Chapter 8
It was only around 7:00 in the morning and still dark enough to be night before the two of them woke up half sprawled across the couch, half sprawled across each other, with their blanket from the night before in a tangled heap more complicated than the gordian knot, now up to their chins and leaving their feet exposed to the cold morning air.
After a few tugs here and there in an attempt to untangle themselves without having to leave the warmth of the couch, they both eventually gave up and simply rolled onto the floor and shimmied out of the blanket trap they had unintentionally made.
Upon freeing their limbs and grimacing as their feet hit the cold wood floors, Yona tip-toed upstairs to grab them both some warmer sweaters and socks while Hak set about getting himself a coffee for himself and a hot chocolate for Yona before they would set out on their trip.
It would take them a good three hour hike up the mountain just to reach the fort. Probably more if Hak thought about it, given that while the snow wasn't too deep to manage, it would still slow them down.
He chuckled softly to himself at the thought that he'd most likely he'd have to lead the way if only to make a path for Yona to follow his footsteps through the snow once it got deeper.
Determined she may be, she could still be clumsy from time to time and the poor girl didn't exactly have the longest legs for wading though deep powder.
Yet the fact remained, she wanted to go up to the fort today and he had agreed so they would make the trek one way or another.
Throwing their drinks into two travel mugs, grabbing some snacks that they could have once they reached their destination and a blanket, Hak dropped their stuff by the door and started to make them some breakfast.
That was another thing that always made him laugh. Though she would claim otherwise if only to save her pride, Yona was a horrible cook no matter how simple the meal.
One time she had tried to make everyone in their shared house pancakes for a treat and it had ended in a mad scramble to see who could find a fire extinguisher first.
Since then, Yun had all but banned her from the kitchen in the best interest of everyone. Hence, why she stuck to her secret stash of frozen waffles (everyone in the house knew but let her keep her little stash because it was adorable and hilarious to see her attempts at sneaking them up to her room) instead of making them herself.
Just as he got started on making some scrambled eggs and toast, the stairs squeaked as Yona quietly made her way back down stairs sporting a thick knitted sweater (still light pink he noted without surprise as it was her favourite colour), the fluffiest socks he had ever seen, a pair of fleece black pants and her hair now brushed and pulled away neatly from her face as a creamy white scarf hugged her neck with her arms full of his own winter clothes.
For him she had grabbed a much of the same.
One of his old thick hoodies – though his was a dark blue –a pair of thick woollen socks and his own grey scarf that he'd thought he'd lost ages ago.
"Do you have winter boots that'll be tall enough to keep the snow from filling them up along the way?" he asked, scrambled eggs now sizzling on the stove.
"Ya, they're just in the closet. Want me to grab yours too while I'm there?"
"Ya sure." He replied over his shoulder.
Once they had both eaten their breakfast and geared up for their cold trek up the mountain with a bag of snacks and blankets in tow, they headed out the door leaving a note on the kitchen countertop for Mundok or one of the others to find.
{*****}
They had been hiking for about two hours or so now, feet now feeling the cold and fingers only left functioning by defrosting them against the sides of their still warm travel mugs.
Yona took another sip of her hot chocolate, careful to watch where she was going so that she could step in the footprints Hak left to keep her from having to wade in too much powder.
They had just stopped to have one of the snacks and find their drinks before starting out again. At the rate they were moving, they would easily reach the fort sometime just before noon.
She wondered if it would look just as she remembered it. It had been years since either her or Hak had been back or even thought about their old personal playground, yet for what Yona had in mind it seemed right.
As embarrassing as it might be for her to admit it, she really glad to have so much time together with just Hak and herself.
Just like when they were kids, young and reckless, racing through the mountains and teasing each other.
She loved spending time with Hak's family – which was more or less her family in most ways –and the time she got to spend with her friends back at school, but there was something inherently different when it was just the two or them. . . and she had missed that.
"You doing ok back there princess?" asked Hak, classic smirk in place as he flicked some snow at her.
Squealing a little in surprise, she scowled back at him before saying "I'm doing fine but I could do without the extra snowfall" she said, flicking some back at him only for him to dodge it.
"How's your coffee?" she asked.
"Hot."
"So good then?"
"Exactly."
She giggled a bit. "Why do you always like it so hot it might as well be lava?" she continued.
