Chapter 12

Once everyone had said their congratulations and wished each other the best of luck in the new year, they had each decided to call it a night and head to bed. They were all exhausted from travelling all day and then celebrating for most of the night so there were no real complaints.

Yona was the first to head up stairs wishing everyone a good night while they finished the last of the drinks. It had been unseasonably warm all day and so she was looking forward to getting to wear her lighter pair of PJs' as she snuggled up under the covers that night.

Still, she'd have to make it up the two flights of stairs first before she could succumb to sleep. And so, she trudged up and up and up, absentmindedly counting the stairs as she went. She'd figured out ages ago how many steps were between each landing. That way she could make her way to and from the kitchen in the dark without having to turn on any lights every time she woke up needing a drink or a late-night snack.

For the record; it went by nine and seven, between each landing and the next level.

Ah yes, she thought to herself, the useful tricks you learn when you're a night owl.

Night owl or not though, she still loved the chance to for a good long sleep all cozied up in her bed, and on that thought, she finally made it to the top and made her way down the end of her hall to her room.

There was something so relaxing about coming back to your own room after sleeping away for a few nights. Somehow, just the smell of her own room put her mind at ease. It was nothing more than the laundry detergent she used, but all the same it brought a weary smile to her face as she let herself face plant down on her covers.

Still face down, she blindly used her toes to pull off her socks and chuck them across the room, before forcing herself to slide down onto the floor so she could actually change her shirt and pants.

Making her way over to her closet, she picked out a simple blank camisole and her favourite long pair of PJ pants. The ones that were just slightly too long so she could wrap the ends around her toes.

That done, she grabbed her toiletry bag and shuffled down to the bathroom she shared with Jae-ha and Hak to brush her teeth and wash her face. Usually she'd brush her hair too but for once it wasn't too tangled and looked alright, so she let it slide in favor of sleeping sooner.

Finally, now ready for bed, she wasted no time in throwing back the covers and jumping in before wrapping herself up in a blanket burrito. She could hear the others downstairs beginning to make the climb up to their own beds too and drifted off to the comforting sound of the hushed tones of her friends still chatting and the familiar creaking floorboards of the old house.

It was good to be home again.

{*****}

She awoke with a start when she heard the first rumble of thunder shake the house.

'No! No, no, no, not tonight! Tonight, was so fun why does there have to be a huge storm coming in now?' Yona whined to herself in her head.

That stupid out of season warm front must have caused the storm to roll in so suddenly, and so violently at that.

Glancing at her clock it was about three in the morning.

Too late that anyone else would not have already fallen asleep and too early before anyone would wake up again.

She knew it was stupid, but she really, really hated thunder storms. It was something that no matter how much she could rationalise it, they still made her shake with each loud boom that she felt vibrate down to her bones and each flash that lit up a pitch-black room filling it with shadows that reached for her like long fingers.

She tried to just huddle down, play some music through her headphones and ignore it but she could still feel the storm's tremors and see the lightning through her closed eyes.

It was no use and she didn't know what to do.

Usually when storms like this passed through, she managed to sleep though them without waking up, and if they were during the day, she could blare her music loud enough to drown out the sound and keep all the lights on in her room.

Why did the year have to start off like this?

Out of options, she grabbed her blanket and wrapped it around herself and over her head like a blanket-parka and slipped on her slippers before hesitantly leaving her room and tiptoeing her way down the hall.

{*****}

"Hak?" he heard a voice whisper somewhere in the cloud of sleep that filled his mind.

"Hak?" He heard it again. This time however accompanied by the feeling of being lightly prodded in the shoulder. The voice also held a quiver to it that caught his attention enough for him to crack open his eyes and try and make out what was going on in the dark of his and Jae-ha's room.

Glancing around a bit to adjust his eyesight, his eyes eventually landed on the small figure wrapped in fluff and knelt down on the floor by his bedside looking up at him with large doe-like eyes that seemed to be on the verge of tears.

"Yona?" his voiced croaked deep and groggy in a low whisper, "What's wrong? Are you alight?" he asked, confusion and worry now beginning to seep in.

She seemed relieved that he was now awake but also at a loss of what to do now the she'd managed to wake him.

"Umm, well yes and no, I guess. I'm fine, but it's just that. . . well the there's a really big storm tonight and the thunder is really loud is all and. . ." she drifted, muttering under her breath, now unable to meet his eyes while trying her best to not sound like a child despite being petrified by the storm and not wanting to be alone.

She was also trying her best not to wake up Jae-ha as she felt bad enough waking just one of her house mates up for such a ridiculous reason. The last thing she wanted was everyone else finding her in such a state. She was certain if they did, they were sure to try and coddle her more than they already did and treat her like a child.

Hak was different though, He already knew she didn't handle storms very well ever since the night she'd found out her father had been killed. It had been pelting raining that night and Hak had been there with her, acting as her rock amidst the storm both outside and in her head.

And as embarrassed as she was about letting something as simple as a thunderstorm render her a quivering mess, she still found on those nights when the storms were loudest and the nightmares the most vivid that she needed to find her rock.

