Later that day...
"My goodness! Are they all for us?" Richard asked, referring to the two large crates of wine that were sitting on top of Thomas' desk.
"If by 'us' you mean the downstairs staff plus yourself, then yes," Thomas said, looking up from reading some papers on the small part of his desk that wasn't covered by the crates, and smiling at Richard. "His Lordship asked me to set these aside for tonight a while ago."
Richard perched himself on the corner of the desk. "Is he always this generous?" he said, picking up a bottle and looking at the label, "good stuff too."
"He's never ungenerous when it comes to Christmas and New Year's celebrations no, but I feel that he has been more so this year."
Richard laughed. "It's a wonder that any of you are sober enough to work the next day!"
"Some of us may not be no," Thomas said, a few individuals coming to mind.
"What about you?" Richard said, folding his arms and smirking playfully.
"I've never been someone to get stupidly drunk," Thomas answered. "Those in charge cannot afford too."
"Well that didn't sound snobbish at all!" Richard said.
"You know what I mean."
"Of course. It would be a shame if the butler would be so unfit for work the next day that he would have to stay in bed the whole morning." Richard said, leaning down and kissing Thomas, making it very hard for Thomas to think straight.
"You know we could go somewhere else this evening, then come back to see the fireworks at midnight?" Thomas asked, leaning back in his chair.
"We could, although I actually would like to spend time with you, whilst in the company of others. That may seem a bit odd, but I don't want to have to sneak off all the time." Richard replied, hoping Thomas didn't mind.
"It's not odd, I get that. They will all be paired up, it will be nice to have you with me, even if you are only officially there as a dear friend. Besides you will be here tonight and tomorrow night, we can make up for lost time alone then I am sure."
"I think we have a good plan then Mr Barrow," Richard said, leaning down to kiss Thomas again, putting his hand on the arm of the chair to steady himself, trapping Thomas in the chair, but absolutely not against his will. They stayed that way, exchanging several meaningful kisses, Thomas trying to ignore the fact that the door was not locked.
Reluctantly, Thomas broke away, not wanting to tempt fate any longer. "We should take these wine crates out to the servants hall, before anyone comes looking," he said.
...
Later on, and everyone was gathered in the servants hall, enjoying the plentiful free wine and the music from the radio that had been newly installed in the room following christmas the year before. Until things became better for him, Thomas never had found the joy that others did in gathering like this. A couple of years he remembered making an excuse to miss the whole thing. The time was full of traditions, as was much of the christmas season, and he had never been one for traditions. This year though, he had a spring in his step, and a beaming smile. He understood what Richard meant about spending time with someone you love, whilst in the company of others. It was nice to be with someone, whilst being amongst everyone else, even if officially they were just friends. He knew that unofficially, they were more than just friends, and many others in the room knew that also. Thomas took on the role of pouring the wine into glasses, leaving the rest of the bottles for others to refill later on in the evening. He reckoned as the evening grew older that the glasses would no longer be needed, and that the wine would be drunk straight from the bottle by some. Not the way Mr Carson would have done things, but then he wasn't in charge now. As if summoned by the thought, Mr Carson walked into the room, greeted by his wife, Mrs Hughes. "Mr Barrow," Mr Carson said.
"Mr Carson, good to see you," Thomas said, shaking his hand in greeting.
"Good to see everything is going well, Mr. Barrow," Mr Carson said, casting an eye over things. "Though, I'd keep an eye on how many times Mr Mosely's glass is refilled. Mr Ellis, I didn't know you would be here," he said, as Richard walked over towards him and Thomas.
"I came to visit from London, to see my parents who live nearby, and I'd thought I would pop in and visit. The snow however, left me rather stuck here and Mrs Hughes was kind enough to invite me to stay over here for the next few days," Richard explained, smoothly like always.
"You've visited before I hear," Mr Carson said.
"Yes, unlike my colleagues at the palace, I rather enjoyed myself here during the royal visit, and I have felt welcome here, by everyone," Richard said, looking at Thomas for a second, when he said those last few words. Thomas was feeling a bit on edge with this conversation. Mr Carson was not comfortable with who Thomas was and would not be pleased to know the real reasons for Richard's many visits. He may have just been a bit paranoid, but he felt like all these questions from Mr Carson, were beginning to feel a bit like an interrogation. He'd known him long enough to recognise any suspicion in his voice. Mr Carson, looked like he was about to say something, though Thomas caught a look across the room from Mrs Hughes that seemed to stop whatever he was going to say.
