The forest floor was calm for what felt like the first time in forever.

As they sat at dinner, surrounded by Yoon and the dragons, Yona felt safe and happy. Jae-ha was leaning against a tree, playing a light, happy melody as the sun dipped down below the treeline. Zeno appeared before her, holding out his hand with a grin plastered on his face.

She accepted it gingerly and he pulled her up to dance. They hadn't been graced with a calm night in weeks as the spring brought rains that forced them into the cramped tents. It wasn't as if Yona was one to complain after watching her father be murdered and fleeing the castle. She was glad, however, for the opportunity to twirl as Jae-ha's music became more energetic and the warm spring air and motion brought the heat back to her body after bathing in a freezing river before dinner.

When Yoon cut in, Zeno kissed the back of her palm and moved to try to entice Shin-Ha to dance as well. He resisted at first, telling them in his low, calm voice that he didn't know how, but Zeno enlisted Gija to help and eventually, he relented.

Yona laughed as Shin-Ha awkwardly tried to follow their lead.

"Thank you for making dinner," Yona smiled at Yoon as they moved.

He nodded, "I was just happy to have had a fire. I was getting really tired of cold meals."

She spun and there was Hak, lounging on the ground, watching them twirl as the light slowly left the forest. Her heart lept, feeling his gaze so strongly on her. His bowl of soup sat empty next to him but he made no move to join them. His eyes shone as he smiled, though, content to watch.

They'd been together forever.

Yona knew Hak better than she cared to admit. She knew the feeling of his hands, rough and calloused, curled against her own as he dragged her from the palace, the twinkle of amusement that rested in his eyes as he watched her learn a new skill, the gruffness in his voice as he called to her across a battlefield.

Yona had grown accustomed to his presence. He was safety, warmth, a lifelong friend.

But she was not naive. She knew that when Hak looked at her, his eyes shone with the same admiration she used to give Soo-Won.

She quickly nodded her appreciation at Yoon before moving towards where Hak sat.

He had always been a presence she could sense. Broad shoulders and his glaive resting on the ground behind him. His hair was still damp from his bath earlier, bangs almost obscuring his eyes.

She fought the urge to tell him he needed a haircut and the even stronger urge to run her fingers through his hair to brush it out of his face herself.

He wasn't pretty like Soo-Won. Soo-Won's features were soft, unmarred by combat. He was a delicate beauty, full of gentle words and warm smiles.

Hak was rough, sharp features, sharp eyes, sharp tongue. He was brute force and annoyed quips. But Hak was steadfast, a quiet and deadly storm.

"You're staring," he told her with a hard glance.

Yona stumbled to sit down next to him, eyes wide, praying the sun had gone down far enough to obscure her blush from view. "I was not," she shot back. "I thought there was a bug on you but I was wrong."

"A bug on my face?" he raised an eyebrow at her. "How do you make a mistake like that?"

"With an ugly face like yours, it's not difficult," she huffed.

Hak narrowed his eyes at her and Yona wondered why she always did that. Always insulted him when she knew she didn't mean it.

"At least I'm not an ugly princess with weird hair," he told her with a look of amusement.

Yona punched him on the arm, indignant. "Why are you so rude?"

Hak caught her fist as she went to hit him a second time and grinned, "Princess, we're supposed to be enjoying ourselves."

She blushed, again, and quickly averted her eyes towards the dragons. Shin-Ha had given up on dancing and instead sat next to Jae-Ha, swaying quietly to the music.

"You know," Hak told her, staring up at the sky, "It was raining for so many nights I thought I may forget the stars."

Yona pretended not to notice his gaze turn towards her as she turned her attention upwards. She knew there weren't many moments he felt safe openly watching her. If she could give him a few seconds, she wasn't going to spoil it by making fun of him.

So she pointed out a few constellations, taking more time than she normally would to admire the stars. She liked the way his gaze felt on her, not possessive, but full of awe. As if she was the only thing on the planet that mattered.

Her heart thumped unabashedly in her chest and she fought a blush from turning her cheeks rosy. His hand was pressed to the ground so close to hers, she could almost feel it. The space between their fingers was electrified and Yona couldn't stop picturing closing the distance, feeling his hand wrap around hers, his arms pulling her against his body.

She wanted to touch him, really touch him, but her arms wouldn't work. Her body wouldn't listen to her. Hak was too far away and too close for her mind to function properly.

When they finally turned in for the night, she was very excited to sleep off the desire pooling in her gut.

Yona couldn't sleep. She'd grown accustomed to the sound of the rain against their tent over the last few weeks and in its absence, she could hear nothing but the steady sound of Hak's breathing next to her.

He was resonating heat and through the darkness, she could just make out the slight part of his lips as he slept.

Her heart was doing something strange, beating faster than normal. Her vision wouldn't focus. She hated that she couldn't stop thinking about him and all the things she wanted him to do to her.

