Taterodriguez‌:

bishopkirbcy‌:

Glancing to Ben’s hand, Bishop moved to close the distance between, leaning in and said to him, “Go on and hit me.” Lingering a moment longer he pulled back and then just laughed. “Calm the fuck down, Shakespeare. No one here wants to hear your soliloquies. They’re of poor quality and pedantic. I’d say it was a lecture, what you just did, but you have to actually have some merit to do those, and you have none. Your hypocrisy makes me actually laugh, like dude.” Bishop followed up with a chuckle, shaking his head. Ben was doing a lot right now. The way that he shook the other man up was entertaining to him. “To clarify, I’m not talking shit on your relationship, I’m talking shit on you. You fundamentally irritate me.”

He moved back quickly. He couldn’t hit Bishop. He knew King would not be happy. Not only that, but he was a lot taller than Ben. The odds wouldn’t be in Ben’s favor. “I don’t look anything like Shakespeare. You’d know that if you paid attention in English.” For now, he’d only try to hurt his ego. “Yes, Bishop, trying to be nice to you makes me irritating. Because that makes total sense.” He replied sarcastically. “Do you do this to everyone? What’s the harm in trying to be fucking nice to you? Why is that a problem? I don’t see you crawling with friends around here.” He announced as he looked around. 

kirbcy‌:

“Perhaps,” Bishop said with a lilt of his voice, “people wouldn’t be ‘at your throats’ if the choices that you both made were the ones that didn’t fuck over the people that loved you both. Sorry for holding both of you accountable for your shit actions when you decided to fuck family right in the ass.” Bishop decided that he didn’t like him. He used to worship his sister, in a weird way – a way where it was the two of them against the world, where he could count on her to take him into consideration. It turned out that she had zero issue burning him like everyone and disappearing into the void without a care in the world. He bristled against the other man attempting to do what he wasn’t sure. “Don’t presume you know even an ounce of my feelings toward my sister. Those don’t include you. But here’s a food for thought, maybe if she really loved me, she would have reached out. I’m glad she found someone to indulge in cowardice with, though.”

“I”m not here to argue with you,” He understood that Bishop was hurting, he understood that completely. “I think it speaks volumes that we came back,” He insisted. “You’re hurt, I get it. But don’t take it out on me. Or her. Both of us are human, I’ve made plenty of mistakes before,” He felt like he was walking on eggshells around the younger Kirbey, not wanting to them to argue. He couldn’t do that to King. “And I’m sorry that you’re hurt. But I can’t help if you at least don’t let me reach out. I think small talk’s better than nothing.”

buffy-seymour‌:

“Unfortunately you’re SOL there. Unless you decide to fly somewhere else. I don’t think Florida or LA are getting a white Christmas this year.” Not that the thought had crossed her mind. Snow didn’t bother her… as long as she was home and it wasn’t keeping her trapped.

“It wouldn’t have been snowing in Greece,” He pointed out, “But I guess that’s what we get for being in New York in December,” Ben hated being able to see his breath outside and having to wear gloves. “How long do you think we’re going to be stuck here for?”

wrenabernathy‌:

Wren knew the appropriate response was to say he’d prefer beer, but he didn’t. And, when he was feeling fine he could easily just agree with what he should like best and leave it at that, but when he was stressed he slid into type A personality overdrive and he followed his daily schedule even tighter than usual. “I’d have to go with the milk, actually,” he said, but then gave an apologetic smile to the other - letting him know non-verbally that he wasn’t trying to be a buzzkill on purpose. “Anyway, uhm - Chessie told me you’ve been holed up here for the past few weeks. How’s that going? Did she and Ophelia drive you crazy yet?”

