The One I Love Is You

by XellossLina

Direct Sequel to 'The Secret's Out' AU of Chapters 146-153 part of my Yona/Jae-ha Alternate Chapters Series. As the events of Xing wrap up, Yona realizes she must speak with her Green Dragon about their unborn child and worries that Hak wishes to return to the Wind Tribe... Leading to misunderstanding only Yona could get herself into. One Shot Story. Spoilers for the manga warning.

Here we are the direct sequel to 'The Secret's Out' with the AU of Chapters 146-153, I will be skipping around here and there just warning you guys, much like 'I Think I'm Pregnant' there are scenes I'm changing little about so those will be skipped. I'm mostly focusing on the parts that can changes in the dialogue or events. There's also a reference here to when Hak tried asking Jae-ha how he handles throwing away his hatred in Chapter 92's AU 'Why I Fell in Love With You' which is why I added that line, so I could reference it here. Also side note here, I'm changing some of Zeno's dialogue involving the power display, that this is the first time it's happened due to how I want the events of the AU to play out with Yona being pregnant in this version. Besides part of Zeno's speech there about it shortening their lifespans I really wonder about considering all of the original dragons died after Hiryuu, there's no way he'd know for sure if that shorten their lifespans as he wasn't even there when they passed on.

Further note, I was writing 'When a Dragon is Born' as these chapters were coming out, so I revealed in that fanfic that Ayame is Hak's fiancée, due to that fact I couldn't have it revealed here, so I had to rework how Hak's explosive confession went.

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"… W-what… Just happened…?" Princess Yona stood in complete shock as she saw the disintegrated arrows at her feet. Just a moment ago, she threw herself in front of Princess Kouren telling both sides to lay down their weapons, just as the anti-war faction fired right at her. She saw the horror-stricken faces of her dragons and Hak's warning cry just as she felt the whole world exploded around her. She felt like something inside of her was radiating outwards, and suddenly a strange power exploded from her dragons, as four majestic dragons in raw energy form appeared before her, destroying the arrows. They circled around her and then vanished, Yona held her abdomen as there was a strange tugging sensation there.

"Lightning Beast… What was that just now?" Yoon spoke after a moment, but Hak was in such shock he couldn't answer. "Hey Jae-ha! Kija! Shin-ah, Zeno! Get up!" the boy genius called out.

But all four dragons weren't moving, unconscious on the ground. Yona already feared the worst, but much to her relief, several of Gobi's mercenaries confirmed that they weren't dead. But then they were trying to take the dragons, grabbing at each one and pulling them into the crowd of people.

"STOP IT!" Yona shouted without even thinking. "Leave the Four Dragon Warriors alone! They're still injured!"

Unfortunately, her words fell on deaf ears, as they were too busy arguing about Kouka having such powers to listen to her. Gobi just told them to take the dragons when Yona had enough and was about to rush in there, until she felt a firm grip around her arm. Turning around she saw Hak, bloodlust radiating from his eyes, nodding once to let her know that he would handle this. After all had it not been for whatever just happened there, she could have been killed right now. He wasn't about to let her rush into danger once again. Jae-ha's words echoed in his head as he was fighting the urge to just start killing all of Gobi's forces for trying to take their family. 'There might be a time Kija and I won't or cannot stop you, then and there you have to make the choice. In that instance, try to think of Yona dear and what it'll cost her.' He realized that course of action would most certainly give them means to declare war on Kouka, just as Jae-ha realized when he and Kija were attacked. But Hak couldn't just stand here and take this much longer…

But while he was busy with the princess, Yoon rushed forward and threw his body over Jae-ha. "NO! Stop it already! The Four Dragon Warriors are not tools for war!"

"What's with this kid? Pull him off!" the mercenaries protested, yanking and pulling at the young boy trying to force him off the Green Dragon.

Yoon shut his eyes and wrapped his arms tighter around the Ryokuryuu, his mind in a state of panic. 'Jae-ha and Kija were seriously injured. I don't know what that power was before but… Jae-ha's about to become a father…' he opened his eyes that were brimming with tears at the heartbreaking thought. 'What if they never open their eyes again…? Not only will he never meet his child, Yona will lose the most important person to her right now, just when she finally was able to come out in the open about their relationship and finding out she's pregnant…'

Yoon was about to get punched away when Hak struck first, beating the mercenary's forearm with the tail end of his glaive to throw off his aim. He lifted Yoon onto his feet, stepped over to Jae-ha, cut his ropes and slung him over his shoulder, then grabbed Kija with his other arm. '… Droopy Eyes, I asked you once how the hell you throw away your hatred, now I really wish you had given me an answer…' the glaive wielder thought to himself. 'Because all I want to do is kill these guys for hurting all of you… And causing the princess this much grief…' he looked at the unconscious green haired man over his shoulder and then back at the scared princess that came running up to him to check on her dragons. 'Maybe this is why you're better suited for her after all, Jae-ha.' Hak thought to himself, for once not even mentally using his mock nickname for the Green Dragon. 'The princess was able to throw away her hatred and anger over you guys being captured just to stop war from breaking out in Kouka… Even you avoided it by taking hits like those before just to avoid the conflict… The princess doesn't need a bloodthirsty guardian that could start a war in her name just because I lost control of myself… That's what you meant by telling me to think of my actions and what it could cost her…' he then was surprised how Algira and Vold jumped in to assist him.

Yona tried to reason with Gobi and the anti-war faction. When that failed, Kouren returned her bow and asked her to protect Tao while she joined the battle. Yona stayed with Yoon and helped him pull Shin-ah and Zeno closer to Hak, who still carried Jae-ha and Kija, staying on the outskirts of the battle.

"I'm so sorry you got caught up in all this Princess Yona…" Tao whimpered, hugging the fellow princess. "They nearly killed you back there!"

"I'm fine, really… Thanks to the dragons." Yona said with a smile, though frowned when she looked over her unconscious comrades.

"Speaking of which, just what was that back there?" Yoon decided to ask, holding onto Zeno at the moment while checking over Shin-ah. "It's almost as if something pulled them towards you… Like…"

Yona wrapped her arms around her abdomen. "… There was a strange feeling inside me, almost as if something was calling out like… The baby…?" she gasped.

"… Is it because it's Droopy Eyes' kid?" Hak asked after a moment. "At first I thought it was something they tapped into to protect you but… We've never seen anything like that before, and you're constantly throwing yourself into danger." He added a bit bitterly.

"Well after all there hasn't been a dragon child born between a Dragon Warrior and the Crimson Dragon I'm sure, since the originals were all male." Yoon pointed out. "Besides Zeno was thinking that maybe your child is the next…" he gulped as he realized Hak and Yona didn't know the whole story behind that.

"You mean the princess could be carrying the next Green Dragon, and that's why it happened?" Hak asked. "In other words, it's already trying to protect her because it sensed she was in danger?"

"That would make sense…" Yona smiled slightly at the thought of the baby trying to protect her. "… We'll have to ask them when…." She shivered as she touched Jae-ha's cheek, frowning at the expression of pain visible on his unconscious face.

Hak noticed that of course. "Don't worry princess, he's a stubborn son of a bitch and won't die that easily. After all I still need to threaten him some more to marry you properly."

Yona's entire face turned red at that. "M-M-M-MARRY?!" The thought of marrying her secret lover hadn't actually occurred to her, she had been struggling with just telling her group about their relationship for so long that marriage was the last thing on her mind.

The Thunder Beast just shrugged his shoulders. "What? I am your bodyguard so I can't allow him to dishonor you with becoming an unwed mother." He then turned serious. "Princess Tao, whatever you do when you go to speak with Soo-won… You must not mention that the princess is pregnant."

"… You're worried Soo-won would see that as a threat to the throne, aren't you?" Tao asked.

Yona stiffened at that, it was on the back of her mind but she hadn't given it too much thought. It was why she didn't let Lily know when she ran into her during her short confrontation with Soo-won. Yona knew her child would be a legitimate heir to the throne, and could be seen as a threat there. Kye-sook already tried to have her killed once, claiming she was a spy from Xing, if not Soo-won then surely his advisor would see the threat…

"He already tried to have the princess killed once the very night he killed King Il, I wouldn't put it past him to try again." Hak said rather darkly.

"… Princess Tao, let's go. One of the conditions from Soo-won was for both of you to be there." Yona noted, since the battle was dying down and they had a clear path now. "Hak, you stay with Yoon and the dragons."

"Mister, you go with the little miss." Zeno spoke up, opening his eyes finally.

"Zeno! Are you alright?!" Yoon cried.

"I'm alright, but my body is paralyzed." The Ouryuu replied. "Mister, don't worry about the Four Dragons. Don't let go of the little miss's hand right now!"

