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ɴᴇᴡʏᴇᴀʀs ᴇᴠᴇ𝟷𝟿𝟸𝟶
𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐀 𝐌𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓,, Caterina considered not even entering The Garrison. Perhaps telling Ada she was not feeling up to weather? But then again, it was just a party. At least, that's how she reassured herself.
Anxiety bubbled in her throat and her fingers itched for a familiar comfort of a cigarette nestled between them.
With a puff of air out of her lungs she smoothed down the invisible creases of her borrowed dress and pressed her hand on the Garrison's door.
Loud piano and trumpet poured over the blond heads, brown heads, slicked back and disheveled heads, all bobbing in the rhythm the piano player set.
The pub was already overflowing with people, mostly members of the Shelby family and other Blinders, even some of Esme's Lee kin, noticeable by their mismatched clothes and curly hairs.
A young man, most likely not of legal age yet, paused her at the door and offered to take her coat.
Mildly speechless at the unexpected chivalry, she noticed the peaked flat cap on the boy's head, the glint of sliver underneath its rim flashing once he turned and disappeared into the back room with her coat.
Exposed - she felt utterly exposed now without the artificial armour her black woollen coat provided, as she stood on the last step into the pub, clutching her tiny golden purse to her side.
With a feigned confidence she strode towards the bar, eagerly trying to spot some familiar faces.
"Kitty? Is that you love?" Someone boomed behind her. Large hands spun her around, nearly making her topple until she came face to face with a grinning Arthur Shelby.
"Oi! Look who's 'ere!" The eldest Shelby waved his lanky arm through the air, the other one thrown around her shoulders.
His enthusiastic cheers attracted the attention of other mildly inebriated partygoers, including another member of the Shelby clan.
It was John that noticed them first, abandoning some of the Lee's he was drinking with to rush towards them.
"Hello John, Arthur. Happy holidays."
She let John cup her face in brotherly affection and closed her eyes when he pressed a kiss to her hair. "We thought you dead or worse. What happened?"
"Might even tell you after a couple of drinks." She quipped cheekily, both her and the boys letting out a laugh.
