It's literally been 7 years and I am back with a fic because Shokugeki no Soma is so good, I just had to write something. Sadly the SouTaku fandom seems pretty small, but they're adorable! I don't care, haha. I've only watched the anime up to Season 3, and I can't read the manga online anywhere so I'm sorry I kept the Totsuki parts really vague! But I managed to find the SEQUEL ~Le Dessert~ in which they are all 25 years old, which is basically the basis for this fic. Enjoy!

It's weird, Takumi thinks, seeing Soma cooking up a storm in the Yukihira diner.

He hasn't seen Soma for years, ever since the red-head took off to travel the world and reinvent his cooking. (But not in Italy. No, Soma didn't stop in Italy, or if he did, he didn't visit.)

Takumi grins at how matured Soma looks, admiring the broad shoulders and muscled arms.

His old friends push around him, a sea of noise and nostalgia. Everyone's grown up now, but still often in touch. (Except Soma, who has no social media and rarely replies messages. What is this, the stone age?) The memories flood back. Nights at the Polar Star dorm with rice juice, the laughter, the…

He kills that train of thought quickly.

"Come around and try this snack!" Soma exclaims, holding out a big plate of squid legs drenched in sauces of clashing colors.

Takumi already knows it will taste like a violation of his senses, but he takes one anyway, as does everyone else.

Ah, he thinks, sinking into the horrible assault on his tongue and shrieks of outrage from the girls, just like high school.

Usually he doesn't try to delve too deep into his memories at Totsuki, because a lot of it revolves around Yukihira.

Challenging him, worrying about him, cooking next to him, losing to him, dreaming about him… It took a few long months for him to realize that rivalry didn't include dreaming about the other person in a very naked manner.

In between all the food warring and examinations, Takumi had quietly come to terms with his sexuality, which was one redhead who continuously got himself into trouble again and again. Was it healthy? Not for his sanity.

There wasn't really any time to talk to Soma about… How he felt. Soma had always felt far, far beyond his reach. Takumi almost felt like he could never keep up. Plus, ever since Erina joined their friend circle… Takumi couldn't hold Soma's attention anymore.

So after Totsuki, in Italy, he found himself with a string of ex-boyfriends, all redheads with mischievous grins, but none good enough to keep around.

Takumi wonders if he would actually ever find someone good enough at all.

Conversation at dinner predictably turns to nostalgia. Everyone talks about their favourite memories, and the rice wine (they've since upgraded) that Sakaki brought was free-flowing and deliciously paired with Soma's variety of new dishes.

Takumi listens, for the most part. He's heard stories, but wasn't often in the center of Soma's adventures like Megumi was. So he tries his best to listen and laugh at the good parts, but his eyes stray constantly to the young man behind the kitchen counter.

Soma has an ear to the conversation as well. He has his sleeves rolled up, a huge grin on his face as Megumi again fondly recounts how Soma gave her the inspiration to be a chef in her own right, even though Takumi thinks she gives Soma way too much credit.

Takumi feels tears prickling at this eyes. He remembers those nights in high school, when his head was filled with Soma and his chest squeezed painfully whenever Soma did something stupid, like pick a Food War with everyone he came across.

He remembers how his hands shook when Soma won back his mezzaluna, how he could have cried, how he wanted to kiss the redhead…

He got up quietly, taking his rice wine with him into the cool night, his phone conspicuously in his hand as though he had an important call to make. He hopes that no one noticed, but of course Soma follows him out of the diner just a minute later.

"Hey," Soma says, stepping close. "Are you alright?"

Takumi hates how thrilled he is that Soma cares. Takumi sips his rice wine, wondering how to face his crush and the overwhelming longing in his heart.

"Ah… just expecting a phone call." he said lamely. Fantastic, he's still as embarrassing as ever around Soma.

Immediately Soma broke into a grin. "Ha! Is it a girlfriend?" he teased, making Takumi blush bright red.

"No! No, I'm single… And very gay, thank you." Takumi retorts, taking another big swallow of his rice wine. Well, the cat is out of the bag, not that he was trying to stay in the closet. Takumi tries to school his face into what he hoped was a dignified expression.