"Hang on, Princess. Just give me a minute." Hak said, already understanding what the issue was despite her horrible explanation.

Heaving a sigh as he prepared for the cold shock, he threw off his covers, eased himself up and swung his legs off the bed before standing up and slowly padding his was over to Yona's room with her trailing close behind.

He didn't want Droopy Eyes to wake up and find Yona there with them. Not for any teasing that might initially come from it or anything like that, but because he knew that Yona wouldn't want him to see her like that.

Wouldn't want him seeing her falling apart, especially after how she'd been smiling all day with them.

She was stronger than anyone else Hak had ever met when it came to the strength of her will and determination, but she was still human, and still just a young girl who not too long ago lost her father tragically.

The others knew the generally story of it, sure. But, both of them generally tried to hide the scars left from that day the best they could, and they respected that.

After a few minor panics when lightning lit up the halls and thunder shook the house again, they managed to make it to her room with Yona mostly alright.

Once there, Hak simply trudged his was over to her bed and threw back the covers before sliding in and patting the space beside him.

Relieved that he would stay with her until the storm had passed, she wasted no time in hurrying over and snuggling down under the blankets beside him and pulling the covers up over her head as she curled into a tight ball while the storm continued to shake the house outside.

Chuckling softly, he pulled her close and wrapped the covers more tightly around them both, stroking her hair and rubbing her back up and down in long soothing stokes as she hid her face in his chest.

Another load crack of thunder and the sound of a tree being blown over outside, branches snapping loudly as they were crushed under its own weight, wrung a whimper from her as she grabbed onto the collar of his shirt in her small hand.

"Shhhh, it's ok. I'm here and I'm not going anywhere. Everything will be alright, I promise. So you can sleep easy now."

He could feel her trembling violently within his arms, only interrupted by a sudden jump whenever the wind shook the house or lightning lit up the room.

It hurt him to see her like this. Reduced to a scarred little girl when he knew how strong the fire was that lit her soul. He'd do anything to make the pain from that day go away for her. For both of them. But for now, he knew all he could do was be there for her, like he had always done and like he always would.

"Sorry about all this, Princess." He whispered breaking the silence in the hopes of distracting her.

"Guess I should be more careful."

It seemed to do the trick.

"What? What on Earth are you talking about? Be more careful about what?" she asked, bemused as she tentatively raised her face up enough to look at him.

"You know, the storm and all. They do call me the Thunder Beast after all. I guess I must have called a storm in when I was practicing with my Guan Dao earlier this morning before we left Gramp's place. Really now, I should have known better than to practice my skills so magnificently while outside. I guess I'll never learn." He teased, tutting softly while shaking his head in mock dismay.

He was relieved when his little joked managed to get a giggle out of her, even if it was only a small one, it seemed to help ease her as he felt her begin to finally relax snuggled up against him.

"Well I'll admit, maybe I shouldn't have taunted you so much and maybe then you wouldn't have felt the need to show off" She replied.

"You would accuse me of showing off? Never!"

"Oh, really now? What about that time you had a tournament and you kept pointedly rolling your eyes and yawning while you sparred with your opponent?" she accused, poking him in the chest.

He lifted his head pointedly not looking down at her, "I was really tired that day, I hadn't gotten much sleep."

"Suuuure. Whatever you say you big show-off." She chuckled lightly, even as he grabbed the hand that still lay on his chest and brought it up to rest over his heart.

"Only for you, Princess." He said, leaning in to brush a kiss on top of her hair.

She blushed at this, but didn't protest as she cuddled closer to him, tucking her head up just under his chin.

"You're not cute, you know that?"

"I feel like I should be offended by that somehow."

"Don't be. Body guards aren't cute," She said but added in a softer tone afterwards, "they're handsome."

He didn't quite miss it however as he perked up a bit more, "What was that last part just now?"

But she just ignored him, instead tilting her head up just enough to press a kiss just under his jaw before saying, "Goodnight, Hak. Thank you for staying here with me over something so silly."

He smiled to himself as he only held her tighter in response.

"You and I both know it's not silly and that you don't need to thank me for something like this. All you have to do is shout and I'll come running."

"Hak?"

"Ya?"

"I love you."

"I love you too. Now gets some sleep."

And with that Yona finally managed to drift off to sleep again, this time to the sound of Hak's heartbeat and the feeling of his hands, still stoking gently up and down her back. She didn't know what she'd done to deserve him or if she ever would, but she was thankful he was here with her never-the-less.

Hak was a good guy, and a loyal friend and she could always count on him even for the small things and she'd do everything she could to be there for him if and when he ever needed her.

{*****}

Hey guys! So, I'm finally starting to get some more ideas for this story again after a pretty long leave of absence so hopefully I can keep this rolling for awhile longer. As always thanks for reading this far and reviews are always welcome.

I do plan and having the dragons and Yun be more involved in this story so don't worry and hopefully I can get that ball rolling soon too.

Happy (early) Holidays!