A Peaceful Silence (Akatsuki no Yona Shinah X OC)

Yona and Ezra

Later that evening, they were gathered by the pirates' dock as the pirates hustled about, performing various chores for their captain. Kija was helping them carry things onto the boat, hauling several boxes with his dragon arm. Yun was sitting on a crate, his nose buried in a book. Ezra stood off to the side, not offering to help. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Hak walking towards Yona. He grabbed the princess's hands and seemed to be chiding her for their pitiful state. Ezra laughed to herself as she turned away from the pair.

She found Shinah sitting on the ground a little apart from the activity. She sat next to him, watching the pirates hustle to and fro.

"Are you alright, Shinah?" she asked quietly.

Shinah tilted his head at her in curiosity before he nodded.

She grinned at him. "You wear a mask, so you have the benefit of being able to hide the majority of your emotions from the rest of the world. But I could tell you were just as worried as we all were up on that cliff."

Shinah let out a small sigh before nodding, smiling slightly.

"I'm just glad she's alright," Ezra said softly. "She performed her task, and now she'll be allowed to fight alongside us against Kumji."

Shinah nodded.

Suddenly Yona appeared, running with her hands clasped to her chest. She looked distraught, her violet eyes wide and darting around her surroundings.

"Yona?" Ezra called out, concerned. "Are you alright?"

"Oh! Ezra!" Yona breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm... I'm alright."

She looked flushed and flustered, with a bright blush spread across her cheeks. Ezra stood, giving Shinah a small goodbye smile before walking to the red-haired princess. "Do you want to talk about it?" Ezra asked. She glanced down at Yona's hands and noticed that they were covered in something golden and sticky... honey?

"Actually... actually, yeah," Yona mumbled.

"Walk with me," Ezra said with a smile. Together, she and her friend began walking through the forest, following a well-worn path.

"What happened?" Ezra asked after a few minutes of silence.

"It... it was Hak," Yona murmured, blushing. Ezra raised an eyebrow, curious. "He was acting weird."

Ezra glanced at Yona's hands. "Does it have anything to do with the fact that your hands are covered in honey?"

"Oh," Yona said, startled. "No... well, yes. I'd gotten thorns stuck in my hands when I picked the senjuso. I tried getting them out with a needle, but..."

Ezra grimaced in sympathy. "Ouch."

Yona smiled softly. "Yeah. And then Hak told me that if we put honey over them, they'll come out on their own."

Ezra nodded. "Makes sense."

"So he was pouring honey over my hands, and then I think he wasn't paying attention, because it began to overflow..." Yona trailed off, her cheeks bright red.

"This is going somewhere very interesting, I can tell," Ezra said, grinning devilishly.

"Don't tease me!" Yona chided.

Ezra laughed. "Sorry, sorry! Please continue."

"And so, to keep it from overflowing, he... he..." Yona pressed her lips together, her face flaming as brightly as her hair.

"He what?" Ezra asked.

"He began to lick it off," Yona mumbled, so quietly Ezra couldn't hear.

"What'd you say?" she asked.

"I said he began to lick it off my hands!" Yona cried, squeezing her eyes shut in embarrassment.

"Oh, is that all?" Ezra said, grinning. Her lavender eyes twinkled with amusement as she pictured the scene. No wonder the innocent princess was so flustered.

Yona's eyes widened in shock. "You're teasing me again!"

Ezra chuckled. "Yes, Yona, I'm teasing you." Hak's feelings towards the princess seemed obvious to everyone except the princess herself. Ezra knew that Hak preferred to keep the princess in ignorance; Yona was dealing with enough as it was. He didn't want to confuse her by burdening her with what he believed to be his wholly inappropriate feelings. "I'm sure Hak didn't mean anything by it," she reassured Yona. "He probably just didn't want to waste the honey."

"You... you think?" The relief that shone in Yona's violet eyes probably would've offended Hak, had he been there to see it.

It's definitely best to keep his feelings hidden for now, Ezra thought to herself. He'd probably scare her if she knew how deeply he cares for her.

She smiled at Yona, knowing that more than anything, the princess wasn't ready for that sort of relationship, especially with Hak. "I'm positive. Now, since there's no need to be freaking out, shall we head back? Kija, Shinah, and Hak are sure to be worried about you."

Yona was quiet for a few moments as they walked back. "You seem to be getting along really well with Shinah," she said quietly.

Ezra grinned. "He's good company. A little on the quiet side, but it's somehow peaceful being around him."

Yona eyed Ezra with a shrewd expression. "You always seem to smile a bit brighter when you're around him," she told her.

Ezra frowned. "Do I?"

Yona laughed. "Yes."

"Hmm." Ezra trailed off, deep in thought. "I guess I like to see him smile. I don't know anything about his past, but it seems like he's been through a lot. His laugh is just adorable, too."

Yona stopped in her tracks. Ezra glanced back at her, confused. "You've heard him laugh?" the princess asked.

Ezra shrugged. "Sometimes I rant to him about random happenings. He seems to find them amusing."

A mysterious smile played around Yona's mouth. "I see," she said, almost to herself.

"See what?"

"Oh, nothing." Yona's grin was extremely suspicious, but Ezra knew that she probably wouldn't get any answers out of her red-haired friend.

"Whatever, Ms. All-Knowing. Shall we get going?"

"Yep!" Yona chirped, bounding forward to link arms with Ezra. Together, the two made their way back to the pirates' bay.

When the women returned to the dock, the pirates had finished their preparations. Hak stood off to the side, worry in his bright blue eyes. He appeared almost nervous as he watched the girls approach.

This expression disappeared when Yona sent him a small smile. His gaze shifted to Ezra, and she gave the former general a wink. Relief showed plainly on his face as he offered a slight smile in return.

Ezra went to stand beside him as some pirates helped Yona onto the ship.

"You really freaked her out, you know," Ezra told him, watching as Yona grinned brightly at the pirates in thanks.

"I... I didn't mean..." Hak blushed heavily.

Ezra laughed. "You're lucky she's dense enough to be the only one in our group to not see it. But even she will catch on if you keep it up." Without giving the Thunder Beast another glance, she walked off, waving over her shoulder. Hak watched her go with a mixture of exasperation and amusement in his light blue eyes.