[There is one last, lingering moment in which Ben cowers behind the shield he's built for himself; she asks if he thinks he can trust her and the answer is unequivocally no. He doesn't trust anyone.

But she is confident, and somehow she knows him, she loves him, unless it is some kind of test. His chest tightens at the thought - he can't afford to fail a test, especially not one like this - but his throat closes against the crack that exists directly down the center of everything he is and he knows he's going to give in.

So he does it all at once, like breaking a limb so it can be set to heal straight again. He lets out the breath in his lungs with a quiet, desperate noise, and the bright brown of his eyes becomes somehow heavier with his presence behind them.]

Please don't leave.

I want to understand. I'll do better. I... if you know me, really know me, you know I'm scared all the time. I'll do better. Please don't leave.