Category: Friendship Fluff

Characters: Yona, Soo-Won, Hak

Requested By: Anonymous User

Hak exhaled sharply out of his nose as he lounged lazily on one of the many sets of steps within the castle which he now called home. It had been less than twenty-four hours since he had been declared as Yona's official guardian, over many older and arguably more qualified warriors, and yet somehow, he had managed to get settled into the lofty home in such a short amount of time. It had been a major upset, of course, and he had been receiving quizzical and even jealous looks all day, but he didn't much care. Hak was Yona's protector now, and really, that's all that mattered.

Hak leaned back with raised eyebrows as he heard soft footsteps proceeding across the hallway, and his eyes crept up to the roots of his dark hair when he clapped eyes on who was striding towards him.

"Soo-Won? What're you doing here?" he blinked as the blonde-haired boy jovially approached him. Soo-Won put his hands on his hips with a frown as he asked, apparently thinking that Hak must know why he decided to just randomly show up.

"You didn't think I wouldn't come here to congratulate you personally, did you?" he huffed with puffed-out cheeks, most undignified for a person of his stature, but Soo-Won was always doing things like that despite his position as a royal. He then smiled and leaned down slightly to grin at him widely. "Well, congrats on your promotion, Hak!"

"Thanks. You can go home now."

"You're so mean!" he whined as he hung his head with a crestfallen sigh. He held it like that for a few seconds before he straightened up, pushing his long blonde hair out of his face and seemingly completely recovered from his depressive spell, as he was already smiling again. "Where's Yona?"

"Dunno."

"You're her guardian and you don't know where she is?" Hak's eyebrow twitched at the blatantly accusatory remark, and he stood up, leaning on his weapon as he glared grumpily at his friend and rival.

"Look, they've had me busy with all this preparatory crap, so I haven't seen her. She's probably in her room," he grumbled in response. He twirled his guandao in his hand before walking past Soo-Won, making a point to brush up against his robes. Soo-Won hesitated for a bit, staring at him in confusion, and so Hak looked over his shoulder with an annoyed grimace. "Well, do ya wanna go see her, or what?" he snorted before continuing onward towards the princess' quarters, and he heard Soo-Won shuffle hurriedly after him before falling in step with him. He practically radiated regality and serenity, while Hak just looked like a scruffy vagabond beside him. That's how it always was, and how it always would be- not that Hak was jealous. He wanted no part of fancy clothes and balls and kissing ass; he much preferred his functional battle gear and long days of training, blood and sweat and tears for a hard day's work, and a life of service to the princess. It was what he was born to do, and he didn't resent it…

Even if Yona loved Soo-Won instead of him.

Neither of them knew that, of course; Hak was very, very good at hiding that part of himself. Soo-Won was a much better match for Yona than he was, even if they were cousins; intermarriage was not terribly uncommon in the royal family, after all. Soo-Won knew the ins and outs of royal life even more than Yona did, and was clever and charismatic. He was then perfect choice to lead the country one day alongside the innocent, naïve girl, and Hak was the perfect choice to stay on the sidelines, baring his fangs when needed. That was where he excelled.

Soo-Won paused to knock on the door to Yona's quarters before entering. Yona was sitting on the floor, her dress puddling around her like colorful water, and was doing some calligraphy with muted interest. Instantly, Hak realized something was off; Yona did not immediately spring up to scurry over to her beloved Soo-Won and embrace him as she normally did, but only responded to his cheerful greeting with a muted "hello." Yona had just turned thirteen, and so Hak wondered if she was entering her "rebellious teenage phase" as the adults called it (that was what they said about Hak's foul attitude, anyway) but it was hard to see the normally sweet and happy Yona being rebellious about anything. Soo-Won crossed the room to sit on his knees beside her, while Hak leaned against the wall with his arms crossed and his weapon propped up beside him.

"Wow, Yona, your penmanship is wonderful. May I see it?" Soo-Won asked nicely. Hak rolled his eyes, expecting the girl to turn as red as her head and shyly allow him to ponder her beautiful creation, but to his shock she just huffed grumpily and roughly shoved it over to him. Soo-Won raised his eyebrows and looked at Hak quizzically before tentatively picking up the parchment and looking at the character she had painted in ink on it. Before he even opened his mouth to speak, she snatched it from his hands and promptly crumpled it up, angrily tossing it aside before shoving the calligraphy set away.

"Don't even bother; it's horrible. I'm terrible at calligraphy! I hate it! I don't know why Father makes me practice something so useless," she snapped as she crossed her arms and fumed. Hak watched in bewilderment as she abused the wooden station; the ink bottle toppled over and spilled over its surface, creeping towards the edge, which overlooked her pristine pink dress.

"Oh, Yona, you'll get ink-" Soo-Won went to say and grabbed her elbow to gently move her, but she jerked it away and rounded on him.

"I don't care!" she snapped hotly. "I hate these stuffy dresses, too!" At that proclamation, she jumped up and began tearing at the thick fabric; Hak was in a sheer state of shock, because Yona had always been one to avidly dress up and make herself look pretty, especially when Soo-Won was around. Her face flushed, both in exertion and frustration because her feeble grip could not rip the fabric from her body, she settled for angrily wrenching her hairpiece out of her fiery red locks and flinging it across the room. It just so happened that she had flung it straight at Hak, and he had to duck to avoid being pelted in the face with the bejeweled metal flower. It shattered to pieces above him, sending jewel shards and metal bits sprinkling into his hair. He rounded on Yona with his shoulders nearly bristling like a cat's.

"Hey! Watch where you're throwing!"

