Chapter Text
Pregnant.
With one word, Jungkook’s whole world came crashing down around him, only to be rebuilt in the same heartbeat, centering on a new purpose.
His eyes zeroed in on Jimin’s flat stomach. He felt completely frozen. Numb.
He pupped Jimin. There was a pup growing under the velvety skin, right under his navel. This was the second worst outcome that could’ve resulted from spending their mating cycles together, yet somehow Jungkook couldn’t feel the despair creeping up on him that he should probably feel.
Jimin’s scent was souring around them, burning Jungkook’s throat as he inhaled it. It was enough to resurface him from his thoughts, eyes immediately finding Jimin’s panicked one, hand pressing to his stomach as if he could feel what Seokjin had felt, or refute it.
“Are you sure?” The omega’s voice was choked, it seemed like there wasn’t enough air in his lungs to produce the words.
Seokjin seemed a little confused as he stared at Jimin. “I am, but we can wait for Healer Kang to give you a second opinion, if you’d like,” he supplied gently, realizing too that his words must not be as joyously received as he thought they would be.
“No!” The word slipped from Jimin’s lips in a desperate yelp, Jungkook compelled to step closer to Jimin again, to give him some comfort. He put a hand on the omega’s narrow shoulder, deeming the gesture platonic enough not to raise suspicion with the other alpha. He was simply comforting a friend. If his thumb slipped under the tunic to press into Jimin’s scent gland, no one had to know.
“Should I… get Rowoon? You seem a little overwhelmed with the situation, Jimin,” Seokjin tried to help, but the omega once again shook his head frantically.
“He can’t know, Seokjin please don’t tell him,” he almost whimpered, Jungkook sucking in a deep breath. Jimin was dangerously close to giving them away and he didn’t know what to do. He couldn’t really shut Jimin up, that would be suspicious too.
“Why not?” the alpha asked, voice wary.
“Because I want to make sure I get through the first months first,” the explanation slipped past Jimin’s lips all too easily, stunning Jungkook. “Us foxes, we are… sadly susceptible to miscarriages. I want to make sure we are past the dangerous stage before I tell him. If I lose the–” his voice caught on the word, “the baby, I don’t want him to know and be sad about it. Please, Seokjin. You’re like my brother, please keep this a secret for me.”
Seokjin studied Jimin in complete silence for a few moments, his eyes serious and contemplative. Jungkook held his breath as he waited for the verdict.
“Alright,” he finally gave in, a long weary sigh following his ascent. Jimin slumped slightly against Jungkook’s chest, relief sweetening his formerly bittered scent.
“Thank you,” he whispered, hopping off of the table and quickly hugging the other alpha. “I’ll tell him when we get out of the danger zone, I promise. I know he is going to be so happy,” the omega lied.
When he stepped back, he turned back to face Jungkook. His eyes were wide with fear and glistening with the threat of tears, but his voice was stable when he spoke. “I’m hungry and tired, can we go get some food now? I’d like to eat and then nap, Jungkook.”
“Course,” the alpha answered hastily, following Jimin out of the tent after saying goodbye to their friend.
Jimin was walking very quickly in the opposite direction of the kitchens, Jungkook jogging after him in order to not lose him.
They walked in silence all the way to the river, only there Jimin turned around to face Jungkook. Two fat tears rolled down his cheeks before he could even open his mouth, a desperate little sob accompanying the softly spoken “What are we going to do?”
Jungkook hugged him tightly before he even registered that he was moving, pressing his nose into Jimin’s scent gland. Secrecy be damned, Jimin needed to be comforted now, and Jungkook would do whatever it takes to give him that. They could wash off the scent in the river after he had calmed down.
“I’m sorry, my love,” Jungkook whispered into his skin, helplessness settling in his heart. “I’m so sorry.”
Jimin pushed himself on his tiptoes to reach Jungkook’s scent gland as well, inhaling deeply from the source of Jungkook’s spring river scent. The smell of home in a time where he felt more uprooted than ever before.
