Honours Even (Pros story)

Fanfiction
Title:	Honours Even
Author(s):	HG
Date(s):	August 1983
Length:
Genre:	slash
Fandom:	The Professionals
External Links:
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

Honours Even is a Bodie/Doyle fic written in August 1983 by HG.

It was originally a 32-page circuit story and later published in HG Collected.

It was online at one point but no longer.

Fan Comments

Bodie and Doyle are assigned as guards to an Arab political Kamal Rhayem, an old friend of Bodie's. Doyle and Rhayem dislike each other on sight, Doyle suspecting his intentions towards Bodie. When he realises Bodie is accepting Rhayem's advances, Ray is shaken, tho' not acknowledging to himself the real reason why. He decides to fight for Bodie's affections, but leaves in defeat when Bodie gets angry. Unlike Rhayem, Bodie is bewildered by Ray's actions, tho' he had agreed initially to Kamal's suggestion of a pretense at mutual attraction in order to gauge Doyle's reaction, as Bodie has wanted Ray for a long time. Doyle confronts Bodie, and they are just getting it together sexually when they are called on emergency duty, Doyle switching clothes with Rhayem to act as a decoy. In the following days Bodie becomes uncertain of Doyle's true feelings but when, in a final decoy move, Doyle pretends to be shot. Bodie (who is unaware it is just a ploy) faints after discovering Ray is alive and having been thoroughly kissed by him. Murphy is a witness to their kiss, but has thought they were already lovers long before just as Lucas and McCabe are. Returning to Ray's flat, B&D eventually make love.

Told from both points of view, this tale is a good enough read but not a favourite of mine. It wasn't just the paucity of sex - in 32 pages I'd have like more than one almost-non-started scene, and one shortish non-explicit scene. This wouldn't have mattered if there'd been a lot of emotional interaction between our pair, but there wasn't. You were simply told in a few words about how each felt about the situation, and there was no real depth to it. I think the Arab storyline interfered and overshadowed the relationship plot instead of really furthering it. Nor was the Arab storyline particularly riveting, and I felt the last part where they were all confined together in a couple of reasoms for safety's sake was too glossed over -- there could have been an exploration of the tensions caused by this. For me this story read like a report. There was little depth to it or involvement nor could I see how Bodie, simply watching Lucas lean across McCabe to talk to him, saw they were lovers when he hadn't realised it ever before, and indeed I couldn't see the point in even mentioning Lucas and McCabe as loves.

I've seen this story listed on someone else's Top Ten, but it wouldn't be in mine.

My mouth fell open at the review of 'Honours Even' in Be Gentle With Us #6]. It is one of my favourite stories. I don't need sex scenes to enjoy a story, and I thought the relationship between Bodie and Doyle quite emotional and explicit enough. The Arab plot running through the story was one that I found very funny, and I certainly understood why Bodie could see that Lucas and McCabe were lovers. It just goes to show how different things appeal to different people.