What was with no one around here liking beer? He just figured that he was extremely cultured compared to the rest of them. “You’d voluntarily drink milk? Only nutcases do that,” He added. “Are they supposed to be driving me crazy? I’ve tried to not be too much of an intrusion on them since this is their place.” Ben tried to be as respectful as he could in their penthouse. He felt like an intrusion less now but O still scared him a bit. He was getting along with Chessie pretty well. “I’m just thankful for a bed and some coffee in the morning. Your sister’s a pretty good house host.”

taterodriguez‌:

“Parties in the Upper East Side are the only good thing about Manhattan,” Tate had grown to detest Manhattan and everything it had stood for.  The drama and politics of it all had grown to be too much and sometimes they wish they had been able to abandon it all and leave the way Monty and Ben had done, but they had unfortunately set roots here.  “Honestly, don’t let them get to you.  They feed off of drama so just don’t give it to them.”  Tate gave a shrug of their shoulders before sipping their vodka.  “Don’t be a stranger, I’ve heard the food is pretty good.”  Tate boasted playfully.  “Only since you haven’t had the chance to taste my food.”

“King?”  Tate hadn’t been able to keep track of people these days especially if they hadn’t been around since their days of Nightingale Prep.  “Why does that name sound familiar? – Anyway, congratulations.  I’ll drink to that,” Tate chuckled before finishing their vodka.  “Please, I’ll never say no to that.”

"Have you been to SantaCon? That comes in a close second,” He had never been but he heard about it. People dressed in Christmas gear while drinking. Now that sounded like a good time. Tate was giving some good advice, advice that Ben should probably listen to. However, most of the time, information went in one ear and out the other for him. “It’s hard not to when I guess I’m this drama filled apparently,” He confessed to them. “I’m sure it is,” Was it as good as the food he had abroad, though? That was the real test. “I’m looking forward to it.”

“King Kirbey, she’s the hot blonde at this party,” He pointed out, shocked they didn’t know exactly who she was. “And she’s Bishop’s sister,” He added, seeing if it would ring any bells. “Thanks, I’ll drink to that too,” He decided. “How about we skip the chaser and go right for some shots?” Ben suggested. 

kirbcy‌:

Bishop was supposed to be nice, but the feeling of even being a little tongue in cheek had long since left his demeanor. Something about Ben, standing there, pretending to even give a little of a shit fundamentally irritated the shit out of him. “Then why are you talking to me? Because here’s the way I see it, Vanderbilt. You’re attempting to do whatever this is in attempt to smooth over the fact that you married my sister without so much as a thought to her brother who may want to fucking attend. Further, I doubt you even pushed her to talk to me, or say anything, or come the fuck home. No. You don’t get to slither into my life pretending to be a friend when you’d rather remind everyone how much you’d rather be in Europe or some bullshit. Go back then. Or at least save me the act.”

“I’m not talking to you out of guilt, trust me,” Honestly, he didn’t feel bad about not pushing King to come home. Not when he didn’t want to come home in the first place. Was New York even considered home anymore? “If it makes you feel better, no one is invited,” It was a spur of the moment thing. Ben wouldn’t have wanted a wedding with family members in attendance anyway, he liked the spontaneity. “I get it, you’re pissed at her, but she really does love you,” He reminded Bishop, “I’m talking to you because you look like you could use some company, Bishop. This party’s supposed to be fun,” This was ironic considering Ben was usually the one who was being miserable. “Oh we’ll be going back, I just have to take care of a few things first. It’s nice over there since we don’t have people at our throats all the time.” If Bishop wanted to push him away, he was going to go along with it. At least he could tell King he tried.

oatanas‌:

Finally, O looked up from her phone and at Ben. “Look, I appreciate that you’re trying but at this point it’s a waste of breath,” she leveled with him. She wasn’t trying to be harsh and brush him off, she was just trying to be honest. “You’ve gotta know that being in King’s dog house automatically puts you in mine too, right?” King was the only thing that really held them together, after all. A few weeks ago O had been willing to get to know Ben as a person rather than just an extension of King but right now? It was back burnered. “Not that I think you need reminding, but you really hurt her.” 

