... And Other Ships

YoonKook: Please Come Home

so, for those of you who have grandparents that served in the Vietnam War, please do not get offended over this. I took a class on the war and actually gained permission from a veteran to write this. thank you. 

"They're... they're sending you to-to Vietnam?" Yoongi whispered, staring up at his older boyfriend with teary eyes. Jungkook nodded solemnly, refusing to look at the boy next to him. "They're sending me to go work with the American Marines," he said absently, staring down at his standard-issue boots. "I'm leaving in an hour." 

The gasp that left the high school junior made him flinch; he knew way too well that he was breaking the boy's heart. 

Jungkook turned to Yoongi, whose bottom lip was bleeding with his effort to remain calm. His boyfriend was a soldier; he didn't approve of weakness. But Jungkook would rather be vulnerable instead of a soldier. He pulled Yoongi into his arms, tucking his boyfriend into his chest to let him cry it out. Yoongi wasn't too affectionate, but at times like this, he needed the stability that physical touch provided. 

He cried into his boyfriend's chest, only crying harder when he felt a kiss placed into his hair. Of course Yoongi knew what happened to the majority of those who went to Vietnam: they never returned. Helicopter gunners had a life expectancy of forty seconds in Vietnam, which was exactly why Jungkook was going in the first place. It was very unlikely that he would survive the war and they both knew it. 

The soldier hummed and pulled Yoongi's face up to look into his eyes. "Shh, Darling. Listen to me," he soothed, cupping Yoongi's face in his hands. "I'm going to come home in one piece, okay? I promise." 

His boyfriend sniffled and nodded, hands coming up to hold onto his boyfriend's wrists. "I love you, Jungkookie," he whimpered. Jungkook smiled and kissed Yoongi sweetly. "I love you more. Stay in school for me. Go to college and be good. Don't give up on me," he demanded, placing a copy of his dog tags around Yoongi's neck. 

"I promise, Kookie. I love you," the younger boy replied, kissing his boyfriend one last time before they unwillingly parted. 

Yoongi tried to take in every detail he could as he watched his first love walk towards death. 

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"I need some firepower, back there!" 

Jungkook immediately started shooting the enemy as the dust-off lifted out of Landing Zone Hope, filled with as many injured American Marines as possible. The only thing on his mind was that he needed to get the enemy off the Huey's ass before they can safely withdrawal. 

"There's too many of them! We're not going to get off the ground before we're blown to pieces!" Jungkook yelled back, cursing in frustration when his gun jammed. He quickly snatched a new one from the closest Marine, making sure to be careful before he reloaded and went wild. 

The helicopter pilot, a twenty-year-old named Lieutenant Rick Moore, pulled up as best as he could and managed to lift the dust-off about eight feet from the ground. "Good going, kid! Take them out!" he yelled back, screaming every curse word there was in English as he watched Jungkook jump out of the Huey, guns blazing. 

"Marine, get your ass back here!" Moore yelled, but Jungkook motioned for him to get out of the landing zone while he could. The dust-off unwillingly left as he ran to cover an American Marine. 

The minute his gun jammed was the minute he had locked eyes with one of the enemy, who started advancing towards him. 

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Yoongi was sitting in his second class when two American Marines and two Korean Marines entered the silent room. All heads turned to him, watching as his face paled and he subconsciously gripped Jungkook's dog tags tightly.