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One kiss was all it took. She caught him off guard and since that day, he thought about it multiple times a day. In the morning he’d wake up and touch his lips, trying to remember how she felt when she stole his first kiss.
There was no hope denying the love he had for her any longer as she allowed him to steal more kisses from her along the way. He began to notice her always looking at him when she thought he wasn’t paying attention.
But he was always paying attention. He paid attention to her red curls as they blew in the wind. He knew where she hurt by the way that she walked. He’d catch her watching him drink water when they took breaks during sword training. He noticed the blush across her cheeks when she averted her violet eyes. Hak wanted her to look at him more. He wanted his beautiful princess to only look at him.
He hid the pangs of jealously when she called Kija beautiful. He controlled himself when Tae-Jun became more worthy in Yona’s eyes to deserve a modicum of attention. He kept his hands to himself when Jaeha teased that he would steal her away.
But Yona only kissed him. The feeling she had were for him. So, when some random guy enjoying a public hot spring next to him started talking about the rules of seduction, his ears perked.
Rule #1. She has to show she is at least a little interested in you.
She did. She is the one who opened the flood gates to his desire. He had locked his feelings up and put them away in a box somewhere up until that point. And when he pressed his lips against hers, she wouldn’t push him away unless he took it too far.
Hak secretly made mental notes. What did he have to lose? If he did this right, perhaps the dam would break. And if Yona said no, he knew without her saying it that she just meant, ‘not yet.’ He could wait if she asked. But she said she loved him and he loved no one but her. So maybe, instead of waiting for her to tell him she was ready… she was waiting for him to make his move.
Rule #2. Don’t be too direct.
He was guilty of this and when he was too direct, she pushed him away. In the moments when his kisses grew too needy; in the moments when he felt himself losing control, she was overwhelmed. He knew he scared her. When she smacked him away, he knew he deserved it.
He had to make their small moments feel safe. He had to leave her wanting more. He had to break away before he was ready. To say goodbye even when he didn’t want to. So, he did. He made the small moments more frequent. He found all the excuses to whisper in her ear. He said all the things out loud that he’d normally keep to himself.
He told her how cute she looked, even with bed head in the mornings. He told her that the way she moved with a sword was almost like dancing. He’d praise her when she stopped to do all the things that made him love her more, like feeding the sick and standing up to those that oppressed them. He stopped teasing her about her body and he told her how he actually felt, because really… she was perfect.
When he pressed kisses to her nose or temple, he did not linger. When he met her lips, he shut his hunger down. It felt natural the more frequently he kissed her for locations to grow more intimate. So, when he finally felt bold enough to kiss her neck under the stars, he walked away and pretended not to hear his name leave her lips dripping with desire. He pretended he didn’t know she reached out for a second to pull him back to her before changing her mind.
Rule #3 Create temptation.
He stopped training so far away from camp. As the heat began to swell, he had more than enough excuse to remove the top layers of clothing as he put in a soldier’s work. Oddly, he performed better as she watched. His form became more fluid as he swung his Guandao. His stretching became more advanced. His muscles became more defined. Maybe he should have been exercising with an audience this whole time.
When he was almost done, he’d invite her to pick up her sword and resume her training. He’d end with praise that she deserved as her movements became more refined. The work she put in made her more diligent than most of the men that had served underneath him before. He let it slip one day that he thought she could kick most of the asses of the guards that ran her out of her own palace and she smiled brilliantly that day.
He found himself thinking on that moment often, glad that the adversity she’d face did not permanently steal her smile.
And when they were done, they were hot. He would sit down and ask her to spill cool water over his head until his body temperature came down. Every day, he’d offer to return the favor and she’d blush and decline. She really was so cute.
And when he clothed himself again, he’d ask for her to tie the black bands around his forearms because she did it better. But really, that was just an excuse for her to be close.
Rule #4 Be vunerable.
This was the hardest part. He’d spent his entire life training to be invulnerable, so how? But the guy said it was just… talking about the things that bother you when you are alone.
So, when he and Yona had moments alone, he’d talk about how much he missed old man Mundok and his little brother Tae-Yeon. Yona turned those small vulnerable moments into longer ones. She’d ask him questions about his childhood. He’d answer and ask her questions about hers. They explored so many topics every time he picked one thing to open up about, and not one thing about talking to her felt imposing or unnatural.
Crazy how these moments never happened when they grew up together and crazier still that now, surrounded constantly by friends, they found time to be alone to create them. When they started their journey, he thought he knew everything about her and now he knew there was so much more to learn.
In the grand scheme of things, he knew he actually played a very small role in cultivating their relationship. But that didn’t mean he didn’t appreciate hearing her footsteps approach as the other’s slept when he was on night watch. It didn’t mean that when they spent hours walking to their next destination, he didn’t fondly replay their conversations in his head.
Rule #5 When she initiates, it means its real.
He was first watch, and the nights he was on first watch were his favorite, because that is when she found him for their clandestine talks about nothing and everything all at once. And tonight, as she rested her head on his chest and asked him how his day was, he silently thanked and cursed that stranger because those 5 tips weren’t about seduction. Instead, the work he’d put in the past several weeks made him fall deeper in love.
And suddenly with Yona looking at him expectantly, he realized he hadn’t told her he loved her since the first time he screamed it, loudly and angrily for everyone to hear. All the times she’d repeatedly said it to him up until now had been fuel for him to press on. Her words sustained him and he’d been obliviously denying her up until now like a fool.
He’d selfishly stolen her lips so many times and tried to take more than she was comfortable with. So instead of telling her about his day, he told her he still loved her and that he was sorry for not saying it more frequently. He’d been trying to show her he loved her, but recognized that when she had the courage to say it to him, it made his heart swell.
And this time, she lowered her lips to his and he did not pull away. He let her take control and matched her as her fingers tentatively clutched his clothes. When she threaded her fingers in his hair, he circled his hands around her waist. And when she whispered his name, he met her eyes with his own and listened instead of trying to devour her like he had many times before.
And when she said she was ready for more, he silently thanked that stranger once more because she said she’d fallen deeper in love these past few weeks and felt closer to him than ever.
This new closeness was worth so much more than a night of passion and it led to much more than just one night.
And on the nights when she lay her head on his chest again and they’d talk about nothing and everything for the next several years to come, he found himself thanking that stranger more and more.