Caving In

Chapter 1

Minor Update: After having a friend review this, she suggested that I break up the story into chapters. Sorry for the minor editing and the fact there's no new content, I'm a little bit of a perfectionist that way. =S

A/N: This fanfic is a lemon, with hints of WAFFyness enough to induce a toothache. Minor Hak x Yona spoilers in the manga until the Fire Festival.

I realize that some of the settings and scenes are highly implausible and underdeveloped, and a more original setting could have been thought of. But the purpose of this fanfic is smut, not plot. If you don't like the premise, leave. =P

There aren't enough lemons for Hak x Yona on the site, so I thought to make one. If you like it, please review! It's my first, and I haven't written a fanfic in ages, so please be gentle. Flames should just die. =S

Disclaimer: I don't own Akatsuki no Yona. As for the setting, I realized only after making this that the "trapped in the cave, while waiting for the rain to subside" scene was also the ending scene from Episode 24. It was completely unintentional, I promise =P In any case, if I were the owner of Akatsuki no Yona, this is what would have actually happened!

The members of the Happy Hungry Bunch woke at daybreak, to see the day-travelers off. Kija was the last to emerge from the tent, bleary and sleepy eyed, because the luxury of sleeping in a tent with no bugs was hard to come by. Yoon had just finished inspecting their luggage.

"It seems that you're all packed. It's still morning, but the weather is already a little chilly, so make sure to keep dry and warm throughout the day. If it rains …"

Yona giggled. "Yes. You're such a mom, Yoon-kun."

"Zeno and the rest will take care of the camp, so have a fun trip!"

"I wouldn't call the purpose of their trip exactly 'fun', Zeno-san …"

"… Be safe, Yona."

Yona smiled brightly at Shin-Ah. She nuzzled Ao before the furry squirrel jumped from her shoulder and disappeared into Shin-Ah's white fur head-piece. His little head popped up, munching a walnut he had fished out from inside the white, fluffy fur.

"Finish the errand and come back to this lonely, handsome one, okay, Yona?"

"… The most honest self-assessment to date," came the sarcastic response. "… Only if it were true."

"… You're breaking my heart, Hak."

Yona nodded enthusiastically. "Mm-hn, Jae-ha, we'll be back by tomorrow morning after Hak and I spend the night together in Fuuga. I'm sure they're waiting for us. We'll make sure to deliver to Mundok-san all the plans we found out from visiting Xing."

After Hak and I spend the night together. Hak and I. Together. Hak felt a familiar pang in his gut and ignored it. He schooled his expression into its usual nonchalance. He unconsciously averted his eyes from the bright, smiling woman whom he had loved all his life. It didn't do, to help his hormones develop any unwanted mental images. He didn't need a lot to imagine how it felt when her small body was curled up against him or how her hair and clothes smelled just after she …

Kija was innocent in love, but he still caught accidental innuendo. The God's Claw curled, Hakuryuu's white scales glinting in the cheerful sunlight. "… And you, Raijyuu! You better not try anything funny during the trip!"

"Just shut it, Shirohebi."

"Why, you-!"

The rest of the Happy Hungry Bunch had to feel for the poor Thunder Beast. No doubt this kind of trip would be torture for the poor fellow.

"Bye, everyone," Yona turned and waved cheerfully, as Hak slung his pack over his shoulder and nodded silently to each of the dragons and Yoon, promising them he would bring their princess back safe and sound.

They weren't even out of earshot when the pair started the bickering over an argument they started last night.

The group sighed. Why didn't they just admit their feelings for each other, they thought.

They're both masochists, Zeno cheerfully concluded.

Yoon was a nagger, but he had been right.

They were coming down into the valley when the storm hit. The wind swirled, whistling above the mountains, and the downpour of cold rain left them muddily trudging through the once dusty path.

"Stop walking ahead of me, Hime. The rain's getting worse, so don't walk so fast. Not especially with your clumsy footing –"

"I am not clumsy! … any more …"

Hak allowed himself to grin lightly at the princess' response. Even if she could tell he was smirking by the sound of his voice, she wouldn't be able to see him, anyway. "You know," he said, loud enough over the pouring rain, "If you're not light on your feet, the Gods will stop blessing Kouka with rain. The next time you dance for them, all they will hear is the violent plodding of a—"

Yona shot him withering look, but she could barely make out his silhouette in the downpour. "You're so mean, Hak! You said yourself that I danced beautifully, too."

