a spring flower

Posted originally on the Archive of Our Own at http://archiveofourown.org/works/46102732.

Rating: Mature
Archive Warning: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Category: F/M
Fandom: Akatsuki no Yona | Yona of the Dawn
Relationship: Son Hak/Yona
Characters: Yoon | Yun (Akatsuki no Yona), Jae-Ha (Akatsuki no Yona), Kija
(Akatsuki no Yona), Shin-Ah (Akatsuki no Yona), Zeno (Akatsuki no
Yona)
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Timeline What Timeline,
Established Relationship, Unplanned Pregnancy, Manga Spoilers, Yoon
is So Done
Language: English
Stats: Published: 2023-03-29 Words: 2,297 Chapters: 1/1
 a spring flower
by heartnotes

Summary

When Yoon figures out the cause of Yona's morning sickness, everything changes.

Notes

This is an impossible scenario, but the idea wouldn't leave my head and now it has to make
sense so it can be presented to someone else. Let's simply assume all arcs took place in a
much longer period of time and they got together earlier.

Please.

ಥ﹏ಥ

See the end of the work for more notes

Naturally, Yoon was the first to suspect it. Yona stood up abruptly in the middle of eating her
breakfast, complaining of being nauseous — I think I came down with something, Yoon —
and soon enough the simple meal Yoon prepared for her ended up in some bush somewhere,
her body unable to keep it down for long.

As he holds back her hair, Yoon mentally crosses out the possible causes of her sickness. Not
a bad batch of food or a contagious disease, given that neither he nor Hak, nor the dragons
had similar symptoms. It couldn't be from an allergy, given that Yona's had the same
breakfast several times without issues. She wasn't the type to eat wild berries without
checking with Yoon first, and even if that was the case, how could that make her so sick for
so long?

Jae-ha's voice can still be heard from somewhere behind them. "Hey, Hak, did you secretly
cook the food or something?"

"Shut up, Jae-ha."

... Hak ?

No. It couldn't be.

...

It could definitely be.

In fact, it probably is .

Yoon didn't move even as Yona took the water canteen from his hands.

"I'm sorry if it's an intrusive question... but... when was the last time you… bled?"

Yona gives it some thought, a finger curling on her chin. "A month ago, maybe. I've been late
before, and there's been a lot on my mind... why the question?"

Yoon stormed into the campsite, dragging Yona behind him, already fighting the headache
that was starting to form. Thunder Beast or not, he was going to kill Hak.

"Hak! Hak, get over here."

Hak, oblivious to the violence awaiting him, was unable to avoid the stick that Yoon used to
strike him over the head.

"Didn't I tell you to be careful!?"

"Wh—"

Yoon hits him again.

"Sit down, both of you," he orders, pointing the stick at the fallen log their group has taken to
using as a chair. "The dragons can make themselves useful by doing anything else."

"What? Why do we have to leave?" Gi-ja crosses his arm. "I'm fine staying h—"

Jae-ha, the older of the dragons and somewhat wiser, dragged Gi-ja away. He's probably got
all this figured out. The bastard.

"You're scaring me, Yoon..."

Hak joins in pressing him for an answer. "Spit it out already, Yoon."

The princess is sick and confused and probably clueless about these matters. He's only made
it worse by acting harshly. Still, it's not easy to find the right words. It doesn't help that the
subject of all his fury is right there.

"Yona, I think you're with child."

The silence stretches. Not even the birds are singing.

"With—what? How?"

"Do I really need to tell you how? I think you must know by now, with the way you keep
sneaking out at night to be with the Thunder Beast. I'm not deaf."

Yona shakes her head in disbelief, blushing a furious shade of red. "It can't be. We were
careful."

"There was... an accident sometime ago."

The usually outspoken Thunder Beast had his head bowed down, voice quiet. Though Yoon
thought it impossible, Yona somehow blushed even redder at her lover's words.

"There was, but—but! It was one time!"

"One time is more than enough, dumbass. Now, think about what you're going to do and tell
me about it as soon as possible. What a pain, seriously."

Yoon hit them both over the head and, deciding his job was mostly done and these two
needed to talk, left to join the dragons on the outskirts of their small camp. Clearly, the
dragons were doing a terrible job of pretending to not listen to the one-sided argument.

"The young lady is pregnant. How delightful!"

"It was bound to happen sometime. They were going at it like rabbits."

