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IT was Tommy and Kat against the whole, entire world.
It had always been that way. Ever since the petite, incredibly sarcastic brunette opened her big, brown eyes that freezing cold day in 1896 (that, as a matter of fact, was supposed to be the warm summer month of June, but apparently summer didn't stretch far enough to reach Small Heath), making her the youngest of the now four Jordan siblings, Thomas Shelby — who was only six at the time of her birth — was completely utterly infatuated with Katherine. She had had him wrapped around her little finger since birth.
They were inseparable — best friends. Growing up, there was never one without the other, never Tommy without Kat and never Kat without Tommy. Everyone said that Tommy was best friend's with Freddie Thorne, but their friendship was absolutely nothing compared to the tight-knit bond he shared with Miss. Katherine Jordan herself. He was like her protector (not as if she needed one, mind you, Kat grew up with two older brothers, and with Tommy and his brothers), he was always there to make sure she was okay — make sure she was safe. Kat had always felt safe with Tommy.
He absolutely adored her. Even when Tommy came back from the War a totally different man to the Tommy that left Small Heath years prior, Kat knew her Tommy was still there. The one that still adored her, the one that was still wrapped around her little finger, and would do absolutely anything in the world to make her smile when she was down. Tommy didn't smile as much — if he ever did — when he came back from the War with his brothers. But, on the rare occasion that he did smile, you can bet that Katherine Jordan was around.
They loved one another. They adored one another. They were completely, utterly, totally madly in love with one another. And it was such acliché (and, anyone that knew Katherine knew that she hated to be considered a cliché), because, it seemed that everyone but them had figured it out.
Well, that was the case until 1919, one whole year since the boys had returned home from war, changed men. It was 1919 when a strange, Irish barmaid came to town at the same time that some new Copper came to Small Heath, too. That didn't sit right with Katherine.
And what didn't sit right with her even more so was that her best friend — her Tommy — was falling in love with this new barmaid! Katherine hated it, hated her, because she was taking her Tommy away from her. No one had ever done that to Katherine before. Ever. No one dared to. Sure, Tommy Shelby was a big, bad, dangerous Gangster, but Katherine Jordan was the woman who stood behind him, knowing every detail he did. And, my goodness, Katherine Jordan was so much worse than Tommy Shelby could even have dreamt to be. Especially when she was angry.
Katherine would sit, day after day, hour after hour, minute after minute, thinking of ways that she could get her Tommy back from Grace, just to show the barmaid who was boss, and that she was so much worse than any of the men could dream to be. And still, she denied to everyone — even herself — that she was in love with her Tommy.
Imagine, sitting there and denying how madly in love you were with your best friend, fighting the jealous pit you felt in the bottom of your stomach to salvage your pride. Because that's exactly what Kat did.
Tommy would also sit, day after day, hour after hour, minute after minute, thinking of reasons as to why his Katherine was slowly turning bitter, showing everyone that she was so much worse that him, or any of the men could dream to be. And still, he denied to everyone — even himself — that he was in love with his Katherine.
Imagine, sitting there and denying how madly in love you were with your best friend, fighting the sheer concern you felt in the bottom of your stomach to salvage your pride. Because that was exactly what Tommy did, too.
And then, sit back and imagine that both of them finally began to realise how they truly felt for one another, and that the love and the need to protect each other, those strengthening feelings that they felt for one another, was not friendship at all. . . but the yearning to be embraced in one another's arms, to finally admit how much they loved one another so dearly, so sweetly. Like, something out of one of those soppy, romance novels Kat used to read when they were teenagers. But, it wasn't as simple as that. It never was with them two.
So, they pushed one another away. Doing whatever they could to set fire to the years of friendship they had built up — all of the trust and the love, the inside jokes, the deeply buried memories of sneaking out as teenagers, drunk — purely for the sake that neither of them were willing to admit that they were madly in love with the other. Tommy, not wanting to taint his big, bad Gangster image and Kat, not wanting to bruise her pride. And, when they pushed each other as far away as possible, they were both utterly miserable without the other.
And then, imagine this, someone who loved both of them dearly as if they were family, accidentally let it slip to Tommy how utterly miserable Katherine was without Tommy by her side, and accidentally let it slip to Katherine how utterly miserable Tommy was without Katherine by his side, making both parties realise how utterly stupid it was to be pushing one another away for a silly thing such as love, making them realise that the idea of love between them wasn't such a silly idea after all. . .
. . . and then it all went nothing short of completely and utterly wild.
