“Everything’s packed,” Taekwoon said, placing the last of his bags by the door before turning to Sanghyuk.

“Are you sure you want to leave?” Sanghyuk questioned.

“I’m sure,” Taekwoon nodded, “I need a fresh start. I need to figure out what I’m going to do with my life.”

“Well,” Sanghyuk sighed, “I hope you figure it out fast. I know Wonsik is encouraging you to leave, but…..”

“But he would rather I stayed,” Taekwoon nodded in understanding, “I know.”

The pair fell silent, neither sure what to say now. Neither knew how to say goodbye, especially with everything ending the way it was.

“Look after yourself,” Sanghyuk finally said, “and call Wonsik as often as you can.”

“Look after Hakyeon,” Taekwoon replied, “and yourself.”

“Promise.”

“Promise.”

“And I promise not to feel too left out of this little exchange,” Hongbin huffed, dropping his bag with everyone else’s before turning to glare at the pair, “forgetting someone?”

“You weren’t here yet,” Sanghyuk shrugged, “why say goodbye to you when you aren’t here yet?”

“Still could have waited for me,” Hongbin huffed before turning serious, “how’s Hakyeon holding up?”

“As well as can be expected,” Sanghyuk replied after a moment, “but…….but at least he’s still alive.”

The other two men nodded in understanding. They both remembered how Hakyeon looked when they found him in the rubble of what had once been their main base of operations. They were just grateful that Sanghyuk hadn’t been there, too injured by the blast to help look for his husband. Seeing Hakyeon like that would have destroyed him.

“Is he resting like he should?” Hongbin asked, “I can stop by to give him a check up before I head to Italy.”

“I’ve got it covered,” Sanghyuk assured his friend, “just focus on your new job.”

“I wish you guys could work in the army again,” Hongbin sighed, remembering how Sanghyuk and Taekwoon had both been rejected when they had tried to return to their pre-Overwatch employment. Apparently, no one wanted former Overwatch members in their military after what happened.

“It’s cool,” Sanghyuk shrugged, “I……I don’t think I’d be able to go back after everything.”

“I was planning to leave one day anyway,” Taekwoon shrugged, “this just…..sped things up a little bit.” They all knew that was a lie, Taekwoon never had any plans to leave the military life. But if the lie made him feel better then they wouldn’t call him out on it.

The three fell silent, just looking at each other sadly. They all knew what came next; goodbye.

A/N: ah, parting with such sweet sorrow. Except this sorrow isn’t sweet, it’s sad and painful.