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It had been a while since Sergio had left to meet the Serbians who would help with the plan, so Tokyo, Rio, Nairobi, and Denver felt safe sneaking away into the city to organize alcohol. Andrès had earlier overheard them talking about celebrating and unwinding. They were going to enter the mint in only a few days. Fear wasn’t a factor, it hadn’t been ever since he got his diagnosis, but he felt on edge. In the back of his mind, he was very on board with being not sober that night, even though he had earlier scowled at them for being immature and unresponsible for sneaking into the city. The sun had just begun to set when the four of them returned, each of them carrying various alcohol bottles with them. Not much later all eight of them sat down outside, music playing in the background quietly, their drinks in front of them.
“Are we ready?”, asked Denver laughing, looking at Rio, who just nodded eagerly. “Ready for what?”, questioned Nairobi, extinguishing her cigarette in the ashtray in front of her. Denver didn’t answer, he only reached into his jeans pocket and pulled out a clear bag with marijuana in it. The confused yet curious faces from all around the table suddenly turned into big smiles, laughs and cheers. Only Andrès and Moscow didn’t seem very fazed. The latter smacked his son on the back of his head. “Ow, Papa, por favour! Tranquillo.”, complained Denver and started rolling a blunt. “You are an idiot. I’m going to bed.”, answered Moscow, standing up and walking inside with determined steps. “Night!”, yelled his son after him, giggling. “Why the long face, Berlin?”, teased Tokyo, “never tried weed before?” For a while, he didn’t answer, focused on watching Denver.
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„How do you even know how to do this?”, asked Andrès, watching Martin’s skilled hands closely. “I was young once too.”, he answered with a toothy grin as he rolled the paper between his fingers.
From an outside perspective, this day may as well have seemed like any other. Andrès was wearing a maroon suit, Martin a white dress shirt, which was tucked into his black jeans and the two of them were sitting outside of the monastery, the moonlight and the stars softly playing around their features. Essentially, it was a day like any other, it was the following day that would be a lot more unique. They were going to pull off yet another robbery. It wasn’t their first and it for sure wasn’t going to be their last either, but it was the first the two of them had fallen heads over heels in love with. For four months the two of them did nothing but strategize and plan. Earlier that day Martin had gone out, leaving Andrès behind with the ominous words “I need to take care of something, don’t you dare be asleep already when I come back.” Usually, he wouldn’t let Martin talk to him like that, but right then, as he looked over his shoulder while walking out the door, Andrès saw an adventurous glint in his eyes, after being best friends for five years, he knew exactly what that look meant. It meant that no matter what Andrès would say, there was no stopping Martin. However, it usually also meant that Andrès didn’t want to stop him. While he didn’t know what was coming for him later that night, he assumed it was going to be fun.
When Martin later returned, the glint in his eyes was still there but now also a smug smirk had snuck its way on his lips. “What is it, mi amigo?”, questioned Andrès as he opened one of his most expensive wine bottles. The anticipation for the following day had his whole being craving for some relaxation with his best friend. “Let’s go outside.”, answered Martin and made his way out the door. He was caring a bag with him and Andrès’ eyebrows rose with curiosity. With long and confident steps, he followed the engineer to a round wooden table and two wooden chairs, where the engineer sat down promptly, crossing his legs in front of him. For just a moment, Andrès froze as he looked down at his friend, who was grinning up at him. He’d do that now and then. Sometimes Martin was too much for him to handle. Too incomprehensible. Now, as the stars and the moon reflected in his blue eyes, creating a masterpiece so beautiful, that no money on the earth could afford it, as the wind blew his cologne right in Andrès's nose, and as the air was so cold that he could feel his friends body heat, Martin was too much for him. “Yes?”, Martin’s words pulled Andrès out of his moment of awe. He told himself it was just the anticipation for tomorrow that made him feel light in the heart. Once sat down, the taller of the two had finally lost patience, “What did you need to take care of?” With a chuckle, Martin reached into his bag and pulled out a clear bag with marijuana in it. “Are you serious? I won’t-“, began Andrès before getting cut off by his opponent, “Andrès, listen, tomorrow you and I are going to take our ‘brushes’-“, he created a gun with his thumb, middle and index finger in the air, “- and we’re going to create art together. The robbery will be beautiful. It will be majestic even, and today? Today we allow ourselves to be completely free.” The wide smile on his face showed nothing but adoration. Whether it was for him or the plan, Andrès couldn’t tell. Martin didn’t have to additionally convince him much anymore after that.
