Davey stretched as he walked alongside Jack, the sun finally beginning to set, "Your bag looks lighter than mine." He observed, glancing over at the brunette with a smile.

"And I'm positive it is." Jack cracked a grin in response.

They currently walked at a leisurely pace down a side street with minimal people and dim street-lights that were just turning on.

Jack paused to lean against the corner's clock tower, taking an unlit cigar and placing it between his teeth, folding his arms back behind him had and bending a knee so his foot rested on the brick wall behind him.

"Charming, are we?" Davey snorted at Jack's composure, "I thought only race smoked cigars." He leaned against the wall beside Jack.

Jack shrugged, "I don't smoke. I's just soakin it up."

"Soaking what up?" Davey murmured.

"The night." Jack closed just eyes with a hum around the cigar before taking it and placing it back in his vest pocket, "It's a...nice night to be out, you know?" Jack's composure seemed to fall limp as he looked at Davey with a crack of a grin.

"Definitely." Davey continued to look forward, "Cool breeze, stars are popping up...you can see Orion's Belt if you squint." He looked up at the sky with a fond smile.

"You is really a work, Dave." Jack chuckled in amusement.

"You're not too bad yourself, Kelly." Davey smirked at Jack, catching him entirely off guard and causing his eyebrows to lift.

"You- really, uh- gettin' confident there, Jacobs." Jack sniffed, looking the other direction to discreetly hide red cheeks.

"Well, I learn from the best." Davey pushed off of the wall, turning to Jack with a small smile, "I gotta' go- but, I'll see you around, okay?"

"Again? You was leavin' early yesterday too." Jack frowned.

"Glad you're keeping track." Davey winked before waving and turning the corner.

Jack would have followed if he wasn't stunned into silence. Davey had just winked at him- an actual, literal, wink.
"Glad you're keepin' track..." Jack muttered the words as if they'd make more sense when he said them. He shook his head. There was no sense to trying at piecing together something that didn't have fitting puzzle pieces- he'd just need to find more pieces.

***

Davey was moving up in the gig of being a Bowery Beauty- or, Bowery Boy if you'd have it. He'd changed from sitting on a crate in back to doing synchronized movements with one of the other beauties. He no longer needed the fan to cover his face, having perfected his make-up look all on his own to conceal any fact that he may not be a girl. Nobody questioned it, he simply looked like a woman who had made the mistake of selling her hair but was growing it back quite nicely. It curled at the edges like a corkscrew curl, and the dress seemed to feel more comfortable each day. He didn't mind any of this, especially if his parents merely thought he was just helping Medda clean up for extra pay-

His father had refused to make him work more, but after some debate, he'd convinced him to let him continue as long as he was home by nine at the latest, giving him two hours to rehearse and perform after his work-day with Jack-
That's how it started at least, with him leaving Jack at seven, as per usual. But as the days dragged on to weeks, and Davey was getting bigger rolls, he began leaving earlier and earlier until leaving at four or five had become the usual.

"I've got piano lessons-"

"My dad needs help fixing the pipes-"

"School stuff-"

A new excuse every day, and Davey wasn't even keeping track of them. He left too soon for Jack to object- and would sometimes leave without telling him at all.

It wasn't until about a month in that Jack had finally had enough.

It was a rare day where they were both selling together versus covering more ground. Jack had insisted on it, and Davey wasn't going to deny himself from spending more time with Jack.
Though, something seemed different- Jack was more...withdrawn and quiet...was this new? Had this been this way the last time Davey had seen him? When was that...

The dong of the nearby clock-tower snapped Davey out of his thoughts, lifting his head from where he'd been staring at the ground while he walked with Jack. It had been a slow day- but that didn't matter, he had a job that had guaranteed pay, and he needed to make it there quick, "Well, I best be off-"

"To where?" Jack responded bitterly.

"O-Oh my parents wanted me to stop by the market and grab some groceries." Davey smiled sheepishly.

"Why don't I come and help carry?" Jack cocked an eyebrow with a less than amused face.

Davey's heart fluttered at the idea of spending time to run errands with Jack, despite the sour look on the other's face. But...he wasn't actually running errands, "Oh, thank you, but...Les will be enough of a handful."

"Oh, well in that case, why not leave him with me at the lodging house?" Jack's grin returned, making Davey feel more at ease, "I can take care of him for ya' until you get back."

Davey opened his mouth to object before thinking on this. It would be helpful for him not to have to worry about Les during the show...about if the other had taken his make up to use for himself, not that he minded, just that it was nuisance trying to find where the boy had left it- or keeping track of him in general when he should be focusing on the show. This could work.

"I've got quite a few errands to run...but if you're sure-" Davey began.

"Positive." The brunette nodding before turning on his heel, "See ya', Dave." He saluted before jogging off.

Davey sniffed in thought before shrugging and heading towards the theatre.
This had gone quite swimmingly-

Except, it really hadn't- or- it wouldn't, when he arrived later that day to pick Les up at the lodging house, with all eyes on him.