“You’ll be mated soon, baby. Tell him it’s his after a few weeks and you’ll be fine. No one will know,” Jungkook tried to soothe the omega, ignoring how badly the words hurt him. “Is it true? Is it harder for you to keep a pregnancy?” he tagged on, pulling back to look at Jimin.
The omega’s nose was red from crying, lashes clumped from tears, but he still looked so beautiful to Jungkook. The most beautiful man in the whole world. Jimin shook his head. “Well, it’s not really a fox shifter thing. But my mother had problems keeping pregnancies before she became pregnant with me. They couldn’t give me a sibling either.”
The fox’s face crumbled again. “Is it bad that I don’t wanna lose your pup? I know I shouldn’t want it and that you’re probably really angry with me. It’s such a bad timing, and we’ve been doomed from the very beginning, and you probably don’t want it either, but–”
Jungkook shut his ramblings up with a kiss, his heart bleeding from Jimin’s words. Of course he wanted it. He wanted anything and everything with Jimin. A family was never something he dared to dream about, but now it was quite literally growing in front of his very eyes.
“I could never be angry at you, my little forest fire,” he whispered, doing his best to choke down his emotions that were threatening to overtake him. “It’s true that the situation should never have happened and that this pup complicates an already complicated situation further, but I could never be anything but happy with you.”
Jimin smiled at him, a watery smile, but a smile nonetheless. His eyes, however, were weighed down with a deep sadness. “I hate that Rowoon will call our pup his. I hate that our baby will grow up not knowing what an amazing alpha their father is. I don’t want you to be uncle Jungkook to them.”
Jungkook’s heart panged at his words, just as painful as Jimin said they were. He hated that thought. His alpha hated that thought even more. But Jungkook couldn’t deny that he would do anything to keep Jimin and that baby safe, even if that meant having to take the sidelines in their lives.
❊❊❊
Seokjin had started to inconspicuously fill Jimin’s plate with more nutritious foods. Outwardly he was being very sneaky about it, he didn’t talk to Jimin differently, his eyes didn’t linger, and he wasn’t being weird about it. But Jungkook noticed. It honestly was quite heart-warming.
It was hard to act like nothing was happening. Jungkook constantly wanted Jimin close, make sure he wasn’t overexerting himself or feeling nauseous. His alpha wanted to do nothing more than to keep his hand firmly against the miniscule bump forming under Jimin’s navel, glowering with pride.
He did that. He spent only one heat with his omega and already successfully pupped him. That was something to be proud of for sure.
And Jimin was glowing. Besides the hidden bump, his skin seemingly glowed from within, his hair shiny and healthy, and scent sweeter than it used to be. To anyone asking, he claimed it was from the happiness of his imminent mating, but Jungkook knew the real reason.
And despite Jimin’s genetic concerns, his pregnancy was advancing beautifully and healthily. Jungkook could honestly not be prouder and more in love with him.
They stole away together every night now and spent their time talking and being entwined in each other’s bodies and arms.
It had started to rain that night, and Jimin and Jungkook had fled into the dryness of the rut cabin that had led to their current predicament. Jimin was lounging lazily on the furs, naked skin on display for Jungkook and eyes roaming the alpha’s broad chest with a smile.
Jungkook winked at him from where he was kneeling in the middle of the room, stoking an already dying fire with more wood. “Like the view?” he asked jokingly, hearing Jimin’s bell-like giggles in response.
“I like the feel more,” he joked, opening his arms wide for Jungkook to sink back into.
Jungkook took in the sweet scent of pure happiness emanating from his omega, kissing his smiling lips until he was breathless. Once he deemed Jimin thoroughly loved upon, he descended his body to settle between his legs, staring down at the small bump holding his pup. It was nothing more than a small layer of fat right now, but soon enough it would grow and grow to make space for the life inside, and at one point Jimin would begin to complain about kicks and their baby lying on his bladder and making him pee all the time.
Jungkook pressed a soft kiss to the space right above Jimin’s navel, mourning that he would never experience those moments, Rowoon taking his place soon.
Jimin could feel the change in thought in the air, gently raking his fingers through Jungkook’s hair. It was getting a bit long again, but that wasn’t such a problem in the warmer months. Jungkook liked it when Jimin tugged at it, so he kept it a bit longer now. “Maybe I can tell them about you when they’re older. Tell them you’re their real father and you can have a relationship with them in secret,” he whispered softly.
