#brary downton abbey

[things-keeping-me-up-at-night]

Just wanted to say I fully agree with your take on Mary/Tom from Downton Abbey. Felt like the show totally lost the plot around both characters after Matthew and Sybil died and one of the few good things that gave Mary in particular any growth was her relationship with Tom. Honestly wish they'd gone there

Absolutely! Julian Fellowes even said he considered putting them together later on in the show, so it makes sense how romantically charged the tension between them feels during that part of the show.

They share a genuine connection and motivation for the future, they are each other’s allies, they truly trust each other, and, again, have great chemistry, all of which wasn’t the case with their respective love interests by the end. It would have been a more powerful statement at the end of the show too; that someone neither of them would have related to (or even necessarily respected) at the beginning of the show would end up becoming the person they want to spend their life with.

(I also think Mary’s guilt over her feelings for him would have made a much more believable motivation for her behaviour in season 6 than her poorly written and executed relationship with Henry and it would explain why Tom was so adamant about getting them together as well- for the same reason. I know many fans would not have agreed with that, which is why I honestly thought they would both end up alone and just running Downton together as family in the show, but that didn’t happen either. That big “aha” moment they were building up to being that, despite nothing pointing to that, Mary actually did want to be with Henry (again, one of the “least” of her love interests) just felt disappointing to me considering all the directions they could have gone with this.

Considering one of the main reasons I kept watching the show at that point was their relationship (as friends, family or romantic partners), I haven’t really rewatched that part of the show which makes it a lot easier to convince myself that the show actually did go there in the end lol

Anyway, it was really nice to see someone else share that opinion, so thank you!

[byeletty]

um. I'm on 402 and Violet asking Tom to be Mary's "instructor" about the estate could have been excellent grounds for widows to fall in love and then I wouldn't have to deal with G*llingham? AM I BECOMING A LATE SEASONS BRARY SHIPPER ON MY 17TH VIEWING OF THIS PROGRAM?? stay tuned 🙃

[sorrel-scribbles]

I'm watching Downton Abbey with my mother, and today we watched 5x3. When Tom says if "If you love me you'll support me" in that scene near the end where they're talking about their love lives, I made a joke about that being a weird love confession and my mother, who doesn't like romance novels/movies etc and definitely has no idea what shipping is, turned to me very earnestly and said "really, those two should have ended up together instead."

So I think that's as close as I'll ever get to having my mom's blessing to write TomxMary fanfiction 🎉.

[gaitwae]

Suddenly hit with Brary like WOAH

Having a romance between a widows and a widower where the audience knows the former spouses and LOVES them, and is familiar with the former marriages would have been so interesting! To see them get into those first relationships, and then to LOSE them, and to see how this new relationship plays out would have been insane.

And in the case of Mary and Tom, it would have been this really subtle thing- they wouldn't have realized they loved each other until the last few episodes??

And for Mary to be afraid of driving when Tom was a chauffer---- for them to be looking at these other people when what they needed was each other----

Normalcy is for the unimaginative

i literally forth at the mouth remembering that you're left convinced Tom is going to step in last minute and it never happens.

[angelswing236]

"It's not your fault."

Fictober 2023

Category: Fanfiction

Fandom: Downton Abbey

‘Oh, God. I can’t believe this,’ Mary muttered, resolutely not looking behind her as she settled in her seat. ‘Mabel is glaring at me, isn’t she? I can feel her eyes burning a hole in the back of my head.’

Tom flicked a quick look at Mabel Lane Fox across the room, looking none too pleased. ‘I wouldn’t say she’s glaring, exactly. She doesn’t look happy, though.’

‘Of course, she doesn’t! She thinks I’m after her man again. I know she does.’

‘Do you want to leave?’

‘No! We can’t do that! She’d think she was right! Oh, this is a disaster.’

‘It’s all right, Mary. It’s not your fault,’ Tom said, soothingly.

She looked up, glaring at him. ‘No, you’re right. It’s your fault!’

