Innocence

B E A U T I F U L

"These mountains that you are carrying, you were only supposed to climb."

~Najwa Zebian~

~🎀~

I T  H A D  been Freya's idea to go for a walk. She knew her time with Falcon was limited since he'd soon be leaving for a completely different country. She still hadn't gotten used to that thought.

Falcon pressed Freya closer to his side as the wind began to pick up again. Freya didn't mind; she would use any excuse available to be close to him.
"When are you leaving?" she asked in a small voice.

Falcon looked down at her for a moment before returning his gaze to the path in front of them. He let out a heavy breath before speaking.
"The company's already been running with a temporary CEO for months now," he said, his voice growing quieter as he knew she wouldn't like what he had to say. "Jonathan said finishing school wasn't imperative; some people from the board are apparently going to help out until I get the hang of it. I don't need any degrees since the business is being handed down to me. Apparently, most people speak English, but he thinks I'll easily pick up the language once I'm there for a while."

Falcon paused for a moment, trying to delay the inevitable. The little nudge to his side made him draw in a breath as he finally answered her question.
"I leave in a few days," he mumbled. "Just enough time to get everything together and say my goodbyes."

The couple were quiet for a moment as they continued to walk down the path. Freya's brow creased in thought before she clutched herself closer to Falcon's side, a small smile turning up the corners of her mouth.
"I guess we'll have to make every day count," she didn't look at Falcon, her eyes travelling around the passing shops and people.

Her answer stunned Falcon slightly; he had expected a pout, maybe a few tears. He knew she was trying to be optimistic for his sake and he was grateful for it. It assured him that they'd make it.

Falcon stopped walking, pulling her into his chest as he buried his face into her hair.
"I'll miss you, baby," He whispered, pressing a kiss to her head.

Freya squeezed her arms tightly around his torso, as she let out a muffled sniffle.
"I'll miss you too," her voice was hoarse as she felt tears sting her eyes.

She pulled her head from his chest, not meeting his eyes as she sucked in a large breath.
"I'm sorry," she let out something between a laugh and a sob. "I don't-I don't mean to cry. I'm trying not to."

Falcon smiled softly at her, brushing away the hair from her face.
"I know, baby," he said before pulling her back to his chest. "But you don't have to act strong for me, baby girl. I already know you're strong. You can cry."

She really had been trying not to let her emotions get the best of her as she usually did, but her heart ached at the thought of not seeing him every day and she didn't know how else to handle it. At Falcon's words, the dam behind her eyes broke and tears spilt down the sides of her face.

Her cries were muffled by Falcon's shirt as he wrapped himself around her as much as he could. He didn't say anything, simply let her cry as he held her and kissed her head. It must have been an odd sight for onlookers. The tall tattooed man clutching a tiny girl to his chest as she wept. The couple didn't care; they knew they were unconventional, but it didn't matter to them.

They knew they belonged together.

~🎀~

It felt odd not to have Freya's presence around Falcon. As he drove towards the hospital, he kept thinking she was sitting in the passenger seat next to him, only to look over and see that it was empty. His frown turned harsher every time.