Gundam Seed Destiny Fan Fiction / Gundam SEED Fan Fiction ❯ Play of the Fates ❯ The One With The Apple Martini ( Prologue )

Title: Play of the Fates (0 of ?)

Author: Paola

Disclaimer: Play of the Fates is based on characters and situations that belong to Sotsu Agency, Bandai Studios, and TV Asashi (and other production affiliates that have the right of ownership). No money is being made, and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Considerations: Similarities to other stories/events/passages are purely coincidental unless otherwise cited, and beliefs and points of view found in the story do not necessarily reflect those of the author's.

The idea to make the chapter titles begin with “The One…” is from the TV show, F.R.I.E.N.D.S

This may, in all possible intent, be differently written compared to any of the author's previous literary ventures.

Rating: Rated M for language and adult situations. You have been warned.

Complete Summary:

Cagalli Yula Athha, the blonde spitfire who's out to prove herself and the stubborn daughter of a rich business tycoon, doesn't believe that she needs the love of a man to complete her. With a number of relationships that have fallen short of the walk down the aisle, she has proven time and again that married life isn't for her. Hardheaded, she sticks to her beliefs like bees stick to honey, facing the world with her I'm-my-own attitude, that is, until she meets a man with hauntingly beautiful, emerald eyes that doesn't take no for an answer. Now her world has taken a roller coaster ride that might just change her views, and, in the process, teach her to submit to that old adage: that risking one's heart might just be worth it.

o-o

Athrun Zala is a busy man that has no time for the capriciousness of women. Everything he does and owns has been thought-off and well planned, from the girl he will be dating to the sharp crease of his wool slacks. The path he's been taking has put him on the top, and it leaves no room for indecision and uncertainty, but when he ends up tangled in rumpled sheets with an amber-eyed vixen, he suddenly finds himself veering off his cut-and-dried route. Will he try to get things back in perspective or will he accept what the Fates have offered him and learn that, no matter how cliché, love really conquers all?

o-o-o-o-o

Play of the Fates

Prologue

The red Mazda6 MPS sped through the streets of downtown Orb, ignoring the many establishments teeming with denizens out to enjoy the impressive nightlife a Friday night offered. When it reached the intersection, it made a sharp turn to the right and didn't slow down until the next avenue.

“I said don't call me tonight. It's Friday, for fuckity's sake, get off my case and let me do my damn job!” The owner of the voice clicked her mobile phone off and stepped on the breaks, stopping in front of the Freedom Metropolis, one of the grandest, five-star hotel this side of Orb.

The engine died, and out stepped a vexed Cagalli Yula Athha. She promptly nodded at the valet before tossing her car key at him. Striding purposely towards the glass doors, her modest kitten heels click-clacking against the marble steps, she hardly registered the greeting of the doorman as he opened the doors for her. With a single swipe of her eyes around the foyer, she took to the right and vanished down the carpeted stairwell.

Cagalli was more than annoyed. Hell, she was furious. Her father had called her again, demanding her to return to the company and stop being the stubborn woman that she was. But that wasn't the worse yet. Not only did her long-ago ex-boyfriend prove too clingy by still calling her nonstop, but he even dared to visit her at her office that afternoon. Add the fact that her partner, the other secretary of her boss, was pestering her to change the proposal she'd drafted for the merger's meeting next week. Cagalli had made the mistake of showing it to her, and now she wouldn't stop badgering her about how ineffective it all sounded. Cagalli had gone through hell and back to get all the details she needed for the proposal, and that damn secretary was telling her that the draft sounded ineffective.

The nerve!

After having enough of the other secretary's intrusive behavior, she'd stormed out of the office and driven off. She hadn't had any destination in mind, but by the time the first stop light glowed red, it hit her that she wanted something to get her mind off work, something liquid that gradually became hard on the system. She wasn't one to drink off her problems and frustrations, but the urge to down a few shots of alcohol had surfaced so badly that she'd bypassed her usual route home and driven downtown where the popular pubs and clubs were. But when she saw the sizeable crowds gathering at each and every establishment, she'd cringed and immediately changed her mind about going to any of those bars. Places with alcohol and a large crowd meant mingling, and mingling with a rowdy bunch was the last thing on her mind. So now she was here, at the lounge of a nice hotel where patrons were sparse and where she could nurse her drink in silence.