“Yeah, that would be nice,” Jungkook hummed, but he wasn’t comforted by that thought.
❊❊❊
Jungkook hadn’t meant to overhear. Truly, he wasn’t eavesdropping, simply at the wrong place at the wrong time. He didn’t think he would crash into a council meeting when he sought out the head alpha’s tent to inquire about the next hunting party he was meant to organize.
It was close to the mating ceremony and they hadn’t hunted the predator animal yet, so it was time. Jungkook wanted to give his hunters enough time to safely track and pursue the animal. If they hurried, they would get sloppy and sloppiness meant a lot of room for potentially fatal errors.
He stopped in front of the tent when he heard a plethora of voices inside. “I know you have criticized my choice of mate before, but I assure you I have thought my decision through,” Rowoon spoke – not too kindly – to what Jungkook assumed was the elder council of their pack. No one else would dare to openly criticize their head alpha.
The voice that answered was old and brittle, so Jungkook couldn’t really understand what was being said, Rowoon’s answer, however, gave him more than enough information.
“The aim is simple. We need more land and resources now that we have decided to settle down where we are, and the only two ways that I can see us achieve that goal is through war, or pacts with other packs,” the alpha spoke confidently.
“Jimin, is a rare beauty in these lands, and this rarity is how we are going to get whatever we want from those other packs. As soon as we’re mated, I will have my omega hang off my knot until my seed takes and the resulting pups will be our bargaining chips. No head alpha will be able to resist the offer of a marriage pact with our children, and this is how we will secure our future.”
Jungkook became sick to his stomach as he heard those words, his alpha growing wild inside his chest. The anger and desperation was so overwhelming, for a few seconds Jungkook had to fight to keep control of his body, his inner alpha wanting to surface and rip Rowoon to shreds.
He was planning to sell his pup. His pup. Wanted to keep Jimin like a brood hen, only to force him later to give away his children.
Jungkook didn’t know what to do. He was agitated, and now that the sudden anger was quelled, he only wanted to be with Jimin and make sure that he and the pup were still okay.
Jimin was not in the infirmary when he came looking for him, but Healer Kang thankfully saw the urgency in his voice and gave him directions to the herbs that she had sent Jimin to collect.
It took Jungkook only ten minutes to find the omega, the directions and the scent trail he left leading Jungkook right to him. He was sitting beneath a tree, the collecting basket sitting by his feet, already filled to the brim. Jimin, however, did not seem in a hurry to return to the pack.
His face was tipped up to the sun, red hair blazing like fire in the warm glow of the star, warming Jimin’s face. His hands were cradling his stomach, and he was singing a sweet lullaby that Jungkook had never heard before.
there’s an old god in the willow tree
my mother used to say to me
when I was just a pup as young as you
appearance of just barely three
he’d only show himself to a small few
many a young fox would disappear
called away to play with him
because games to him were just as dear
as amusement was to them
so, my love, I ask of you
‘cause one day I know you’ll hear it too
don’t follow his whistle far away
all my love I give to you
in my arms you should always stay
but if he ever lures you in
and you shall see his willow tree
then loudly i want you to sing
that you will come back home to me
The song was peculiar, the rhyming scheme and melody seemingly disjointed – clearly made up by someone in Jimin’s family and passed on to the omega. But even despite its flaws, it was beautiful when sung with Jimin’s voice, every word uttered with so much love and care for the unborn life growing inside of him.
Jimin was so serene, so very happy with his situation at that very moment. He clearly loved the idea of being a parent and caring for his own pups, and the thought of Rowoon taking that joy away from him – ripping his babies from his arms as Jimin cried – made Jungkook feel his heart break in his chest.
At that very moment, listening to Jimin sing, Jungkook made the decision to get him out of his situation. He would not let that happen to him, even if it would cost him his own life to assure that his family was taken care of.
“How long are you gonna stand here?” Jimin’s amused voice ripped him out of his thoughts, the omega waving him over to sit with him and enjoy the sun.
