The lights in the kitchen were dim as Erina Nakiri searched for some ice in the refrigerator. Isshiki-senpai had invited her to Polar Star Dormitory to celebrate. She wasn't sure what the exact cause of celebration was, and she was fairly certain the residents of said dormitory didn't know either. But, she'd learned from past experience that Polar Star Dormitory members needed the barest hint of an excuse to gather up in Marui's room with Sakaki's rice juice and false assurances that it was "definitely alcohol-free." Even now, celebration over as most people were passed out, Erina could feel a pleasant buzz from the drink, her thoughts mellow and a little slow. She was grateful for it. Her father had been stricter and stricter with her schedule and she was getting sick of it. Any break was good. And if that break included the beautiful teenage rebellion of underage drinking, then that was just an added bonus.

"Yo! What song is that?"

Erina's head shot up at the voice. She could just make out Yukihira Soma's outline in the doorway. "Yukihira-kun?" It took her a moment to register his question and she realised she'd been humming. "I'm not sure," she laughed. "I didn't even realise I was humming."

"Sounded pretty," he mumbled and made his way closer to her. "Hey can I have some?" He gestured to the now freshly-iced water in Erina's hand.

She turned up her nose at him. "Ew no, get your own."

Soma put up his hands placatingly, "Alright, princess."

Just as Yukihira was about to close the refrigerator door after getting some water for himself, Erina's eyes caught on something. Five ice-trays stacked on top of each other with a little note stuck to them reading "KC" and a number from 1 to 5.

She leaned in a bit closer to Soma. "What's KC?" she asked.

"Huh? Oh, that's something Isshiki-senpai is working on," Soma replied. Was he blushing? "Ever since his stall's success at the Moon Banquet Festival, he's been getting some, uh, interesting product requests from clients." He rubbed the back of his head. "That one is called Kissing Chocolate, apparently."

Erina blinked. "It's called what?"

Soma fidgeted with his hair. "Apparently it's chocolate that melts easier than regular chocolate and then you kiss and it makes it sweeter?" his voice ended in a question. "I'm not sure really," he laughed nervously.

The concept piqued her curiosity. Maybe it was the drink, or maybe it was Erina's desperate need for a distraction, or maybe it was just another way to stick it to her over demanding father, but Erina felt a mischievous smile spread across her face. "We should try it," she said, revelling in the way Soma's eyes widened, "to figure out how it works, of course."

"What? And I thought I was drunk."

Erina pretended that she didn't hear him. "It's for for science!" She also pretended she didn't see his eyes roll at that. She took out the tray and popped out two of the chocolate cubes. She felt a thrill go through her body; kissing boys, drinking, she didn't do things like these! Fuck you father, I may be the God Tongue, but I am also a teenage girl.

"Here," she said, handing Soma one of the chocolate cubes, "on one, okay?" She didn't wait for a reply. "Three, two, one!" She popped the chocolate in her mouth. Erina let out a small squeal of surprised pleasure as the chocolate melted in her mouth; within a few seconds, it was completely gone.

After a slightly helpless look at her, Soma followed suit and ate the piece she's pressed into his hand. Erina let out a slightly obscene moan as the rich chocolatey taste settled on her tongue- more bitter than she was anticipating. It's more dark than milk chocolate… also melts pretty fast for chocolate straight from the fridge.

Soma also seemed a little surprised by how quickly the chocolate melted. "That was fast," he said.

"Here's part two then." Erina said, and winked at him. Shit, maybe I am more tipsy than I had originally thought. As she leaned in, Soma put his hands around her waist, and the heady mixture of his hands on her body, the rich chocolate, and the smell of his skin made her head spin. She closed her eyes and tilted her head up, and Soma's lips slanted across hers.

Erina recollected the first time she'd ridden a roller coaster. The way her stomach tied up in knots at the dizzying precipice, just about to plummet. And then that glorious fall- it felt like her heart had dropped out of her body as she felt the exhilarating rush of falling faster and faster.

Kissing Soma felt a bit like that. The same exhilarating, dizzying feeling spread through her body, till she could feel even her fingertips tingle. She didn't quite know how her hands ended up in his hair, but when she pulled slightly at the strands, Soma's hands tightened against her hips, and suddenly her knees felt very weak. It took her a second to focus on the physical feeling of his lips against hers and the sudden sweetness of the chocolate in her mouth. She slid her tongue along the seam of Soma's lips seeking more of that chocolatey sweetness, and felt him let out a small hum of a moan against her lips. As she explored his mouth with her tongue, she was distantly aware of his hands on her body- one hand bunched up the fabric of her dress as Soma gripped even tighter at her hips and the other trailing a torturous path up her back to her neck, pulling her closer and and deepening the kiss. She felt her thoughts flow away from her; never before had she been so blissfully present in a moment.

