After a moment, Lukas was finally able to get himself under control and hesitantly pulled away, "Sorry… I usually don't break down like that," he whispered hoarsly, wiping his eyes with the back of his sleeves. He took a purposeful moment to steady his breathing, feeling the familiar dull throb in his chest that came with overactivity. Once he was composed, he looked at Griff, for some reason his stomach giving a small flip. He noticed small things that he never had before. The way his eyes glimmered slightly in the dull light, how his muscled form could somehow seem so lithe and graceful. He suddenly realized that he was staring and hurriedly looked away, a blush creeping up his cheeks
Griffs brows furrowed with concern when Lukas tried to calm himself down. He was used to helping Alistrov with night terrors after their parents passed, so he knew the signs to watch for if someone was about to panic. He left a steady hand on Lukas' shoulder, just in case he wasnt quite ready to be okay. He could slightly feel his heart speed up as he looked at Lukas, the way his eyes glistened with tears, the slight red of his cheeks from the irritation of his sleeve. All of it made him feel like he had a bunch of butterflies in his stomach. But they quickly dissipated when Lukas looked away quickly "You sure you're going to be okay?" His voice was quiet
Lukas heard the soft voice and it sent his stomach flipping again. What the hell was this? What was he feeling? What was he thinking? What was even happening. The blush on his cheek darkened a bit, but he forced himself to meet Griff's eyes once again, "Yeah, I'll be fine." he said, his voice just above a whisper. Feeling a bit hot, he pulled off the jacket and gently laid it aside, the motion freeing his dogtags from their confines and causing them to lay out of his shirt, in plain view. Lukas didn't notice, forgetting in the current situation that he was hiding that part of him. He was so used to wearing them, he didn't even think.
Griff had heard the clinking of the tags before he was able to see them, once they were in plain view, Griff couldn't help but look at them. He was about to speak up, but given the fact that Lukas' seemed rather vulnerable at the moment, he decided against it. Instead, Griff slowly stood back up "Do you want me to make you some tea? Chamomile has calming properties. same with lavender."
Lukas felt the cold air swathe over him where Griff had been just moments before. He grabbed the jacket and stood, then realizing the tags. Hurriedly, he slid them back into his shirt, "Sure," he said, "Tea sounds nice," the blonde admitted, his features softer than usual, even his muscles seeming smooth and gentle.
"Alright, stay put and relax. I'll go make some for you." Griff reluctantly slid his hand off on Lukas' shoulder, he fingertips were the last thing that left as they lightly trailed off. "I'll be right back, okay?" Griff walked to the door and left quietly. once he was in the hall, he finally let out a shaky breath that he didnt know he was holding. There was something about Lukas that made him nervous…but why? He quickly made his way to the kitchen to prepare some tea, but images of Lukas kept forcing themselves in the the forefront of his mind.
Lukas felt the warmth leave him and craved for it back. He took a few steps back and sat down on a chair in the room, putting his head in his hands. With Griff gone, he was finally able to allow the memory to userp him.
"Mother! I'm home!" twelve year old Lukas walked into the house, allowing his bag to drop onto the ground at the door. He sniffed at the air, noting the lack of food, "Ma, where's lunch?" silence greeted his statement and Lukas frowned, "Mom?" the young boy slowly walked down the hall, pushing open the door to her room, "Mom?" his voice was softer as the door swung open to reveal his mother's bed, lumpy with her form, "Mom, you haven't woken up yet?" he asked, exhasperated. The boy walked over to the other side of the room and froze, a scream ripping from his throat. Thick crimson blood stained the white bedspread and a shiny gun hung from his mother's limp hand.
Griff leaned against the counter, waiting for the water to boil, and while he stood there he tried to ignore the thoughts and feelings creeping up. The last time he felt like this was with…Griff shook his head. No. He refused to remember the past, all it brought was pain and heartache. He turned to the kettle when it beeped and proceeded to pour the hot water into a mug. Once again his thoughts overtook him and he didnt notice that he missed the mug slightly until the hot water poured onto his hand. "BLYAD'!" cursed Griff under his breath as he ran his hand under cool water. He hissed as a red welt already began to form on the back of his hand "Just great…." doing his best to ignore it, Griff put the tea-bag into the water and grabbed a small dish of sugar and proceeded to walk back to the practice room.
