Not Meant to Be

... there are some things that fate decides

Disclaimer: All characters are the rightful property of Squaresoft.

Author: Tricia-sama

*Warning: This fic contains shounen-ai*

Chapter 1 - Just a usual day, right?

  It was the usual day at the office.

  Wake up at an ungodly hour, shuffle to work, spill scalding coffee on my best silk tie, state-of-the-art printer decides it needs a hiatus when an important document is due.

  All within a morning.

  I managed a weak grin as my secretary waddled in with yet another heap of blueprints.

  "Morning, Rachel."

  "Morning, sir," she gasped, laying the towering pile of workload on my polished desk with a resounding thud. The poor girl was literally toppling forward under the tremendous weight.

  "Heavy?" I queried.

 She raised an exasperated eyebrow.

  So much for trying to be polite.

  "Could you have somebody here to take a look at the printer? The blasted thing wouldn't work," I decided to get straight to the point.

  She finally threw me a subtle smile.

  "I'll send somebody up in a moment, sir," she replied automatically before retreating from my cluttered office. "And, sir?"

  I lifted my head in acknowledgment.

  "You have a stain on your tie," she added with unmasked amusement before stepping out.

  As always, she had the last word. I smiled.

  I hastily grabbed a few tissues and fervently blotted at the infamous blotch to no avail. I sighed, maybe I could start a new line of fashion, deliberately stained clothing.

  It was almost twelve o'clock, I reasoned.

  A casual glance at the clock confirmed my thoughts. Twenty minutes before the conference. I figured I'd have plenty of time then.

  I have always had the rather annoying habit of attending to an appointment exceedingly early, no matter how trivial the matter may be. Some may call me a fool, some may sneer, but that's just the way I am.

  Downing the last of my ice-cold coffee, I grabbed my bulging folder before striding out into the hallway.

*                          *                          *

  I strode down the deserted hallway, polished shoes clicking on rhythmically on the tiled floor. A young man with a rather irritated expression passed by, forcing a polite smile in return to mine.

  Laying a hand on the polished doorknob, I pushed open the tremendously heavy oak door, letting it slam behind me with an undignified bang. I winced, at least no one was here to complain.

  "Good morning, sir," the calm, well-meaning tone was far from startling, but that was just what it did to me.

  Who would be so utterly absurd to reach here this early?

  Except me, of course.

  "Tseng," I stated in attempt to disguise my jolted emotions.

  He observed me somewhat snidely as I literally clambered over to my designated seat, which happened to be directly opposite his. I relieved my aching arms of its burden, lowering the thick pile of documents onto the tarnished surface of the table.

  "Did I scare you?"

  "What?" I immediately blurted out in surprise, regretting it the moment the words leaked out of my mouth. What a blundering idiot I was.

  "I said, did I scare you?" he repeated with a smirk, brushing a strand of his silky sable tresses back casually, fingering the exquisite pen he had in his grasp.

  "Nah, I just had a bad day," I mumbled, barely believing myself. My olive eyes travelled over to him, noting his incredibly muscular form, clearly revealed even through the generous cladding of his double-breasted suit.

  I wouldn't say I envied him, but admired would be the word.

  Right, like I had a chance to be the next Mr. Universe.

  Well, I could. Only if you could develop an irresistibly attractive structure by surviving on a diet of coffee and doughnuts plus an intensive day of mouse-clicking.

  Needless to say, I wasn't a fan of carrot sticks and liver. And I certainly was not a frequent patron of the company gym.

  I have known the reserved leader of the Turks for quite some time now. He was known, if not, acclaimed for his utterly impassive, yet elegant charm. I rarely spotted him in the building, which brought me to a conclusion that he was frequently out on a mission of some sort.

  A wary eye journeyed over to the menacing gun that was strapped to his being. He seemed genuinely aware that I was eyeing him, but any signs betrayed were disguised cleverly as he shuffled some paperwork distractively.

  I have heard that he was extremely apt with his gun, never hesitating to use it. He was like a tiger with its prey, taunting and torturing mercilessly before finally letting it slip into a despairing death.

  That was through the grapevine. People tend to exaggerate shamelessly.

  But somehow, I believed the comment.

  "Haven't seen you around the office for a while," I commented off-handedly, with a chief motive of breaking the awkward silence.

  "I have not been around these few days. I was out attending to some matters," he responded, his gaze merging with mine. A fleeting burst of ... apprehension? travelled through my being.

  "Sir," he added almost as an afterthought.

  "I would prefer it if you just addressed me by name," I recited one of my personal preferences I usually voiced to the employees. "But you should probably observe the formalities if the other executives are around."

  I swore his lips twitched into a small smile.

  "Will do, sir," he fumbled. "I mean, Reeve."

  I nodded subtly, mentally chuckling at the small grin I raised. Somehow, that just didn't fit my image of him.

  My attention drifted to the cacophony of the muffled footsteps, accompanied by the familiar voice of Scarlet.

  Twelve fifteen.

  Ah, well.

  Let the magic begin.

End of Chapter 1

A few words from the author: This is the first time that I have touched upon the delicate subject of yaoi (or basically, shounen-ai) and I'm basically experimenting on a new type of writing style. All feedback appreciated, but I'm not going to entertain flames about the coupling. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Many thanks.