"...So this goes here, and then as you can see... Ciel are you listening?" Joanne's soft voice asked breaking Ciel's out of his trance.
"Hm? Oh. Yes of course." Ciel said, adjusting his posture that was previously slumped over the table to bring his gaze back to the blonde boy who was eyeing him quietly.
Joanne giggled softly. His voice was the sound of angels and it caused Ciel's ears to flush a cherry red. "Perhaps we should take a break from mathematics?" the boy said with a soft smile.
Ciel nodded tiredly. He had been so busy with Sebastian lately that he barely had time to study anymore. "Yes." he said, stifling a yawn. "What shall we do in the meantime?" he asked, stretching.
Joanne smiled softly. "Well if you wouldn't mind, I actually would like to show you a book I've been reading recently! It's been quite enjoyable so far, it talks of the conquests of medieval knights!" the boy said, ruby eyes sparkling in excitement as he brought out a book from his school satchel. It was large and heavy in his thin hands and it was placed onto the desk with a heavy thump. Opening it to a random page, he showed Ciel an illustration of famous knights before their time who served royalty. The bright colors and oil paintings brought life to the otherwise dull pages, making the boy smile in glee.
The boys crowded around the thick book, flipping past pages of renaissance artwork of famous kings and queens of the 17th and 16th centuries, eyes drinking in the colorful illustrations in wonder. Joanne, the normally reserved boy was chattering on and on about his favorite parts of world history and famous monarchs, eyes lighting up in excitement. Ciel honestly didn't care much for history; it wasn't his strongest subject, but none of that mattered as he listened intently to Joanne's excited chattering with an amused smile. He occasionally added in small inputs such as,
"Oh really?" and "Is that so?", but he mostly kept his gaze on the long haired blonde. He listened to the other boy talk well into the evening, simply enjoying his company and watching his animated reactions.
They had gotten over halfway into the book when supper was announced by a passing student. Joanne let out a gasp of surprise. "Oh my, has it been that long already? I apologize for keeping you so long, Ciel!" the boy exclaimed, struggling to close the thick book and back it back into his bag.
"Let me help you with that." Ciel offered the taller boy, covering Joanne's thin hands with his own as he helped the book slide back into the satchel without anymore trouble. He saw Joanne's face flush red at the contact but chose not to comment on it with a wry smile.
"Thank you for your assistance, Ciel. I really appreciate it, honestly. Thank you for indulging in my foolish talk for so long, it was a joy to spend such time with you." the shy boy mumbled, as he tucked a strand of hair behind his ear, ruby eyes staring at the floor. His face was flushed in humble joy as he took a peek down at Ciel from the corner of his eye, to see he was smiling as well.
"It's no problem at all, Sir Harcourt. Our time together was quite enjoyable for me as well." Ciel said with a smile.
Joanne giggled softly. "You're quite the gentleman, Ciel. How I wish to be like you." he confessed, clutching his satchel close to his chest. Suddenly their tranquil moment was spoiled by the loud rumbling of his stomach. The tall boy's face flushed with embarrassment and he gave a nervous chuckle. "Ah, my apologies. I hadn't finished eating breakfast this morning so I'm quite hungry..."
Ciel snorted into his hand. Smiling at the other boy, he held out his hand. "Well then I suppose we'll just have to make it to supper in time won't we?"
Joanne's let out a small laugh, allowing his larger hand to slide into Ciel's smaller one and together the two boys made their way to the mess hall, fingers locked together in a shy embrace along the way, both boy's faces flushed with the excitement of newly discovered feelings.