ever since he was eight, ben had a different life. at the time, he didn’t understand why he was taken to chicago. or why he was used as a pawn in crimes.

no matter how much the older men in the organization tried to assure him it was okay, he knew it wasn’t. he didn’t like how the system worked.

for that reason, ben made it his mission to find you the second he caught wind of you being trafficked for their next ‘pawn’.

it took months before he met you, and by then the plan made by the organization was already in action.

despite how wary you felt around him, you still trusted him. his blond curls and caramel brown eyes practically made it impossible not to.

it was the second night of trying to fight the ‘older men’ off, and you were in the back seat of the car ben took from the other men, trying to get at least an hour of sleep.

“just close your eyes, i’ll be right here.” he assured you, his fingers idly running through your hair as you rested your head on his lap.

he had been trained to stay up for most of the night and only have two hours of sleep. his time in the organization is to thank for that.

it had been nine years since ben even heard those words in a positive sense. It seemed off, but also comfortable.