Owner's Manual

Bodie/Doyle Fanfiction
Title:	Owner's Manual
Author(s):	DVS
Date(s):
Length:	8700 words
Genre:	slash
Fandom:	The Professionals
External Links:	online here
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Owner's Manual is a Bodie/Doyle story by DVS.

Reactions and Reviews

The discussion begins while Bodie is driving the pair to a remote house that has been donated to CI5, that Cowley wants inventoried. Doyle has a book he's reading that seems to have him captivated. When Bodie digs deeper, he learns it is a book about men's bodies and includes a section on sexuality and homosexuality. The omniscient narrator lets us know that Bodie is interested in homosexuality and has always wanted Doyle--but has been too shy of asking, for fear of ruining their friendship. This story lets Doyle begin to ask questions and raise the issue of his youthful fears of being thought gay. With enough hints, he reveals that he was frequently propositioned by young men, but never said "yes." The bulk of the action takes place at the house in the country, where they speak in the darkness to one another, as Doyle reveals his desire...and likewise his own fear....

This isn't a novella, but it is a plausible snapshot of the first time genre that has so much realism to it that at times it hurts. They've brought supplies, but forgotten the bogroll. There's also a fair bit of comedy, particularly in the opening scenes as they drive north and Bodie asks Doyle to read sections of the book aloud, which include things like cock sizes, sexual diseases, amount of sperm ejected during orgasm, and a lot of things they can make fun of. Plus the ending is also comedic, about what they plan to do with the book now that they're finished with it.

I find myself going back to this story again and again because Bodie's insecurities make him vulnerable without making him weak, and the mixture of comedy and longing.

The story is both amusing and romantic, allowing us to enjoy both the easy banter between Bodie and Doyle and what hides beneath it. I especially love that they're portrayed as perhaps hesitant to speak of certain things but not fearful. They may not yet know the level of the love between them, but they seem to instinctively know it's there.

I haven't read something that good in a long time. Mostly, when ending a fic, I feel I have wasted my time. Not so with this story. I was smiling all day long whenever I thought of it.