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Two wonderful years since they'd first met.
It hadn't always been easy, embarking on a secret relationship and contemplating how different they truly were when compared to each other, but they were now safe, settled and happy with their place at Downton. They may have had to keep their distances at times so as to not arouse suspicion, but holding Thomas in his arms at night was enough to see Andy through the day.
Andy still felt near-delirious whenever Thomas touched him. The footman felt a swarm of butterflies whenever Thomas said his name, especially when they were alone together. Thomas' voice took on a softer tone when they were away from prying eyes, and it always made Andy want to melt.
Andy knew his boyish notions of love were almost certainly not shared by the underbutler, and Thomas didn't care for fuss or fanfare (not even on his birthday, much to Andy's surprise), but Andy couldn't let this joyous occasion go by without so much as a word about it.
Andy wanted to show how much Thomas meant to him.
The footman recalled the day when his father had sat him on his knee when he was a little boy and Andy had asked him about marriage.
Andy had ended up hearing the story of how his father had shown his affections for his wife - flowers, the finest he could buy. The future Mrs Parker had been overjoyed.
In the present day, Andy got a ridiculous idea - but an idea all the same.
~*~
'...A rose?'
Andy nodded eagerly, his hands now in his pockets to hide their dirt from the garden. It had taken a lot of convincing and a few white lies for the gardener to give Andy one precious rose from the Grantham family grounds, but the footman felt like it would all be worth it in the end. The gardener had even been kind enough to let Andy to pick one he liked best.
Thomas looked dumbfounded.
Andy's innate chattiness, a nervous habit, finally took hold.
'It's just... It's been two years now,' Andy said, feeling his face heat up considerably, 'a-and I didn't want to let it pass me by without getting you a little something. I know it's o-only one but I couldn't get hold of any more. It's just, I, these years have been two of my happiest, Thomas... I-I don't really know how to describe it, I've never been the best with words, but you already know that, s-so then I thought "maybe a gift will help". You make me so happy every day-'
'-So you got me a flower,' Thomas said, the sentence coming out as a statement rather than a question.
Andy nodded all the same, feeling his stomach perform nauseating backflips of panic. '...Y-Yes,' he managed.
He must think I'm such a soppy fool... Why would Thomas bloody Barrow want a flower as a gift? He's not one of the maids. What was I thinking? You've only bloody gone and cocked it up for yourself Andy-
-Andy was in no way prepared for the kiss that followed.
Thomas took the crisp, beautiful flower from Andy's slackened grip before leaning in and kissing Andy with an overwhelming passion that must have been steadily burning away for those two years, because Andy had never felt anything like it. They'd kissed, but this time it was different. Something had changed.
Andy welcomed it warmly.
When they pulled back, Thomas was almost as red as the rose. Andy privately thought the look suited the man immensely.
Thomas coughed awkwardly, looking down at the rose in his hand and checking for any signs of damage. 'I... I should've have got you something too,' he said, straightening his uniform.
'Honestly, I don't mind,' Andy said, trying and failing to suppress his gleeful grin. It was like magic, when Thomas was happy. He didn't always smile, but his icy blue eyes seemed to melt until they were shining and free of demons. Andy lived for that sight. It was the eighth wonder of the world. The ninth was Thomas' laugh. The tenth, well, the tenth was the noise Thomas made when Andy put Thomas' legs on his shoulders in the bedroom.
'N-No, I'm sorry, I really should have,' Thomas said, and he sounded the most off-guard he had in weeks. 'Anyway... I should go and find a jar for this.' He looked down at the rose, expression still slightly shocked as he swallowed nervously.
Andy nodded in agreement - he was coming to the end of his break anyhow. He'd wanted to wait until the evening for the gift, but he hadn't been able to wait any longer when he'd first seen Thomas step out into the courtyard.
'Andy...' Thomas murmured.
'Yes?'
'Thank-you. Thank-you for this. No-one's ever gotten me flowers before.'
And with his face still flushed, Thomas took his leave.
~*~
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~*~
'I'm home!' Thomas called out, Andy listening to the sounds of him throwing his jacket down and dropping his keys in the bowl by the door. Andy stirred the chocolate brownie batter with a wooden spoon, trying not to sigh as he did so.
Today was their two year anniversary.
Two wonderful years since they'd first met.
It hadn't always been easy, having people judge them for the age gap their relationship presented, or the way their personalities sometimes clashed, but they were now safe, settled and happy with their apartment in London. Andy dreamed of retiring to the countryside one day, and Thomas had said he'd been thinking about it too ever since Andy had first brought it up.
But Thomas hadn't mentioned anything about the anniversary all day. Andy knew he just could have reminded Thomas, but Thomas was stressed with work at the moment and he didn't want Thomas to feel bad for working late.
Andy just didn't want the date to pass them by without so much as a word exchanged about it.
Andy's feelings of loneliness and hurt were set aside for the moment when Thomas finally entered the room, looking tired but lovely nonetheless. In his hand there were-
-Roses?
Andy's heart skipped a beat. Roses. A dozen red roses wrapped in crisp green paper.
'I would have picked them myself, but I'd have trouble doing it in the city,' Thomas said simply, looking slightly nervous. He was always good at maintaining his composure in-front of people, but Andy had begun to learn after he moved in with Thomas to look for signs and tells.
'...For me?' Andy said despite himself.
'Don't be daft!' Thomas said, laughing a little. '...Who else would they be for?'
Andy went over and took the roses from Thomas' arms, leaning down to inhale their scent. 'Oh, Thomas...' he breathed.
'They're for you,' Thomas confirmed. 'I... I wouldn't want to give them to anyone else.'
Andy laughed, trying hard to hide that he was growing closer to tears. 'Blimey. If the people at the office could see you now...!'
'And what's that supposed to mean?'
Andy gave him a playful shove. 'Y-You being all romantic and soppy a-and sweet.'
'It's for you,' Thomas said, smiling wryly as his face grew redder still. 'I wouldn't want to show this to anyone else. And if that means I've gone soft... Then so be it.'
'Happy anniversary,' Andy said, clutching the roses to his chest near-reverently.
Thomas leaned forward to kiss Andy tenderly on the lips. 'Happy anniversary, Andy.'