It was getting out of hand.

At first, Yona dismissed Hak's teasing as the game he liked to play - trying to make her as uncomfortable as possible in the shortest conceivable time-frame.

It was embarrassing to think that she'd almost gotten used to it by now. She didn't jump with surprise when he leaned into her from behind, or when he got unnecessarily close when talking to her on a regular basis.

That wasn't to say she was immune - her cheeks still heated up, the flush spreading towards her ears, and she often felt her heart skip a nervous beat when she felt his eyes following her movements or his hands on her skin.

However, as she grew more tolerant to his antics, he seemed to try to balance it out by upping the scale of his teasing.

It was really getting out of hand.

Speaking of which.

"Princess," came a familiar deep voice from somewhere behind her.

They weren't even alone - not that Yona would have preferred privacy, of course. The group was currently looking for a new place to set up camp - they'd had to pack up and move when Kija woke up to find that a rather large family of spiders had discovered their tent and decided it was a nice place to crawl around and wreak havoc.

That being said, the white-haired dragon was not twenty feet away from them. The same went for Jae-Ha, Shin-Ah, and Zeno - all four dragons were spaced relatively near the Princess and the Thunder Beast. Yoon was at the front, having decided that he was the most capable at finding them a new campground. No one disagreed.

"Yes, Hak?" Yona replied, not bothering to turn her head to look at him.

"You could really use a bath."

Yeah, okay, maybe he wasn't wrong. It'd been a couple days, but that wasn't exactly her fault, either. All of them had been busy, and she knew for a fact that it had been just as long since Hak had bathed, himself. He was one to talk!

Flushing, she spun around, glaring, already winding up to give the no-good brute a piece of her mind. However, she stopped short when her sudden movement almost made them collide.

Yona's eyes went wide and her face turned several shades darker when she processed that he was bent at the waist so they were the same height, as if he'd known she would whip around. Their faces were barely inches apart, and her vision was flooded completely by tan skin and blue eyes.

"Should I help you wash, Princess?"

A smirk spread across his face without missing a beat, their closeness obviously not bothering him in the slightest.

"Y-y-y-you-" Yona stuttered, too stunned to take a step back, when she heard a scream sound from behind her.

"Oi, Thunder Beast! What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

With a flash of white scales and green hair, Yona didn't have to worry about it anymore, and that was that.

It was midday when they finally settled down, though Kija forced Shin-Ah to scope the area to make sure the bug-levels were at an absolutely minimum.

Yona had noticed a clear stream not far from the camp as they'd searched, and, despite her annoyance at Hak's usual rude advice, she decided that a bath was in order.

"Yoon," she called out to the boy, who turned to look at her from where he was sifting through his herbs.

"Yes, Yona?"

"I'm going to bathe. Would you let the others know if they wonder where I've gone?"

The last thing she needed was a mass search-party after her. It wouldn't be the first time.

"Sure thing," Yoon replied with a little nod, wasting no time before going back to his work.

Satisfied she wouldn't be interrupted, Yona started off towards the stream, making sure she'd recognize how to get back on her own.

The birds chirped above her as she passed, and the light broke through the canopy of trees in patches, almost blinding her when she walked under them. The trees cleared soon enough, and she saw the stream ahead, which was just as pristine as she'd thought. Perfect.

Excited to be clean, Yona made quick work of her clothes, laying them neatly on a large, slanting rock by the shore.

Yona stuck her foot in the water, testing its temperature, before submerging the rest of her body. She broke the surface, pushing her hair back, and sighed with relief.

It was a long time before she got out. Her fingers were long past pruney and, judging by the sun's gradual movements, it was late afternoon, though she couldn't yet see the hints of sunset. The streams of light on the water were golden and incredibly beautiful, and she took a moment to admire the sight as she stepped out and re-donned her clothes.

She was tying the sash of her robes when she heard the rustle of leaves coming from behind her.

Yona spun around, hands flying to make sure her clothes were secure, before realizing who it was that'd approached.

