Chapters: 3/12
Fandom: Downton Abbey
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Thomas Barrow/Tom Branson
Characters: Thomas Barrow, Tom Branson, Mary Crawley, Sybbie Branson, George Crawley, Phyllis Baxter, Anna Bates, Elsie Hughes (Downton Abbey)
Additional Tags: Romance, Drama, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Happy Ending, Suicide Attempt, Suicidal Thoughts, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, dark humour, Slow Burn, Developing Relationship, Explicit Sexual Content, Mutual Pining, Sexual Tension, split POV, Thomas and the children, Weekly Updates
Summary:
When Tom finds Thomas and assists after his suicide attempt, a bond forms between the two men, one that is built upon a mutual need for one another. As their friendship grows, the bond develops into something deeper and much more abiding.
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If there's a lil scene in the sequel where thomas opens a letter and sheepishly beams at it, can someone then make a compilation of thomas opening/handling letters over the years, culminating in the one scene where for once his post brought him joy
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Thomas is Dr Clarksons illegitimate son and they have fun father son bonding time.
THIS NEVER ACTUALLY OCCURRED TO ME AND NOW IāM LIKE???? OK, so. Hereās the thing.
Thomas as a bastard - not necessarily just Robertās bastard - but a bastard in general has become my jamĀ lately and anytime I write backstory for him I always find myself either hinting or just plain spelling out that his clockmaker dad was not his real dad. Usually if itās not Robert I just invent a dad (the best one is played by Charles Dance) but.
Wow Clarkson as his dadā¦ is a fab idea. I mean it doesnāt rly gel with my Dr Clarkson Is Gay headcanon (Alex51324 did a great job of making Thomasās dad Also Gay in excellent inheritance drama Thomas and the Earl of FindlaterĀ but I feel like probably we canāt get away with that twiceĀ in one fandom).
Continued under the cut to save your dash--
But it would be so nice? I have suchĀ a major soft spot for Clarkson, I think heās one of the most criminally underused characters in the show and Iām still angry that his final storyline basically amounted to tapping Dickie Merton on the shoulder and giving him theĀ āyouāre not dying!ā thumbs up. Like I know he really cares about doctoring but seriously? Thatās it? My poor, excellently moustached, beautifully accented, delightfully snarky darling deserved so much better.
So uhā¦ now Iām done babbling.
Neither of them realise Thomas is the child Richard fathered when he was younger until he goes forward for RAMC training between S1-2 and and Richard is processing his birth certificate to put him forward and sees his motherās name and his birthdate.
A quiet, stoic kind of flip-out ensues, alone in his office.
Good Guy Clarkson takes Thomasās motherās address from his files and writes to her to explain that heās working with him and has discovered who he is, and would it cause she or her family harm if he were to make himself known? And she writes back like eh idgaf do whatever bro I aināt got no secretsĀ (because Thomasās mum gives no fucks as a rule).
So now in the most awkward scene ever he like. He invites Thomas to the pub???? Thomas is so confused because Richard Clarkson fucking never goes to the pub unless itās to treat people who are staying there. Oh, he thinks, is he going to hit on me? Am I going to let him? Heās not ugly, I suppose, and it might be an advantage, sharing my bed with a Major. Bit old for my usual tastes but I can be persuadedā¦Ā
These thoughts become 10000000x more awkward when poor Dr Clarkson, after clearing his throat 700 times and downing more scotch than is necessarily wise, just kind of slides a letter from his mother, sent 22 years ago, across the table.Ā
āOh Christ,ā thinks Thomas as he reads it, realisation dawning, āI was considering boning my actual father.āĀ
Heās a little bit pissy at first because why didnāt you bloody marry her,Ā being a doctorās son would have been so much better. You know who else is a doctorās son? MATTHEW BLOODY CRAWLEY.Ā but Clarkson is likeĀ āshe reallyĀ didnāt want to marry meā and - that does sound like her. Ever difficult. Could be a doctorās wife and live a life 10x better than this one but no, Iāll marry the stern clockmaker instead. Sigh.
