Survival (Professionals story)
| The Professionals Fanfiction | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Survivial |
| Author(s): | Melanie Athene |
| Date(s): | 1994 |
| Length: | |
| Genre: | slash |
| Fandom: | The Professionals |
| External Links: | Survival |
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Survival is a Professionals slash story by Melanie Athene.
It was originally published in No Holds Barred #6.
Author's note from online version: "This story was written 15 years ago and appeared in a fanzine called No Holds Barred #6. It is the very last story that I set down on paper, and marked my departure from fan writing until the wonderful LOTR movies came along and gave me back my inspiration and enthusiasm."
Reactions and Reviews
In Survival, Bodie and Doyle head off with barely restrained glee - on Cowley's orders, at CI5's expense - for a babysitting job in the Greek isles that promises to be a rare boondoggle for them, but end up stranded on one of those isles, at real risk that this babysitting job will be their last.This is no Blue Lagoon, with the two of them frolicking nymph-like through a tropical paradise and discovering innocent love - their tiny, remote island has no water or food source, the sun is relentless, and their chances of rescue are slim. Bodie narrates the story of his increasingly desperate efforts - this kind of survival is his forte, not Ray's - to keep them both alive and sane, and his increasing fear that he will lose Ray. Through it all, they remain their tough, occasionally stroppy, occasionally snarky selves, exchanging (mostly) affectionate insults, making rude comments to each other, engaging in their typical teasing banter, and trying to make the best of a very bad situation.
This is a story about devotion. Bodie's devotion to Ray shines out of everything he does, from the beginning of their ordeal, when he drags an unconscious Ray ashore, to the end, when he follows an angry, weakened Ray blindly through half a mile of shark-infested waters. He tries desperately to keep his feelings hidden from Ray, of course; I love watching him struggle not to reveal his vulnerability, hiding his feelings under a tough-guy veneer and making light of an experience that was nothing less than the fulfillment of all his dreams, with almost disastrous consequences. Ray's feelings are less obvious - the story is told from Bodie's first-person POV, after all - but easy to see if you look; they're evident in his trust for Bodie, in his response to their first lovemaking, in his reaction afterwards - hurt disguised as anger - when Bodie's fear of rejection causes Bodie to pretend a nonchalance he does not feel.
It's a sweet story, but not too sweet, with a nice sprinkling of h/c and tension, and an ending that is deeply satisfying without being melodramatic. [1]
I like this story very much. Very nice scenes between the two, paricularly knowing that rescue seems remote. [2]
Thanks for posting and reccing my story. It feels good to have Survival dusted off and circulating again....It's really good to hear someone liked Survival. I'm glad it still is readable after all these years. :) [3]