Tom’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. ‘My fault? How is it my fault?’

‘Because you wanted to come here!’

‘Er, hang on a moment, you said we should go out tonight and not just lounge around at Rosamund’s again,’ Tom said, indignantly.

‘Yes, but you chose the restaurant!’

‘Yes, but I didn’t know Tony would be here, did I? I’m not a mind reader.’

Mary groaned, rubbing her forehead. ‘Oh, Tom, I worked so hard to get rid of him, but now after bumping into him this afternoon and again this evening, he thinks I’m sniffing around him again! I can see it in his face! And so does Mabel!’

‘Well, just tell him you’re not interested again. That should do the trick,’ Tom said, confidently.

‘Will it? It took Charles Blake pushing me up against a wall and kissing me to get the message through last time.’

Tom glanced up, seeing Tony Gillingham threading his way amongst the tables towards them. ‘Oh, stand by your beds. He’s coming over.’

‘Oh, for God’s sake,’ Mary muttered, blowing out an irritated sigh.

‘Do you trust me?’ Tom said in a low voice, an idea occurring to him.

‘What? Of course, I do,’ Mary said, crabbily. ‘What’s that got to do with anything?’

‘No time to explain. Just follow my lead.’

‘What?’ Mary said, puzzled, and then pasted a smile on her face as Tom got to his feet, shaking hands with Tony.

‘Good to see you, Tom,’ Gillingham said, pumping Tom’s hand.

‘You too,’ Tom replied, smiling.

‘Mary, you’re looking as lovely as ever,’ Tony said, beaming at Mary, his eyes dipping to the hint of cleavage showing at her neckline.

‘Thank you,’ Mary said, ‘one does try.’

‘Would the two of you like to join me and Mabel for dinner?’ Tony continued, still gazing at Mary.

‘Oh, that’s very kind of you, but no, not tonight,’ Tom said, politely declining the offer. ‘I’ve got a bit of making up to do, haven’t I, Mary?’

‘Er, yes, you absolutely have,’ Mary agreed, going along with whatever Tom had planned to get rid of her former beau.

Tony smirked a little. ‘Why? What have you done?’

‘Oh, we’ve just had a bit of a lovers’ tiff, haven’t we, love?’ Tom said, putting his hand on Mary’s shoulder in a way that drew Tony’s gaze. ‘You know how it is sometimes. You open your mouth and say completely the wrong thing at the wrong time and your lady takes offence.’

Gillingham stared at the familiar way Tom was rubbing his thumb gently over the curve of Mary’s bare shoulder and flicked his gaze between the two of them uncertainly. ‘Lovers’ tiff?’

‘Yes, Tom’s blotted his copybook, haven’t you, darling?’ Mary said, running with Tom’s on-the-fly strategy. ‘He’s trying to wine and dine his way back into my good graces.’

‘Are you two… together?’ Tony asked, his eyebrows rising up his forehead.

‘Yes, we are,’ Tom replied, looking adoringly down at Mary.

She reached up, putting her hand over Tom’s, smiling up at him.

‘I… I didn’t know,’ Tony said, forcing a smile on his face.

‘Well, it’s very new,’ Mary said, brightly. ‘Nobody knows really.’

‘Hmm, right. Well, congratulations. I’ll have to tell Mabel. She always said you two would be perfect for each other.’

‘Did she?’ Mary squawked, taken aback by that revelation.

‘Oh, yes. Right from when she first met Tom and saw you together,’ Tony said, looking like he’d eaten something that disagreed with him.

‘Golly. She’s… um… she’s on the ball, isn’t she?’ Mary managed to say.

‘She’s usually right about these things,’ Tony said, sounding disheartened. ‘That’s why she said she’s so sure about us getting married. You know, despite… everything.’

There was an awkward silence.

‘Well, you’d probably better get back to her and let me get back to my grovelling,’ Tom said, trying to get rid of Gillingham.

