16145/Rooftops are the best places for reunions

Rooftops are the best places for reunions
Date of Scene:	22 October 2023
Location:	The Roof above Sion
Synopsis:	Phoebe checks on Ben after the Count of Monte Cristo party, and they share life updates.
Cast of Characters:	Ben Reilly, Phoebe Beacon

---

Ben Reilly has posed:
The premiere party is still raging below, although only the most ardent of partiers may be planning to spend their night into morning at the club.

It would seem that Ben Reilly is not terribly concerned about his "cat", because after rushing out of the party right at its start, he has only progressed to the rooftop above the club after quite some time.

And there are no cats to be found.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    No, it was a conveninet thing for an ex to rib gently about however, to give Ben a needed out.

    A little while later, the door to the rooftop access opens, and Phoebe pops out, glittery earrings, a shawl in soft grays and oranges set around her shoulders as she climbs up with no problem, and she gives a small smile, closing the door behind her.

    She regards Ben quietly, her lips pursing a moment as she fiddles with the tasstels on her shawl.

    "Been a hot minute. How've you been doing?"

Ben Reilly has posed:
Her question results in a slight shrug. "I thought I was doing better," he says, his gaze out onto the street below, where partiers are spilling out from time to time, and on occasion they are loud enough that words form their way up. Many people having a good time. Clearly, Ben was not.

"How you doing?" he asks, twisting a bit to look back at her. "Sorry, I don't mean to be..." He shrugs. "Been a long night."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "I get it. Crowds aren't my thing anymore either, but I owed Nick." she counters, walking over to Ben, and sitting on the casement of the building, looking out over the street.

    "Been all right. Seeing a psychologist. Lot of physical training with Red Robin. No longer talking to a lot of people who were at my birthday party, but, y'know. Is what it is." she states gently as she looks out over the lights and sounds of traffic.

    "I do miss living in New York City sometimes, you know? It has a different energy."

Ben Reilly has posed:
"I am not even sure why I was there. I got the invite and thought it was fun, and Gw--" Ben pauses for a moment. "I had the evening to myself."

He nods absently as Phoebe speaks, not quite turning to look at her, but listening intently to her words. "I'm sorry to hear that," he says softly. "I would have come, if I could, if you wanted me to, but..."

He chuckles. "Yeah. I've moved back here, after my...well, my duty was passed. I like it here, too."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "I'm talking about the one you did come to, last year. I didn't have one this year. Someone else celebrated their birthday on it, and it was kinda... yeah. Nothing good happens at my parties." she gives a small laugh, and shakes her head.

    "So, this 'Gw' -- you're working with or seeing someone?" Phoebe asks, her smile going a little crooked.

    "And... you don't have to be sorry, Ben, things got... kinda crazy." she gives a weak smile.

    "Guess we're both just the children of our respective cities. Nothing wrong with that."

Ben Reilly has posed:
This gets Ben to turn his head to regard Phoebe. "How did someone else celebrate their birthday on yours?" He shakes his head, an empathetic smile on his face. "That sucks." He turns and looks back out into space. "I hate people that make others feel like they are second rate." He has a bit of experience with that, at least in his own head.

The smile that slips across his face as Phoebe pokes onward is hard to miss, though. "Gwen," he completes for her, and nods. "I started seeing her while I was on assignment, and..." He turns to look at Phoebe again. "I don't want it to be weird, talking to you about it, you know? But she makes me happy, and in some ways, we can both really understand each other, because neither of us are really..." People? How does he explain _that_?

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "She couldn't celebrate it on her own, and my assigned birthday's Valentines day anyway. Who knows when I was actually born?" she gives a smile and a shrug. "And she got to have it on a blimp. I just rented the back room of an Italian restaurant I liked and like, eight people showed up. There was almost a fist fight. It was great." she states, with a bit of rueful sarcasm, but she looks to Ben, and she watches that smile on Ben's face.

    "Gwen." she states, and she purses her lips a moment, trying to recall if she knows the name.

    "I don't think it could possibly be weird. She makes you happy. And before we saw each other as dating material, we were just a pair of crimefighters in search of a sandwich." she gives a smile back to him.

    "And you don't have to share anything you don't want to. I'm not entitled to anything about your life, Ben. But... I'm glad she makes you happy. You deserve to be happy."

Ben Reilly has posed:
There is a slow nod as Ben absorbs Phoebe's words. "She does. She complements me well, and she manages, usually, to keep me from falling into my mind too much." He laughs. "She is traveling right now, and that's why I came to the party, thinking it would be fun. And it would have been, but that movie..."

He turns and looks at Phoebe. "You can get it, I'm sure. How weird it feels to be not quite my own person, but another person, really? And having to pretend that I'm him, and also not him, is just..." He looks back to the street. "It gets confusing, and I don't really get to know who I am."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "I get it. Trust me, I get it. I've been in a constant state of identity crisis since finding out that the second man who adopted me was a demon wearing a magician's face." Phoebe replies with a wry, sad tone to her voice. She wraps her shawl tighter around herself. She gives a smile, and reaches out to just lightly put her fingertips against Ben's shoulder.

    "I get it, maybe better than some others. But I've known clones of other people my entire heroing life. Some of my best friends and most trusted sparring partners. I might never know how difficult it is to live with someone else's memories in my head, not knowing which are theirs and which are mine, but I do know what it's like to have an ongoing identity crisis. And when you figure it out..." her palm rests on his shoulder, if he lets her.

