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Dragon eats like his appetite is a void and food is just an attempt to sate it. There's no other way to describe it. Dragon eats like it'll be his last meal, like he hasn't eaten in days, like he's fought for it. (And he has, in a way.)
Dragon eats a lot like Sabo. Or well, Sabo eats like him?
It's his first time eating in the mess hall with Dragon since he arrived at Baltigo a week ago, let alone with Iva and Kuma. Abruptly, he feels fiercely protective of his own food, piled nearly as high as Dragon’s own, even though he doubts the man would even think of taking his portion.
As he watches in fascination, Iva slides one of their plates into the flurry of Dragon's feasting, who stabs his fork into the offered pasta without pause.
Strangely enough, Sabo can't find the sight to be... Weird? He knows it's no pretty sight when he eats, as told by several revolutionaries with varying levels of awe (and some queasiness) when he had finally been cleared to eat in the mess hall yesterday. He was too busy shovelling food into his mouth to care, though.
Dragon makes it look... Almost ordinary, because his expression doesn't change at all as he slices up a steak and eats each piece in rapid succession. There's a certain sense of refinement to his movements somehow. Like the eye of a storm, deceptively calm.
Dragon hadn't eaten like this on the ship away from Goa, but that probably had something to do with the limited supplies. Sabo hadn't been able to eat properly even when he had wanted to back then either, body too weak for solids.
"Your food's getting cold." Dragon's voice cuts through his thoughts, and he looks up to see the man tearing a piece of bread in two. "Eat up."
Sabo blinks dumbly for a moment before hurriedly digging into his meal, embarrassed at his lapse. The mess hall is filled with chatter, plates and utensils clinking, laughter echoing through the air. The background noise is soothing, reminding him that he's eating with everyone, together.
He doesn't really have a comparison to use, since well, amnesia, but the Revolutionary Army's food is always tasty and filling, warming him up from the inside. Somehow the food tastes better than usual today, eating with Dragon and Ivankov and Kuma, and he wonders if he had eaten together with people a lot back in Goa.
Something enters his field of vision, and he looks up with cheeks stuffed full of food to see Kuma smiling at him across the table, holding out a large bowl of stew that he makes seem small in his huge hands. Sabo takes it with a surprised but pleased “Thank you!”, taking a long sip eagerly. It’s a meat and potato stew, the beef cooked until tender, giving way easily between his teeth.
"Vi thinks you two could do to slow down before one of you chokes." Iva huffs, giving them exasperated but resigned looks.
Sabo makes eye contact with Dragon, both pausing in their eating, before starting right back up again at an even faster pace. Kuma chuckles good-naturedly while Iva sighs theatrically, but Dragon hands him a meat skewer, so Sabo takes it as a good thing.
“Hey, woulda look at that!” Someone wanders over, a drink mug in hand and a smile on their face. “Looks like our latest recruit eats as much as you do, Leader!”
Sabo swallows his mouthful of food as others look over at their table with curiousity and amusement, suddenly feeling embarrassed when agreements sound around them.
“It’s good to have a healthy appetite; Sabo’s a growing boy!” Lask, one of the teachers in charge of the (few) children and subsequently him, leans over. “Can’t say the same of you, Dragon! If you grow any taller, Iva and Kuma will be getting some serious competition!”
Their surroundings burst into playful laughter, and Dragon’s lips twitch into a blink-and-you-miss-it smile, not entirely unnoticed as their audience starts clamoring excitedly at the reaction.
“Alright, back to your food, all of you. You’re crowding,” Dragon says, not unkindly, and everyone returns to their meals cheerfully.
Sabo exhales a quiet breath of relief; the moment had been fun while it lasted, but too many people had been staring to keep eating, and Lask had been talking to him.
“It doesn't get this rowdy usually,” Kuma whispers to him, a gentle smile on his face. “It’s just that no one’s been able to keep up with Dragon’s eating so far.”
“It always scares the newcomers,” Iva snorts, spooning up some stew to their mouth. “And then the older ones will rope them into betting pools on who can beat Dragon, or worse, try to!”
Dragon pauses, blinking languidly at Iva. “Really?”
Iva shakes their head in (mock) disappointment. “Dragon, you need to be more aware of vhat your Army is up to.”
“A few years ago, when we managed to rescue a kingdom, many of them ended up joining our cause. Once everyone was acquainted, someone started up an eating tournament of sorts,” Kuma explains. “The winner would then go on to secretly challenge Dragon, but it seems they were too subtle about it in the end.”
“That hawkboy made an admirable effort, but alas, they vere defeated by dessert,” Iva laments, Sabo stifling a giggle at the theatrics.
Dragon appears lost in thought. “You mean, Wren? I did feel I was seeing him in the mess hall eating more than was the norm often, but…”
“He passed out in a food coma for a whole day after losing to you, Boss.” Someone calls over their shoulder as they pass, snickering. “Wren’s going to be so heartbroken.”
Dragon seems so genuinely bemused by the whole situation that Sabo cackles before he can help himself, failing to keep quiet. Kuma joins in, and Iva smirks while Dragon shakes his head in defeat.
“Wait, does that mean I could be the first to beat Dragon?” Sabo perks up, making eye-contact with Dragon, who raises an eyebrow back at him.
“Oh ho! Looks like you have a new challenger, Dragon!” Iva laughs.
“He can certainly try,” Dragon concedes, and Sabo grins, wild and feral, before diving back into his food. Dragon turns back to his food without missing a beat, scooping up some mashed potatoes.
It’s the most fun he’s had ever, which isn't saying a lot, but Sabo decides that it counts anyway.
(He loses, because Sabo is just over Dragon’s knees and he can only pack away so much, but not before they eat enough to get a tongue-lashing from the cooks. But Dragon gives him a small, secret smile just for him when they leave the mess hall together after being kicked out, so Sabo beams right back.)