Chapter Text
*****
Gabriel had what you might call a love-hate relationship with card tricks.
On the one hand, they were iconic. Any half-decent illusionist knew at least one card trick well enough that they could perform it with their eyes closed. In his case, some of the first techniques he’d taught himself had been conjuring cards out of thin air and vanishing them without a trace. Besides, what could be more quintessential to a magician’s bag of tricks than an “ordinary” deck of playing cards? Perhaps the biggest perk, however, was the look of astonishment you received after amazing someone with nothing more than a palm-sized stack of paper and your bare hands. It was certainly an ego boost, getting such a dramatic response using so little. Flashy special effects and bright, colorful explosions were fun and all, but it was the up close and personal tricks that really demonstrated your skill and finesse.
On the other, they were significantly more complicated than most people gave them credit for. Properly executing a good card trick was a lot like juggling: if you didn’t want to screw it up, you had to be pretty damn good at multitasking. But instead of three or four interchangeable rubber balls, you had fifty-two distinct cards that you had to be absolutely certain not to mix up. Losing track of the cards you needed was a surefire way to mess up the trick, and when that happened it was awkward for everyone involved. If astounding someone with a deck of cards could make your day, humiliating yourself with one was certainly enough to ruin it.
So, to avoid any more blows to his ego than were necessary, Gabriel practiced. Constantly. If he ever had his hands free and a few moments to spare, it was a safe bet that he’d use the opportunity to rehearse a few card tricks. He practiced new tricks, performing them in front of a mirror until he was satisfied, executing them over and over again to build up muscle memory until he could do them without so much as a thought. He practiced old tricks, ones he already knew by heart and that were almost therapeutic to rehearse, so he could keep this techniques sharp and polished. Sometimes it wasn’t even actual tricks, just little flares and flourishes that served no real purpose beyond making the actual tricks more fun to watch. And sometimes he would just let his mind wander as he lost himself in the familiar, nostalgic feel of the worn Bicycle playing cards on his fingertips, shuffling them through his hands in a blur of yellowing paper and black and red ink.
Of course, the best way to practice any kind of trick was in front of an audience. And, fortunately for him, there was no shortage of those when he needed them.
“Again, again!” Gabriel barely managed to conceal a grin at the elated request from the girl in front of him, reshuffling his cards after a successful reveal. He’d learned pretty quickly that in crowded places, magicians were magnets for curious kids. As soon as they saw anyone doing something out of the ordinary, it got their full attention, and they weren’t shy about staring. The bus route between work and his apartment was no exception; at least once a week, he ended up doing an impromptu show for some wide-eyed toddler or a few bored middle schoolers. Adults were generally a lot more subtle, glancing out of the corner of their eye every now and then while trying their best to hide it, not wanting to seem rude. Children, however, were often too caught up in their own little worlds to have any kind of regard for social norms or common courtesies. It was a trait that Gabriel respected greatly.
Schooling his expression, he heaved a long, exaggerated sigh before looking up at her and the taller boy whose arm she clung to, rubbing his chin pensively. “Hmm, I don’t know, guys. If we keep this up, I might not have any tricks left soon. Besides, my stop is gonna be coming up soon,” he explained, slowly moving his hand to put the deck back into his pocket.
The heartbroken look on both kids’ faces was almost enough to make him drop the act, but Gabe managed to hold it together. He wasn’t about to give in that easily. “Aww, c’mon, please?” the boy implored as he and his sister stared up at him with impossibly huge Bambi eyes. “Just one more? We won’t ask for anything else, we promise.”
Another thing Gabriel respected about kids: they felt no obligation to play fair. “Well…I guess it couldn’t hurt,” he conceded, pulling the deck away from his pocket and holding it out in front of him again. “But only because you asked nicely.” The siblings beamed, positively vibrating with excitement as the magician fanned his cards out face down in front of them. “Alright, squirts, you know the drill. Pick a card, any card.” After a moment of deliberation, the girl reached out and plucked a card from the hand, holding it up to her face and scrutinizing the image printed on its front. Apparently satisfied with her choice, she held it up for her brother to see. “Make sure you’ve got it memorized, and don’t you dare let me see it. Got it?”
