Hongjoong froze. Everything shut down within him, to the point that he wasn't even sure he knew how to move anymore.

The blank but scared gaze Mingi was giving him right now ripped through him and crushed the thin shred of hope he had been hanging on to.

No one else in the room seemed to know how to react either. They all looked between each other, rooted to the spot they had been in since Mingi opened his eyes.

Hongjoong heard San slip off Wooyoung's bed and run out of the room, but he couldn't bring himself to look away from the terrified look on Mingi's face.

"I-" He started to say, but his lips just couldn't form the words.

And the worst part was the almost blank look in Mingi's eyes when he met Hongjoong's gaze.

It felt like his stomach wouldn't stop flipping when Hongjoong realized... is this how Mingi felt when he first came to find the others?

What an awful feeling...

"Please, I don't understand. Where am I?" Mingi said again. He looked like he was ready to bolt. His gaze fell down to the tubes sticking out of his arm and he gasped. "What happened to me?!"

The door to the room opened and Dr. Kim came running in with San, who returned to Wooyoung's side while the doctor stopped at Mingi's bed.

"Mingi, I need you to take a deep breath. My name is Dr. Kim and I've been taking care of you. I'm going to ask you a few questions, ok?" When Mingi nodded, the doctor gave him a reassuring nod and held up his clipboard to write on. "Can you tell me what you remember?"

The thief blinked several times and stared at his hands. His face went completely blank. "I..."

"Alright, it's ok. We will start with something simpler. Can you tell me your name?"

Once again, Mingi blinked. Then he looked scared again and started breathing heavily. "I- I don't know. Why don't I know?"

"Alright, Son, please stay calm. You have been through a lot, but I am going to take care of you, I promise." Dr. Kim spoke slowly while reaching for the IV and turning a little knob.

Within a matter of seconds, Mingi's eyelids started to droop and he fell back into his pillows.

"What did you do to him?" Hongjoong stepped forward in a panic.

"He's fine, I just filtered in a sedative so he can sleep it off."

"Clearly he isn't fine!" Hongjoong felt the lid containing his anger fly off at full speed. "He can't even remember his name! What is wrong with him?"

Dr. Kim ran his tongue over his lips and scrunched his nose.

"Namjoon, you be-" Hongjoong started to growl, but the doctor cut him off.

"It's possible he has amnesia. That's why he can't even remember his name." Dr. Kim locked eyes with Hongjoong and kept his tone even. "It's not entirely uncommon for someone who's taken a blow to the head, especially with what happened to Mingi."

"A-Amnesia?" Hongjoong glanced down at the thief again and walked forward to take his hand.

"With how his brain scans have been, I don't think there is any long term damage, so I'm fairly certain he will regain his memory. However, there's no way to predict how long that will take. It could be hours, it could be weeks, or even months. Each case is different."

Hongjoong once agin felt like he was having a hard time absorbing everything the doctor was saying. It was like he was sinking and trying to inhale oxygen but all he was doing was gulping down water.

The news of Mingi's condition spread quickly to everyone else who hadn't been present for the diagnosis. Soon everyone was gathered in the med bay once more, all huddled around Wooyoung's bed to discuss how they wanted to handle things.

Hongjoong let them talk for awhile. His mind was too messy for him to have coherent thoughts. The idea of Mingi forgetting him hurt more than he would have ever been able to guess.

It almost wanted to make him curse Mingi for capturing his heart and making him care so much. He had never been this soft before.

Hell, he was one of the most dangerous men around with all the power he had!

Or... used to have.

Hongjoong hadn't even had a chance to think about what was going to happen with his black market now that the Pack was gone. Odds were it wouldn't be needed anymore. He should probably look at calling his contacts to see what they think.

"Joong?"

"Huh?" Hongjoong's head snapped up and he saw everyone staring at him.

Yeosang glanced at the others before speaking again, "We wanted to know what you thought."

"About what?"

The hacker hesitated and cleared his throat. "About us, um, telling Mingi about everything. Like, how he met us in this life and such, to see if that jogs his memory at all. We can take it slow so as not to overwhelm him."

"Oh." Hongjoong nodded slowly. "Yeah, yeah that sounds like a good idea."

"We're not going to give up on him." Yunho said, reaching over with his long arm to place a hand on Hongjoong's shoulder.

"Just like he didn't give up on us." Jongho added.

Hongjoong looked around at his team and tried to give them a grateful smile. "Thanks guys. I appreciate it." He turned to look at Mingi once more, then went to sit at his side.

It was the only place he knew he belonged right now, and he would be there for Mingi until he either regained his memories, or sent Hongjoong away.

.

.

.

.

Wooyoung watched as Hongjoong settled in next to Mingi once more and found himself wishing there was something he could do to help his friends.

They had done so much for him and he would do anything for them to feel the happiness he felt in his soul.

As the others started to leave, he noticed Seonghwa was trying to walk out too, which made Wooyoung sit up a little more. "Hwa?" The older stopped and his shoulders dropped. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing Youngie, I just..." Seonghwa swallowed and kept his eyes on the floor.

A spark of anger nipped at Wooyoung and he shoved his tongue into his left cheek. "Why does it feel like you're avoiding me?"

That must have struck a chord because Seonghwa clenched his fists a couple of times, then let his hands relax. "I'm sorry." He said quietly.

