Silmeria - This idea has been sitting in the barn for a while and why not give it a try and see how you guys like it?
Disclaimer- I claim no rights to Final Fantasy VII
Chapter Four - The Lord's Response
As if the Gods decided to bless him for his hard-work, Nanaki rounded the corner leading to the Archives and bowed his head in greeting towards him and Cissnei, his brown eyes inquisitive and it was all the incentive needed for Zack to summon a guard and give an apologetic glance in Cissnei's direction as he handed her over to the Knight who bowed his head and waited patiently for them to finish talking.
"I do apologize for interrupting you, Lord Fair and Lady Shinra, but I might have Lord Fair for but a moment? There is something important that we must discuss." Nanaki kept his head bowed, his long red braid falling over his shoulder. "Once again, I do apologize for the interruption."
"It's quite alright, Archivist Nanaki." Zack intoned, his insides twisting with happiness at the thought of leaving Cissnei to her own devices for but a moment. He looked over to her, barely withholding a wince at the disappointed look in her eyes at him leaving and he rushed over to make the look disappear. It wasn't her fault that he had already harbored feelings for another and it was cruel of him to be happy about leaving her alone in a foreign place. He gathered her gloved hands into his own and smiled down into her eyes, relieved that look of disappointment vanished and a small, tentative smile took its place.
"I will not be long." Zack promised, sharing a look with Nanaki who nodded in agreement. "We will still have tea before dinner and discuss what Junon is like and I promise to answer any questions you might have about Midgar."
Cissnei's eyes softened at the promise and her bow-shaped lips pulled into a brighter smile. "I will hold you that promise, Lord Fair. Until then." Cissnei turned, waited for the Knight to step ahead of her before going in the opposite direction allowing Nanaki and Zack to speak in private once they turned the corner and out of earshot.
"Nanaki." Zack began, placing a hand against the man's back. "What do you have to show me?"
Nanaki's brown eyes gleamed behind his glasses, his lips quirking. "I have nothing to report, Lord Fair, but I do believe I deserve a thank you for saving your hide. I know that your time with the Lady Cissnei hasn't been the most pleasurable."
Zack's eyes, which had been serious up until this point, visibly brightened at Nanaki's words and he was quick to stifle his laughter. "Nanaki, I am truly in your debt, my friend. If there is anything I can do, please, do not hesitate to ask. However, I was looking for you."
Nanaki let out a curious hum and urged Zack to continue, his brow furrowing once Zack began his story of meeting Cloud and feel a pull-a connection-towards the blond that not only moved along the lines of attraction but scent as well.
"Interesting." Nanaki murmured, staring at Zack with a hunger that the man recognized as curiosity. Nanaki was never one to prod when it wasn't necessary, but when prompted, the man could go on for hours about a subject that he was interested in whether it be something as simple as plants or complex as the relationships between Alphas and Omegas.
This was such a case.
"What you feel is indeed what the legends call a soul bond-a connection of emotions not only through the mind, but the soul as well." Nanaki pushed his glasses up his nose, his reddish brown eyes meeting Zack's across the table. Before them, various books laid scattered across the worn wood of the Archivists desk and even those were littered with small markings and cliff notes. "Although it is somewhat uncommon, the soul bond does exsist between an Alpha and Omega. Ordinarily, an Alpha and Omega bond and feel their emotions through that link that they have established and their scents mix and linger between one another. More extreme cases indicate that compatible Alpha and Omega's smell enticing and the attraction increases almost two-fold. As is the case with you and Cloud."
"He does smell different to me than others. He smells like winter and citrus and Cissnei commented that he smells of the forest." Zack folded his arms. "Although, as much as I don't want to admit it, that's not enough evidence that we're soul mates. Is there another clue that I could go by? A sign?"
Nanaki placed his hand on his chin, his expression thoughtful. "I'm afraid that there's no longer a specific method in which to identify one as your soulmate other than spending time together and the blood ritual, but you know that has been outlawed for hundreds of years." Nanaki shoots Zack a pointed look at this. "But, there are also records that speak of soul mates feeling a pull of sorts." Nanaki raises his hand and gently rips a page out of his notebook as an example. "The pull is gentle but consistent." Nanaki stopped suddenly, the paper hanging on by a single thread. "But, should this connection-this pull-shatter suddenly." Nanaki forced the paper out of the notebook, the tear loud against the silence. "The consequence could be dire for both parties involved."
Zack gave the ripped paper a somber look, memories rushing through his mind, of his parents suddenly dying through the long winter months Midgar suffered when he was merely eighteen years old. He remembers his mother suddenly falling ill not long after his father passed away. Remembers those green eyes that made him think of beautiful emeralds grow dull over time before she too passed just as spring was arriving, not only bringing new life but death as well. Nanaki and Angeal had confessed under the cover of darkness that his parents had been soulmates-an extreme rarity between an Alpha and Omega in these times.