The pair nodded enthusiastically, smiling at each other over their shared secret. “Awesome. Now, this part’s super important. I want both of you to press your thumb against the back of the card, really really hard.” His two volunteers wasted no time following the magician’s instructions, then placed their card back among its brothers and sisters. “Perfect! Now,” Gabriel continued, his expression growing serious as he began strategically shuffling the deck in his hands. “Remember how I told you guys these cards are magic?” They nodded, their eyes growing impossibly wider in anticipation. “Well, they’re going to tell me exactly which one of them has your thumbprints on it. Ready?”
Gabriel wasn’t sure he’d ever seen such a flawless impression of a bobble head doll. Luckily, he managed to maintain his professional demeanor, clearing his throat and readying the deck in front of him. “Okay, let’s see what we’ve got here,” he murmured aloud, lifting the first card from the top of the deck. Jack of diamonds. “This one? No, that’s not right.” He picked up the next one. Three of clubs. “Nope, not that one either. How about…?” When he held up the next card, he caught the flicker of recognition and excitement that crossed their faces and bit back a grin. “Nah, that can’t be it,” he dismissed it promptly, placing the card on the seat beside him with the first two as the both brother and sister barely restrained themselves from interjecting. As much as they wanted to point out his mistake, they couldn’t give away any hints. Seven of hearts. “Ah ha! Here it is. This has gotta be it,” he insisted, holding the card out for them to see with a triumphant grin. “Ta-da!”
The little girl bit her lip before turning to her brother, who looked just as confused and disappointed as she felt. Sighing, she looked up at the man in front of her and shook her head sadly, causing his own smile to fall. “No? Really?” Scratching his head, Gabriel inspected the card between his fingers carefully before flipping it between his fingers, pointing out an invisible point on the back. “I’m pretty sure I can make out two thumbprints, right here.”
“No, that’s the wrong one!” the boy exclaimed, his arms crossed in irritation. It was bad enough that the so-called magician had messed up the trick, but now he wouldn’t even listen when they tried to tell him he’d done something wrong.
Despite the kid’s insistence, Gabriel still wasn’t completely convinced. “Hmm, are you sure about that?” he prodded further, gauging their reactions.
This time, the girl spoke up, trying to be more understanding than her big brother was in this situation. “Yeah! We had the one with the five…pointing things,” she assured him, struggling to find the right word.
Gabriel made a show of thinking for a moment before his face lit up in recognition. “Ah, the five of spades? Well, then, this must be the right one. See?” Sure enough, he flipped the card over once more to reveal five black spades in place of the seven crimson hearts that had been there not ten seconds earlier.
Watching the kids’ expressions go from confusion to amazement to sheer joy in just a matter of seconds was enough to make the man’s entire week. As his sister squealed in excitement, her brother cautiously reached out to take the card from Gabe’s had, looking it over with a smile still plastered to his face. “But we saw you…how did you do that?”
Gabriel shrugged his shoulders casually, a blithe, cheerful grin on his face. “Sorry, guys, but you know the rules: a good magician never reveals his secrets.” Just this once, though, he decided to take pity, especially after the disappointed groan that last comment had garnered from his two spectators. “I will say, though,” he conceded, pointing at the card deck sitting in his palm. “These crazy little guys are constantly switching places and mixing themselves up. I tell you, it’s a miracle they haven’t managed to wander off on me yet.” To prove this point, he quickly vanished a hand of cards from the deck and went on to pluck them from various parts of his person: behind his ear, out of his mouth, even shaking a few out of his pant leg. “See what I mean? You know, I’m starting to think they just like showing off for you guys,” he speculated, earning a peal of enthused giggles from the kids.
