Bryand New Farmer

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"I'll hold you to that," Bryan said, as Isaiah offered to show him how to get lost in the Mountain if he ever stopped. There was something really enticing about that offer. Bryan barely knew Isaiah, but he instinctively wanted to spend more time with him. More time alone with him, maybe even in places where other people wouldn't be around. He couldn't quite help the smile on his face... but it slipped off when Isaiah questioned what he'd just said.

He really wished he hadn't brought it up now. "Yeah, killed." He didn't think that if one person spoke badly about the government, they'd be floated, but Bryan never took his chances in places where he could be overheard. And he had no doubt that if ever someone started a movement against the government, an uprising, probably everyone involved would get floated. "The Ark was... pretty harsh," he admitted. "Every crime, even small, non-violent crimes would get you floated. If I'd picked something off of a plant in Farm Station and eaten it without it going through all the proper channels first, I could have been floated for theft," he said, explaining his earlier reaction to Isaiah picking the apples. Then he paused, because he realized he'd said 'floated' twice now, and Isaiah probably didn't have any idea what that meant. "Ah... floating was how the Ark executed people. They'd put you in an airlock and then you'd get sucked into space," he added for clarity, though he was speaking a little fast now, wanting to move away from the subject, but unsure how now. "It was still better than being in Azgeda territory, though," he added, smiling faintly as if to make light of what he'd just said, in spite of not feeling happy. He looked over at Isaiah again, his expression going a little more serious again. "Your people saved my life."

Tag: Isaiah Riggs

[Isaiah Riggs]

@bryanbryanbryan Mission: Subject Change Isaiah hoped he did hold him to the offer. The words, probably meant in a tease, did give make Isaiah feel hopeful and happy. At the thought of spending more time with Bryan, away from this work situation. The smile on Bryan's face just made Isaiah even more hopeful and he wished it could have stayed there. He wished this particular topic hadn't even been brought up. Especially with the longer walk to where Isaiah was taking Bryan now, it gave them time to talk without distraction. Any other topic sounded better to be discussing. But it was being discussed and Bryan confirmed that what he had said was "killed" and not something else. Isaiah had his mood drop completely at that. Listening as Bryan explained how the Ark had been like, Isaiah found himself slightly confused. A word being used that he didn't quite understand, at least in the context that Bryan was using it in. He was about to open his mouth to ask what Bryan meant by "floated" but the other man seemed to understand that he hadn't done so and quickly added on a definition. Yeah, now everything Bryan had just said made sense. And all Isaiah could do was stare wide eyed at him, completely in shock that a place like that could even exist. Isaiah's life had been quite sheltered and he had hardly witnessed any violence in his life. Actually, Isaiah couldn't bring up any direct memories of violence, only stuff he had read in books. And then Bryan had lived through the danger of Outsiders as well. Isaiah reached out to Bryan, placing a hand on his upper arm. "I'm happy we did," Isaiah managed to say, and he completely meant the words. Isaiah didn't want to imagine anyone going through stuff like that but Bryan, the small guy next to him who was a farmer just like Isaiah...it sounded so much worse because of who Bryan was. Or what Isaiah knew of who he was. "We saved your taste buds too," Isaiah added on after a moment, a smile hinting back onto his lips. He wanted to move off the other subject and Bryan hadn't looked particularly happy about it either. "Sooo, you don't like growing soybeans," Isaiah said, his smile coming back fully. "Is there anything that you've grown and enjoyed growing?"

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Bryan sucked in a small breath when Isaiah touched him. He'd been hesitant to shake the other man's hand at first, but now that they'd talked some, and Bryan felt more comfortable, the human contact was sort of nice. Especially after what he'd just opened up about. He continued looking at Isaiah as he said he was glad they'd saved him, and when Isaiah said they'd saved his taste buds too, Bryan couldn't help but smile and let out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding. Thank God Isaiah was changing the subject. Bryan would answer anything Isaiah wanted to know about the Ark or his time on Earth before being brought here--his life might seem strange or even undesirable, but he had nothing to be ashamed of--but their conversation had been so relaxed and pleasant before, and Bryan didn't want it to turn dark.

