Christmas Plans (The Charioteer story)

Fanfiction
Title:	Christmas Plans
Author(s):	fawatson
Date(s):	24 December 2009
Length:	1318 words
Genre:	domestic, Christmas story
Fandom:	Mary Renault
External Links:	- archived on AO3 Yuletide - archived on maryrenaultfics - archived in The Complete ITOWverse
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"Christmas Plans" is a short story by fawatson based on Mary Renault's 1953 novel The Charioteer. Although written for Yuletide, it actually fits into the Christmas at the Clubhouse series of ficlets that was being written at the same time by fawatson and her sister Greer Watson as a Christmas present for the members of the maryrenaultfics LiveJournal community.

Christmas at the Clubhouse is an ITOWverse fiction. As such, it is lies outside the temporal setting of any of Renault's books. However, from the perspective of the characters of The Charioteer, the war is on; but it is sufficiently after the end of the story that Laurie has left the university and has a job "at the Ministry". As a result, he cannot visit his mother and Mr Straike for Christmas. Aunt Olive has, however, given Lucy the idea of having Christmas celebrations at the community clubhouse in the ITOWverse because characters can go there in an instant and return with no time having passed—meaning that, even though he cannot get time off work, Laurie will still be able to attend.

The story opens with Laurie shopping for Christmas dinner. When he gets home, there is an unexpected letter from his mother. When he reads of her contrivance to get him to Christmas after all (albeit in the ITOWverse), he informs Ralph that he'd actually prefer that the two of them hold their own celebration.

"Christmas Plans" was written for trueriver in Yuletide 2009 (to the prompt "Ralph Lanyon/Laurie Odell; Christmas comes but once a year. Something seasonal and joyful for the boys, maybe a little twist of angst somewhere!"). After the reveal, the story was posted to maryrenaultfics on 1 January 2010 as part of the Christmas at the Clubhouse series. It was included in The Complete ITOWverse archive, relocated to its proper date, i.e. 24 December.

"Christmas Plans" was recced by Kenovay in Panfandom Slash Recs.[1] Comments on the story included the following:

• "Oh how lovely, what a wonderful Yuletide surprise. Thank you very much - it's loving and gentle and full of detail - and even includes PATCH! LOL Thank you again, and Happy Yuletide! :)"—comment by trueriver
• "This is a lovely bit of domesticity. I love all the little details you worked in: the ration book, the landlady, the letter opener. And of course, Ralph and Laurie being each other's family. :) Nicely done!"—comment by mercuriosity
• "A Christmas story, with Patch, how lovely!"—comment by queen_ypolita