"What can I say? I'm a man of extremes. Tepid drinks simply don't cut it I'm afraid." He replied back teasingly.
Now she really did laugh.
They continued on like this as they continued on this way, bantering and teasing each other to pass the time and it wasn't long before the fort came into view and she sighed.
It was just as she remembered it. A bit more worn around the edges, but still the same.
It was a simple little thing. A small tree house built to rest in-between three pines with a simple wooden ladder leading up to it.
As they made their way over Yona could see that a few more rungs from the ladder had started to decay but overall it seemed study enough, so she went first and started to climb.
Once she pulled herself to the top, she walked over the to railing and stood breathless at the view before her.
Their fort overlooked the drop into one of the valleys between the mountains giving a clear view of the entire surrounding area. It was stunning and even more beautiful in the depths of winter when snow covered the mountains making them sparkle in the afternoon light.
Hak came up beside her then. "Look – "he said "-It's a Golden eagle" a fond smile finding its way to his face.
Hak had always loved watching the eagles that came up and nested in the peaks. Seemed to connect with them in some way. With the wind itself in the mountains he called home.
{*****}
Once the eagle had flown out of view they set about clearing the snow off the platform and out of the little house so that they could sit down and rest for a while and finish up their drinks and snacks on one of the blankets they had brought.
Luckily, inside the little house was considerably warmer as it kept out the wind.
Once inside and after stopping to have a bit more fun with the snow by making a small snowman to stand guard on the platform, they headed inside and cozied themselves up with their blankets as they reminisced about all the adventures they had had there. About all the injuries they had managed to get through their recklessness, him more than her, she insisted as he gave her a disbelieving look in return.
Eventually, their conversation drifted to more recent things like school, and now the holidays.
"I can't believe its already Christmas tomorrow, it came around to quickly this year" Hak mused.
"Yeah it sure did, I'm just glad we managed to get everyone presents in time. . ." she drifted off and suddenly looked a little nervous which confused him before she managed to find her voice again.
"Speaking of which, that was actually one of the reasons I asked you to come here with me."
She slowly and shyly began to reach into her sweater pocket before pulling out a small wooden box.
The box itself was plain but dark and smooth, the smell of old wood varnish still there. It was small too, easily fitting in her hand as she tentatively handed it to him as she looked down at her feet before explaining.
"I wanted to give your Christmas present a little early so that I could give it to you when it was just the two of us -Its nothing much, but it seemed like it might be a bit embarrassing. . . With the rest of the family around, that is. . ." she drifted off again in between stammering.
He looked between her and the box a few times before gently taking off the lid off and unwrapping what whatever lay in the cloth inside before he stilled.
Sitting in the palm of his hand was a pendant of lapis lazuli, cut and polished and set on a cord of dark leather.
He didn't know what to say, didn't know what it meant as he held it up to the light to get a better look at it.
As be smoothed his thumb over both sides he noticed that something was engraved into the back.
It was a small insignia of two mountains resting side by side, each topped with a snowy peak as tiny birds soared through the valley between them.
Golden eagles, he realised as looked more closely.
The entire engraving itself was barley the size of his pinky nail yet it had been craved with so much care and detail, it was stunning.
"I head that Lapis Lazuli can be worn to help keep its wearer safe and protected. I found that piece one of the times we had gone exploring in the river as kids and hid it away before you could take it and tease me when I would inevitably try and get it back." she chuckled a little before continuing.
"Y-You've done so much for me and stayed by my side after all these years through thick and thin and always without any regard for any cost to yourself. . . you have always been there, and I don't know what I'd do if one day I woke up and something had happened to you. . . if you were suddenly gone.
I know it seems overly sappy and dramatic but. . . I thought I'd have it made into a necklace that you could wear so that it would always keep you safe" she ended now blushing and staring at the travel mug in her hands.
He didn't know what to do.
Didn't know what to say.
Didn't have the words.
What he held in his hands was something that she had given him out of care and worry. Out of a desire to keep him safe in any way she could.
It was a gift that showed how much she cared about him. For him. And in some ways, it broke his heart to think that the worried that one day he may not be there.
That one day she might be alone again.
Gently placing the pendant back in its box and setting it down beside him, he pulled her into a massive hug and buried his face in her hair.
At first, she struggled a bit, evidently flustered and claiming that he was just making the whole thing that much more embarrassing for her, but her protests didn't last long as she gave in and returned the hug just as fiercely, her own face buried in his chest.
