𝙱𝚊𝚍 𝙸𝚍𝚎𝚊𝚜 - 𝙺. 𝙱𝚘𝚔𝚞𝚝𝚘 𝚡 𝙾𝙲

Chapter Seventeen

Everything felt surreal as Idoki packed her belongings into her yellow duffle bag, rattling off the list she'd mumbled earlier as she did so. It'd taken her less than ten minutes in her haste to gather what she considered necessities before she locked the door behind her and made her way downstairs to wait for Bokuto. She stared at her phone, waiting for a call or a message – anything to ease her mind...or show her the reality of her father's condition.

As soon as he had pulled his car away after dropping Idoki off at her apartment, Bokuto was on the phone with Akaashi and filling him in on what he knew of the situation, and asked him to let Yachi know as well. Reiterating the list that Idoki had recited on their way to his car, Bokuto shoved a few sets of clothes and hygiene products into a spare gym bag along with his laptop and phone charger before racing back to his vehicle.

By the time he pulled up to Idoki's building once again, he saw her pacing in front of the door, a startle in her eye as she realized it was his car before her. He quickly hopped out and jogged over to her as she approached, slipping the bag off her shoulders and popping it in the backseat before returning to the driver's side once she was settled.

Glancing over at her as he started the car, Bokuto softly cleared his throat. "Have you heard anything?"

"Not yet," she sighed, sinking back into her seat. "Do you know how to get to Kamikawa?"

"I do," Bokuto nodded. "I had Akaashi let Yacchan know you won't be home for a bit as well. I hope that's okay, I just didn't want her to worry when you didn't come home tonight."

"I didn't even think of that...'' her eyes focused on the road in front of them as she began to feel guilty. "I should've, though. Thank you, Bokuto-san."

Bokuto reached over and picked up her hand from her lap, tugging it over to the console between them as he laced their fingers together. "It's an easy thing to slip your mind when you're preoccupied, thought I'd take care of it for you."

Idoki hummed instead of replying with words she didn't know how to string together. Other than the talk radio Bokuto had put on for them to listen to, they both stayed relatively silent. He knew peppy music wasn't what she needed right now, even if he did want to see her smile. He made a few comments here and there about the topic the hosts had been discussing and Idoki would reply with one or two-word sentences, it was all she could muster.

When Tetsunori called with an update fifteen minutes into their drive, letting her know that the doctor quickly determined appendicitis was the culprit and their father needed emergency surgery. Bokuto felt her hand squeezing his tightly as she kept her voice steady while speaking to her brother, letting him know that she was on her way, and bringing a friend with her.

After she got off the phone, Idoki pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to keep her tears at bay as guilt flooded the entirety of her being. Sure, she talked to her dad on a weekly basis, but she hadn't seen him since she'd moved. Was the hug he gave her the day she left the last one she'd ever receive from him? Was that the last time she'd see her father alive? Her stomach churned with regret, wishing she'd just taken the three-hour train ride home for Thanksgiving a few weeks ago even if it meant she only spent a few hours there before taking the train back home again. Yeah, holidays hadn't been the same since her mom died, but that didn't mean that she didn't have other responsibilities to her family... it didn't mean that it was okay for her to be absent – it should've been more reason for her to make the effort.

"I should've gone home for Thanksgiving," she whispered before butting the heel of her hand into her forehead, cursing herself. "I should've been there, and now my dad is going to die, and the last time I saw him was months ago because I was selfish and moved here instead of taking care of my family."

Bokuto frowned, his heart aching for her. "It's not selfish to follow your dreams, Ichigo. I'm sure he's proud that you're doing something you wanted to, something you worked hard for. Don't you think?"

"Does pride really matter when I've missed out on so much?"

"Do you really think he'd be happy if he knew you stayed at home when you had dreams of moving to Osaka?" Bokuto countered, giving her pause.

Idoki turned her head, letting her cheek rest against the leather seat as she stared at Bokuto. Still in the dark teal crew neck sweater he wore to the bar, she couldn't help but notice how flattering the colour was against his skin tone as she wondered why someone as kind and beautiful as him was interested in her. "No," she softly admitted.

"Exactly," Bokuto peered over at her briefly, a small smile tugging up his lips as he saw her completely focused on him now, rather than staring blankly out the window as she had been previously. "Just because you didn't make such an exhausting trip, doesn't mean that you love him any less. He knows that."

"I'm glad I got to meet your family that day at least." Idoki closed her eyes as she recalled it as the first time he'd said her given name, and even though he had used it a few times after that, she didn't think she'd ever forget how sweet it sounded at that moment. Such a memory was one she was grateful to find a sliver of solace in right now.

"Me too." Bokuto began to fidget with her fingers as he spoke. "I'm sorry about everything else that day though...like, really sorry. And not only that day, other days too."

Idoki's eyes lifted as she took in the sight of distress written across his features. "I know." She lifted up his hand and studied it closely as she continued. "It put you in a tough position, I understand. You don't need to keep worrying about it, Bokuto-san."

"You're too nice to me."

After placing a kiss on top of his hand and bringing it back to rest between them, Idoki found a moment of peace in the shy smile her innocent kiss received in response. "I think that about you all the time," she mused. "It's easy being nice to you, though. You're wonderful."

-

As they grew nearer to their destination, Bokuto could feel Idoki's hand beginning to tremble and he tightened his hold on it. "You wanna talk about it?"

"There's not much to say. I'm just..." she frowned as she let out a defeated breath. "Scared."

"That makes sense," he hummed, wishing there was something he could say to console her, but the fact of the matter was that there wasn't. All he could do was listen and be there beside her, but he was determined to be the best at both of those things if it was all that was in his power. "I wish I could give you a hug right now, but I'm gonna give you the biggest hug as soon as we get there so you should probably prepare for that."

Idoki's lips curved slightly as she peered over at him. "I should prepare, should I? Aren't you worried you'll over-hype it?"

"Not even a little," Bokuto shrugged, a small smirk present when their eyes met for only a second and he saw her smile. "It's going to be the best hug you've ever had, Doki Doki."

"Well alright then," she laughed softly. "I look forward to it."

Of course, when they arrived and Bokuto parked the car, he ran around the vehicle to open her door, and Idoki couldn't help but smile.

He's such a dork...

The moment she was on her feet, he wrapped his arms around her waist tightly and lifted her nearly a foot off the ground before placing her back down. Letting his grip loosen, he brought a hand up to cradle her head to his chest, stroking her hair affectionately before resting his cheek against the top of her head when he felt her relax into his embrace.

"You were right," Idoki mumbled, tilting her head to place a kiss on his neck. "Best hug ever."

The feel of her lips against his skin sent his heart into a frenzy, and under different circumstances, Bokuto would've wished that he could live inside that moment forever. "There's more where that came from, Sugarplum."

"I hope so." She pulled herself away from him with a sigh, the apologetic smile on her lips saying words she didn't need to utter for him to understand. Bokuto picked up her hand and clutched it firmly before leading her towards their destination.