Unfortunately, the sound was quickly cut off by a sharp, clearly annoyed throat-clearing, causing all three to look up. Apparently their mom, who had been obliviously chattering away on her cell phone for the past five stops at least, had finally remembered that she had two kids she was supposed to be giving a damn about. From the looks of it, she was in protective mama-bear mode upon seeing them talking to a stranger. Sure, it was an understandable response, but it’d make more sense from someone who hadn’t been blatantly ignoring her son and daughter on a crowded public bus for the past twenty minutes or more. Visibly deflating, the boy gave Gabriel an apologetic smile before handing the card back to him and walking across the aisle, leading his sister along with him. “Haven’t I told you two a hundred times not to wander off? I swear, I look away for just two seconds and you run off to bother some stranger. You nearly gave me a heart attack!” Gabriel scoffed quietly, rolling his eyes at the exaggerated claim. Judging by the scathing glare she shot him, it hadn’t been as subtle an action as he’d have liked.
“Sorry, Mommy. But he’s really, really nice,” her daughter insisted, tugging on the sleeve of her coat enthusiastically.
Her brother was quick to back up her claims, smiling broadly. “Yeah, and he has magic cards. They’re so cool!”
The woman gave a long-suffering sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose in exasperation. “Sweetie, there’s no such thing as magic.” Gabriel ran a thumb over the edge of his deck, the cards snapping against one another sharply as he bit the inside of his cheek. Now, he didn’t know the first thing about being a parent, so maybe his opinion didn’t mean jack squat in this situation, but that seemed like an unnecessary comment to make. The boy and girl didn’t look to be much older than seven and five, respectively. That was pretty young to get slapped with a harsh life lesson like that. At their age, he’d been setting traps for the Tooth Fairy and struggling to stay up all night to catch a glimpse of her whenever he’d lost a tooth. “That man is just wasting his time with useless tricks. Don’t encourage him.”
Okay, that was uncalled for. Gabe knew better than to give parenting advice, but that last comment was a bit below the belt. Clearing his throat, he raised a hand to draw the woman’s attention. “Uh, ‘scuse me, still within earshot over here,” he pointed out, hiding his irritation with a charming smile. “Look, I think that’s a little harsh, considering—”
“You are lucky I don’t report you to the police,” she snapped venomously, looking almost insulted that he’d even dare to speak up and try to defend himself. Gabriel was getting the feeling that she wasn’t used to people talking back to her, and when it did happen she took it as a personal affront. “Don’t you have anything better to do than harass little kids?”
“Whoa, hold the phone, I wasn’t harassing any—” the magician started to protest, but trailed off, realizing he was wasting his time here. This lady clearly had no interest in listening to anything he had to say, unless maybe he was agreeing with her every word. “Alright, message received,” he conceded, standing up from his seat as he tucked the deck back into his pocket. “My stop’s coming up soon anyway. Oh,” he stopped himself mid-step, a sly smile ghosting across his lips. “I’m gonna need that card back.” He took a moment to relish in her puzzled expression before adding, “You know, the one in your purse?”
She stared at him for a few seconds, skepticism clear on her face, before frowning and reaching into her purse. Sure enough, after shuffling through its contents she pulled out the very card he’d mentioned, holding it up in disbelief. To either side, her children stifled surprised gasps behind their hands, although their smiles were a lot harder to conceal. “Hmm, queen of hearts,” Gabriel observed, striding over to peer over her shoulder (thankfully, he didn’t have to stand on his toes to do so; that would’ve ruined the effect entirely). “Somehow, I feel like it suits you.” Turning to the kids, he pantomimed a blade against his throat with his hand, tongue lolling out of his mouth. He had to commend them on their valiant efforts to keep straight faces, but a few giggles manages to slip through.
The queen herself, on the other hand, was not amused. “Oh, please. You just put it in there while I wasn’t looking,” she declared, none too gently slapping the card against his chest. “I’m not stupid, you know.”
Gabriel was starting to get the sneaking suspicion that she’d been that girl in elementary school who’d told all the other kids that Santa Claus didn’t exist as soon as she’d found out herself. Nonetheless, he seemed unfazed by her accusation, simply shrugging as he took the card back into his own hand. “Oh, well, looks like I can’t pull the wool over your eyes, huh? I guess you’re just too smart for me,” he drawled, an impish grin on his face. “I’m sure you won’t have any trouble figuring this one out either.” That said, he put out his hand palm up, placed the card face down, and pressed his palm against the nearest window, his face hardened with concentration. By this point, they’d managed to gain the attention of about half the bus’ passengers, and a small crowd had gathered around them, pushing and shoving for a better look. When the man pulled his hand away, the card remained behind, the red queen’s printed gaze staring serenely out at the faux leather seats and their occupants. He threw a smirk at the woman beside him, who merely scoffed and reached for the card, probably intending to rip it to pieces and end the foolishness once and for all.
