Griff finally sat up, "Yeah, he's been with our family since before me and my sister were born." Slowly standing up, Griff stood at his full 6'1" as he proudly looked over the room. "My sister and i keep adding stuff to it. we are hoping to eventually open up our own gym." he reached up and tied back his locks into a messy low bun of sorts and took off his gloves to unwrap the bandages on his hands. "Do you remember anything from last night or no?" Griff joked, somewhat. He really wouldn't be surprised if Lukas didn't remember, he was pretty trashed.
"A little bit?" He said questioningly, "I remember…" he looked over, blinking, "You saved me" he said, looking slightly upwards at the man, "Thanks. I never said that last night. Thank you" he said sincerely, rubbing his eyes. He looked at the bag, "You think I could give that a go?" He asked
Griff was stunned, and it clearly showed on his face and a very faint pink rose to his cheeks. In all his time helping others, he was never thanked. They usually woke up and left immediately, usually taking something with them as they went. His brain finally kicked back into gear when he faintly heard Lukas' question. "Huh? Oh, yeah" Griff shook his head slightly as his thoughts got back on track "You're more than welcome to try. i did say you can use it whenever." Griff walked over to a small cabinet tucked in a corner of the room and opened it, fishing for some wrappings. "Do you know how to bandage your hands?"
Lukas shook his head, "No" he said, "Never done it" he admitted. The man looked down at his shirt, not wanting to get the other man's clothes sweaty, he pulled off the garment and layed it on a chair, revealing his chiseled eight-pack and formed torso. He'd never punched, but he was always doing some form of excersize to keep his mind off his own life, thus his muscles
Griff dug out some bandages and turned around to walk back to Lukas, but stopped when he saw him shirtless. Almost dropping the wrappings, his mind once again stopped working. Griff blinked a few times as he mentally told himself to not be a ho for once and forced his train of thought back on track. He continued to walk to Lukas and stopped in front of him with a smile, "Vot, give me your hand."
Lukas noticed the hesitation, how could he not, but he didn't think anything of it and held out his hands, watching Griff carefully, "What language are you speaking?" He asked curiously
Placing Lukas' hand in his, he began gently wrapping the bandages around his fingers. "It's Russian." Griff kept his eyes focused on his current task, "My sister and i originate from Russia. Thats why our accents are so heavy. But we have lived here since…" Griffs voice trailed off as a hint of sadness showed on his face, finishing up one hand he moved to the other. "…we've been here for a while." Griff made sure the bandages were secure despite him being so gentle with Lukas' hand. His chest tightened at the thought of a memory he tried so hard to forget
Lukas frowned, flexing his hands a bit. It seemed a touchy subject, so he didn't push it further. Instead, he stepped up in front of the bag and squared up, letting out a breath before swinging once, hitting the bag hard enough for it to swing backwards. Avoiding the backswing, he swing with his other hand, and soon found a rhythm, a slight sheen of sweat appearing on his chest
Griff stood back and watched him, his arms crossed and a smirk on his face. "Khorosho. Otlichno. Keep your hands close to you, that way if your opponent swings, you'll be able to block easily." Griff watched Lukas' closely, its always best to know how people fight…just in case they want to turn on you.
Lukas automatically complied, bringing his arms closer to himself, swinging harder and faster, pouring all of his emotions into the swings, all the hate and the memories and the sadness until, with one last hard swing, the bag split and broke off of the hook, flying backwards across the room. He stared at it, blushing slightly, "Sorry" he mumbled, his chest heaving as he panted
Griff let out a hearty laugh as he walked over to Lukas and placed a hand on his shoulder. "No need to apologize. Ive done that plenty of times." Griff walked over to the bag and hoisted it over his shoulder with no difficulty. "Its therapeutic isnt it? It works out all your anger, hate, pain. You should try swimming. Its more than relaxing."
Lukas nodded, "Yeah, that felt really fucking good" he paused, "Ed mentioned you had a match… you box or something?" He asked, unwrapping his hands slowly
Griff went and tossed the bag beside the door, "Yeah. Underground UFC. And some kickboxing." Griff smiled shyly "So its not exactly legal. Its just a small match, going up against some newbies." He walked over to one of the pieces of equipment and grabbed the towels that were sitting on them and tossed one to Lukas.
Lukas caught it and toweled off his chest and face, "Can I come?" He asked hesitantly, pulling on the shirt
He paused to think about it, "Well…i dont see why not. But make sure you dont have anything valuable on you. The neighborhood its in is sketchy at best." Griff toweled himself off as well. "If you want to shower you can. There a bathroom on the other side of the hall."
Lukas nodded, "Alright." He said, walking out and into the bathroom, taking a quick shower, just enough to get the sweat off. After, he toweled off and pulled on the clothes again, walking back to the room where he'd slept. He picked up his jacket and searched the pockets for his drugs, frowning when he couldn't find any. Slightly irritated, he walked back to the gym, "Hey, where's my shit" he asked Griff, his hands fiddling with each other, craving the feeling of a blunt between his fingers
Griff had watched Lukas leave before turning around to pick up the gym. As he cleaned, his mind kept replaying the image of Lukas fighting. For a moment, Griff considered introducing him to his underground lifestyle, but he quickly dismissed the idea. He tried that once before. His heart ached as he rememberd the only ex who actually got close to him. Griff was lost in thought until he heard the gym door open. Pausing his cleaning, he turned to Lukas and chuckled, "Of course youd forget that…" Griff placed his hands on his hips, "You gave it all up after you almost pulled a stupid stunt. But ill keep my word, i promise to reimburse you."
Lukas blinked, then sighed, "Forget it," he said, "Just keep it. You've repaid me enough with all this" he gestured around vaguely before folding his arms, "So are you real good or what?" He asked, referring to the fighting
"I gave you my word. So i will pay you back. Cant argue with me on that, im too stubborn" showing off a cocky smile, Griff shrugged his shoulders. "Im not the best, but im number two in rank out of 20 or so. And theres no way im going to beat a monster of a man. Every time anyone has gone up against him…well, they usually end up in a hospital or morgue." Griff shuddered at the thought of going up against 'Goliath'. Walking past Lukas, Griff headed out of the gym
Lukas followed, "Wait, you're going up against him?! Dude, don't put yourself in the hospital" he said, "That's my job" hr joked
Griff laughed "Dont worry. Hes the only one i refuse to go against. I forfeit the match every time we are pitted against eachother." Griff led Lukas back to the kitchen and went to the fridge, grabbing a water bottle for himself and one for Lukas. "Here. After last night, you need to stay hydrated." Griff tossed the waterbottle to him.
Lukas caught it and took a drink, "I'll drink to that" he joked with a grin, throwing on his jacket, "So where's the match?"
Griff walked down the hall to his room "Its downtown. Off of broadway street, its a little gym called Iron Works." Griff shouted from his room as he changed into a pair of well fitting jeans and a simple graphic t-shirt. Grabbing his duffel bad, he walked back into the kitchen to grab his leather jacket that was draped over one of the dining room chairs.
Lukas nodded, "I think I've heard of that olace" he pondered, running a hand through his messy hair
Griff shrugged the jacket on and dug his pen out of the inside pocket, "Its the same strain as last night. So only take a small breath. This stuff is potent." Griff held it out for Lukas as he used his other hand to pull out his keys. "Ivr got time to kill. So we can swing by your place if you want to."