Or, Yona could at least think of 10 things she wanted him to do to her.

It was a list she'd been compiling over the years as intrusive thoughts popped into her head as she was with him.

Some of them were innocent, remnants from a sheltered life in the palace, like holding her close while dancing at a party. Others were newer, things she would never dare utter to another person.

Though, she knew Jae-Ha would be more than willing to listen, would probably buy her tea and provide commentary on the feasibility of all the ways Yona wanted Hak to deflower her.

It was embarrassing. To be laying right in front of him, breath ragged as she considered what it would feel like for him to brush her dress off her shoulders and stand naked in front of him. What his weight would feel like on top of her. How his lips would feel on her body.

Yona tried to shove the thoughts away as she sat up and started to pull on her shoes to go practice shooting, but a hand lightly grabbed her arm and Hak's voice sent a shiver up her spine.

"You should be sleeping, Princess."

She hoped her voice sounded steadier to him than it did to her as she told him, "I want to practice with my bow."

She saw the flash of his smile as he said, "You know you can take a night off from that."

He hadn't moved his hand from her arm and Yona couldn't hold a train of thought long enough to come up with a logical rebuttal.

In other news, the list of things she wanted him to do to her had just grown to be eleven items long.

She didn't know why her desire was so strong that night. Normally she could brush him off and divert the situation with a well-placed insult, but her mind wouldn't shut off, even as she put her shoes back down and settled back down a foot away from him in the small tent.

"Are you okay?" Hak asked and his voice seared through her. He reached a hand out to touch her forehead and Yona all but melted against it.

She didn't know how he wasn't feeling this. How he could just touch her with restraint when her hands moved to brush his hair from his face without her permission. How he calmly told her not to tease him and batted away her hand as her cheeks burned.

Maybe she was naive. Maybe her impression of his feelings for her had always been wrong. Because she had spent years so taken by Soo-Won she'd never let herself consider that she may have had room in her heart for another person. For Hak. Her guard, her friend, her entire world now. And after so much time as nomads, she had almost died time after time. She couldn't remember anymore why she played this infuriating game of dodging her feelings every time they started to surface when she was falling more in love with him every day.

She guessed she didn't want him to feel like a rebound, but so much time had passed and she still wanted him just as badly as she did when she first realized she liked him.

More.

She definitely wanted him more than she did before and her heart pounding in her chest was not going to let her forget it.

"Hak," her voice surprised even her as it curled around his name in the most desperate manner. She was moving closer to him, hands grasping at the lapels of his coat.

"Princess?" he sounded somewhere between surprised and panicked, hands shooting forward to check if she was alright.

He bumped her nose with his as he tried to say something else, but she was already kissing him and he was stone,

eyes wide,

hands splayed open, grasping at nothing but air as he tried to process what was going on until finally, he kissed her back.

His hands were on her arms, holding her as if he was drowning and she was the only thing keeping him afloat. She could feel his heart hammering in his chest where her palm pressed against him. He was strong, familiar, kissing her with a hurried need.

When he pulled back, she could barely make out his expression, just hear him gasping for air as quietly as he possibly could as to not wake everyone else at the campsite.

"Princess," he whispered and Yona could drown in the low timbre of his voice, "What… exactly was that?"

She was resolute. Having crossed exactly one item off her list, she was drunk on the memory of his lips, his hands still on her arms. There were other items she wanted, needed, and would not wait another moment for.

"Hak," she whispered again, lifting her hand to gently touch his cheek and she could feel the heat of his blush. "I… I want-"

She wanted to answer his question, to tell him everything, but she didn't have the words to do it. Or, more specifically, she didn't have the words to tell him in a manner that he wouldn't tease her for later.

So she moved her hand from his cheek to tangling in his hair and used the other one to push his coat off one of his shoulders. He was silent as she moved the material from his other shoulder and felt it fall down to his elbows.

"Hak," she was quiet, but her tone was more demanding as she pulled his face towards hers.

Hak had never been anything but a devoted servant, protecting Yona in every way he possibly could. But this, this, was-her hands were at the tie around his waist and her mouth was on his and Hak couldn't breathe.

His robe fell open and her hands were against his bare chest then running down low low low to the waistband of his pants. Hak was about to catch them, tell her to stop, slow down, anything to help him keep some semblance of control over himself, but her fingers stopped, turning to move back up his body. It was somehow more alluring than the idea of her hand on his waistband.

He wasn't close enough, she decided, hoisting a leg over him until she was leaning over him, straddling his hips and Hak did everything he could to keep quiet.

"Princess," he whispered when her lips left his, but the thought was gone when she trailed her kiss down to his neck. Then his hands were on her hips, gripping onto her to stay grounded, his lip caught between his teeth because a moan was definitely going to escape him and if anyone interrupted this moment, Hak would definitely die.

