Yunho and Hongjoong walked quickly around the outskirts of town, heading towards the back end on the left. Jongho and Mingi were doing the same but went on the outskirts to the right. They had split up the area between the four groups so they could cover more ground more quickly rather than overlapping. It took them about 20 minutes to get to where they needed to start looking through town, though they kept their eyes open as they walked.

"You watch the left and I'll watch the right, let me know if you see anything off," Hongjoong said quietly as they walked into the streets. Yunho tapped Hongjoong's wrist twice in reply to let him know he had heard. They slowed their pace down slightly, not enough to seem suspicious but enough to have more of a chance to take everything in. Yunho glanced along the other side of the street, taking note of everything they past, not only to try to find Seonghwa but also to note escape routes for if something went wrong. They were looking for another 20 minutes when there was a buzz in the device Yunho was holding. They paused and Yunho glanced down to see what was written on it.

"Yeosang and San said they found one and disposed of them. Seonghwa is still in the wind, they haven't found him yet," Yunho told Hongjoong. Hongjoong let out a breath at that. It wasn't news that they found Seonghwa but it was still good news because Seonghwa hasn't been found by the others yet.

"That leaves 18 of them," Hongjoong said quietly and Yunho nodded.

"It seems like they've split up which works in our favour because it will be easier for us to take them out without getting overwhelmed by their numbers," Yunho said and Hongjoong nodded.

"Yeah, let's keep going," Hongjoong said. They continued walking and looking around, Yunho noting ever street they passed by as they walked through them. While they were walking down a less busy street, close to the outskirts of town, Hongjoong saw an old lady sitting in a rocking chair outside of a building. She was wearing a pink blouse and was knitting something as she rocked back and forth. Hongjoong quickly tugged his cloak over to cover his sword and took off the hood.

"Yunnie, keep an eye out," he whispered. Yunho glanced over in confusion before noticing what Hongjoong was looking at and nodding. He kept his sword hidden as well and followed as Hongjoong walked over to the lady.

"Hello Ma'am," Hongjoong said politely, squatting down so he would be more at her height. She paused her knitting and glanced over at him.

"Why hello there dear, and who might you be," she asked kindly.

"I'm Hongjoong Ma'am," he replied.

"Ooo, Hongjoong, what a pretty name," she said with a smile.

"Thank you. Might I know yours Ma'am," Hongjoong asked.

"Oh you're sweet dear, my name is Margret,"

"It's a pleasure to meet you Margret," Hongjoong said, bowing his head down.

"Oh, so polite. You remind me of my son," she said.

"I feel honoured to be like him," Hongjoong said.

"Aww, aren't you just a sweetheart," Margret said, reaching out and pinching Hongjoong's cheek. Yunho held back a smile as he watched how Hongjoong's eyes lit up as he interacted with the lady. Hongjoong has always had a way with the Grandma's and he always seemed to enjoy talking to them.

"What brings you to Fitzroy dear? I don't think I've seen you around here," Margret said.

"No, you haven't. My friends and I travel to different places a lot, we love to see the world. We're actually here to find someone," Hongjoong said slowly.

"Oh. Who are you looking for dear? I know many people from town," she said.

"Well he's not from here. He's actually, he's my husband," Hongjoong said quietly. He paused, not sure if perhaps that would upset her but her face lit up.

"Oh that's wonderful. How lovely dear. Are you here to surprise him," she asked happily. Hongjoong opened his mouth to reply before pausing as his eyes welled up slightly. He missed Seonghwa, he really did.

"Is something wrong," Margret asked. Hongjoong drew in a deep breath before shaking his head to get his bearings again.

"I'm sorry. It just uh, he was taken on our wedding day, by pirates," Hongjoong said sadly.

"Oh no. Oh, that just won't do. What does he look like, perhaps I have seen him around somewhere," Margret said quickly.

"Um well, he's tall. He has these sparkly boba eyes and his hair is pink," Hongjoong said, smiling softly as he remembered Seonghwa.

"He sounds lovely. I do actually think I may have seen someone with pink hair around. There's this nurse, Melanie. She comes and visits to check in on me sometimes and I remember her mentioning this guy that came to her a week ago, he had pink hair. Perhaps that was your husband? I think I know the pirates you're talking about, I've heard them asking around but I've kept quiet because they're bad people," Margret said quietly as she leaned closer to Hongjoong. Hongjoong's heart skipped a beat at that, hope filling it.

"Do you know where she lives," he asked quickly.

"Unfortunately I don't but if you find her, you might be able to find your husband," Margret said. Hongjoong sucked in a deep breath and nodded, wiping his eyes quickly.