"Well good to see you, Mr Ellis," Mr Carson said, shaking Richard's hand before going to join his wife across the room.
Thomas breathed out, not realising he had been holding his breath during the latter part of that conversation. "Are you okay?" Richard said.
"Yeah, just didn't like the way the conversation was going," Thomas said, taking another glass of wine for himself and giving another to Richard. "He is not okay with people like us," he added in a quieter tone, as they crossed the room and leant against the wall.
"I think you want to impress him," Richard observed.
Thomas, opened his mouth for a second, as he thought about denying that. He sighed, "I know."
"I think, despite what you say about his 'opinions' of you, he trusts and respects you. He is a perfectionist, I can see that, and he wouldn't have been happy for you to replace him as butler of Downton if he didn't trust and respect you Thomas."
Thomas finished his glass, "You always know the right thing to say. Thank you."
"I don't think I do, but you're welcome Thomas. I'm not just saying it either, it is the truth. You are respected here," Richard said. They didn't say much else for a while, they were just content watching what was going on around them together. Thomas felt Richard's fingers brush his own, asking permission to be held, it was risky, but everyone was too distracted by the music and the good cheer to notice what they were doing, so he slowly allowed Richard's hand to link with his own. If this was all that would happen this evening, then Thomas would go into the new year happy.
...
As the evening neared midnight, they all walked, or stumbled in the case of a couple, outside onto the front lawns to watch the fireworks being let off, welcoming in the New Year. Thomas and Richard hung back a bit, wanting a little time alone in this moment. The settings for the fireworks were almost magical. The snow had stopped falling earlier in the morning, but a thick crisp white blanket still lay over the ground. The sky was clear, moonless, so all the stars were out in force. Richard was walking whilst looking upwards for most of the time, meaning it was a wonder that he didn't slip on any patches of ice or trodden in snow. "You see that?" Richard said, pointing up to the sky. Thomas slowed his pace and looked up in the direction Richard was pointing in. "The constellation of Gemini, the twins," Richard said. "Funny though, I always thought they just looked like two men holding hands."
"You're a romantic, I knew it," Thomas whispered.
They stood, a few minutes later, on the edge of the crowd of servants and the upstairs family, waiting for the fireworks to go off. Thomas looked around him at all the people who would be able to kiss their partner on the stroke of midnight. He didn't want to, but he felt bitter at the thought of that, and that he couldn't do the same. He knew he should be grateful for everything he does have, especially after all the troubles that he and Richard have faced over the past few months, but he wanted the same as everyone else. Was that so wrong? he thought. The clock chimed the first strokes of midnight and the first fireworks were let off, loud bangs with beautiful colours. He felt Richard jump, next to him, when the first bang went off. Thomas, didn't have to think twice, when he took his hand. "I'm okay Thomas," Richard said, "Just a little bit of a shock, but they are not the same type of sounds that we heard, and these are accompanied by beautiful colours in the sky."
"Come on," Thomas said, as he took Richard by the hand and guided him away from the crowd, and over to a few evergreen trees that cast a shadow making the dark even darker. Everyone was too busy wishing each other happy new year and admiring the display to notice the two men, walking hand in hand over into the shadows. They stood for a moment, their faces occasionally illuminated by a flash from one of the fireworks going off above them. They were facing each other now, and had moved closer without even realising. These actions that had required thought, are now practically automatic, natural. They pull each other close, feeling the warmth of each other's breath against the cold night, another flash illuminating their faces before they close the gap between them with a kiss, slow and gentle, and precious. "Happy new year my love," Thomas says, pulling back slightly, his face still only an inch or so from Richard's. No more words needed to be said as they kissed again in each others warm embrace, under the watchful gaze of the stars, as the fireworks went off above them.
Thank you to everyone who has read this story, this was the final chapter and I hope you enjoyed it. I have ideas for another few stories and will start on the next soonxxx