Hak narrowed his eyes at that. "… You guys better not die on me while I'm gone, especially Droopy Eyes… I'm not done threatening him yet." He then turned to follow the redheaded princess.

Zeno laughed at that. "Well Zeno doesn't die, so that obviously wasn't aimed at me."

Once the princess and Hak left, Yoon spoke up. "Zeno… What happened back there? Has anything like that… Happened before with the original dragons?"

The Ouryuu's eyes strayed off for a moment. "… Not that I recall. Granted, the power of the Four Dragons should not be underestimated. Together we can do many things that are on the level of gods, but I fear that it could shorten the lifespans of the other dragons. But I felt a… Calling to the little miss when it happened, almost just like when one of my brothers are in trouble or in need…"

"You mean like that time you guys felt Jae-ha was in trouble?" Yoon brought up, recalling in the Water Tribe how they said his presence felt weird when they went to search for the Green Dragon. "… Does that mean Yona's child is…" he stiffened at the thought.

"… It's possible, though I've never felt an unborn dragon call to me before…" Zeno muttered, seeming lost in thought. He was so serious he wasn't even referring to himself in third person like he normally did. "Perhaps it's because the child is inside the reincarnation of Hiryuu right now? And that new dragon is trying to protect her from within? After all, it isn't like Hiryuu could have gotten pregnant last time…" he laughed at that. "But Hiryuu's son was human, just like he was... So I was hoping that…"

"… You were hoping their child would be a normal human?" Yoon finished, looking at Jae-ha sadly.

The Yellow Dragon sighed. "Perhaps it seems Ryokuryuu's remark about the gods punishing him wasn't too far from the truth… But one thing I don't understand… The new dragons were not born until after Hiryuu died, neither did the originals die until years after the Crimson Dragon was gone… So why would a new dragon be born now? Just when the Four Dragon Warriors are needed most? Wouldn't that make their duty more difficult?"

Yoon frowned at that. "… Do you think… Maybe the new generation is being born now so they can grow up before the current generation slows down? But could that mean that Jae-ha…" he gulped, he wanted to hold onto the hope that Jae-ha's determination to outlast his predecessor would come true.

"… For the sake of the miss, I hope so." Zeno said with a sad look. "I remember what it was like when Kaya died… I don't want to see the miss with that same face I must have had when it happened…"

'Huh… He rarely speaks of his wife so that must have been on his mind ever since he found out about Jae-ha and Yona's relationship…' Yoon thought to himself. "I hope he lives long enough to be with Yona a good long time too, at least so she doesn't lose him so soon… So that all of us don't lose him…"

"To be honest, Zeno has noticed Ryokuryuu's long denial of his feelings for the miss." Zeno suddenly reverted to his cheerful self, obviously trying to lighten the mood. "Zeno just thought he'd never act on it, or that the mister would beat him to getting to the miss first." He laughed. "Especially since Ryokuryuu was trying to push them together."

"He was in that heavy of denial?" Yoon blinked. "With the way he jokes around and flirts so much it surprised me how passionate and serious he was speaking of Yona and their relationship…"

"Ryokuryuu was convinced it was the dragon's blood causing his feelings for her." The Yellow Dragon chuckled. "Zeno didn't think much of it at the time since the original Ryokuryuu was always denying how much he cared about Hiryuu too, but not in the same sense as our current one. The original dragons loved and respected him, but for our current Ryokuryuu… It goes much further. Perhaps he's just what the miss needs to get through her trying times."

A few hours passed as Vold arrived with some help to bring Yoon and the dragons to the border closer to the Wind Tribe's encampment. Zeno commented that being closer to Kouka would help the other dragons recover faster so it was a good idea. Once they were brought there Yoon found out through Yona that the conference went well and that Princess Kouren was returning to Kyuu Castle in Xing proper to discuss this with her father, the king. Soo-won had already left with the Sky Tribe, along with the Water Tribe. Yona was sad that she still wasn't able to tell Lily about her pregnancy, but she couldn't risk a spy or eavesdropper overhearing them and informing the king of Kouka. Princess Kouren bid her farewells and was heading off with her sister.

"We'd like you to come as well, Princess Yona. I want father to meet you." Tao said as she said her goodbyes for now. "But perhaps after the dragons have awakened. Please come see us at the palace, just give your name to the guards and they will let you in. And you'll be welcome to stay as long as you wish, after all in your condition you could use a rest. I also asked for Sara to come by to look you over while you're here, she'll arrive tomorrow morning."

"We'll be sure to come as soon as everyone recovers." Yona said with a smile. "And thank you, I guess I should have a doctor make sure everything is ok after what happened."

"You will always be seen as our savior for this day, Princess Yona." Kouren spoke with a smile. "From now on I will progress forward and no longer dwell on the past, much like yourself. Should you need a safe haven you will have it in Xing, for helping spare the people of both sides in this war you helped us avoid."

"I wouldn't wish to impose on you, Princess Kouren." Yona replied, shaking her head. "But we will visit you at the palace once my comrades recover."

"Should you need a place for a discreet wedding I'm sure we could help." Tao giggled. "After all you did not wish for King Soo-won to learn of your pregnancy or relationship to your dragon…"

That made Yona blush madly. "P-Princess T-Tao! Really I-I…. It's not like J-Jae-ha has a-asked me or anything like that…"

"Yeah but Hak was already saying he was going to make sure you're not going to stay an unwed mother." Yoon remarked with a chuckle. "Speaking of which… Hey where did Lightning Beast go?"

"I saw some of the members of the Wind Tribe drag him away, I think they want some time with him." Yona giggled as she strolled over to the dragons, bending down to sit by Jae-ha who was still unconscious. "I keep him away from them too much… Let them be for now, Hak was so serious until Soo-won left, he could use a rest."

"Hey idiot-gira come on! Aren't you done saying goodbye?" Vold called out.

"Yeah but Shin-ah-nyan and the others haven't woken up yet…" Algira pouted. "I wanna thank them too."

"It's alright, Seiryuu and the others are just sleeping now." Zeno spoke up. "Zeno will let them know."

"I will too." Yona said, brushing her fingers over Jae-ha's face. She really had wished they'd open their eyes already as she was worried sick about them…

"Thank you Zeno-nyan!" Algira cried, hugging the Ouryuu and turning to head off.

Yona smiled at that, but then felt a movement under her hand as she heard something.

"I told you that you worry too much about us beasts, Yona dear…"

"Jae-ha!" The princess gasped as she looked down to see her lover had finally opened his violet eyes, looking at her lovingly.

Shin-ah then spoke up. "Algira… See you later…"

"Shin-ah-nyan! Kija-nyan! Jae-ha-nyan!" Algira cried as he jumped down to hug each of them before he and the princesses headed off.

"Jae-ha-nyan?" Jae-ha blinked a few times at that, then was caught by surprise as Yona suddenly kissed him once their friends from Xing left. "Yona darling, I know our secret has come out but for you to get so bold to kiss me spontaneously now…" he teased.

"Jae-ha… I was so worried when you all…" Yona sobbed as she hugged him tightly.

"Seriously, for a while there I was worried how things would turn out…" Yoon sighed.

"Our apologies for causing such worry…" Kija spoke up. "We seemed to have done that unconsciously…"

"But we still can't move at all…" Jae-ha groaned. "I still don't even know what happened back there… Everything happened so fast and I was so desperate to protect Yona-chan…" he then looked up at the princess with a smile. "I'm glad to see you weren't harmed…"

"Thanks to all of you." Yona replied, petting his head.

"It was almost as if something was calling to us…" Kija mentioned, his eyes looking to the side as he recalled the event. "As if asking to lend our power to protect the princess, and I just went with it, anything to save her…"

"The Four Dragons conceal greater powers than we imagined, it seems. Especially with the little miss expecting a child." Zeno spoke up. "Should Seiryuu allow his powers to run wild, his entire body will become paralyzed. We seem to have done similar with how our emotions took over. We used more power than our bodies could handle it seems, so that's why we are like this now, Zeno guesses."

Kija looked thoughtful at that. "In that case, if we were to learn how to control this power, would we become stronger?"

Yoon shared a glance at Zeno as they already discussed this before, but the Yellow Dragon just gave his thoughts on it. "I really wouldn't recommend it. It's possible that overusing such powers could shorten our lifespans, aside from Zeno. After all, mortal bodies aren't exactly built to handle such strong powers, thus why Seiryuu's backlash is so violent."

"Thank you all for saving me, but please don't use that power again." Yona said, smiling at the dragons as she brushed some hair from Jae-ha's face. "Even if it was the baby calling to you to help protect us."

