Under the Mistletoe (Bodie/Doyle fic) - Discovered in the Wassail Bowl - December 7th

[agt-spooky.livejournal.com]

Under the Mistletoe
by AgtSpooky

He sat at his desk like a five-year-old waiting for Father Christmas to appear.

Who he fervently hoped would look exactly like one William Andrew Philip Bodie.



Ray Doyle leaned back in his chair, watching the holiday cheer happening around him. It was December 23^rd and the festive mood was high, here at CI5 headquarters. The entire office area was decorated within an inch of its life, all thanks to Betty. And, unbelievably enough, Cowley had opened his purse strings and catered in a Christmas lunch for his operatives and support staff alike.

As if that wasn’t enough to put a smile on everyone’s face, today was also the Secret Santa big reveal.

This was not normally an activity Doyle would have any interest in taking part in. And had it been one of the birds from the secretarial pool organizing it, he would’ve politely declined.

But when Betty showed up at his desk three weeks ago, with clipboard in one hand and a bowl with small, folded up pieces of paper in it in the other, there was no refusing. See, Betty might look like the sweetest angel, but she ruled the CI5 controller’s office with an iron fist behind the scenes. And she had Cowley’s ear. There was no crossing Betty!

Doyle had no problems admitting he was actually scared of Betty, and also believed she’d have made a top-notch operative. Smart as a whip, that one was, all hidden behind a gorgeous, innocent-looking exterior, with big eyes and sweet smile. He genuinely liked Betty. But yeah, he was a tiny bit scared of her as well.

So when she showed up at his desk with clipboard in hand and announced there would be a Secret Santa gift exchange happening this year, he smiled and plucked a name from the bowl.

Hoping for Bodie, he’d instead drawn Ruth’s name. Which Betty jotted down on her clipboard, before moving on to waylay an unsuspecting Murphy, who’d just walked in the door.

And today was the big reveal.

At first, Doyle struggled with what would be an appropriate gift for Ruth, before putting his investigative skills to work. Meaning, he waited until she’d headed off to the rest room to make a cup of tea before rummaging through her handbag to find her bottle of perfume. Then off to Harrod’s he went that evening, paying a bit extra to have it expertly gift-wrapped.

He was honestly amazed at how everyone whole-heartedly embraced this Secret Santa event. He watched all day long as gifts were exchanged, accompanied by smiles and laughter, delight in discovering who had drawn their name.

Then again, they delt with death and violence on a daily basis. It was nice to indulge in a bit of whimsy.

Ruth had been surprised, then chuffed, when Doyle appeared at her desk, gifting her a bottle of her favorite perfume. Which earned him a kiss on his cheek, and a knowing wink. Which, a few months ago, he’d have gladly taken her up on her silent invitation.

But things were different now.

He was holding out hope to someday soon be spending the night with someone else.

He was also holding out hope that person had drawn his name in the gift exchange.

The day went on, though, and Bodie made no move to approach him with a garishly wrapped present hidden behind his back, and Doyle’s hopes sank. He watched, however, as Murphy strode up to his partner’s desk, tossing him a flat box covered in red and green striped paper.

“Happy Christmas from your Secret Santa,” Murphy smirked good-naturedly.

Bodie grinned and tore off the paper, lifting the lid off the box. Inside was a pair of black leather driving gloves for Bodie’s motorcycle.

Bodie’s face lit up. “Oh, cheers for these, mate!” He reached out and gave Murphy a hearty handshake.

“Glad you like ‘em,” Murphy smiled. “When the bloody weather warms up again, let’s go riding.”

“Yeah, love to,” Bodie answered.

Murphy looked over at Doyle. “You, too, Ray. Make a weekend of it, eh?”

Doyle nodded. “Count me in.”

“Have a good holiday, you two,” Murphy smiled.

“Yeah, you as well, Murph,” Bodie replied as the tall man walked away with a wave.

Doyle watched as Bodie tried on the gloves, which fit him perfectly. He then chuckled with amusement as his partner looked over at him and mimed revving the engine on his bike, a cocky smile on his face.