Jungkook followed his call automatically, sinking into the warm grass right next to Jimin, who put his head on his shoulder instantly. For a few seconds, he simply enjoyed their closeness, but sooner rather than later he had to talk.
“You need to leave, Jimin,” he whispered softly.
The omega immediately flinched upwards, removing his head from Jungkook’s shoulder, shock and betrayal swirling in his amber eyes like honey in tea.
“What?” he asked, voice soft.
“I won’t watch you slowly die in that mating. Rowoon will slowly kill you,” the alpha emphasized, staring right into Jimin’s eyes, urging him to understand.
Jimin frowned, staring down at the grass. He slowly began to rip up blades of grass to weave into a bracelet and the déjà vu of the situation almost made Jungkook smile.
“I won’t make it far, especially not pregnant. I don’t know where to go and I do not want to leave you,” he argued stubbornly, jaw set with defiance.
Jungkook stared at him, letting his feelings for the small fox wash over him, set in his bones and steel his mind. When he next spoke, he didn’t quite know what would come out of his mouth, but the decision he seemingly made felt right.
“You won’t be alone. I’ll come with you and together we’ll find your pack. I promise you, I’ll get you home.”
Jimin gasped, head whipping up so quickly Jungkook heard his neck crack. His eyes were moving wildly between Jungkook’s dark ones, trying to read his expression.
“But– Namjoon. He’s your family. You can’t leave your family, Jungkook,” Jimin protested weakly, grabbing Jungkook’s hands with urgency.
Jungkook shrugged. At peace with his decision. “Yes, he is my family. And yes, I will miss him. But you and that pup are my family too, and I choose you.” It was such an easy decision for him.
Jimin started crying softly as he spoke, shaking his head lightly in denial or amazement, Jungkook couldn’t tell. He grabbed his face and pressed his lips to Jungkook’s over and over again.
❊❊❊
Jungkook looked at Jimin who was partially hiding behind him, his scent sour with nerves. “We’ll be okay. If anything, he is going to rip my head off, not yours,” Jungkook chuckled, poking Jimin in the ribs in an effort to make him smile. It didn’t work.
“Namjoon is really good at looking at people very disappointedly, and that hurts like hell,” the omega whined, staring at Jungkook with huge eyes.
“Why would I look at you with disappointment?” Jungkook’s brother suddenly spoke behind them, making both Jimin and Jungkook jump like they were just caught doing something bad.
“We should talk inside,” Jungkook spoke after a second of catching his breath, trying to seem calmer than he really was with what they were about to do.
“Why do you look so guilty?” The alpha spoke after they entered their shared tent, eyeing Jimin and Jungkook warily. Jimin kept his mouth resolutely shut, staring at Jungkook expectantly. He clearly wanted Jungkook to explain.
The alpha sighed, but bravely faced his older brother. “Jimin and I are together. Have been going behind Rowoon’s back for a while now actually,” he came right out and said it, watching Namjoon carefully for any signs of a mental breakdown.
Aside from the other alpha’s suddenly freezing facial expression, nothing happened for a few seconds, so Jungkook decided to keep going. Better to cauterize a wound quickly all at once than do it slowly in segments, right?
“And as you might recall, I had my rut a couple of weeks ago, and uhm–” now Jungkook faltered a little bit, “Jimin went into heat and we spent it together.”
Now Namjoon’s eyes bugged out of his head in shock, his body leaning forward in his seat and hand tugging at his short hair in a stress response. “Please don’t fucking tell me that you mated him, Jungkook,” he begged.
“He didn’t,” Jimin chose to speak, trying to soothe the other alpha’s stress.
Namjoon relaxed.
“He did get me pregnant, though.”
Namjoon was up and out of his chair in a split second, pacing around the room in stress. “Fucking shit, Jungkook! This is bad,” he mumbled, not slowing down as he marched left to right, right to left, over and over again.
“Please stop, Joon. I’m getting nauseous,” Jimin mumbled after watching him for a few seconds, and the alpha immediately stopped, watching Jimin with a helpless expression.