    "Let me know how you did it, because legit, my official paperwork's a freaking mess."

Ben Reilly has posed:
"Could have been worse," Ben murmurs. "Could have been a magician wearing a demon's face. Then you'd have nightmares _and_ be unable to eat your dinner when sitting across the table from him." That trademark humor, dark though it may be.

He seems to appreciate her palm, leaning a bit to the side closer to her. "I have none. That's part of what made the past year both exciting and confusing." He looks at Phoebe. "For once, I got to really feel like I _was_ someone, and that was great. And now I am just..." He shrugs. "I don't have to worry about the logistics, and all that, because I have an actual person who can manage things like an apartment for me, but beyond that, I just wonder...what am I?"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Eh. Should have seen his face." Phoebe states. Her eyes get distant... and both warm and hurting. Heartache. "He wasn't someone you'd write to someone else and go 'this man is hot'." she cracks a small smile. "That was your job. To be the face. Launch a thousand ships." she jokes back to him, and then she pauses, and turns back to Ben. "None?" she questions, and she straightens a moment. "I could have helped you withi that. I know people who can falsify info. I know people who can hack government systems and give you history, if you wanted. If they were up to it." Tim would do it if she asked nicely, she was sure.

    But her smile softens.

    "Well, I'll tell you what I know. You are a guy who likes hot sandwiches on a drizzly night hanging upside-down under an overhang of a building. You like feeling the wind as it passes by you. You helped me make New York more homey when I was greiving. You're still on my list of 'people who are allowed to hug me without being 'judo flipped'. Which seriously it's a short list, there's only like six people on it." she gives a smile.

    "You're a gentleman, and a gentle man when you want to be. You can bench lift a bus, but have such fine control that you don't break a potato chip. You're smart. You're kind. You *are* someone, Ben Reilly. And your lack of paperwork or your origin doesn't *change* that." she smiles. "You're you. The youist you you can be."

Ben Reilly has posed:
It seems that Ben really takes those words to heart, listening intently as Phoebe speaks. Certainly, he at least takes his presence on that list as something of value, as he reaches out to slide an arm around her shoulders, giving her a soft sideways hug before he leans against her.

"Thank you. I am not sure why I needed to hear that, but I did, and it makes me feel a lot better."

He turns and gives Phoebe a deep, appreciative smile. "And I might take you up on that papers thing. Who knows when I might need that."

He turns and looks back out into the street. "I hope you know that I'd help you, if I could. I appreciate you."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "You already helped me more than you know, Ben."

    Phoebe gives a smile, and she tilts her head against his shoulder, her arm coming around his back.

    "Hey, as long as you have picked out what you wanna be for your side hustle. I have an ID that says I'm a feline behavioral specialist in Bludhaven, and I have an ID that states I'm a recreational proctologist. So choose wisely." she grins over to Ben, and she takes a deep breath.

    "I should give you my number again. I kinda deleted all my contacts when a demon stole my larynx and I ran away to Kansas." she admits, and she pulls her ribbon of a choker collar forward to show three pale scars across her throat.

    "So that if you need my help with anything, you can reach me without being filtered to the spam box."

Ben Reilly has posed:
"I am trying to parse that out, and I have to admit, even for us, that's a bit much." Maybe it's the Kansas part.

"I'd like that," Ben says, pulling out his phone. "I mean, assuming it's a different number, and not the old one." It lights up in his hand.

"Although we shouldn't need to wait until we need help. It'll be nice to just hang out again." He smiles. "I think you'd like Gwen. And I know she'd like you."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Aaah..." Phoebe takes out her phone. Instead of the old broken one, it's a fancy WayneTech phone. She unlocks it with the faces of two dogs showing. One looks like he has half a braincell bouncing between his ears. The other looks annoyed.

    "Same number, I just don't have yours in here." she states, and gives a laugh.

    "Well, if it's a masks-on meet-up, I can share the sordid tale of why I disappeared for like, four months and never called." she grins. "But we should hang out some time. I'd like to meet her. You know..." she gives a rueful smile. "To make sure she's as high quality as you deserve."

Ben Reilly has posed:
Ben reaches down to slide his thumb against the phone, drawing up Phoebe's contact info with ease. "Can I just call, or will it get routed into the 'loser' category automatically?"

He considers that prospect for a moment, a long enough pause that it will likely confirm to Phoebe that whoever Gwen is could attend a masks on or masks off event, and so it is a question of thought. "If you would prefer that," he finally says. "She is also a good listener." He smiles at Phoebe's comment, and laughs softly.

"She is more than I could ever hope to deserve for myself."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Which probably means she's perfect for you." Phoebe gives a grinn as she straightens up. "Nah, I'm expecting your call, so I won't route it to 'losers and politicians." Phoebe states, and she hops to her feet, easily coming up to her heels.

    "However, I did promise Nick, Caleb and Sheila that there might be ice cream, since Dams took my car home. You can come with us if you want, but I totally understand if you just wanna change into something more comfortable.

    And she gives a bright grin. "Or Primary Colors." she grins, and hops down from the casement.

    "Don't be a stranger, Ben!" she calls back to him as she goes for the access ladder back down. "I missed you."

Ben Reilly has posed:
"I'm afraid I wouldn't be very good company tonight," Ben says, declining her invitation. "But give me some time, and maybe less existential crisis film screening, and I'll happily join for something."

He pushes himself up and pulls his legs back, moving to follow along with Phoebe. "I should head home as well," he says, not to suggest he is stalking her. "And I missed you too."