Doyle rolled his eyes and shook his head at his partner’s antics, but then sobered as Bodie’s cobalt blue eyes went soft, holding Doyle’s gaze for several heartbeats before glancing away.

That had been happening more and more often lately. Ever since Doyle had taken a bullet in his leg in an underground carpark three months ago. He didn’t remember much, having passed out from the pain not long after getting shot. But one thing was crystal clear—waking up briefly in the ambulance, finding Bodie sitting beside him, clutching his hand, his wide, blue eyes unable to hide how terrified he was.

Then later, after surgery, the doctor told them both that, had the bullet entered his thigh a mere three centimeters to the left, it would’ve severed his femoral artery. Doyle would have bled out and died in that carpark, right in front of Bodie.

Doyle realized at that moment how close of a call it had been. And so, apparently, did Bodie.

That's when the lingering looks from his partner started, heavy with restrained emotion. As if it had hit home to Bodie, deeply, how much he had almost lost. Many times it seemed as though Bodie was about to speak but then changed his mind and remained silent.

It was then Doyle began to wonder if his secret, unrequited feelings toward his partner might not be so unrequited after all. Which is why he’d been hoping Bodie would turn out to be his Secret Santa. After all, the holidays were always rife with romantic gestures, weren't they? Marriage proposals, weddings, declarations of love under the mistletoe…

It would be the perfect occasion for Bodie to finally express the feelings he was keeping trapped behind his gaze. Or so Doyle hoped.

~*~*~*~*~*~

The holiday festivities continued all day long. Plates were piled high with food as Christmas carols played from a tape deck on someone’s desk. A bowl of eggnog appeared, along with plates of cookies shaped like snowmen, reindeer, and candy canes. Smiles and laughter accompanied the ongoing gift exchanges.

Each time Bodie stood up from behind his desk, Doyle’s pulse jumped, only to sink again when he saw Bodie did not have a gift in his hands. Yet no one else approached Doyle’s desk with a present, so he held out hope his partner was just waiting for the right moment.

But the remaining hours of their shift ticked by, the party beginning to wind down as early evening approached and people began to prepare to head home for the long holiday weekend.

Doyle’s hope dwindling fast, it came as a shock when Bodie pushed back his chair, reached under his desk and pulled out a silver and gold gift bag. Pulse jumping once again, Doyle straightened up, a slow smile spreading across his face as Bodie approached his desk…and walked right past him.

Doyle’s smile sputtered and faded away, a wave of defeat washing over him as he watched Bodie disappear around the corner, his gift bound for someone else. He’d been so sure...thought that Bodie was waiting until no one was around to reveal himself as his Secret Santa…and perhaps something more…

The colorful, twinkling Christmas lights around him no longer feeling so cheerful, Doyle stared disconsolately down into his nearly empty mug of tea until Bodie returned. He raised his head as his partner perched himself on the corner of his desk.

Bodie looked down at him, concern in his eyes. “Why the long face, mate?”

Doyle shrugged a shoulder. “Been waitin’ all day for my Secret Santa and…nothin’,” he obfuscated.

Bodie looked surprised. “You’re kidding me. I hadn’t realized you hadn’t gotten a gift. Well, perhaps your Santa was off ill today.”

Doyle shrugged again, not really caring now that his Santa wasn’t Bodie. “Yeah, might be.”

“You could always go ask Betty,” Bodie suggested. “Ask her to check her list.”

Doyle shook his head. “She left a couple hours ago. Getting’ a head start on traffic, headin’ up north for the holiday.”

Bodie’s eyes went wide. “First a holiday party and then Cowley lets someone scarper before quitting time?” He leaned in close, his voice low. “Did the Old Man suffer a head injury we weren’t aware of?”

Despite his depressive mood, Doyle couldn’t help but laugh. Bodie grinned widely at him in return, then pushed himself up off Doyle’s desk.

“Right. That’s me off then,” Bodie said. He reached out and swiped a hand over Doyle’s unruly curls. “Have a good holiday, mate.”

“Yeah. Yeah, you, too,” Doyle replied as Bodie shrugged into his leather jacket and gathered up the driving gloves from Murphy.

