Author Notes: Hello again, everyone! My daughter insisted I had to read all the posted chapters of the manga after watching the anime. I'm at Chapter 100 and got the idea for this little fic from Chapter 99.005. Hope you enjoy it :)

Warnings: Fluff, nudity and just a touch of angst.

Rating: T

Disclaimer: Akatsuki No Yona belongs to Mizuho Kusanagi.

- Story Start -

The Dark Dragon and the Happy Hungry Bunch were a tired, dirty and not so happy lot. The last time they had enjoyed a clean source of water was almost a week ago, when they had come across a small waterfall at the foot of a mountain. Before they could set up camp, Yona declared her intention of taking a bath, which of course meant that everyone else had to stay away from the waterfall. Then Yoon insisted that he needed to wash all his cooking utensils so that he could boil medicine before the bunch of wilting herbs he carried became useless, and cook everyone a hot meal.

Needless to say, Yoon got first dibs on the waterfall. No one dared to say anything, not even when he bathed first before washing anything else. Not with the prospect of freshly cooked stew for dinner.

That was five days ago.

When they came within sight of a small onsen or hot spring bath this evening, everyone cheered. They had made enough money from selling Yoon's medicine to enjoy dinner and a night at the old fashioned onsen. Even better, they were the only guests there tonight!

Since the sun was setting, the proprietor suggested they have dinner first so that he could clean and close the kitchen for the night. Despite the lure of hot clean water, everyone agreed and was in high spirits as they tucked into the simple but hearty meal.

Jae-ha appreciated good food as much as the next person, but when they were halfway through, he got up quietly and headed for the door, hoping he would be unnoticed.

"Jae-ha?" Yona called.

"Where're you going?" Yoon asked

"There's still lots of food here," Zeno added.

Already at the door, Jae-ha swallowed a curse and looked over his shoulder with a smile.

"You guys finish up the rest, I'm stuffed! I need to visit the bathroom anyway and then we can have a dip at the onsen when everyone's done."

Before anyone could say anything, he closed the door behind him and walked down the hallway to the bathhouse, resisting the urge to bolt there. He entered the male changing room, closed the door and went to peep out the glass door that led to the hot spring.

It was deserted. Good!

Jae-ha stripped off his clothes at lightning speed, tossing them into one of the available baskets. A quick peek at the hallway outside showed no one either so he removed his left boot... and then his right one.

Grabbing one of the large and small towels provided, he went out to the hot spring, tempted to just jump in to hide his leg. But it was an unwritten rule that one should only get in after one was clean so he headed for the bathing area and sat down on one of the small wooden stools provided. Using a handled scoop, he took water from a barrel and poured it over himself, eyes closing in bliss.

Ahh, the feel of hot water sluicing over his grimy skin was heavenly!

Despite his urgency, he couldn't resist pouring more water over himself before reaching for the soap. His movements slowed down as he scrubbed himself from head to foot, especially his right foot that he didn't clean often. He was one who enjoyed the more beautiful things in life, and the soap not only had a lovely perfume, but produced a rich, smooth lather as well.

Breathing in the fragrance, Jae-ha sighed happily and reached for the scoop to rinse clean. That was when he heard something that made his blood run cold.

Laughter.

Zeno's, loud and carefree.

Kija's, clear and lilting.

Yoon's, sweet and mellow.

Shin-Ah's... he was probably amused at whatever they were laughing at, but in his own silent way.

As for the absence of Hak's deep voice, well, did that man ever laugh to begin with?

But this was not the time to analyse anything!

Jae-ha darted a panicked glance over his shoulder, seeing movement through the glass doors of the changing room. His gaze flicked to the pool just a few feet away. It would take just two seconds to dive in... but he was still covered in soapsuds!

He couldn't. He shouldn't.

That uncharacteristic dithering cost him those precious few seconds. The glass door opened and naked male bodies marched out.

Jae-ha had never scooped water over himself so fast. Too bad his hand was shaking and the water missed his body half the time.

"Jae-ha, you're quick!"

"No wonder the male toilet was empty."

"Hak told us to check the female toilet but Yona said it was empty too."

"Hey, are you trying to use up all the hot water?"

Perched on the rickety little stool, Jae-ha kept his body turned towards the wall and smiled over his shoulder. It felt more like a grimace.

"Aha, you caught me," he said, feeling trapped. "Well, since you're... all here..."

They surrounded him, looming over him - a very rare occurrence in itself - and staring down at him. One look at their widened eyes and he quickly dropped his gaze, face burning as he waited for exclamations of disgust to follow.

"Your boots stink, do you know that?" Kija asked in a reproving voice.

"That's because he never takes them off," Shin-Ah said.

"Why? Because of your dragon leg?" Zeno sounded confused.

Jae-ha hunched his shoulders, trying to tuck his right leg out of sight without success.

Then they were all sitting or crouching around him. He looked up and blinked at a pair of angry blue eyes boring into his.

"Are you ashamed of your leg?" Kija demanded and held up his right hand. "Then what about this? You've all seen this!"

Shin-Ah hesitated before lowering his mask halfway.

"You've all seen my eyes too," he said and quickly replaced it.

"And all of me everyday!" Zeno said happily, flinging out his arms and almost poking Kija in the eye.

"Oi!"

Yoon gave one of his loud sighs which he did whenever any of them did something he thought was immature or just plain stupid.

"Jae-ha, you're the Green Dragon. You have a dragon leg. Did you think we don't know? Or did you think we would mind?"

Jae-ha flushed with shame or guilt, he wasn't sure which. Perhaps a mixture of both. He tried to smile but it came out wobbly instead.

So much for being the oldest and most worldly dragon brother.

"Sorry," he apologised. "It's just that for so long..." he trailed off and looked down at his leg.

What was there to say?

None of them had had enjoyed a happy childhood.

A gentle hand touched his shoulder and he peered through his wet bangs.

"But you're not alone in this anymore," Yoon reminded him.

"We've found each other," Kija agreed, smiling.

"Yes." Shin-Ah nodded for emphasis.

Zeno laughed out loud.

"And Zeno is happy so group hug, everyone!"

Whooping, they all threw themselves at Jae-ha whose stool promptly collapsed under their combined weight.

"Hey, I'm clean now and you're all still filthy! Get off! And I think I've got a splinter in my bum!"

Amid the laughter and good natured teasing, he heard the glass door slide open again and looked up to see Hak looming over them this time; tall, naked and even more... impressive... when viewed from the bottom up. He was squinting down suspiciously at them, hands on hips and completely ignoring Jae-ha's green scaly leg.

"If this is some sort of dragon bonding ritual that Yoon is also taking part in," he said in a long suffering voice, "do leave me out of it."

They all laughed at that, disentangling themselves and sitting up, but Jae-ha lay sprawled where he was, knowing that he was sporting a goofy smile on his face and not caring much.

Something pressed on his right foot and he sat up to see Hak sitting beside him, left foot still atop Jae-ha's right one.

"Stop daydreaming and pass me the soap, will ya?"

- Story End -

A/N: Thank you for reading! I couldn't leave Hak out, could I? :) Please leave a review if you enjoyed it, would love to hear from you!