A love to last

"I like this one," The man rasped, dragging his tongue up the length of her neck.

Falcon's father felt fury fill his veins as he jerked in the men's hold, a growl escaping him. The woman whimpered as the man's grip around her hair grew tighter, pulling her head further back. The woman's look grew defeated even as she continued to try and shake the man off of her. Tears clouded her vision as she watched her husband's face get slammed into the wooden floor before the man behind him gripped him by the hair once more.

"I told you this would happen," The man hissed in his ear. "You take advantage of our things, we take advantage of yours."

Falcon's father growled harshly, his actions growing more desperate as he watched the scene in front of him.

"No!" He screamed. "No! Stop! Elena!"

Frustrated tears burned his eyes but the men refused to allow him to close them. He was made

to watch them. Watch as they ripped her clothes, touched her. Destroyed her. All he could do was

watch. He cried in agony as tears burned down the sides of his face.

"No, no, no," He wept, his voice cracked and broken. "Please. Please, stop."

And they did stop. They stopped in the form of a bullet through the woman's stomach. Within seconds her eyes closed and her heart stopped. She died, and her husband's soul died with her.

~0~

Falcon rested his chin on Freya's shoulder, his brow creased in thought.

"I don't really know what happened that night," He said softly. "I just remember the screams. Kace made me hide under the bed with him and once it had quietened down, he went out to see what had happened. He wouldn't let me out of the room."

Freya stayed silent for a moment before continuing to trace the line of his jaw. Falcon pressed a feather-light kiss to the crook of her neck before speaking.

"I know what they did to her," He mumbled weakly. "I know-I know it had to do with my father. Kace told me it was drug money - he had been dealing and stealing the income."

Not knowing what to say, Freya clutched closer to him, her fingers intertwining themselves in his hair as a sign of comfort. Falcon let out a sigh nuzzling closer.

"Kace was so angry," He continued. "Even as a teenager, he was getting into fights, mixing with the wrong people. As the younger brother, I didn't know any better than to follow after him. He joined the gang, worked his way up to the top and dragged me along with him."

Falcon swallowed harshly knowing that the worst was yet to come.

"I was fourteen," He cleared his throat for a moment. "We had been chasing after a group of dealers who had been stealing our customers. We tracked them down to an old harbour. Kace said it would be an easy job - get in, take their produce, get out. I thought they were just a bunch of low life criminals - that they'd run and hide as soon as we walked in. But they didn't." Falcon tensed, knowing what came next. His hands trembled as he bit his tongue.

"I barely knew how to use a gun," His voice wavered. "I didn't-I didn't know."

Falcon closed his eyes, trying to subdue the tremors that shot through his body.

"It wasn't just the dealers there that night," His

began to close up as the memories

flashed behind his eyes. "There was a family. Three kids. I-I was so fucking scared, I didn't know

where I was aiming. I just closed my eyes and pulled the trigger."

A groan of pain left Falcon's lips as his face screwed up in agony.

"I killed them," A choked cry left his lips as his eyes sprung open. "Only one of the kids survived.

But his parents and-and the others. I killed them. The dealers too. I was so fucking frightened. Of myself."

Freya had stilled, unmoving as she listened with rapt attention. Falcon's hold on her thighs grew tight as a tear escaped down the side of his face.

"When the police came," His pained expression grew fierce. "My team ran. They knew it would happen - they were prepared. They left me there. Let me take the fall. I was so stunned that I didn't even argue, just let them take me away and lock me up."

Falcon shook his head, his arms curling around Freya's waist to drag her closer.

"They said it was practically impossible to get out on parole," His voice grew quiet as his energy left him. "But I did it. Tried my goddamn hardest to be in the good graces of every single officer

and after five years, they let me out on account of 'impeccable behaviour.' Only because I was a kid when it happened."

Falcon took in a deep breath.

"Kace wanted me to come back to them," He explained. "That's why he took us. I don't think he ever healed after-after everything."

Falcon moved his head from Freya's neck to press a kiss to her cheek.

"I'm sorry, baby," He whispered.

Freya shook her head softly.

"It wasn't your fault," She mumbled.

"It was, baby," Falcon insisted. "It was. I-"

Freya cupped his face in her hands, making him look her in the eye.

"It wasn't your fault," She repeated, offering no further explanation.

Falcon's sad eyes took in her determination and nodded, though he didn't believe her words. He

kissed the tip of her nose, shifting her in his arms.

"There's more I have to say," He said after a moment of silence.

Freya tilted her head to the side to show him she was listening.

"When I got back a few months ago, I got a call," He began. Freya's brow creased in confusion

but she let him continue. "It was my uncle's lawyer."

Falcon let out a short laugh.

"I didn't even know he existed," A sad smile pulled at the side of his lips. "He was my mother's brother. Apparently, he was some kind of high-class business man in Europe. Never married, never had any kids."

He met Freya's gaze, rubbing the sides of her hips.

"From what I could gather," His eyes slipped away from her to scan the room. "My mother always

gushed about me to him. So, to honour her memory, he put me in his will."