Bodie gave him a cheerful grin and a wave and then he was gone, headed off down the hallway and then into the lift. Doyle watched him go, sighing heavily. This is not how he’d hoped this day would end.

He looked around at the nearly empty office. No sense in hanging about any longer himself, was there? He stood, picked up his mug, and headed to the rest room. He spilled out the remainder of his cold tea, then gave the mug a quick wash and dry, before walking back to his desk. It took him a moment to register what was sitting on it as he approached.

A small, rectangular-shaped box, wrapped in green paper with a red bow.

His head swiveled left and right, but there was no one around. Bewildered, he sat down on his chair and picked up the package, noting it weighed next to nothing. The gift tag on it read:

To: RAY DOYLE
From: YOUR SECRET SANTA

It was written in very precise block print, as if to deliberately disguise the gift-giver’s handwriting.

Beyond curious at this point, unwilling to wait until he got home, Doyle unwrapped his present, still glancing around, as if the person who left the gift would pop out from under a desk. He set the bow and wrapping paper aside and lifted the lid off the box to discover…

Mistletoe.

Several sprigs of it, actually, all tied up with red ribbon. A piece of string had been fashioned into a loop, so that the mistletoe could be hung up above a doorway. Under which two people could exchange a romantic, Christmas kiss, per tradition.

But who wanted him under the mistletoe?

~*~*~*~*~*~

The question swirled around in his head on the drive back to his flat, as the snow swirled through the air.

Who gave him the mistletoe? Who wanted to kiss him?

Susan? Ruth? Betty?

Six months ago, he’d have been flattered. And would’ve happily sussed out who it was.

But right now, today…all he wanted was for it to be Bodie. But he knew it couldn’t have been his partner who left the gift on his desk. He hated to disappoint whomever his Secret Santa was, but it wasn’t in him to return the sentiment. Not when his affections, unrequited as they were, lay with someone else.

Arriving at his building, he found the first parking spot he could, then hurried inside, out of the cold and snow. His gift box in one hand, he brushed snowflakes from his curls with the other as the lift carried him up to the fifth floor.

The first thing he noticed when he opened the door to his flat was that one of the lights in the lounge was on. He paused as he closed the door behind him. Had he forgotten to turn it off when he left that morning? The second thing he noticed was that the lights on his Christmas tree were also on, as well as the ones around the windows. Now those for certain he knew had not been on this morning. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up. What was going—

Movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention, and he turned his head sharply, muscles tense…only to huff out a breath when he saw Bodie standing in the doorway between the lounge and the kitchen.

It wasn’t odd, per se, to find his partner in his flat. They each had a key to the other’s, and would let themselves in if they had made plans to meet up, most often to watch a game on the telly and share a takeaway.

But they most definitely hadn’t made plans to meet up tonight. So what was Bodie doing here?

“Bloody hell, mate,” Doyle exhaled with a smile, walking toward his partner. “Why are you lurking about in my flat?”

Upon closer inspection, Doyle realized Bodie was trying very hard to give the appearance of being casual, lounging against the doorframe, but Doyle knew his partner well and could see the underlying tension in his body. No, maybe not tension but…nervousness? What on earth would Bodie have to be nervous about?

Bodie straightened up as Doyle came to a stop in front of him. His partner was the most confident man Doyle knew, so the uncertainty in Bodie’s blue eyes took him aback. It was obvious from Bodie’s expression he was working himself up to say something, so Doyle stood there quietly, giving him all the time he needed.

After a moment, Bodie took a breath. One of his hands gestured to the package Doyle forgot he was still holding. When he spoke, Bodie’s voice was barely above a whisper.

“Was wondering…do you fancy giving your gift a go…with me?”

Bodie tipped his head back slightly, looking up. Doyle followed his gaze to find a small hook screwed into the center of the doorframe. A hook that had not been there when Doyle left this morning.

A hook that was just the right size to hang a sprig of mistletoe from.

Comprehension slammed into Doyle with the force of a runaway sleigh.

Bodie had given him the mistletoe.

