BEING A STREET PERFORMER IN SEATTLE WASN'T HIS SMARTEST IDEA, TENSLEY HAD TO ADMIT. It wasn't as if doing card tricks in New York would be drastically different than doing them in the pacific northwest, but considering that there tended to constantly be some sort of rain—whether it be a downpour or light mist—it would be a lie to say he didn't often wish he lived somewhere even fractionally more dry.

"You've gotta be kidding me," he grumbled, pushing up his jacket sleeve to check his watch, hardly registering the time before he looked back out at the world around him.

It was only misting, which gave him hope that it would clear up, but it was enough that the tourists weren't interested in stopping to see what he could offer them by ways of entertainment, and there weren't many other people who would look at him anyways, especially not the ones who were well aware of his gig.

"Tough luck, huh?"

Tensley blinked, turning towards the sound of the voice, his eyes needing a moment to adjust before they landed on a familiar face holding two Starbucks coffees and a pastry bag, her smile widening as she approached.

"Charlotte!" Tensley cried, grabbing his apple-box and rushing out from his spot under the gazebo to take one of the coffees from her hand, leading her to the relative safety of the open air structure, "What're you doing here, I thought you said you moved."

"I did," she replied, swapping the cup in her hand for the one he had taken, "But I have my ways, and I wasn't just gonna ditch my protégé completely."

Tensley ducked his head, feeling his cheeks burn, trying and failing to hide his smile as he took a sip of his own drink and rifled through the pastry back, making a strangled noise when he caught sight of the snickerdoodles inside, pulling one out and dunking it into his coffee, balancing the lid on his knee.

When he finished capping his cup, he turned back to Charlotte, only to immediately turn away, feeling light headed with how much he was blushing. When he finally calmed himself down, she was still giving him that fond smile, reaching out to pat his knee and take a cookie for herself.

"How have you been?" she asked, waiting until Tensley was finished swallowing, "I know it's been a few months since I left. You still holding up?"

Tensley cleared his throat, tapping his fingers against his well worn combat boots, not meeting her eye. "Yeah, we've been good. Vinnie finished school strong and his school advisor is helping him a lot, and Harley's working at the garage to save up some money for himself for some classes at the community college..."

Charlotte reached out to squeeze his arm, grounding him as he started to feel his chest tighten, and he reached up to grip her wrist, struggling with his breathing techniques to ground himself, taking all his rising thoughts and shoving them into his mental filing cabinet, slamming the drawer closed and locking it, pretending to leave a post-it note to come back to them later, knowing fully well that he wouldn't need the reminder; he and those worries were very well acquainted, especially in bed when he struggled to sleep.

"Let me help you," Charlotte urged, forcing him to look at her, "Seriously, it wouldn't be an issue at all. You don't need to deal with all of this on your own."

"It's okay," he said, giving her a light squeeze before pulling his hand away, sighing heavily, "There've been a lot of tourists recently and some of them like to hang around and watch when someone decides to take up my challenges. And the kids are super sweet, they always ask their parents for money to give me."

"That's good," Charlotte said softly, though it was very clear she wasn't appeased in the slightest, "Have you still been..."

"Of course," Tensley snorted, shaking his head, "The guys who take up my challenges are able to handle it. I see their wallets when they take out more cash, they won't miss a watch. Or cufflinks, that one time."

Charlotte laughed at that, and he grinned; Tensley always had a need to make people laugh, or at least smile, because if people weren't smiling he wasn't sure if they were actually enjoying the conversation, and he had a bad habit of needing every person in the world to like him, even the people he was clearly scamming.

"But I also, uh, have been taking up some freelance jobs..." he began carefully, scratching the side of his face, pointedly staring out at the sparsely filled park, "It's not super steady, but it pays well, so I can't really complain. It'll at least keep Vinnie appeased enough to not try and get a job at a strip club until he's actually of age. Though Harley is considering it now, but at least he's an adult."