"Thank you. Really, thank you," he whispered.

"I can see in your eyes that you love that boy with all your heart. So go get him back but be careful dear, pirates can be brutal," Margret said.

"Melanie has pink hair herself and she's short, shorter than you. Her hair is also short, she's pretty hard to miss, especially around here," she added.

"We will be careful, thankyou Ma'am," Hongjoong said, standing up before bowing deeply to her.

"Be safe darling, both you and your friend," she said. Yunho glanced back at that and nodded his head in return. Hongjoong bowed once more before the two of them continued off down the street.

"Send out a message with the description of the lady who might know where Seonghwa is. Keep all of the boys on the lookout," Hongjoong instructed. Yunho nodded and quickly typed out the note.

We have received word from a local that there is a nurse by the name of Melanie who may have seen Seonghwa and know where he is. She has short pink hair and is smaller than Hongjoong

"It's done. Let's just hope one of us gets to her before any of them do," Yunho said with a sigh.

"We will. We're going to find him and he's going to be ok," Hongjoong said, though his voice was a little shaky. Yunho took note of it but didn't say anything. Hongjoong didn't need to be reminded that there was a chance Seonghwa would never make it back to him.

~~~~~

"It's been an hour Jongho and we're almost at the edge of town. Where else can we look exactly," Mingi groaned as they continued heading towards the end of town.

"Everywhere. Seonghwa is here somewhere. He is alone and waiting for us to come and save him. We can't just give up, not when we're so close," Jongho said firmly.

"What, no, that's not what I meant. It's just we must have missed something. We're almost at the end of town so we're going to need to double back. We have to find Seonghwa," Mingi said. Jongho went to nod but saw something out of the corner of his eye coming up behind Mingi.

"Mingi," he yelled, shoving the older to the side and unsheathing his sword just in time to block the one that was previously swinging straight towards Mingi's back. The two swords clashed with a loud clang and Jongho stumbled back a step or two as he wasn't fully prepared for the hit but he caught his footing quickly. He swung his sword back but the other pirate dodge and managed to kick his knee into Jongho's side. Jongho gasped in pain and buckled slightly before crying out as he felt an elbow collide with his upper back. He stumbled to his knees, about to panic when he heard a cry of anger. He spun around just in time to see Mingi run the man through with his sword.

"No one ever gets away with touching my little brother you bastard," he spat before ripping out his sword. He immediately turned back to Jongho in worry but the gunner just grinned and stood up, holding his side lightly.

"You ok," Mingi asked worriedly, making Jongho chuckle.

"Oh come on, it takes a lot more than a bruise to take me down," Jongho said, rubbing his side one last time before putting his hand back down. Mingi ran his eyes over Jongho's form, trying to relax his heart that started racing when he realised their youngest was in danger. When he deemed Jongho wasn't going to die suddenly, he strode forwards and tugged him into a firm embrace. Jongho grunted in surprise, not sure what to do as Mingi hugged him tightly. After a few seconds of hesitation, he slowly lifted his arms up and wrapped them around Mingi's waist. He wasn't used to getting lots of hugs, never really a big fan of them and never finding the need to just suddenly hug someone.

"You can't do that ok. Don't put yourself in danger just to protect me," Mingi said with a sigh, running his fingers gently through the hair at the back of Jongho's head.

"That's kind of the whole idea of going out in pairs Gi. We protect each other," Jongho pointed out.

"You scared me. Don't tell the others but you're my favourite brother. Apart from Yunho of course but that's because we grew up together. I couldn't bear to lose you," Mingi whispered as he pulled back slightly to rest his forehead against Jongho's. Jongho's heart skipped a beat at that and he felt his hands tighten around Mingi's waist.

"I appreciate that. Sometimes I wonder if anyone would actually miss me if I was gone," Jongho admitted quietly. Mingi jolted back in shock, his eyes widening in horror.

"Jongho! Please tell me you don't actually think that," he gasped.

"Well, no, not really. It's just an occasional fleeting thought, not something I actually truly believe. But it's still nice to just have a confirmation," Jongho said with a shrug as they pulled apart.