"Relax, Princess, it's only me," Hak said as he stepped more into view, cocking his head to the side.

"That doesn't make me feel any better," Yona replied in a mumble, once her heart had stopped racing.

Hak only snorted, walking closer until he was a couple of feet away from her.

"You should have waited for me," he said, smirking and glancing at the water behind her. "I told you I'd help."

"Stop teasing me," she said with a glare, crossing her arms defensively. Her eyes were narrowed, and she studied him carefully. "What are you doing here, anyway?"

"Bathing. Same as you." Hak shrugged, hands going to his sash. "I'm going to take my clothes off, so you can stay if you want," he said with the same nonchalantness, fingers toying with the knot as if he really was about to undress a foot away from her.

Yona colored, but she stayed firm, arms still crossed. She knew he wouldn't actually do it. Right? Right.

"Why do you do those types of things, Hak?"

The Thunder Beast froze, hands going still on his sash.

"What do you mean?"

Steeling herself, Yona continued, not stopping in fear that she'd lose her momentum and settle for a 'never mind' instead.

"Why do you tease me so much? You don't treat any other girls like that, so why me?"

Hak took several moments to respond, obviously surprised.

"It's nothing, Princess," he decided on, shaking his head and starting to move past her. "It's only because you're especially annoying."

Before he could pass her, Yona stepped in his way and curled her fingers around the material of his robe, stopping him in his tracks.

"I know that's not it!" she argued, earning her a wide-eyed stare and a jolt from the black-haired pest.

Yona got right in his face, the way he enjoyed doing to her, and really let him have it.

"You get close to me, and you touch me all the time, and you get angry when Jae-Ha teases me, too. You act like a jerk, but then you do nice things, like protecting me or comforting me or looking out for me, and- oh."

Yona stopped suddenly, studying Hak's face, which was closed off and emotionless. Like he was hiding something from her.

"Oh?" he said casually, raising an eyebrow.

"Hak, if you were anyone else, I'd say…no. That's impossible, especially for you."

Yona's hand was still clutching the hem of Hak's robe, but she didn't even notice it.

"What is it?" Hak persisted, taking a step forward. Yona countered by backtracking a step, but he kept going, and a second later the Princess felt her back come in contact with the large rock she'd laid her clothes on earlier, halting their movements.

Yona's eyes widened, but she didn't look away from his face, too stunned to do much else except stand there.

"Hak-"

"What would you say, Princess?"

Yona's eyes were wide, her heart thumping wildly in her chest. Her throat felt tight.

"I-I'd say you were…I'd say you had fee-"

She was cut off when Hak leaned closer, lessening the gap between them to inches. Her voice dwindling into nothing, they stayed like that for a few seconds, the silence deafening in her ears.

"I'm not checking your temperature, Princess," Hak said softly, and Yona shivered when she felt the warmth of his breath on her skin.

"Oh," Yona managed to get out, but that was all that was said between them before Hak's lips were on hers, soft but nonetheless firm and undeniably demanding. All Hak.

To keep from panicking, Yona's other hand flew to join the other, clutching Hak's robes in her fingers. Hak leaned closer still, pressing her gently to the stone behind her, and slid a hand into her still-wet hair.

Noticing his eyes had closed, Yona followed suit, cheeks flaming. Hak's lips, which had only pressed onto hers, lessened their pressure before regaining it, firmer this time, as if he'd thought about pulling away before changing his mind.

Yona hesitantly returned the kiss, moving her mouth against his slightly, and when Hak noticed, he pulled back suddenly, cheeks redder than she'd ever seen them.

They stared at each other for a solid minute, neither one of them daring to move.

"I'm not playing games with you, Princess," Hak finally said, voice no louder than a whisper.

"I know," Yona replied, and pulled him back to her by his robes, tilting her head up to reconnect their lips soundly.

Maybe she'd let things get out of hand.

For once, she really didn't mind.