"Oh! Well that does explain your impeccable hair then." Soma says thoughtfully, and Takumi let out a hearty chuckle, relieved that Soma doesn't care about the gay bit.

"Superior Aldini genes and a refined taste in hair products, actually." Takumi runs a hand through his blonde locks, grinning. Soma is just an old friend. This is okay. This is comfortable. The teasing is… Comfortable.

Soma's eyes are still fixed on Takumi's hair, his expression unreadable. Suddenly, Takumi didn't really feel comfortable at all.

"You know you can touch it if you want, Yukihira. You don't have to stare like that." Takumi stammers, nervous.

And Soma does. Just like that, he reaches out and pushes his fingers through Takumi's hair, fingernails scraping Takumi's scalp and sending shivers down his spine. He works his way methodically through every inch of Takumi's hair as the blonde is frozen in shock, head reeling from the boldly intimate action, thinking what is happening why did I say that thank god I washed my hair today

"What are you doing," Takumi finally whispers, when Soma shows no sign of stopping. Takumi can feel the blush make its way down south, and he's pretty sure his legs would give out any second now.

"Your hair is really as soft as it looks!" Soma says in awe, seemingly oblivious to the effect he has on Takumi. "Well, you said I could touch it."

Takumi keeps silent, because he can't trust his himself not to let out the most inappropriate noises right now. He's fantasised about this, dreamed about this, but wild imaginings are no match for this: a very real Yukihira Soma, smelling of spices and cooked meat, close enough for him to kiss, running his warm rough hands through his hair.

Takumi thought he could die, but also he felt more alive than he's ever been. Most of all, he felt the years of suppressed feelings rush up to the surface again.

"Yukihira," he growls, "please stop before you make me do something we'll regret."

Soma's eyes lit up at the challenge. Nothing gets his blood pumping as much as limits to surpass, buttons to push.

"Oh?" Soma says tauntingly. If what Takumi said was bait, then Soma had taken it hook, line, and sinker. "And what would that be?"

Takumi drops his rice wine on the pavement, barely registering the shattering of ceramic before grabbing fistfuls of Soma's hair and smashing their mouths together.

Oh.

Takumi wasn't entirely sure what happened next. By the time his soul returned to his body, Soma was staring right back at him, face red, hair messy, and panting slightly.

"About damn time!" came a voice to his left, and Takumi was mortified to see his brother's devious smirk and the gang's faces peeking out from the door of the diner.

"We heard the smash and thought there was a fight.." Megumi started saying, the pink to her cheeks proving that she'd seen everything.

"Oh there was a fight alright." Sakaki snickers, while the rest of the group held similar knowing grins.

"I-uh- It's- its not what it looks like!" Takumi stammers, hurriedly loosening his grip on Soma's Yukihira uniform. He gave the uniform a few awkward pats to smooth out the wrinkles.

He hates how awkward Soma makes him.

"I'm actually… I'm gonna go."

He turns and walks away blindly without looking back.

Eventually he catches the right train back to his hotel, too distracted to even be mad about the complex train lines.

He takes a hot shower- he's not in the mood for the traditional Japanese bath, even though he loves it- and puts on the fluffy hotel robe and wallows in bed, letting the full brunt of what happened crash into him.

He almost wanted to cry, but instead decides to order a bottle of wine from room service. He thinks about it, and calls room service again for an additional bottle… because one bottle probably wasn't going to get him drunk enough to forget everything.

Not that anyone else will forget it, he thought, seeing Isami's smirk and Erina's shock in his mind's eye. I can never face these people again. Ever. I'll just stay in Italy forever and never set foot in Japan again.

His stomach growled and he thought about ordering food to go with the wine (because drinking wine on an empty stomach is just asking for a bad time the next day) right as the doorbell dinged with a muffled shout of '"Room service!"

Takumi shrugs, decides to forego food altogether, and opens the door to Yukihira holding up a bottle of wine a whole pushcart full of food.

His brain couldn't process the image, so all he could do was point at the redhead and gape like a fish.

