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It all started with a sandwich.
Not even a remarkable sandwich, fancier than most Jounouchi supposes. Kaiba seems the sort to use weird lettuces, fancy mustards and specialty deli meats, but at the core of it all this was just a sandwich.
And it smelled fucking delicious.
Which wouldn’t have been so bad, if Kaiba hadn’t unwrapped it in the otherwise empty courtyard with him. Then proceeded to completely ignore the food.
Ignoring perfectly good food! The nerve!
Jounouchi really had been trying to study, but with an empty stomach it gets hard to think about anything but wanting food. Before he could smell the sandwich it had not been nearly as bad, but watching Kaiba type away at his dumb laptop while ignoring a perfectly good lunch was too damn much.
“You gonna eat that?”
Kaiba wordlessly nudged the sandwich further from himself, not even dignifying the question with an answer. Jounouchi decided that was more than enough invitation, and snatches half quickly scarfing it down while the steely-eyed CEO ignores him.
Then he watched the other teen warily, as if expecting to be mocked. When no such retaliation came, he grabbed the other half and finished it, sitting cross-legged on the grass by the end of Kaiba’s table, books spread out on the concrete walkway alongside it.
It was only a few minutes afterwards that Kaiba’s apple thumped off the table and onto his textbook.
A sidelong glance confirmed that Kaiba was still engrossed in his work, so Jounouchi picked it up and took a bite, scribbling in answers with his free hand.
Now, that had been months ago.
Jounouchi had gotten used to spending his lunches sitting on the grass beside Kaiba’s table in good weather, or hidden in the back of the library in bad weather. Today was especially nice, sunny with a gentle breeze, but not enough to disturb his homework papers.
“Why do you never eat with your friends?”
The sound startled Jounouchi into looking up from his book, blinking at the blue eyes staring intently back at him. Weird, he decided, as Kaiba hadn’t spoken to him once in the entire time they had been meeting there.
“Why do you never eat your lunch?” Jounouchi counters, grinning a bit as Kaiba’s expression becomes guarded and evasive.
“I asked you first.”
Jounouchi frowns a bit, as Kaiba does have a point there, “Fair enough. I don’t eat lunch with them because I can’t study if I do. I get distracted. I need to study this year, or I’ll be the only one who doesn’t get into University.”
“You’re planning to attend University?” Jounouchi isn’t sure whether Kaiba’s surprise should be offensive or not, so instead he steals another bit from Kaiba’s sandwich.
“Yes. Maybe. Yugi says if I do well enough, I might get a scholarship. If I do, I can probably go.” He looks stubbornly down at his books, feeling Kaiba’s gaze on him as he re-reads the same line he has been for the past five minutes,
“You didn’t answer my question, you know.”
“Hm? I thought you would have figured it out on your own by now.” Kaiba chuckles, and for once the sound isn’t chilling, “I eat smaller meals throughout the day to encourage higher energy, better digestion and overall efficiency. I don’t eat lunch at all.”
“Then. Wait.” Jounouchi flounders a bit, “Why do you bring one?”
As the bells ring Kaiba packs away his laptop, swinging his legs out from the picnic table to head to class. He pauses in the walkway, glancing back at Jounouchi’s earnestly confused expression and smiles faintly.
“For you, idiot. No one should have to study on an empty stomach.”