15517/Ben's existential crisis

Ben's existential crisis
Date of Scene:	01 August 2023
Location:	Washington Square Park
Synopsis:	Ben's existencial crisis meets Gwen's unmovable optimism.
Cast of Characters:	Ben Reilly, Gwen Stacy

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Ben Reilly has posed:
Traveling to another dimension tends to shake one up. And that would certainly be understandable. But for Ben Reilly, there is a bit more involved in traveling to another dimension to retrieve Peter Parker, and bringing him back 'home'. It means that with Peter Parker home, Ben Reilly is back to being Ben Reilly. And so once he and Gwen returned with Peter after saving that other universe, he quietly excused himself and slipped away.

With Peter back, he could not go to Aunt May's place. And for reasons only he could articulate, he did not find his way back to Gwen's Studio.

Even just that thought, where does he go, contributes to the overall thoughts on the mind of Ben. Does he even really have a place of his own?

Resisting the urge that pulls him to a few quiet thinking spots that he knows are the same quiet thinking spots that Peter uses, Ben finds himself perched on a water tower overlooking NYU's campus and Washington Square Park. He is still dressed as Spider-man, of course. Is it because he does not have the heart to take that costume off?

Gwen Stacy has posed:
That Ben hadn't returned back to Gwen's studio resounded heavily with the young blonde. Specially after all that had went down with Kraven's attack and the body switching that had occurred. Much had been left unsaid, yet with Peter now returning from where he had been imprisoned it seems as if those talks had been halted.

Yet if Ben didn't come to her...

Gwen knew most spots where Peter would go to when he was needing to think. As such he knew most spots Ben would go to as well. Maybe that's why when Ben is settled on that water tower another figure joins him, quiet, landing on the wall next.

"It suits you." What is she talking about? The suit?

Ben Reilly has posed:
While it was not quite ghosting, or Ghost Spidering, Ben had managed to slip off upon their return from the alternate dimension. He told Gwen he needed a bit of air. The last thing he wanted to do was wholly vanish. But still...he needed some time.

For a moment, he is silent, even after she asks her question. Then he turns to look at her, face twisting in a smile beneath the mask. Even in his darknest moments, Gwen was always a bright shining light.

"Really?" he asks, looking down, and tugging it out a bit as if to see the uniform below him. "Because I kind of feel like it's a 'I stood in for my lookalike for a year while he went to an alternate universe, and all I got was this lousy t-shirt'." He lets the fabric go as it snaps back to him.

"At least I get to keep this one."

In case Peter needs him to stand in again, of course.

Gwen Stacy has posed:
Everyone knew that it was Ghost Spider that did the Ghosting. Not the other way around! Yet did Gwen think that's what he had done? Hard to tell with the masks on and the suits in the way. Which, by the way, that skin-tight suit did suit her rather well too. As per usual. She continues dangling on the wall casually, legs flipping as the spider turns upside down, still watching Ben.

"I think you got more than that." She lets that linger for a few moments, standing there. Or rather, hanging there.

Watching.

Ben Reilly has posed:
"I thought that was something I earned on my own." That said, there is a broader smile that appears on his lips, and Ben reaches to peel up the bottom of the mask so that Gwen can see it.

"Believe me, this has been the best year of my life, and the outfit I have been wearing at the time has had almost nothing to do with why."

He sighs deeply. "Sorry, I am just working through some stuff. I didn't mean to make it sound like..."

He whips out his hand and fires off a strand of webbing at the Ghost Spider that, unless dodged, will let him pull her over enough so he can wrap his arms around her. "I know that what I say my name is doesn't make any difference to you. And so thank you for that."

Gwen Stacy has posed:
"You know what I meant." Gwen notes, still dangling down on the wall, almost like a pendulum, left to right, then left. "It takes a special kind of person to be able to wear that suit."

And to do all the rest Ben had in the last year!

When Ben lifts part of his mask Gwen does the same, leaving the bottom end in sight so he can see her smile, "Sound like..?" yet her question goes unanswered due to that SNEAKY strand of webbing shot her way which she TOTALLY registers on her danger sense yet makes no motion to step out of the way, letting it pull her over to Ben's arms.

"And I can say it again if you want.." she whispers, slender arms up around Ben's shoulders, "I love you, Ben Reilly."

Ben Reilly has posed:
Her question ends much the same way his does, punctuated with a kiss as Ben leans over to take advantage of the flexibility of their masks. Giving Gwen a tight squeeze, he breaks the kiss only slightly enough that he can nod, his nose brushing against hers.

"I didn't want to sound like I was at all unhappy with my life. I've never been happier." He gives her another squeeze, as if to reassure her of that.