He didn’t need another lecture. He didn’t need to be reminded about how much he hurt his wife. He knew that, and it hurt him thinking about how badly he hurt King. “I know what I did.” He stated, “But I’m trying to make things right. It can’t be like this for forever.” He knew her cooperation wasn’t going to happen. However, he appreciated how there she was for King. He wished he had a friend like that. He did actually until he fucked it up. “Do you know how hard it is to get the silent treatment from the one person you love? It sucks. I thought food would be a common thing to bring us all together.” 

oatanas‌:

After having been out of town on a business trip the last two weeks, O was in desperate need of a night off. The crowd of people in her house was less than ideal (she always preferred to be a party goer, rather than a party host) but she tried not to dwell on that. “Just so you’re aware, if you spill that on my white rug I will kill you,” she remarked, topping up the glass of the guest in question, only half joking.

He thought he was a pretty great house guest so far. Ben always took his shoes off when he entered. So when he requested a drink and basically got reprimanded, he wanted to at least give a sassy remark back. That’s what people did around here. However, he knew better. He was just lucky he had a place to stay. “I can hold my liquor, don’t worry,” Alcohol tasted different overseas and felt a lot more strong, “I’ll be willing to act as security for this party if you’d like. Even one glance at this rug, and they’re out of here.” He was only half joking as well. He’d do it to show his gratitude. “How was your trip?” Ben asked, trying to make conversation.

 taterodriguez‌:

With everything that had been going on in Tate’s life in the last few weeks, any excuse to drink was welcomed in fact encouraged so they weren’t spending their evening alone with a bottle of vodka at Howl.  When they received their invitation from O, it was a hard offer to turn down.  So, Tate slipped into a simple but elegant jumpsuit and threw on their favourite pair of Stuart Weitzman booties before they made their way to O’s apartment.

Upon their arrival, Tate made a beeline to the kitchen to prepare their self a double vodka soda, skipping the wine this evening and shooting straight for the hard stuff.  They were unsure of what events would unravel this evening, but Tate honestly couldn’t care less since there was free alcohol and many places for them to hide.

Instead of seeking an immediate place of refuge, Tate hoisted their self onto the counter of the island in the centre of the kitchen in attempt to remain close to the free booze.  As Tate sipped on their vodka soda, the sound of approaching footsteps went unnoticed until they heard a voice beside them.  “Oh,” Tate exclaimed.  “Didn’t think I’d see you here.”

Living with Chessie and O for the past few weeks meant that Ben was pretty familiar with the kitchen. And since he had to throw away a napkin, he figured he could do it himself. Ben stopped in his tracks when he saw Tate. He was caught off guard that someone else was in the kitchen. Nevertheless, he gave them a slight smile. 

"Surprisingly, you’re not the first person who has said that to me tonight,” Ben added with a shrug. “I’ve been crashing with O and Chessie so I know where a lot of things around here are. I even know which toilet is the best to use in the house,” He joked. “What are you doing in here? I’m honestly thinking about copying you and staying here for the rest of the party. Do you mind if I join you?”

chessieabernathy‌:

Chessie had come to enjoy the company of both King and Ben. And with O having been gone, she’d become accustom to sharing her coffee pot and a cigarette with Ben in the morning. She held him in high regards – Mostly because what she knew about him was second-hand from Sebastian years ago. The latter had adored the other man, so Chessie had no reason to hold a grudge. Or create one. “Craft beer?” She took faux offense to his comment about champagne, before a loud bark of laughter passed her lips. “We drink liquor in this house, Ben.”

Ben quickly shook his head at her. “Chessie.” He could barely speak, in shock that someone would insult craft beer. “Have you ever had a beer before? Because you should know nothing else compares to some ice cold beer,” He insisted. “However, if I have to have some liquor,” He tried to give a bit of a fancy accent with the last word, “I’d prefer anything but champagne. How can we make that happen?”