AN: Some short speculations on possibilities for post Hak's confession. Each chapter starts from the end of Chapter 152. Hak's got a lot of emotions to sort through. Which one is going to surface to the top?

I. Levity

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Yoon and the dragons wearing dumbstruck expressions matching Yona's.

A chuckle slid from his lips as he glanced around, the situation striking him, suddenly, as hilariously funny.

"Wow. If only I had known that was what it took to get some quiet around here. I could have said this ages ago." He snickered, then broke into laughter as Yoon and the dragons' faces started to look a little worried. Perhaps they were questioning his sanity. He couldn't blame them- never in a hundred years would he had guessed he would lost his temper and bellow his feelings at Yona. The princess's dumbstruck expression was still frozen in place.

He never would have admitted it to anyone else, but he was extremely satisfied by the look on her face…. There was a wildness to her bewildered eyes, her cheeks so red they almost matched her hair.

There. Let HER be the one tied up in knots. For once, he was not going to be the one all twisted up about their relationship. He liked her. That was it. He felt calm. Strangely normal. Cheerful, even.

He raised an eyebrow at Yona, who had fallen to the ground at his proclamation.

"You alright, there?" She was still staring at him, wide-eyed. "Good news, I don't think you can get any redder- oh, never mind." He couldn't help the smirk that curled across his lips as Yona flushed even more. "You look like you need a hand, Princess." He reached out, waiting for her reaction. Her bright eyes blinked.

"Eh-uh- ah," she sputtered, breaking the spellbound trance. Hak gave her a long look.

"That bad?" he wondered aloud, voice thoughtful. After she kissed him, he had- foolishly maybe- thought that – maybe – there was a chance. A chance. The very slightest chance that she had started to care for him as he cared for her. And yet now- he wondered if maybe the dragons were right to worry that he had snapped under pressure- he felt completely at ease with where they were. He was home. He loved her. And he had told her. He would let her be if she asked. "Have I alarmed you, Princess?" he asked softly, starting to pull his hand back-

"No!" He was taken by surprise as Yona snatched his hand, her grip much tighter than he would have expected. "No, I- you-" She floundered for words, much to Hak's amusement. "Stay."

Master and dog, Hak had once heard Zeno describe their relationship with the Princess. The memory made him grin.

"What if I don't want to stay?" he asked, eyes glittering. Before she could protest, he knelt beside her, coming closer. "What if I want to be right here, Princess?" He leaned in, stopping about a foot from her face. He heard her intake of breath. Then she nodded, ever so gently, as if afraid she would spook him. His grin widened, and he moved a few inches closer. "Or here?" Then, determined not to press her too much, he tilted his head to the left, moving away from her. "Or here-" Finally, he heard her huff of exasperation, which set him alight with happiness.

Then she closed the distance.