"I'm sorry. You've always been more naturally closed off, I think we just forget sometimes you need to know you're doing good and we care for you," Mingi said.

"It's fine, really," Jongho said with a shrug. Mingi shook his head before darting forwards quickly and placing a kiss to Jongho's cheek. Jongho gasped and whined, wiping his cheek quickly but Mingi saw the small, hidden smile on his face.

"Come on, we need to keep looking for Seonghwa. I'll let the others know we killed another of their crew," Mingi said, slipping the device from his pocket. Jongho nodded and they set off down the streets once again, looking around.

"Mingi. Mingi, look," Jongho whispered after about 10 minutes of wondering through the different streets.

"What," Mingi asked. Jongho tapped his arm and pointed to the other end of the street. Mingi followed his hand and gasped quietly as he saw the lady walking down the street. She had short pink hair and looked to be smaller than Hongjoong, just as was described.

"Quick, let's follow her," Mingi said.

"No wait," Jongho said quickly as he grabbed Mingi's hand. Mingi paused and turned to look at him in confusion.

"What is it," he asked.

"We can't just run up behind her or that will be too suspicious. We need to follow her from a distance so that we can find somewhere to catch her alone. She doesn't know us Mingi, she might not want to talk to us," Jongho said.

"Right. And she might not have Seonghwa or even know who he is," Mingi said with a nod.

"Right. So we need to be cautious," Jongho said. They slowed down their place, blending into the shadows as they trailed behind the girl. She seemed to be grabbing some groceries as she bought some apples, eggs and bread before she started walking further to the outskirts of town. Jongho and Mingi glanced at each other before following along behind the girls down the more empty streets. She stopped in front of a door suddenly and Mingi quickly grabbed Jongho's arm, tugging him behind a corner, just in time as the girl looked around before heading into the building.

"Come on, let's go knock on the door," Jongho said.

"Wait. How do we know she's looking after Seonghwa? For all we know, she could've taken him for something. She could be hurting him," Mingi said.

"Hurting him? Do you think someone who looks like her would ever be able to hurt Seonghwa," Jongho asked.

"When Seonghwa is as badly hurt as I would suspect he was after those barbarians had him, then I think anyone could hurt him," Mingi replied. Jongho thought about it for a few seconds before nodding. Mingi was right, it's likely Seonghwa was badly hurt.

"Ok, let's do this. No leaving anything up to chance," he said as he pulled out his sword. Mingi nodded and drew his as well.

"Do you think he will actually be in there," Mingi asked quietly as they got closer to the door.

"I hope so," Jongho whispered. He drew in a deep breath before slamming his foot into the door, splintering it open. There was a scream from inside and both Jongho and Mingi rushed in to see the girl inside, a knife clutched tightly in her hands.

"Who the hell are you. Get out of my house," she screamed. Jongho glanced at the knife held tightly in her shaking hand and he raised an eyebrow, noting that she seemed scared of the knife.

"Where is Seonghwa," Mingi asked sternly.

"I don't know who it is you are talking about but you need to get out of my house right now," she said. Jongho's eyes scanned the room, landing on something in the corner, tucked behind a table. He strode over quickly and gasped.

"What is it," Mingi asked, hurrying over. It was a body. Dead. There wasn't any obvious wounds but their eyes were open wide and unseeing.

"Get out of my house," the girl yelled but she seemed scared to come any closer to them while they had their swords drawn.

"Gigi it's one of their crew," Jongho said, noting the familiar emblem embedded on the jacket.

"What do you mean their crew," the girl asked, drawing their attention back to her.

"This man, he was searching for Hwa right. Did he come in here to find him, to take him away," Jongho asked.

"Hwa," the girl asked slowly.

"Seonghwa. Park Seonghwa. He's our crewmate. He's a little bit smaller than me, has pink hair and looks like a literal god," Mingi said.

"A god, really," Jongho asked, turning to him.

"What, it's true. Objectively speaking he's kind of hot," Mingi said with a shrug.

"Don't let Hongjoong know you're thirsting over his husband," Jongho snickered.