Freya's hands slipped down to Falcon's chest.

"For what?" She asked softly.

Falcon shook his head slightly, almost to himself.

"I wasn't going to take the offer," He said. "I had no plans to. I didn't see any reason to."

His eyes met hers again.

"Until you," He smiled. "Now I have a reason to take it."

Freya's heart leapt in her chest slightly.

"Take what?" She pressed.

Falcon leaned forward, pressing his lips to hers in a chaste kiss.

"He handed his entire business over to me," He cupped her cheek in his hand, stroking the side

of her cheek. "It means I can provide for you. We just have to wait a few more years."

His features grew slightly worried but remained hopeful.

"I know you want to go to college," He said. "I'm not going to take that away from you. So that

means that we'll have to be apart for a little while. Just until I can find a way to move the business here. Then we can be together again."

Freya's mind was stuck on the word 'apart.' Tears stung her eyes as she gripped his shirt in her tiny fists.

"Bu-but I don't want you to go," She whimpered.

Falcon pulled her closer, pressing her face to his chest.

"I know, baby, I know," He mumbled. "But it's the only way. Kace won't touch you without reason,

and if I'm not even in the country, there'll be no reason. It's the only way to keep you safe. The only way we can have a future."

Freya whined pushing herself further into his embrace as she screwed her eyes closed to stop the

tears.

"Only for a few years, baby girl," He kissed her temple. "Then we'll never be apart again. I promise."

Freya sniffled as a tear escaped down the side of her cheek.

A few years.

Years without Falcon.

FREYA REMAINED wrapped up in Falcon's arms until her tears had dried. The stress of what had happened coupled with the knowledge that Falcon would be leaving was enough to leave her feeling drained and all she wanted was to doze off and forget everything for a moment. Just as her eyes had begun to flutter closed, Falcon's voice interrupted her.

"You know, we have to tell your father," He said quietly before pulling away slightly so he could look Freya in the face. "He still wants that business deal to go through. I'm hoping this will change his mind."

Freya's brows furrowed. She had forgotten about Penn. To be completely honest, she had forgotten about most things that weren't related to Falcon. She had been so consumed in the task of finding him that she had banished all over thoughts from her mind.

She nodded just as a thought struck her.

"What about your father?" She asked.

Falcon's face fell as his jaw clenched slightly.

"I don't know," He muttered. "I haven't seen him."

Freya tilted her head.

"Since the hospital?" She pressed.

Falcon nodded his head in response, his gaze flicking away from her. He didn't want to talk about his father. He didn't want to be reminded of him. He didn't need him anymore. Pain shot through Falcon's chest as the thought struck him. It was, of course, a lie. He may not need the particular man in his life any longer, but he needed a father. He was tired of being both mother and father to himself.

Noticing the change in his expression, Freya didn't say anything more on the subject. They sat in silence for a moment before Falcon broke it.

"What I don't get," He murmured in thought. "Is how Kace had been watching me."

His brow creased as he remembered his brother's words.

"He knew everything," Falcon's eyes narrowed at the floor. "When I got out of juvie, what school

I went to everything except you."

His eyes flashed back to Freya's face, his eyebrows still furrowed in confusion. A memory flashed before his eyes and his heart stilled for a moment.

'There are a lot more secrets around than just the one about your relationship.'

'To be completely honest, I couldn't really care less about whether she lives or dies. However, she does pave a straight path right into her father's business.'

"Penn," Falcon growled the name. "That conniving son of a bitch."

Freya barely cringed at his crude language, having become so used to it, and instead focused on

his words. Her eyes widened with curiosity and bewilderment before Falcon elaborated.

"He told them," Falcon's temper flared as he said the words. "He must have. There's no way he could have known when I got out. School, maybe, but if it was him watching me he would have known about you."

Freya remained puzzled at the situation.

"I don't underst

She said quietly.

Falcon shook his head to himself before responding to her.

"If it had been him watching me," He explained. "He would have known everything. My classes, where I ate lunch, my locker number - hell, I bet if you asked him what the combination was he'd know. But that also means he would know about you."

Freya looked to the side for a moment before sliding her gaze back to him.

"I still don't follow," She winced slightly, hoping she didn't seem like an idiot.

Falcon let out a breath.

"Don't you see?" His hands moved from Freya's hips to rub his face. "He would have known, but

he didn't, so he must have had someone on the inside. Someone who wasn't one of his little

lackeys, because that person didn't tell him about you."

Falcon cupped his hand around his mouth before running it through his hair.

"That person was after me," He said. "Directly. He was trying to keep you out of it."

Freya's mind slowly began to catch up as she connected the mental dots.

"Penn was trying to protect me?" She questioned slowly.

Falcon dropped his hands back around her before rolling his eyes in anger.

"More like trying to get me out of the picture so he could have you," He muttered bitterly.

More questions rose in Freya's head but she kept quiet, feeling she had asked more than enough questions already. Falcon let out a tired sigh, resting his head back against the couch and closing his eyes.

He stayed like that for a moment as Freya simply watched him. His eyes cracked open and a small smile crept onto his lips and lifted the atmosphere.