"You know we can't resist you, Yona dear. And I'm sure the little one is going to be just as charming as you are." Jae-ha chuckled, blushing from her petting. "Ahhh I so wish I could move right now to hold you… Not to mention the fact we still need to talk about…"

"O-one thing at the time Jae-ha." Yona blushed at that, but leaned in to hug him. "I'm just glad you're all safe. For now get some rest, I'll go see if Hak is ok." She then stood up and headed off to the Wind Tribe's encampment, noticing how Hak was so different around them. He was joking around and acting more happy than usual, especially after that encounter with Soo-won she worried he was still angry. It really made her wonder if she was keeping him from his real family too long… 'I really need to talk to Hak about this… That once this is all over I need to give him back his freedom… For the past three years he's been away from them too long being my bodyguard and now on the road with me…' she thought to herself, sighing as she stayed hidden by the trees.

"Princess?"

"KYYAAA!" Yona cried, spinning around to see that Hak had come up behind her.

"I figured you'd come looking for me if I was gone too long, sorry about that…" Hak sighed, rubbing his head. "Ayame got ahold of me and insisted on bringing me back here for treatment. How are Droopy Eyes and the others?"

"T-they finally woke up." Yona replied, trying to get her hammering heart to calm down from that scare. She was so lost in thought she didn't realize he came up behind her. "How are you doing Hak? That was a nasty wound in your shoulder before…"

"Yeah Ayame made a big deal about it but really I'm fine." Hak shrugged it off, walking with her back to their camp as Yoon had put up the tent. "So you and Droopy Eyes talk yet?"

"H-Hak he just woke up!" Yona flushed at that line of questioning. "He and Kija are still badly injured so t-they need to recover first… I mean he did say once this was all over he wanted to talk about… W-well where we go from here and the baby but…"

"Just kidding, princess." the Thunder Beast chuckled at her stammering. "After all I still need to have a word with him myself about taking responsibility for getting you pregnant…"

The redhead bit her lip at that. "Hak, don't you dare go and threaten Jae-ha on me… If he chooses to marry me that's one thing, but my whole relationship with him is based on not limiting his freedom, I explained that to you already."

"Eh, I already warned him what punishment awaits if he ever dares cheat on you so…" Hak chuckled as he saw her fuming at that. "Hey come on, Droopy Eyes even said White Snake already beat me to it so I'm not the only one that's going to threaten him in that department."

Yona grumbled as they arrived at their destination, Yoon was busy changing the bandages on Kija's wounds at the moment they returned.

"Yoon let me help you, I can change Jae-ha's bandage." Yona offered, sitting on the grass next to her Green Dragon.

"Yona you don't have to make an excuse to be near your boyfriend." The boy genius stated bluntly, causing the princess to stammer and get all flustered in embarrassment again. He then raised his eyebrow at her reaction. "What? We all know you two are a thing now or would you rather we call Jae-ha your lover? I mean you are pregnant with his kid after all-"

"YOON!" Yona's cheeks were blazing at this point, she then clutched at her stomach that started bothering her. With all the excitement she had nearly forgotten about her nausea. She then grabbed the wrappings from the boy genius and started working on the bandage on Jae-ha's head. "Oh my goodness, how were you able to jump around so much with this wound?" she whimpered.

"No wonder he fell over once he arrived." Hak commented.

"Oh come on, Kija's in far worse condition than I was." The Green Dragon tried to downplay his injury.

"I wasn't the one with a head wound." Kija grumbled. "Besides I only took one major blow, after that you protected me."

"Well big brother has to step in when you're hurt." Jae-ha chuckled. "Besides you never should have taken that hit for me anyway."

"Ryokuryuu and Hakuryuu have been arguing since the cell who took the worst injury." Zeno laughed. "Zeno thinks they're pretty even."

"Agreed, they're both hurt badly." Shin-ah spoke up.

"All the more reason you guys need to rest, once you're able to move again we'll go to Xing's palace as per Princess Tao's request." Yona explained to the group. "They wish for us to meet the king, and take the time to heal up there since Soo-won returned to Crimson Dragon Palace."

"Well it would be a good place to hide for a while, but not too long." Hak noted. "If rumors of your pregnancy spreads from here and reach Soo-won…"

"We won't stay long enough that anyone will notice." Yona said, finishing wrapping up Jae-ha's bandage. "I'm going to see Princess Tao's doctor tomorrow morning, she's going to meet with me here so that nobody from Xing sees us. I already met her once before, she's the one that told me I was pregnant in the first place."

"Did she give you an idea just how far along you are?" Yoon asked, obviously curious as he had been doing the math in his head.

"Well before this all happened we figured out my cycle was two months late at least, plus the time from when we… G-guessed it happened…." Yona flushed and looked away. "Then the time between finding out and now…"

"Yes, after all there's only one night that could have happened." Jae-ha chuckled to himself, noticing Hak had a raised eyebrow at that. "Despite what you think Hak, I was trying to be careful. Just we got carried away the first time. Oh what a wasted effort, here you were already pregnant Yona dear…"

"Jae-ha you're not helping." Yona snapped, still blushing as she noticed her guardian rolling his eyes at the pervert's remarks. "Going by all that, she estimated that I'm just over three months pregnant."

"Ok that lines up with what I thought as well." Yoon nodded. "If we stay here a few weeks you shouldn't start showing right away, and by your fourth month your morning sickness should calm down a little bit. I was wondering with how sick you've been the past few weeks, now we know for sure what the cause was."

"Anyway, let's try to get some rest for tonight." Yona said with a smile.

"Well considering we can't move we'll have to stay like this." Jae-ha sighed. "Can I get a goodnight kiss at least Yona darling?" he grinned, winking at her.

"Alright just because we know about your relationship with the princess now doesn't mean you have to flaunt it!" Kija protested.

"Jae-ha…" Yona twisted her mouth, but leaned in and planting a chaste kiss on his lips. "Behave please." She blushed though from kissing him in front of the others, but he was injured and she wanted him to recover fast so this was just something she could do for him.

"As you wish my love." Jae-ha purred at her, closing his eyes. "Ahhh it is such a weight off my mind, finally having it out in the open. Though I must say, if it wasn't for this paralysis I could finally stop holding back all my other urges."

"Thank goodness for the paralysis then." Hak muttered under his breath. "I'll keep watch since they can't move Yoon, you go ahead and get some rest with the princess."

"Errr… Yeah…" Yoon rubbed his cheek as he watched the redhead go into the tent.

"Something wrong?" Hak blinked.

"… I just feel a little weird sleeping next to Yona with her being… You know, pregnant and all." Yoon admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. "I mean there were times it could be awkward before, but now… I guess it can't be helped." He sighed and headed into the tent.

"Ahhh poor Yoon, he probably can't look at Yona dear the same knowing she isn't as innocent as he once thought." Jae-ha chuckled.

"And whose fault is that, Droopy Eyes?" Hak scowled. "I just hope you plan to take responsibility for what you did…." He was going to go into further details, but remembered how the princess told him not to threaten the Green Dragon so he let it slide.

"Oh the lad already spoke to Ryokuryuu about that back in the cell." Zeno laughed.

"Well if I could move I already would have done so, but I guess it will have to wait for Yona-chan and I to discuss our future and the little one." Jae-ha sighed.

Hak raised an eyebrow at that. "…. So does that mean you actually do have plans of…?"

"That is for me and my lovely princess to discuss Hak." Jae-ha opened one eye as he smirked at the Thunder Beast.

Hak didn't press any further after that, keeping watch throughout the night and once morning came around he excused himself to get some sleep after pulling Kija, Jae-ha and Shin-ah into sitting positions due to the fact they still couldn't move. Zeno was able to get up and move around, but due to the paralysis the other dragons couldn't lift their arms at all. Yoon was getting their breakfast ready as he sat by Kija and forced Zeno to help with Shin-ah.

"Seriously… To think I'd have to be spoon fed at this age…" Jae-ha grumbled until he opened his eyes with surprise to see Yona sitting in front of him, holding a spoon with his bowl of food in her hands. "Ahhh on second thought, this is starting to look up after all Yona darling." He purred.

Yona just blushed and looked away. "… Y-Yoon said you guys were going to need help since you can't feed yourselves due being unable to lift your arms, so I… I thought it was fitting that I be the one to… Well…"

"Yes, yes, I quite agree my lovely." Jae-ha was grinning wide now as he opened his mouth for her to start feeding him, he still spoke while chewing. "You look simply beautiful doing so Yona dear, almost like a wife." He laughed as she blushed furiously from that praise, she quickly stuffed his mouth with another spoonful of food to shush him. 'She keeps shutting me up whenever I'm trying to bring up the subject… Is she worried about talking about it or is she still scared that I don't want to settle down with her that I'm only going to do so because of the baby? That or she's worried I'll only do it under threat of death from Hak and Kija…' he thought to himself.

