duty bound to love you

Posted originally on the Archive of Our Own at http://archiveofourown.org/works/46637173.

Rating: Not Rated

Archive Warning: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Category: M/M
Fandom: Akatsuki no Yona | Yona of the Dawn
Relationship: Jae-Ha/Kija (Akatsuki no Yona)
Characters: Jae-Ha (Akatsuki no Yona), Kija (Akatsuki no Yona), Son Hak, Yona
(Akatsuki no Yona), Yoon | Yun (Akatsuki no Yona), Shin-Ah (Akatsuki
no Yona), Zeno (Akatsuki no Yona)
Additional Tags: Jae-ha is stupid, so is Kija, I feel like Jae-ha would definitely run from
his feelings, Hak and Jae-ha solidarity, Kija is a softie, Jae-ha is also a
softie
Language: English
Stats: Published: 2023-04-21 Words: 3,806 Chapters: 1/1
 duty bound to love you
by peachybonsai

Summary

Jae-ha runs in the face of his feelings. Kija stares them head on.

Notes
See the end of the work for notes
“It’s Kija isn’t it?”

Blinking, Jae-ha looks up from where he’s grinding dirt under his boot, noticing Hak sitting
down on the dirt next to him. The others are gathered around the fire a little ways in front of
them, wrapped up in their own world as Yoon and Yona begin to clean away their dishes,
Zeno asleep on the ground as he usually does to avoid after dinner clean-up.

“Huh?” Is all Jae-ha can think to ask, because he’s not exactly sure what Hak is getting at.

“It’s Kija. He’s the reason you’re planning on slipping away in the middle of the night.”

Stunned, Jae-ha raises an eyebrow, narrowing his eyes at Hak.

“How did you-“

“I didn’t, but I had a hunch. Thanks for the confirmation.” Hak smirks, but it falls almost
immediately, his expression shifting to one of seriousness.

Sighing, Jae-ha runs a hand over his face, trailing it down and rubbing the back of his neck,
digging his heels deeper into the dirt.

“I suppose this means you’re going to try and stop me.” Jae-ha says, close to admitting defeat
before the threat even comes. However he’s surprised when Hak grunts, shaking his head.

Hak turns to face him, looking away from the fire and staring straight into Jae-ha’s soul, his
eyes sharp and piercing, yet soft in a such a way that screams of Hak.

“I can’t blame you.” Is all he says, and Jae-ha nods, his chest coiling with a familiar pity,
both for himself and Hak.

Looking back to the fire, his eyes are instantly drawn to Kija. He’s sitting next to Shin-ah, his
big blue eyes sparkling as he excitedly fills Shin-ah in on all the details he’d missed from his
and Jae-ha’s run in with bandits just earlier that morning.

His stomach turns, and he fights the images of the morning from flooding his mind. The
bandits were no match for one of them let alone two, yet Jae-ha was distracted. He’d been
distracted a lot lately, and it led to the fight being much longer and messier than it needed to.
Luckily neither of them were injured, but Jae-ha had endured a lengthy lecture from Kija for
letting his guard down, though all Jae-ha could focus on was how pink Kija’s lips were and
the way they moved when he spoke.

He’d been thinking about that a lot actually, among other things. It was getting harder to
share a tent with the white dragon for fear of what might happen if he stays in his proximity
too long, and he finds himself moving to touch Kija more often now, even if it’s only a
simple brush of shoulders.

Jae-ha should probably be surprised, but he’s truly not. Ever since meeting Kija his life has
taken a turn he never would’ve expected. Yona, Hak, and the others mattered to him of
course, but the way he felt towards Kija was different.

He knew what it was almost immediately, and he’d been fighting off every impulse to act
upon his desires for weeks, and it was only this morning he truly realized he couldn’t protect
Kija or Yona in the state he was in.

How Hak figured out his plans, Jae-ha isn’t sure, seeing as though he hadn’t thought of it
until much later in the day. However Hak was preceptive like that, and it wouldn’t surprise
Jae-ha if Hak had been privy to this information for weeks now.

“Take care of her highness in my absence, dark dragon.” Jae-ha jokes, and Hak snorts a
laugh, shaking his head to himself slightly. Standing again, Hak sighs and stretches his back,
picking up his glaive up off the ground.

