A/N: Well, hasn't it been awhile since the last time I write. So this is my first work for Shokugeki No Soma because I've been really into it lately. Plus, I'm jobless! So what's a better time to write than now, yeah?

I know there are like, gazillion Sorina (Soueri? Whatever you call it!) fics out there, but I'd really like to contribute something to this pairing BECAUSE THEY ARE JUST SO DAMN CUTE am I right or am I right?

Oh, and as always, s/o to my galpal (and loyalest spammer) MartengaPop. Love you loads girl 3

Anyway, enough chit-chatting. I hope you guys do enjoy this one and don't forget to R&R! I'd love to hear what you think of it. For any critics, do tell me! But be civil as always ;)

CHAPTER I

The Wicked Game

"Yukihira, are you asleep?"

Erina finally manages to calmly knock on the redhead's bedroom door after moments of contemplating whether she should, but she has finally decided to lower her pride, this time.

And… several times before.

Yes, this particular event is not uncommon for Nakiri Erina. Some nights when the circumstances just won't allow her to sleep -whether it's exams, endless paperworks, or when the winter simply bites- she always found himself near the company of this second-rated chef, a term she used to address him.

But things have changed since Hokkaido. Unconsciously, she's slowly been lowering her guard towards Sōma, and he's not the same Sōma she used to see and judge in the entrance exam. Sure, he looks more mature these times and his cooking has grown light years ahead- she just refused to admit this.

Though there is one last thing Erina denies within herself; she's been seeing Sōma… in a different fashion.

"No, no I'm not. Come in!" He replies casually behind the door.

There it is- the sound of her heart racing once his raucous voice runs through her ears. She immediately feels her cheek flushed as she places a palm above her beating chest, trying to keep herself together before slowly turning the doorknob and step in.

The door reveals the redhead that's been spinning her head lately, sitting with his legs crossed above the cushion. A strikingly friendly pair of golden eyes greet her and even though it's quite late, it doesn't show any sign of weariness. His knife lies still beside the sharpener, as a sign that he's been sharpening it before she comes. But what steals her attention is how his compact physique is being wrapped with his casual light blue sweatshirt and pants.

And how such simplicity awes her- out of all golds and glitters.

"Yo, Nakiri! you can't sleep either?" Sōma asks, in his usual neighborly self.

"Try asking a different question the next time I come over, Yukihira." Remarks Erina brusquely- secretly trying to shelter her guard, "It bores me how you overuse that question."

"Haha, sorry! I'll try better next time," Sōma laughs as he hands Erina a cushion for her to sit on, as usual, "Boy, Nakiri, you really are something else."

As Erina receives the cushion and places it under her, she motions to sit close to Sōma, but then her body hesitates, so she scoots slightly further, creating a gap before she answers, raising one brow, "W-What is that suppose to mean?"

"Nah, don't stress about it," Sōma grins. Not in the smuggish way that irritates her, though. Well, maybe not anymore, "So what brings you here tonight?"

In that question, her body freezes. Truth be told, she doesn't even know why she's here in Sōma's room. It's not exam week, and it's certainly neither a night where she has a lot of paperworks, nor even a terrible snowy night outside. It feels odd to her that earlier, she found herself sleeplessly lying in her bed with her eye on the Polar Star Dorm's clunky ceiling- she swore it could almost fall on her anytime-, but even though she was staring at the little cracks, her thoughts went to the stupidly charming redhead.

And here she is now, stupidly following her guts without even thinking- Erina no baka.

Sighing, she tilts her head slightly so she can't see his face, "I… I'm not even sure, to be honest. I simply find it hard to sleep."

"Eh? Something bothering ya?"

Yes, my feelings towards you.

Erina mentally slaps her head for silently answering his question like so. Maybe he's noticed she's acting strange tonight. Oh, how she hopes she's not blushing right now.

Alright, it's recovery time for Erina.

"I-It's none of your business, Yukihira!" She lifts her head and replies briefly, folding her hand above her chest, "Don't expect me to come over here to ask for your comfort."

Sōma stays silent regarding Erina's response. He stares confusedly, long and hard at her direction. His golden eyes meet her purple ones. She knows he's probably trying to read her thoughts, but the way his eyes pierced right to her just making her cheek flushed even more.

God, this is embarrassing.

Erina shakes her head slightly before she motions to raise on her feet, "You know, I-I probably should just leave-"

"No, no. Just stay. What's the rush?" Sōma cuts her, pacing his hand as a cue, "I actually expected you."

That remark of Sōma hits her like a jolt, making her head faces him once more, "Huh?"

