"
He nodded in the direction of the garden below, and Ray glanced down to see Rachel and her new husband engaged in another lingering kiss. The sight galvanised him into action.
"Back in two ticks," he told Bodie with a wink, and set off at speed.
With what seemed like indecent haste he soon reappeared in view, sprinting across the lawn towards the happy couple, planting a quick peck on Rachel's cheek and a slap on the back of the groom, before turning and covering the fifty yards back to the hotel at what seemed to Bodie to be an alarming pace for a man of his years.
Bodie met him at the top of the stairs and eyed him accusingly. "If you're going to tell me now that you're knackered, I think I might have to strangle you," he warned. Ray grinned back at him. "Who me? Nah, peak of physical fitness, me."
He nodded towards an unopened bottle of bubbly which stood forlornly on a side table. "Grab that," he instructed. "I half-inched a couple of clean glasses on the way up." Never one to disobey an order, Bodie complied with alacrity and followed his partner up to the next floor, appreciating the view as Ray took the stairs two at a time.
"Peak of physical fitness, eh?" he asked as they reached the door of their room. Ray waggled his eyebrows in reply.
"Prove it to you if you like..."
It was fortunate that Bodie's keycard worked first time, CI5 expense accounts not usually running to the cost of replacing hotel room doors. Ray was bundled unceremoniously over the threshold, and as the door slammed behind them a throaty chuckle and a clink of glasses could be plainly heard.
And it wasn't only the bottle of bubbly that had its cork popped that night...
Title: The Wedding
Author: Sally Fell
Slash or Gen: Slash
Archive at ProsLib/Circuit: Yes
Disclaimer: Bodie and Doyle don't belong to me. If they did, do you think I'd be wasting my time sitting here typing this?
With thanks to probodie for the beta!