Drawn to You [Downton Abbey]

Chapter 3 - Outing to London

Hey, everyone! Just to warn you, there's some male-and-male action in this chapter, so if you're uncomfortable with that, my apologies.

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"Very well, Mr. Barrow, but make sure you're back by tonight."

"Thank you, Sir."

Thomas had asked permission from Mr. Carson to go to London two days later and convinced him that he needed to go to London to see a friend he hadn't seen in years, who was going through a rough time. Unbeknownst to Mr. Carson, though, Thomas was the one who was going through a rough time. He needed to be out and around people—people like him—in order test his sexuality further. Even though Edith made his heart race, he still needed further proof. He wanted it, just for some peace of mind.

He walked the busy streets of London, passing people right and left. His mood grew grim when he noticed he was attracted to many of the men walking by, including the handsome men, but none of them made his pulse rise and hands tingle. Women passed by him, and his heart leaped when one particular pretty woman smiled at him. He gritted his teeth.

Just move on, he ordered himself in his head. He walked into a massive pub which catered to the lower and middle classes. He walked around a few minutes, taking in each man, young and old. Nothing. Frustrated, he left the pub and walked down the sidewalk in the cool air. As he walked, he passed an alleyway that was familiar to him. He had been down that alleyway before—it would take him to a secret club for people like him called "Man to Man." He looked around him to make sure no one would notice, and he turned down the alleyway and came to a set of stairs that went down into the ground. He stood at the door at the bottom and knocked.

A little rectangular hole in the door opened, and there appeared two brown eyes. They widened. "Wow, thought I'd never see you again," said the man on the other side. He opened the door and let Thomas in. He was greeted by jazz music, loud chatter, and two-men couples who sat around in chairs or danced. His heart eased a bit. He was in his element.

He looked over at the man who let him in, and the man smirked at him and winked his eye. This was the same man who let him in the other times he had been there. The man said, "You still busy working at that estate?"

"Yes, I am."

"Well, don't work too hard. I missed ya." He winked again, and Thomas walked on. That man wasn't all that attractive in his opinion.

Thomas walked around the tables and noticed several of the men eye him, even ones with partners. Thomas disdainfully noticed, though, he didn't find himself inclined to stop and engage them in conversation. He came to the bar and sat down at a stool. The bartender, a blonde man around Thomas's age, and very attractive with a square jaw, smirked at him. "What will it be, good-lookin'?" he asked in low voice, and in the same accent he had.

"Whiskey."

"Coming right up."

Thomas never drank during the day hours, or hardly ever, but this occasion called for it. He really needed a stiff one. He looked around at all the men in the club and noticed that a fair amount of them were handsome, and a spare few he would consider gorgeous. He looked back at the bartender who put a small glass of golden liquid in front of him.

"Here you are," he said. "So, I haven't seen you in here before. And I've been here a while—I would remember a handsome face like yours."

"I used to be a regular," Thomas said and took a swig of the whiskey. He winced at the bitter taste and the intensity of the alcohol. "I don't come as often now because of work."