Ramen Shop AU SoMa- for hugtheboyinthebluehoodie

Enjoy~

The moment she walked into the shop (which was precisely at 5pm each evening), Soul caught onto her sweet vanilla scent that mixed with the rich smell of beef and noodles. He had an exceptionally diverse pallet that was held in high regards in the right circle. Those in the food industry referred to him as a cooking genius—even a prodigy—but he preferred to live a simple life, holed up in his brother's Ramen shop, Noodeaths.

That was the lie he told others at least, that he was held captive in Wes' restaurant, because he didn't want the attention that came with being the son of a successful ramen chain and to be spread on Wikipedia as "Food boy prodigy". In reality, he stuck around because of a girl who came every Tuesday at 5pm and every Thursday at 12:30pm who called herself "Maka". She was truly the most spicy girl he's ever met.

She appeared in his life on the first day he was dragged to the restaurant, choosing a booth for two but confessed that she was eating alone. She told him that she liked the elbow room and the privacy that normal tables didn't offer. She explain that she felt she always caught the eyes of the wrong people and he knew all too well to deny her of her wishes.

Since their faithful encounter, Soul found himself always attending her booth every Tuesday evening and Thursday afternoon, taking on the role of a server at his brother's restaurant as his alibi. Soul's explanation to his family was that he wanted to earn his own money and to get work experience in a restaurant. His parents jumped at the idea eagerly, gleeful at the prospect that their youngest son may be taking over their family business and not be a lost cause after all.

'Maybe one day in Hell...' Soul rolled his eyes at the memory.

Only Wes had been suspicious of his sudden attitude change towards their shop. The only thing saving Soul from utter embarrassment was that Wes was the head chef of this particular store. He had no proof that Soul endured the long work days to have a chance to talk to a girl for roughly an hour each week.

Soul made his way to the back of the west wing, a little too eager to see her again. Before he could reach her booth, he saw that another waiter had taken the place of his usual spot, one with electric blue hair and a goofy, unrestrained grin. What made Soul seethe with jealousy were that Maka's emerald eyes were crinkled by her full smile and her cheeks were flushed with laughter.

"—and then Baki said that—"

"Oi, BlackStar," Soul interrupted with his 'I'm the son of the boss' voice, "I need you for a bit."

BlackStar trailed off and waved at Maka, who Soul frustratingly witnessed throwing a wave back, then bounced off to the storage room where Soul was waiting.

"What the hell man, that's an uncool move." Soul folded his arms together and glared at his co-worker's forehead, refusing to make eye contact. "I thought you were with Tsubaki?"

BlackStar looked embarrassed and rubbed the back of his head slowly, "I had to tell Maks what Baki was saying before I came to work though. It was too funny for me to keep it in so I had to grace my followers with some knowledge of the heavens, yah know?"

Soul sighed exasperatedly, "Bro, you can't just start rambling to a random- Wait… Maks? Isn't her name Maka?"

BlackStar blinked, "Yeah it's Maka, but it's been Maks for me since we were 2 and learning how to talk. Man, I used to accidentally call her 'Mams' before her old man-"

Soul held his hands up, furrowing his eyebrows at how strange the situation was growing, "Hold on, you knew her before you came to work here?"

"Yeah bro, I've known Maks since our good ol days. She's known me before I evolved into a badass god. Wanna know her diaper stories?"

"Holy shit! No. Nah man. Back on track now, she's been coming here for 3 years and you knew her this entire time?!"

BlackStar laughed heartily, holding his stomach as he gaffed, "What can I say, a god knows all."

"Are you fucking with me?"

He wiggled his eyebrows, "That's not all I know."

Soul dropped his arm around BlackStar's shoulder and held him closer, "Spill. Bro code."

"Nah, my bro code is stronger with her." He emphasized his point further by jabbing his thumb in her direction. "Lemme just say that it's a pain in the ass to hear about you all the time from her. We have more important things to talk about like my new training regime."

Soul withdrew his arm and slouched back with a sigh, visibly relaxing but feeling a new taste of bliss after finding that BlackStar had implied that Maka was thinking of him outside of the shop. "So you're not helping me out huh."

BlackStar wrinkled his nose and flared his nostrils, "I can smell your thirst from a mile away, deal with it on your own and drink some soup or something."

So they both left, each going in opposite directions. One went towards the east wing and the other towards the kitchen.

"Oi, sorry for the wait, here's your regular Shoyu Ramen. Please enjoy." Soul placed the bowl down in front of Maka, careful not to spill hot broth onto her body.

Maka thanked him and grabbed the wooden chopsticks on the table she set aside immediately. She picked at the noodles and transferred it along with the soup into the spoon in her other hand, bringing them up to her mouth.

"It's hot yah know."

She glared at Soul midslurp, swallowing her initially bite before countering him. "Can't handle a little steam?"

Soul smirked at her challenge and sat down on the other side of her booth. "People who can eat ramen straight from the kitchen like that are monsters."

