Pump it up (Jim)

[Deleted]

It was quite late, so late the gym was practically deserted, and that was how Lance liked it. It wasn't that he was insecure, after all he'd spent all of his life training, he didn't really have anything to be insecure about, he just liked to continue training without any distractions.

He also liked to play music while he lifted weights, finding something nice and rhythmic helped him keep his time and move more smoothly, and having nobody around meant he could play his music without fear of annoying anybody else... and judgement for his music taste.

He'd just finished lifting some weight and was lying back on the bench, practically invisible from the entrance, tapping his foot to the current song that was playing and unconsciously singing along while he took a little break.

[jim]

Late night again, and of course Jim wasn't sleeping. He actually couldn't remember sleeping much since he woke up from the accident. He was sure that he was sleeping (otherwise he'd just expire from exhaustion), he just didn't know when it was happening. He suspected it was during all the gaps in time he kept experiencing. He could be sitting by the lake, watching the sun rise, blink and see a flash of color, and then open his eyes to find himself in class in the middle of giving a rather eloquent speech on the mechanics behind his hover board.

Probably other men would have been concerned by the black outs, but Jim had a more pragmatic approach. It wasn't like he could really control them, and other people didn't seem to be noticing (or were they? he wasn't really certain to be honest). So he kept moving and hoping that one day he'd catch up to his body or his mind, whichever one it was that was driving him to stay active all the time. Physical activity helped. His mind felt clearer when he pushed his body to its limits.

So it was in this case that he walked into the gym in a bit of haze of distracted thought and made his way to the mats. Weights first, he decided, then jump rope. It was when he was reaching for the free weights that he heard the singing. Singing.

Was he not mad enough already that now he had to hear singing? He sighed in frustration. He could at least have heard decent singing, not some bloke mumbling off key. Just lift, he told himself. The voice will leave. It did last time. He turned to face the mirrors and almost dropped a weight on his foot when he saw the other man across from him lifting on the bench.

And singing. Not crazy this time! he cheered himself. He set his weights down and approached the man, clearing his throat to announce his presence. "Need a spotter?" he asked.

[Deleted]

Lance was almost falling asleep there on the bench, a little tired from his work out and distracted by the music, so when he heard someone clearing their throat it was a bloody good job he hadn't been holding the weights or he would have dropped them.
As it was he jumped in surprised and sat up so quickly he only just managed to avoid hitting his head on the bar with a last-second duck.

Trying to pretend he had totally meant to do all of that - possibly including the singing - he shrugged casually.
"Nah, thanks, I was just resting. Just finished a set." He added, just in case Jim thought he was the kind of weirdo who just came into the gym to lie about on the benches.

"Don't normally see people around here this late." He pointed out, trying to keep Jim distracted from any mention of singing, clumsiness or, indeed, anything else that might cause Lance any embarrassment.

[jim]

Jim wanted very badly to be tactful enough not to mention the other man's near miss with the bar, but he just couldn't help himself. "Take it easy there, champ," he remarked. "There's no fire." He sat on the other weight bench and appraised the other man in a glance, trying to gather what could now that he could see the man's face. He didn't recognize him, but that meant even less than nothing, if that was possible. He hadn't known many people before and he didn't remember most of the ones he had known, as a matter of fact, so not recognizing someone was pretty much par.

He passed over the comment about the odd hour. Yes, it was odd, but explaining why he was out late would not make him seem saner. And clearly he wasn't the only one. "Hey, do I know you?" he tossed out casually. It was a technique he used often to attempt to regain his memories or perhaps some relationships. So far he was 0/6. But maybe one day he'd be lucky.

[Deleted]

Lance might have given Jim the sort of withering look that said 'I'm not going to dignify that with a response', but it was actually because, well, he couldn't think of one. He'd been hoping that Jim would take the offered change of subject and not bring up his sudden awkward moment, so he hadn't really been preparing a come back.

"...Don't tell me I look like the bastard as well..." he groaned when the question came, so on-guard ever since he came here that any insinuation that he might have met someone before, when he knew he hadn't, was beginning to be met with the same frustration.

