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• Black Hole Sun by pure_of_heart

  Fandoms: Downton Abbey  

  • Teen And Up Audiences
  • No Archive Warnings Apply
  • M/M
  • Work in Progress

  26 Apr 2026

  Tags

  • No Archive Warnings Apply
  • Thomas Barrow/Richard Ellis
  • Thomas Barrow
  • Richard Ellis (Downton Abbey)
  • Original Male Human Character(s)
  • Jimmy Kent
  • Mary Crawley
  • Alternate Universe - Space
  • Alternate Universe - Star Trek Fusion
  • Masturbation
  • Mild Sexual Content
  • Secret Relationship
  • Alien Cultural Differences
  • Blood and Injury
  • Medical Inaccuracies
  • Angst
  • Thomas being his usual self
  • Hurt Thomas Barrow
  • Good Significant Other Richard Ellis (Downton Abbey)
  • bates when i catch you
  • Engineer Thomas Barrow
  • Communications Officer Richard Ellis
  • Male Friendship
  • Shovel Talk
  • who subjected thomas to the horrors of being known?? (me it was me)
  • Love Confessions

  Summary

  “We can’t. I’m so sorry, but we can’t tell people.”

  Richard’s face falls, but he’s quick to smooth it out.

  “What do you mean? The regulations have been updated-”

  “It’s not the regulations,” He cuts Richard off, perhaps a bit too forcefully if his expression of surprise is to be trusted, “It’s not the regulations.”

  He says it softer the second time, if only to make up for his next words.

  “I don’t want to tell people, yet.”

  ***
  OR
  With the regulations relaxing around inter-rank relationships, Richard lets a hope build now that one of two obstacles in the way of going public with his relationship with Thomas has been defeated. It's awfully unlucky for him that the one remaining is NOT going anywhere, any time soon.

  Series

  • Part 4 of Downton Space AU

  Language:

  English

  Words:

  21,894

  Chapters:

  5/6

  Comments:

  38

  Kudos:

  30

  Hits:

  507