Before we begin: For any S/T or M/M shippers out there who have been reading only the chapters relevant to your ship (and I ask because I do it all the time with other fics), I just want to give you fair warning that from here to the end, the two stories will be much more intertwined, so regardless of which character is the "lead perspective," all remaining chapters will deal with both couples. That said, while I do want to do justice to Mary and Matthew (and sincerely I hope I am doing that), Sybil and Tom will probably still be a bit more prominent as we come to the end, since their story is what motivated me to write in the first place (and they're my favorite). This chapter is primarily between Matthew and Tom from Matthew's perspective. So if the bromance is your ship this is the chapter for you :)

As always, thank you everyone for reading and reviewing!

Matthew

Matthew had flown into Dublin countless times and never thought anything of it, but this time as he saw the city lights get nearer and nearer from his window seat on the Aer Lingus plane carrying him home, he couldn't help but feel a little bit sentimental. The city had been his home for so long, and now he knew without a doubt that he'd soon be leaving it. As much as he expected to toil over it, at the end of the day, the decision had been an easy one. All he'd been after on this holiday was confirmation—just as he'd told Mary—and what he'd ended up finding was a whole new set of reasons to go. All of them leading back to her, Miss Mary Crawley.

He had to laugh, once again, at the ridiculousness of having a relationship with a woman who already carried his last name. He supposed it would make for an easy joke among his friends, but he didn't care. Her name, his name, was in a way what had led him to her in the first place. Hadn't Sybil, in their first conversation, sheepishly admitted to choosing his house-swap listing over the dozens of others in Dublin because he was a Crawley, like her? Thinking of Sybil now, Matthew thought of the recent breakup Mary had referenced, the event that had driven Sybil to get away from her life for a bit. He also thought of Sybil reading and treasuring his lonely friend's book and how, in her innocent search for escape, had offered an escape to Tom as well. In thinking of Tom, someone who was very like a brother to him, Matthew couldn't help but be amused by the idea that they had managed to find a pair of sisters to fall in love with.

And, yes, he could admit it now. Now, that he knew they'd have a future in relatively close proximity, he could let the thought float freely in his mind.

I am falling in love with Mary.

Matthew had not given much thought to fate before, but after this Christmas not even the greatest barrister in the world could convince him that there were not greater forces at play.

The plane's bumpy landing pulled Matthew out of his reverie. A few minutes later, out of the jetway, he'd just started to quicken his pace to make it around the crowd that had formed in the gate area, when he felt a tap on his shoulder. A young woman with blue eyes greeted him with a smile. He'd never met her in person, so he might not have recognized her had she not been so prominent in his thoughts just moments ago.

"Sybil?"

"Yes, hi, Matthew," she said brightly, "I though I might see you. I think I'm going back on your plane."

There was a moment of awkwardness as a woman trying to push a stroller and pull a suitcase ran into Sybil. Matthew guided Sybil over to the wall and was suddenly struck by how odd it was that he felt like he knew her even though he didn't really.

"I know it's been a week, but I hope everything was OK with the flat," she said.

"It was great, thanks. And for you?"

Here she blushed, "Given that his face basically gives everything away anyway, so you'll likely figure it out, I might as well tell you I didn't actually spend much time in it."

Matthew laughed at the oddity of hearing her talk about Tom with such familiarity, but there was no denying the emotion that was beaming from her face. "Well, if not the lodgings, then I'll hope that the holiday brought you everything you wanted."

"It was everything I needed, which is more important." She paused for a moment and added, "Thank you. For introducing us, I mean. Even with the house swap, we'd still not have met if you'd not asked him to come fetch me. None of it would have happened if it weren't for you."

Matthew thought about returning the sentiment—was the same not true of Sybil, with him and Mary?—but he stopped himself, realizing he didn't want to steal from Mary the moment of sharing such a precious revelation with her sister.

"I hope you enjoyed London. Standing here I'm suddenly feeling like I got the better end of the swap. I gave you the keys to my dumpy flat and you gave me the keys to the kingdom, so to speak."

Oh, just wait, Sybil. "I had a lovely time, thank you."

"I hope Mary didn't continue to be a nuisance."

"Oh, um, no."

"I still can't believe she barged in on you in the middle of your first night there. She's lovely usually, but she can act rather entitled sometimes."

"It turned out all right," he said, hoping he was succeeding at containing the grin that he was so sure would give him away.

"Well, I'll let you go. I'm sure you're anxious to get home and I know Tom's anxious to see you. It was wonderful to meet you, Matthew."