"Alright you two, some of us are trying to eat and don't need to be sick from you guys flirting." Yoon stated rather bluntly.

"Awww, but Zeno thinks the miss and Ryokuryuu make a cute couple, right Seiryuu?" Zeno asked with a chuckle.

Shin-ah nodded. "Yona's happy with Jae-ha… That's what matters."

Yona smiled at that. "Thank you both, and I never did get the chance to tell Jae-ha that you knew already Shin-ah."

"Huh?" Kija blinked. "P-princess you told Shin-ah? I mean I know he said that he saw you two together but…"

"Well this is news to me." Jae-ha quickly swallowed his bite to reply.

"I didn't get a chance to tell you." The princess replied with a flushed face. "It was a day or two before we got to Xing, then I found out I was pregnant and never got a chance with you alone to tell you."

"And you kept it secret for her?" Yoon asked.

"… I wanted to protect Yona's smile." The Blue Dragon replied, Ao purred on his shoulder as if agreeing. "She asked me not to tell you and she was so happy when I agreed. That's why I didn't say anything until Jae-ha did."

"Ahhh that does explain it." Jae-ha chuckled. "Did Shin-ah tell you my dear when he found out?"

Yona flushed, looking away again. "N-no but he did bring up that he saw that hairpin you gave me, so I figured it was around then…"

The Green Dragon grinned as he knew very well it wasn't that particular time, but rather one of their naughty activities at night…. "Actually it was-"

"Hairpin?" Kija interrupted them. "When did you give the princess a hairpin?"

"It was after you guys saved me and Lily in Sei." Yona explained, digging into her bag to pull out the crimson dragon hairpin with emerald stones. "I kept it hidden so you guys wouldn't see it but…. Jae-ha gave me this as a reminder of our happy memories we create together…." Her eyes were burning with her love for her Ryokuryuu as he held a proud smile on his face. "I guess I don't have to hide this anymore, even though Hak already knows about this as he saw it not long after I told him the truth about us." She made a slightly disturbed face recalling the Thunder Beast's outburst.

"I'm still curious how he reacted, you just said it was poorly." Jae-ha laughed as he saw her expression.

"He wanted to run back to the cell in Xing, break you out just to kill you with his bare hands…" the princess sighed, rubbing her temple. "It was not easy to get him to calm down…"

"That sounds like the reaction I figured Lightning Beast would have, it's why I was so surprised how well he was taking it when we met up with you." Yoon remarked.

"I think he's still holding back, knowing Hak he's probably waiting for a moment Jae-ha irritates him after he is healed." Kija brought up.

"Ah yes, Kija you did mention that our injures were the one thing keeping you from threatening me all the way." Jae-ha snickered, then regretted it as he felt his slowly healing wounds aching. "Yona dear, I think you missed a bit of my mouth on that last one."

"Huh? I don't see anything." Yona pursed her lips as she moved her head a bit closer. "Seriously Jae-ha, where-" her eyes widened when he pressed his head closer to allow their lips to connect. She sat there with a massive blush and her mouth hanging open as she started uttering garbled babble when he pulled away with a grin on his face.

"Ugh, figures he's probably been about to combust for a while holding back around us all the time." Yoon rolled his eyes. "I seriously cannot believe we didn't notice you two sooner, I was so focused on Hak I never thought…"

"We were just that good at hiding it, right my dear?" Jae-ha smirked, winking at the princess.

"J-Jae-ha! I-it's embarrassing to d-do that in front of…." Yona was still stammering.

"It didn't stop you from kissing me in front of them two or three times yesterday." The Green Dragon replied with a coy smile. "Or was one of those because you just had to take advantage of me not being able to move so I could be under your whim… Oooohhh I bet had we been alone you would have violated my leg like that time-"

"JAE-HA!" Yona threw her hands around his mouth to shush him, her face redder than her hair. "I was worried about you and I just didn't think those times ok?! A-and this pregnancy doesn't always make me feel right so…"

"Little miss is going to be prone to mood swings." Zeno chuckled.

Kija's cheeks were painted scarlet just trying to figure out what Jae-ha was trying to say. "… W-wait, are you possibly talking about your dragon leg…? The one you always refuse to show even us most of the time?"

"I don't think I want to know what he's talking about with something she does to his leg…" Yoon made a face as he groaned. "But it figures that of all the people he'd be comfortable showing it to, it would be his girlfriend."

Yona blushed madly with how bluntly Yoon had been referring to her as Jae-ha's girlfriend or calling the Green Dragon her boyfriend. Well at least it wasn't as embarrassing as 'lover', but it still made the redheaded princess' heart flutter just hearing it. She was worried her Ryokuryuu was about to reply with something further embarrassing when they were interrupted.

"Excuse me, Princess Yona?" a young woman approached the group and bowed. "Princess Tao asked me to come and see how you are all doing."

"Sara!" Yona cried. "Everyone this is Princess Tao's doctor."

"I met her briefly before we got captured and put in that cell." Yoon spoke up. "She was the one I confirmed with that you were pregnant."

Before Yona could protest why Sara did that when she was asked not to, the healer answered. "More like confirmed your theory, you were already convinced she was pregnant. I just couldn't tell you who the father was as Princess Tao forbade me from revealing that." She then turned to the redhead. "Princess Tao was very worried about your condition after everything you've been through, Princess Yona. Please allow me to do a quick examination to make sure you are ok. After all the stress you've been under, it's a wonder you didn't miscarry."

Yona stiffened at that, she hadn't even really given the consideration that she put her unborn child's life at risk to rescue the others. But it had to be done, and she was the only one that could have done it.

"Oh! You're the one that saved me back in Sei!" Sara gasped as she came over to Kija and bowed immediately. "I cannot thank you enough!"

"O-oh, it's alright miss and there's no need for that!" Kija flushed a bit from her thanks. "After all those men were terrible to all of you that were taken, something had to be done."

"Ah Kija, you've been holding back on us." Jae-ha grinned wide.

"It's not what you think!" The White Dragon snapped. "We were busy rushing around trying to find the princess and I couldn't just stand there as they were mistreating those other women they had captured."

Yona giggled at their exchange. "Alright, I'll be right back guys." She then went with the healer to her tent.

About an hour or so later, Sara finished up with Yona and gave Yoon some more medical supplies for treating the dragons. The healer told Yona that she seemed alright, but with all the stress she had been under she'd best take it easy for the baby's sake. After Sara left, Hak had woken up from his nap and joined the group. They discussed that probably one more day of rest or so should do for the dragons as they were starting to get slight movement back even though they couldn't get up just yet, but perhaps within another day they could head back into Xing proper. Yona was busy gathering their blankets and things as they were trying to pack a few things up and get them washed before heading on the road, but she then tripped and dropped it all over Hak, who was merely changing the bandage on his wound.

"Hak I'm sorry!" the princess cried, removing the sheets off of him.

"It's a wonder you can carry that much with those stick arms of yours." The Thunder Beast remarked. "Droopy eyes still hasn't talked to you yet, has he? He mentioned something about you avoiding him…"

'Crap, Jae-ha noticed I've been dodging that subject…' Yona gulped, looking away. "Look they can't move right now and that's something I need to talk to him about… Alone…" she admitted, looking a bit pitiful as she tried to put her thoughts into words. "I know Jae-ha's the type not to care about… Discussing that in front of the others when he has no choice but it's… Embarrassing in front of everyone." She admitted. 'Besides the fact that if he says something to provoke Hak or Kija it will end badly… I want to make sure this is what Jae-ha wants, and not because Hak wants to bully him into it… I mean I know he said he'll be there for the baby, and that's enough for me… No need to complicate it with… M-marriage…' she then tilted her head. 'Why is Hak pushing this so much anyway? Is it because he wants to return to the Wind Tribe but wants to make sure I'm taken care of first? Do they need him for something and he's too worried to say anything to me because he knows I might be upset for him to go and beg him not to leave? I mean I know it's his job to protect me but… No… I can let him go if that's what he wants…' she then looked to the distance to see the Wind Tribe was packing up. "Oh… Hak, the Wind Tribe is preparing to leave."

Hak looked for himself, shrugging his shoulders. "Is that so…?"

"Is it ok if you don't go with them?" she asked.

The Lightning Beast looked at her confused. "What do you mean?"

"They are all waiting for you, aren't they? And the Sky Tribe isn't here now… I mean you did seem so happy with them again last night when I saw you…" The princess looked off to the side. "I mean, if you'd like, you could go back to Fuuga's capital. I'm sure Mundok misses you."

"I'm not going back." Hak replied, raising an eyebrow in confusion as her words.