Lukas shuddered as reality came back to him. He was sweating, his hair slightly damp and his shirt drenched as if he'd just had an intense workout. The familiar throb came in his chest and he closed his eyes, breathing slowly in an attempt to steady himself, not wanting to have another attack. He was still confused as to what was happening. He'd had episodes before, but never this severe or long…
Griff opened the door and quickly made his way to Lukas as soon as he saw the condition he was in "Here, drink this. It a mix of Chamomile, lavender, and a tiny amount of columbine. If this doesnt calm you down then i don't know what will" he chuckled slightly, trying his best to lighten the mood as he handed to mug over to Lukas. Once Lukas had the cup, Griff sat down in a chair beside him and placed his hand on his shoulder again. "Do you want to talk about it?"
Lukas took a long drink, setting it the the side when he was done. He sighed and rubbed his face, debating with himself. Griff didn't really need to hear about his shit. He eventually shook his head, "I'm alright," he said shakily, "I'm sorry… I really don't usually break down like this,"
Griff looked to the safe as he thought, "You know…Alistrov would get night terrors often." He paused as he thought about how to continue, the thought of him bringing up his past made him uneasy, but if it would bring comfort to Lukas, he'd shout it from the rooftops. "We lost our parents when we were young. Nasty car wreck. I was in ICU for a long time…" He chewed at his bottom lip, trying his best to ease his nerves. "It really messed up my sister for quite some time." He finally turned to face Lukas and had a wide smile on his face. "It can sometimes be therapeutic to vent."
Lukas looked at him, silent for a moment, then let out a breath, "I never knew my father," he said quietly, "It was just my mother and I. Everything seemed fine, at least I thought. Then, when I was twelve, I came home from school and… and I found my mother dead. She… she shot herself" he said, taking a moment to catch his breath, "I was put into the foster care system and tossed around for the next six years. Then, when I aged out, I joined the military," he pulled out his tags and pulled them off to show Griff, "I was there for seven months, then discharged because they found out about my… condition" he paused, "I've never gotten it diagnosed so I don't know what to call it, but if I exert myself too much, or my heart beat gets too high, I'll get some really bad pain in my chest. If I continue, I'll start to get dizzy or nausious. And, I did this once, if I keep going, I'll pass out or have a heart attack," he fell silent, gathering himself, "Once I was discharged, I wasn't given anything, and I had nothing, so I went on the streets. Got myself a false ID, and, well, you know the rest"
Griff placed his arm around Lukas in a sort of side-hug and remained silent for quite some time. "it's never easy…losing a parent. And i can't imagine going through what you have. But I'm here for you." Griff gave him a gentle squeeze "You've got a lot of people here for you. Lisa and Julian LOVE you. Ed cares about you. and even though Alistrov seems distant, she will warm up to you as well." Griff removed his arm and placed a hand on Lukas' knee and patted it "But maybe you shouldnt use the punching bag too often. My homeowners insurance would skyrocket if you died here." He laughed out loud, doing his best to try and lighten the mood.
Lukas laughed as well, :Thank you, Griff. That rreally means a lot" he said sincerely, feeling tingles go up his spine at the man's touch. He felt warmed and comforted by his words. For some reason, coming from Griff, they meant so much more.
A charming smirk appeared as he stood up, "Well. Go take a shower! We were invited to a party…remember?" Griff stretched, releasing all the tension in his body, and when he was done he gently rubbed at the welt on his hand "When you're done, meet me in my room and i'll lend you some clothes. We can go shopping tomorrow so you can have some of your own."