"It's not that I didn't like growing soybeans; more like I'm just tired of them," he said. "I liked the pungent stuff, the onions, garlic, horseradish, that sort of thing." His mind drifted back to a few better memories of the Ark. "Horseradish flowers. They're useless, trash flowers. They were one thing I could take and not get in trouble for, because the Ark just threw them out, or composted them. They aren't much to look at, but sometimes I would bring some home for my mother, or... give them to a date, on the rare occasion that happened," he said, his smile a little self-deprecating at the end. "Do you grow that here?"

Tag: Isaiah Riggs

[Isaiah Riggs]

@bryanbryanbryan <3 Isaiah's ear perked up at the vegetables that Bryan mentioned, his smile widening. They happened to be vegetables that Isaiah grew and he definitely knew now that Bryan would enjoy seeing where Isaiah worked. Maybe he would even be interested in working in that section eventually. Realising his hand was still on Bryan's arm, Isaiah dropped it. Although he didn't really feel that he wanted to drop it. It was comfortable to be touching Bryan...and Isaiah should not have been thinking about that. He was having one too many thoughts towards the other man that weren't completely appropriate. Bryan was new to the Mountain and this was a work situation. The two hardly knew each other. Love at first sight was something that Isaiah thought was absolutely stupid but he did find that attraction could grow a lot quicker than he liked.  Joking around with him and being kind, that was fine. And Isaiah could definitely still get to know the man. The flowers that Bryan mentioned were ones that Isaiah knew about. Small, white, and as Bryan had mentioned, useless. But Isaiah thought they added a bit of beauty to the boxes and to the room. "We grow it here," Isaiah said, twisting at the stem of his apple. They were getting closer to the root vegetable section and passed one of the other farmers as they walked. Isaiah smiled at them but no words were said. Things were busy, Isaiah could easily assume. That wasn't out of the ordinary. "Did you want some flowers for a special someone?" Isaiah teased as he brought his attention back to Bryan. The question may serve more than one purpose, if Isaiah was going to be honest. Part of the reason why it had taken him that little bit longer to actually say it.

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Bryan couldn't help but be disappointed when Isaiah dropped his hand, which was silly. But it had felt nice. They barely knew each other, but something about Isaiah felt familiar already. Isaiah almost reminded Bryan of himself, or maybe who he might have been if Bryan hadn't grown up where he had, and then spent some time on the Earth's surface fighting. And honestly, Isaiah was nice to look at. It was silly, but it was undeniable. This wasn't really the time or place to flirt, and Bryan wasn't a big flirt to begin with, but maybe if he and Isaiah were outside of a working environment, he could test the waters. It might be fun to date. It had been so long since the idea of dating even seemed reasonable. Or at least it felt that way, anyway.

Bryan nodded politely as someone passed them in the halls before looking back at Isaiah. His question surprised him, enough that his eyes darted down and back up Isaiah's body before he could stop himself and look away. He smiled at the thought, and hoped he hadn't blushed. "Not yet," he answered, matching the tease in Isaiah's question, though it also held a little hint of embarrassment. Not that he was actually embarrassed, just surprised by the question. "Haven't been here that long," he added, laughing a little. His cheeks did feel just a tiny bit warm now, but he couldn't stop smiling. "Of course, if horseradish flowers are more your game, I'll back off and let you have them." They probably had much nicer flowers here in the Mountain to give as gifts, but his comments wa made in jest... and might tell him more about if Isaiah was seeing anyone.

