Innocence

L O V E L Y

"I'll let you into my soul, but wipe your feet at the door."

~🎀~

T H E  S E R I E S  of knocks delivered to the old wooden door seemed to echo in the darkness surrounded the couple. It was a cold night - Falcon had cocooned Freya at his side the best he could but he could still feel shivers rack through her body every few minutes. It was her reaction to the temperature that had him pounding once again on the door, harder this time.

"Come on," Falcon muttered to himself. "Where the hell are you?"

Granted, it was close to midnight which generally meant that the two men the particular home housed had long-since fallen asleep. The thought didn't stop Falcon from delivering an even harder blow to the door - it could no longer be called a knock, but somewhat of a right-hook.

"Come on!" He growled as Freya shivered again, snuggling closer to his side.

Falcon heaved out an agitated breath, rubbing his hand up and down the length of Freya's arm in an effort to create some semblance of heat.
"Ca-can't we just go hom-home?" Her delicate voice broke the panicked tension in Falcon's body and his posture slackened in response.

He had asked himself the same question over and over again during the last couple of hours. He wished they could just go home. He wanted to go home. To wrap himself around the girl he loved, to relax, to just forget about everything except her. But he couldn't. He had to do the right thing, and the right thing meant explaining everything. Taking her home - the thought made his chest clench - he just knew her father would go above and beyond to keep Freya away from him at all costs. He would do it, but he couldn't risk it while there was still so much to say. He couldn't just leave without her knowing why.

Pain shot through his chest the same moment his fist landed on the door once again. A splinter bit through the skin of his palm but he didn't flinch. He knew what he had to do. It was the only thing he could do. He didn't care how incredibly selfish of him it was, it was the only thing he could do for her - for both of them.

Finally, Falcon's ears picked up on a muffled voice growing closer to the door. He recognised the familiar grumbling tone and a smile licked the sides of his lips despite the situation. The familiar sound of the old chain lock being pulled out sounded before the door swung open to reveal the irritated face of an old man.

"What in the bloody hell do you want at this time of night?" The man's gaze narrowed at the couple before growing wider. "Wait - I don't have my glasses on. I can't see who on this god-forsaken earth you are."

Freya stared at the scene in mild curiosity as a chuckle escaped Falcon's mouth.
"No need to put your glasses on, you old fool," A full-blown grin lit up Falcon's face as the man's eyes became comically wide. "It's just me."

The old man's demeanour completely changed as a warm smile overtook his face and within a second, he had Falcon's upper arm clutched in his wiry hand and was pulling the couple past the threshold.
"It's about time you paid me a visit, young man," The man grunted in an attempt to sound annoyed, but Falcon simply rolled his eyes. "Last I heard, you got let out of that baby jail and here I was, expecting a visit and I never heard anything from you. Nothing, nada, not a peep."

Falcon's smile dimmed slightly as guilt washed over his expression.
"I know," He swallowed harshly. "I'm sorry. I just didn't want to cause any more trouble."

The old man scoffed as he deposited Falcon and Freya on a worn leather couch. He stood in front of the two, arms crossed as he stared Falcon down.
"If I saw you as troublesome, I wouldn't have bothered to peel you off the side pavements and bring you home all those nights," The man said sternly. "I do it because I love you, which means I would do it over and over again. Don't be an idiot."