"We haven't met before, if you have met somebody else called Lancelot, it wasn't me, so don't hold me responsible for anything he did, alright?"

[jim]

Jim regarded the other man in curious bemusement. Was it possible that someone else here was also holding on to his sanity by a fraying thread? His mind immediately jumped to the epic bromance they could have. Two lost souls, both more than a little crazy, best friends in their manic haze as they wandered through the world. Working out together, giving each other advice about women, drinking, lots of drinking together, and -

Since when do you care about friends? he reminded himself. Stop it. You're insane. Mad as a hatter. Do not engage this poor man in your lunacy. Since when do I not? his mind prodded back. You might have friends. You don't know. The internal dialogue became too much, and Jim shut his mind out. This man, while a bit nervous, seemed sane enough. And he certainly hadn't made any friendly overtures that might imply he was looking for a bromance. If Jim could just keep his crazy at bay for a while though, the other man would leave soon enough and Jim could work out his demons in peace and solitude without having embarrassed himself hideously.

"Lancelot. Sorry. No, I don't know anyone called that. I mean you don't even look familiar. That is, I don't know you. I was just, y'know. Starting conversation."

Great start. Now the guy probably thought he was trying to pick him up.

"I have amnesia!!" he practically shouted suddenly, in a desperate attempt to make himself seem more stable.

[Deleted]

Now it was Lancelot's turn to feel a little crazy, after all he'd just pretty much snapped at the guy for no apparent reason. He really needed to reign it in when it came to that other Lancelot, apart from the fact that a whole lot of people mentioned him, there was only really one person who'd reacted that badly and seemed to be taking out whatever feelings the other had caused on him.
...Well, two, but Kay's particular brand of transferrance was merely awkward as opposed to outright annoying.

At least he wasn't the only one tripping over his words, and behaving just a little bit weird, and he couldn't help but raise an eyebrow and smirk a little at the sudden confession.

"Maybe I should ask you where the fire is." He grinned easily "Sorry about that, there's this guy who used to be here, everybody mentions him when they meet me, it was getting rather old. So, amnesia? That's got to be difficult."
He said it matter-of-factly, a relaxed sympathy rather than loading on the pity.

[jim]

Crazy. Crazy crazy crazy, Jim thought. I am certifiably cray-cray. He was prepared for the other man to make his awkward excuses and scurry out as fast as was reasonable but slightly faster than good manners would allow. He could see it happening already in his head, so when Lancelot smiled and smoothly defused the uneasiness hanging in the air, he was more than a little surprised. Jim felt the beginnings of a smile tug at his mouth. "Thanks," he said, relaxing considerably. "Yeah, it's pretty much life-changingly horrible." He paused, and all the things that had happened to him in the past couple weeks washed over him in a depressing wave. When he spoke again, it was much quieter. "As a matter of fact, it's really, just, awful. I don't- I don't even think I know who I am. And the visions, they come and go, but that's not as bad as the bl-" he stopped himself. Rambling unnecessarily was unlike him.

Or was it?

Did it even matter? Could he not just start over and not worry about who he was before?

He made himself smile again, and extended a friendly hand to Lancelot. "Jim Hawkins. I think." The jest came easily, and the smile became more real. "I guess that makes this easier, huh? Us never having met before? Neither of us has expectations to fulfill."

[Deleted]

Despite the fact that Jim hadn't taken his cue to change the subject earlier, Lancelot was happy to let this one go - after all, uncomfortable subjects like amnesia and whatever it was that was worse were a bit more important to skirt around than a little case of embarrassment.
It helped that He really liked what the other guy was suggesting, actually starting fresh with someone would certainly be nice - thinking about it, he wasn't sure he'd actually done that yet, everybody he'd met so far he either already knew or had some kind of grudge against him because of the other Lancelot.