“I’ve got that covered droopy eyes. Just don’t come crying to me when White Snake hunts
you down.”

It’s Jae-ha’s turn to laugh, and he smiles as he watches Hak walk over to Yona and the others,
immediately crouching down to tease her highness. Jae-ha smiles at the scene, turning his
eyes back to Kija.

He isn’t looking at him, rather he’s lecturing Hak about being nicer to Yona, his hand raised
and finger pointed to the sky.

Jae-ha can’t help but soften at the sight, and he sighs, picking himself up off the dirt and
moving towards his and Kija’s shared tent for the last time, sparing one last glance to the
white dragon before heading inside to get some rest in before his daring escape.

Kija wakes up to the sounds of muffled, angry whispering outside his tent, sunlight streaking
through the open slit in the fabric. Groaning, he sits up, rubbing his eyes and blinking quickly
to adjust to the sight in front of him.

All his comrades stand at the entrance to his tent, their expression a mix between surprised
and tense. Yona and Yoon are whispering angrily at Hak, while Shin-ah and Zeno stare
blankly at the three arguing, Zeno’s face creased into a wince.

“What’s going on?” He asks before he can think, jumping as they all snap their eyes to him.
He stands, dusting off his skirts, and they all back away to let him through the tent opening.
The sun is even brighter now, and if he had to guess it was about mid morning. Everyone is
still looking at him funny, and that’s when he notices the absence of Jae-ha.

Scrunching his eyebrows together, he pouts out his lips. Jae-ha always wakes him up before
he leaves to say goodbye, so why suddenly did he let Kija sleep in?

“Where’s Jae-ha?” He asks, and he grows even more confused as Zeno makes a worried face,
looking over to Yona and Yoon, who both equally look torn.
No one steps up to answer Kija’s question, and fear rises in his throat as he realizes
something is seriously wrong.
“Did something happen to him?” He asks, panic beginning to seep into his bones, and that’s
when Hak finally steps in, grabbing his shoulder to steady him.

“Calm down white snake, nothing like that happened.” He says, trying to comfort him, but it
only frustrates him more.

“Then where is he?!” He shouts, and it causes even Hak to flinch. He’s breathing heavily at
this point, and the dragon bond between him and Jae-ha seems far away and muffled, anxiety
jumping around in his body.

Hak sighs, looking at Yoon and Yona once before they both nod. Turning back to Kija, he
gives a smile that doesn’t reach his eyes, and Kija’s hands begin to shake.

“Droopy eyes left in the middle of the night. Told me last night he needed some time away.”
Hak explains, and Kija can hardly believe what he’s hearing.

Time away? Jae-ha? But what about Yona? What about him? They always did things
together, they were practically attached at the hip at that point. Why would Jae-ha just up and
leave him?

“W-where did he go?” Kija asks, still trying to process the information he’s been told.

Hak merely shrugs, dropping his hand off Kija’s shoulder and moving back. Yona moves to
take his hand for comfort, but before she can he moves, crossing his arms over his chest and
shaking his head.

“That idiot.” He mutters, anger beginning to simmer below the surface of his rib cage. Yona
moves forward still, her hands up as she goes to speak.

“Kija, he had no obligation to stay here-“

“He should know better! He’s a dragon warrior, how could he just leave her highness and us
all here?!” He shouts at no one in particular, and before anyone can move to stop him he
turns, closing his eyes and heading in the direction he feels their bond the strongest.

“Where are you going?!” Yona calls, and he huffs, not turning back as he continues into the
woods.

“I’m bringing that jerk back here! You guys go on ahead I’ll meet back up once I’ve smacked
some sense into him!” He shouts, bursting out into a sprint before Yona can order Hak to
restrain him.

The wind rushes past him as he runs as fast as possible, following the faint feeling of their
bond. It was never this faint before when they were traveling to Awa the first time, and Kija
feels tears stinging his eyes as he realizes Jae-ha is deliberately suppressing the bond.