"I love you, Gwen Stacy," he echoes, another contented sigh slipping out from him.

"No matter what costume I wear."

A pause. "Or don't wear."

Gwen Stacy has posed:
The woman's body feels supple, the skin-tight suit leaving little to the imagination of what's underneath as Ben squeezes her tight while they linger on that kiss, Gwen capturing the man's lower lip and suckling it briefly when they break apart.

"Then tell me what's wrong." She asks of him at last. "If we are to ..." her fingertips move up between their bodies and she brushes them over where their pendants are supposed to be, "I want to help you."

Those last words do bring a more naughty grin out of Gwen though, accentuated with a dimpling of her cheeks. Oh, she's getting some ideas. "Don't give me ideas." she already has them.

Ben Reilly has posed:
It is hard to be down in the dumps when Gwen is nearby. That is for certain. But Ben Reilly has a lot of Peter Parker in him, and they both are experts at somehow moping no matter what beautiful woman is at their side. Gwen, though, is a challenge for even that formidable ability.

"I know," he says, sliding an arm around her waist as she leans in. "I just...other than you, I don't know what my place is in this world." He waves around with his other hand. "This is Peter's city, not mine. And when he was gone, I felt like it was my city, and I _liked_ that."

He turns to look at Gwen. "Now, I feel like I am just a copy, again. I know, I realize I'm not." A pause. "Well, I am, but I'm not, so..." He sighs.

"See what I mean?"

Gwen Stacy has posed:
"Well, congratulations.." Gwen begins in that sometimes pragmatic way of hers, head leaning back so she can look up at Ben as they talk and share that closeness up in that tall skyscraper, only the birds and the wind being witnesses to the two figures high above. ".. you have just figured out what it is to be human. Figuring out what our place in the world is what we are constantly doing, Ben." her tone soft.

"This isn't Peter's city, or anyone's city. But it needs you. And it needs Peter. You know that now." She tells him, brushing a finger over his revealed cheek.

"And I need you here too." she adds in a softer tone. "You are your own person." a beat, "The person I -want-." emphasis on that last word.

Ben Reilly has posed:
There is a flat expression on Ben's face. "So is today my birthday, then?" He shakes it off almost immediately, not wanting to sound bitter to her. It is certainly not her fault, his lot in life. "I know what you mean. I guess...I don't know, having a fake childhood doesn't help prepare one for this sort of thinking, I guess?"

He considers those words, and shrugs. "Do they, though? Or do they just need me when Peter isn't around?"

The last part is hard to escape, and he nods, giving her another squeeze. "I know. And I'm the luckiest man in the world for that. So don't think I take that for granted. Even if I am nothing else, at least I am that."

Gwen Stacy has posed:
"It could be." Is the immediate response out of the mischievous Gwen, the playful manner in which she says it quite telling before fingertips leave Ben's cheek and rest against his chest. "Then let's find you another identity. Different from Spider-Man. You used to go by Scarlet Spider, we can work on that..." a thought, "Or something different.., I could drag you over to meet Janet."

"She designed my suit after all." Something she never gets tired of SHARING.

"We could get one for you." A chuckle. "And yes, I know what you will say. That girls think shopping solves everything. Well, maybe not everything but it can be a start." she suggests, bringing her mask fully off so that mess of a blond hair tumbles freely down shoulders and reveals her eyes to him.

Ben Reilly has posed:
Looking down at the Spider-man suit he is still wearing, Ben nods. "Maybe that might help. Maybe it'd be different if I didn't always feel like an imitation of him, and wearing his costume..." He sighs softly. "I really should meet her one of these days. You look amazing in her work." He grins. "Not that you don't look amazing _out_ of her work, too." Is that a hint of a smile coming back?

He slips the mask off as well, reaching up to run his fingers through his hair. "Maybe I should dye my hair too, just like you."

Leave it to a Parker to find a landmine in a pleasant convo.

Gwen Stacy has posed:
"I will set something up with her. Hope you aren't allergic to coke." Hol' up. And Gwen says it so naturally too. She does smile when she spots that hint of a smile on Ben's expression too. "That's better, that's the Ben I know.." she whispers.

The comment about her dyeing her hair has Gwen arching a brow at him. Really? "I will buy the stuff and we will do it tonight."

Notice how that wasn't phrased as a question.

Ben Reilly has posed:
"No, but I do have a pretty strong preference for Pepsi."

Ben's smile is coaxed out further as he sees Gwen smile. It is certainly hard to be sad when she is so close and nearby.

He blinks a bit as his joke seemingly backfires. "Uh." Good job, Reilly.