Tag: Isaiah Riggs

[Isaiah Riggs]

@bryanbryanbryan <3 Briah! <3 Isaiah lifted his eyebrows as Bryan said that he didn't have a partner yet. He probably meant it in the way that he would obviously want to date eventually but with the way Isaiah had caught Bryan's eyes looking over his body...the thought that Bryan was talking about Isaiah was one that he couldn't help but have. He also couldn't help the way his own eyes looked over Bryan, taking in the sight that he already knew was attractive. Definitely a treat on his eyes. When Isaiah's eyes came back up to Bryan's face, there was colour in his cheeks, not much but enough for Isaiah to be able to notice it. A smile came to Isaiah's lips, not that one ever really left in Bryan's presence. There was something about the other man, the playfulness about him, the shared interests they held, that had Isaiah not able to do anything but smile with him. And Bryan's laugh. It was definitely cute and something Isaiah wanted to continue to hear. Any thoughts on the fact that he should have been staying professional around Bryan were fading as he found words on his lips to say. "I wouldn't mind having those flowers," he begun. If they were from you, he wanted to then finish with. But he couldn't bring himself to say the words, his confidence in flirting usually low and no difference in that right then. "But they're obviously your game so you can have them." Isaiah's own cheeks heated up a bit, more words playing on his tongue as he felt completely unsure about whether to say them or not. Worry held him, that they would be taken in offense, that Bryan would see him as unprofessional. Still... "If there was someone, I could always give them fruit." His voice came out obviously quieter than before and he cleared his throat right after he spoke, taking another bite from his apple that was browning slowly in the air.

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Bryan's eyebrows lifted a little when Isaiah said he wouldn't mind those flowers, still smiling. He wasn't sure if he should take that as a hint that he meant from Bryan or not, but he laughed softly when Isaiah said he'd leave the horseradish flowers to him. "I appreciate that," he said, grinning. This felt so nice. It almost felt unreal, after the last few months of his life. When Isaiah finished, saying that he could give someone fruit, he was quieter than before, almost shy. There was something almost innocent about him, and a horrible thought occurred to Bryan. Isaiah didn't know what he'd had to do to survive, how he'd had to fight and kill. Would Isaiah even want to be friends with him, let alone more, if Bryan ever told him? Bryan wasn't sure how he would have felt about himself if who he was on the Ark met him now, after all.

Bryan shook the thought away, though, determined not to ruin this. This was the first good, comfortable thing to happen to him in a long time, and... if anything happened between them, they could get to the hard stuff later. "Fruit's a good choice," he said after a moment. This time he was pretty sure Isaiah's cheeks had darkened a little, and... it was incredibly endearing. "Not sure it's great game if you use it on someone who's lived here for a while, but I'm impressed." He forced himself not to wink as he took another bite of his apple, and wondered where that even came from. He wasn't sure he's ever winked at someone on the Ark.

Tag: Isaiah Riggs

[Isaiah Riggs]

@bryanbryanbryan Let me know if there are any sentences that don't make complete sense, I'm really brain dead this morn. XD The time between when Isaiah spoke and when Bryan replied felt long. The question in Isaiah's mind of whether Bryan would understand what he had meant from the comment, that it had been an attempt at flirting. A hope that maybe he wouldn't and there wouldn't be that risk of being seen as unprofessional to too forward. Then the moment passed and Bryan spoke, and Isaiah couldn't help but smile at his words. Swallowing a bite of his apple, Isaiah turned his head back to look at Bryan, feeling confidence at the words of the younger man. At least a little bit of confidence. He laughed at the next comment, that the fruit wouldn't work on someone who had lived there, in Mount Weather, for a while. But... "I'm impressed". Isaiah definitely felt a flutter of nerves or excitement in his stomach at that. Isaiah didn't make any move to react to the comment, did nothing to act on some of the thoughts that ran through his mind, apart from the look of relief and joy on his face, the warmth still in his cheeks. "There's more fruit than apples," he said, his voice surprisingly calm, like there wasn't an obvious meaning to the words. It was then that they arrived at the section for root vegetables. Isaiah used his key card to open the door and let Bryan walk in before him. This room was definitely a lot less impressive than the last. No towering trees to make them feel like they could have been walking through a forest or a real farm. The white colour of the planter boxes stood out and the green that sat in neat rows. Isaiah's eyes quickly swept over to the horseradish, however, starting off in that direction with a smile over at Bryan. "Root vegetables. You'll want to know where these are." He pointed to the small white flowers that they were approaching.

