Nothing But Thieves {Fransykes}

4: Josh

Josh wakes up in a bed that is certainly not his. He knows this because there is an actual bedframe, not his usual mattress on the floor. Small luxuries, he supposes, then wonders if he should buy himself a bedframe. Probably, yes.

It takes a moment for Josh to process how he came to be here, in a stranger's bed. Gradually, he recalls the events of then night before. He had taken a job serving drinks at the art show in order to case the place, met an attractive man, and let said man fuck him senseless. He remembers cuddling with the man, Oliver was his name, then having him say he had to run an errand. Oli had kissed Josh goodnight, then left. Josh had fallen asleep not long after that.

Josh glances at the clock on the bedside table. It's ten in the morning, so whatever errand Oliver was running must be over, he must be home. Josh sits up and looks around. He is in a tidy apartment bedroom with seafoam green painted walls, lit by sunlight and strings of fairy lights. It's a soothing space, one where Josh feels safe despite the unfamiliarity. It's strange to him that Oliver trusted him enough to leave him alone in his apartment. If he knew how Josh makes his living, he never would have left him in an apartment full of things that he can steal.

The bedroom door swings open and Oliver enters the room, grinning. He has a really nice smile, Josh decides, the kind that can light up a room. "Mornin' sunshine." He says casually, as though it isn't strange at all that he disappeared for several hours in the early hours of the morning.

He looks very different than he did the night before, no longer dressed like a rich art snob. Oliver looks relaxed in torn up black jeans and a baggy t-shirt. Josh likes him better like this, he thinks. He's more comfortable, more at ease, more hot, and Josh internally congratulates himself for fucking him.

"Where'd you go last night?" Josh asks sleepily, rubbing his eyes and yawning as he sits up in the shockingly comfortable bed.

Oliver's smile drops so quickly that it makes Josh wonder if it was ever really there in the first place. Oli's face goes cold and he folds his arms over his chest defensively, "I don't see how that's any of your business." His voice is harsh, almost angry. The change is sudden, going from sweet and cheery to cold and hostile faster than Josh can blink.

Josh's posture shrinks down as he makes himself as small as he possibly can, like that will help him escape the piercing gaze he is receiving. He hates it when people talk to him like that. "Sorry." He whispers, "I should...I should go." He's cursing himself for being so stupid, he just doesn't really know the protocol for one night stands. He wasn't even sure that this even was a one night stand, until Oliver spoke to him that way. That isn't the voice of someone who wants to go on a date, that's the voice of someone who wants Josh as far away from him as possible.

Josh eases himself out of bed, ignoring the slight pain in his lower back and scrambling to pull on his clothes. Oliver says nothing, only contributing to the awkwardness and discomfort that Josh is feeling. Truthfully, it is taking all of Josh's willpower not to cry as he grabs his things and heads for the door.

Oliver remains silent as he shows Josh out, slamming the door behind him. Josh stands in the hallway, trying to remember which way leads to the exit. He finds it eventually, ordering a Lyft to get himself home.

Josh holds it all together as best he can until he gets into his apartment, then he collapses on his beanbag chair and cries until he is breathless and has no tears left. He feels used and he hates it more than he could ever express. He hates opening up to people, because he always seems to get hurt in the end. He isn't sure why he thought that Oliver would be any different. Fucked and dumped yet again, and it hurts. It hurts so badly.

Josh gets a text from Elissa, a welcome distraction until he sees what it says.

Hey, did you get the job done? Because if you didn't, someone else did

Fuck. Josh's heart sinks even further. So much for the job that he was so excited for, someone else beat him to it. While he was sleeping with a man who seems disgusted by Josh in the light of day.

that wasn't me

Whoever it is returned the painting anonymously with a note turning down the cash reward

Josh stares at that message for a while, going over it in his head. He has only heard of one thief who would do something like that. The one that he calls Robin Hood.

For a moment, he doesn't quite know what to do. He knows what he should do, which is forget about this job, forget about Oliver, and move on. But that isn't what he is going to do. He isn't great at doing what he should do, as he was told near daily by his mum and his teachers when he was growing up.

Josh can't do anything about the situation with Oliver, but he can try to figure out who beat him to this job. He takes out his laptop and opens the feed to the security cameras at the art installation, which he hacked in advance to going to work at the showing the night before.

He pulls up the archived footage, watching the previous night unfold. He sees himself, successfully looking like every other waiter while still scoping out blind spots in the cameras. He's surprised at himself for how well he managed his surveillance, given that normally his process involves smashing a window and grabbing what he can. It's just simpler that way.

Josh focuses on the other people, none of whom seem particularly out of place. They all look rich, tipsy, and bored. Something catches his attention when he sees himself giving Oliver a drink, and it isn't that ridiculous scarf that the other man is wearing. Oliver, unlike everyone else in the room, doesn't drink his champagne. Then Josh catches the subtle glances at the security guard, the analytical look on Oli's face as he moves in and out of sight of the cameras.

He remembers something Oliver said the night before, which hadn't meant much to Josh at the time, but now...now it all makes sense.

"I'm not rich or anything. I'm playing a role." Oliver had said.

In the moment, Josh assumed that he was playing the role for fun, or to take a break from the real world. Now, though, now he is starting to think that Oliver was playing a different role. The role of an art buyer, played by a notorious thief.

Oliver was casing the place, figuring out how to remotely disable the cameras. That's where he had gone after he slept with Josh, he had gone back to the gallery to steal that painting. Lovely to think that he would rather be stealing paintings than be in bed with me, Josh thinks to himself sarcastically. Even his internal monologue is sarcastic, which is probably not a good sign as to what his mood is currently like.

Josh forwards the footage to not long after the time that Oliver slipped away. The gallery is closed, lit only by dim security lights. Something flashes on the screen, then all of the cameras go dark. Josh rewinds, watching that split second over and over again. Less than a second of a masked figure on screen, but Josh recognizes the way that he moves. He did have sex with him, after all.

Oliver is the thief.

Josh slept with his personal hero.

~

IT'S (KINDA) MY BIRTHDAY!!!! (feb 29 doesn't exist this year)

happy mf birthday to me!! 

sorry im high

stay safe, and remember to create and destroy as you see fit

-Samira