"Hak? Are you alright?"

Hak turned to the princess, shaking the cobwebs of his thoughts away. Yona was bent forwards, at eye level to where Hak sat with his back to a tree. She was carrying firewood for their campfire tonight. Behind her, Yoon was helping Shin-ah and Kija set up the tent. Zeno was playing with Ao, and Jae-ha was lounging around chatting with them.

Hak met Yona's concerned gaze and smirked.

"I'm fine, Princess. You look like you're struggling with those twigs, do you need help?" Hak teased.

The concern on Yona's face evaporated into annoyance. "Hmmph! I'm fine, thank you very much!" She spun and stomped away to the rest of the camp.

Hak watched as Jae-ha watched her approach. Jae-ha had an amused glint in his eye as he stood and came up behind Yona. He said something in her ear, before taking the branches out of Yona's hands and putting them in a clear spot for later. As Yona turned to face him, he pulled a bunch of small lilac flowers from his jacket, holding them out for Yona. Hak saw her face flush and she grinned, thanking Jae-ha for the gesture.

Hak clenched his hands into fists and looked away.

"Why, Yona dear, you look even more radiant than the sun this morning," Jae-ha smiled.

Yona blushed, "Jae-ha…"

"It's true!" Jae-ha leaned in closer, "I promise."

And then he kissed her on the cheek.

Hak missed the way Jae-ha's eyes flitted to gauge his reaction. He was too busy seeing red.

"Oh, and Yona dear! I got something for you," Jae-ha said, in the middle of a conversation.

Hak glanced up from his meal. This didn't sound good.

Yona smiled at Jae-ha, "You didn't have to."

Yoon grumbled, "Jae-ha, we don't have the money to spare on trifles."

"Yoon-chan, the fair lady deserves something special now and again! Besides, this came out of my own savings."

"What savings?" Yoon asked. "What money are you keeping from us?"

"If you have extra money you should share it with the rest of us, Jae-ha. It's only fair," Kija said.

Jae-ha ignored them, pulling out a necklace from his clothes. The pendant was shaped like the sun.

It was perfect for Yona.

Yona gasped, "Oh, it's beautiful, Jae-ha."

Hak almost crushed the bowl in his hands.

"I saw it and thought of you, Yona dear. I had to buy it," Jae-ha grinned.

That was it. Hak's bowl cluttered to the ground.

"Hey, Hak, where are you going?" Yoon asked. Hak ignored him.

The undergrowth snapped and crackled beneath his feet as he made his way out of the clearing they had set up camp in that evening.

"Who does he think he is?" Hak muttered, taking a swing at a tree. "It's not like he -"

Hak stopped moving. It's not like he was the king.

It's not like he was Soo-won, previously the love of the Princess and Hak's treasured friend.

Hak gritted his teeth. It's not like Jae-ha had betrayed both of their love and forced them to run. It's not like Jae-ha was a rotten traitor.

Hak let out a gust of breath.

Maybe he could learn to live with it. Maybe he could learn to live with this thudding, throbbing ache in his chest, and seeing them together everyday, flirting...

He groaned. But he could tolerate it. For Yona.

I'm glad you're moving on from Soo-won, Princess.

Rustling branches to his right had him gripping his quandao. A head appeared, covered in hair that was purple in the darkened sky, appeared. He lowered his weapon in relief, but his heartbeat didn't slow.

"You should be careful who you sneak up on, Princess. I could have taken your head off," Hak said, surprising himself with the steadiness of his voice.

"You would never hurt me," Yona said.

Hak's eyes widened. True, he thought, I never could.

"Is there something you wanted?" Hak said.

Yona's face was flushed in the darkness, unknown to Hak. "I was checking on you. How… is everything?"

"Fine," Hak said slowly, waiting for the catch.

"Great! So do you think it's ok if Jae-ha switches sleeping spots with you for the night? Just for tonight." Yona was quickly turning as red as her hair.

Jealousy flared hot in his sternum. What? What the hell was this? That was his spot. His. Jae-ha could find another time do whatever the hell he wanted with the princess. Not that he fucking cared.

"No."

"What?" Yona's eyes were wide.

"I said no. Tell that Droopy Eyes it was a very emphatic no."

"Why not?" Yona asked, her eyes narrowed.

Hak sensed he was entering dangerous territory, but sometimes the best approach was the direct one.

"I'm thinking of your virtue here, Princess," Hak smirked.

Yona's mouth dropped open. She leapt into a punching frenzy, attacking Hak's chest.

"Hak!" Yona yelled. "It's not like that! How could you!"

Hak held Yona's wrists firmly to make sure she didn't hurt herself, letting go once she stopped struggling with a huff.

"Oh?" Hak said. "What is it like then?"

"Jae-ha said -" Yona cut herself off before reddening again. "Um…"

Hak narrowed his eyes. "What did he say?"

"Nothing. We should - we should get back to camp." Yona scrambled back the way she had come.

Hak watched her go. He followed her at an even pace, but caught a glimpse of her going right to Jae-ha to sit down close next to him, talking animatedly.

Hak's brow furrowed. He was getting to the bottom of this.

Hak slashed his blade through his opponents, rendering them bleeding on the ground and down for the count. It was one against ten, but they were simple bandits, hardly a match for the acclaimed Thunder Beast.

Jae-ha yelled, "Princess!"

Hak whipped his head around, and while Jae-ha had done an admirable job of disbanding his share of bandits and protecting Yona and Yoon, now he was stuck.

