Christmas Reading Room December 17

[merentha13.livejournal.com]

Title: Deck the Halls
Author: Hestia
Link to story or zine/ProsLib info: not available on line
available
at ProsLib
Pairing: B/D
Further story information found at prosficspoilers


It's Christmas Eve. Unlike previous years when Doyle had spent the Holiday with his partner, Ray had agreed to visit with his latest bird's family for this Christmas. But, as always happens, work got in the way and an irate phone call left him at loose ends for the holiday. He turned to Bodie. Bodie always did up Christmas in a big way. But this year, when Doyle sneaks into his partners flat he finds Bodie in bed, early, alone and drunk. He finds "no tree. No Tinsel. No cards...no sign of seasonal cheer....Bodie had made no preparations whatsoever for their usual feast." It takes him a bit, but he finally realizes that Bodie didn't do up Christmas because he was not going to be spending it with Ray. He decides to take matters into his own hands and he was going to "make damn certain Bodie didn't miss out on his precious Christmas...(thought) the thought did cross his mind that eight-thirty on Christmas Eve was not the easiest time to be doing his Christmas shopping...use your initiative, he told himself." The way Ray used his initiative was really quite amusing, especially his acquisition of the tree and the holly! There are some unusual ornaments to go on said tree and the fairy on top....I'll bet no one else has anything close! The bit with the mistletoe is priceless!

Being a Doyle fan I love the way Hestia uses descriptions of Ray's eyes to set a mood. His "steely glint" as he makes plans turns into a "wicked glint...that was positively evil" as he teases Bodie. His gaze moves from "candid" to "vivid" to "sly" as he sets Bodie up. When the mood turns more serious as they exchange gifts his eyes "dance", become "amused". And you don't have to think to hard to know what's coming (no pun intended *g*) when his eyes become "slumbrous", with "almost no green to them now, only velvet darkness".

My one disappointment with this story is something that occurs in a fair amount of Pro's fic, and that is a feminization of Ray. There's just a touch of it here, but enough to annoy me. Ray "sniggered...clapped his hand over his mouth to stifle the sound", he "giggles", and he "wriggles". Oh no. I just can't see tough guy, hard CI5 agent Ray Doyle wriggling. (Although a check of the thesaurus doesn't give a lot of alternatives to that word and none of them are particularly masculine!)

The story has a lot of the lad's humorous banter and there are some very sweet moments. My favorite is when they realize they are going to end up in bed together and Bodie hesitates a bit. "The smile faded as he (Bodie) wondered what this might do to them but he didn't have to speak his fear aloud. Ray caught his face between his hands and said fiercely, "No. It'll be alright. Promise you." (a real "aww" moment!)

And there is the epiphany, this time had by Ray. "Doyle opened his eyes and stared into the pale, sleeping face sharing his pillow...So. As simple as that. In the end all the important things were, really. A bit like a firefight, in a way; when life boiled down to basics there was no room for inessentials. It came down to what you could live without and what you couldn't. And he couldn't live without Bodie."

So I've gone on longer than I intended. Can't seem to write a short review! I should have just said "Deck the Halls" is a fun, heartwarming Christmas story. Enjoy!

(This story is on the Pro's Library CD. If you don't have a copy, I can't think of a better gift to give yourself for Christmas!)

Comments

[msmoat.livejournal.com]

This is one of my favorites, and in fact I was thinking of recommending it on my next turn! it is such a heartwarming story. I love Doyle's determination to make Christmas what it should be. And all that it means that Bodie didn't decorate. It's just fun.

[merentha13.livejournal.com]

Sorry if I stole your story! There are so many great ones to choose from, but, like you, I found this one just great fun!

[roven75.livejournal.com]

Thank you for the rec! I haven't read this particular story yet, but will do so rightaway :)

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

I'm trying to think whether this one's in a zine as well - I had a quick trawl through the likely ones at Palelyloitering, but couldn't see it. I don't remember it at all, though the name's really familiar... (I've not read your review yet - I'll wait until I've re-read, really I'm just here rambling... *g*)

And I also went to catch up with yesterday's rec, and realised it was stoopid me! How rubbish is that? I shall squeeze it on sometime later today instead, with apologies galore...

[jgraeme2007.livejournal.com]

(This story is on the Pro's Library CD. If you don't have a copy, I can't think of a better gift to give yourself for Christmas!)

I agree with that wholeheartedly!

This is a pleasant story, and one I haven't read for a while. I confess that Hestia's vision of Ray never works for me. He's just too soft and domesticated for my tastes. Somehow that doesn't bother me as much in a Christmas story, though.

Thanks for the rec!

[merentha13.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the comments. I agree with you on Ray's characterization - I think it was ok only because this was a Christmas story. The thought of him wriggling...it's just wrong!

[jgraeme2007.livejournal.com]

The thought of him wriggling...it's just wrong!

:-D I agree.