"Thank you" he whispered beside her ear, "I'll treasure it always".
They held each other like that for a while, each of them holding onto the other as if they were afraid they would disappear from their grasp.
Eventually Hak pulled away to look at her.
She smiled fondly at him and sniffled a bit, holding back what he knew was tears, so he reached over to grab the box again.
"Put it on for me?" he asked.
"s-sure" she said, still a bit flustered as she careful took out the pendant from its box.
He leaned down for her as she sat forward and took each end of the leather cord and tied it around the back of his neck before smoothing the pendant flat against his chest as she sat back down, the whole time neither of them taking their eyes off the other.
It happened so fast, Hak was almost she he'd imagined it, but as he started to look down to admire the engraving on the pendant again, Yona quickly leaned in and Kissed the corner of his mouth.
She didn't linger but seemed just as surprised with herself when his head snapped up and he stared at her.
"S-s-sorry, I'll head back first" she stammered out before quickly getting up and grabbing her stuff before making to dart out the door of the little house.
He was frozen in place, still stunned at what had just happened that he couldn't seem to find the words to tell her to wait a moment.
He was scrambling, desperate to find something to say, to tell her to stop and tell him what the heck that was just then.
Luckily, by some miracle though his brain couldn't seem to think of anything to do fast enough to stop her from running off, his mouth started working on its own, and what came out of his mouth surprised even him as he started singing softly just as she reached the doorway.
"Red is the colour of my true loves hair. . ."
She paused in the doorway. Still as stone.
" . . . Her lips are like some roses fair
She has the sweetest smile and the gentlest hands
And I love the ground whereon she stands . . ." she slowly turned around to face him, expression unreadable yet it seemed like she finally understood who it was he had written the song about to his great relief and worry.
He continued on though, each note a near whisper as the wind continued to howl outside the open door, his eyes now meeting hers.
"I love my love, but she'll never know
I love the ground whereon she goes
How I wish that day would soon come
When she and I can be as one
I think of her pain and I mourn and weep
For without her smile I'd never sleep
I write her letters just a few short lines
And I suffer death ten thousand times
Red is the colour of my true loves hair
Her lips are like some roses fair
She has the sweetest smile and the gentlest hands
And I love the ground whereon she stands
I love the ground whereon she stands. . ."
Silence filled the room. Both staring at each other waiting for them to say something, yet nothing could seem to be said.
Instead, just as Hak felt like his heart would sink in defeat she answered his song with her version in turn, each word soft and hesitant. Unsure of themselves.
"Black is the color of my true love's hair
His face so stern yet He's always there"
A warm smile bloomed across her face as she sang these words.
"He has the purest eyes and the gentlest hands
And I love the ground whereon he stands
I love my love, but he'll never know
I love the ground whereon he goes
How I wish that day would soon come
When he and I can be as one
I think of his pain and I mourn and weep
For without his smile I'd never sleep
I have no letters not even one line
But still in my heart I wish he were mine
Black is the colour of my true loves hair
His face so stern yet He's always there
He has the purest eyes and the gentlest hands
And I love the ground whereon he stands
I love the ground whereon he stands. . ."
As she sang she had started to make her way back towards him, the occasional creak from the old wooden floorboards the only interruption to her words, until she sat down in front of him again.
"Do you understand who that song was about now?" he asked, voice so quiet she had to stain to hear him.
"I do. Gods I hope I do otherwise this will be even more awkward if that's even possible" she rambled.
"Do you understand who it was I sang about. . .?"
"If I'm allowed to indulge myself in my childhood fantasies, then yes, I do" she laughed almost historically.
"So, what does that mean for the two of us?" she asked hesitantly, eyes betraying her hope.
"Well, what I hope it means is that I can finally get away with doing this" he said, before gently holding her face in her hands and bringing his lips to hers as he kissed her softly.
{*****}
Hey guys! I finally caught a break if only for a little bit (thank you Victoria Day long weekend).
This isn't quite the end, don't worry, I still have a bit planned out but once I reach a good stopping point I may take a break on this and do a few one shots again before coming back to it.
Thank you for those you have read this far. I'm always happy to receive any kind of comment, review, suggestion etc.
Hope you guys are having a wonderful weekend as well! Updated chapters for grammar/improvements/fixing mistakes will be up soon.