The bandits had blocked him off and cornered Yona and Yoon against a wall.

And Yona was glaring with flames in her eyes at one of them. One bandit, who was raising his sword to the princess, to end her.

Hak let out a roar and ran, lithe steps blurring. He ran and ran and then he was on the bandit, slashing across his middle. The body fell, revealing the princess.

Hak and Yona stared at each other, breathing heavily. Hak was trembling slightly, allowing himself that much. He had almost lost her. Oh, hell. He had almost lost her.

He inhaled a deep breath. He wanted nothing more than to envelope the princess in his arms, holding her close to him so he could feel her movements as she breathed, laughed or cried. Anything. He just wanted to feel for himself, solid proof, that she was okay.

Yona's breathing was slowing, but her cheeks remained flushed. Hak smirked, some of his old good humour returning.

"You can thank me for that later, Princess," he winked.

Yona's features morphed into annoyance. "W-what - you - stupid - Hak!"

Yoon rolled his eyes at them both, holding a palm to his face. "What a pain."

Jae-ha waltzed up to them, taking in the scene and considering how he could make the most of this.

"Princess, are you alright?" he asked. While he was genuinely concerned, he also had a plan.

"I'm okay, Jae-ha," Yona said, smiling shakily.

"Thanks to Hak."

Yona nodded, smiling at Hak and stealing his breath.

"I'm glad, in any case," and with that Jae-ha swept Yona up into a hug.

Now, it was just a hug. Hak was fine with that. He was totally fine with that. Hugs happened between entirely platonic friends all the time.

Are they actually platonic, though? a voice whispered in the back of hid mind.

Yes! he shut the voice down.

But he didn't know that... Not for sure.

There was nothing to get worked up over though. It was fine. It was totally fine. He let out a breath, and though his blood was still boiling, his exterior was as cool as ever. "Well then? Shall we go?"

Yoon grumbled, "Yes, I've had enough of you people's theatrics for one day."

Yoon led the way, trudging back to where they said they would be meeting up with the others.

Hak caught a glimpse of Jae-ha and Yona having a whispered conversation before he turned away to follow Yoon. He still wanted to find out what was going on. But not now.

Not when his emotions were still all over the place.

Not right after he'd almost lost her.

I have to be more careful. This isn't on. This feeling, this gnawing, trembling fear has to be pushed away so I can be better, be a better protector.

"Hak?" It was Yona, wide-eyed and worried. Her feet pattered on the ground as she caught up to him.

"Yes, Princess?" Hak said, staring right back at her.

His blood was singing a different song, now that Jae-ha wasn't in sight and she was all there was.

She's alive, she's alive, she's alive.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly.

Hak stopped walking, letting Jae-ha catch up to Yoon in front of them. Then he trailed after them, Yona matching his pace. "What are you sorry for?"

Yona turned the colour of her hair. "N- nothing. Never mind," she said.

Hak stared at her, puzzled.

"Thank you," she said. That made a little more sense. "Thank you for saving me."

Hak was surprised about the gratitude, though. He nodded.

"You should be commended for your bravery, Princess." Hak said. "Even facing death you showed no sign of fear."

The princess blushed even harder. Hak didn't know that was even possible, but she red from her cheeks to her ears to her neck. It was ridiculous how attractive and endearing he found it.

"That's because I wasn't - I wasn't really scared. You gave me courage, because I knew you were around. I didn't know for sure but - I felt like you would come, because I wasn't able to defend myself," she said.

Hak didn't know what to say. He had a warm, bubbly feeling in his chest, and he was staring at the princess like she'd grown a second head. While he knew he could be a better protector, hearing the princess say such things lifted a weight off Hak's shoulders - a weight that he hadn't realised was there until it was gone.

He battled with himself for an appropriate response.

"That's some trust you have in me," he settled for.

The princess puffed out her cheeks, then stared hard at the ground before letting out a heavy sigh. "it's not just trust, Hak."

Hak's heart skipped a beat. "What do you mean?"

Yona looked up at his, hair dancing in the light breeze. "Can't you guess? Don't you already know? You know what I'm feeling all the time, Hak. Why are you blind to this?"

Hak was stunned into silence.

"What?" he said finally. "What about Jae-ha?"

"Huh? Oh! H-he - well - it was his idea. We had a bet. We were trying to get you to say something. By making you jealous." Yona rubbed her arm.

Oh, I was jealous alright. Hak was still jealous. They had been executing a plan without him, just the two of them - never mind that it was for him.

"I knew you wouldn't say anything," Yona said. "Because that's not how you feel about me. So I won the bet."

She smiled, but didn't it wasn't a happy smile; it didn't reach her eyes.

"Wait - are you ...?" Hak trailed off as he stared at Yona.

"Yeah."

Hak stared at the ground in front of him. His profile was dark. "You're wrong."

"What?" Yona gasped.

"I said, you're wrong." Hak was trembling again.

"Hak," Yona said softly.

He turned to look at her again.

They surged forward, towards each other, and kissed and kissed and kissed. Hak held Yona's head in one hand, his other hand cradling her waist. He brushed his hand through her hair as their lips melted together, as their tongues danced. Her hair was feather-soft. The touch of her hands on his face was light and barely there but warm, like the sun's rays.

He broke away from her, gasping. They stared at each other, chests heaving. Their cheeks were flushed bright red and their lips were slightly swollen, tingling. They checked with each other, their eyes saying, Is this okay? As if reaching a conclusion together, they leaned forward until their foreheads were touching.

Hak closed his eyes and smiled.