Archive of Our Own ^beta

The TV buzzed in the background, news channels being broadcast, but no one seemed to pay attention. The sound was being drowned out by the joyful, almost childlike laughter coming from the other room.

At first, the TV had an importance of some sort; they were staring intently at it, waiting, basking in the joy that they knew something the others didn’t, a secret that was shared within them through the waves of silence. The only thing that disturbed that stillness was the obnoxious and all-time-consuming, poorly made TV ads that were rolling, and rolling, one after the other, with no intention of actually showing something useful other than cheap scams. Like really, he might be a con artist himself, but at least he didn’t waste their time, unlike this brain-altering machine. He prided himself that he could not only steal and scam the people effortlessly, but he also managed to do that in due time, that way no time was lost.

Andrés was starting to grow impatient, and maybe a little bit frustrated. After all, art should be shared. But he stayed put, only occasionally tapping the side of the armchair. On the other side of the room, Martín was walking back and forth, his hands rubbing against each other with excitement. He sometimes acted childish, but that might as well be the charm in all of this. Being able to be free and do whatever you want because the world owes you that, and you owe it nothing in return, just to simply enjoy its wonders and being able to see it in its full, extended beauty. Feasting like gods on the ecstasys and delicacies that the world lays out to you on a golden plate, as the others are venerating you, praying and hoping to receive at least a little tiny glipse at your greatnesss, even if that means eclipsing them, and in doing so, it only bounds themselves further and further inot the ground, chaining themselves to core of the earth, while their wings flap meaninglessly hitting the ground again and again, to the point it all becomes ashes and burns them to the bones, with that one foolish wish to reach the sun, yet they couldn’t even leave the ground.

That, is what makes them different, unique, separating them from the others. For they are one sole being, one diety split into two, merging themselves and forming only one true. For whatever the other one isn’t, the other is in return, for what the other lacks, the other has plenty  in return, merging and fitting just like two split pieces.

Two hearts, and one that keeps them apart. Both in sync, but forced to sing their own symphonies apart, not a duet but a solo act.

But that’s all in the past.

Time stops, they suddenly move their attention towards each other, sparks of electricity seemingly rush across the room, locking eyes as the TV news channel starts, their eyes betraying nothing but pure excitement as th TV News seems to only be about theft and chaos. Martín was now leaning against the armchair, smiling smugly at the sight of the news.

“The Louvre museum has been robbed in broad daylight…” the reporter started to go into details, but she was already being overshadowed by the giggles and stifled laughter that turned only louder, neither of them paying her any mind, the news being forgotten as the new joy of another well-planned robbery started to overtake them. This was a moment to celebrate.

Robbing the museum wasn’t really on their to-do list as they were visiting Paris, you could even say it was done on a whim, but that doesn’t change the fact that it was an amazing plan.

It all started as always, Andreas was visiting the Louvre museum, all immersed in its art and beauty, while Martín was acoompaniyng him, albeit he wasn’t that invested into the fine art, he didn’t mind observing the other people that were in awe over little nothings, while pretending they were sophisticated, but at the same time barely survived their 9-5 jobs.

But even while relaxing and enjoying their little ‘vacation’, a qualified engineer like himself can't stop from observing the weak points that could be easily exploited and thinks “Someone should check that”, while at the same time that other line of thought, that somehow always seems to be in sync with Andrés goes “We could check that”.

So after they got shit face drunk, they started to lament on how poor the security seemed to be, jokes and fun banter turned into a hypothetical question of “I wonder if we could..” that quickly turned into palms full of chalk and a board full of equations and ideas, and suddenly, guess they were robbing the louvre. Ideas were thrown and jumping from one another, and zooming past them. Not all of the ideas were great...but they were existing.

When they found out that the officials at the Louvre wanted help to redesign and reinforce the security of the museum from over half a year ago yet they didn’t really seem to hurry that much on actually starting, that was almost like an invite meant just for them, it was as if they were welcoming them with their arms wide open and their eyes closed. They were begging to get robbed, and what was Andrés if not a kind God that answered his followers' pleas?

After a night (or was it two?) of drinking bottle after bottle of carefully chosen red wine (Andrés always insisted that it was important to drink good quality wine, not some grape shrivelled poorly attempt at some wine that not even a dog would want to lick, and Martín didn’t mind the posh drinks, but he also didn’t care if a dog would want to ‘sip’ at it while wearing a monocle while it was doing a hand stand or whatever the fuck it wanted to do, as long as it got him drunk, he wouldn’t bat an eye even if it was made out of bull piss or whatever) they had their plan sorted out, albeit a little simple but just as magical. The humiliation was going to sting them so much, and that in itself was more than art enough.