The next thing she knows, she folds her legs behind like she did earlier and the redhead chef shifts himself even closer to where she's sitting. The feeling of her heart racing is almost unbearable every inch he takes that she slightly tilts her body away from him.

He bends his leg and rests his arm over his knee before peeking behind the bushy hair he owns. Their eyes meet once again and to her, he's getting too close to her face- which is getting hotter every second.

"My goal hasn't changed since the beginning, Nakiri."

Right of the bat, she knows what he exactly means, but she's too worked up to even speak straight. Instead, her purple eyes shot open and her lips slightly part.

And before she knows it, Sōma speaks confidently, smirking ear to ear, "Tonight, 'It's delicious' will finally come out of your mouth."

That's right. The last time she ate Sōma's cooking was before Hokkaido- that Egg Tempura Don.

Erina can still recall how glorious it looked; she admitted she was confused at first, but when she splitted the crispy surface of the egg open, in that moment, she was mystified.

It's imprinted in her head how the rich yolk just oozed out of its barely firmed shell and gradually coated the surface of the rice and merging with the brown sauce naturally like mountain lava seaming the entire land.

At that moment, that simple yet nuts egg dish had something in common with Erina's mind; they were blown.

And when her god tongue made contact with a full bite of it, the robust flavor of the yolk knocked her down like thunder in a sunny day- she did not see that coming when her mind was already blown. This time, her body could just melt within the delicious, umami lava going on in her mouth, and the slight tempura crunch in the back itself could take her to the moon. It was gentle, but it was intense at the same time.

It was amazing, though she didn't say it to his face and got distracted.

So what could he possibly plan right now?

"Hold on to your seat, Nakiri! You don't know what's going to hit you this time." Sōma rolls out of his seat and keenly make his move towards the mini kitchen in his room, leaving Erina full of unanswered questions.

As Sōma prepares this mysterious dish, Erina can't help notice yet the same expression she sees him everytime he's cooking- it becomes scarily familiar. But this time, she quite enjoys watching him getting all excited in the kitchen. Not sure it's because how she sees him as a chef, or how she sees him as… other than a chef.

This time is kind of different, though. Erina can't hear the crackling sound of something frying, or even the sound of boiling water; there's barely any noise. All she can hear is the sound of a gas burner, and she guesses the oven is on since she can see the light inside, but she's not even sure what's in it.

"So you're still not telling me what's bothering you, eh?" Still glued on the dish he's preparing, Sōma's voice suddenly breaks the silence, catching Erina by surprise, "It's weird that I've known some of your personal stuff but now you decided to shut up… for once."

Her face turns sour hearing Sōma's remark that is followed by a cackle of laughter, "Must you always be insufferable about everything, Yukihira?"

Sōma laughs, "Y'know, you're something, Nakiri. I can't figure you out just yet. Sometimes you're bearable, sometimes you're not."

Erina stills hearing his somewhat unexpected reply, but before she can say anything, Sōma continues, "Either way, it's been awesome having you as one of my motivations."

Barely getting a grip, she can feel her cheeks slightly flushed when Sōma sneaks behind her and places the dish that will supposedly blow her away. And the moment the plate makes contact with the table, she can't believe her eyes- she's already surprised.

"Dig in, Nakiri Erina!"

It's a Crème Brûlée.

But not that classic Crème Brûlée that Erina has grown to know- she should've expected it, since it's Sōma's cooking.

The Crème Brûlée in front of her has a shiny, deep amber colored sugar crust on top like a good Crème Brûlée should be, but what mystifies Erina is the fact that it has a somewhat green hue waiting to glow by itself once she cracks that delectable caramel top.

And then it clicks; it's a Matcha Crème Brûlée.

The gulp inside Erina's throat can't be helped, especially when she takes a good look at the triangle black sesame tuile standing tall above the caramel crust, barely cutting through the top and makes a little contact with the custard, and it's screaming to be eaten right away.

She snaps the tuile in half and the flimsiness of it awes her already, but the real magic happens when she takes a bite of the paper-thin biscuit.

The crisp, light layer takes her straight to the roof as her teeth nudge the surface of the biscuit before the whole thing just dissolves and disappears inside her mouth, leaving her with a nutty, sweet aftertaste. There's a hint of sea salt at the back of her crater that makes the tuile itself even more complex.

The tuile itself already wowed her, but then she realized that her god tongue is still longing for that Matcha Crème Brûlée.

After she comes down from her tuile-surge, Erina grabs a metal spoon Sōma has provided beside the white ramekin before she starts tapping gently at the caramel crust.

As the top slightly breaks, the sound of a cracking frozen lake runs through her ears as if she is truly on top of it. Vivid green color peeks underneath the solid amber surface and it is glistening to her eyes, begging to enter her mouth that is now salivating inside.