"If he doesn't feel comfortable with it, he shouldn't have to, I can help you," Charlotte urged, frowning when Tensley snorted lightly.

"Vinnie genuinely wants to, so I can't really stop him once he actually becomes an adult. And Harley's just planning on bartending once he gets old enough, so don't worry about us," he said, tapping his fingers against his left boot, glancing down at the items tucked inside.

"What kind of work are you doing?" Charlotte asked, and Tensley groaned, barely catching himself from folding completely in half, "I knew it, Tensley, I swear to God, you better not be doing what I think you're doing."

"You don't even know what I'm doing," he snapped, meeting her fiery gaze head on, "You taught me half of what I know, don't you dare try and take the moral high ground over me, okay? And, you know, it's not as if we're going after people who're struggling too, like it's completely different."

"But if you get caught, you'll being the only one getting booked for it, that's not worth it, you have your brothers to think about. It's not fair to any of you," Charlotte argued, and Tensley scoffed, shaking his head.

"I've been taking care of my siblings since I was eighteen, you really want to tell me that it hasn't been unfair already? I'm trying my best, but no one really wants to hire me for pretty valid reasons," he said, scoffing as he reached up to grip the fabric of his jacket on his forearm, not needing to feel the raised skin to know what it would feel like.

"That's not your fault," Charlotte grumbled, kicking the ground in frustration before sighing, "I'm sorry, Ten. You don't deserve this."

"I don't," he agreed, watching as the sun started to peek through the clouds, "But I've been making it work. And I had a lot of help, you know? I had you, I have Guy from the pawn shop...you've helped me out a lot."

"I could help you more," Charlotte argued and Tensley didn't even bother acknowledging her; she already knew it was a lost cause. 

The two fell into a semi-comfortable silence, drinking their coffee and eating cookies while staring up at the clouds, the sun becoming more visible with every passing minute. Slowly the mist started to dissipate and Tensley could already see people start to come out of the woodwork; he had been doing this long enough to read the room.

"Hey," he said, moving to bump his leg against Charlotte's, "Wanna do a set with me? For old time's sake?"

Charlotte gave him a small smile. "I don't think I can do a set with you, but I would be honored to be your eye candy magic assistant while you dazzle children and scam men."

Tensley smiled, holding his coffee cup and the bag of cookies in one hand while holding out his other to help Charlotte to her feet, moving to grab his apple-box while she brushed herself off, the two stepping out from the vague protection of the gazebo towards Tensley's regular spot, which also happened to be where he had first met Charlotte.

They had met after Tensley had graduated high school. The captain of the football team had broken up with him just after graduation, and his parents had been carted off to prison a few weeks before that. All in all, he was having an incredibly difficult time. 

He had been in the middle of a panic attack, unsure of how he had even gotten to the park, when he had fallen onto the ground, just running his fingers over the soft grass and trying to calm down. It had taken some time—Charlotte claimed that he had been lying there for over an hour and she had been considering asking someone to go into a building to call an ambulance for some time—but he had finally been able to ground himself and realize that there was a crowd nearby.

He had moved closer, finding a good vantage point while still on the grass, unable to even sit up, casually watching as Charlotte did typical card tricks, some being just magic tricks to entertain passing children, as well as the follow the card trick. He had been casually interested, but what had piqued his interest was when, after she had consistently beat a man to the point where strangers were telling him to just stop, she had shook his hand in good faith, stealing his watch.

No one else had noticed, and Tensley hadn't been sure of what he had seen, but it was after the sun had gone down and Charlotte was packing up that he saw her looking over the watch.

He had gone back every day to watch her perform, lying on the grass and trying to figure out all her tricks, how she constantly pulled the wool over even the most careful of participants, and how she picked which person she was going to steal from next—it was always a person who made a rude or creepy comment about her, most of them being men, and Tensley couldn't argue with her target choice.