She held out her hand, and he shook it, saying, "Likewise."

He started again toward the terminal but after a few steps took one look back. She'd been watching him go and upon seeing him waved again, smiling warmly. He turned back around, on his way, and felt very glad to know that she'd be in his life for a long time.

XXX

Tom had been leaning against a wall, seemingly staring into space with a blank look on his face, when Matthew spotted him. He turned his head as Matthew approached and his expression changed immediately into a wide grin.

"You know, I'd gotten so used to you always looking sullen that I'm not sure I remembered what you looked like happy."

Tom rolled his eyes, clearly ready for Matthew's ribbing, but also clearly not caring to hide what he was feeling.

The two shook hands and quickly headed out toward the parking lot.

"So, good trip?" Tom asked.

"Not as good as yours, and you didn't even have to go anywhere."

"Please. I know you're holding out."

While Mary would get to tell Sybil, Matthew would get to tell Tom, but not without having some fun first.

"You can't possibly believe both of us found the woman of our dreams the same week. Honestly, what would be the chances?"

"I believe the phrase was, 'I'm not there yet, but not terribly far behind.' And I'm Irish, I always believe the chances are good."

"Your memory is too sharp for its own good."

Tom smirked, "You're probably right about that."

"I saw Sybil after I got off the plane. She stopped me to say hello—and looked very happy." Tom blushed a little, which made Matthew laugh. "In the decade I have known you, I don't think I've ever seen you blush about anything ever."

"She does it all the time. I guess it's catching." He paused, as if deliberating whether he wanted to say what he said next, but then he did say it, quietly, while looking at his feet. "And you've never seen me in love before."

"Well, it looks good on you. On both of you."

They'd just reached Tom's car. As he was opening his door, Tom asked with a smirk, "And is this what it looks like on you?"

Matthew rolled his eyes as he tossed his bag into the back seat. They both got in, and as Tom began to pull away, Matthew said, "Well, we can discuss that at the pub, after several of the very many drinks you owe me."

Tom laughed as Matthew brought his hand to his chin and put on a faux-serious expression, saying, "In fact, I don't think I should have to buy my own drinks ever again."

"One soul mate for a lifetime's supply of beer? For a lightweight like you? Done."

XXX

Tom was stunned. "Are you for real? You and Sybil's sister? And you asked me what the odds were!?"

"You said chances are always good, so there you have it," Matthew responded with a laugh.

"Well, feck. Greater forces are obviously at work here, so to drink to this we're going to need something much stronger." Tom motioned to the bartender and pointed at the Jameson Whiskey on the shelf behind him, while holding up two fingers with his other hand.

Once poured, each of them picked up a shot glass. Tom held his up to clink it with Matthew's. "To Crawley sisters!" Matthew laughed, but just as he was about to touch his shot glass to Tom's, Tom quickly pulled his back as if recognizing the words that had just come out of his mouth. Barely containing his laughter, he said, "Wait, she has your last name already!"

"You don't say."

"Maybe I should change my name to Crawley."

"Are we going to drink this or not?"

With that they clinked their glassed and downed the whiskey. Matthew quickly motioning to the bartender for another round.

"Tom Crawley—I could get used to that."

"Wow, it's not even been a minute, and it's already not very funny."

"Never mind you, I'm sure I will find it funny for a long time."

They both laughed and drank their second shot.

"So how did it happen anyway?" Tom asked.

"Well, she came in that first night at like 2:30 in the morning—or don't you remember?" Matthew said playfully.

"Remember? How could I forget! That call effectively delayed me and Sybil kissing for the first time by a good 18 hours."

"Once she got off the phone, she grilled me about you a little and then made tea?"

"Made tea?"

"You should have seen it. She was in the kitchen for about 15 minutes and came out with this antique pot and silver tray, like she was serving the bloody queen. It was adorable." Thinking back on it, even with his mind a bit dulled by the alcohol, Matthew could picture her walking toward him that night clear as day. That might have been when it started for him.

"All that to impress you?"

"Actually no, that's just how she does things."

"So you had a very formal tea. Then?"

"She told me about how bad her night had been. Some Turkish bloke she was out with got drunk and passed out, so she and her friend had to drag him back to his hotel. Then she and the friend got into a fight. And then . . ." Matthew trailed off. It was likely Tom, knowing Matthew so well as he did, might put the pieces together, but Matthew didn't want to leave so obvious a trail.

"And then?"

"Then I realized I was over Lavinia."