But… just how did he? She didn't see him using a blowtorch to create such sugary masterpiece.

"I can see why you're curious, aye Nakiri," Sōma cackles- that cackle that could flip her mood upside down, "Just how did I create that crunchy crust without using a blowtorch, yeah?"

Ugh the things he does to get inside her head…

"Y'see, I only use this baby." Sōma smirks, lifting an object wrapped halfly with a kitchen towel, and she did not see it coming.

"A metal spoon?" Erina remarks, eyes shot wide and she barely realized that her lips part slightly. But she does not care a tiny bit at the moment.

"That's right! I heated this up in a gas burner for five minutes, and after sliding here and there, perfectly caramelized sugar happened!"

Erina won't let the fact that she was slightly impressed emerges to the surface- her pride as the God Tongue obviously still means everything, above everything. So she replies pompously, "Hmph. You do realize a mere homecook technique won't impress me, don't you Yukihira-kun?"

"Yeah, yeah what matters the most is the taste, of course. So just dig in before the custard gets warm."

He's right- she has practically lived her whole life depending on that, anyway. No matter how hard she tries to resist that small dish of Matcha Crème Brûlée, the look of it just glued her eyes, and it is begging every second to be eaten.

As the metal spoon scoop a piece of the luminous green custard and the glistening caramel, her lungs take the deepest breath of the night before, by the look of it, the drop of heaven is shoved inside her mouth. Maybe looks can be deceiving for this particular subject. Maybe she could hate it and she can finally tell it to Sōma's face just how disgusting this is.

Then it nudges her tongue- she knows she was wrong.

Her ears can practically hear the sound of an exploding bomb inside her mind. The mild sweet with an inkling bitterness of chilled matcha custard is the perfect combination with a hint of vanilla in the background. With the warm, perfectly sweet flavor coming out from the caramel, the earthy flavor of matcha and rooted toffee flavor merge into a profound melody that sings a beautiful tune inside her mouth.

All the glory that's going on in her mouth sends Erina slightly squirming and she thinks standing up and speaking is the hardest thing to do in this moment. Stop eating is not an option at this point. This dish is simply complex and irresistible, and it is not worth delaying the devouring process even if an earthquake is about to happen.

Before Erina can even take another spoonful, Sōma orders, "Yo, Nakiri! Try digging deeper, there's the last bit of surprise you haven't got."

Curious, her spoon excavate the delicate Crème Brûlée into the bottom of the ramekin only to find a small part of white colored custard and unblended with the dish on her spoon. What could this be? Why isn't this blended? She thought silently before once again, feeding herself.

White chocolate.

And the bright sweetness of it instantly adds a new light to the already elaborate flavor, making her even more wordless than before. There's a slight instinct within her that the three flavor combination would make the dish too "noisy", but what surprises her is the fact that they all just balance each level of sweetness perfectly and making it a harmonious, satisfying dessert. It's a concept of yin and yang, but somewhat reimagined by adding another color that ties the black and white together.

No- Erina knows Sōma didn't do a thing to the white chocolate. He simply cut them into chunks and place it on the bottom of the ramekin before pouring the matcha custard and baking it in a water bath, resulting in a more silky, gentle custard that dances with her god tongue oh-so-slowly, but convincingly.

Oh, she realizes just then this was more than good. She's trying to find the slightest fault to the dish, but this elegant dessert, that is made by Sōma- something Erina never thought he could or would- has finally did something no other dish could.

It seduces her to the very core.

What is he trying to pull here? Does he do this on purpose? To make her feel this way? Well, his previous dishes that she's eaten have always seduced her in some ways, but she always managed to deny it within herself and telling herself that she's had better and that there's no way someone like Sōma could please her appetite.

But this time… there is no escape for Nakiri Erina. She is now trapped in a Crème Brûlée heaven. No- it's not just because of her changing feeling towards him. It was always him and his cooking all along. But she's not going to deny that it does make her come to terms that she does have a crush on Yukihira Sōma. Not because of his father whom she adores as a chef and that she's convinced of it. Not even her God Tongue status could stop herself.

But God forbids that he found out about this. He would just get cockier with that cheeky grin of his that drives her insane. And she can only pray for a miracle that she's not blushing at this second, though it's nearly impossible. Maybe the fact that she's been devouring the little dish nonstop has already says a lot.

"J-Just… How could you… do things like this…" Erina stutters, keeping her eyes glued to the clean ramekin in front of her.