"If you're worried about us, Jae-ha and the others are steadily recovering so we'll be fine." Yona replied with a forced smile. 'I have to do this for Hak, he's always throwing away everything for me. If going back to the Wind Tribe is what he wants I need to allow him to do it. Even if it's just for a little while for a visit. I can't be selfish…'

"Princess…." Something seemed to crack in Hak's expression as he turned to a rather sorrowful one. "…. Am I unneeded?"

Yona seemed surprised he asked that. "It's not about whether you're needed or not needed, it's because the Wind Tribe is precious to you."

The Thunder Beast was completely lost in this conversation. "Well yeah, they're precious to me… But that's precisely why I can't… Argh, that's not it!" he held his head in frustration. 'What is this? Does she just want me to get out of her and Droopy Eyes' hair?' he shook his head. "You know I told you that I'd stick annoyingly close to you, didn't I?"

Yona recalled that, making her cheeks flush a bit. "I… I'm always being saved by you, Hak. So I've been thinking when the time comes that I'll be fine even when you're not around, I'd give you back your freedom." She explained. "You've been with me all this time because of that oath you made to my father, and I feel I should be the one to free you from that. I mean I know I'm a pain sometimes and I can be selfish and ask a lot out of you, but I want to give you that back in return… That's why Hak, you should freely…"

"And you're saying that time has come?" Hak's expression completely hardened now. 'Well I guess that makes sense… She's pregnant with Droopy Eyes' child, why does she need me around when she has the Four Dragons? Maybe it's best that way, especially since she still thinks I'm only with her because of her father…' Before she could reply, he stood up and turned his back to her. "… Thank you for your concern…" he then walked over to the large tent to turn in for the night, leaving the princess stunned speechless.

'Did I somehow upset Hak with what I said…? I thought he'd be happy to go to Fuuga for a little while…' Yona tilted her head in confusion, she groaned as she felt a ping in her heart as if she just knew something was wrong and she made a mistake… She just couldn't put her finger on it.

The group got their rest for the night but Hak's reaction was still nagging on Yona's mind. He didn't go to join the Wind Tribe as they were packing up and seeming to get ready to leave by morning, but he still took off like that and even skipped dinner. When Yoon asked what was wrong with the Thunder Beast she just shrugged, but she could tell the others noticed his gloomy expression. She didn't get much sleep but once she did awaken she noticed Yoon had already left obviously to make breakfast but then felt warm fingers on her face, brushing a bit of her hair to the side. She gasped as that touch was familiar, one she'd been longing for as she sat up and turned her head to see who it was. "Jae-ha!" she threw her arms around her lover. "You can move finally!"

Jae-ha let out a slight grunt of pain as his injures were still bothering him but he just smiled and hugged her back. "I know right? It was terrible not being able to move for a whole day. Especially since I've been dying to have you in my arms since we don't have to hold back anymore." He smirked as he kissed her lips briefly.

Yona flushed at that, she kissed him back but then tried to get a hold of her heart that was pounding rapidly. "Jae-ha… I… Well…." She didn't know where to start, here she finally had him alone and her mind was going in every direction possible.

The Green Dragon chuckled at her skittish expression, taking her hand and placing a kiss at her knuckles. "Now I believe I said we need to discuss a few things, don't we? I tried to bring it up before but it seems you didn't like having eavesdroppers. Sadly I couldn't move so it wasn't like I could get you alone…" he brushed his fingers lightly on her cheek.

"Jae-ha." Yona placed her hand over his. "… I just want you to know what you said to me is enough. I don't want to force you into anything and I told you before I will never limit your freedom so I… Just being there for me and our baby is really all I need, you don't have to… Err… T-take responsibility like Hak wants you to, it should be your choice and not because he bullies you into-"

Jae-ha snorted a laugh and kissed her again to shut her up. "Is that why you kept changing the subject so quickly? I had a feeling you were worried Hak and Kija were going to press that matter, and Yoon brought up a good point too. Yona…" he took both her hands into his, smiling at her warmly. "I already came to my decision while in that cell in Xing, after all I had plenty of time to think about it. I told you before if I do something you ask of me it's because I want to, not just because you tell me. And really it would be an unbeautiful thing to label our child a bastard wouldn't it? Not to mention the shame it would put on you, no I couldn't do that." He shook his head. "But since you insist on me keeping my freedom let's look at it another way, we'll become partners in life, Yona darling." He leaned in and kissed her cheek. "We'll promise each other to walk this path together, we'll be bound but not in the limiting kind of way. I already told you I'm bound to you heart and soul, so it won't hurt to make it official will it? I mean it'll be a great shame to the ladies of the world, but I told you before why I gave up going to the Red Light and doing such things… They can't compare to you, my love."

Yona felt tears creeping up in her eyes as her heart was rapidly beating in her chest. Her cheeks tinted and her mouth opened while trying to form a reply. "J-Jae-ha…."

"So with that in mind…" Jae-ha smiled at her expression, musing how he could watch her blushing face for hours as he held her hands tenderly. "Princess Yona, will you bestow the greatest honor in the world to your Ryokuryuu by marrying me?"

Yona thought her heart exploded in that very moment, her face as red as it ever could be and tears fell down her cheeks. She really didn't think that her Green Dragon wanted to marry her at all and she was fine with that, but to hear his loving words and asking her to be his wife was the happiest moment in her life… Now the hard part was just getting out the words. "I-I… I…."

"Pukkkyyuuu!"

"Ao?" Yona snapped out of her trance as she heard the squirrel, she turned to the entrance of her tent but didn't see anyone. Lifting the flap to see who was behind there, her eyes widened in surprise to see that they were being listened in on as Kija tripped while leaning over and caused him to crash on top of Hak, Zeno, Shin-ah and Yoon. "…. How long have you all been there?" she narrowed her eyes, blushing furiously as their entire group was caught red handed.

Zeno chuckled nervously as he wiggled out from the dogpile. "Err… We just woke up!"

"Everyone said they wanted to see if Jae-ha was going to propose…" Shin-ah revealed as he was petting Ao.

Yoon just lay there even though he was being crushed by all the heavy men, a scowl on his face. "Come on Yona, don't leave a guy hanging!"

Kija huffed as he got up and adjusted his robes. "I agree, tell him no already so he has to work at it."

Hak said nothing, he had that same sorrowful expression like when he parted with the princess yesterday, making her heart sink as she knew that she must have hurt him somehow. It made her wonder if she was being a bother to the Thunder Beast.

"And here you tied me up for eavesdropping outside Yona's tent once." Jae-ha snickered, then blinked when Hak didn't retort.

"Arrgghh… You guys…" Yona facepalmed at this.

"Well now that they know we've been sneaking around they're far more suspicious Yona dear." Jae-ha laughed, patting her shoulder. "Guess those lovely nights of meeting in secret are long over, but I'll gladly trade it to do this whenever I please." He hugged the redhead from behind and kissed her cheek. "So my lovely, as Yoon said don't leave me hanging."

Yona flushed at that, closing her eyes to try and steady her heartbeat. "Alright, I guess you guys would find out my answer eventually anyway… This way you all know for sure." She then opened her eyes, turning within her lover's arms to face him, her eyes shining as she spoke. "I will marry you Jae-ha, and I'll be the one that is honored to become your wife. I love you."

"I love you too, princess of my heart." Jae-ha smiled wide, leaning his head down to kiss her passionately.

Hak seemed to smile for a moment before standing up and walking off. "Yoon if anything happens, send up a signal flare." He said before leaving.

"Thunder Beast…?" the boy genius blinked, surprised that the glaive wielder left like that, even though Hak had told Yoon earlier that he was leaving on an errand.

"The mister has been acting strange since yesterday." Zeno noted.

"Hak did mention he was going to see someone, I imagine from the Wind Tribe as they were packing up yesterday and looked like and they seem to be heading out this morning." Kija brought up, trying to avoid watching the princess and Ryokuryuu smooching.

"Hak looked… Sad… For some reason." Shin-ah added.

Yona frowned as she looked off in the direction Hak left. 'Hak where are you going? … No, I can't be a bother to him… I feel like whenever I talk to him right now, his face stiffens. He's upset and I just know it's my fault…'

"Did something happen with Hak, my lovely?" Jae-ha asked, still holding her in his arms.

"Eh? Oh no, nothing really." The princess shook her head rapidly.

The Green Dragon chuckled, kissing her cheek. "Yona darling I believe I've mentioned this before, but you're terrible at lying…. Besides, Hak looked gloomy, both last night and this morning."