She had been the one to approach him, holding out a new deck of cards and asking him to shuffle them. After learning that he couldn't shuffle them in any of the ways she could, she spent the entire afternoon teaching him, even though there were more than enough people in the park that she could have performed for. 

"I can teach you," she had said, when the sun had set and it was time to go, "I think you'd be better at it than me."

Then she had handed him back the wallet she had somehow slipped from his jacket pocket and left without another word, leaving Tensley to stare after her, heart beating rapidly as he checked inside and found three hundred extra dollars inside.

By the time summer had ended, Tensley had gotten his own apple-box and regular spot in the park, performing in tandem to Charlotte, the two meeting in the middle at the gazebo and divvying up their profits, Charlotte always finding some way to slip him more than his fair share, even if he tried to find it before he got home so she could take it back.

Needless to say, Tensley owed a lot to Charlotte, and having her back after three months of radio silence made him happier than he was willing to admit; the last thing he wanted was to scare her into never coming to visit him again.

"Thank you, princess," he said, smiling at the little girl who had given him a ten dollar bill, then smiling at her parents, "Have a great day, folks, God bless."

Charlotte smiled from where she was perched on the nearby bench, watching Tensley perform with ease, moving on to another trick, showing particular attention to a large family group with five kids, all of them excited to be the next volunteer.

All those years ago, he had voiced his concerns about him performing on his own when she first posed the concept, and it was no news to her just how anxious the younger man was; the way he rambled and stopped breathing under pressure, peeling at his lips and gripping the bottom of his jacket to keep from fidgeting too much. 

But she had convinced him to at least try, and it had been more of a shock to him than her when he performed with ease, hiding behind a perfectly fitting mask that hardly ever slipped, able to think on his feet when he would normally stumble and crumble under the pressure. He had no clue how he did, and Charlotte was none the wiser, but Tensley couldn't complain when he was able to keep up with the bills month after month with some extra to set aside.

Now, years later, he was virtually on autopilot, mouth running with ease, riffing whenever something unexpected occurred, talking himself out of more than a handful of black eyes unhappy participants were preparing to give him.

He figured he earned the right to be proud.

"Are you sure you wanna keep going, man? There's no shame in backing out," Tensley said, his tone so genuine that it was impossible to tell how smug he was; he knew fully well what the answer would be.

The sun was starting to set at this point, and Tensley had been playing his 'find the queen' card trick for multiple groups, spectators deciding to try their hand, hoping to succeed when others had failed; they never did, of course, because Tensley had learned from the best, and neither of them were above playing dirty.

"Just shuffle the cards," the man said, leveling him with a challenging look, and Tensley couldn't help but react; so what if Charlotte was watching him from just five feet away, he would never pass up an opportunity to take someone home.

"Yes, sir," he quipped, noticing how the other man shifted, an eyebrow raising curiously, and Tensley grinned as he set up the next round.

Licking his lips, he tilted his head, never breaking eye contact. "Keep a close eye on the cards, big guy. I'm pretty good with my hands."

Charlotte snorted behind her hand, and Tensley fought the urge to glare at her, instead just continuing to prepare the cards, flipping them over, showing the man where the Queen was starting. After a nod from the man, Tensley started to shuffle, his fingertips just barely touching the cards. He would routinely focus on the cards then glance up towards the man, working on autopilot, making sure to catch his eye before looking back down. He wasn't able to do this technique often, but he always had a lot of fun when he was able to.

When he caught the man's gaze again, he switched the Queen out with another card, continuing to shuffle, only switching the Queen back in when he was nearing the end, making sure the man didn't catch him, his attention fixated on what he thought was the correct one.

"Okay," he breathed, finishing his shuffling with a flourish, cracking his knuckles before settling his hands on his knees, "Where is she?"

The group behind him shouted out their own answers, but Tensley knew this kind of participant, and from the way the man was looking at him, a smug gleam in his eye, it was clear he had already won.