‘Jae-ha you idiot.’ He thinks, sniffling and pushing past branches as he runs, following what
little left of Jae-ha remains in him.
-

Jae-ha finds himself posted up in an inn for the night. After alternating between walking and
flying for the past twelve-ish hours, he’s in desperate need of a rest. Thankfully, he stumbles
upon a port town not unlike Awa, and the first inn he happens across has one available room
left.

Luck was definitely on his side, and as he walked into his room and dropped his pack of
belongings on the floor, he sighed happily as he fell back on the bed. It was so warm and
comfortable, and he fought the urge to sink into the mattress. Unfortunately, it was still only
early evening, and he couldn’t afford to lose time.

By now he definitely felt Kija pounding in his blood, physically trying to force himself
through the bond while Jae-ha tried desperately to keep him out. He knew Kija would be
angry, but the way he feels him is a broiling rage he can’t really describe.

Thankfully he’s sure Hak and the others are with him, keeping him from doing anything
irrational or stupid. But he knows they can’t hold someone like Kija off for long, and so he
sets out into town. He’s hoping he can find some kind of last minute job on a ship, or even
find somewhere to stow away for the time being.
All he knows is he needs to be out of Kohka, and the best way to do that is by ship.

Walking in town at night is much livelier than he expected, and he smirks as a few women
wave and coo at him from their windows, trying to entice him into their establishment.
Usually he might, but he’s on a time crunch.

Besides, none of them are the person he truly wants, and it’s better if he doesn’t waste time.

He sees a few men along the dock loading a few lone cargo boxes onto a ship, probably
finishing up for the night, and he smiles. Bingo, there’s his ride. He doubts he’ll find the
captain at this hour though, so he decides he’ll just stow away. It’s not like it’s nothing he’d
ever done before, and he sighs, satisfied with his find.

Thankfully the boat is seemingly departing in the morning, at least if the crew members
staying late to finish up is any indication, so he decides to head back to his inn for the night.
He needs sleep if he’s going to get up early again and stow away, and he’s running on a
severe lack of rest.

Turning back, he walks more comfortably now, whistling as he takes in the sea breeze and
quiet chatter of the town. It reminds him of days with the captain, before his feelings got all
tangled up in a messy little ball. He misses those days sometimes, but he can’t help but be
thankful he got to know Yona and Hak and the other dragons, especially Kija.

Jae-ha smiles as he thinks of Kija’s smiling face, and the little pout he’d get when Jae-ha
teased him too much. He sees Kija’s face like a painting in his head, mesmerizing and
addicting, and guilt swims low in his stomach as he thinks about how angry Kija must be at
him right now. The pounding on their bond has stilled completely, leaving him empty and
alone. It’s like the silent treatment, and it makes me smile sadly.
“Kija must be really angry to give up on me huh?” He asks as he looks up at the sky, taking a
deep breath.

“Oh I’m angry all right.”

Jae-ha snaps his head forward at the voice, and he comes face to face with Kija. His clothing
is torn and he’s breathing heavily, leaning against the side of a building. He’s sweating like
crazy, but his glare is so intense it sends a shiver down Jae-ha’s spine.

“Kija-kun?” Jae-ha asks, shocked that he didn’t sense him earlier, and Kija’s glare gets even
sharper.

“Don’t Kija-kun me, you-“ he stops, slumping a little further down the wall, and Jae-ha
rushes forward, catching him before he collapses onto the ground. Kija could barely form any
words, worn out and breathing hard from seemingly running so hard. Jae-ha instantly feels
the guilt from before returning tenfold, and he pulls Kija closer into his chest and picks him
up.

“Rest Kija-kun, we can talk when we get back to my inn.”

Kija makes a small noise of protest, but curls into Jae-ha’s chest nonetheless, grabbing his
shirt tightly in his fist to make sure he wouldn’t go anywhere. Jae-ha’s heart swells, and his
breath catches in his throat as Kija shuts his eyes and lets himself relax in Jae-ha’s arms.

He can feel Kija through their bond again, but instead of a pounding it’s a faint tapping, and
he begrudgingly lets him in. It’s an instant weight off his shoulder as he feels Kija invade his
very being, but it scares him to no end.

His inn is in sight, and he walks faster as it grows closer, anxious to get Kija out of his arms
before he does something they’ll both regret.