"Ah, I actually know the owner of the hotel." Soma says, rubbing the back of his neck. "I've cooked here a couple of times for some events. Isami told me you guys were staying here, so I called him up and ah… yeah. So. Anyway. I've got your wine. And some food that I whipped up quickly, if you don't mind, I didn't think it would be good if you drink wine on an empty stomach. And you didn't eat much back at Yukihira's either…"

Takumi almost died again for a second time that night. Soma standing at his hotel door, with wine and food? If it was a dream he never wants to wake up from it.

Soma hesitates. "Will you let me in?"

Silently, Takumi steps off to the side, letting Soma push in the loaded cart.

"Please enjoy Yukihira's special cheering-up don!" Soma grins, revealing a loaded bowl of fried rice glistening with melted egg yolk, spring onions, and a generous topping of furikake.

Finally, Takumi finds his voice. "Are you sure there won't be squid legs in this one too?" he tries to sound nonchalant, but ends up sounding tired. Angrily, he decides to not speak until he can control his voice again.

He eats in silence, slowly taking in the fried rice in between sips of airy miso soup. It was magnificent, nothing less than expected from one of the best chefs in the world, and soon Takumi's mood has lifted enough to risk a glance at Soma.

Soma sat on a backwards chair, leaning on his arms, just watching the blonde eat with a gentle smile on his face that made Takumi start to feel warm around the neck again.

"Uh, thanks. For dinner." Takumi mumbles, as he sets down the empty bowl. Silently, Soma whips out two wine glasses and pours out a generous portion of Pinot Blanc.

"So," Soma says. "How long have you liked me?"

Takumi downs his wine in one large gulp because damn the man for not beating around the bush he can not answer that question sober.

"A while." Takumi finally says after his third glass of wine. "Since high school. Since… I don't know. It's been a while."

Soma frowns. "But we were so young then, how did you even know?"

"Oh hell, I don't know, Yukihira." Takumi grits out, annoyed. "You think I want to like you? To follow you around like a puppy, hoping for your attention? God, I was your rival and went from challenging you at every opportunity to… to..."

Takumi pours himself another glass of wine angrily. He was fuming mad about the whole situation- about this crush that never went away, how Soma can render him so breathless with just a touch, how stupid he must look moping in his hotel room spilling out his deepest secret to Soma himself.

"Look, Yukihira-" he wishes he was comfortable calling him 'Soma' again, but he reverts to 'Yukihira' when he gets stressed, which is pretty often- "I don't know why or how, and honestly I wish I could stop feeling this way about you, but I just… I just can't. I've spent years and years trying to ignore how you make me feel and I've always tried to be just a friend to you and you absolutely ruined it tonight so really it's all your own fault, okay?"

Takumi downs another glass of wine. Shit, he thinks, even if my alcohol tolerance is pretty good, this is not going to end well for me. Then he pours himself another glass anyway because he can't bring himself to stop.

Soma sits in silence, watching the blonde get progressively drunk. It was like the blonde forgot he was sitting there, and was ranting away, but every once in a while Takumi would flash angry blue eyes at him, daring him to speak.

For once, Soma was as a loss for words. His entire high school revolved around food and cooking and getting to the top of Totsuki. He never stopped to think about romance or love, least of all his sexuality. All he remembered was Takumi, declaring himself as his rival, and the food challenges they had, which no one won. And… a lot of blushing from Takumi. Takumi, a presence he could always count on regardless, even if he never stopped to think why.

Even now, at the age of 25, he had decided to return to Yukihira's temporarily, just to put his new experiences into his food. He simply never really thought about it.

"I-" Soma starts, but Takumi cuts him off.

"It's okay." the blonde sighs, pushing his soft hair out of his eyes. "It was a weird thing, and it just happened, and it's fine. Please, Soma. Can we just forget about it and… just stay friends?"

This time, Soma took a drink of the wine as well. It was good, leaving a deliciously fruity taste in the back of his throat, and a tiny part of his brain went to work thinking about the different ways he could use the wine for cooking.

"Actually, I didn't hate it." Soma said clearly, eyes fixed on the Italian. "I was just surprised, that's all. I didn't think… Well, I didn't know at all. I didn't realize…" he trailed off.

Takumi says nothing, emptying the rest of the wine into his glass.