‘Yes. Yes, I suppose I should. Good luck, Tom,’ Tony said, nodding half-heartedly. ‘Good night to you both.’

‘Good night,’ Mary said, her hand still over Tom’s, his thumb still rubbing her shoulder.

Tom took his seat again as Gillingham departed back towards his table, catching sight of Mabel with a face like thunder.

‘Well, that seemed to do the trick,’ he said, shooting Mary a small smile.

‘Yes. Except that now it will soon be all around town that you and I are now… well, you know.’

‘Do you care? We’re hardly down here anymore.’

‘What made you tell him that?’ Mary asked, curiously.

‘It was what you said about Charles kissing you. I thought he might back off if he thought you were spoken for. And it seemed to work.’

‘Did you believe that about Mabel? About what she thought about us?’ Mary continued, her heart thumping a little harder.

Tom shrugged, his eyes locked on Mary’s. ‘Why would he lie?’

‘But why would she think that?’

He shrugged again and glanced over at the Gillingham/Lane Fox table.

‘They’re looking over. Give me your hand.’

Mary put her hand in his and Tom raised it to his lips, keeping his eyes on hers. As his lips touched her skin, a frisson danced down her spine. Oh, she thought, her stomach somersaulting.

[lupine-phoenix]

Title: Fortnight Pairing: Tom Branson/Mary Crawley Summary: Tom Branson has some thoughts about his relationship with Mary Crawley.

[andromedacrawley]

Chapters: 35/?

Fandom: Downton Abbey

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Relationships: Tom Branson/Mary Crawley, Tom Branson & Mary Crawley, Mary Crawley/Matthew Crawley (past), Anna Bates/John Bates, Thomas Barrow/Jimmy Kent, George Crawley & Mary Crawley, Anna Bates & Mary Crawley, Cora Crawley & Mary Crawley, Mary Crawley & Robert Crawley, Tom Branson & Jimmy Kent, Tom Branson & George Crawley, Tom Branson & Elsie Hughes, Sybil Crawley/Original Female Character(s) (offscreen), Cora Crawley/Robert Crawley, Anna Bates & Tom Branson, Tom Branson & Edith Crawley

Characters: Mary Crawley, Tom Branson, Anna Bates, George Crawley, Robert Crawley, Cora Crawley, Edith Crawley, Jimmy Kent, Charles Blake, Henry Talbot, John Bates, Sarah Bunting, Sybil Crawley (offscreen), Rose MacClare

Additional Tags: Romance, Eventual Romance, Slow Burn, Drama, Angst, Secret Relationship, Forbidden Love, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, attempted rape/non-con is for Mr. Green

Summary:

If she were selfless, Mary would have set him free. He deserved to live a life far from here, maybe in Ireland or America, where despite his protest he might find someone worthier of him. Perhaps he could even stay in England, running for office or even a political reporter. Branson had a sharp mind, he was fully capable of such a thing... But Mary was selfish. And she would keep him here as long as she possibly could.

An AU starting in S4 where Mary grieves Matthew differently, Tom is still the chauffeur, and their friendship forms another way.

[gaitwaes-masterlist]

Chapters: 2/31 Fandom: Downton Abbey Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Tom Branson/Mary Crawley, Tom Branson/Sybil Crawley, Mary Crawley/Matthew Crawley, Matthew Crawley/Lavinia Swire, Tom Branson & Mary Crawley Characters: Tom Branson, Mary Crawley, Matthew Crawley, Cora Crawley, Robert Crawley, Violet Crawley, Isobel Crawley, Edith Crawley, Lavinia Swire Additional Tags: Friends to Lovers, Widowed, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Forbidden Love, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Falling In Love, Second Chances, Dorks in Love, Slow Burn, I'm so sorry about this it's kind of dramatic, Lavinia doesn't die, Sybil dies when Lavinia was supposed to, Canon-Typical Religion Summary:

“Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind; and therefore is winged Cupid painted blind.” – William Shakespeare +-+--

When his wife Sybil dies of the Spanish Influenza in April, 1919, Tom Branson is left in Downton Abbey with no way back to Ireland and no money to start over again. He’s essentially trapped.