"It's the only proper way to eat though." Her glare morphed into an easy smile, "Do I order this so often that you've memorized my favorites?"

He scoffed, "Only 'cause you're a regular. It's on the house tonight."

The booth area had blessedly been emptier than most weekday nights. Soul knew that their customers preferred to sit in front at the stools near Wes where they would chat the night away with Soul's extroverted older brother. He also figured that BlackStar had been purposely seating them at the tables on the other side of the shop, closer to the TV and the sake bar.

Soul always sat by Maka to keep her company when the restaurant wasn't busy; rush time usually came after 6pm. He always took these precious stolen moments to do what any young man would do—tease her relentlessly.

"Nice dress today, if you ditched your pigtails maybe you'd finally look something other than 12." He always hid compliments under insults. Call him immature, but Maka's 'what'd you say to me' bitch face was always worth it.

"Excuse you, at least I don't wear the same thing every day."

"They're work clothes, Maka. Wearing them is in my job description."

Unable to concentrate on their exchange, Maka rolled her eyes and continued to eat. "It's really good today, the ramen. It tastes a little different today though, not too different but different." She narrowed her eyes at him, "What'd you do to it?"

He was impressed. Soul had been the one who made the broth earlier that day as a favor to Wes. His brother had no issue with abandoning his morning prep work for a date and Soul had to fill in the role of the sou chef more often than not. The shoyu ramen's stock Soul made this particular had been an older recipe in the family, more thick and healthy but not too different than what their new recipe tasted like.

"I poisoned it. Tonight, your soft hair is going to fall out and your shiny scalp will be on display for the world."

She continued to slurp, "If this is toxic then I'm going to die happy because this is the best thing ever. My compliments to the chef."

Soul frowned a little at her last comment, a little irked that Wes was receiving the credit. "What about it do you like though?"

He was genuinely curious, for what cook doesn't love his own creation?

"Other than the fact that it's perfect, the meat compliments the noodles well. The soup has more flavor and is to die for. It's thicker but it tastes like heaven. You can tell that whoever made it put time into it. Haven't you tasted it?"

He blushed, looking away from her honest face. "No, it's been a while." It wasn't a lie, he could smell the ingredients as they simmered and had the nose to tell what adjustments he needed to make without wasting time to taste.

Maka nearly dropped her spoon and gapped at him like he offended her with his confession. "What do you mean, like you've never tasted this godsend of a thing?"

Soul scoffed, "Not never, I've just had it every day since I was a kid. After I was 10, the taste started to get real uncool."

Maka blinked. She slowly placed her chopsticks onto her napkin and readjusted the spoon in her hand. She broke the surface of the broth with it, letting the empty cavity fill with soup. She lifted it, hovering the spoon over her free hand. "Say 'ahh'."

He glanced around, checking for any familiar faces looking in their direction, "This is even more uncool..." He could feel his cheeks flaring from the thought of receiving her indirect kiss.

She leaned forward and repeated herself, sounding more encouraging than the previous time. He felt her spoon poke his face before hearing, "Just a sip?"

He looked back on time to see her pouting face. 'How can I resist now?' Soul copied her movements, not yet opening his mouth out of embarrassment.

She didn't budge after Soul started moving. "Closer."

He squinted and pressed closer to the table.

"Closer."

Soul mumbled a quick swear and rose from his seat, crossing over to Maka's side of the booth. He plopped himself down and scowled at her. "Better?"

She pursed her lips and nodded, scooting a little closer until their thighs touched, "Ahh."

He rolled his eyes but did as he was told while turning a deeper shade of pink. She lifted the spoon to his open mouth and touched it to his bottom lip.

Just before Soul could taste the soup, she yanked it back, downing the liquid into her own throat. He just about had it with her fickleness.

"What are yo—"

He felt warmth meet him and instinctively closed his eyes, knowing that the last thing he saw was Maka's approach. He tasted the aromatic, shoyu flavor as it trickled through his lips and spread though his taste buds, tasting his familiar childhood. However, he was introduced to another zest, one that foretold a beautiful future. He relished in it, savoring every sensation that rose in his body. He molded against it as and allowed it to wrap him further in warmness.

He felt a wispy sigh against his tongue and sweet vanilla filled his senses. His hands moved in response, moving up to cup unacquainted skin, feeling silk brushing against his fingers. His mouth held hers in a fierce embrace, unwilling to let go of the tender kiss.

Maka was the one who broke off first, breathless and a little stunned. "I- I- I didn't- I'm so sorry. I should have asked. I don't know what came over me. I don't normally—Oh death, I'm so sorry."

Soul coaxed her head back to his, not wanting this girl to escape. "I don't think I tasted the soup the first time. I might need a second taste."

It's not like he was lying, his fabrications always had a bit of reality in them anyway. He told her the truth after the second, that he hadn't been able to taste it that time around, to make up for it. He couldn't taste it the third time either, nor the fourth, nor the fifth.