Nothing But Thieves {Fransykes}

10: Josh

The fairy lights in Oliver's apartment seem especially bright right now, although that probably has more to do with the drugs than anything else. Josh is lying on the bed with his arm around Oliver, staring  around the room and at the ceiling.

Josh looks over at Oli, suddenly transfixed by his tattoos. He gently traces the tattoos on Oliver's neck, surprised when Oli shivers at his touch.

"Are my hands cold?" Josh asks curiously, trying to figure out the reasoning behind the other man's reaction.

Oliver blushes, "My neck is just sensitive." He explains softly, seemingly embarrassed.

Josh nods his understanding and removes his fingers from Oli's skin, filing this knowledge away for later. As nice as it is to know that there is a fairly simple way to get Oliver going, he knows that the two of them are far too intoxicated to consent.

"You're pretty." Josh says distractedly, though he means it with all of his heart. He is reasonably sure that Oli is the prettiest man that he has ever known, and he wants him to be aware of that fact.

"Yeah, pretty gay." Oliver responds, causing the both of them to erupt into giggles.

It takes a moment for Josh's clouded mind to process the fact that Oliver just deflected his compliment expertly, as though it is some kind of reflex. "I mean it, though." He adds, rolling over to look at Oli, "You're gorgeous."

Oliver smiles, but there is some sadness behind his smile. "Thank you." He whispers, but his voice is telling Josh that he doesn't believe what he is saying.

Josh frowns at him, "You don't believe me, do you?" He asks, saddened by the very thought of it.

Oliver sighs, "I'm sorry, I just have trouble thinking of myself that way." He admits, hiding his face in Josh's shoulder, his body trembling slightly.

Josh strokes Oliver's hair, holding him close and trying to comfort him as best he can. "You don't have to apologize for that, it's not your fault. For what it's worth, I mean what I say. I think you're beautiful."

Oliver pulls away, sitting up on the edge of his bed and clasping his hands in his lap. "Please don't lie to me." He  begs, looking down at his hands and avoiding Josh's gaze.

Josh props himself up on his elbows and looks at Oliver with concern. "I'm not lying, you really are-"

"Then you're just high!" Oliver is raising his voice now, sending an instinctive panic response shooting through Josh's body.

"Don't yell." Josh whispers, pulling his knees into his chest and curling up around himself in the fetal position. "Don't yell at me." He can feel himself shaking, trembling, even though Oli only slightly raised the volume of his voice.

Oli sighs and scoots closer to Josh, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder, "I'm not going to yell at you, sweetheart. I'm not angry, I'm just insecure. It's not your fault that I have trouble believing compliments, and I shouldn't have gotten mad at you."

Josh is starting to calm down now, reassured by what Oliver is saying to him. He raises his head to look at Oli, "It's okay. Cuddle me?"

Oliver smiles, scooting closer and laying down so he is spooning Josh from behind. He puts his arms around Josh, his hands resting in front of his stomach where Josh can hold them. "Thank you for being patient with me." Oli murmurs quietly, pressing his face into the crook of Joshua's neck.

Josh smiles, playing with Oliver's fingers. "I'm not gonna give up on you that easily, but I stand by calling you beautiful." He says, then yawns. "I'm sleepy." Josh mumbles.

"Then go to sleep." Oliver states, earning an eyeroll and a glare over his shoulder from Josh.

"I don't wanna sleep!" Josh protests, though he is sure that it sounds like a whine, "I don't wanna stop spending time with you." He means it, he would stay awake for days if it meant getting to spend those days with Oliver, though that is probably the cheesiest thought that has crossed his mind in a while.

"You don't have to stay awake to spend time with me." Oli tells him affectionately, "We can cuddle while we sleep."

"Okay." Josh giggles, then closes his eyes and falls fast asleep almost immediately.

*     *     *

Josh wakes up to the sound of Elissa's ringtone blaring at a truly annoying volume in his ear. He groans and tries to roll over, but finds that Oliver's arms are holding him place. His phone is just out of reach on Oli's bedside table.

"Oli, wake up." Josh murmurs, tapping Oliver's hands and arms to wake him up. Oli's grip loosens enough for Josh to lean forward and grab his phone, answering it and holding it to his ear. "What?" He demands grumpily, irritated to be disturbed from his rest in the comfort of Oliver's embrace.

"Did I seriously just wake you up?" Elissa sounds amused, "It's noon, what did you get up to last night?"

"Not what you're thinking!" Josh hisses, shifting and trying not to wake Oliver up. "We just got stoned and cuddled. What the hell do you want?"

"Don't be fucking rude, Joshua." Elissa adopts a falsely parental tone, "I was calling about a job, now be nice or I'll offer it to someone else."

Josh sighs, "What's the job?"

"The same one that you fucked up the other day." She says cheerily, "And you're gonna take it."

"I thought I already said no to that." Josh replies, wishing she would leave him alone so that he could go back to sleep. He understand, however, that she is just trying to set up a job for him.

"It's a two person job now that they've upped security, the client is offering double the cash." Elissa explains, "I thought you and your boyfriend could work together on it."

"He's not my boyfriend." Josh's voice falls to a whisper to avoid waking Oliver up, or worse, being overheard. "I mean, I want him to be, but-"

"Josh, I love you but I don't have time for your relationship problems right now. Do you want the job or not?"

"Tell her yes." Oliver's voice nearly makes Josh drop his phone in surprise, "And yes, I'll be your boyfriend."

Josh can feel his face turning red as he hurriedly relays his acceptance of the job to Elissa, says goodbye, and hangs up the phone. "So you, uh, heard that?" He asks Oli awkwardly, already knowing the answer. He is really just trying to confirm for himself that this is real, that Oliver wants to be his boyfriend. He feels silly for being shy about wanting to be dating him, especially now that he knows Oliver wants that too.

Oliver kisses Josh's shoulder, "Yeah I did, and I meant what I said about being your boyfriend. If you really do want that."

Just like that, Josh can't seem to keep a smile off of his face. In fact, he doesn't want to. "I really do want that." He replies, turning his head so he can kiss Oliver- who is now his boyfriend- softly on the lips. "And I want to rob a house with you."

"You're so romantic." Oliver tells him, grinning and pressing his nose to the side of Josh's face.

"I try."

~

im bopping to the song i attached rn

vibing

school is exhausting rn, it's stressing me tf out!!

me? overwhelmed? perhaps!

vibe and remember to create and destroy as you see fit

-Samira