ci5hq | Pros Novel Read-Along - Painted Angels by Angelfish

I'm in meetings all day today, but hoping to at least get something posted this morning - sorry if it's not as detailed for this last chapter - especially since it's the last chapter!

Painted Angels by Angelfish.
Cover art by

firlefanzine

Chapter Thirteen
Bodie is at home in his flat, trying to avoid his crutches, and waiting for Doyle, who'd been sent north on a job. He's been making the place look a bit more personal - because Doyle would like it. He knows that Doyle got back that morning, and saw Gabriel to the airport that afternoon, and is expecting him to come around next. Bodie has been dreaming of him.

The doorbell goes at last - but it's not Doyle, it's Cowley, who seems to have come around to see how Bodie's doing. He's pleased that Bodie seems to have mellowed somewhat, regarding him "with a kind of pride". In fact he has brought Bodie papers, a confession from one of the men in Bodie's old SAS unit, explaining that Bodie hadn't been a coward, but that Chandler himself panicked and fled, leaving him behind.

The doorbell goes again, and this time it's Doyle - with scotch and a big bunch of flowers. Cowley ushers him in and then leaves himself - warning them to watch out for the line of sight, that they must always close the curtains, and that "the time isn't right" for him to be able to do anything else. If he has to "I'll cut you loose".

Doyle notes that ironically, the flowers aren't actually from him, they're from Gabe because Gabe is a nice guy like that. They talk, and Doyle tells Bodie about what happened with Gabe and his father. At last they go to bed, and Bodie decides he wants Doyle to fuck him, which they do, "their grip on one another a bruising, lifesaving harness".

Doyle wakes to watch "headlight angels" - painted angels on the wall, coming and going. Bodie wakes up too, and says "Till death do us join". Doyle thinks he's not earned that from him, but when Bodie says "All we can do is grab every minute and try" then Doyle agrees, and repeats it back to him. "Alright then. Till death do us join."

And there we have it - the end of the story. Did it live up to the start? What do you think?