When Matthew leaves for America in June, 1919, Mary has to reevaluate her character, her life, and what she wants when her fiancé becomes the earl. She’s got no one to lean on.

They’re left alone in that big house with nothing but a stack of books and a yearning for memories. So, what’s a pair to do?

[burningsoftly]

i have a theory that they’ve stopped giving Mary and Tom scenes together because they have so much more chemistry with each other than they do with their respective partners

[emmybrown]

going absolutely insane after this

[byeletty]

yeah yep okay fine it happened to me I see the Brary vision 🫠

[marrissacooper]

I wish there was a compilation of mary/tom scenes after s3. I want to see more of them but I also don't have the strength to put myself through s4-6

[gaitwae]

Title: Faux Pas

Summary:

Tom could clearly remember the moment that hurled him over the edge of the worst mistake he ever made. He could see her now, in his mind’s eye, fresh like it just happened moments ago. He felt bruised, as if he had been thrown against a wall, and he had no way to stop fighting with her now. All that fighting, for weeks, it seemed, and it was nothing more than his ego and hers clashing together. For a flash of a second, he saw something die in her. He suspected, at the time, that it was merely the realization she would have to open herself up again — to experience pain again — but now, in retrospect… Was it really a mistake? Or was he right?

Pairing: Tom Branson/Mary Crawley

[angelswing236]

"What if we're wrong?"

Fictober 2023

Category: Fanfiction

Fandom: Downton Abbey

For the fourth time in ten minutes, Robert opened his mouth to say something and then closed it without uttering a word.

Cora sighed, putting her book down. ‘What?’

‘Nothing, nothing,’ he muttered.

‘Look, something is obviously preying on your mind, so just come out and say it,’ Cora said, tilting her head and fixing her husband with a look as they sat propped up against the headboard.

‘I just… well, what do you think about…'

'About?'

'About Mary and Tom?’

‘What about Mary and Tom?’ Cora asked, pushing for more information before committing herself.

‘I… well, I just… that is to say… do you…’

‘Oh, for goodness sake, Robert, just spit it out!’ Cora huffed, impatient now.

‘Do you think… I mean, do you ever wonder… do you think they are… too close?’

‘Too close?’

‘Yes.’

Cora eyed him carefully. ‘All right. Tell me what’s made you think that.’

‘Well, it’s… it’s not one thing in particular, necessarily, but a general feeling. I mean this evening, I saw her brushing lint off his shoulder while he carried on talking to Isobel and neither of them seemed to think anything of it, and it just… well, it suddenly struck me that that’s the sort of thing you do for me.’

Cora looked at him, a small smile tugging at her lips. ‘You noticed that?’

‘Yes. Why? Is that so strange?’ he said, somewhat defensively.

‘Yes, it is because it’s not very like you to notice things like that. Did you also notice that when Carson went to make sure everything was ship-shape in the dining room before dinner Tom mixed Mary another of her favourite cocktails, so it was there ready for her just as she finished her first one?’

‘I did notice that!’ Robert replied, looking quite animated. ‘And then after dinner, she gave him his favourite petit four from her plate! Did you see? She put it on his plate while he was talking to Isobel.’

‘I did see that. But he did seem to acknowledge that gesture. It looked very much to me like he reached out and squeezed or patted her leg under the table,’ Cora said, sharing that rather juicy observation.

‘Did he?’ Robert gasped, his eyes going wide at the implications of that. ‘I did not see that.’

‘I can’t believe you’re finally noticing these things,’ Cora said, twisting sideways to face her husband more.

‘What do you mean “finally”?’ Robert asked, indignantly.

‘These small moments have been happening between them for months now. They do little things for each other without breaking stride or even mentioning it. It just happens, like it does between us. Except we’ve been married for over 34 years. And they are forever finishing each other’s sentences.’