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The relief and happiness in Isaiah's expression at Bryan's words was wonderful to see. Again, the thought occurred to him that maybe the things he'd done in the past few months would push Isaiah away when he found out, or worse, that Bryan might ruin Isaiah in some way, but he was much quicker pushing the thought away this time. "I can't wait to try it all," he said, grinning as he took another bite of his apple.

He followed Isaiah into the new room, where root vegetables were grown. It looked a lot more like the Ark garden in here than the other room with the apple trees, and though the fruit trees were much nicer to walk among, this room felt like more familiar territory. He smiled as Isaiah led them to the horseradish, which was flowering, and brushed his fingertips gently along the blooms. "Thank you," he said, resisting the urge to tease and add on that Isaiah seemed extra interested in making sure Bryan was prepared to start seeing someone soon. "So.... what do you guys do for fun around here?"

Tag: Isaiah Riggs

[Isaiah Riggs]

@bryanbryanbryan Notes here. Isaiah took that comment from Bryan in a hopeful way, saying he was excited to try it all. It gave Isaiah hope that they could spent more time together in a non-work environment, on a date maybe. Although he knew that he wouldn't be asking Bryan out anytime soon, he felt shy and still, honestly, didn't know the guy well enough. Isaiah knew that was sort of the point of a date, to get to know someone but still, he wasn't the type to just be able to ask out a stranger, not matter he well he felt they had gotten along from their interaction so far. Eventually, though, Isaiah hoped he would find that confidence of that maybe Bryan would ask him out first. Maybe Isaiah's awkward flirting would encourage him. Maybe one day he would be given the flowers that Bryan's fingers were brushing against. "You're welcome." He could definitely hope that one day he would be given those flowers. Isaiah knew that there were more beautiful flowers grown, preserved so that one day in the far, far future they could be planted again out in the outside but he honestly didn't care. Horseradish blooms sounded like the perfect flowers. Bryan's next question caught Isaiah off guard for a moment, seeming to come out of nowhere and he paused before answering. "Depends on the person." Isaiah absently picked one of the horseradish flowers, twisting the stem between his fingers. "Lots of social events, we have a good amount of musicians, there're games, reading." Taking another bite of his apple, Isaiah shrugged lightly. "There's heaps to do when not working." He didn't ask if Bryan was asking for date ideas although the thought and temptation to crossed his mind. Instead he started walking around the room, giving Bryan a chance to look at all the different vegetables grown in that section. From what Bryan had talked about so far, Isaiah assumption was that a lot of it would be stuff he had grown before, that he would be familiar with. A lot different to the fruit trees they had been looking at before. "What sort of stuff did you do for fun on the Ark?" They would have been just as trapped in space as those in Mount Weather were and he was curious to know if things like entertainment ran similar.

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Bryan listened as Isaiah talked about the things to do in the mountain, trying not to stare at Isaiah's fingers as they twisted around the horseradish flower stem, trying not to think of them doing something else. God, it had been too long since he'd even allowed himself to think about going on a date, and his brain was clearly going into overdrive. He was grateful for the distraction when Isaiah started to move around the room, and he was able to look around at the plants. Most of them, in this room at least, were pretty familiar.

"Our library was pretty limited, and there wasn't a lot of live entertainment, like music and stuff. They did some stuff for the kids and teenagers, like occasionally they'd have dances, or we'd have ceremonies and stuff on Ark holidays." It was mostly bullshit. The Unity Day story was just a pretty story about coming together, ignoring all the tragedy that occured around it that the Council didn't want people to remember. "Unless you were from Alpha--the sort of upper class, I guess--most people worked and went to school and went home." Bryan knew Alpha station probably had more entertainment. He knew they had TVs, with old shows and sports games, but he'd never seen one himself. He took anther bite of apple and huffed a laugh. "Or maybe that was my family. I was sort of boring," he admitted.

"Music sounds fun... What's your favorite thing to do?" He intended, once they were not working any more, at the end of his shift, to ask Isaiah if he wanted to do the thing, whatever it was, with him sometime, assuming things continued as smoothly as they were. But he felt like he and Isaiah were probably similar enough that Isaiah's favorite thing to do might be something he'd really like too, if Isaiah turned him down.