"I… I just don't know what I should do…" Yona sighed, looking down. "When I went to get Hak after he was treated at the Wind Tribe's encampment, I noticed a different side of him there, and how much he must miss them. And they miss him too. He seemed so happy, compared to how he is right now and I really want Hak to smile like that… Besides he's been pressing the past two days for me to consider getting married and all, so I was wondering if he wanted to make sure I'm taken care of if he wanted to go off and see how the Wind Tribe is doing, but maybe he won't ask me because he feels it is his job to be here and wouldn't dare go against his vow to my father… That's why I thought maybe I needed to tell him it was ok to go. So I thought since the people of the Wind Tribe have been waiting for Hak's return for over 3 years, Hak should go back to Fuuga for a little while… That's what I told him."

Jae-ha and Yoon looked at each other for a moment as Kija exchanged a glance with Zeno and Shin-ah.

Yona though continued. "And that's when Hak asked 'Am I unneeded?' That's not it though, see, I'm always being saved by Hak, so when the time comes that I will be fine even when he's not with me, I would give back his freedom is what I-" she blinked when she noticed her now fiancée facepalming as Yoon, Kija, Shin-ah and Zeno nearly fell over. "Eh? What's wrong you guys?"

"Yona my love… While I am always trying to tell you to use your words, we need to work on how you use them…" Jae-ha sighed, shaking his head.

"Yona…" Yoon decided to be the one to spell it out for her. "You know that makes it sound like you're saying the Thunder Beast isn't needed anymore right?"

"EH?!" Yona gasped. "No, that's not what I meant!"

Yoon held up his hands for a moment. "I mean, I understand that's not what you meant, but with the way the conversation was going, saying that makes it sound like you lost faith in him or something."

Jae-ha nodded at that. "What's more, Hak being Hak makes it even worse… I'll bet that's what it sounded like to him." He then rubbed his temple. 'Had I known about this I would have held off proposing to Yona… That had to really bother him watching the girl he's in love with marrying someone else, it must already be eating at him from the inside that she's pregnant…'

"… T-that's what it sounds like?" Yona's voice cracked as her eyes widened and she felt like a massive weight just hit her with how badly she messed up. "So I… Hurt Hak?" she whimpered. "At that time I was so… Why wasn't I… Able to say it in a better way?"

"… I do not believe that is the problem." Kija then spoke up. "I'm sure if you were to speak to Hak honestly about your true feelings, Hak will understand." The White Dragon smiled at her warmly. "While he doesn't seem…. Pleased at your relationship with Jae-ha, just now… He was smiling when he saw you so happy with that proposal."

"He was… Smiling?" Yona blinked, she hadn't seen his smile as she was too busy kissing her Ryokuryuu at the moment.

"Yona dearest, if you aren't honest with Hak he might run off someplace because of this misunderstanding." Jae-ha pointed out, stroking her cheek. "I know you meant for him to just go and see the Wind Tribe for a little while, but if you don't make that clear he could just go there for good and leave us, do you want that?"

Yona shut her eyes and shook her head, whimpering again. "No…. But like I told you before Jae-ha if I tell Hak I'm lonely he can't do what he wants… And I'll be making him stay here and that's not what I want, I want to give him back his freedom…"

"Yona…" Yoon seemed at a loss for words.

Jae-ha though smirked as he moved his hand to lift her chin a bit, turning her to face him. "Yona-chan, what I did I tell you before about why we're all here?"

"You blame the dragon's blood a lot." Yona opened her eyes and creased her eyebrows in slight confusion from the question. "… But that you don't care anymore if it makes you stay by my side because you want to."

"Exactly. While we may have first been drawn to you by the dragon's blood, we beasts have different reasons for why we chose to come with you and why we stay here with you. I told you before be it the dragon's blood or my own I reached a point I didn't even care anymore, because I choose to be here with you and spend the rest of my days by your side." The Ryokuryuu chuckled at her answer. "The same goes for Hak, while he might be here originally because of that oath to your father, but now he might be here because he wants to. But you won't know that for sure unless you ask him and find out for yourself."

Yona gulped but nodded. "… Alright… I need to talk to Hak… And apologize to him…"

"Hak." Shin-ah spoke up, obviously the Seiryuu saw the Lightning Beast on his way back.

"Mister! Is there food in there?" Zeno rushed over to the glaive wielder.

"Yeah I got it from some merchants I know that come around this area at this time, I knew they'd stop by the Wind Tribe's encampment before they leave so I wanted to catch them, and I also saw those guys off." Hak answered.

Jae-ha smiled and gave Yona a slight push on her back. "Go for it love." He whispered.

The princess smiled at her Ryokuryuu giving her the encouragement she needed, and she rushed over to her guardian and bowed her head. "Hak I'm so sorry about yesterday! I wasn't able to find the right words and I hurt you!"

Hak raised his eyebrow at her statement. "… Why are you apologizing?"

"The other night I overheard your conversation with the people of the Wind Tribe." Yona explained. "I've always felt like I stole you away from them. What's more, it seemed like you missed them and maybe I was holding you back. I thought maybe you wanted to go but felt you'd be betraying your oath to my father about protecting me and…."

"I see…" Hak sighed and rubbed his head. "So that's why you were pushing me to go back, and said that stuff about returning my freedom?"

"Yes, but… I don't think that you're unneeded or anything like that!" Yona was feeling her tears creeping up as she tried to blurt all this out. "It's just that… You're a very precious person to me, so… So… Please stay with me…." She sobbed.

Hak stayed silent for a few moments, as did the rest of their group until they heard the Thunder Beast growl at her. "What's with that… I… I already told you, didn't I?"

"Huh?" Yona blinked, looking up in confusion at him.

"I told you many times!" Hak scowled. "I WON'T LEAVE YOU! LIKE HELL I'D LEAVE YOU! And it's not because I feel obligated not to. Get that into your head already! The Wind Tribe is important to me, yes! If anything were happening to them, I'd absolutely go and save them but…" he took in a breath before shouting. "The place I go home to…. IS HERE WITH YOU GUYS!"

Yoon, Kija and Jae-ha gasped at that, Shin-ah just looked shocked and Zeno had a smile on his face. Yona herself was stunned speechless, tears floating down her cheeks.

"Don't tell me things like 'We're alright now, so go back to Fuuga' like I'm some kind of outsider." Hak growled, placing his hands on his hips. "And don't go blaming saying that stupid stuff on pregnancy hormones either, you always go on and on that it's my job, as if I don't have a mind of my own, or a choice in the matter."

Yona whimpered at that. "I'm sor-"

"You don't need to apologize." Hak cut her off, still glaring at her. "I just wanted you to know, even though you're such a kid…" he sighed, shaking his head once more. "And one more thing, you talked about giving me back my freedom, but I'm not following you because of King Il's orders."

"W-what?" Yona felt a lump in her throat from that.

"Did you forget what I said to you that day I tried to leave you with the Wind Tribe?" Hak folded his arms over his chest in a huff. "I was no longer a general or obligated to anyone or anything. I was taking my first steps a free man. I wasn't bound by anything or anyone, and YOU asked me to give myself to you, to stay by your side forever."

Yona flushed as she recalled that day, and she wasn't too proud of herself for that. She thought she merely reminded him of his vow, not that he chose to be with her because of it.

"King Il was a master I swore complete obedience to." Hak continued his explanation. "Maybe you don't think of yourself as someone as great as him but I accompanied you and was overwhelmed by your strength and passion. I decided to live for you. The pride of serving someone… The one that taught me that was you!"

Yona lost it right then and there, she rubbed her hands over her eyes trying to stop her tears that bawled out, not noticing her dragons and Yoon were doing the same as Zeno was handing them tissues.

"Ahhh Yona dear, I tried to tell you there was more to Hak following you than your father's orders…" Jae-ha chuckled a bit.

"Hak…." Yona sniffed, still trying to clear her tears. "… Can I ask you one thing though? You seemed like you were pressing really hard for me to get married and all, I thought that maybe you were just trying to make sure I was ok before you wanted to do something on your own… Why were you pressing that so much then?"

"…. Oh that?" Hak was caught off guard on that question, groaning as he held his head. "… It's nothing, I didn't expect Droopy Eyes to propose to you so fast without at least one death threat but I just wanted to make sure he was serious about you, otherwise I would have offered…. Never mind." He looked away.

"No Hak please, tell me." Yona grabbed at his arm. "I know you've told me how to disapprove of my relationship with Jae-ha, but I want you to speak your mind please. I mean if there's someone back at the Wind Tribe you want to be with or anything like that I'm keeping you from doing you need to let me know."

"…. Trust me princess it's not like that…." Hak groaned, trying to pull away from her grasp. "It was just something I wasn't thinking right at the time, since you being an unwed mother would be a dishonor to your name, so if he wouldn't take responsibility I'd offer to… Look just forget it ok?"

