December 31

~•~

"Are you serious?" Katherine expressed in amusement, attempting to pull her wrist out of Jack's grip as he practically dragged her through the living room to the couch. "Why does it matter?"

"It's New Years Eve!" Jack responded enthusiastically, tossing himself onto the couch and beckoning for Katherine to sit down beside him.

Katherine did so, resting her feet on the edge of the couch and wrapping her arms around her knees. The television was already on, showing the dropping of the ball in New York. The sight made Katherine smile. When Katherine was little, her parents would take her and her siblings to Times Square to see the sight. But when Katherine was eight, her father got his new job and the tradition faded out.

Seeing the ball on the screen made her happy, but it was a bittersweet memory. She could still imagine her childhood self with her siblings screaming at the top of their lungs when the ball finally dropped. It was exciting for the young children, and their parents were happy to do it for them.

Until the job came.

Katherine frowned to herself, remembering the countless nights of arguments that Katherine felt would never end. Whenever things seemed to get better, something new came along that caused the family to turn in opposite directions. When the youngest Pulitzer child, Herbert, was born when Katherine was sixteen, Joseph and Kate Pulitzer were both on edge. Katherine feared a divorce was approaching.

Her thoughts were broken by Jack nudging her with his elbow, "C'mon! The countdown is about ta start!"

Katherine chuckled lightly, watching as the numbers counted down on the screen. She wasn't even sure if they were in the same timezone as New York, but she couldn't stop the enthusiasm that coursed through her veins at the moment. The ball dropped completely as the countdown ended, and Jack and Katherine both had wide smiles on their faces. Katherine turned to face Jack, knowing they'd eventually have to get used to being around each other despite whatever mood they were in.

"Happy New Year, Jack."

"Happy New Year, Plumber."

<><><>

January 4

~•~

"You have got to be kidding me," Katherine mumbled to herself, stepping down into the living room to find trash littered over most of the room: an empty pizza box on the coffee table, soda cans on the floor, napkins on the furniture, and of course Jack was asleep on the couch right in the middle of the mess.

The first few days seemed to appear to go alright. There were very few disagreements between them and the days appeared to show them that they could survive twelve months together.

Until Jack started to show his true colors, which only brought out the ugly side of Katherine.

Katherine had come to realize that Jack didn't know how to clean up after himself. Messes were left in the bathrooms, living room, and even the kitchen. Jack didn't even know how to cook, which only confused her even further when she saw something that appeared to be charred cheese on the stovetop. Of course, Jack was all about having fun. He often attempted to convince Katherine to do something enjoyable instead of sitting around and taking everything seriously, but he always seemed to choose the times where Katherine wanted to be alone and/or write.

Katherine silently wished she had put her name next to someone else that day she snuck into her father's office.

Katherine picked up the mess, not wanting to leave it there any longer than it already had. She threw away the trash, exhaling softly when she finished and throwing a glare at Jack's sleeping body. She cursed him softly underneath her breath before continuing to the kitchen to make her breakfast.

She had just set two frozen waffles into the toaster when she heard Jack shift from the living room. She turned around, peering past the peninsula where he was now sitting up on the couch. With an agitated sigh, she called into the other room, "We haven't even been here for a week and I've already had to clean up after you several times."

Jack chuckled audibly, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. His chuckle only infuriated Katherine even further, and she yelled in response, "This is not a joke! I'm not your mother that's here to serve you like I'm enslaved to your tyranny!"

Jack stood, stepping over to the peninsula and leaning into its counter to peer at the red-faced Katherine. "I guess what you want is for me ta say I'm sorry?"

"I want more than an apology," Katherine remarked, stepping forward to stand across from him with her hands on her hips. "I want to start seeing you play your part. We're in this house for a year, and it already seems like a trash pile thanks to you. I don't even want to know what your bedroom looks like."

Jack grinned crookedly, but it swiftly vanished and was replaced with genuine sympathy, "Look, I'm sorry. I'll try to be better."

"And I hope you will be," Katherine responded, removing her hands from her hips and running them through the strands of her hair which had yet to be brushed. "By the way, you snore in your sleep."

Jack laughed softly, watching as Katherine turned back to the toaster to withdraw the waffles. "Is that so?"

"Yes, it is," Katherine responded, attempting to ignore the fact that she had just accidentally touched the side of the toaster and burned her finger. She tossed the waffles carelessly onto a plate, rushing over to the sink and hissing softly as the cold water rushed over the burn.

"You okay?" Jack asked with concern, stepping past the peninsula and to the sink where Katherine was washing the burn with soap and water. "Yikes. That's gotta sting."

"No, it's actually feeling really great right now," Katherine rebuked sarcastically in response, looking down at the skin that was now swelling white where she burned it. Katherine sighed, leaning against the counter and turning her head to look shyly at Jack. "Sorry. I don't mean to act like a vixen."

"That's fine, Plumber," Jack reassured her with a gentle eye, stepping away from the sink and toward the pantry. He pulled the first aid kit off of the top shelf, opening it and walking back over to Katherine. "Some of this should do the trick."

Katherine simply nodded, stopping the water of the sink and watching as Jack took her hand. He was careful not to touch the burn, placing the ointment on a bandage before wrapping it around her finger. She lowered her hand to inspect the bandage before looking back up at Jack, flashing him a smile, "Thank you."

"Let's just say we're even," Jack responded with a crooked grin. "You've cleaned up my mess, now I've helped clean up yours."