"I'm not thirsting over him, just stating the obvious. Wait, are you saying you don't find Seonghwa hot," Mingi asked, his sword lowering as he frowned at Jongho.

"Well no, I never said that. I just didn't blurt out he looked like a god," Jongho said.

"But he does. He has an obscenely small waist it's not funny and his face is like perfectly sculptured," Mingi said with a shrug.

"Th-The first time I s-see you guys in a m-month and you're t-talking about how h-hot I am." Mingi and Jongho both froze at the voice and spun around to the hall to Seonghwa standing there. He had baggy pants and a loose shirt on but you could still see the bruises on his body and around his neck. His face was pale and sunken and he had bags under his eyes but he was there.

"You know them," the girl asked quietly, glancing between the three of them. Seonghwa's eyes welled with tears as they were fixed on the two boys in the room. He wasn't sure if it was his mind playing tricks on him once again but they looked so real. They looked like they were there. He walked on shaky steps towards the two boys who were frozen where they were standing. He was in front of them within 10 seconds and he slowly brought up a trembling hand, reaching towards Jongho's face. He hesitated a few seconds just before touching Jongho's cheek, not wanting the illusion to be gone so soon. He swallowed dryly before finally resting his hand on Jongho's cheek. It was warm, firm. It was there, he was there. He gasped, his other hand snapping up to cup Mingi's face, feeling it as well. He broke down into sobs at that, at the realisation that they had found him. They didn't stop looking and they found him. Arms were wrapped around him from both sides and he completely broke, wailing in the embrace.

"Seonghwa," Jongho choked out, hugging Seonghwa as tightly as he could without hurting him. He was trying hard not to break down, remembering the resignation on Seonghwa's face as he was taken away. The way he mouthed I love you before he was knocked out.

"My babies," Seonghwa cried, clinging tightly to both of them. Mingi started sobbing and his hand came up to run through Seonghwa's hair. It was matted and clumped up but Mingi still managed to pat it softly.

"Hwa," he cried.

"Y-You're here, you c-came," Seonghwa sobbed, curling closer to the two of them.

"Of course we did Seonghwa. Of course we did. We, we're all here. We came for you. We never would have stopped looking. Oh thank god you're safe," Mingi cried, sniffling as he placed a kiss to Seonghwa's forehead. Seonghwa nuzzled closer to Mingi, whining as he tucked his head under Mingi's chin.

"W-Wait, H-Hongjoong. Is J-Joongie here. Did Joongie come," Seonghwa asked desperately.

"Yeah. Yeah of course that stubborn little minion is here. He would go to the ends of the earth to get you back. I'll tell everyone you're here," Mingi said quickly. He went to pull away but Seonghwa panicked and cried out, clutching him tightly.

"Hey, hey, I'm not going anywhere. Shh," Mingi hushed him softly and Jongho quickly slipped his arms around Seonghwa's waist, nuzzling into the olders neck. Seonghwa jolted at that, spinning around quickly and hugging Jongho tightly, dropping his head down to rest on top of Jongho's. Mingi quickly slipped out the device and typed out a hurried message.

We found him. Near the back of town down a street called Bucknell. It's a blue door that will look a little bit kicked in

Mingi glanced towards the doorway in worry, remembering that he had kicked it down but it was closed again and the girl was standing off to the side with someone else that seemed familiar but he couldn't quite place them and it wasn't something important to think about.

"They're going to come Hwa. Everyone is going to come. We're all here," he said softly. Seonghwa whined and his hand came up, latching to the fabric of Mingi's shirt over his shoulder and yanked, tugging Mingi back close again. They went back to hugging each other tightly, Seonghwa in the middle. The cries quietened down after a little bit and Seonghwa was just curled up between the two of them. Jongho double checked he was ok for the moment before he finally looked up at the other two people in the room and froze in shock.

"Jeongin," he gasped. Jeongin smiled sadly before nodding and walking over, sitting down in front of them.

"I'll explain everything when the others get here," he said quietly.

"Ok," Jongho said with a nod. He cupped Seonghwa's cheek and gently rubbed his thumb up and down his cheek. Seonghwa relaxed more at that, his eyes fluttering closed. Mingi smiled sadly and leaned down, pressing a kiss to Seonghwa's forehead.