"Lancelot, as I say. Nice to meet you, Jim." He grinned, taking the proferred hand and shaking it

[jim]

Jim smiled, small and halfway, but a smile nonetheless, as he clasped the other man's hand. He appreciated the normalcy. Too much in his life lately was farm beyond the realm of ordinary or even sane for that matter, so he treasured the small moments. It was quite nice, actually... meeting someone who understood the frustration of confusion every time he met a new person. Very nice indeed. "Great to meet you. Fantastic, actually." This Lancelot guy was all right in his book. A solid sort of chap. Just the guy who might indeed become a bro, in time. He smiled at the thought, then realized he hadn't let go of the other man's hand.

He was grasping the man's hand firmly and smiling distantly like he knew something Lancelot didn't.

Jim just managed not to rip his hand away, instead pulling as quickly as he could without drawing undue attention to what had just happened. Maybe Lance hadn't noticed. Jim looked around wildly for a distraction. "So! What are you benching? You look like you could handle a fair amount. At least two hundred I'd say."

He mentally groaned so loudly that he thought it reverberated in his eardrums. Maybe he could be a little bit gayer. He wasn't sh*tting rainbows yet.

[Deleted]

Lance couldn't help but chuckle when Jim didn't let go of his hand for a very long moment, he didn't find it particularly weird - well, actually, it was a little bit odd, but he figured there was a non-crazy explanation behind it - but he couldn't resist the urge to poke a little fun.

"I'd offer to let you keep it, but I'm sort of attached to it." He grinned. Only after he'd said it did he realise that sounded kind of gay in itself, so he couldn't exactly tease Jim any further.
Instead, he hastily glanced at the weights and shrugged.

"I don't actually pay that much attention, I'm used to not knowing specific weights so I just find the ones that feel about right and work on them until they're easy."

[jim]

Jim froze as he turned to pick up his weights. Let him keep it? What- what did he mean by that? Oh gods what if Lance was gay and he had just sent some kind of gay sign or signal that he was interested in the other man? "Urrmm," he said, and picked up his weights. He shuffled over to the bench to slide them onto the bar. "Yeah, sure, that makes sense. I guess I've just always kept track so I know how much I'm improving."

He congratulated himself on managing not to put his foot in his mouth. This time, anyway. That was a step in the right direction at least. And a first for him, at this point. Now if he could just keep it up, he might actually being able to convince his newfound acquaintance that he was actually a pretty normal guy. Or at the very least, perhaps not a total lunatic.

[Deleted]

Lancelot nodded in understanding, it was good to know how one was improving, although he himself was using the weights as a means to an end, just to keep himself fit, so he didn't really consider their value that important.

"I like to know that I'm improving in other areas. I'm training to be a knight, you see, have been since I was a child, so the amount I can lift is not so much a specific concern so much as my ability with a sword and so forth." He explained, and if he sounded just a tiny bit proud and/or enthusiastic about his explanation, well, he had been training since he was small, and this was his dream he was talking about.

[jim]

A knight. Of course. Well that made a lot more sense than it didn't. Lancelot did seem like an upstanding fellow. It surprised him not at all. "A knight. That's pretty hardcore. Do you swordfight? Is it fun jousting?" He realized how inane the questions sounded as soon as the words left his mouth. He shut his mouth determinedly to prevent further embarrassment and focused his attention on strapping his grips on his hands.

"So... uh," he lay back on the bench, scooting backwards to align himself under the bar. "I mean. You probably know a lot about honor and stuff, right? Maybe you can answer some questions for me." He reached and put his hands on the bar, grunting with effort as he began the set. It wasn't terribly difficult, though. This was his warm up, it wasn't his max weight.

[Deleted]

Lancelot couldn't help but grin a little - sure, the questions might have been a bit inane, but it wasn't actually that often that somebody was so...well, excited to hear about his dream. Ok, so he wasn't quite a knight yet, but a little awe and interest was still appreciated.

"Yea I do a lot of swordfighting, and jousting's quite fun, though I don't do as much of that." It was hard to find tournaments you were allowed to enter when you weren't quite a knight just yet, but he'd done a few.

Moving over to stand by the end of the bench so he could spot Jim's set, he nodded.
"Sure, ask away."