His head fell to the side to give her room to work and he didn't bother to wonder where she had learned to kiss-

where she had learned to kiss like that.

"Princess," he tried again, more a growl than her title.

She wasn't paying attention. Every move she made was sloppy, amateur, but planned. Yona had long since chosen where to kiss him, how to kiss him, how she wanted to make him react to her.

And Hak was devoted, he would do anything she asked of him.

But sometimes he liked to defy her just to see what happened.

So he sat up, up, up and had to bend down to kiss her as he rolled on top of her. His robe was gone from his shoulders and he wore nothing but his pants as his fingers laced through her hair and he broke away from her lips to kiss the exposed skin of her chest. Yona was squirming beneath him, doing nothing to help his composure as he buried his face in the crook of her shoulder.

"Yona," he whispered and her heart pounded, "What are you doing?"

She rested her hands on his shoulders, feeling the muscles cording beneath them, the tension as he propped himself above her. She could barely see his face in the dark but she could feel his need dripping off him like sweat.

"Trying," she mumbled, letting her hands explore his skin, "not to wake Jae-Ha and Gija."

And then she was fumbling for the belt of her robe, hiking her knees up around his waist and Hak groaned softly next to her ear. She couldn't think, just knowing she needed more of his skin against her own. She finally pulled the tie loose and Hak's hands caught her own, stopping them from further undoing her clothing.

"I only have about half a shred of decency left in me so I'm going to ask you right now if you're sure this is something you want to do," Hak's tone was serious as it cut through the darkness.

"Please."

And then Hak was helping her out of her robe and kissing every part of her skin he could find. He caught her hand and kissed up her arm, over her chest, pushing her back to lay down as his hands cupped her naked skin.

She was doing a good job of staying quiet, but Hak could feel her humming with energy, her hands needy as she gripped at the skin of his back.

It was late, they were going to be exhausted when they had to break down camp the next morning to move on.

They didn't care.

His lips found solace in unbearably soft skin. Her hips bucked against him as he came across the peak of her breasts and Hak took that as a good sign. He hovered there for a moment, pausing his hasty descent down her body to lick, kiss, and suck on them until she turned her fingernails against the skin of his back.

He kept moving down, feeling the jump of her abdomen as he trailed light kisses down ticklish skin, until his lips met her thigh, pulling it up so he could bite at the inside. He was finally taking his time, teasing her, trying to wait until he knew she couldn't take it anymore.

But impatient as ever, Yona pulled his face to where she wanted it and heard him stifle a laugh. And then he was working, one hand gently coaxing her leg over his shoulder as he laid before her, drawing a slow lick up her clit. Her legs shook with energy, excitement, ecstasy.

She had found some books buried in the library of the palace once that explained how sex worked, but she could never have imagined what it would feel like to have a man go down on her.

Her lips pressed together, one hand covering her mouth to keep from moaning. Hak was devoted, working until her other fist buried itself in his hair and her legs clenched tightly around his head.

She pressed her robe against her mouth to quiet the sound of her gasping for air and she could feel Hak's smug grin as he pressed a gentle kiss to the inside of her thigh, waiting for her to return to earth.

He moved back up to lie next to her, pulling her into his arms, rubbing circles onto her back.

And Yona was smiling, fingers linking themselves through his as she whispered, "Take off your pants."

Hak couldn't help but think how strange the words sounded coming from her mouth. He still wasn't convinced he wasn't just having an oddly specific and intensive wet dream. But nonetheless, he followed her order, dropping them in a pile with the rest of their clothes.

Suddenly he was just as naked as she was, feeling her skin directly against his own as she straddled his thighs, fingers running gingerly down his sides.

He'd never been self-conscious. Hak knew what he looked like, how women in the villages they visited fawned over him. It was the feeling of vulnerability that frightened him, to be laying his heart as bare as his skin with every touch of his hands to her skin. He was telling her he loved her every time he stroked her hair from her face, tucking it behind her ear, with the brush of his thumbs over her ribcage.

And maybe, just maybe, he thought Yona was doing the same as she worked her way down his body, pressing her lips to places no one else ever had, dusting butterfly kisses against his hipbones, fingers pressing into his thighs.

He knew her well, could feel the heat from her blush as she dared to put her hands on him. He gasped as she stroked at him, pressing a kiss to his stomach, whispering he had to be quiet.

He was raised with restraint, taught when to fight, when to kill, when to hold back. Hak had control over his body so precise he could stop lethal blows centimeters before they landed.

But when Yona licked along the length of him, Hak almost imploded.

It took every ounce of self-restraint he'd every practiced not to say her name or make some other indecent sound. It was sloppy and unrefined, but it was Yona and Hak would take a thousand uncoordinated blow jobs from her over anything anyone else had to offer.

