She was exhausted, so very tired. It was taking Yona all of her strength to try to expel the tiny child from her body. The sharp pain was unbearable and everyone around her was urging her to push. Sitting in a chair by her bedside, Hak's large, warm hands were wrapped tightly around hers. He didn't seem to notice at all that she was clinging on so tightly she was leaving fresh new nail marks on his hands each time she pushed. Yona's labor had started early that morning and Hak had been scolded and kicked out of the room by the midwife and her two assistants so many times for "being in the way", but each time he'd only stubbornly come back in again to be by Yona's side. Eventually, the women had all decided to just let him be.

When Yona glanced from their intertwined fingers up to her husband's face and saw the anxiety and panic there, it gave her the courage and drive to gather all of her strength for that one big, final push. Hak had always been her support, pushing her to success, and she couldn't afford to let him down at such an important time like this. She ground her teeth, screaming out. Relief flooded the entire room as the shrill crying of a baby rent the air. The panic slowly draining from his pale face, Hak leaned down and tenderly kissed Yona's forehead. He brushed the hair back from her sweat-drenched face and whispered words of love as she closed her eyes in total fatigue. Yona's last vision before drifting off into a deep and much needed slumber was that of the amazed look on Hak's handsome face as his gaze fell upon his newborn son.

"It's a little boy, Master Hak."

"How is he?" Hak questioned. He was grateful for the Wind tribe midwife.

"Healthy….and hungry, I'll reckon."

The child continued to cry even as he was gently being washed, dried, and wrapped in a blanket.

"Let your lady sleep. She'll need some time to recover from this little one. One of us will feed him for the time being."

Hak nodded and relaxed, knowing it was typical for his people to be so caring and giving. Everyone was family in the Wind tribe. Even though he was itching to have a close-up view of his newborn son, he forced himself to be patient and to watch from a distance at Yona's bedside as the child was fed.

Finally, his son was brought over and carefully placed into his arms. He was so tiny, hardly weighing anything that, initially, Hak didn't quite know what to do with him. Having grown up with other children all around him, Hak was used to being an older brother figure. He'd practically helped raise the younger ones in the tribe. Tiny newborns, however, were a completely different story. He wasn't used to those at all. How in Kouka does one even handle such fragile creatures? The pair of hands holding this little one at the moment was the same roughened pair that had tirelessly trained with a heavy weapon from a young age. It was the same pair of large hands that could too easily crush the life from an enemy. Hak paused, slightly hesitant.

"Don't worry. He's not as fragile as he appears," the midwife stated, smiling and reading his thoughts all too well. "You'll do just fine, Master Hak. Let me know when you're ready for the loud bunch waiting outside." Then she and the other women exited the room, leaving the young parents alone. The midwife had obviously been referring to their companions, Yoon and the rest of the Happy Hungry Bunch. Mundok and everyone else were still waiting as well, apparently. He could hear the old man's loud voice from outside, impatient now to meet his new great-grandson. Let Gramps and the others wait a little while longer, Hak thought. There would be a huge celebration to come and who knew when he'd have a little bit of privacy again with his wife and child.

Warm and no longer hungry, his newborn son had quieted for the time being. Hak carried him over to the foot of the bed and laid him on it. Sitting down and uncovering his son to get a better look, he couldn't help being amazed with the notion that the love between himself and Yona had created this tiny, little human being. The newborn didn't have a lot of hair on his head yet but whatever little fuzz existed was as dark as Hak's own. His face looked miniature next to his father's hand as Hak reached out to brush a finger down a small cheek. Startled by his touch, the baby reacted by throwing out both tightly squeezed fists and his little legs. Hak mentally counted all his tiny toes and fingers to make sure they were all present. When his son's hand was touched, he instinctively reached out to take a hold of Hak's finger, his grasp sure and true. He gave a little cry and then tried unsuccessfully to suckle his father's hand.

An intense love and fierce desire to protect such an innocent and helpless creature blossomed in Hak's chest. This would be the start of a new love, one that he would treasure forever. When the newborn opened his eyes to look up at him, Hak noticed it was with the same set of blue eyes as his own. Just as Hak had been doing, it seemed his son was now examining him in return, imprinting his features into memory. The moment didn't last very long, however. His son decided to protest against any further examination by loudly bawling. He sure has a strong set of little lungs, Hak mused.

The sound of a baby's shrill crying awakened Yona. As she opened her eyes, it was to see Hak sitting by the foot of the bed studying their son's features. The sight of father and son bonding stirred warm feelings within her chest, making her smile.

"You're going to be an amazing father, Hak."

Glancing over, Hak wrapped the newborn back up and brought him over to his mother as Yona attempted to prop herself up in bed. He reached out an arm to help steady her as she did so, then perched himself down on the bed beside her. He lowered their son into her arms. The tiny baby stirred in his wrappings, scrunching up his little face in a yawn before falling fast asleep.

After a moment of silence passed by, Yona sounded almost shy. "Um…so do you like him?"

Do I like him, Hak thought? Caught off guard by the question, he didn't quite know how to respond. He was at a loss for the proper words to express how enamored he was with their son. Finally, he smiled, and his voice shook a little with suppressed emotion as he said, "Aside from you, he's the greatest gift I've ever received." He leaned down to place a gentle kiss on the bridge of Yona's nose. "He's perfect. Thank you."

"He looks just like you, Hak."

"You think so?"

"Let's hope he doesn't grow up choosing bullying as a hobby," Yona teased. She giggled as she watched Hak's expression.

"Riiight," He reluctantly agreed. "Don't you always say it's the cutest thing about me though?"

Yona wrinkled her nose up at him. "Absolutely not," she stated firmly, noting his soft chuckle.

"Do you have a name in mind?" Hak's gaze shifted down to their son.

"Well…I was thinking…that maybe he'd be proud being named after his father."

"Oh?" Hak raised an eyebrow. He was surprised by her suggestion but, at the same time, felt his chest blooming with pride. "So…Raijuu then? Or Ankokuryuu?"

Yona burst out laughing, and not able to contain himself, Hak was drawn into it as well. Her laughter had always been rather contagious. Once the two managed to catch their breaths, Yona smiled, her expression sweet and tender. "No. Something more like…Haku-Jin. Jin, for short."

"Son Haku-Jin…" Hak repeated the name slowly, testing the sound of it with his own voice. Satisfied, he nodded and smiled, his eyes shining with pride and joy while Yona looked on. "May he someday grow up to be the finest man in all of Kouka then."

"I hope so," Yona replied, her beautiful smile stealing Hak's breath as their eyes connected. "You see…at the moment…that title belongs to his father so the bar has been set just a tad bit high."

~FIN

A/N: I rushed through this one-shot so I hope it's readable. I was inspired to write it after having a short conversation with coolsapphire24 from tumblr. As always, I welcome comments/criticisms/opinions/thoughts/etc.

*Raijuu – Thunder/Lightning Beast

*Ankokuryuu – Dark Dragon

*Haku-Jin was Hak's name before the mangaka eventually shortened it to Haku/Hak. For whatever reason, I just really adore this name. I wanted to be able to name Hak's kid after him so I chose a little boy for this fic but I'm sure he would have been just as enamored with a cute little girl.