"P—p—p..."

" Oooh ."

"Hak! You dog! I'll kill you!"

The only thing stopping Gi-ja from going into a rampage is a short, blonde pretty boy.

"Whatever you decide," answers Hak, when his Princess asks for his opinion on the matter.
"No matter what your choice is, I'll be there for you. That's a promise."

He squeezes her tighter, pressing the back of her head into his chest. Never in his wildest
thoughts he would have imagined that he would sleep with Yona so many times he lost count,
that he would be so careless as to put the princess of the entire kingdom — no, the eventual
Queen — in this situation.

She's scared. He can tell. Hak rubs her back, a gesture that he knows to be comforting for his
princess ever since they were little. Suddenly, Yona pulls away from his embrace. In her eyes,
there are tears of fear, of determination, her answer crystal clear before even she says it out
loud.

"I... I want to keep it. I really do. It's ours, Hak."

Ours . What an insane, beautiful concept. Hak wants to kiss the ground she's currently
stepping on and thank her, but she needs to know what's in stake. In a hurry, without being
able to face her, he speaks a warning. "It's not going to be easy. People will say things about
you. Things that aren't true. They may use it to challenge your claim to the throne."

Yona takes his rough hands into her small ones. "Then stay with me through all of it."

"Is that an order?"

"Does it need to be?"

"No," Hak answers. "No, Princess."

Yoon has little experience in this kind of health matter, but he makes it work somehow. Gi-ja
is scrambling around with worry. Sin-ha is confused, but excited about the prospect of a little
Yona. Jae-ha's teasing has increased tenfold. Zeno is unchanging. And Hak is Hak .
Protective, often overly so.

She insists on going for a walk every morning and each time she's convinced to stay put, until
she puts her foot down and gives everyone a lecture about not being so fragile that she can't
stand on her own feet. Not that any of them listened. There's always a dragon or a lover
following closely behind, even in the relative safety of the Water Tribe's capital.

(Their next destination is the Wind Tribe. The open road is no place for someone in her
condition, as Yoon's taken to calling it.)

"Let me carry that."

Yona pulls her satchel away from Hak. "It's just some spices."
He snatches it away anyways, slinging the satchel over his back.

"Hey!"

"Doctor's orders. Take it up to Yoon."

Like that would do her any good! Yoon has the authority of an enraged mother and Yona
feels very much like his idiotic daughter who got knocked up behind his back. Hak slides a
flower behind Yona's ear and though she tries to be mad at him, she secretly smiles.

"We should get married, Princess."

The smile is replaced by a look of surprise. "What?"

"We should get married."

"I heard that—but you don't need to marry me because Lili got mad at you… and because I'm
—"

He stops in the middle of the dirt path and brings her hand up to his chest. "Yona. It's true that
you're pregnant with my child and unmarried. But most importantly, I'm in love with you. Be
my wife. I promise I'll make you happy."

As soon as it came, her look of surprise morphed into teary eyes and a scrunched up face.
These days, her emotions are as erratic as the weather. Hak, confused on whether to comfort
her or let her be, awkwardly pats her head.

"Or... we can just forget this conversation happened. You don't have to cry this hard."

"I was going to say yes! You idiot!"

In a cruel twist of fate, they're forced apart. Yona manages to sneak Hak out of prison one
night, after more than one threat aimed at Kye-sook. There's a time limit to their alliance and
each passing day without Hak brings her closer to ending it sooner than intended.

Hak exhales deeply when the door of Yona's bedroom closes behind them. Yona has only
slightly grown in size since he's last seen her and Hak stares like he's forgotten what she's
looked like. The space between them is crossed by his large strides, and his strength leaves
him. There are tears on his eyes as he kneels in front of her, hands on her belly that's expertly
hidden by heavy fabric. He's dirty with dust and blood. Yona's heart aches for him.

This is because of her.

For her.

She brushes his hair that no longer holds the same softness she remembered. Hak is so much
stronger than she could ever be but there must be something, anything that she can give back.
Surely she could give him a good memory before they take him away again. She takes his
hand in hers and brings him to his feet, curling her arm around his.

"How does a bath sound?"

The defeat in the Earth Tribe has put a damper on the advances of the Kai Empire and Yoon
and Min-su are doing what they can for Soo-won and Hak is alive, alive, alive .

"Jae-ha said you didn't cry for me."

