𝙱𝚊𝚍 𝙸𝚍𝚎𝚊𝚜 - 𝙺. 𝙱𝚘𝚔𝚞𝚝𝚘 𝚡 𝙾𝙲

Chapter Nine

With her two containers in hand, one empty and the other with a single remaining slice of kabocha pie, Bokuto knocked on Idoki's apartment door later that night. While his sisters did their best trying to keep the mood from completely dropping, there was still a lingering sadness they had all felt hovering above them. Well, everyone except Fujiwara, who was merely pissed off that she was being blamed for anything that had to do with Idoki.

Bouncing nervously on the balls of his feet, Bokuto's anxiety was skyrocketing. The gnawing feeling of guilt scratched inside his chest as he waited, eager to apologize for tonight in person. When she opened the door in the overalls he'd become familiar with in the past few weeks, he breathed a breath of relief. "Hey, Doki-chan. Do you have a minute?"

With a racing heart and an embarrassed flush to her cheeks, Idoki rubbed the back of her neck. She thought maybe he'd send a text or something, but she certainly wasn't expecting Bokuto to show up at her home. "I, um...sure." She took a deep breath and stepped aside, allowing Bokuto into her and Yachi's apartment for the first time. "Do you want a drink or anything? Tea? Water?"

"You know, tea actually sounds really good right about now." Bokuto smiled as he walked in and surveyed the place before turning towards the kitchen. "It always helps when I feel nervous."

Idoki's eyebrows furrowed. "You're nervous, Bokuto-san?"

"Well, yeah," he chuckled sheepishly as he placed her containers on the kitchen counter and grabbed her kettle off the stove, filling it up with water and placing it back in place as if he'd done it a million times. "I...I'm not really great with apologies."

Bokuto began opening up cupboards in search of a plate, his actions earning a head tilt from Idoki. "Can I get something for you, Bokuto-san?"

"Just looking fo- oh! Found it!" He looked over his shoulder at her with a grin, pulling out a plate and setting it on the counter before doing the same with two mugs.

"I can make the tea, you know," Idoki hummed as she came up beside him, reaching out for the small jar she kept her favourite tea in. "You're the guest here. Why don't you go have a seat at the table?"

Bokuto's voice took on a softer tone as he peeked over at her. "Have you eaten dinner?"

After popping a tea bag into each mug, Idoki leaned her back against the counter and elbowed Bokuto's arm. "You don't need to worry, Bokuto-san. We're good."

Tossing his head back with a sigh, the silver-haired man almost wanted her to be mad at him. She had every right to be angry, and it was kind of weird to him that she wasn't. "Why aren't you mad? You should be mad, Doki-chan. I was a jerk, and Fuji was a jerk, and ugh!"

"You weren't a jerk." Idoki's lips pulled down into a frown, knowing he blamed himself made her feel even worse for leaving so abruptly. Of course, he'd blame himself... "You and your family are lovely people, Bokuto-san. I should've thought of how...everyone would feel about my being there before I accepted your offer. That's not your fault, you were just trying to be a good friend."

Bokuto rubbed his forehead as he stared down at the mugs on the counter, one baby pink with cat whiskers painted on the front, and the other bright yellow with a smiley face. "I was a jerk for letting it happen...I know she's just jealous, but it's not okay that she does shit like that." Bokuto glanced over his shoulder at Idoki, her strawberry hair hiding her expression from him. "And I don't want you to think that I think it's okay either."

"I'm sorry that my presence puts you in such an uncomfortable position, Bokuto-san." Idoki pushed herself away from the counter to attend to the whistling kettle beside her, turning off the stove before carefully pouring the water into each cup, grateful to at least hear him acknowledge what happened. "I can't imagine how stressful that must feel."