The first thing Kija thinks when he opens his eyes is that it’s definitely not the roof of a tent
he’s looking at, or the stars. It’s a real, actual roof.

The second thing he thinks is that he really needs water.

Sitting up, Kija looks around. He’s laying on a soft bed, his head nestled between two freshly
washed pillows, and he himself is clean. His hair isn’t wet, so he definitely hasn’t bathed, but
the dirt on his hands and arms is gone and his dirty white cloak is laying off on the floor, a
comfortable blue ryokan in place of his usual robes.

He’s not exactly sure where he is, but his head snaps towards the door as he hears it roll open.
Jae-ha walks inside, carrying a tray of tea. He’s in his own matching ryokan, and his hair is
let down. He immediately sees Kija, smiling softly though it doesn’t reach his eyes, and he
comes over and places the tea tray down on the nightstand next to the bed, sitting on the side
and turning to Kija.
“Are you feeling ok?” He asks, reaching up and brushing a piece of hair out of Kija’s face.
His face is soft yet somber, and Kija remembers why he’s here suddenly.

That’s right, Jae-ha ran away from him.

Scrunches up his brows, he glares at the man in front of him. Jae-ha sighs, the faux smile still
present on his face as he moves his hand away from Kija’s face.

“You’re still angry.” He states, and Kija feels more than angry. He’s furious and he’s hurt, and
his glare hardens.

“Of course I’m still angry idiot.” He snaps, and Jae-ha puffs out a pathetic laugh, shaking his
head.

“I can’t say I’m surprised.” Is all he says in response, and Kija huffs in annoyance, moving
towards where Jae-ha sits at the edge of the bed.

“Why are you running away?” He cuts straight to the point, and clearly he hits the mark as
Jae-ha’s fake smile falters, however he doesn’t say anything. Kija scoots forward even
further, now directly next to Jae-ha, who refuses to look his way.
“Why did you leave in the middle of the night with no warning?” He asks again, and Jae-ha
sighs.

Jae-ha turns his eyes to look at Kija, and he’s surprised to see the intense sadness in his violet
irises.
“I needed time away.” Is all he says, and Kija grows even more frustrated at the vague
answer.

“Away from what!” He demands, and when Jae-ha makes no move to answer he continues.
“What good does running away do?! Why are you trying to leave her highness??” He
borderline shouts, and when that doesn’t a response he chokes, tears welling up in his eyes as
he’s overcome by his emotions, the sadness that Jae-ha truly did intend to leave finally hitting
him full force.

“Why are you trying to leave me?” He asks, quietly and defeated, and that makes Jae-ha snap
his eyes to him. Kija sniffles, bringing his hands to his face to hide his tears. “Do you truly
hate me that much?”

“Kija-kun that’s not why-“

“Then why?!” He looks up, not bothering to hide his sobbing, and he sees Jae-ha’s shocked
face through blurry vision.

They stay there, staring at each other for what feels like an eternity, until suddenly Jae-ha’s
lips are on his own, his hands coming up to hold his face close. Kija feels his eyes go wide,
his entire body alight and warm as Jae-ha pushes into him, his lips dry and slightly chapped.

He pulls away before Kija can think to do anything, and he sees the storm of emotions in Jae-
ha’s eyes as they beg him to let him go.
“That’s why, that’s why Kija my dear. Do you understand? I don’t know what I’ll do if-“

Kija cuts him off, throwing himself at him and pulling him in for another kiss. This one is
bruising, less gentle and restrained, and Kija wraps his arms tightly around Jae-ha’s neck to
keep him close.
His whole body feels like it’s on fire, and he whines as Jae-ha kisses back just as hard. He
gasps as Jae-ha's hands suddenly grab Kija’s waist and he pulls him forward hard, settling
him in his lap and pulling his legs over his hips. He feels Jae-ha’s tongue slide into his mouth
at the same time, and he melts into the touch.

Everything feels like it’s on fire, and Kija arches his body into Jae-ha’s, sitting on his thighs
and pulling him even closer by his neck, tears running down his cheeks as relief floods his
entire body, making way for a burning passionate desire. Jae-ha’s hands burn a trail over his
hips to his stomach and back, the sensation causing Kija to whine again involuntarily.