~~~~~

Hongjoong was running. He was sprinting through the streets, checking every sign he passed but not slowing down. Yunho was sprinting after him but Hongjoong was on a mission and nothing would slow him down. As soon as Yunho told him the contents of the message, he had started running. It was right there, dangling in front of, the possibility of seeing Seonghwa again. He felt water sliding down his face as he ran but he kept going, his heart skipping a beat as he saw the street sign saying Bucknell. He slowed as he went down the street, not wanting to accidentally miss the door. He found it, or at least what he thought it was and he immediately started to pound on the door.

"Seongie, baby," he cried out, continuing to knock until the door was swung open. He didn't even wait for the person to say anything, just pushed past them into the room.

"Seonghwa," he whimpered, looking around quickly.

"Over here." Hongjoong rushed over to Jongho's voice, freezing as his eyes met ones he had missed for so long. They had pain in them, the same pain Hongjoong hadn't seen in years, the pain he had tried to protect him from. Seonghwa started sobbing and pushed away from Jongho and Mingi to stand up and get to Hongjoong. That snapped the Captain out of his state and he rushed forwards, just in time to catch Seonghwa as his knees buckled. His arms wrapped firmly around Seonghwa's waist, keeping him stable as Seonghwa hugged him back.

"Joongie," he whimpered, grasping as tightly as he could to the back of Hongjoong clothes. Hongjoong started to sob as well, his hands shaking as they held Seonghwa delicately. His knees shook for a few seconds before they gave out completely as he was too overwhelmed for emotion. The two of them didn't smash to the ground though, instead there were arms wrapped around both of their waists and they were lowered safely to the ground.

"Baby, my baby. My love. I'm here, I've got you. You're safe now, I won't let them hurt you again," Hongjoong whispered shakily.

"I l-love you," Seonghwa choked out and Hongjoong let out another song.

"N-Needed to tell you that j-just in case. Wanted to tell you," Seonghwa whimpered.

"I love you too, so much," Hongjoong cried, continuing to sob as he continued to clutch Seonghwa in his arms.

"I didn't know if I was ever going to see you again," Seonghwa admitted. This pained Hongjoong even more and he clenched his eyes closed in sadness. He held Seonghwa tighter, dropping his head down on the olders shoulder and kissing it softly.

"I'm sorry. I am s-so sorry," Hongjoong whispered.

"N-No. It wasn't your fault. It wasn't your fault Hongjoong," Seonghwa said shakily, pulling back slightly so he could look at Hongjoong properly. He lifted his hand up to cup Hongjoong's face, his heart clenching in his chest. He remembered all those nights he was locked up in the dark, dreaming of Hongjoong holding him, kissing him as he told him everything was ok.

"Can I kiss you," he whispered. Hongjoong's heart broke and he sniffled.

"You never have to ask," he replied. Seonghwa surged forwards quickly, his lips covering Hongjoong's. It took Hongjoong a second or two to register that it was actually happening before he finally responded and kissed Seonghwa back.

"I love you so much," Hongjoong whispered as they parted for a few seconds before kissing him again. Seonghwa's heart slowed down and he relaxed, feeling calm and comforted in Hongjoong's arms. There was the sound of more sobs and Seonghwa glanced up to see San being held securely in Yunho's arms as he sobbed. Seonghwa glanced at Hongjoong worriedly, wanting desperately to comfort the others, to hold all of his boys in his arms and have the reassurance that everyone was safe but he didn't want to upset Hongjoong.

"Sannie, come here," Hongjoong said softly and San quickly dropped to the floor beside Seonghwa and hugged him tightly.

"Sannie," Seonghwa whispered, hugging him softly as San hugged him as well.

"I missed you Hwa," San sobbed.

"Well I'm here now aren't I? I'm right here and I'm not going anywhere," Seonghwa said. San sobbed out and hugged him tighter.

"I've got you sweetheart," Seonghwa said, soothing him softly as he rocked him gently back and forth. Hongjoong's eyes welled up once again as he watched how sweetly Seonghwa was looking after San who was crying despite everything had been through. Yeosang had sat down and joined the hug as well, Seonghwa opening his arms to allow the medic to curl up in them as well.

"My babies," he whispered and that set Yeosang off as well, crying as he held Seonghwa. Yunho went over quietly, sitting down and resting his hand on Seonghwa's back, rubbing it gently. Seonghwa glanced back at him and his face lit up, smiling happily as he had another one of his kids near. It was almost complete, with all of his babies. He glanced up and looked around the room, searching for his last one.

"Where's Youngie," he asked slowly when he didn't see him.

"Oh. He should be here at soon I think. Actually he's taking his time," Mingi said with a frown.

"What do you mean he's taking his time? Where is he? Why isn't he with someone," Seonghwa asked quickly, beginning to panic slightly.

"We split into pairs to search for you but Woo went alone because he's the least likely to be recognis-."

"No. No, where is he. WHERE'S WOOYOUNG," Seonghwa screamed ripping himself away.

"Jeongin. Innie go. Go find him," he said hurriedly. Jeongin was panicking as well and he sprinted from the house.

"Hey, hey, Seongie he'll be fi-."

"He's the one they're after," Seonghwa cut in.

"W-Wait, what," San asked shakily as he stood.

"They know him. Joongie they know him, he's the one they want. They kept, they kept asking me about him, trying to get information about him, about how to get him alone. Hongjoong they took me to get to him," Seonghwa rushed out. It was like San's world stopped for a second, trying to remember when was the last time Wooyoung contacted them, when they had last heard from him. They hadn't. Everyone else had messaged but not Wooyoung. No one had heard from Wooyoung since they split up and he hadn't showed up to see Seonghwa. Wooyoung would have sprinted to get to Seonghwa, to make sure he's ok. The only reason he wouldn't be there would be because-.

A/N

Here is chapter 16 everyone, let me know your thoughts and I hope you enjoyed it. 

Thank you for reading

Let me know what your favourite parts of the chapter were and what you think might happen next