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Chihiro watches the seconds tick by on the clock hanging at the front of the classroom, tuning out whatever his teacher was droning on about this time. He's idly tapping his heel to the floor in time with the seconds, waiting for the lunch bell to ring. Two rows ahead of him, Hakuri is still diligently taking notes, or maybe he's doodling on the margins of his notebook again. Chihiro doesn't really know, he can't tell from here. The rest of his classmates seem eager to get going, their teacher must be able to tell, because she wraps up her lecture seconds before the bell rings, signaling the start of their lunch period.
A chorus of scraping chairs and idle chatter fill the room as soon as the bell is finished letting them know it's lunch time. He follows suit with the rest of his classmates, pulling his bento out his desk and meeting Hakuri at his desk. He's still rummaging through his bag for his wallet.
“Sorry, gimmie a sec,” he apologizes without looking up, “shoot, I think I left my wallet at home.”
“We can split my lunch,” Chihiro offers, “I think I packed too much anyways…”
“Really?” Hakuri smiles brightly, “You're the best, Chihiro!”
They leave their classroom to sit outside and eat, it’s a beautiful day out and it’s not too hot outside yet. Hakuri talks about a video game he’s been playing and Chihiro just nods along to whatever he says. It’s not that he doesn’t care- well, he actually doesn’t care about the game, but he likes hearing Hakuri talk. He’s glad he can share his lunch with Hakuri, he packed extra on purpose just in case Hakuri wanted some.
It would be impossible for Chihiro to ignore his friend’s eating habits, or lack thereof. Hakuri never brings a meal from home, which is fine, not everyone has the time to do that. But Chihiro’s been to the Sazanami house, he knows they have money and he knows they already have hired help and he knows they could easily get someone to do the cooking- hell they probably already have a cook. He knows Hakuri isn’t shy about eating, either, it’s just that nobody in his family cares enough to make sure he’s getting to school with a lunch to eat. The school lunches are fine, but Hakuri doesn’t like going into the cafeteria everyday and most of his meals are supplemented with vending machine snacks.
Chihiro worries. He worries a lot, though it may not seem like it. He just wants Hakuri to eat well, so has he been making more food than he can eat just to subtly make sure Hakuri is eating enough? Well, he’ll never admit it, but that’s exactly what he’s been doing. If Hakuri has noticed, he hasn’t said anything, so Chihiro keeps bringing more and more food. Hakuri keeps accepting.
They eat out of the same box, passing his pair of chopsticks back and forth as they each enjoy the meal. Hakuri compliments his cooking and he feels like fireworks going off at a summer festival. Chihiro doesn’t think about the indirect kisses with Hakuri as they share chopsticks, the feeling is saved for later when he can freak out about it by himself. He also tries to ignore when their fingers brush slightly as they hand over the chopsticks. Chihiro blames the sudden warmth from being outside, not because of Hakuri.
He offers it out of nowhere, “I can start packing you a lunch, too... If you want.”
Hakuri stops his motions, chopsticks halfway to his mouth paused in midair as he processes what Chihiro offered. Chihiro feels like he’s broken some taboo that he’s never heard of before.
“You don’t have to go through all that trouble,” is what Hakuri responds. He puts the chopstick down, looking guilty, “I actually don’t need anymore, it’s still your lunch-”
“I packed extra for you,” Chihiro interrupts, shrugging, “it’s not a big deal.”
Hakuri blushes, a bright red contrast to his eyes, “you seriously don’t have to do that.”
“I want to.”
“Oh…” Hakuri looks away, embarrassed, “thank you.”
Chihiro hums and picks up his bento box, passing it to Hakuri. There’s not much left and he’s already full, Hakuri always eats more than he does.
“Take the rest,” he offers.
Hakuri tentatively takes the box from Chihiro’s hands. He tries to argue a bit more, but Chihiro effectively shuts him down. He eats the rest and Chihiro happily packs the empty box away, when he’s finished. Hakuri doesn’t say anything more about the food, instead they talk about video games for the rest of the time they have together before the bell rings. Chihiro is already planning what to pack for lunch tomorrow as Hakuri rambles on about some level he's been stuck on.