Bodie wanted to kiss him.

Looking down at the box, Doyle realized there, nestled in his palm, was his Christmas wish. And so much more.

Turning his attention back to Bodie, he found his partner’s expression was a mix of hope, but also fear of rejection. That maybe he’d put himself out there for nothing, that maybe he’d gotten this all wrong.

Doyle swallowed hard, past the lump of emotion constricting his throat. On the contrary, Bodie had gotten things very, very right. Now Doyle needed to show him.

Unable to find the words to express all that he was feeling, Doyle let his actions speak for him, and lifted the lid off the box. Fine tremors running through him, he needed both hands to hang the sprig of mistletoe from the hook. Bodie stepped in close as he did, Doyle’s arms drifting down to settle over his partner’s shoulders as Bodie’s arms entwined around his back.

“Should we…do we…need to talk about this?” Doyle stammered, finding his voice, his heart pounding furiously.

His eyes now clear of doubt, Bodie smiled gently at him. “I’ve just got one thing to say.”

“What’s that?” Doyle whispered.

“Kiss me, Ray.”

So he did.

At the first touch of Bodie’s lips against his own, all rational thought fled from Doyle’s mind, barely able to comprehend that something he’d wished for, for so long, was finally happening. And as their mouths moved together, slowly, softly, gently, Doyle could only conjure up one word to describe their first kiss.

Perfect.

How long it went on, how long they stayed in one another’s embrace, Doyle couldn’t say. Time seemed to fade away, there under the mistletoe, on this winter’s night.

When they did finally ease apart, sometime later, Doyle was decidedly lightheaded, and couldn’t keep his bright smile contained. Nor could Bodie, his partner’s face flushed, his blue eyes serene and warm.

As content as he was, a question still niggled in the back of Doyle’s mind. “There’s something I haven’t sussed out.”

“What’s that, then?”

“I saw you leave the office before I got up from my desk. But when I got back, your gift was there. How’d you pull that off, Houdini?”

“The gift bag I was carrying? Your present was in it,” Bodie replied. “I gave it to Murph. Asked him to leave it on your desk after I left. I know you always wash out your mug before knocking off for the night.”

“Well, aren’t you a clever one. No wonder you’re a CI5 agent,” Doyle grinned. “Just one question, though. What would you’ve done if you hadn’t of drawn my name?”

“Oh, I didn’t draw your name.”

That was not the answer Doyle had been expecting. “Hang about. If you didn’t draw my name, who was my real Secret Santa, and why didn’t I get a gift from them?”

“Because I bribed them to switch with me.”

Doyle’s eyes went wide. “You bribed them?” he laughed. He cocked his head. “I think you need to start from the beginning, mate.”

“When I didn’t draw your name, I pulled a Raffles one evening and did a bit of B&E on Betty’s desk,” Bodie began. “Picked the lock on the drawer, found her clipboard with all the names. Saw that Jax had drawn you. Asked him to swap with me. He thought I wanted to take the piss with you, pull some prank on you with the gift. Said he could be bought, but he wasn’t cheap.” Bodie paused. “Did you know Jax is quite the wine connoisseur? The bottle he wanted cost me a pretty penny. But I knew you’d be worth it,” he smiled.

Doyle’s mouth had dropped open somewhere along the way, in awe of all that Bodie had done to get to this moment.

“Why’d you go through all of this elaborate planning and set up when you could’ve just asked me if I fancy’d going out and having a meal with you?” he asked.

From the look on Bodie’s face, it was as though that thought had never even occurred to him, and Doyle loved him all the more for it.

Love.

Yeah, that’s what this was.

Bodie took a beat, then gave Doyle a small, hopeful smile.

“Well, if it’s a meal with me you fancy, how do you feel about breakfast…in bed?”

Doyle’s heart skipped a beat in joyful anticipation of taking Bodie up on that invitation.  “I’ve just got one thing to say.”

“What’s that?”

“Kiss me, Bodie.”

His smile brighter than the star on the top of the tree, Bodie leaned in close, his whispered reply full of tender affection.

“Happy Christmas, Ray.”