Lies . She did cry for him, so much that she barely knew what to do with herself. Yona can
hardly part herself from him, her sleep riddled with scenarios that never came to fruition but
that could have. Hak just holds her hand wherever they go. Tries to get her to eat, to get some
sunshine. As the days go by, she breathes easier.

Yona takes to spending more time inside the palace walls, away from prying eyes. She goes
to the gardens sometimes, ushered by a fussy Yoon and Sin-ha, who loves it there but would
love it more in Yona's company, as he's quietly admitted.

Miraculously, Soo-won recovers. Something in Yona tells her that his recovery is short-lived.
Min-su agrees. Yoon, not so much. Though Yona's visited Soo-won more than once, Hak has
kept distance from his childhood friend. His scar runs too deep.

Soon, they leave for the Wind Tribe. Mun-deok gives him an earful — you did what to the
Princess? — and the entire argument delved into a sparring session that felt very close to a
real battle. Still, the old man was happy. Deeply so. It shows in the way he cares for Yona,
buying her the best herbal teas money can provide and giving her precious advice.

The Wind Tribe feels like warmth in a way that Hiryuu Castle never did. There's a huge
celebration upon their arrival that becomes a night to remember for the entire village, the
dragons, and the young couple, so monumental it was. There are whispers, of course, about
Hak and Yona's sudden engagement.

It would be too much to say she pays no mind to them. Yona had the upbringing of a
princess. The guilt weights heavy on her, sometimes. But Yona has been through worse
things than being the target of gossip, and Hak is always there to pick up the burden when she
no longer can. Besides, she's with her new family—Hak's family and the dragons and
sometimes Yoon and Lili, who visit often—and her life is so full of warmth that it's hard to be
completely swallowed by such dark thoughts.

Besides, Mun-deok assured her that details get blurred. The timeline of their engagement can
be pushed back, if so needed. And it's not like Hak is a nameless soldier. If anything, their
union might prove to be quite advantageous.
Son Ji-yun is born in the spring with hair as dark as her father's and eyes that replicate the
gentle lilac of her mother's own. She's a beautiful baby. The birth was easy and quick, albeit
not painless. Later, she was told by Ayame that Hak had almost tore down the door himself in
worry. A contrast to the gentle and peaceful man that kisses her clammy forehead and speaks
words of praise in her ears.

"You did so well. Thank you."

In her sleep, Ji-yun's tiny hand curls around his pinky.

Sin-ha is good with babies. Yona's surprised she didn't humour the idea before, with how
quiet and gentle his demeanor is. Ji-yun's fussiness disappears when he's around.
Unfortunately, Gi-ja tends to bring her fussiness back. It's good that he's off somewhere,
probably hiding from the group of Wind Tribe girls that have taken a liking to him. Jae-ha is
off somewhere too, probably seeking exactly what Gi-ja is avoiding.

"The little princess looks just like the young fellow when she yawns," Zeno points out,
yawning at the end of his sentence to trigger Ji-yun into doing the same. "Look! Look!"

Oh . Yona hadn't noticed that before.

"Babies are cute," Sin-ha murmurs.

"I've seen some ugly ones too, Blue Dragon! There's one really ugly baby in the house near
the gates!"

"Zeno!"

When their daughter is barely seven months old, the war begins. The new parents know she'll
be in good hands, but it doesn't make it any less painful to leave her so soon.

"I don't want to interrupt, but it's time to go," says Tae-woo, accompanied by Tae-yeon, who's
all too eager to spoil Ji-yun with his clumsy and childish attention. "Tae-yeon, don't join
them!"

Yona laughs a bit to herself. Yes, her baby will be fine. She's not loved only by herself, after
all. Mun-deok is the next to call for them, and this time they know they must go. She watches
as Hak passes his daughter off to his grandfather, giving one last brush of his fingertips
against one puffy cheek. Yona repeats the gesture against the other cheek, and like that, she
speaks her goodbye.

"We'll be back soon, Ji-yun."

End Notes

Ji-yun (지온) = from Sino-Korean 志 "purpose, will, determination", 祉 "happiness,

blessings, good luck" or 智 "wisdom" (ji), and 胤 "heir; posterity", 潤 "soft; sleek" or 允 "to
grant, to allow, to consent" (yun).

In my country, it's said that daughters usually take after their fathers. I like to imagine this is
the case for Ji-yun.

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