“I don’t know what I should do in this situation. Should I congratulate you? What are you going to do?”
Jimin smiled, seemingly more at ease now that their big secret was revealed to someone else who could now share the burden. “You can congratulate me, I’m not unhappy about it, and neither is Jungkook.”
At the mention of his name, Namjoon stared back at his younger brother, assessing his emotional state.
“We can’t stay now,” Jungkook whispered after a moment, sadness washing over his heart. “Even if Jimin were to pass off our pup as Rowoon’s, he’s not going to treat him right and Jimin will not be happy. He plans to give away his future children for marriage pacts with other packs, and I won’t sit here and watch that happen, Joon.”
Namjoon sighed, beginning to pace again but he caught himself. “Where will you go?”
“We’ll try to find my old pack,” Jimin supplied, sounding apologetic for pulling the two brother’s apart. As if it wasn’t Jungkook’s decision…
Namjoon nodded, contemplating the floor very intensely. He smelled extremely sad, but he didn’t try to talk Jungkook out of his decision.
“Alright,” he sighed. “When will you go and what do you need me to do?”
❊❊❊
Jimin was beautiful in Hari’s mother’s old white dress, flowers braided into his hair. Jungkook couldn’t believe that it wasn’t an angel standing before him. He was completely stricken; dumbstruck, starstruck and lovestruck.
Jimin giggled at him, greeting Jungkook with a small peck to his lips. He wasn’t being careful anymore, because if everything went according to plan, they would be miles away from this place in just a short few hours.
“Is everything prepared?” he asked sweetly, playing with Jungkook’s fingers as he talked. He was so much more at ease on his mating day than Jungkook had ever thought possible. He trusted Jungkook to get him out of this.
Jungkook hummed in assent. “Seokjin did a supply run yesterday and left us two baskets hidden under a tree down south. We will be okay,” he promised softly. This was it.
Jimin smiled, squeezing Jungkook’s hand inside his. “Do you really think we can find my pack again?”
Jungkook nodded, determination settling inside his chest. No matter what happens, no matter how long he will have to search, he is going to get Jimin back to his people before their pup is born.
“We’ll find it, I promise,” he whispered.
Jimin nodded, then let go of Jungkook’s hand right as Namjoon entered the tent. His face was serious, mind focused on their plan. Jungkook felt a wave of gratitude for his brother wash over him, topped with the familiar sadness of what was inevitable. If everything went according to plan, he would most probably never see his brother again.
“The ceremony is set to begin in a few short minutes,” Namjoon spoke. All three of them filed back out of the tent, Jimin smoothing his dress down and walking ahead, Jungkook and his brother following on his heels.
Right when they were about to enter the gathering, Namjoon stopped Jungkook with an arm on his shoulder. The younger alpha immediately turned to him, heart growing heavy when he noticed the shine in his older brother’s eyes.
“I won’t be able to say this later, so I want to tell you now. I hope you find happiness and everything you’re looking for. Knowing you and being part of your life has been the greatest gift, and I am so very proud of the man you have become, Jungkook.”
Jungkook swallowed hard, a single tear slipping through his lashes and rolling down his cheek. He shot forward and buried his head in Namjoon’s shoulder, hugging him so tightly as he hadn’t done in many years, holding on to him like an anchor in a storm.
For so many years he had been just that for him. “Thank you for everything,” he whispered into his clothing. “I love you, please never doubt that, even if I made the choice to leave.”
Namjoon slung his own arms around Jungkook’s shoulders, keeping the younger pressed tightly to himself for a few moments longer. “I know, baby brother. I know it’s an impossibly tough decision, but I understand why you chose the way you did. I would do the same for my person.”
They pulled apart shortly after, both a little emotional but glad they had gotten the closure they needed. When Jungkook took his place at the front with Rowoon, he had no regrets.
Jimin looked like an angel as he almost floated down the corridor of wolves towards Rowoon. His eyes were trained on the alpha, but instead of love, Jungkook could see a look of pure concentration on his face.
“You look ravaging,” Rowoon grinned in pride at the crowd in front of him, not even sparing Jimin a second glance as he took his place next to the head alpha.
