Lullaby of War

Chapter One: Home is still Home.

Jimin was anxious, nervous and excited.

It felt like this moment would never come. That he would never get to see his baby face to face, feel the warmth of his touch and drown in that intoxicating scent of the Alpha he fell head over heels in love with. It had been a difficult pill to swallow when Jungkook was drafted to join the war. Jimin had prayed that it was some kind of mistake, that it had to be wrong but when that day came and Jungkook left on the ship with the others, the realization hit him hard. Jimin did his best to stay in touch with Jungkook as often as he could, but the longer things went, the harder it became. It felt like Jungkook was drifting away from him. He tried hard to not take it personal. Who knew what horrors Jungkook was forced to see and endure, but how could Jimin comfort him properly without knowing what Jungkook faced on his own? It broke Jimin's heart to feel like he was losing the other and what they had. It was part of the reason that Jimin couldn't bring himself to tell Jungkook about his pregnancy. What would he do if the other rejected him? It was a terrifying thought. Was Jungkook still the same man he knew? All of these questions made it hard to keep his emotions in check. Dropping Hwan off with his Hyungs didn't help. A small part of him felt the pup should be there too welcome Jungkook home as well, but it felt like a bit much to throw at the Alpha right away. Jimin wanted to make this as easy as possible for all of them. A lot of it had to do with the fact that if Jungkook wasn't the same, could Jimin bring himself to expose his pup to whoever this new man was? Call it overprotective, but Hwan was his whole world. It had been just the two of them for two years and while it was cruel to keep him from his father, Jimin would be selfish if it meant he could protect Hwan. At least, that was the lie he fed himself. Honestly, Jimin was more protecting himself than Hwan he felt sometimes. Jimin was taken from his thoughts by the loud sounds around him as the crowd suddenly became quite animated.

Jimin lifted his gaze to the massive ship that was making a slow approach and he felt his heart start to pound, well more like bang against his ribcage and he visibly tensed up. It was almost here. Jungkook was almost here. He could feel the warm wetness already starting to coat his eyes as he squeezed the bouquet of flowers in between his hands for dear life, finding a small comfort in the floral scents that flooded his nose. Jimin swallowed as it felt like time was dragging on, but eventually the ship made it to the dock. Jimin shifted on his feet as he stood on his tippy toes, struggling to see over the crowd due to his short stature. Jimin decided he would need to fight his way to the front, being careful not to be too rude, he managed to make it to the front and just as he did, people started to come out of the ship and down the ramp. Jimin was stuck in place, he faintly could hear the people around him. Screams and cheers of happiness as loved ones found each other. Jimin's own eyes frantically searching for that familiar face he loved. The handsome face with boyish charms. With soft chocolate brown eyes that developed little crinkles when Jungkook smiled and showed off his trademark bunny teeth. It felt like he was going to be sick honestly. Why was it taking so long? But the moment he asked that question in his head, everything froze. It didn't even take a second for Jimin to recognize him. Jungkook. Jimin's breath hitched as the tall male walked down the ramp slowly, if Jimin wasn't so stunned at the sight of him, he might have noticed that he had a bit of a limp.

When Jungkook took that last step over the threshold and onto the dock, Jimin couldn't control himself anymore. Jungkook had changed a little, but for the most part he was still the man he recognized, at least on the outside. Jungkook seemed to be looking around. It was clear to see that Jungkook had grown into his Alpha nature a lot more. He was always taller than Jimin, but his body seemed bigger, more muscled, even under the large green army coat he had on. His hair was still that pretty chocolate brown, maybe a couple of shades darker but not black. It had grown long but it seemed that Jungkook was wearing it with the sides shaven with a somewhat messy bun a top of his head. Jimin couldn't believe this was the same soft, pretty looking boy he'd fallen in love within their younger days. Jungkook was still pretty in Jimin's eyes, but maybe more rugged and handsome at the same time. Jimin was snapped out of this awe when he noticed the somewhat dejected look on Jungkook's face. Crap. Jimin inwardly cursed at himself for dilly dallying as he moved forward, not realizing that he was running not speed walking like he thought. Jungkook's head fell a bit, disappointment clear on his features but when that familiar scent of peaches hit him, his eyes widened. Looking up just as the love of his life came running towards him, somewhat covered by the poor bouquet that was falling a part in his hand. Jungkook's face filled with relief, happiness and so many other emotions as he dropped the oversized duffle bag he'd been carrying and opened his arms. Jimin didn't waste any time as he launched himself into the welcoming embrace, almost knocking Jungkook back on the ground as he wrapped his legs and arms around the Alpha.