“Happy Christmas, sunshine.”

THE END


Title: Under the Mistletoe
Author: AgtSpooky agt_spooky
Genre: Slash, Holiday
Archive at ProsLib: Yes
Warnings: None
Summary: Ray Doyle has faced danger without flinching—but confessing his feelings for his partner, Bodie, is another matter entirely. As CI5 celebrates Christmas, Doyle secretly hopes Bodie is his Secret Santa, as memories of a recent brush with death linger between them. But when Bodie finally steps forward—with a bribe-fueled confession, a sprig of mistletoe, and a kiss that changes everything—Doyle discovers that sometimes, the best gifts really are the ones you never thought you’d get.

Comments

[cloudless-9193.livejournal.com]

Beautiful! :-)

[krisserci5.livejournal.com]

Perfect, quite perfect. Thanks.

[sc-fossil.livejournal.com]

Ahhh, that was so good! I love that Bodie bribed Jax! Smart bloke, eh? Thank you!

[merentha13.livejournal.com]

Very sweet holiday story!
Love that sneaky Bodie.

[tango65.livejournal.com]

Wonderful, thank you.

[f-m-parkinson.livejournal.com]

I'm very glad (and relieved) they both got their secret wish. The story made me go 'Aahh' with pleasure.

[trepkos.livejournal.com]

What a perfect surprise!

[agt-spooky.livejournal.com]

Aww, thank you! So glad you enjoyed my little Christmas fic with the lads. ❤️

[agt-spooky.livejournal.com]

Aww, thanks for the wonderful feedback! I'm very happy you enjoyed my little Christmas fic with the lads. ❤️

[agt-spooky.livejournal.com]

LOL! Bodie was motivated! Thanks for the great feedback, my friend! Very glad you enjoyed my little Christmas fic. ❤️

[agt-spooky.livejournal.com]

Aww, so glad you liked sneaky Bodie! Thanks for the great feedback. ❤️ Happy holidays!

[agt-spooky.livejournal.com]

Thank YOU for the lovely feedback! Very glad you enjoyed my little Christmas fic. ❤️

[agt-spooky.livejournal.com]

Oh, that makes me so happy! Thanks for the wonderful feedback and I'm thrilled you enjoyed my little Christmas fic. ❤️

[agt-spooky.livejournal.com]

Yay! I'm so glad you enjoyed my little Christmas fic with the lads! ❤️

[queenafoster.livejournal.com]

'From the look on Bodie’s face, it was as though that thought had never even occurred to him, and Doyle loved him all the more for it.'

This is SO Bodie!

[agt-spooky.livejournal.com]

LOL! I'm so glad you think so, too! 😀 Thanks for the great feedback and I'm very happy you enjoyed my little Christmas fic with the lads. ❤️

[ankaree.livejournal.com]

Wonderful holiday story! Thank you so much!

[agt-spooky.livejournal.com]

Thank YOU for the great feedback! I'm very happy you enjoyed my little Christmas fic with the lads. ❤️

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Aww, that was very sweet! And what a Christmas at CI5! *g*

[agt-spooky.livejournal.com]

Ha! I'd have loved to have seen an actual CI5 Christmas party on the show! That would've been a blast. 😀 Thank you so very much for your lovely feedback. I'm thrilled you enjoyed my little fic with the lads. ❤️

[shooting2kill.livejournal.com]

I almost missed this! 'Scared of Betty' made me smile, I can really imagine it (these ultra-efficient secretaries can be very scary). This was sweet *and* funny, thank you!

[agt-spooky.livejournal.com]

Hee! I'm glad you got a kick out of "scary" Betty. 😀 I always enjoyed her character and wish we'd seen more of her. So I wanted to have a bit of fun with her. 😀 Sweet and funny — exactly what I was going for! Many thanks for your great feedback and happy holidays! ❤️

[sw33n3y.livejournal.com]

Heh, of course Bodie wouldn't leave an opportunity like that to chance! Classic festive season Pros.

[agt-spooky.livejournal.com]

LOL! You gotta love the way Bodie thinks! Thanks again for the wonderful feedback! ❤️