Jae-ha pulls away, breathing heavily as his eyes meet Kija’s. They’re heavy lidded, and his
lip is wet and glistening in the candle light of the inn.
“Kija-“ Jae-ha starts in a whisper, but Kija can’t help himself when he surges forward,
wrapping his legs around Jae-ha’s back and burying his face into his neck.

“I love you.” He whispers, and he feels Jae-ha shiver, but he doesn’t let up his grip, desperate
for Jae-ha to hear him. “Don’t leave me please.” He begs, and he hears the dragon above him
choke for a second before arms come to circle around his back, bringing Kija flush to his
chest.

“I won’t.” He says quietly, barely loud enough for Kija to hear. “I’ll never leave you again.”

Morning comes, and Jae-ha misses his boat. Though, if he’s honest, he wasn’t actually trying
to make it. Instead, he spent the time he should’ve been sneaking onto a cargo ship in bed, the
gorgeous visage of the white dragon curled up in his arms.
When Kija finally awoke it was mid morning, which didn’t surprise Jae-ha as the white
dragon was known for being a late riser. And Jae-ha was lucky enough to be there when Kija
first opened his eyes, his long lashes fluttering open to reveal his big blue eyes. As soon as
his eyes made contact with Jae-ha’s own, his pretty pale skin lit up a bright pink, and he
gasped under his breath.

It was the most endearing sights Jae-ha had ever seen, and he couldn’t help but kiss Kija
happily, smiling so hard as he held him close in his arms.

By the time the morning ended, Kija insisted they needed to get out of bed and start making
their way back to the others. Jae-ha of course didn’t make it that easy, wrapping his arms
around Kija’s waist from behind and kissing his neck as he put on his regular clothing.
It was as if a switch flipped, and suddenly all the emotions Jae-ha had been bottling up for
weeks came flooding out, manifesting in constant affection. Though, Kija didn’t seem to
mind outside of halfhearted protests.
By the time they got on the road, the sun was high in the sky. Kija was much better at
tracking, so he led the way. Outside of the inn, Jae-ha suddenly began to feel more reserved.
He knew Kija felt the same, but that was the extent of what he knew. He had no clue what
was going to happen when they reunited with everyone, and he didn’t know if he could go
back to the way things were before.

“I can sense Shin-ah and Zeno around where fire tribe territory is, so we should probably
head there.” Kija says out loud, but Jae-ha is barely listening, staring at Kija’s hand intently.

Jae-ha moves forward, grabbing Kija’s hand in his own. The white dragon stops talking,
turning to look at Jae-ha with a shy blush on his face.
“Kija-kun.” Jae-ha starts, and Kija makes a face, but he continues. “We should talk.”

Kija’s flush goes bigger, traveling down his face to his neck, and he fidgets uncomfortably
though his grip on Jae-ha’s hand tightens.

“Ok.” He says simply, suddenly reserved compared to the prior night.

Moving forward to stand in front of him, Jae-ha takes his other hand in his own, ignoring the
protests from Kija about his claw. Intertwining their fingers, Jae-ha smiles down at the man
he loves, fighting the urge not to kiss the pout off his face.

“Kija-kun-“

“What happened to my dear?” Kija cuts him off, and Jae-ha has to keep himself from
laughing as Kija makes an angry face, scrunching up his brows. It’s adorable, but Jae-ha tells
himself to focus.

“Kija my dear-“ He emphasizes this time, and Kija gets redder, smiling. “When we get back,
what will we tell the others?” He asks.

Kija gives him a confused look, turning up to look at him fully.

“We’ll tell them that we’re lovers.” Kija says simply, and Jae-ha chuckles. That’s what he
loves so much about his precious Kija, how honest he is.

Smiling, Jae-ha leans down and kisses Kija, who eagerly kisses him back. Jae-ha smiles as
Kija puts his arms around his neck, happily sighing as they mold together into one for the
first of many times to come.
End Notes

Is this a dead fandom? Maybe but I don’t care I love them.

Yes I wrote this instead of my other fics no I don’t apologize anyway I hope you enjoyed cuz
I had fun writing it

Drink water 😠
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