The smooth cadence of jazz cloaked her as the tastefully dimmed lights relaxed her eyes. She slowed her pace and walked up to the bar, sitting herself on a stool and ordering a strawberry margarita. She looked around and was quite happy with her decision to head to a hotel's lounge instead of a busy pub, and when the sweet taste of the margarita tickled her taste buds, she allowed a small smile to be comfortable on her lips.

Cagalli felt her troubles seep off her on her third cocktail, and the slight buzz in her head was a welcome sensation. She refused to be bothered by her work during the weekends, so she had always tried to unwind on Friday nights to take her mind off things. Surely, things wouldn't look so bad in the morning. She sipped her margarita contentedly. That was what she liked about alcohol — it made her optimism reach another level. Screw her father, screw her ex-boyfriend-slash-stalker, and screw that bloody secretary. They could all go and rot in hell for all she cared.

Just when the blonde was about to order another drink, someone took the stool beside her. She turned her head and was met by a mesmerizing pair of emeralds, and — she believed it was the alcohol talking — a sexy pair of lips smiling at her amusedly. She vaguely heard him order an apple martini for her, and, dammit, those sinful lips just roused something in the pit of her stomach.

“Thanks,” she managed to get out when the bartender placed the glass of martini in front of her.

“Sure,” came the reply, and for some reason, the delivery of that simple word from the man beside her blocked out the rhythmic notes of the saxophone in the background.

“Any occasion you're out celebrating?” she asked, taking a sip of the semi-sweet cocktail while stealing a glance at him from the corner of her eye. She couldn't help ogling — Armani had never looked so good on anyone.

The man beside her laughed, a rich sound that sent tingles down her spine. “Can't a man offer a woman a drink just because he caught her sitting alone?”

Cagalli raised an eyebrow at him. “Are you saying that this is some sort of a pity drink?” Her breath caught in her throat when he smiled lazily at her.

“I wouldn't call it that exactly. More like an introductory drink.” He took a sip of his Sazerac after cursorily glancing at the lip mark on Cagalli's glass.

The buzz in her head got louder, and Cagalli laughed at his answer. “You're a funny guy!”

“I've been called a lot of things, but `funny' was never one of them,” he chuckled, amused at the skeptical expression on her face. “And why are you drinking all alone, may I ask? On a Friday night, no less.”

Cagalli glared at him, but realized he was just teasing. Plus, the alcohol was preventing her from getting offended anyway. “Oh, this and that.” The cocktails she'd had, plus the apple martini he'd offered, siphoned through her veins, and she sent him a small smile she was confident was seductive enough. “But aren't you glad I came without company? Otherwise, we might not even be having this conversation.”

He laughed again, and the rest of their conversation was a blur as Cagalli downed another cocktail. The buzz hit an alarming note, and the next thing she knew, both of them were stumbling through an empty corridor and fumbling for the card key, lost in heated kisses and wandering touches.

When he got the door open, they stumbled inside and Cagalli found herself against the hard wood with him pressed intimately against her, his lips trailing liquid fire down her neck as he un-tucked her button-down from her slacks. She moaned when he nibbled on her collarbone, and her hands shakily shed off his jacket. But before she could attempt to unbutton his dress shirt, he'd already deftly opened her blouse, sending her arching towards him when his hands made contact with her sensitized skin.

He pulled her off the door, working on the clasp of her pants that easily slid off her hips once he'd pulled down the zipper. He led them to the bed, his lips never leaving hers as he plundered every crevice of her mouth with arousing flicks of his tongue. The pooling desire in her stomach grew, and Cagalli had a hard time breathing when he lay her down on the bed and shed his own shirt. She waited with tingling anticipation as he crawled towards her, his form excitingly looming above her as he supported his weight on his elbows. Her hands reached up of their own accord, and Cagalli glorified in the feeling of hard planes against her fingertips.