With his ease, playful self, Sōma remarks, "What? Are you surprised that I can cook a good French dish? Don't you know that I was at Shinomiya-shishō's restaurant for Stagiaire and I've been developing-"

"No, you're thinking way too shallow. You think I have no information about that whatsoever?" Erina cuts him and slowly raises her head to eye Sōma who is sitting across her, "You always… left me baffled with your cooking and… how did-"

"Just cut to the chase, Nakiri." Sōma shift his serious golden eyes at her direction, making her heart pounds fast, "Is it disgusting, or is it delicious?"

"I…"

"Though by the look on your face earlier, you did seem like you enjoyed yourself." Sōma's expression turns the complete opposite as he points his index finger at her, cackling like it's the funniest thing he witnessed- which Erina isn't pleased with.

Despite how inferior the situation is, Erina still can't deny that his food was delicious. But then why is it so hard to say it to his face? It's like to compliment him, her mouth is completely sewed up.

Turning her gaze from Sōma, she mutters as she rises from her feet, "I… I have to go."

As she passed the puzzled Sōma who is still sitting on the cushion, she rushes her way towards his bedroom door, but is suddenly stopped by a grip on her arm, forcing her to turn slightly to the obstacle. It's Sōma's grasp, and her face quickly turns red.

"You think I'm gonna let you go this time without knowing the answer? You're dreaming the impossible, Nakiri."

"I… I have no time for this nonsense, Yukihira! Let me go! That's an order." Erina practically snaps at him, but Sōma is not showing any sign of backing down.

"Seriously, though. Are you in a bad mod or is it just because it's my cooking?"

This is typical Sōma to Erina. When does he ever obey her? Out of all people in this school, he's the only one that isn't afraid to look her in the eye, talking to her like she's just 'another person' to him. He's the only person who doesn't seem to have respect for her as she is.

But why is he making her feeling all these alien feelings? How could he do this? Why is he haunting her thoughts? Why is he the only person that has seen her guard down and making it seem like it's not a big deal? Is this why their relationship changing for the better? It's hard to tell whether she likes it or not.

As millions of questions running through Erina's head, she barely noticed that Sōma's face is less than a half feet away from her- enough distance that she can drink all his features. That scar on his right eyebrow. That golden eyes that have been drawing her in lately. And the shape of his lips that she's just starting to notice at this moment.

And how irresistible it is.

Her heart races against the tick of the clock hanging at the corner of his room, and her face flushes even more than before. She breathes like the air is thin, like she is choked, and she has never want air more than anything. No- it's not the Crème Brûlée anymore. It's Yukihira Sōma.

A second later, her mind goes hollow. Her purple eyes soften and the guard has worn down against him. Sōma has won and she's not even sorry. She doesn't mind that her free hand reaches for the band of his shirt- let alone when she's start pulling it into her embrace and dragging the redhead with it.

Nakiri Erina has lost all self control and pride the moment her lips crashes against Yukihira Sōma's, and the gasp that escapes him is completely ignored as she's already gobbled it all up and making him surrender.

The moment those lips touch is the moment where the clock stop ticking and the crickets spreaded throughout the dark of the night go silent. Never in Erina's wildest dream she thought she would melt in such a simple thing as a kiss. That she would see a whole different world within someone else's embrace- let alone Sōma's. But here she is; wearing out all her guard and letting herself follow her heart for once, and she doesn't think she regrets every second of it.

She expects him to detach their lips any moment now and maybe looking at her with such deadpan-ness after pushing her away. But the last thing she sees before slowly closing her eyes is his flickering golden eyes, and it's sealing softly as he returns her kiss by shifting his head to another direction before feeling his other arm creeps up on her back and wearing their little distance off by pulling her even closer that she can feel his heart beating loud as well.

Is this what comfort truly feels like?

Erina truly feels like not letting go, and Sōma is not showing any cue of doing so as well by the way his grip loosened and climbs up her arm to tangle it through her honey blonde hair. What will happen when the kiss over? The thought suddenly creeps up as she realizes what she's doing at this second, coming down from her high.

She's left with no choice; sooner or later, she has to let go.

Slowly, Erina drives Sōma's chest away from her embrace. A string of saliva that connects the two lips separate and they're left looking at each other's eyes as both eyes slowly disclosed. Purple meets golden.

His eyes radiate such softness that she's never seen within him before. And it almost makes her want to pick up where they're left off, but the situation has turn somewhat... awkward, to her. Her lips tremble and she's not sure what's the next step. What will happen after this, only time will tell. Maybe she will avoid him for a while as this is too much to consume.

In a blink of an eye, she takes one last look at him before breaking off any body contact, leaving Sōma's eyes jolting by the sudden action, but she can afford to care about this any longer- she needs to think this through as she leaves him still while she's reaching for the doorknob and let herself out.

Only to realize she might have left a piece of her heart in there.

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