Tom responded with a small smile. "She'd be glad you're happy." Matthew wasn't sure what to say to that, but before he could formulate something, Tom continued, "No matter how you may have felt about her, that's all she'd ever wanted, mate."

Matthew looked over at Tom and smiled, grateful that even the best kept secrets aren't secrets to your closest friend. Tom smiled back and took a sip from his pint. "I guess this means you really are leaving," he said, changing the subject.

"Yeah."

"I suppose you were never meant to be a Dubliner forever."

"You could always come to London, you know."

Tom smiled sheepishly at this, and Matthew wondered whether it was already a done deal.

"Actually," Tom said, "I offered, but she wants to come here."

Matthew's eyes widened. "Is that so?"

"Yep, in three months or when she finds a job, whichever comes first."

"Things are moving along, then," Matthew teased. "Must have been quite the spark that set things off."

"Quite the spark," Tom said somewhat sheepishly swirling the liquid in his glass.

"So how did it happen?"

"Well, I suppose for her it was when she discovered I wrote her favorite book."

"And for you?"

"When I laid eyes on her at the airport."

Matthew laughed. "You are a romantic fool."

"I'm serious! One look at her and it was like my life flashed before my eyes. When she walked over to me and I realized she was the girl staying at your flat, I could barely string a sentence together."

"So what happened the second day? I don't know if she told you but she called me because she thought she'd upset you."

"Yeah, she mentioned it. Somehow after she arrived, we went the whole night without her ever hearing my surname, so when she mentioned the book, she didn't know I'd written it, and I'm embarrassed to say that I responded like your garden variety basket case."

"But things seemed to have settled in your favor."

"Indeed."

"And I can only assume that your years of celibacy are over."

Tom, with an innocent air, replied, "You are free to assume whatever you like."

They ordered another round (and two more shots), and as the bartender was pouring them, Tom asked, "Mary didn't happen to invite you to this ball thing did she?"

"On New Year's, you mean?"

"Yeah."

"She did actually, but not until today, so I'll have to book a flight when I get home."

"Well, at least I'll know someone there," he said before taking a long pull form his pint glass. "Also where the hell am I supposed to get a set of tails?"

Matthew couldn't help but laugh. "If I weren't already going, you can be sure I would fly back and gatecrash just for the sight of you in a penguin suit."

"What is the fecking point of even wearing those things now?"

"Says the man who couldn't be bothered to wear a tie to his sister's wedding."

"Hey, she said I didn't have to."

"Speaking of your family, I can only assume they loved her."

Tom rolled his eyes. "One day with the Bransons, and I'm pretty well sure all of them will be ready to disown me if I foul things up." He paused and added, "Mam will be sad to see you go."

"Well, if she's getting Sybil in return, I doubt she'll complain much."

Matthew hadn't thought about how he would miss the rest of Tom's family, who had become like an extension of his own in his time in Dublin, but he realized he would very much. It was odd how grief—the Bransons' and later his—had played a role in cementing their bond and now would make this new period in his and Tom's life all the sweeter.

"You know, it's funny," Matthew said, "just a few weeks ago, I wouldn't have believed that anyone's life could change so fast. I guess it's really true that when you know, you know."

Tom replied, "I think for me, the curious thing isn't the timing, but the certainty."

"What do you mean?"

"After my father died, I didn't think it would be possible to ever be so sure about anything in my life."

Matthew raised his glass and said, "To Colin Branson."

Tom did the same and added, "To Reggie and Lavinia Swire."

Matthew was thoughtful for a moment, then finally said, "May we endeavor to deserve all the magic they're doing up there for the likes of us."

XXX

When they'd finally had enough of drinking and catching up, Matthew declined joining Tom in the taxi, preferring to walk home to clear his head. He thought about all the things he'd have to do in the coming weeks and months before he left Dublin. Give notice at the firm. Notify his landlord. Sell his car. Arrange movers. Look for a job. Look for a new flat.

Visit the Swires one last time.

He remembered people telling him, shortly after Lavinia's death, that someday, he'd be able to think about her and feel happy instead of sad, but when he'd hear it he'd think that would never be true for him. The guilt he'd carried about wanting to break up with her, he thought, would be a burden he would carry forever. Walking home now, he thought about how much she loved taking a stroll with him late at night, even in the chill of the Dublin winter. He smiled. It was a happy memory.

As he walked into his building, Matthew felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. It was a text from Mary.

"Lovesick doesn't even begin to cover it. Oh, and she's moving to Dublin. I miss you."

Matthew smiled and pressed the call back button. His heart was as light as it had ever been.