Innocence

D E M U R E

He took a moment to hold her small hands in his, holding them to his chest as he rubbed comforting circles onto the soft skin.
"Nothing's wrong, baby," He crouched ever so slightly so they were eye-to-eye. "Everything's alright."

Falcon didn't know whether he was trying to comfort her with his words or himself.

His heart thundered in his chest as he swung his leg over the bike and settled behind his girl. It would be alright. It had to be.

The ride passed in a blur, driving to her home seemed almost like second nature to Falcon. He knew the way as if it was his own place. All too soon, he was pulling up the curb near her house, his heart dropping as he realised their time was up.

He got off the bike, lifting Freya off after him before loosening her helmet. Her little hands went up to push the helmet off her head causing her hair to fall every which way, bringing a small smile to Falcon's face.

He rested his own helmet on the handle of his bike, tucking hers safely away in the storage compartment. He turned back to Freya, lifting his arms to cup her face in his hands as he rested his forehead against her own. He took in a comforting breath, resisting the urge to squeeze her tiny body to his and keep her there forever.

"I've got to go deal with something, okay sweetheart?" He said vaguely. "I'll see you tomorrow."

He pressed a kiss to her lips in goodbye but didn't move. He wanted nothing more than to just stay with her, but he couldn't. He had never hated a situation more.

"Can't you come back later?" Freya asked softly.

The pleading tone in her voice had Falcon's heart squeezing and he gritted his teeth against the pain.
"I can't, baby," He let out a rough breath. "What I gotta do is gonna take a while. You'll see me tomorrow, I promise."

Freya pouted but didn't argue. She wanted him to stay with her but she understood that whatever he had to do must have been important. A kiss was planted on her temple and then her nose before Falcon spoke again.

His mouth opened to say something but he snapped it shut a moment later. He could have said it. It was on the tip of his tongue; those three tiny words. He had said them before, but he knew they held a different meaning now, so he didn't.

He kissed her softly, conveying with his lips what he couldn't find the courage to say. The urge was still there when they parted, but Falcon kept his mouth closed, sending her a sweet smile before settling back onto his bike.

He watched Freya walk away. Watched her stop at the gate and look back at him. Watched her give him his favourite smile. Watched her all the way to her front door where she walked inside with one last glance back. And he watched his heart go with her.

~🎀~

Freya didn't see Falcon the next day.

It was a Saturday, and she had waited by her window all morning and well into the afternoon before accepting that he wasn't coming. It was odd; after a week of spending almost every waking second in his presence, the lack of it left her feeling empty and the world a little less bright.

She was worried. Falcon hadn't answered any of her calls or messages and she had the sickening feeling that something was very, very wrong. She was out of options. She didn't know anyone who knew Falcon, so she couldn't ring them in order reach him, and her father had taken Jon, her driver, as he usually did every Saturday to take her step-mother on a weekend-long date.

She on the edge of her bed, clutching her stuffed bunny as she nervously chewed her bottom lip. She needed to know if he was alright, but she had no way of getting to his house. Not that the idea sounded very appealing in the first place, but for him, she'd do it.