Erina felt short of breath and more than a little lightheaded when they pulled away. "That was-" she stopped short, unsure of what to say as she realised how what was supposed to simply have been a fun experiment had quickly turned into something very real and desperate. Her brain quickly took refuge in what she knew: The chocolates. The sweetness. The world of taste. Before she knew it, she was rambling.

"Hey did you notice how the sweetness of the chocolate seemed to increase the longer we"- she stumbled a little over her words- "the longer we kissed. I guess that makes sense since cocoa beans contain starch and saliva breaks that down into glucose. Even though the chocolate was bitter at first, it got sweeter over time. I'm still confused as to how Isshiki-senpai got it to melt so quickly though, I mean they were fresh out of the fridge. Maybe we should do another trial, to figure out-" her speech stopped abruptly as she realised what she'd just implied.

Soma laughed low in his throat, the sound sending shivers up Erina's spine. "Hey Nakiri, if you want to kiss me again, you do know you can just say so right?" His lips quirked upwards in a smirk. Erina very much wanted to kiss him again, but she also secretly prided herself on her haughtiness, and she wasn't going to give in so easily.

"Hey now, if you're going to scoff at scientific curiosity like that, then I'll just have to find myself another lab-partner." She turned away to leave, and was glad that she was facing away from Soma when she felt the pressure of his fingers against her wrist to stop her from leaving. Her lips seemed to slide upwards into a smile entirely of their own volition.

"Man, I never thought I'd be lectured about the properties of chocolate after a kiss," Soma laughed that same delicious laugh. He leaned in closer to Erina till his lips brushed her ear. "You really are the God tongue, aren't you?" Erina shuddered at the double meaning of his words and the feeling of his breath on her skin. His lips travelled a tortuous trail from her ear to jaw to neck. Erina wondered if he could feel her hammering pulse against his lips, and couldn't help but let out a small moan as she felt his teeth nip at the sensitive skin. She tilted her head to the side to give him better access and bit her bottom lip so as not to make any more sounds, but couldn't help let out another moan as Soma sucked and licked at her pulse point. She had been toying with the edge of his shirt and now slid her hands under the fabric and up his back, pulling him closer and revelling at the feel of his skin against her fingers. He tensed under hands. She felt him let out a slow breath against her neck. "Erina" he whispered, lips still against skin. "We should- this is-" he sighed and pulled back slowly till he was holding both of her hands in his. Erina savoured the blush on his cheeks and the strain in his voice. I did that. She blinked at the thought. This is the effect I have on Yukihira Soma. She was quite pleased with that.

"Something wrong?" she asked.

"No," he replied. "Not at all! The opposite actually. But-" he seemed to struggle to find the words. "But that's the problem you know? This feels good. Right. but neither of us are completely sober. I mean, we've both had a few drinks and no matter what Sakaki says, those are not virgin drinks. And I just don't want to do anything that you might regret tomorrow, you know?"

She looked at their connected hands, and wondered for whose benefit he was stalling their movement. She brought one of his hands up to her mouth. She kissed his palm and then his wrist. She thought of the thrill she felt at this rebellion, shedding the skin of the God Tongue and just being Erina Nakiri for a bit. "Trust me," she said. "I will not regret this." She looked up at his face and saw his eyes had softened. She wondered if it was the gentleness of her kisses against his hands or her words that were making him look at her like that. She trailed a few more soft kisses up his forearm. "I want this," she whispered. "If you do too, then, yes, I want this."

Soma leaned in and captured her lips in a passionate kiss at those words. Erina's breasts flattened against his chest as he pulled her closer till there wasn't an inch of space separating their bodies. Erina's hands went to Soma's hair again, marvelling at the silky texture. She pulled harder this time and was rewarded with a moan against her lips that sent a wave of heat pooling to her core. I could absolutely get used to this. Wanting to taste more of Soma, Erina trailed kisses down his neck, sucking at the skin.

His voice was hoarse when he spoke again. "To satiate your-" he cleared his throat- "your scientific curiosity, I thought I should mention that we've only tested one of the chocolate flavours." Erina looked up at him. "There's still four more trays left."

Erina couldn't stop the wide grin from spreading across her face. Her eyes flashes darkly when she said, "Well it wouldn't be proper scientific etiquette to just do one test. You're right, we'll just have to test them all. Multiple times."