Tag: Isaiah Riggs

[Isaiah Riggs]

@bryanbryanbryan It sounded like entertainment had been a lot more limited on the Ark than it was in Mount Weather. The limited library was the part that Isaiah was particularly shocked about, knowing that reading tended to be one of his favourite things to do in his spare time. "Do you like to dance?" Isaiah had never put himself through the horror of participating in a dance in his life, and he was sure he wouldn't be good at dancing but if Bryan enjoyed it, maybe he would try something new. "We have dances pretty often so if you do..." Isaiah shrugged, words trailing off as he avoided saying that he could take Bryan to one if he wanted to go. He would, though. There was something else that Bryan had said that also caught Isaiah's attention, sparking more of his curiosity to how things differed between the two places. "What kind of holidays did you guys have in space?" New Year celebrations were something that Isaiah assumed everyone would have but he wondered if the Ark had anything different, like the way Mount Weather celebrated older Earth holidays and the day they safely made it into Mount Weather. A fresh smile came on Isaiah's face, hearing the comment that Bryan gave about being boring and understanding exactly how he felt. If there was ever a word that Isaiah felt others would use to describe him, boring would be it. "You don't seem boring to me."  Isaiah didn't want to answer Bryan's question because then Bryan would know just how boring he was. As a kid he had liked to sneak around the Mountain, trying to find out more about it and shake the feeling of trapped. As a teen he had done some interesting things with friends, sneaked into events he shouldn't have been at, the extent of his own little teenage rebellion but now... "I mainly just work, read a lot, eat meals with friends and family." He shrugged again. "I'm pretty boring, really," he admitted. He honestly never cared too much about his lack of interesting hobbies but felt more self-conscious than usually admitting it to Bryan when he seemed so much more interesting. He twisted the stem of the flower between his fingers again, letting his gaze focus there before he looked back up at Bryan. "Want this?" he asked with a bit of a nervous chuckle.

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Bryan chuckled when Isiah asked if he liked to dance and suggested there were dances in the Mountain often. "I, uh... don't know if I like to dance," he said. The idea of dancing made him nervous (who was supposed to lead in slow dances, and Bryan was sure he'd look like an idiot dancing fast), but maybe if Isaiah liked to dance, he could try it.

He explained about Unity Day to Isiah and some of the other Ark holidays, but huffed a breath when Isaiah said he didn't sound boring, because he knew he was, or he had been on the Ark. Isaiah went on to describe what he liked doing, and Bryan found himself smiling more. Isaiah and him really did seem to have a lot in common. "We can be boring together then," he said. When he said it, he didn't realize that the intention in those words was that he wanted to spend more time with Isaiah and it was obvious. He didn't care, though, really, because it was true. He smiled when Isaiah offered him the flower, then took it, twirling between his fingers for a moment before tucking it behind his ear with what was probably a ridiculous grin.

They continued talking throughout the rest of the shift, the conversation light and easy, and the day seemed to go by pretty quickly with Isaiah's company. Bryan found himself not wanting to part ways at the end of the shift, having caught himself a few times during the day distracted by the idea of spending more time with Isaiah outside of work. Isaiah walked him back to the elevator they'd met at, but before he pushed the button, Bryan stopped him. "Hey," he said, his stomach suddenly fluttering. God, it had been a long time since he'd done this, and he hadn't had much practice at it in general anyway. "I know you probably want to go home and rest, but uh... do you want to do something later? Not work related? Like go out? Not out, but--" Crap, he was fucking this up. He huffed and scratched the back of his head, looking down for a moment before looking back up at Isaiah. "I'm not good at this," he admitted with a smile, hoping he ease his nerves by teasing himself. "Do you want to have dinner sometime? Or go see some music, or play a game?" he said, listing some of the things Isaiah mentioned the Mountain had to offer. Didn't matter which they did, he just wanted to get to know Isaiah more.

