Being a Barrow - A Sequel to Barrow's Boy

Raised on Little Light

Chapter Content Warning: Period-typical homophobia

     Despite their late night out celebrating the show, Theodore found himself awake enough early that morning to hear the door of the flat open. Quietly, aware of Percy softly snoring beside of, Teddy listened to the sound of a coat being pulled off, someone shifting around and then the padding of socked feet walking carefully across the floor. Only when the door of Ashton's room creaked closed did Teddy relax back into his pillows. 

     Naturally, he was curious to find out where Ashton had been for most of the night. But he wasn't going to get any answers right this minute. Besides, he had to be rested enough to safely drive Abi and Percy back to Downton later that day. Questioning his likely similarly exhausted friend would get them nowhere. 

     Despite his best efforts, Theodore struggled to fall asleep again. In these quiet moments, when he didn't have anything to do or stress over specifically, his mind liked to wander to the topics he usually had the chance to willfully avoid. 

     The Knightons, for example. Teddy, against his better judgment, had mailed off a small Christmas gift for his baby cousin Barnaby a few days ago. He wondered, or worried more like, that Sydney would view it as an opening into Teddy's life that was never supposed to be opened. It was only that Theodore didn't believe in persecuting an innocent child just for who their parents were; after all, he'd seen far too many people do so, and more than enough children defy their parents. Barnaby, just like everyone, had no choice in the matter of his DNA or who raised him. And, quite honestly, Teddy had been quite taken with the boy when they'd met. He didn't know what it was about him exactly; if it was just his typical baby cuteness, or a sense of duty to provide for him. Or perhaps it was the familiar way his nose scrunched up when he gave his gummy smile, reminiscent of the young woman in the photograph that now sat on Theodore's desk. 

     It didn't help that Teddy did this- spending his nights musing over things that would be better off forgotten. He needed to move his thoughts to something else, anything else. 

     He could, if he were so inclined, move his thoughts over to his studies, but after just finishing exams, that path was much less enticing than usual. 

     Christmas then. Back to Christmas. He wondered what was going on at Downton for it. He and his dad had both been so busy that they hadn't been able to keep up with their usual telephone conversations. Dad. Teddy did really wonder how Thomas was doing. He seemed better than he had been, perhaps because of a certain Mr. Ellis? Theodore wasn't aware of whether the two of them had kept in contact since the royal visit. He'd assured his Dad that they could talk about it, but he reckoned that Thomas was so used to not discussing his love life that it was simply second nature by now. Either way, Theodore just wished the best for him, truly.

      He never did end up falling back asleep that night. Before the sun was even rising, Percy stirred beside him, and Teddy gave up any hope of falling back asleep. Quiet, voice rough from not being used yet this morning, Theodore whispered.

     "I'm making coffee. Want some?"

     "Please," Percy responded, running his hands along his face. 

     Theodore rolled, then threw the eiderdown off himself. Blinking sleep out of his eyes, he touched his feet to the ground, then stood and quietly padded out of his bedroom. He knew that Ashton had only been back a couple of hours now, so he'd try his best to be quiet for the poor man. Hopefully he'd gotten sleep wherever he was before this. 

        As Theodore started on the coffee, he could hear Percy slowly moving in the bedroom. Teddy turned back to the coffee, pulling out two mugs for each of them and turning to his thoughts again.