Wooyoung almost bit back, wanting to know what exactly Seonghwa was sorry for, but instead he asked, "Will you help me take a walk?"

"It's too soon, Woo. You're leg-"

"Then get a wheelchair. I just want to get out of this room. Please?"

Seonghwa looked like he wanted to argue, then thought better of it. It took him about ten minutes to find one, but when he did, he parked the wheelchair next to Wooyoung's bed and helped lift him up.

Wooyoung almost asked him to forget the chair and just carry him. He missed being in his love's arms, so much... So he took advantage of the brief moment in the air to place a big kiss on the cheek.

It must have surprised Seonghwa because his eyes grew very wide and he swayed in place for a moment before setting Wooyoung carefully in the chair.

They walked slowly down the hallway to the main lift that would take them one of Hongjoong's garages.

Wooyoung was having a hard time containing his excitement at getting outside again, it had been way too long since feeling the sun on his face.

"Thank you for doing this." He said, tilting his head back to look up at Seonghwa.

He noticed an amused twinkle in the older's eye and grew hopeful that he would be able to get through Seonghwa's brooding walls today.

When they stepped outside for the first time, Wooyoung gasped and stretched his arms over his head. "Ah! Sun! Oh how I've missed you!"

A deep chuckle came from behind him. "I suppose we should look at taking you on a walk more often."

"You make it sound like I'm a dog." Wooyoung glared up at the older and crossed his arms in a mock pout.

"I mean, it's not like you can walk yourself."

"Hey! I bet I could manage if I had to!" Wooyoung squirmed in place.

Seonghwa stayed silent for a few moments while walking toward a small community park. He stopped next to a bench situated under a tree. Then he picked Wooyoung up to pull him into his lap and wrapped his arms around the younger's waist to hold him in place. "See? You can't even do that by yourself."

"You never gave me the chance." Wooyoung stuck his lower lip out in a pout while lifting a hand up to tease the hair on the back of Seonghwa's neck.

"Maybe I like taking care of you." Seonghwa whispered before leaning forward to kiss Wooyoung's lower lip. Then he pulled back and pressed his forehead to Wooyoung's shoulder. "I'm sorry I've been so-"

"Distant? Depressed? Grumpy?"

"Wooyoung..."

"Sorry." Wooyoung pressed his cheek to the side of the older's head.

Seonghwa sighed and took a moment before speaking again. "I just don't... I don't know how I'm supposed to feel right now. I know it's a good thing that my father is dead, but there's part of me that wants to mourn for him. Whenever I want to give in, it just feels so... so wrong..."

Wooyoung closed his eyes. He couldn't exactly blame Seonghwa for feeling that way, and it wasn't his place to judge him. While he hated Mercer with every fiber of his being, he was in love with the man's son and the two of them had a different kind of bond.

"What do you think would help you?" He asked softly.

"No, I don't want you to worry about that. I know you couldn't care less abo-"

"Now that's not fair." Wooyoung snapped. They both lifted their heads up to look at each other, but Seonghwa immediately looked down. "Do I still hate the man? Yes. And I always will." Wooyoung paused to gain control over his tone, and continued with a much gentler voice. "But I love you, Seonghwa. And I will do whatever you need me to do to help you mourn or move on or whatever you want to call it."

Tears came to the older's eyes and he buried his nose in Wooyoung's neck once more. "I don't deserve you." He whimpered. "I don't know what to do."

Wooyoung chewed on his lower lip and tried to think about what could be best. Seonghwa needed some kind of closure, that much was certain. But what could they do?

"Hwa? Do you have anything of your father's that you could part with?"

The older sniffed and lifted his head again. "Not really. I have a picture of us when I was younger but..."

"Would you be willing to give that up?"

Seonghwa nodded slowly and reached into his pocket to pull out a thin, leather wallet. He slipped the picture out and ran his thumb over it.

Wooyoung did his best not react when he saw the devil captured on the small piece of paper and quickly adverted his eyes. "We can have a little memorial if you'd like. Have a small fire and just take some time."

"You don't have to do that."

"I know, but I will. For you."

Seonghwa put the photo away and gently grabbed Wooyoung's chin so they could lock eyes. "You're amazing." He said, then gave him a quick kiss on the lips. "Wonderful." Another kiss. "One of a kind." Another kiss. "And I love you more than anything else in the world."

Wooyoung felt himself preening under the attention and moved to steal another, longer kiss from the older. He felt greedy and wanted more, but he knew in his condition that would have to wait. That didn't stop him from forcing his tongue into Seonghwa's mouth.

They both moaned at the action and Seonghwa fisted the back of Wooyoung's shirt to try and draw him closer.

"Hwa..." Wooyoung whispered into the kiss.

"I know."

"I missed you."

Seonghwa pulled back and carded his hand through Wooyoung's hair. "I missed you, my love. Just give me a little more time and I promise I'll get through this. I'm always stronger with you by my side."

"You couldn't get rid of me even if you tried." Wooyoung giggled and wiggled down so he could rest his head on Seonghwa's shoulder.

Seonghwa hummed contently and started to sway back and forth.

Neither of them had any desire to move from that spot, so they stayed there, enjoying the sunshine and the happy atmosphere of a city finally free from an evil tyrants clutches.

Wooyoung knew that as long as all of them stayed together, they had a bright future ahead of them.