The look on her face when her fingertips hit cold, smooth glass instead of paper: Priceless.
The crowd around them came alive with scattered gasps and urgent murmurs, along with a few camera shutters here and there. For her part, the woman just stood there, dumbfounded and struggling to wrap her head around what had just happened. It had to be a trick, some little detail she’d missed the first time around. But when she reached out again, all she could feel was the window, smooth and unscathed saved for a few smudges. Behind her, the magician gave a low, almost appreciative whistle. “Wow, right through the glass. She clearly couldn’t wait to get away from you. I know the feeling,” he added under his breath.
The woman whipped around to face him, the incredulity in her eyes quickly replaced by rage and accusation. “Why, you son of a—”
“Ah, ah, mind your language,” he advised, putting up his index finger in front of her. “Wouldn’t want any of the impressionable little ones picking up any bad words, would we?” Before she could respond, he turned to the children, who were at this point staring at him in sheer awe, and gave them a salute and a wink before turning and striding up toward the front of the bus, questions and applause following him the whole way. The vehicle slowed to a stop just as he reached the driver’s seat, allowing Gabriel to make his exit onto the sidewalk in front of him. Before it departed again, he trotted up to the window and plucked his card off of the outside of the window, placing it safe and sound back into the deck where it belonged. He couldn’t keep the smile off his face if he’d tried when he saw the girl and her brother waving back at him as the bus sped off to the next stop.
Once they were out of sight though, the grin slid off of his a bit, replaced by a sour scowl. “‘Oh, he’s just wasting his time with useless tricks,’” he mimicked under his breath in a nasal tone, lip curled in annoyance. “Yeah, sticks and stones, lady.” Reaching into his back pocket, he pulled out a small handful of one-dollar bills, licking his thumb before counting through them. It was only seven bucks total; just enough money that she’d notice it was missing, but not so much that she’d go and call the cops over it. Judging by the high-end leather purse he’d snagged the cash from, he doubted she’d needed it for anything, but it’d sure be enough to annoy the hell out of her. If nothing else, seven bucks would at least be enough for a cold beer or a few candy bars. Most likely the candy bars; his sweet tooth had been acting up all day and would not be ignored now that he had some cash to spare.
Cheered by the thought of satisfying his craving for sugar, Gabriel smiled as he made his way down the sidewalk, whistling the tune of some oldies song that he’d heard on the radio and couldn’t be bothered to remember the name of. Alright, so maybe stealing money from a single mother who needed to grow a sense of humor wasn’t the most ethical use of him magic, nor the most practical. Hell, he could practically hear Michael complaining about him “wasting his talents on frivolous endeavors and petty parlor tricks”, or some other holier-than-thou bullshit like that. Even so, he couldn’t really say he had any regrets. It wasn’t like he’d snatched her whole wallet and vanished her fancy diamond engagement ring right off of her hand. At least he could rest easy in the knowledge that he wasn’t a total dick. Besides, it was his firm opinion that she’d had some karmic retribution heading her way already. Where was the harm in speeding the process along? At the very least, those kids had seemed pretty thrilled, and as far as Gabe was concerned that more than made up for a minor case of pick-pocketing.
Besides, what fun was having magic if you didn’t use it to knock the high and mighty of the world down a few pegs?