The man reached out and flipped over the card on the left, his face falling when he unveiled the Joker, Tensley fighting back a snort, glancing over to Charlotte who hid her laugh amongst the groans and condolences of the crowd.

"Hey, you did a great job, man," Tensley began, taking the wad of cash from the apple-box and shoving it in his boot before the man could swipe it all back in a fit of rage, "Look, no hard feelings, yeah?"

He shot him a slightly apologetic smile, hoping he'd be one of the people who wouldn't be upset at someone who made an effort to not to rub it in his face that he had lost. It seemed to work, because the man had taken his outstretched hand, Tensley covering it with his other hand, shaking it earnestly.

"Have a great day, man, God bless. Same to all of you, thanks for being such a great audience, have a safe night." He waved at the dispersing crowd, gathering his cards and shoving them into his boot, picking up his box and walking over to Charlotte.

"My baby's all grown up," she cooed, and he rolled his eyes, cheeks warming.

"How long are you here for?" he asked, the two starting to walk in the general direction of Tensley's apartment.

Charlotte stopped walking, turning to face him, her expression apologetic. "I only dropped in for the day. I can walk you home, but then I have to find my ride home."

"You don't need to walk me, it's okay," he said, trying not to let on how disappointed he was, "Go find your ride. The sun's going down, I don't want you looking for too long. Do you want me to help?"

Charlotte shook her head, reaching out to cup his cheek, giving him a sad smile. "You're sweet, Tensley. I'm really glad I got to meet you. I came back because I wanted to give you this."

She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small package wrapped in unassuming brown paper. She pressed it into his free hand, forcing him to take it, her hands wrapped around his own. 

"Take care of yourself, Tensley," she whispered, giving his hand a firm squeeze before pulling away, "Call me if you ever need anything."

With that, she left.

Tensley watched as she turned around and walked in the opposite direction, glancing over her shoulder to give him one last, sad smile before continuing on her way, eventually disappearing around a corner and out of sight.

When he finally regained control of his body, Tensley glanced down at the wrapped package, moving to sit down on a bench, setting his box down to unwrap the present, genuinely unsure of what it could be.

The first thing he found was a sturdy piece of cardstock that had multiple numbers written down, and he felt his heart lurch; she had given him her number. He slipped the card into his sock, ensuring that it wouldn't disappear, then looked at the rest of the items, gasping.

There were two decks of the cards. One was sleek and new, the outer box a metallic silver with no writing or design, but Tensley knew what they were from the moment he saw it. But what had truly grabbed his attention was the other deck. The worn, creased, and torn box that covered the equally beat-up cards with the familiar unique pattern on the backside.

This was Charlotte's personal deck.

He jumped to his feet, looking around, as if he would be able to see where she had gone, and was just about to start searching for her when a slip of paper fell out from the worn box. He picked it up with shaking hands, struggling to keep still enough to actually read the words.

'Take care of these. They'll get more use with you than they ever will with me. Stay safe, Tensley Ellis. Thank you for sharing your story with me.'

Tensley would have stayed there for hours, standing by the bench and staring down at the short message, his heart racing a mile a minute, brain whirring to the point of being completely empty. But the weather seemed to feel his pain and, with no warning, it started to rain. 

"Shit," he cursed, shoving the decks and message into his inner jacket pocket, grabbing his apple-box and running for cover, knowing fully well that he would be soaked by the time he got to his apartment.

But despite all that, he could help but think of the decks of cards burning a hole into his pocket and the back of his mind, filled with a sneaking suspicion that they'll wind up being used for more than just card tricks.

If only he knew.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

( 09.27.18 ; 02.25.21 )

Hey ya'll! I hope you're doing well! It's been a hot minute, yeah? Sorry about that! I wasn't sure if I wanted Charlotte to be so prominent in the first chapter (she's the OC from my Bucky fic 'Lost Girl') but it wound up happening, and I don't totally hate the way this came out, so it's fine!

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed!