Hongjoong looked gorgeous in his black fur coat that reached until the tops of his boots and the white catsuit peeking through on his arms. He and Seonghwa made an odd couple with Seonghwa wearing his soft pink winter jacket and grey cargo pants again.

Jongho was humming to some melody in his head and his fingers were tapping away on his robust thigh while he was safely steering them through the crystal clear air above Nepal. There was no snow falling at the moment and beneath them were endless hills of untouched white. It looked oddly fake in its perfection, but Seonghwa knew it was treacherous. He had spent more than a week wandering those hills until they found him all those years ago. This piece of earth was not welcoming of visitors.

Yunho was next to Jongho and he had a tablet with Wooyoung, San, Mingi and Yeosang squished on top of each other showing on the screen in his big hands. He laughed with them gleefully and sometimes showed them the snowy landscapes, too, so they could admire them.

Seonghwa was huddled against Hongjoong in the back, and the man had put one of his hands on Seonghwa's thighs. From time to time, he squeezed the alpha's leg gently as if to remind him he was there.

"How old were you when this happened?" Hongjoong spoke hushedly as he didn't want to bother the two in front. Yunho was having a good time with their new friends right now, and even Seonghwa was surprised how smoothly they had fit with each other. Seonghwa had had no time yet to discuss the idea of joining packs with his boys since he and Hongjoong had been a bit too attached to each other for the past few days. Yet, the thought wouldn't leave his mind either. Claim Hongjoong, mate with him afterwards... it made Seonghwa giddy like a little schoolgirl.

They had moved from rivals to lovers so fast and now he considered so much of their future together already. But then again Hongjoong did wait six years for him to get that.

"Aren't you watching the news about me?" Seonghwa playfully asked the other man, who then rolled his eyes. His ears were a little red at the tips, and Seonghwa would have loved to give him a fluffy hat, but he knew it was pointless with all of their dangerous maneuvres.

Hongjoong gently nudged his knee against Seonghwa's, a smirk playing around his lips.

"No, you idiot, it's all thirsting about you. I'm an alpha and a scorpio how do you think I react to such news?"

Seonghwa cooed at him, finding him completely adorable.

"Oh, they make you jealous? Oh no, poor baby." He laughed at the indignant slap that was delivered to his thigh and that he barely felt.

"I'm just joking, I don't watch them either if they aren't hilarious in their fakeness. I was nine." Seonghwa leaned back again to look out of the front window and met Mingi's dark eyes through the screen of the tablet. The man had been scrutinising him a lot ever since they had met as if he was trying to find a bad trait that he could point out. Seonghwa kept wondering if the tall beta saw him as a threat. Because he sure liked cuddling up to San and Yeosang.

"That's young... Will you be fine?" A more gentle, more worried squeeze. Seonghwa chuckled as he put his gloved hand over Hongjoong's and tenderly returned the gesture. He appreciated the man's worry.

"Yes. It's far in the past, I barely remember it. I'd rather have it be me to dig this up than my dad, who was hurting so deeply because of her."

Hongjoong nodded thoughtfully, his expression sombre. For a second, he didn't even seem to breathe, but then another smile brightened his features akin to a sunrise.

"Let's meet my parents then, somewhen! I'm sure they would love you, and you'll get to taste the best home-made cookies in France!"

"I can agree to that!" Wooyoung squeakily yelled over the screen because, of course, they were listening in, what else.

Seonghwa chuckled at the way San immediately bombarded Wooyoung with questions as if it was the most interesting topic he had ever heard of and totally not to win the man over. Hongjoong giggled at them, too, while Yunho just grinned softly at it all.

"Sure let's do that. I just gotta refresh my French before we go."

At those words, Hongjoong was basically all up Seonghwa's lap like a purring cat. The only thing holding him back was his seat belt, or else he might have actually climbed over.

"You can speak French?" He coquettishly batted his lashes at Seonghwa until the man started laughing. Without caring about the team, he pressed a quick kiss to Hongjoong's inviting forehead. He liked how the man tried to pout to hide his smile when he did that.

"Yes, I do. And I take this as you being so very willing to be my teacher."

"I totally am."

They giggled stupidly at each other while Jongho steered the chopper further downwards. He wouldn't be able to land, but he could at least drop them off over the spot, so they could search in peace. As it seemed, they would also have their isolation from any unwanted guests so far up.

"Here we are. You idiot lovebirds go first, I won't let the precious one slip and fall," Jongho called at them just a tad louder than necessary and successfully brought them back to the present. When Hongjoong moved back, he could see the two boys in front exchange a manly fist-bump and a nod. They had literally bonded based on their names only.

As Hongjoong moved to unclasp their seatbelts and subtly feel up Seonghwa at the same time, Seonghwa caught Yunho also throwing in an innocent wink. It still made Jongho malfunction for a minute before he smiled shyly with squishy cheeks and his gums showing. God, they would make such a perfect pack.

Seonghwa went down the ladder first, the cold immediately biting into his skin. The air was remarkably thinner up here, too, but they wouldn't stay for too long. At least they needed no circus stunts here.