The ceremony was a loveless affair, Rowoon simply posturing in front of the pack, stinking with pride, as his mother rattled off her speech and blessings over the pack.
Jungkook was high-strung as he watched Jimin’s rigid side profile as he stared into space, dissociating from the whole situation. Any moment now…
Seokjin hobbled down the aisle, panting as if he had just run a marathon – his natural talent for theatrics coming out in full force. “Head Alpha,” he cried with gusto, “there’s a bear plundering the kitchens! It must have smelled the feast we prepared!”
Immediately the pack went into uproar, voices shouting over each other and gasps ringing through the air. Only a truly desperate animal on the brink of starvation would dare infiltrate a camp of wolves. Desperation meant danger, so this threat was not to be taken lightly.
“Hunters, to me!” Rowoon cried loudly over the rest of the wolves, acting like the heroic pack alpha just like they had predicted. “We’ll kill this beast and feast on it in honor of my mating consummation!”
Rowoon immediately stepped away from Jimin, not even sparing him a glance as he ran towards glory, leaving Jimin and Jungkook the perfect opportunity to steal away.
As Jungkook grabbed Jimin’s wrist, guiding him out of the chaos, he caught Seokjin’s gaze one last time. Countless people ran past the alpha, jostling him from left to right, but his gaze was steadfast on the pair, a soft smile on his lips. “Go,” he mouthed, and so they did.
❊❊❊
Nobody came after them for several days, so Jungkook gradually relaxed and allowed them longer breaks. They ran hard, slept little and looked over their shoulders all the time, but two days after they had left Jungkook’s pack’s territory, he deemed it safe enough to slow down.
He knew Jimin was exhausted on his feet, but the fox never complained. He actually seemed happier than ever, despite all the running.
“I can’t believe Seokjin left us so much stuff,” the redhead spoke reverently as he sifted through their provisions. In their two baskets, the other alpha had not only packed preserved food for several weeks and clothing, but also some healing herbs to heal some ailments and wounds. He had marveled at his generosity every time he opened the baskets since they had found them several days ago.
It never failed to make Jungkook smile in amusement, and every single time, Jimin would clock it immediately and hit his shoulder with a pout. “Don’t laugh at me, it IS really generous of him.”
The omega sat with his bare feet in a little stream, cooling his aching soles as he unpacked their food rations for the day. He hummed the same lullaby that Jungkook had overheard that day that he decided to leave with Jimin.
One of these days, he had to ask Jimin to teach the words to him, but today there was something else on his mind. He sat down on the grassy bank of the river, watching the water flow past them. Occasionally, he could spot tiny silvery fishes flitting past, on their own little journey to wherever.
“Do you think this is the same river that you used to swim in?” he asked after a while, dipping his own tired feet into the water.
Jimin shrugged. “It could be, if it gets wider further downstream,” he grinned, handing Jungkook a few strips of dried meat, another one already hanging between his own teeth and making his speech slurred.
“So much must have changed since I’ve been gone,” Jimin hummed, staring up into the trees with a reminiscing gaze. “They probably think I’m dead. They probably had a funeral for me when I didn’t come home after the winter.”
Jungkook couldn’t even imagine how Jimin’s family must have felt. Burying an empty coffin, staring at the tree line and willing whatever Gods that listened to bring Jimin back. How many tears had been wept over Jimin? How many more when he returned home?
“My best friend Tae would have mated the following spring. His childhood sweetheart Yoongi. He’s a kind alpha and totally perfect for him. He kind of reminds me of you sometimes,” Jimin hummed, blindly feeling for the alpha’s hand in the grass.
Jungkook grabbed it tightly, caressing the back of it with his thumb. Jimin had never spoken too much about the people he had lost that winter, but it seemed that he was ready now. The alpha simply listened.
“I meant to help with the ceremony. I had painstakingly dyed thread with dandelions all summer in order to stitch him a pretty yellow brocade around the hems of his tunic. I never got to finish this project and I never got to see him wear it. Do you think he had a happy ceremony or did my absence ruin it? Do you think he is also having pups now?”