They were going to be in and out in less than 10 minutes, 7 at the best. And the best way to conduct such a heist is to hide right under their nose, the closer in sight you are, the more blind the cops start to get. After all, it was going to be a rather easy job, the security was more like a suggestion, and they planned for every possible outcome. They were going to do this in the daylight, pretending to be just two ordinary men, blending easily in the crowd. It is all about confidence, how you present yourself, because at the end of the day, they are still animals that follow their instincts, and so when a strong and reliable individual shows up, what else do you do other than conform? You both know where you stand and it's better for everyone if the places don’t change. They will just follow along and mind their own business.

A person can be invisible because of their lack of presence, courage or personality, someone dismissed by society and ignored, or you can be invisible thanks to your presence, that ignorance is no longer a dismissal but rather an act of self-preservation.

9:30

The museum just opened for visitors, the slight agglomeration and the rough start of yet another working day as a poorly paid security guard was just starting.

The most unsuspecting moment, after all, who in their right mind would try to do this? Neither of them has ever been in their right mind since they got to know each other. After all you did have to think outside the box, see beyond the walls of limitations that others surround themselves with and look at the horizhon of opportunities that are ahead (and Martín would most likely add that not a sober soul could think of this, which they also weren’t at the time of making this).

But what others see as flaws, Martín and Andrés choose to view them as opportunities to test their quick thinking and improv skills.

The vehicle was parked, and they were going to climb up and borrow the goods; they had them for long enough already, no? And as they say, sharing is caring. He and Martín will take care of the stuff while the other two (old friends of Andrés that owed him a favour) will drive them there and wait for their signal.

9:31

They got inside.

9:32

A security guard is approaching, Andrés keeps him busy but not for a long while, the security guard actually buys his act at first (shocking, he knows), until he hears Martín swear his lungs out at the glass display because something, somehow didn’t work out, and apparently some glass is smashed. Great for being subtle and quiet. Brilliant. It was nice while it lasted at least.

9:34

Andrés has another nice chat with the security guard, well, nice for one of them at least.

9:35

Andrés goes to check what Martín is fussing over. They start to put their earned goods away and are ready to leave.

Martín suddenly gets up. Did something happen? Has something gone wrong? Surely the guard wasn’t some secret world-class athlete in sprinting that just so happened to have a second job as a security guard? Somehow, that doesn’t really surprise him.

But what could go wrong when they were the ones who planned the heist? He was just paranoid over nothing.

Andrés was still working at cutting and smashing away the glass, trying to reach the last set of jewels, when all of a sudden, he felt Martín’s shadow. Finally, he returned. Andrés is still not facing him, but he does turn his head slightly to look up at him. They were on a pretty tight schedule, so this should be importa- Andrés doesn’t notice it at first, but Martín holds what seems to be Empress Eugenies Crown, and he slowly puts it on Andrés's head.

He scoffs and tries to hide the smile that is starting to tug at his lips. Martín can probably read all of that with a lot of ease, but chooses not to say anything about that. Instead, he just looks back towards the place where their getaway vehicle is quietly waiting for them.

Instead, Martín lets out a small groan, rolls his eyes, and turns his head slightly towards Andrés, still eyeing the vehicle.

“Not a fan of playing the damsel in distress.” Plus, that meant sharing their hard earned possessions, which was a big no. Martín turned to face Andrés expectantly; they had three more minutes to spare at max.

“I saw some scooters nearby. It would be a spectacular escape. More memorable.” Andrés smirked and stepped closer to Martín, their eyes locked, and this time both of them let their lips fly free, knowing smirks forming across their faces, matching each other at perfection.

9:37

They borrowed some scooters, and the actual fun started, adrenaline rushing through their veins as they could faintly hear the disturbance in the back. It was as if a time spell had been put on all of France, everything seemed to be so still and peaceful, only for havoc and chaos to follow in their wake, but nothing was quick enough to actually catch them.

Andrés was still wearing the crown, pridefully so, but he felt like he could do something more, something that could sting the pride of the museum and make them look like even bigger fools.

“You know, during his coronation day, Napoleon said that ‘he found the crown in the gutter, he picked it up and the people put it on his head’’ Andrés swiftly removed his crown, holding it on one finger and gibing it a little spin, looking up from it to look at Martín, both of them high on the adrenaline to really think this whole act through. The crown fell with a clink and made a beautiful sound, combined with their intertwined laughter.

This is what freedom was, how it should feel, and how nice it was to have someone to share it with. Someone who understands you better than yourself. Liberty must be shared and cherished, for it is far more precious than anything else.

Martín scoffed, did a quick double-take, and let his words slash through the air.

“May the posh sewer rats enjoy our humble gift.”

They exploded into laughter once more.