"Let's get cleaned up, yeah?" He suggested.

Freya gave a nod and was hauled up onto Falcon's hip within a few seconds. They - or rather, Falcon - walked out of the living room and down the hall in complete silence. The air was filled with the faint chirping of crickets outside the house and the sleeping breaths of the house's occupants.

Falcon made his way down another, smaller hall before stopping at a door. Praying his memory was correct, he quietly turned the handle and was met with the tiled floor of the bathroom. He smiled in satisfaction, letting Freya down from his hip.

"You go first," He said, pressing a kiss to her temple. "I'll find you some clean clothes. I think they still have some of my old stuff lying around here somewhere."

Freya smiled softly before nodding. Once Falcon was out of the bathroom, Freya turned the lock on the door and stripped from her dirtied pyjamas. Not knowing where to put them, she folded them clumsily and placed them on the side of the sink before stepping into the shower. She sat under the water spray for a few moments, allowing the warm water to relax the tense muscles in her back. She washed the dirt and grime that had collected on her body over the last few nights she hadn't been at home. She borrowed the shampoo and conditioner that were perched on a little shelf in the shower, thoroughly rinsing out her hair before shutting off the water.

She wrapped herself in a fluffy towel from the rack on the wall and squeezed out the remaining water from her hair into the sink. A knock on the door alerted her to what she assumed was Falcon's presence.

She unlocked the door, opening it slightly before peering around to see Falcon's smiling face. She kept her towel-clad body hidden behind the door as she accepted the clothes in her hand. What she didn't account for, however, was the mirror positioned directly behind her. To which Falcon's eyes had found their way to.

He swallowed thickly before tearing his eyes away from her dainty shoulders and impeccable legs. He looked down at the blonde haired angel in front of him before realising that the view of her doe eyes and an old, bruising hickey resting on the base of her neck didn't make his situation any better.

Out of impulse, Falcon raised his hand to her neck, his fingers tracing over the darkly coloured spot. It filled him with a sort of animalistic pride to see her wear proof of their relationship. His eyes shifted from his mark to her face before leaning down and softly kissing the tip of her nose before catching her lips with his.

He pushed her further into the bathroom, pushing the door closed with his foot before caging her against the porcelain sink. He knocked her old clothes from the side and hooked his hands around her thighs, lifting her onto the edge of the sink without breaking their kiss. Freya's arms wound around his neck, her fingers intertwining themselves with his hair before wrapping her legs around his hips. Falcon's hands slid further up the sides of her legs, her towel bunching up at her hips as his fingers dug into her skin.

Falcon broke the kiss to trail his lips down her jaw and neck, biting and sucking at the skin of her collarbone before pressing a kiss to the same spot. Freya's teeth sunk into her lower lip as her eyes closed and her head tilted to the side. A burning need built up inside of her, her soul screaming for something she didn't quite understand.

Falcon's body ached for friction and out of instinct, his hands grabbed her ass, dragging her closer to him as he reconnected their lips. She sucked in a breath just as his mouth covered hers a whimper slipping out before Falcon pulled at her lip with his teeth. Everything inside of him wanted her, but he hesitated. His hands gripped into her skin as his head fell to her neck. He pressed her closer, slowly grinding his lower body into the heat between her legs. A choked moan escaped Freya's throat and Falcon smiled into her neck as he pulled her impossibly closer.

He continued his slow torture as he traced kisses up the length of her neck.

"I love you," He murmured. "I love you, I love you, I love you."

He pressed kisses to her skin with every phrase before groaning as his need grew almost painful.

He wanted her. God, did he want her.

But did she want him?

Falcon squeezed his eyes closed as ground into her.

He wouldn't do it until he knew she was sure. Until she knew she was sure.

As agonising as it was, Falcon put distance between their bodies, resting his forehead on hers. He

took in a deep breath as Freya's small pants filled the room before cradling her face in his hands.

He pressed a hard kiss to her lips, not allowing himself to do any more before his head fell to her shoulder as his eyes closed.

Freya's hands wrapped around Falcon's shoulders, tugging him closer. He let out a breathy laugh, refusing to move from his position.

"I know, baby," He sighed deeply before raising his head and smoothing away hair from her face.

"I know."

Falcon took one look at the pout on her face and let out a chuckle.

"Come on, baby girl," Falcon said as he lifted Freya off the sink edge.

He set her on her feet, picking up the discarded clean clothes from the floor and placing them in

her hands. He ushered her towards the door and into the hallway before directing her to the bedroom.

He opened the door for her, pushing her softly inside. She grabbed the hand on her shoulder

and used it to pull herself closer. Falcon smiled, kissing her again before nudging her back inside

the

room.

He laid a hand on the door handle, prepared to close the door when Freya's sad eyes stole his

attention.

Freya's pout hadn't budged and another laugh threatened to bubble from Falcon's mouth at the expression. He shook his head, grinning as he pulled the bedroom door closed.

Once she was out of view, he let out a heavy breath, dragging a hand down his face before

groaning in frustration.

"I need a fucking cold shower," He mumbled to himself.