Thereās not a whole lot they can do about it after the Initial Reveal because the war is still happening and Thomas is still leaving for RAMC training so like. Ok then. Nice to meet you, Dad? Bye.
And uh... oh lord, thereās really nowhere terribly interestign I can go with this. He comes back from the war and they bond over broken bones and blown-off limbs and Clarkson trains him as his full-time medical assistant rather than sending him back into service.
And Isobel is like his stepmum too which is quite nice. Sheās a nice lady.
Wheeeeee - and this is for the Anon who asked, too!
lowkey otp: TomThom. I like it, I am always pleased to see it, but Iām not crying about it, generally. Also Thomas with Gerald Pellinger from the Guide AU :ā) the best Thomas/OC ship ever.
highkey notp: Is..... edging toward Thommy, honestly. Not thatĀ highkey but... like, on the one hand I will read Thommy fics but I find I read them mostly just to consume more Barrow and the more they focus on Jimmy as a character the less I like them? Iāve gone from sort of quietly disliking Thommy to getting actively angry about Thommy when I see it, and I feel quite bad about that, because many of my dear friends are Thommy fans, but I just... I just hate it so much... (And itās one of those awful guilty highkey notps where even though I hate it, I find myself writing it, because itās canon on Thomasās side and thereforeĀ itās so interesting to explore his very self-destructive pining over this little straight pissant. Ugh.)
Oh but for a less controversial answer, there are those people who legitimately ship Thomas with women - Iāve seen him shipped with Daisy, Mary, and... OāBrien. And I just - good God. Iām not sure what kind of person takes the sole permanent canon gay character, whose angst mostly comes from being gay in a time when it is fucking awful for him, and ships him with a woman. Not the kind of person I want to associate with, clearly.
lowkey notp: Parkbarrow does next to nothing for me but Iām not angry about it, and I do still like the idea that gangly idiot Andy Parker is dynamite in the sack. I just donāt personally think Thomas had any interest in him as more than a friend - heās not exactly his type, and besides, Iād rather see him be kind to someone with no ulterior motive, for once.Ā
But Iām cool with it.
highkey otp but iām scared of saying it because itās not a very popular choice: As with Hobopollo, Iām not actually afraid of saying it because this is my dang blog and I DO WHAT I WANT. But I know a lot of people hate Crowbarrow and that is my highest key Thomas otp. I donāt feel bad about it. Iām not afraid. Theyāre all just terribly, terribly mistaken.
highkey otp and anyone on my tumblr knows it: Same as above! But for the sake of variety, everyone also knows I adore the thought of Peter Pelham/Hexham and Thomas and also, CHARLES BLAKE and Thomas would be so good together. So good.Ā
Lmao I donāt think anyone believes I watch or read or play anything that isnāt Downton tbh. I have three of these asks and theyāre all for Downton.
HERE U GO:
Favorite character: Gosh I dunno.
Second favorite character: Violet.
Least favorite character: JOHN FUCKING BATES
The character Iām most like: Ahaha - Lord Peter Hexham. Never seen, very gay, lazy, delicate - got real fucking sick of England at some point and chose to eschew all responsibility, fuck off to a warm country and look at pretty boys for the rest of his life, then died young, leaving only dodgy rumours and one mourning cousin behind. Would that I had the money to do the sameā¦
Favorite pairing: Only one guy ever willingly kissed Thomas on the mouth so obvs Iām going with Crowbarrow - even if you want to go with its worst most awful interpretations? Thatās the only guy we ever saw kiss Thomasās face. Edwardās a close second but he only held his hand sorry Ed this isnāt playschool get a clue.
Least favorite pairing: Banna. The prison gruel of pairings.Ā
Favorite moment: Every snarky line Thomas ever had but for this moment Iāll go with. Oh, I donāt think thatād be a good idea, Mr Bates, we canāt have you wobbly at both ends. [cracks shotgun for emphasis]
Rating out of 10: Thomas Barrowās existence is 28/10, Downtonās execution of everything is 3/10.Ā