They bantered whether or not to stop at a bakery on the way out, but they both realized they didn’t bring any cash with them, and paying with some freshly stolen diamonds didn’t really seem ideal. They decided they would come back once they managed to stash their goods. After all, petty crimes weren’t exactly that admirable, not that he cared too much; it was just that he enjoyed dining in peace and not feeling rushed. And as annoying as it was to hear Martín complain about how ‘posh’ or ‘ridiculous’ the restaurants that Andrés would be so kind and thoughtful to bring him to were, he would still not give up, and one day he will succeed and make the engineer admit how special and wonderful these experiences were for him. After all, Andrés prided himself on having a spectacular taste in choosing which place had the honor of trying to delight his taste buds, that’s how he managed to swoon so many ladies in the first place, except his charming personality and looks, having a fine and refined taste was important as well.

So he won't stop bringing Martín along until he manages to get it across his thick skull and make him understand the point of these so-called ‘posh’ restaurants. He just had to be persistent. After all, Rome wasn't built in one day.

They managed to pull one of the simplest heists of their careers, and that being ‘stealing from the Louvre museum in under 7 minutes and tossing the crown while mocking the police and basically the whole country of France just because they got drunk one night’ is possibly also the funniest thing that could happen. And oh, how it must sting, getting robbed in broad daylight, with such ease, the people must be pissed.

He knew another person that was going to be very pissed at him, even furious maybe, but then again, he couldn’t really take it seriously when his little brother was trying to scold him. Plus, he did say he was going to take a vacation, and one knows that a successful vacation must include taking some souvenirs. Otherwise, how would you know you were really there if you didn’t take something to remember it by?

Martín and Andrés didn’t really have a concrete plan on what they were going to do with the jewels. It’s not like they need the money, they have plenty of that, but Andrés has an idea. Oh, and what an idea indeed.

Martín doesn’t question why Andrés takes some jewels on a random morning and doesn’t return until late in the afternoon. Maybe he was planning to have a 6th wife or whatever number he was at, not like he was keeping count or anything, or care for that matter. It wasn’t his business, but the day did seem to be awfully dull for some reason.

When Andrés returned, he had a wide grin splattered across his face. Martín, as always the fool, even when found in a sour mood, can't help but copy Andrés’s grin and wonder what got the artist so hipped up to be in such a memorable good mood.

Its all silence, not an uncomfortable silence, but the air started to feel heavy, Andrés got closer, took Martín’s hand in his own, no interjections occurred, the engineer just let himself in the artist’s delicate hands. He couldn’t help but notice that Andrés had a new ring, and he was sure that he didn’t have it when he left this morning.

He remembers what rings Andrés owns and does not. Martín wasn’t really a big fan of rings, they usually get in the way when he is working and he never understood the appeal, in contrast, Andrés can be usually seen wearing a ring from time to time, that ring usually being an engagemeant ring, which he wears for the first days and after that he starts to slowly forget about it, in the end they all meet the same fate in which in a fit of rage (or “well planned way to show that he is no longer tied to a leash of responsabilities” as Andrés prefers to call it, which is complete and utter bullshit, but hey, at least they can get hella drunk after so who cares what he calls it) he then throws away the engagemeant ring after the unsuccessful marriage and refuses to wear any kind of jewelery that even resembles a ring for months on end, until the cycle repeats again.

While Martín was curiously studying the others' hands, Andrés slid something out of his pocket. It was shiny and probably had diamonds or something, but shit, the light managed to hit them perfectly, and whatever it was seemed to shine very bright.

Andrés doesn’t really say anything, just smiles, and it could rival the diamonds themselves. He says something else, something that Martín’s brain clearly does not want to register, and then goes to his room.

He didn’t bother looking down at his hands to see what the fuck Andrés gave him, you could say his attention was ‘stolen’ by something or rather someone else at the moment, so he couldn’t really care that much or therefore think too much about whatever occurred, but now he might as w- “Oh, oh”

It was, unsurprisingly, a ring.

That matched Andres’s new one.

He at least knew what he ended up doing with the jewels and why he seemed to be in a rush when he left this morning.

He felt like a child on Christmas day, he didn’t really have a lot of those while growing up, but there was no other way to express it.

He doesn’t take it off and makes a mental note to be more careful from now on. He never really wore rings before, but he was surely not gonna lose the only ring he ever received,  and from Andres of all people.

Martín’s new favorite activity is fidgeting with his ring, a shy smile always appearing to tug at his lips these days.

Andrés, being no better, always pretends not to stare when he sees Martín look at his ring with such hopeful eyes, and maybe Andrés looks too fondly because something warm keeps tugging at his chest, which must be thanks to the pride he feels because he made the engineer appreciate the beauty of art a little more.

But things quickly go back to normal, as normal things can ever be between them. They don’t talk about it, not even mention it in passing. But they are both aware of the significance of the gesture.

But the gesture itself doesn’t mean anything. 

They don’t have to say anything, because it already is everything.

They are everything.