AN: WELL snyderthespider (sometimes I can tag people and sometimes I can't, I don't know why) inspired this huge beast of a oneshot, and I hope you enjoy it!
"An invisible red thread connects those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place, or circumstance. The thread may stretch or tangle, but it will never break." - An ancient Chinese proverb
There'd always been this weird thing about Jack, something that he never could explain to anyone, because no one ever understood him when he tried. Ever since he was a kid, he'd always been able to see the red pieces of string that were tied around everyone's pinky fingers, including his own. He hadn't remembered ever tying a piece of red string around his finger, so he'd asked his father what they were for, and the man hadn't had any idea what he was talking about. Jack had tried asking his family a few other times about it, but when it became obvious that no one else could see it, he tried to just ignore it.
As the years went by, it became apparent that the string had something to do with marriage, or love. Jack saw couple's walking down the street holding hands, some of them with their strings hanging comfortable between their hands, and some of them with their strings stretching in the opposite direction. After Jack's mother died, his father's string broke, so that it was shorter, merely wrapped around his father's finger, and it turned black. It didn't look nearly as pretty as it did when it was red.
Jack didn't have any interest in love, so even though it was clear that his string was connected somewhere else, he tried to ignore it for the most part. After all, he had more important things to worry about, especially after he turned eight and his father was arrested. He didn't have time to spare a thought for the strings weaving throughout the city that, for all he knew, weren't even real, and he was insane for seeing them.
When Jack first saw Katherine on that street corner, though he couldn't show it (of course he couldn't, he didn't need to explain to the boys that he was crazy), he was panicking. As they'd been walking along, he'd seen the string getting shorter, and felt a slight tugging sensation that got stronger as they grew closer.
He saw her, and his breath caught in his throat, and he knew he had to say something, but he still had to save face in front of the guys - it sounded trivial, he knew, but they would never let him live it down if he'd gone up to her and rambled like an idiot - so, he put on a charming smile, prayed that she too could see their red string, and walked up to her.
"Morning, Miss! May I interest you in the latest news? I'd be delighted to deliver it to you personally."
It very quickly became evident that she could not see the string.
"Here's a headline for you: cheeky boy gets nothing for his troubles."
That wasn't quite what he'd expected from the girl he was most likely supposed to spend the rest of his life with, but somehow, it made him fall in love.
oOo
After the strike, nothing went as planned. Jack stayed in New York, and he supposed a part of him always knew he wouldn't leave. Not yet. Katherine though, Katherine didn't stay.
The two of them had had the greatest three months of Jack's life once the strike had ended. He'd sell during the day and he'd see Katherine almost every night. Sometimes they went out somewhere, sometimes they sat on the rooftop of the lodging house until well past sunset, and sometimes Jack simply went to Katherine's office at The Sun and annoyed her until she was done working.