"Watch where you're standing! You shouldn't have been in the way!" she argued, and that caused Hak to recoil even more. Yona was never argumentative; she would just meekly apologize. What the hell has gotten into her?! He thought wildly, looking to Soo-Won for an explanation but he just shrugged back with equally wide and clueless eyes. Suddenly, Yona doubled over with a pained cry, falling to her knees while tenderly holding her stomach. Both Soo-Won and Hak were at her side in an instant; Hak placed the back of his hand against her forehead, and was alarmed to find it burning hot to the touch. "Nggh… My stomach hurts so bad," she whimpered with tears forming in the corners of her rose-colored eyes, and Hak's first, terrified thought was that she had been poisoned on his watch and that was the explanation for her irrational behavior and now cramps.

"We should get her to the castle's doctor," his friend recommended, and before Hak could do anything, effortlessly scooped Yona into his arms and went dashing out of the doors in a flash of blonde locks and light robes. Hak snatched up his guandao and trotted after him, gritting his teeth; he was angry that Soo-Won reacted first and so smoothly, and he was angry that he had potentially missed something, and had monumentally screwed up. He didn't know what had made Yona so terribly ill all of a sudden, and for a brief moment of horrified lunacy, he entertained the notion that she could die. No, no, no! Tha's not gonna happen! Stop overreacting, he scolded himself as he hurriedly followed Soo-Won down the corridor.

Half an hour later they were sitting outside the door to the resident doctor's quarters, one on either side of the frame, both staring wordlessly at the opposite wall. Hak could hear Yona crying pitifully within the room, and each sob sent sparks dancing like fire through his nerves. He was supposed to be her protector, but he couldn't ease her pain or even stop it from coming. It was the most helpless he had ever felt, and he hated it. His hands wrapped so tightly around the handle of his weapon that his knuckles glared white, matching the shade of his face. With a small gulp, his eyes slid to Soo-Won, who was continuing his staring contest with the painted wall and strangely emotionless.

"Hey… You think she's gonna be okay?" he asked quietly. It was not often that Hak went to him for assurance, if ever, but the thought of the opposite being true was too much to bear for him at the moment. He needed affirmation, even if it was a lie and even if it came from Soo-Won, whom he never wanted to perceive him as weak. Soo-Won's shoulders jumped slightly as he was torn from his thoughts, and when he looked at Hak, his blank face melted into a reassuring smile.

"Of course. She probably just ate something that didn't agree with her." It was a lame response, but enough to stifle Hak's more terrifying theories. Suddenly, the door between them opened, and both of them sprang to their feet to badger the very startled doctor who had just exited. "Doctor! Is Yona all right?"

"Yeah, old man, spill it already, what's wrong with her?" The doctor regarded them for a second, then smiled kindly and placed a hand on each of their shoulders.

"There's no cause to worry. Yona is just becoming a young lady." Soo-Won and Hak looked at each other in complete befuddlement, then turned their attention back to the physician.

"What the hell does that mean?" Hak asked rudely, not in the mood for run-around explanations or games. The doctor raised his white eyebrows, the wrinkles in his face creasing as he frowned awkwardly, and then he sighed deeply and straightened up to stroke his beard while looking up at the ceiling.

"Let's see… How can I put this delicately?"

No matter how delicately he could have put it, Hak could have never prepared himself for the explanation he received that day. After the man finished his lecture and bade them permission to enter the room and comfort Yona, he and Soo-Won hovered outside the door wearing identical blushes, neither of them willing to reach out and slide the door open to see the princess who was blossoming. Hak coughed uncomfortably before whispering, "S-Soo-Won… Did you… Know any of that…?"

"No. It makes me kind of thankful I was born a man."

"We're in agreement for once." The two shell-shocked boys lingered like ghosts in the hallway for a moment, unsure if they wanted to brave the sleeping lion within the room, before Hak decided that he would rather incite Yona's wrath than wonder if she was in their writhing in pain of need of him, and so he stiffly opened the door. Yona was lying in the bed covered with many blankets, a damp rag laying over her forehead, whimpering slightly. "Yona?" he asked quietly as he crept across the room, and he stiffened like a board as her eyelashes fluttered open to gaze up at him; thankfully, there was not bitterness or anger swirling in the red irises of her eyes, but warm relief. Hak breathed out slightly as he sat down cross-legged beside her, while Soo-Won took a seat opposite him, sitting on his knees like a proper royal would.

"I'm sorry I was so short with you, and threw that hairpin at you, Hak. I was just in a lot of pain," she apologized quietly, too guilty to meet either of their gazes. Her face was still pink and shining with a thin sheet of sweat from the fever. Hak scratched the side of his face awkwardly, still not sure what to make of the entire situation, while his companion smiled kindly.

"It's okay, Yona. Do you feel better now?" he told her. Yona squirmed uncomfortably beneath the mass of blankets.

"A little… The doctor gave me some medicine to help with the cramping, but I still don't feel very good."

"That's okay. Just lay here and rest. We'll stay here with you," Soo-Won said and reached out to grasp her hand. Yona stiffened slightly, her face turning a shade darker in embarrassment, and Hak thought it was at least good that she had gotten back to her normal self somewhat… Even if the way she fawned over Soo-Won was mildly irritating. With a small sigh, he took the damp rag and dipped it in fresh cold water and replaced it, then let his hair fall into her red tresses of hair that were framing her flushed face. He let his fingers run through it, the only soothing gesture he really knew how to give; Yona didn't rebuke him for it. She smiled slightly and closed her eyes, snuggling further into the blankets with a contented hum.

"Thank you both… I feel better with you both beside me."

Soo-Won on one side grasping her hand, Hak on the other wishing he could, the innocent, beautiful princess between. Just like it always had been, and how it always would be…