Tag: Isaiah Riggs

[Isaiah Riggs]

@bryanbryanbryan Briah cuteness! It was obvious from Bryan's answer that dancing was something that he hadn't done a lot before, if it all really. Part of Isaiah was relieved about that, knowing how he hadn't ever danced himself and not wanting to be put in that position where he would likely embarrass himself. But who knew, maybe if the two of them spent more time together they might want to try it together... the idea sounded a lot less intimidating to Isaiah when put that way. There was no doubting the fact that Isaiah wanted to spend more time with Bryan and that want had only increased with their conversation and in learning more about him. He had no idea if he would get the confidence to ask Bryan out but at the very least, it probably wouldn't be that day. Bryan would be working in agriculture so they would be bound to see each other often. Isaiah would get his chance. The holidays that the Ark had sounded interesting enough and typical enough, nothing too out of what would be expected. It seemed the Ark and Mount Weather had things they were similar in and things that were completely different. Isaiah liked hearing about those things but he found himself a lot more interested in hearing things about Bryan. His eyes widened for a second, a broader smile on his face at Bryan's words. That they could be boring together. Now that sounded absolutely perfect to Isaiah. Both of them boring and both of them together. He couldn't be sure how Bryan had intended it to sound but Isaiah definitely took it as a hint that Bryan was feeling similar to himself in wanting them to spend more time together.  Isaiah watched Bryan take the flower and place it behind his ear, the grin on his face beautiful. He looked so happy and Isaiah was happy that his little action of offering him the flower could bring such a joy to him. "It suits you," Isaiah said, a matching grin on his own face. "Maybe people should be giving you these flowers more often." Saying that, Isaiah would happily bring him horseradish flowers on a regular basis if he could get that same smile from Bryan each time. And he would definitely appreciate getting the flowers as well, honestly. Maybe he would be lucky enough to have that honor eventually. The day seemed to go on faster and faster, Isaiah feeling completely comfortable and happy as they continued to chat and get on with the tour. Isaiah wasn't sure how he managed it with all the talking going on but he showed Bryan everything that he needed to see, He would be able to report back the next day and hopefully get a chance to have a say in where Bryan would be placed to work. As the two of them walked back to the elevator, Isaiah tossed up asking Bryan out then, just for dinner, but decided that he definitely didn't feel confident enough to do that at this stage and it still felt like too much of a work situation. He'd let Bryan get more settled into everything first. Although, it seemed Bryan held a different view. Before Isaiah could push the button to call the elevator, Bryan stopped him. Turning his body so he was facing Bryan, Isaiah listened to what the other guy had to say. Honestly, Isaiah thought that Bryan looked a bit nervous and his first thought -- his first hope too -- was that Bryan was going to ask him out. And he was right. The smile on Isaiah's face grew. He chuckled softly when Bryan panicked a bit at saying they should go out. He knew what Bryan meant, and he would have said that if he wasn't finding this whole thing adorabell. He waited until Bryan had finished speaking before he spoke himself. "I think you're great at this," he said firstly, a slight tease to the words. With the fact that Isaiah always tended to feel shy on the subject of dates, he was surprised by how comfortable he felt answering Bryan. "I would love to have dinner, tonight or tomorrow or any time that works for you." Isaiah couldn't remember on the spot if he didn't have plans for the next few nights but he could reschedule them if he did.

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Bryan huffed, rolling his eyes slightly in amusement when Isaiah said he was great at this, but relief washed over him anyway, and he could feel his shoulders relax, though he couldn't remember when they tensed. Isaiah wouldn't compliment him if he was going to say no, he didn't think. And Isaiah proved him correct by accepting the offer for dinner one night. "I'm free pretty much all the time," he said, a little bit of teasing himself again. He now had a schedule when it came to working and training in agriculture, but he hadn't met many people in the Mountain yet and he didn't know what all the activities were. He could easily hang out with his friends, and people from Farm, and explore the Mountain with them, but he didn't have any set plans. Everyone was sort of doing their own thing and adjusting at their own speed.

"I could meet you in the Mess Hall tonight at six? Assuming I can find my way back to it," he said, chuckling. "Unless there's somewhere better to have dinner I don't know about yet," He had to admit to himself that he really would love to spend time with Isaiah just the two of them. but he didn't want to push.

Tag: Isaiah Riggs