Robert pursed his lips, thinking about the little signs of intimacy he’d noticed between his eldest daughter and her brother-in-law. ‘So, do you think…’

‘That they are having an affair?’ Cora finished, raising an eyebrow.

‘Yes.’

‘What do you think?’

'I'm not sure.'

‘I certainly think it’s a possibility.’

‘Really?’ Robert asked, his eyebrows scooting up.

‘Don’t you?’

‘I’m not sure I want to think about it,’ he said, wrinkling his nose.

‘I think we have to.’

‘Well, what do we do? Do we ask them if that’s the case?’

Cora shook her head, aghast at the thought. ‘No! Of course, we don’t! What if we’re wrong?’

‘Do you think we are?’

‘Honestly? I don’t know. I know I’ve noticed all of these little things, and if even you have noticed them, they must be getting fairly obvious now.’

‘Charming,’ Robert grumbled.

‘Oh, darling, you know as well as I do that you have to be beaten over the head with matters of the heart sometimes before you see them. But not in this case. So, what I’m saying is that if you’re asking me about the state of the relationship between Mary and Tom, then I’m fairly sure it’s unlikely to be strictly platonic between them,’ Cora said, baldly.

‘So, what do we do? Are we in favour of it? Or should we be putting a stop to it?’

‘I’m not sure how we could put a stop to it. Not without chasing Tom out of Downton. Is that what you want?’

Robert chewed his lip. ‘No, I don’t. I confess I’ve grown rather fond of him.’

‘I know you have. And there’s also the other thing we must consider.’

‘What other thing?’

‘If Tom leaves Downton, so does Sybbie.’

Robert shook his head, horrified at the thought of his beloved granddaughter going anywhere. ‘No. Absolutely not. We can’t have that.’

‘Well, you know it’s a possibility. Tom’s been talking about possibly going to America to work for his cousin.’

‘Then maybe we encourage whatever this relationship is between him and Mary,’ Robert said, giving his wife a calculating look. ‘If he and Mary are… well, you know, then he will stay. And so will Sybbie.’

‘But is it right that we do so?’ Cora asked, looking troubled. ‘What about darling Sybil? He was her husband.’

‘Yes, and I think after all this time, we can both acknowledge that he did love her.’

‘I always knew that, Robert. It was you who fought against it.’

Robert sighed. ‘I know. He wasn’t what I wanted for Sybil.’

‘And now? Is he what we want for Mary?’

‘I think Mary is long past living her life and choosing her lovers based on what we want, don’t you, Cora?’ Robert said, wryly.

‘But her brother-in-law? Is that right?’

Robert was silent, pondering that. ‘Do you know what I think?’

‘Tell me.’

‘I think, in the end, if they are an item, if they do love each other, I would not object. After everything they’ve both been through, they’re actually oddly suited to each other, don’t you think?’

Cora breathed a sigh of relief. ‘I do. And we’re both very fond of Tom, aren’t we?’

‘We are.’

‘So, are we agreed that we don’t say anything and just see how things pan out?’

Robert nodded. ‘Although if he starts talking seriously about going to America, I think we should take Mary aside and order her to marry him.’

Cora gave a surprised laugh. ‘Really? That’s a bit much, isn’t it?’

‘Absolutely not. Like you said, if Tom goes, Sybbie goes, and I will not have that. What better way to keep them here?’

‘Goodness. Well, perhaps we’d better hope they are in some kind of romantic relationship, otherwise that will be a big shock to Mary.’

‘Well, needs must, Cora,’ Robert said, firmly. ‘Needs must.’

[ohmyoverland]

hmmmmmmm downton abbey 2 speculative fic where Mary is already divorced and the conflict is whether or not Tom can go through his wedding to someone else now that she’s single

[infphpawaetqg]

Just saw “Downton Abbey 3”, Tom is marrying this maid… Tom and Mary shippers are immortal, I swear