And then her mouth was gone and she was climbing back up his body, damp fingers touching his cheeks.

"Princess," he melted against her touch, nuzzling his face into her palm, not caring where it had been just moments before. "Am I dreaming?"

She laughed, low, pressing her lips against his forehead. "I hope not. That would make me feel like I'd taken advantage of you."

"You're definitely taking advantage of me," he nodded in the dark, a grin in his voice. "The princess is a pervert."

"Shut up," she whispered, "I am not!"

Hak kissed her cheek, her jaw, her neck. "Then what exactly are we doing here?"

Yona felt need pooling between her legs. His was sitting up and she was in his lap, his arms pulling her close and she could feel him pressed against her thigh, hard. She wanted to know what it felt like, needed to know how it would feel to have him pressing into her.

She ground her core against him and Hak's grip tightened on her waist.

"See," he mumbled, dipping his head to kiss her shoulder, "pervert."

Yona repeated the motion, holding onto his shoulders for leverage, focusing on the sensation. He was firm under her grip and she wished she could see him, look at the broad, beautiful man in front of her instead of just his outline.

She wanted to see his face if they couldn't make sounds. It was unfair that she got neither, but Hak's hands were warm and his kiss haughty. He was proud of himself and while he did not pride himself on being an arrogant man, Hak reveled in the way she reacted to his touch.

He flipped them around, gently laying Yona down on her back, letting his hand fall between her legs, moving up until his fingers found her core. She was wet, wetter than he'd expected, legs parting to make room for him to settle between them.

At the palace, she had never been particularly athletic or flexible, but after all this time on the road, training to fight, Yona was made of lean muscle and limbs that were yielding.

When Hak finally positioned himself at her entrance, her legs were hooked around his waist and she was drowning in his kiss.

And then he was moving, and she was gasping into the skin of broad, broad shoulders, clinging to him. He was slow, kissing her temple, breathing in her hair, patiently letting her get used to him.

He would not hurt her, he was a faithful servant and he would do whatever he needed to make the experience as painless as he could.

Yona was reeling, directing his motions with the press of her fingers. Letting him move deeper and deeper, press her harder to the ground, pulling his hair as he bit gently at her neck. She was his entire world, the most darling, beautiful thing he'd ever been graced with the presence of.

And he honest to god was not going to last long with her squirming, meeting his movements in her enthusiasm.

She was breathing rough, ragged, fingers digging into his skin. Her head was spinning and she shifted her hips as he moved, so, so close to hitting just that right spot.

And then he was, and her world turned upside down, stars shifting into the perfect alignment, proving the stories of her handmaidens in the castle of an earth-shattering experience with the men they loved.

Yona shook under his weight, clinging to him with a renewed desperation and Hak couldn't keep himself together with the feeling of her orgasm constricting against him.

He pulled out moments before he came, burying his face in her neck, breathing her in. And her arms wrapped around him, holding him tightly to her, not caring that they were sweaty and sticky. She held him until his breathing calmed and his heart slowed down. Until he was kissing her cheeks, her forehead, her temples, rolling onto his side to capture her in his arms.

"What made you do this?" he asked after a long time.

Yona wiggled in his grip until she freed a hand to press against his cheek. "Hak," she whispered as he pressed his face into her touch, "how could you ever think I don't love you?"

And then he was kissing her, with fervent passion and renewed strength. He was putting everything he'd bottled up into it, all the years of being next to her, falling harder and harder with everything she did. He needed her to know he didn't just love her. He adored her. He would never leave her side. He would be her shield until the day he died.

"Princess," he whispered when they finally broke apart. "We should probably go get cleaned up before anyone wakes up."

So she took his hand and let him lead her to the river to wash for a second time that day, experiencing a new kind of intimacy as he helped pour water over her, scrubbing at her skin in between doting kisses on her nose.

They slept that night, capturing precious few hours before the morning came. She held his hand, her back pressed firmly against him and his face buried in her wet hair.

Her list of things she wanted Hak to do to her was half crossed off and the rest seemed rather silly after feeling his touch in all of her most intimate places. But still, she wondered when she would get to complete the smaller items, innocently dancing together, spending an entire night curled in his arms.

He kissed her before he left the tent, a small, chaste brush of his lips, half-lidded eyes telling her everything she needed to know. He loved her. He would be with her forever.

He would do anything she wanted.

A/N: Please be aware that pulling out is an entirely ineffective method of birth control and to always use condoms (and preferably a non-oil based lubricant!) when engaging in all forms of sexual activity (vaginal or anal penetration and oral) to avoid pregnancy and STI's/HIV. The lube is to increase pleasure/decrease vaginal/anal tearing (aka pain which makes you more likely to contract an STI/HIV).

Make good choices for yourselves and your characters!

p.s. - thank you for reading!