Rowan-tandel‌:

what's it like being back in the city?

“It’s starting to feel like I never left. Shit goes down around here that wouldn’t happen anywhere else.” Sometimes he felt like New York was suffocating. “And it wasn’t this cold in some areas of Europe.”

quinnxarchibald‌:

Quinn shook his head at the brunet, not sure what to say. He wanted to punch Ben again, this time for being so Ben. Leave it to his former friend to drain all the fight out of him. The way Ben was looking at him, like Quinn had kicked his child or told him that Christmas was canceled, made Quinn start to feel bad for him. He didn’t want  to feel bad for Ben though. This was the man who had left Quinn to face the world on his own. He should still be furious. “I don’t know what happened either.” Quinn finally replied, looking down at the other man. “I shouldn’t have punched you though. I’m sorry.”

This wasn’t going to be easy. Here he was face to face with Quinn and he wasn’t making any effort to apologize. After years of torture, this was an opportunity to at least open the conversation up. Ben winced when he apologized before he tensed his shoulders. It showed how easy it was to do such a thing. However, he felt like he had to show Quinn he was sorry too which was easier said than done. “It’s fine. I punched back too, it’s probably the alcohol. Let’s just forget about it, alright?”

monty-santos‌:

“I don’t know, not all mall Santas are that way.  Or I”m assuming, I don’t actually know,” Monty shrugged, though he couldn’t really imagine places hiring drunks for a job that required them to be around children all day, “I don’t think so, it’s jsut for the donkey.  Though any kid who sends letters to Santa gets a response, which I think is pretty cool.” 

He was just going by the reputation that mall Santas had. They were always a version of a bum. “Who the hell is writing all of those letters back to those kids?” Someone had way too much time on their hands. “I think France should be focusing on other things, if it were up to me,” Then again he wasn’t in the French Parliament. “I spent some time there, I would know. They also aren’t huge fans of Americans, especially when I told them that I was from the City.” 

buffy-seymour‌:

Buffy didn’t check the weather before leaving for the party, but judging by the all-encompassing white outside the window and the severe weather alert currently overtaking her phone, she should have. With a sigh she turned from the window and crossed her arms. This was not a hiccup she planned for. There wasn’t even any dry shampoo in the small bag she brought for essentials (make up wipes, powder, blush, mascara, lipstick). Looking over at her companion, Buffy chuckled. “I wasn’t dreaming of a white Christmas party. Were you?”

He sipped on his Gin Fizz, as he watched Buffy turn towards him. Either way, he would’ve been here tonight. It wasn’t like he really minded staying here anyways. He was enjoying himself at O and Chessie’s place in general. Well, when he wasn’t moping around and dreaming about Europe. “Not really, I wouldn’t have minded a green Christmas,” He said with a shrug. “The City seems to recover pretty quickly even after the most horrible blizzards. Soon it’ll look like it didn’t even snow.”

quinnxarchibald‌:

“I dunno, called me? Sent me a facebook message? Something!” Quinn replied, throwing his hands in the air in frustration and surrender. “Why? Why did you come back for me? Wasn’t leaving bad enough?” He snapped. “You had your life over in Europe, why throw that away?” He then asked, hating that Ben wasn’t looking at him. Hating that this was what their relationship had become. He needed answers though and couldn’t wait for Ben to be ready to talk.

“I don’t use social media and I didn’t know if your number was the same,” It was a lame excuse but he figured it was also better to talk to him in person. “Because I screwed you over, Quinn. That’s why. I fucked your life up,” He admitted, “That night... what I asked you to do, it’s all I can think about.” It was eating him up inside. It took months and months of convincing. He knew that talking to Quinn was eventually going to happen. He just didn’t want to do it at a party.

chessieabernathy‌:

“Quinn didn’t hit you so hard you forgot why everyone stayed over last night, right?“ She pointed out the obvious, nodding to the snow piled up on the terrace. Chessie paused for a moment, before grumbling as she sat her mug on the counter with a dramatic thud. “Fine,” Her resolve didn’t last long.The desire to smoke easily outweighed the desire to stay inside. “I’ll go put on pants,” she grumbled as she walked away, leaving him to return to her room and change. It only took a moment – Swapping her robe for a pair of sweats and an old Yale sweatshirt, pack of cigarettes and lighter in hand. Holding them up for him to see, Chessie gave him a smirk. “Happy now?”