Jungkook noticed two twin tears roll down Jimin’s rosy cheeks and squeezed his hand reassuringly. Jimin still wasn’t looking at him.
“And my mother, I hope she is still alive and can meet you and our baby. She’s always been a little frail, so I hope my return won’t give her a fright that will send her to her grave. I hope Hoseok is with her, and she hasn’t been lonely.”
He looked back at Jungkook now, as if just now noticing that he had been rambling out loud for the past minutes. He wiped his tears with his right hand, smiling at Jungkook lovingly.
“I can’t wait to be home, Jungkook.”
❊❊❊
Three days later, Jimin recognized the river bend they had been walking along. He stopped dead in his tracks as they broke through the underbrush, his scent spiking so strongly so suddenly Jungkook had run to him with his heart in his ass, scared that he had hurt himself or something was wrong with the pup.
When he caught up to the omega, he was already crying with the biggest smile to date on his lips. “I used to jump from here into the water,” Jimin supplied with a shaky voice, before he broke into a sprint down the river bank.
Jungkook ran after him instantly, their baskets completely forgotten where Jimin had dropped them.
Jimin dodged and weaved through the trees as if he was a squirrel in the woods, so unlike his clumsy traipsing through the snow up in the mountains. Jungkook had a hard time following him.
Two minutes later, they broke through the tree line and came into a big clearing. White and pink flowers covered the grass like a big blanket, and in the midst of it a big lilac bush and two foxes resting underneath it.
Jimin stopped in his tracks at the edge of the clearing, watching the two people stand up slowly from their kneeling positions. Jungkook came to stand right behind him, drinking in the bouquet of flowers mixing with the scent of happiness emanating from his omega.
“Tae,” Jimin gasped between deep breaths, eyes becoming watery as he recognized the omega in the field.
The other fox stared at the two of them with eyes as big as the moon, the purple flowers he was holding raining to the floor. The whole forest seemed silent for a few seconds as if holding its breath, then the two omegas started sprinting towards each other, colliding with a painful crack and falling to the floor entangled in each other's arms.
Tears streamed down both their faces, noses frantically digging into the other’s scent gland to envelope them in the other’s scent. The other beta, who was with Jimin’s best friend, watched the reunion with watery eyes himself. “I’ll go get your mom,” he announced to the two, and then ran off.
Jimin pulled away when he left, his gaze finding Jungkook’s where he was still standing at the edge of the clearing. He smiled at him with a smile rivaling the radiance of the sun. He winked him closer, hand outstretched for Jungkook to take.
The alpha came closer slowly, watching the other fox eye him warily, probably noticing him for the first time in that moment.
“Taehyung, this is Jungkook. He is my alpha,” Jimin introduced him with a loving smile, pulling him to the floor next to the two omegas.
Taehyung eyed Jungkook as if he was a celestial being who had brought his best friend back from his grave. “Thank you for bringing him back to us, Jungkook Jimin’s alpha,” the omega whispered with gratitude.
“What happened, Jimin? We thought you were dead,” Taehyung addressed Jimin again, voice choked with emotions on the last word. Even more tears ran down the omega’s face, hand reaching out to stroke Jimin’s flaming locks as if checking if he was real and not just a mirage brought on by grief.
Jimin sighed loudly, forcefully making his voice lighthearted. “Where would I even begin? I’ll tell you all about it after I’ve seen the others, okay? It’s a very long story.”
Taehyung accepted the dismissal without gripe, his eyes still flitting all around Jimin’s face, probably cataloging all the little changes in him since he last saw him. Jungkook wondered if he found many.
“Well, we have a lot to tell you too. I’m mated now for starters and recently gave birth. Yoongi has her right now– Oh my God!” Taehyung suddenly exclaimed, eyes wide.
“I named her after you! How are you going to know who I am calling for now? We need to think of a nickname and fast…”
Jungkook tuned out of the conversation after a while, Jimin and Taehyung’s excited chatter and coos becoming pleasant background noise as Jungkook stared at his beautiful omega. He still couldn’t believe they made it.
Jimin was finally home and Jungkook – well, Jungkook never fully left home because Jimin was right there by his side after all.