A relaxed smile played on Andrès lips as he let the smoke pour out of his lungs slowly. The satisfaction that struck him was almost overwhelming. He had coughed after the first few drags, but now the smoke just made him feel warm all over. No words could describe how fulfilled the robber felt right there. Sitting under a beautiful night sky, with his beautiful best friend. A pleased hum could be heard from Martin as the other passed him the blunt. Brown eyes were glued onto him as the engineer put it between his lips and took a long and slow drag. Smiling, the shorter one closed his eyes, leaned his head back, exposing his bare neck, and breathed out, blowing small rings of smoke into the cold air. It was a sinful sight to see for Andrès and suddenly it felt like the filter between his slowed brain and his mouth evaporated. “People say that love is like a drug. I think I agree”, Martin's curious eyes now laid on him. “Love makes you happy. It’s addicting. You always want more of it. Sometimes it’s too much to handle- “, his friend interrupted him, “Are you okay, mi amigo?” Their gazes met and the usually confident brown eyes looked almost vulnerable as they drowned in smitten blue eyes. “I’m on top of the world, Martin.”, Andrès said this with a smile so wide and genuine, that it warmed the other’s heart. After a while of comfortable yet electric silence, he spoke up. “Love is not all beautiful. It can hurt. It can kill.”, Just now he broke the eye contact and looked at the stars. “Mhm. If one loves too deeply, it’s like an overdose. It feels like you can’t breathe, everything is spinning around you and you start to tune out everything but them.”, Andrès carefully studied all of the other's facial features as he spoke and suddenly, he felt like he couldn’t breathe, everything was spinning around him, and he tuned out everything that wasn’t Martin. Martin, his beautiful engineer, and best friend. Martin, the one he was going to create art with. Martin, the egoistic bastard. While uncrossing his legs, said bastard turned to his friend and passed him the blunt. “You seem to be talking out of the experience.”, he poked carefully, searching his friend's face for any kind of reaction. While taking a long drag Andrès hummed, his eyes falling shut. As the smoke poured out of his nose and mouth, so did everything on his mind. “You make me feel like that sometimes. As if I overdosed on your love and adoration for me. I crave it, I need it. It’s like my whole being aches for you.” A sharp intake of breath could be heard from his opponent. Eyes slowly opened and landed on him again. He put the blunt in between his lips again, filling his lungs. “Andres-”, began Martin, but closed his mouth when the other reached out to stroke his jawline carefully. “You’re so warm.”, he stated satisfied and leaning closer, now cupping his friend's face fully with one hand. A silence so tense that neither dared to breathe fell over them as they slowly inched towards one another. They were so close now that the engineer could taste the lingering marijuana in Andrès breath. Who of them ended up breaking the distance, neither of them knew, but as soon as their lips touched lightly, they felt as if their whole skin was on fire. You could hear their hearts beat against their chests from miles away. It was too much. The moment ended as quickly as it started. Neither of them said anything, but they stayed only inches apart. A small smile snuck its way on Andrès' lips as he took the last drag of the blunt, keeping the smoke in his lungs before extinguishing it. With the smoke still in his chest, he pulled Martin close by his shirt collar and kissed him again. The kiss was less gentle, less fragile and filled with more craving. As their lips moved in sync and their tongues danced around each other, Andrès breathed out, enwrapping them in white smoke as they clung onto each other desperately, as if afraid to come off their high any second. Martin laughed into the kiss which then resulted in him coughing and pulling away. Andrès's hands were still holding onto the other and Martin’s hands had made their way to the taller one's neck. “What do you think about-“, he began but interrupted himself to steal a quick kiss, “getting something to eat?” Martin grinned pleased. Andrès felt at inner peace. He felt free.
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“I have tried it before.”, Berlin finally answered. Denver had already lit the blunt and taken a few drags, so Andrès let himself fall into the comfort of that familiar smell. “I wouldn’t have guessed, I assumed you see yourself as too fancy for that. As if it were beneath you.”, shared Rio truthfully and grinned. The blunt was passed around the table, everyone taking a few drags. As soon as Andrès took his first drag, he felt himself calm down. Berlin would never admit this to any of his colleagues, but he saw them all as family. He realized this as he was sitting there under a tree in Toledo and watching each of them individually. Because Andrès saw himself in each and every one of them. More or less. He saw himself in Tokyo’s passion for love, in Nairobi’s determination, in Moscow’s protective nature, in Rio’s young naivety, in Denver’s need for adrenaline, in Helsinki’s tough façade and in Oslo’s need to hold on to family. The small, satisfied smile that was glued on Berlin’s face may have looked arrogant from the perspective of an outsider, but the truth is, he was thinking about how grateful he is to spend his slowly decreasing time left with people like this gang.