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Katherine never really understood love.
Her relationship with her family has always been complicated. Days with her father and his affection seemed- conditional. She was a spider in a trap and while she loved him and she thought in his own way, he returned it, wanted her safe, Katherine wasn't his perfect daughter. She wasn't going to make pleasantries with the men when she'd rather be taking a place alongside them, asking questions, getting answers, and writing like hell because she was damn good enough to keep up with the rest of the men.
Love was something that could easily be retracted if she was too much or too loud or too noisy. It was something that she was wary of knew she couldn't trust and shaking her head, she set aside the odd fumbling attempts of boys to flirt with her and focused on her work.
Work was a lot less convoluted and complicated.
Then she has the newsies. Her father had long since retracted his assets, and they all take her request to be Katherine Plumber with ease and small, knowing smiles.
She supposed they'd known about the significance of a name to its holder.
Despite all the chaos that unfolded around them, there was always one thing Katherine had to look forwards to and she supposed she'd have to thank one David Jacobs for that.
Katherine loves nights with Sarah Jacobs. She loves nights that are softer, a reprieve from long hours and judgmental bosses and biting comments at "a women's efficiency". She loves quiet hours giggling and swapping stories, sharing comments and smiles and joy in hours all their own. Two girls who are smarter than the world gives them credit for who can talk and laugh and stargaze and share moments in friendship and laughter away from all the stress of their working days and maybe if she sneaks longer glances at Sarah sometimes, or they look at each other a moment too long before looking away, both a little more flushed than they were before there wasn't anyone else when it happened and it didn't truly mean anything.
It was just... them.
Together.
Katherine gets the credit sometimes. For her stories, her thoughts, and she knows, she does, after a long introspection that she'd already been handed that chance to pave the future. The boys? They built that for themselves. Sarah and Medda and Hannah, others, are fighting every step of the way to earn that right too. Sarah is brilliant. Katherine knows it when she watches her stand straight and assert herself, when she hears Sarah get passionate about politics and listens to her anger at how she's pushed to the side in favor of the boys in her life when she's just as smart and works just as hard. She knows it when Sarah talks about socialism, her dreams for the futures, a thousand words and thinks if she could get Sarah a pen and some paper she could make a fine journalist.
When they're on the rooftop, everything else doesn't matter. They talk about books Sarah's loved and swap literature, talk about how exasperating the boys in their lives are and grow impossibly closer to one another. When Katherine manages to draw one of Sarah's smile, lips curling into something softer Katherine swears the whole world would stop just for a look like that.
More and more, she notices things. Katherine puts to memory the way Sarah's face crinkles when she laughs, the way she bites her lip when she's struggling for words or fiddles with the hem of the dress when she's nervous. She notices the little details of her face up close, the little freckles and blemishes that all make her impossibly more fascinating. She notices the way she sputters when she's frustrated, wrings her hands and starts sounding a little more like her brother when she's upset, the way her body absolutely shifts, melting with fondness when she talks about her brothers.
Katherine notices the way she tries to muffle her smiles, but when they come they're something glorious and when her smile bursts into laughter, something bright and high and heavenly Katherine could swear she could die in that moment of pure happiness.
Sarah was the best, and first, and real friend she'd ever found and Katherine would always cherish that.
Tonight, they are quieter. The earlier laughter of the night has faded into a quiet, pleasant understanding. They have no need for words, in the pleasant lull of soft affection and closeness. Katherine studies the girl across from her as she works with her stitching, watching the way she furrows her brow in concentration and she once more feels a sweep of something warm inside her chest that takes over her whole body.
She's listened to Sarah before, animatedly chattering about the moon and a thousand facts Katherine never would have spent time to think of. But from Sarah, they are suddenly the most incredible ones she's ever heard and seeing her that enthusiastic and gleeful sends flutters beneath her skin. Under moonlight, Sarah looks like an angel bathed in light and Katherine finds her gaze darting away and her breath faltering a little.
"Before I knew you, I never understood what it was like to look at someone and smile for no reason," the words are a breath, a whisper, soft and captured perfectly in the night air. Sarah turns to her, eyes wide and mouth parting softly and Katherine takes a step back, feeling unbearably warm and eyes dropping to hands and suddenly mortified. "Oh, God, I'm- sorry that was..." Overbearing, pretentious, too much, I didn't mean-
"Kathie," Sarah's voice is achingly gentle and Katherine feels a shiver run down her spine at the aching fondness and smile she can hear hiding in the name.
Katherine finds her gaze flying to Sarah's, wanting to brace her shoulders for what's sure to come and is stopped short. She's almost blown away by how stunning Sarah looks, deep brown eyes wide and tinged with something bright and undeniably hopeful.
"I've never had anything like this either," Sarah shuffles her foot on the concrete below and Katherine realizes with a pang that Sarah looks painfully uncertain, a concept seeming so foreign and wrong connected with the girl she lo-
Katherine's heart rammed to a halt in her chest. The girl she loves. That is a concept so strange and frightful and undeniably perfect in the same moment. An explanation for a thousand questions she'd never even figured asking.
Katherine inhales shakily, and her hand flies down to Sarah's without thinking about it. Sarah's gaze meets hers, and their fingers lock and click perfectly together and the warmth of Sarah's skin on Katherine's is enough for her brain to short-circuit.
"I've never," It's almost marvelous, she thinks, lost in the dark brown of Sarah's eyes that for all the words Katherine has found and wielded in an instant Sarah has stolen them all away and all that's left is her name. Katherine forces herself to swallow and manages to get out weakly, "I've never had anything-" To believe in the way I've believed in you.
"I know," Sarah breathes finally and Katherine knows she does. There are a million words, a million thoughts and promises and silent adoration that are shared between them in one look. Starlight and wonder and hopes for the future mirror between their eyes and the night seems to last forever, and all those words seem to matter little when their lips connect in starlight and perfection and softness and love.
They'll share a thousand more kisses, a million more with each one tasting sweeter than the last because this? This had always been waiting for them, and that love could finally be their own.