Seonghwa dropped safely and without any problems onto the snowy ground, immediately sinking in up until his knees. What fun.

Without hesitating, he stomped over to the wreckage that was still showing to some parts because the snow kept sliding down from the metal and into a canyon below. Luckily, it was easy to find, but the luggage had probably not stayed where it was supposed to be and flown off with the explosion.

Indeed, the compartments were all empty, and nothing more than some loose frozen seats laid inside.

"Alright, set up the heater!" He called over to Yunho and Hongjoong, who had just dropped down. Both nodded as Jongho threw them the boxes they needed. It was far too much snow to search through, so they had decided to go for the machine instead. Seonghwa put his headset in, so Yunho could store the tablet away. He would regret the noise later.

He went over to help with everything, partly to distract himself from his racing heart, and also because the task seemed a little hard in the snow. It didn't take them too long. Twenty minutes later, the large fan was blasting away powerfully at the snow. They busied themselves with searching the other large objects hidden in the sheet of white, and from time to time went back to the heater to refill on some warmth.

It took them about two hours ultimately, and it was Yunho who found it. He had examined one of the smaller pieces in the melted snow and indeed found the greenish velvet case that was thankfully still sealed. His voice had been cheerful when he had called out to Seonghwa.

"I got it! Everybody, I found it!"

Hongjoong and Seonghwa had dropped their work immediately to hurry over to him as fast as the glinting and reflecting snow allowed. Yunho had proudly presented them the missing piece of their artefact and received an immediate head patting session from Seonghwa. With Yunho tucked into his side like some overgrown puppy, Seonghwa had wordlessly stared down at the thing that had once been a brooch his mom had worn every day. It had been a gift from his dad. And it had fitted her green eyes so well.

Seonghwa was staring at it for a very long time, losing himself in thought. He could barely remember her eyes now.

It was San, who quietly piped up through the otherwise silent earpiece.

"Seonghwa? You okay?" His voice was gentle and understanding, none of the usual bickering carrying with it. It snapped Seonghwa right out of his thoughts. Determinedly, he clutched the piece in his fist, hiding it from his sight. The heater and Yunho were still warming him up, yet his insides seemed to be incredibly cold.

"Of course." Seonghwa threw his hair back before stepping away. Yunho ran right back to help Hongjoong with the heater. Seonghwa noticed the silent gazes the redhair sent him, but he chose to ignore them for now.

"Just checking. It's usually someone else's past you're digging into."

"That's where you're wrong, San - this has always been what it's about. This is what made father grow sick and die in the end. It was all about her. And now, we will finally now what heritage he was trying to supply to us."

With that, the topic was closed. San hushed the others so they wouldn't be too loud in Seonghwa's sensitive ears right now. They left him to sluggishly work while lost in thought without complaining.

Nobody dared to approach him again until they were back in the helicopter, but Yunho made sure to gently pry the stone from Seonghwa's fingers. He safely put it in a box before something would damage it. When they all had huddled in their seats again, Jongho took right back off home.

Seonghwa felt incredibly tired from the whole ordeal. Digging up his own past and seeing these mountains he had nearly died twice in had indeed woken up the trauma, just as Hongjoong had predicted. Instead of bothering the others with it, though, Seonghwa just cuddled up against Hongjoong and allowed himself to fall asleep. Hongjoong wordlessly began gently stroking Seonghwa's leg again until he drifted off.

-

Seonghwa had a headache from their long flight. As soon as they had returned from their long flight, he flopped down onto an empty couch while the omegas immediately jumped to help Yunho and Jongho put their stuff away.

Yongguk was on their couch again in front of their homey fireplace and playing chess with Mingi, who seemed very invested in the game.

Seonghwa threw an arm over his eyes, feeling overheated in the jacket he hadn't bothered to take off.

"So what's next? Where is the lock to this key?"

Yongguk eliminated one of Mingi's figures and got a mocking chuckle from his tall opponent. Seonghwa felt himself grin, too. There was no way to beat this man at chess, no matter how often Mingi would try.

"Bolivia. You were both standing on it. I'll accompany you there next time after I glued the thing back together. Is your 3D-Printer set up, San?" Yongguk's calm and deep voice was definitely the most soothing one inside this house right now.

"Ready for you to go, chef."

"Did you put away all the dildos you abused the poor thing to make?" Mingi casually called over his shoulder. Hongjoong somewhere choked on his spit while Seonghwa let out a breathy laugh.

"Yes, I did! Don't ask me if you ever need to have one done, pah!" San was not even mad, his laughter betraying his anger. Wooyoung giggled in the distance, too.

Seonghwa accepted the pill and the glass with water that Yeosang handed him with a thankful hum. While he sat up just as much as needed to gulp it down, Yeosang made quick work of his jacket, putting it away finally.

"Go to bed. You need some rest."

"I won't make it up the stairs. Back hurts."

Yeosang looked around the room for a fitting victim and soon found it in Hongjoong, who looked no less beaten than Seonghwa did. Not even minutes later Seonghwa was floating up the stairs in the man's arms and probably fell asleep before his head hit his pillows.