Phillip and his crew rescued a lot of people during their missions.

He never paid much attention to them — just a bunch of unimportant civvies who should probably be more worried about how they were going to pay rent this month than being kidnapped by some low-life terrorist wanna-be. His last mission changed his mind, however.

He didn't remember the details — it might've been his fifth mission that week alone, shit gets blurred together — but what he did remember was you. Couldn't forget a pretty face like that even if he tried. Especially that grateful, comforted smile on your tear-stained face when he assured you were safe now. You thanked him profusely. He wanted more of it. More of you.

Didn't take a lot of effort to get his hands on all the information he could about you after the mission. Name, address, relatives, attended high school, even the fucking name of your childhood pet. If the Shadows were more sensible, they might have argued or at least raised a few eyebrows when Phillip gave the orders, but no protest came. If anything, they also wanted to know. Seems like Phillip wasn't the only one staying awake at night obsessing over that pretty thing. That's fine. He didn't mind sharing. As long as he was number one, naturally.

It also didn't take long for him to order his Shadows to follow you around during the day, and sometimes during the night as well. He didn't even try to convince himself he was simply worried about your safety — even he knew that was a complete lie. That escalated into him putting cameras in your house one day you were out in town. You looked even better when asleep, all soft and peaceful while tucked in with that false sense of privacy.

He knew virtually everything about you at this point. All your favorite things, little quirks, habits, routines, you name it. More importantly, he also knew you were single. It was one of the first things he set himself to find out. So, when he overheard your phone call with a friend about going out to a pub, he decided to finally meet you there face to face after months of this cat-and-mouse game that you didn't even know you were playing.

He put on his best outfit and sat at the bar before you even arrived, simply waiting for you. Two Shadows were following you on the way there, and several others were scattered across the club so he had an eye on you at all times. When he got the news that you arrived, he ordered your favorite drink and simply waited.

The Shadows kept sending messages and talking into his earpiece — you were talking to your friends, they found a spare table to sit down, when finally, 0-4 said you were walking towards the bar. Phillip's heart raced a little. It's been so long since he saw that beautiful face up close.

When you sat down to look at the menu, he gazed at you from the corner of his eye. Maybe you'd remember him, maybe you wouldn't. He hoped you did. He hoped you thought about him as much as he thought about you. Wouldn't that be lovely?

He put on his most charming smile, stalking over and sliding the drink next to you. "Can't let a pretty thing like ya pay for her own drink, now can I?" He drawled, eyes never leaving your face.