Lukas smiled, "Alright. Give me like five minutes," he said, standing and clapping Griff's shoulder, "Thank you," he said truthfully before walking to the bathroom, pulling off his shirt and turning on the water, pulling off the rest of the clothes, he stepped into the shower with a smile, sighing as the water cascaded over him
Griff was still clean from his shower this morning, so he took the extra time to quickly tidy up the practice room and put the empty mug into the dishwasher. He then casually made his way to his room and quickly discarded his clothes to put on more decent ones. But after he found a pair of dark-wash blue jeans, he found himself staring into his closet clueless as to what to wear for a shirt. Since he opted to go without underwear (cause hes a ho) and had yet to find a belt, his jeans hung dangerously low on his hips
(Mood)
Lukas took an extremely quick shower because military training and got out, toweling off and pulling on the pants from before just to have something. He walked down the hall and into the room, pushing the door open. He saw Griff, the man's back to Lukas, and couldn't help the massive blush that spread all over his cheeks. From what he could see, that man had a great ass. Wait what the fuck? Did he really just think that? Panicking, Lukas cleared his throat to announce his presence and tried to make it seem like he wasn't looking.
Griff didnt budge as he continued looking at his closet perplexed. "Youd think with all the clothes i just bought, id be able to find something…." Mumbled Griff under his breath before pointing over to a dresser "pants, socks, undershirts are in there. Feel free to pick out whatever youd like. AH-HA!" Griff practically dived into his closed and dug out a simple white t-shirt and a white button up
Lukas swallowed tightly, choosing not to say anything, fearing his response would betray his situation. Instead, he hurried over to the dresser and opened it, pulling out a pair of grey slacks and plain white socks. He glanced over at Griff, hurriedly changing into the pants, unsure why he was so nervous. He grabbed an undershirt and pulled it on, walking back over while desperately willing his flush to go away.
Quickly throwing on the t-shirt, which was quite snug and seemed to show off his muscles even more, Griff smiled triumphantly as he rolled up the sleeves on the button up before he put that on as well. "So." He looked over Lukas "How do those pants fit?" The corner of his mouth twitched as a thought dashed through his head 'I'd say they fit great' he shook his head slightly, dismissing the thought before it got any worse. "I own various sizes. If you're hoping to show off wear some tighter ones. The girls that are going to be there like that kind of thing."
The shirt that Lukas was wearing was snug on him as well, seeing as he was a bit larger than Griff. He chuckled, "I think these are fine," he said, for some reason uninterested in the possibility of picking up a chick. Before he had met Griff, every other night he'd ended up in bed with one, sometimes more than one, woman. But now, with Griff suggesting the possibility being prevalent tonight, his brain dismissed it, and replaced it with the ever confused mesh of feelings that happened when he laid his eyes on Griff.
Holy shit.
Wait wait hold the fuck up.
Was… was he gay?
Griff stood back, giving Lukas a thorough once over as he threw on his button up. "Hm." he continued studying him as he mentally ran through his wardrobe trying to find him a good shirt. But as he tried to stay focused, he couldn't help but admire how Lukas looked in his shirt. A slight pink rose to his cheeks as his thoughts slowly tried going to the gutter, but he quickly forced his mind on track. He was so positive that Lukas didnt swing that way. Why would he? A tough guy like him obviously likes girls. He sighed as threw his dreads into a flattering half-up half-down style "I really cant think of what would look good on you. To be honest, most of these clothes are new, so I'm not sure of what i have. But you can choose whatever you want!"
(By the way, can I just say how much I appreciate that this is slowly developing. Most rps are like: first sight damn he/she hot. let's fuck)
Lukas took a moment to realize that Griff was speaking to him, and another few to realize what he said, "Oh, uh, alright," he peered into the closet, for some reason wanting to find something that Griff would appreciate. His green eyes flicked to the back of the closet where he saw a shirt that matched his eye color perfect. He pulled it out, throwing it on and buttoning it up, leaving it half-tucked. It fit him just tight enough to show the defenition of each and every muscle on his chest and torso, but not too tight to be uncomfortable. He rolled the sleeves up to reveal his muscular forearms, but the tightness in his biceps were just enough to be tasteful, yet comfortable. The blonde turned to Griff, "Well?" he asked nervously
