The Varied Path (Akatsuki no Yona Fanfiction)

Chapter 61: Too Late

Calista blushed, looking away when he caught her staring at her. Sitting down on the side of the dirt road, she tapped her shoes together awkwardly.

"Shoulder..."

She hummed questioningly, looking up at the still standing dragon now looming over her. Leaning on her hands, she craned her neck to get a better look, but it turned out to be unnecessary.

He crouched down in front of her, examining her closely.

Coughing to disguise her stutter as she realized how close he was, her gaze darted away from his. He frowned, lifting a hand to cup her chin and tilt her face so that she didn't shy away from him.

"You're hurt." He commented softly, brushing her cheek as he saw the faint bruise under her eye.

Calista removed his hands, bringing them back down gently. "It's nothing, really." She insisted. 

She had gone through worse.

But he didn't leave it alone. Dipping into her satchel on her hip, he pulled out a roll of gauze and a small container of ointment Yoon had put there for emergencies.

She hissed slightly in discomfort as he pushed off the shoulder of her shirt, revealing the bloody mess left behind. At the frown that set across his features, she smiled sheepishly.

"I was going to get around to it soon..."

He gestured for her to remove her shirt so that he could take care of it now, then blushed when he realized that her torso would practically be bare. Images of her taking a bath in the stream resurfaced in his mind and he silently begged the heavens above to get rid of the burning that had spread across his face.

She wondered why he looked so flushed all of the sudden. 

Calista turned around and he unbuttoned the well-made shirt from behind, peeling off the layer by her shoulder to clean and bandage the wound. It wasn't bad, but if left untreated for another day, it was going to become infected.

The extensive scars on her back had all finally closed, but he still couldn't contain the anger bubbling up inside of him at the sight of the jagged scars.

"I think I bashed it against a boulder in the valley." She confessed sheepishly as his brow furrowed.

He cleaned it swiftly, jaw clenching as the deep, ugly wound revealed itself to him.

She flinched in pain as he swiped ointment over it, then sighed as his nimble fingers swiftly wrapped the cotton around it, closing the gaping injury.

"Thanks, Shin-ah."

He nodded, kneeling down to put away the rest of the supplies in her satchel. She watched him for a while before realizing why it looked so familiar to her. It was just like when she first met him, back when he saved her in the catacombs.

"Did you ever think you would end up here?"

Tilting his head curiously, he waited for her to elaborate.

Calista lifted her eyes to his, silver swirling with emotion. "I mean, you lived all of your life in the dark, with people who didn't treasure you and now look," She waved to the air around them excitedly. "You're with people who love you and you're thriving!!"

Shin-ah was speechless. 

Resting her chin in the palm of her hand, her silver eyes sparkled in the sun. "I'm just so happy that you chose to join us that day."

He sat down beside her, angling his body so that he was still facing her. 

"... Really?"

Calista smiled widely. "Yeah, Shin-ah. I am."