He’d been walking for a good ten minutes before breaking out of his train of thought and slowing to a halt, his whistling trailing off on a sour note. “What the hell…?” Gabriel had walked the same route nearly every day for the past two years; from the bus stop, it was a straight shot to his apartment building, then up five floors, around the corner, and three doors down. He could easily walk it in his sleep by this point. So how he’d ended up walking in the wrong direction and wound up in an area of town even he didn’t recognize was beyond him. It wasn’t the best area to find yourself in but he wouldn’t go so far as to say it was the worst either. Granted, there were several stores with chicken’s feet and snake skins hanging in the windows, but honestly, it was New Orleans after all. Shops like those could be pretty commonplace depending on what part of the city you happened to be in. Other than that, there were a few semi-decent looking convenience stores, a restaurant that had clearly seen better days, and more souvenir shops than he cared to count. Whatever street this was, it was pretty much identical to quite a few he’d been on, and it couldn’t be that far off the beaten path. He just needed to find a street sign and he’d be back on track.
It wasn’t until he felt something like a dull tug in his chest yanking him toward one of the nicer stores that Gabe was able to take a wild guess as to why he was here in the first place.
“Well, what do you know…” As he walked toward the building, more cautious than he could remember being in a good long while, the blond couldn’t help but wonder whose idea it was to put an animal shelter here of all places. It was a nice thought, sure, but he couldn’t imagine they got as much business here as they might elsewhere. It just seemed a little out of place. Still, its windows were clean and intact, and none of the letters on the sign above the door were missing, so it seemed Second Chance Adoptions was doing pretty well for itself. A quick look at the interior didn’t change that opinion. Even if the brightly colored paw prints painted on the walls were about as cliche as you could get, the place was clean and spacious, so he couldn’t be too critical. The girl at the counter didn’t see him come in as she tapped away almost maniacally on her laptop, eyes glued to the screen, but he let her be. He doubted she’d be able to help much with this particular search anyway. Sticking his hands into his pockets, Gabriel made his way around the main room, browsing through the variety of furred and feathered little beasts on display. Most of the cages looked empty, which made sense when he thought about it; Christmas had been just over two weeks away, and what kid didn’t want to wake up and find a cute little kitten or puppy sitting under their tree with a big red bow around its neck?
Pausing in front of one cage, he peered through the bars at a sleek black cat, its bright green eyes staring back at him in disinterest before it yawned widely and rolled over to face the other way. Gabriel smirked. “Yeah, guess that would be too obvious.” Unfortunately, as he made his rounds through the remaining animals, none of them seemed to pull him in, figuratively or literally. Sighing, he tapped his fingers against one of the empty fish tanks, scanning the room one last time. It had to be in here somewhere; why else would he have been drawn to this place? Just as the thought crossed his mind, he felt it again, like someone had tied a string around his sternum and was tugging at it just hard enough that he couldn’t ignore it. Seeing as he didn’t have a better plan at the moment, he followed along, letting the invisible force lead him to the kennels in the next room.
Again, the pickings were pretty slim here; most of the previous tenants had been cleared out during last minute holiday shopping, leaving only a handful of older dogs with full run of the place. As far as kennels went, they seemed to have it pretty good here, if the blankets, pillows, and bucket loads of toys scattering the floor were any indication. Gabriel had barely taken two steps through the door before the room came alive with excited barks and yips, paws batting at the wire mesh barriers separating him from the eager canines. They all seemed more than happy to meet the strange new human who’d entered their territory, sniffing at him curiously and making as much noise as possible so he would notice them. The only exception was a lone tenant toward the end of the hall who hadn’t even bothered to lift its head. That in itself was odd enough that the man made his way over, taking a knee in front of the kennel so he could get a better look at its less than enthusiastic occupant. The dog was huge, that was obvious as soon as he laid eyes on it, but had somehow managed to curl itself up into a furry brown ball about half its actual size. Gabe was half convinced it was asleep until its eyes opened and looked up at him with what was easily the saddest, most defeated gaze he had ever seen. It was like the animal had give up on all illusions of getting out of here and was just waiting for the man to move on so he could be left to mope in peace. Still, something caused him to lift his head, ears perking slightly as if in confusion and veiled interest.
If the fact that Gabriel’s ribcage was just about being ripped out of his chest at this point wasn’t a big enough hint, those big, knowing hazel eyes staring up at him had been more than enough confirmation.
“And Bingo was his name-o.” Grinning triumphantly, he hooked his fingers through the holes between the woven metal. “Well, buddy, looks like this is your lucky day.”