She looked up with hazy eyes and ached to have him touch her again, but when he ducked his head to capture her lips, she was a bit frustrated to feel the grainy texture of his wool pants moving against her thighs. She slightly pushed him away, but he merely chuckled at her when he noticed her nimble fingers going for his belt. Just as she got his pants undone, he attacked her mouth with a passion so raw that she was sent reeling. His fingers caressed every inch of her exposed skin, and with a flick of his wrist he'd unclasped her bra and thrown it away.

Cagalli felt a million sensations when he trailed open-mouthed kisses from her mouth to the vale of her breasts. She hadn't felt like this for so long, and the feeling of being lavished all over sent her teetering over the edge of rational thinking.

She let out another moan when he cupped her over her panties, and she arched towards him involuntarily. He slid down her underwear so achingly slowly, and she had to bite her lip to keep from screaming. Although inebriated from the cocktails she'd drunk earlier and the electrifying sensations he mercilessly drew from her, she knew what she wanted, and he was crazily idling and tormenting her in the process.

Just when she thought she'd cry from the sudden loss of contact as he'd detached himself from her after removing her undergarment, she found herself letting out another throaty groan when he pressed against her. Heated skin over heated skin as he'd finally discarded all of his clothing.

He kissed her hard, nibbling on her lower lip before plunging his tongue in, robbing her of any stray thought she might still be having. She felt his arousal pressing against her, and her legs opened to accommodate him. Still he lingered there, kneading her breasts and barely acknowledging her silent entreaty to take her. She ran her nails across his back and tried to push him in her, but he resisted, moving his hand to rest on her lower abdomen to keep her from cambering towards him.

Cagalli almost growled in frustration. Just as she was about to swat his hand away, he entered her in one, unexpected sweep, forcing her to wrench her mouth away from his as she threw her head back and a guttural moan escaped her lips.

He sucked the base of her throat then made his way to her ears, leaving searing trails where his lips touched her skin. “You feel so good,” he said in a breathy whisper, and Cagalli shivered at the warm air that ghosted the side of her face. He buried himself in her, waiting for her to adjust around him before setting the pace — a slow, torturous movement that tickled Cagalli's sanity.

For long, agonizing seconds, he teased her with deliberately leisured drives, retreating almost to full-extent before sliding back in, in smooth motions.

She was going crazy. “Fas—”

He cut her off by sealing his mouth over hers, his hand fondling her breast, making her whimper against his lips. And just when she'd almost had enough of his sweet torture, he began to pick up his rhythm, almost as if reading her mind. Cagalli wrapped her legs around his waist, meeting his every thrust with as much fervor.

This…This was how Friday nights should be, Cagalli thought, and her problems, already dulled by the alcohol from earlier, were eradicated completely as this man she'd just met made love to her the way she'd wished her former boyfriends had.

Cagalli felt the intense tension build up inside her as the friction between them reached higher limits. He moved his hand to where they were joined, and Cagalli foggily wondered how he could still decipher where he ended and she began. He flicked his fingers over the nub that sent Cagalli clamping around him, and with a few more thrusts, she crested her carnal delectations, her screams of pleasure muffled by a well-timed kiss he favored her. She tumbled into a kaleidoscope of sensations with too blurry boundaries to distinguish one from the other, and he followed soon after.

He remained on top and inside of her, dragging scorching lazy kisses along her jaw line as they tried to catch their breaths.

Nibbling on her lower lip, he pulled himself away then lay beside her, his fingertips feathering over her skin as his hand moved south, succeeding in rekindling the desire in her. It didn't take long before he'd brought them again in a whirlwind of sexual frenzy, drowning Cagalli in a pool of bliss that had started off with a sexy smile and an apple martini.