"And here I thought you were just in a sour mood from being jealous." Jae-ha couldn't help but throw in a joke. "But really Hak? You'd offer to be the husband to a girl about to have another man's child just to save her honor?"

"Shut the hell up Droopy Eyes!" Hak shot him a death glare.

"Why would Hak be jealous?" Yona didn't get it. "And Hak why would you throw that out there it's not like you see me as anything more than an annoying sister in that way…" she was still so convinced on that point…

And that broke a fuse in Hak's brain. "BECAUSE THE ONE I LOVE IS YOU DAMMIT!"

Yona's eyes widened and her face was painted scarlet with her blush as she fell to her knees in shock. The rest of their group was just as dumbfounded from that confession.

"…. Did he just…?" Yoon asked.

"Yep he did." Zeno chuckled.

"… Pukkyuu?" Ao tilted her head as Shin-ah was speechless.

"Hak that was so unbeautiful…" Jae-ha sweatdropped.

Kija just blinked a few times, unable to find the words. "…."

"…Eh?" Yona finally found her voice.

"DON'T 'EH?' ME!" Hak snarled, an anger vein popping on his forehead. "STOP TRYING TO CONSTANTLY TELL ME IT'S FINE TO RUN OFF TO GIRLS OR SAY STUPID CRAP LIKE I ONLY SEE YOU AS A SISTER! I KNOW MY FEELINGS HAVE BEEN ONE SIDED FOREVER BUT IT'S ANNOYING AS HELL WHEN YOU DO THAT! I CAN'T EVEN FIGURE OUT HOW THE HELL DROOPY EYES GOT IT THROUGH YOUR BLASTED THICK SKULL HOW HE FEELS WITHOUT YOU MISUNDERSTANDING IT! ANYONE WITH TWO EYES COULD HAVE TOLD YOU YEARS AGO HOW I SEE YOU!" he seemed to be going into full vent mode now. "I'M TIRED OUT FOR TODAY! DO YOU FINALLY GOD DAMN UNDERSTAND?!"

Yona's face was as red as a cherry. "Y-yes…" she stammered as her heart felt like it was going to explode as her whole world was turned upside down.

"Good." Hak let out a sigh. "Ahhh, you know what, that feels much better." He felt like he had just gotten a heavy weight off his chest. "Yoon you said we're heading out today to Kyuu Castle right? I'll start packing up the tent since the others can barely move still." He then went straight to work.

Jae-ha decided to be the first to approach the princess, stroking her cheek a bit. "… Are you alright Yona dear?"

Yona's face was still in complete shock as she looked up at her lover. "… Did you know…?" she asked in a strangled voice. "… Is THAT why you thought I was in l-love with…"

Jae-ha chuckled at her question, nodding softly. "I'd say all of us were pretty sure by the way he looks and acts around you it was quite obvious how important you are to him. You could say for me it was kind of like looking at a mirror sometimes. After all, I thought my feelings for you were one-sided for a while. You thought yours were as well, correct dearest?"

The princess nodded, her face still flushed. "… I… I really had no idea about Hak though, I… How could I have been so…"

"Blind? Yona darling, love can be blinding like that." The Green Dragon tucked a stray hair behind her ear. "You were so preoccupied with another love back then and the heartbreak of that love, only to find a new one that you have now. It's easy to understand how you got so distracted that you didn't notice his feelings, not to mention the fact with the way he was hiding it around you. Besides you grew up sheltered in a palace, you said so yourself when we started our relationship you had no idea what to do or what was expected. And from there we figured things out on our own. Hak didn't expect you to return his feelings or acknowledge them, he just wanted you to be safe and happy." He chuckled at that. "The irony of this is that I felt the same way at one point, that if you two would have gotten together then I would have backed off and just kept my feelings to myself. However, on that night you dragged the truth out of me and I couldn't hold back anymore."

"Still…" Yona choked, her eyes straying to the Thunder Beast as he was packing up the tents. "No wonder what I said hurt him so much… And yet he was pushing for me to marry you and here he… Oh god I'm terrible!" she sobbed, burying her face into her hands. "I-I just never thought of Hak that way… He's precious to me but in the way of like my father, he's been the brother I never had and I…. Oh how did I make this so hard on him? No wonder you guys thought it was Hak when you found out I was pregnant!"

"Sorry Yona…" Yoon rubbed the back of his head. "That was… Awkward to say the least…"

"But it was good that the miss and mister got the misunderstanding out of the way, yes?" Zeno asked with a chuckle.

"I still can't believe he just blurted it out like that…" Kija was still in slight shock.

"… Hak doesn't seem so sad now." Shin-ah pointed out.

Yona sighed at that, she tried to get her heart under control that wanted to leap out of her chest. She felt like such an idiot for being blind all this time. Her eyes widened when she saw the Thunder Beast come back over after he finished packing up and noticed how she couldn't even look into his eyes.

"Hey Yoon maybe we should have a quick lunch before hitting the road?" Hak suggested. "Are you guys able to walk ok now? We could take another day of rest if needed."

"I think we can make the trip just fine Hak." Jae-ha said, smiling as he stood up. "After all we shouldn't keep Princess Tao waiting."

"I'll whip something together then." Yoon said, grabbing Zeno by the ear. "And you're going to help since you're perfectly healthy compared to the others."

"Ow, Zeno feels the back pain coming." The Yellow Dragon quickly played up his age.

"Well I suppose we have some time then before leaving…" Hak then turned to the princess who was looking like she wanted to say something, or start apologizing again. "… Hey princess, it's been a while, but do you want to do some training?"

Yona looked at him like he was crazy. 'After what you JUST told me?!'

"That sounds like a good idea Yona-chan, go ahead." Jae-ha pat her on the shoulder. "We'll be right here." He took a seat with Kija and Shin-ah and started a fire so Yoon could start cooking.

"A-alright…" Yona stammered but got her wooden practice sword and began her spar with the Lightning Beast.

"… Errr, the guy that just shouted his love confession is fighting his crush with a wooden sword?" Yoon came over and sweatdropped at the sight.

"Yep, expressions of love can be though to understand." Jae-ha laughed. "Still… It's much better than him making that gloomy face."

"Aren't you a bit worried about Hak fighting the princess with her being… P-pregnant?" Kija brought up. "She shouldn't be stressing her body right now."

"A little bit of exercise will do the miss good!" Zeno said cheerfully.

"You'd think the guy that just got engaged to her would have more to say about his fiancée receiving that loud love confession." Yoon remarked, glancing in the Green Dragon's direction.

Jae-ha laughed at that one. "I told you guys already, Yona dear made it clear to me long ago how she felt about Hak. Now she understands why I pressed her so much on the issue, that's all. I don't mind one bit, in fact I'd rather it be this way. This way she knows her options and can make her choice firmly with no regrets." He smiled softly at that, watching the princess struggle a bit.

"What's wrong princess, getting pregnant made you weak all of a sudden?" Hak taunted her, until she got him with her wooden sword pointed at his throat. That just made him smirk. "Man, you're just too cool."

"R-really?" Yona gasped at that, her cheeks turning red again from the praise… And then she got annoyed when he started laughing at her messed up hair. "W-why are you laughing?!"

"It's just hilarious how unsexy you are right now." Hak snorted a laugh.

'This again?!' The princess got irritated at that answer. "We're in the middle of training, so I don't need to be sexy, do I?!"

"You don't, but if you keep getting ugly, Droopy Eyes will never take you as his wife!" Hak snickered, holding his gut as he was laughing. "You know how he always goes on about beautiful stuff and all that crap…"

'Maybe all that just before was a weird daydream or something…' Yona thought to herself, finding it so hard to believe what had happened.

"… But I could make you my wife, after all I wouldn't mind..." Hak added as he looked to the side, smirking slightly, then made a face like he was holding back from laughing again when he saw the redhead was blushing violently. "Just kidding, I don't want Droopy Eyes' leftovers."

Yona fell to her knees again, her eyes wide and her heart thumping away once more. "… So it was all just… A joke?!" her voice cracked a bit.

Hak bent down in front of her, looking at her seriously now. "If you're talking about what I just said before… I was serious."

Yona's eyes dawned with realization as her face went through several different shades of red. "… H-how… How long have y-you…?" she finally stammered after a long moment of silence.

Hak looked to the side as if trying to answer that even himself, but then he shrugged. "… Well, I don't remember specifically when. I myself don't even know when it became uncontrollable. I really don't know where the boundary was."

"H-Hak…" Yona stammered again, whimpering as she felt bad once more. What he just said… That was exactly how she felt when she realized she had fallen in love with Jae-ha, she had no idea where or when it happened, just that she was completely in love with her Green Dragon… "I'm sor-"

"Oh, please don't worry about it." Hak held up a hand as he interrupted her. "I'm not really expecting something from you or anything. I just thought it would be fine if I told you now. Heck, it was invigorating. I felt like a huge weight was lifted off my chest. I don't want to be a burden or anything, after all you're engaged now to Droopy Eyes, aren't you? Plus you're having his kid."

