“and could love free me from the shadows?” (from Luka hehehe !! he might be barking it at her, in a way where he’s so frustrated about everything 😭)
and other stories... | @goldcnpeaks gets a talkin' to!
there is a bite to his bark, and it takes chiyo aback for only a moment before she firmly replies, " didn’t love save me? "
she stands in the middle of their home -- jovie and luka's. for a little while, chiyo didn't think she'd ever see this place again. she thought the days of dozing off on their couch were over; she thought her life was over. and it had been. briefly. yet there chiyo stands all the same, blonde hair mussed and eyes still puffy with sleep as she stares at luka. though much has changed, she still remains.
" i died. i was gone, and jovie brought me back. then when i ran off into the dark, you two searched for me and found me. " she encroaches upon luka's space, fearless in a manner that comes with caring for another. why would she fear the wolf's teeth now? " wasn't it love? wasn't it love that saved me from rotting away in some abandoned house, confused and scared and all alone? don't scoff at it, luka. "
her chest heaves with emotion. she doesn't do this. she doesn't speak with her tender heart on her sleeve, so honest and open, but there is a bruise upon her heart which luka unwittingly pressed. the pain is sharp, lingering; does he not understand what jovie would do for him? what chiyo would do for him? does he not understand that had he been in chiyo's shoes all those months ago, they both would still be standing right where they are? that jovie and chiyo would have chased after him, pulled him from the dark and stubbornly held onto him? that they would do that now if only he would let them?
does luka not understand how deeply he is cared for? or does he not believe that that is enough to help him? both options hurt for different reasons.
with a furrowed brow, chiyo's gaze slides from the unexplained, little cuts upon his cheek bone to his split lip and back to luka's amber eyes. she reaches out, brushing gentle fingers just under those cuts. " you can depend on us, y’know. jovie would move mountains for you. ” her hand falls to luka’s shoulder then slides down his arm to grasp his hand, and chiyo drops her gaze. softly she tells him, “ i would, too. ”