"Takumi… I don't hate you. I admire you too, as a chef. And I appreciate you as a friend…"

"But you'll never love me the way I love you, right?" Takumi snaps bitterly, feeling the years of unrequited love wash over him, weighing heavily on his chest. He wants to throw the wine glass against the wall, but doesn't.

"If you will ever let me finish, I was going to say that maybe we can go on a date first before you start kissing me in front of my diner." Soma grins, walking over to the bed and nudging Takumi to make space.

It takes Takumi a while to process the words. "I- wait- what?" he stutters through his drunkenness. "I'm dreaming. Oh this definitely a dream. Dammit, Yukihira, get out of my dreams-"

Soma actually laughs, bright and cheerful, just like his food. "Takumi, it's not a dream. Well, I mean, it still is a little weird that you dream of me, but I'm flattered. Wanna do dinner tomorrow? Ah… I'll cook for you?"

Takumi mumbles something and buries his face in the hotel pillow, but his ears betrayed the deep red that flushes across his face.

"You know, I'm not going to be very good at this boyfriend thing." Soma continues, "and you're probably much better at it than I am, so please be gentle."

Takumi's head snaps up, scrutinizing Soma's face. When all he found was sincerity, Takumi sighs. "This isn't a dream is it?"

"Um, I hope not." Soma grins, eyes shining excitedly. "I think I'd be really happy to cook for you."

When Takumi wakes up, he wonders what smells so good and why does his head throb. It takes him two seconds to realize that Soma, dressed only in his boxers, was fanning a big bowl of herbal soup. Takumi doesn't know what to think, so he just makes his consciousness known by clearing his throat.

"Ah! Takumi! You're awake!" Soma exclaims, spooning out a large portion of steaming soup into a smaller bowl. "Here, I made some soup. Hisako said it would help with the hangover."

Takumi accepts the herbal soup, drinking deeply because he didn't actually know what to say to Soma. Instead, he tried to remember last night. They had spent the night in Takumi's hotel room, because Isami had passed Soma the key card and told him to not worry, Megumi has graciously offered to host Isami for the night.

The memory is a little hazy, but Takumi is pretty sure he had a good wine-induced cry that ended with him spilling his heart out to Soma. Not just about his years of unrequited love, but also his hopes and dreams for Trattoria Aldini, opening up branches worldwide, and traveling like Soma to taste dishes from every corner of the world. Soma had listened to it all, nodding and saying things like, "You can come travel with me. I'm leaving to Africa next year".

Soma helps himself to some soup as well, sitting on what is evidently his side of the bed. Takumi can't resist the blush that comes over his face as he eyes Soma's unclothed chest.

"Ah, I didn't bring a change of clothes," Soma says by way of explanation. "I didn't want to just take a shirt from your luggage and you had fallen asleep."

"It's okay, you can just grab a shirt, you know." Takumi replies. "Or choose to walk around bare-chested, I don't really mind."

Soma grins, and put down his bowl of soup carefully, suddenly serious.

"Takumi," he took a deep breath, "I may be very new to this boyfriend thing, but I promise you I'll do my best. And… and Yukihira's will always be open to you whenever you want it." Soma's cheeks flushed. "I'll cook for you, whatever you want, whenever you want."

Takumi blinked. Soma really didn't go three sentences without talking about cooking. But he knows how important the diner and cooking is to Soma, so Takumi understands the gravity of Soma's announcement.

"Thank you, Soma." Takumi grins back. "The feeling is very mutual. Don't think you're the only chef in this relationship!"

Soma breaks into a huge smile and shyly places the lightest brush of his lips on Takumi's cheek. "I'll be looking forward to some delicious meals, chef."

Ahhhh I really didn't know how to end it because it was becoming sooooo long! I wanted it to be a one-shot but I couldn't stop! Well, I'm keeping it this way for now, but maybe there can be sequels (to the sequel... hahaha).

I really love the food aspect of Shokugeki no Soma, so I tried to add as much as I could about how pivotal the whole cooking part of their lives are. Plus it's super adorable when they cook for each other. Hopefully I can write another one where they just cook for each other.

Leave me a comment or review, much loves!