"O-oh…" Yona gulped at that, blushing again as she recalled that proposal, but then getting this confession on the same day was overwhelming… "Y-yes that's true but… I-I'm still sorry I-I n-never…"

Hak just smiled at that. 'Geez I could watch this cute face of hers forever…' he chuckled and shook his head. "It's fine, really." He pat her shoulder as he stood up. "Just know that you can come to me anytime he even hints at cheating on you or upsets you in anyway, I'll knock some sense right into him gladly." He cracked his knuckles with a grin on his face.

"And I told you Hak I wouldn't dream of cheating on my lovely Yona." Jae-ha suddenly came up behind the redhead, hugging her close and kissing her cheek. "So Yona dear, shall we start planning our wedding?" he chuckled.

"A-ah…" Yona blushed furiously again as her heart skipped a beat.

Hak's mouth twitched into a slight smile seeing how cute she was blushing so bad, he then shrugged and turned around. "Anyway, training's over and food should be ready. I'll leave you be with your fiancée, princess." He then walked over to Yoon and the rest of their group.

"F-fiancée?!" Yona cried, her face couldn't turn any deeper shade of red by his point as she looked at her lover's face.

Jae-ha laughed at her reaction, kissing her cheek again. "That is unless you're having second thoughts Yona love." He smiled warmly at her, snuggling the redhead in his arms. "If there's any time for doubt it's now, especially after getting a confession like that thrown at you. Granted our confession was rather clumsy but I suppose that was once suited for our Thunder Beast."

"Jae-ha…" Yona pursed her lips at that, turning a bit in his arms to face him directly. "I love you, nothing's changed about that. It's just…. I feel terrible for never noticing Hak's feelings until now, I mean now that I think about it…." She looked back at all her time together with her guardian, those 'weird things' he used to do and… Yeah. It started to make sense. The signs were all there but she didn't seem to notice or maybe she just ignored it? She was as Jae-ha put it getting over her love for Soo-won after all, and shortly after she did put that behind her she fell in love with her Ryokuryuu… "… Hak's right, I really am thick headed, aren't I?" she whimpered.

Jae-ha chuckled and shook his head, lifting one hand to stroke her cheek. "No, more like innocent and naïve, but that's to be expected from a sheltered princess. Had you met me 13 years ago when I first fled my village, I was just as clueless how the world was and how things work. I luckily had some people help me through that and teach me. We both had chains that bound us and kept us from growing and learning, Yona darling. Your father was just trying to protect you, after all look at all the lewd things you started doing once we-"

"JAE-HA!" Yona blushed again and smacked a hand at his chest. Her eyes then strayed to the side. "…. So will you help me with that, Jae-ha? So that I'm not so naïve anymore? I want to grow stronger, so strengthening my mind and perception counts. I don't want to indivertibly hurt someone like Hak ever again, especially people that are precious to me…"

"Of course I will my dear, it'll be one of my duties as your husband." Jae-ha chuckled, taking her hand to place a kiss on. "So are you completely sure that you still see Hak as a brother? Forgive me for checking as you must be tired of me asking by now, but I just want you to know all your options and not leave any possible regrets. I just want you to be happy my love." He then rubbed her tummy. "And don't let the little one be an influence that you have to be with me, you know how I am about freedom."

"Jae-ha…" Yona smiled warmly at her love, he really was just thinking about her happiness above his own and it touched her heart like a gentle stroke. "… I meant what I said before, I didn't regret being with you then and I don't regret it now. I want to be by your side for the rest of my life, Jae-ha. I love you, and I'll be so happy to be your w-wife." She stammered a bit at the end. "And not just because of our child, but because you and I found each other despite all the circumstances that had to happen for us to meet. As for Hak… He's precious to me, just as much as Yoon, Kija, Shin-ah, Zeno and Ao are… But you're different. You're the most important person in my heart, because you protect it and hold it dear." She sniffed as she started crying again. "We hold each other's hearts and we understand each other, we'll learn and grow together as one from now on, as you put it, partners in life."

Jae-ha smiled at that answer, leaning in to kiss her. "And I'll be proud to be your husband, standing by your side from now on and no longer hiding my affection for you from our family… I love you, princess of my heart."

"I love you too…." Yona sobbed within the kiss, her face flushing as he lifted her into the air to twirl around once and hold her close.

This lasted a bit until Yoon's voice interrupted them. "Alright love birds your food is getting cold, plus we should get going so we can get to Xing's palace before nightfall."

"Maybe we should leave them behind, they'll catch up after Droopy Eyes renders the princess unable to walk by tomorrow." Hak remarked.

"JAE-HA! YOU WOULDN'T DARE DO SUCH A THING TO THE PRINCESS WOULD YOU?!" Kija growled, his dragon hand growing in size to threaten the Ryokuryuu.

Jae-ha laughed as he walked over with Yona, an arm wrapped around her waist as they approached the group. "Well considering when we were meeting up in secret we usually only had time for one or two rounds, I never got to test just how much Yona dear can keep up with me…" he had a perverted grin on his face. "Even though she was always so eager and willing to keep going…"

"JAE-HA!" Yona's face turned red as she swatted his arm.

"Oversharing." Yoon grumbled.

"Well I did offer to be your legs whenever you need me, Yona darling." Jae-ha chuckled as he lifted the princess into his arms bridal style as he took his seat on a rock, holding her in his lap. He then shushed her with a kiss before she could protest, making her blush furiously as he cuddled her in his arms. "Mmmm it really is simply wonderful to not have to hold back anymore my lovely, there were times I thought I'd implode having to wait until we could meet secretly just to hold and kiss you like this." He purred, nuzzling her nose.

"B-but J-Jae-ha it's still embarrassing…." Yona whimpered, her cheeks blazing as she looked at their companions and their mixed reactions.

Shin-ah and Zeno merely smiled at the couple, Yoon was looking away groaning a bit after giving them their food, Kija was trying everything to avert his eyes and Hak just quietly ate his food with his eyes closed.

"They'll get used to it, or just get used to looking away when it gets uncomfortable for them." Jae-ha whispered into the redhead's ear as he kissed at her temple. "After all, can you guys blame me? I just had the most beautiful princess in the world agree to become my wife, I think that calls for a celebration."

"I just knew he'd have to brag about it…" Yoon rolled his eyes. "But he could be a little more tactful…" his eyes strayed to the Thunder Beast.

Hak just shrugged. "Eh, he's got a head wound so he's probably even crazier than usual…"

"Ryokuryuu and the miss do look cute together though!" Zeno chuckled.

"S-still you should at least consider being respectful until you take the princess' hand in marriage!" Kija spoke up, looking slightly flustered. "I-it's not proper to flaunt your relationship around like that and being so perverted with her until you're properly married!"

Jae-ha just sighed at that. "Kija, she's already pregnant so being proper is already thrown out the window." He then smirked. "Besides, if you REALLY want me to get perverted with her, I'd gladly give you a show with-"

"JAE-HA!" Yona swatted his shoulder again, blushing bright red.

"That's what happens when you get engaged to a pervert, princess." Hak couldn't help but snort a laugh at that.

"Oh trust me, Yona dear isn't immune from her perverted urges either." Jae-ha said with a grin on his face. "After all, when she focuses on my leg-" the princess shut him up with a quick kiss on his lips, but that was a mistake on her part as he immediately pushed into it, turning the chaste kiss into a passionate smooch.

Shin-ah blushed slightly and looked away, since he actually saw them that night the princess was focusing on the Green Dragon's leg it just reminded him of that time. Ao sat in his lap and purred, as if cheering the couple on.

Yoon sweatdropped. "They're going to be at this all day, aren't they?"

"Such is normal with newly engaged couples, Zeno thinks." Zeno laughed.

Yona flushed as she pulled out of the kiss, scowling at her betrothed. "… Y-you cheated." She huffed.

Jae-ha chuckled as he winked at her. "Says the one that kissed me to keep my lips preoccupied from spilling her naughty secrets."

"Save it for the honeymoon, will you two?" Hak grumbled slightly as he cleared his throat.

"Alright, alright, I suppose I can behave… A little." Jae-ha chuckled, nuzzling his soon to be wife's cheek. "So then, shall we be on our way?"

Yona smiled and nodded at that. "Onward to Kyuu Castle then." The princess' heart was still hammering over the events of the day, but one thing was for certain… She was ready to take the next steps into this life she'd chosen for herself, and was glad of the choice she made to be with her Ryokuryuu.