Was that anyone that didn’t hear about that? “I know why everyone had to stay over, I remember most of the night,” He knew there were some fuzzy moments but for the most part, he remembered the big details like getting punched in the face. Ben poured himself a cup of coffee as he waited for her to come back out, changed appropriately for the weather. He took a sip before she returned and then greeted her with a nod. “As happy as I’ll ever be,” He teased, before heading towards the door. It was a lot colder than he expected but he figured he’d warm up soon as soon as his cigarette was lit. “So did anything eventful happen last night? Besides Quinn taking a sucker punch at me?” It wasn’t an Upper East Side party without shit happening. 

oatanas‌:

“Tiger doesn’t change it’s stripes, Vanderbilt,” O shrugged, “you’re still an American.” Truly she wasn’t trying to be confrontational. O did like Ben even if the only reason she gave him a second thought was King, and for the most part she didn’t comment on his Europe obsession. But sometimes she just couldn’t help herself. “Vodka sodas,” she finished off her drink before holding up the bottle she had brought and giving Ben a grin. “Wanna put away the cultured traveler look for a minute and do a shot like the rest of us?”

She was right, however, that didn’t stop him from trying to prove her wrong, “But it can change it’s eating habits.” That probably sounded grosser than he intended. Ben was trying to come up with a clever comeback but he couldn’t think of anything better than that. His thoughts were already a bit cloudy. “I’m a lot different than I was two years ago.” Okay, that probably sounded better. “Shots aren’t just an American thing,” He pointed out before giving her a nod, “Do you think Arlo’s got some Fireball or?” He asked, “I’d be down for some vodka shots but I’m gonna need a chaser.” 

ask me unconventional/random “TOP 3/5/10″ end of the year lists!

TITLE: Fool Me Twice, Shame On Me. LOCATION & DATE: Arlo’s Place & Early New Year’s Day (1/01/19) SUMMARY: After a night of drinking and getting high, Ben gets busted. However, that doesn’t stop him from resisting. AKA Benjamin Vanderbilt is an idiot.  TRIGGERS:  Oding, mentions of drug use, mentions of arrest and jail

It was destiny that he had run into Chessie or Arlo. Or rather, that they had ran into him. Or met him in the same room. Whatever. And now he was feeling this high all over again. It felt like wind on a crisp fall day to him. He felt something he hadn’t felt in two years. He was pretty damn out of it but it’s not like he really knew that. He thought that he was completely coherent. 

Then when Chessie went down, it didn’t hit him much. It should’ve brought him back to reality. Instead, he just saw her go down without it registering. He then spent the rest of the night, away from others. With a little baggie tucked away in his pocket. How it got there, he wasn’t sure but he knew he’d save it for a good time. 

When uninvited guests made their way in, Ben tried to quickly get up from the floor but pretty much stumbled over. 

“Hey, hey, hey. What are you doing?” He asked, his words completely slurred. Next thing he knew he was against the wall with his hands behind is back. 

“If you fellas wanted some too, all you had to do was ask.” He announced as they searched his suit. Fuck. The counsequences of his actions weren’t something he was really thinking about, his thought process was blurred but he knew that this probably wasn’t good. He should’ve just fucking left with King when they were talking about it. Now Ben was stuck in a god damn mess with no one to save his ass. Talk about being a Damsel in Distress. 

“We were making it snow since it’s not even cold outside!” He exclaimed, not helping his case. He was told to be quiet immediately but he couldn’t shut the fuck up. The adrenaline rushing through him was warping his judgment completely. Maybe this was a nightmare. Maybe he was dreaming. That could be the case. He was a heavy sleeper. This could’ve just been his guilt. Yes, that made the most sense. This couldn’t have been real. 

“Can Olivia Benson at least arrest me?” He asked one of the cops as they took him off the wall. The Miranda Rights being read to him were muffled. He couldn’t hear shit. It sounded like a bunch of idiots in a room talking. “These handcuffs are really tight.” He made it seem like he was talking to old buddies. There was no filter. He was just blurting whatever the hell he was thinking. Next thing he knew, he was being led by a police officer out of the building. It felt worse than the walk of shame. At least with the walk of shame, you weren’t being carried out by police officers. Fuck this.

The worst part was getting booked, and telling him that he had one phone call. He couldn’t call his mom, he hadn’t spoken to her in two years. He couldn’t call his sister. Besides, he knew he was going to call King. However, he wasn’t sure what the results of his actions would do to her or them. They were here for Ben to make amends, not to get actually arrested this time. But he had to suck it up to get the fuck out of here. That meant putting on his big boy pants and calling his wife.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire ~ JK Rowling