"Ah, well, you got me there, Hime," He said teasingly. Hak smiled when he imagined the pouty face that surely accompanied her snippy answer and elegant stomping. He could sort of make out that her face had turned red, too. If he was the only one she could show her bratty side to, so be it. He could be greedy like that. But really, for such a small person, she could sure stomp like a wildebeest.

He was touched in the head, for sure. He sighed inaudibly. Who else but you, you sad bastard, would think this was an endearing trait?

Yona trudged on in the rain, red-faced, annoyed that Hak could be so mean and yet fluster her at the same time. Annoyed that she had expected him to take back his words that her dancing was beautiful, but that he hadn't. Annoyed that he thought she was a violent, plodding dancer. She was trying to concentrate on the road, but really, her thoughts kept straying to that certain annoying bodyguard tailing closely behind her.

He was grinning behind her. He was grinning for sure.

Yona's heart ached suddenly, for the umpteenth time that trip. The journey was normal, Hak was the same as ever. She was completely comfortable spending time alone with him, surprisingly ... even after ... he had been doing those weird things to her of late. She wasn't a child anymore. She knew the suggestiveness in them. She just hated it, when he teased and tricked her, and never meant anything by it. He was the closest person in the world to her, and yet when it came to his pranks, she always had a hard time telling him he had crossed the line. It made her heart hurt, but she preferred him to stop. The things he did to her made her stomach summersault first, then plummet the next, and she didn't think she could take the roller coaster of emotions much longer. It made her heart flutter and cringe in ways she never knew. Sometimes, she did wonder if he actually had feelings for her, but he always pulled away, confirming her disappointment.

She thought about the innocent and pastiche love she once harbored for her cousin, and Emperor, Soo-Won. She wondered if she would have ever developed an ability to feel deeper emotions had she not gone beyond the castle walls. She treasured the love she had felt for Soo-Won, and she was still struggling to come to terms with it, but she knew that she had it in her heart to forgive him.

Now Hak, he was an entirely different matter. Yona blushed again, but decided it was all right since he couldn't see. They had been together through so much that her heart swelled whenever she thought about him. The lonely feeling would always go away with just a word from him. He held her hand. He hugged her, he kissed her, twice, once on her forehead, and once, oh so close, just brushing his lips on her cheek. He said extravagant things too, but always, always, jokingly. He had never teased her that way in Hiryuu Castle. We're normal, right? This is normal between us, right? I've been just getting closer to Hak in more ways than one.

He's right there, but sometimes he's so far away.

The absence of Yoon and her four dragons made her remember the time when she had been expelled from Hiryuu Castle, and it was only she and Hak that had been traveling together. It had never bothered her before, so she really wanted to know why she was being overly self-conscious now.

"Hime, space out later," came his voice, almost directly above her ear. Her heart lurched again, and she lost her footing. His hand snaked easily around her waist, balancing her, and Yona's heart began to pound from the sudden proximity of their bodies.

"As I thought, you're looking a little red," he said, the back of his fingers lightly brushing her forehead. "Are you coming down with a fever?" he asked, and Yona could hear the slight, worried tone in his voice.

"No, I'm okay, Hak," she looked up at him, reassuringly.

He had yet to let go of her, and his arm rested comfortably across her stomach as if it was the most natural thing in the world. His mischievous face drew into her line of vision. "Then, shall I hold your hand the rest of the way down?"

Her heart swooped at his suggestion. "Hmph!" Yona felt the years of haughtiness as a princess swell around her, but suddenly remembered that he was just looking out for her. "I-I mean, thank you Hak," she said quietly, amending her behavior. "I'll be more careful."

Belatedly, her statement meant that they wouldn't be holding hands the rest of the way down. She sighed, feeling the familiar twisting of her heart. Hak gave her a quick smile, and his arm finally left her waist.

You didn't dislike it, A little voice in her head noted. Yona moved on and tried to concentrate on the steep descending slope. Those weird things, you kind of hope that he'll do more. Now that you're alone with him. Together.

"Walk slowly, Hime," Hak's deep voice called out, causing Yona to start again. This time he sounded a little more concerned. "We're already soaked so it doesn't make a difference. We're almost at the bottom, so there's no need to rush. We can find shelter by the cave near the river."

"But, Hak, we have to hurry." She glanced back at him, her eyes meeting his earnestly. "Yoon-kun told us to keep dry, so he'll surely kill us if we–" Her foot slipped, off the cliff's edge.

A/N.