At first, Zack hadn't been surprised by the information. The love his mother and father experienced was deep and the envy of court and even himself at times. But, with that envy came a sadness that even now was difficult to shake off. The result of the soul bond had ripped his father and later his mother away from him in the span of four months and his anger at the Goddess was profound before Sephiroth and Genesis reprimanded him in his chambers-warning him not to invoke Minerva's wrath upon his home, eliciting him to not only apologize for his actions but to prostrate himself at the Altar of the Goddess and as if seeing his remorse, the land of Midgar was blessed with a fertile spring that lasted them well past the summer and fall months.
It was also one of the most loneliest spring that Zack had experienced in all of his then eighteen years of life.
The familiar bond that he felt with his parents was gone and he was left running a city-state that expected him to resume his parent's duty and not only make their home better, but to marry, grow and have children with a proper Omega who would nurture them in ways that Zack couldn't. But, in the six years that followed, he had led Midgar to be one of the most powerful cities on the planet, made sure his people were content with his rule and gain another family in the form of Aerith and Ifalna. But, still, it wasn't enough. The people wondered when he would marry and give them an heir to continue the prosperity and the light that surrounded his city on a constant basis.
Zack found himself disappointed at the thought of growing old alone and picking a ward to carry on the Fair name, but the moment Cloud swept into his life, he knew those problems were going to be solved. The smaller man wasn't a noble by any means, but Zack couldn't care less. Cloud was the one, he knew it. Logically, he knew that their match wasn't possible, but Zack was a man that made the impossible possible and bloodlines, legacies and money wasn't going to stand in the way of him getting to Cloud.
"I want him." Zack blurted out suddenly, drawing a curious hum from Nanaki who had his eyes on his book and flipping through the musty pages. "I want him." he repeated. "I want Cloud."
Nanaki looked up then, his brown eyes assessing Zack over the edge of the book before lowering it back to the table. "You know the consequences of those words and actions, do you not, m'lord? You know that no matter how much you may want it, it might not be possible? You are of noble blood and Cloud, is not. I am sure that he is a good person, but Angeal, Genesis, and Sephiroth will not allow this bond come to be."
"What about Cid and Shera? They're a part of this council as well? Do their opinions do not count?"
"They do, but the majority vote always win and those three always favor the opposite of Cid and Shera. Those three didn't grow up on the streets of Midgar, they have a slight disconnection with the people and thus aren't always on the up and up of the goings and happenings of this city. It is why I favor Cid on more than one occasion." Nanaki pushed up his glasses with a tight sigh. "I am not saying that Cloud is inaccessible to you. I am saying that he is not...what the three of them have in mind for you."
"They don't get to decide whom I am to spend the rest of my days with, Nanaki." Zack gritted his teeth, resisting the urge to snarl at the unfairness of it all. "Who are they to decide whom I lie with? Who am I to have children with? I have served Midgar since I have left my mother's womb and I will continue to serve it until my last days, but when the matter of who my Omega will be, that decision will be mine and mine alone."
"As my lord demands, but your council has served your parents and should fate allow it, their children shall serve your own." Nanaki shook his head, a sad light entering his eyes at the thought of it all. "I know that you want to make your own decisions regarding your Omega, but I must defend them in this instance; your council only wants what's best for you and our home. They're not doing this to punish or control you, but merely to make sure your line continues."
"I am aware of this, Nanaki." Zack murmured, a flash of guilt attacking his conscious. "I know that Angeal, Sephiroth and Genesis, Shera and Cid wants what's best for me, but I think that's for me and me alone to decide." Zack shook his head, resigned at the fact that they were going in circles. Nanaki's heart was in the right place, but he too, wanted what was best for their home and to him, Cloud, however good that he was, wasn't it and had no place in their ideal future.
Zack thought otherwise.
"Thank you, my friend." Zack reached over, clasping his hand on the archivist shoulder and giving it a rough, friendly shake. "You've always put my mind at ease with your words and knowledge."
Nanaki nodded, giving him a somber yet sharp look. "I'll do all I can for you and your legacy, Zack. Know that I am on your side."
Zack's lips thinned at the vainly thinned lie. As much as he didn't want to admit it, Nanaki was a mere cog in the face of this machination called Midgar and the Fair family legacy. He was a dear friend, but a pawn to the council and at times, Zack himself.
Breaking himself out of his thoughts, Zack gave Nanaki one last nod of thanks before leaving the archives and making his way down the seemingly endless corridors that Fair Manor provided. He stopped suddenly in between the archives and the drawing room where Cissnei most likely waited. He looked around, frowning when he finally noticed how cold and barren the halls were. Halls that were devoid of laughter and the constant shuffle of doors slamming and closing. The only noise was the crackling of the torches and the howling of the winter winds that Midgar was known for. The silence was always somewhat comforting to him, but since the moment he met Cloud, the once hallowing, comforting halls seemed dull and lifeless. He longed for a mate who could brighten these halls again with laughter and one day, children.
"Heh," Zack chuckled, the sound bitter and amused. "Look at me, talking like I'm going to marry him. I barely know him at all."
But, he could, couldn't he? He could get to know the Omega and eventually draw him into his life and see if this whole soul mate thing was a reality? But, what of Cloud's feelings towards the whole thing? He knew that the smaller man was attracted to him, that much was obvious, but was he really so selfish as to seduce him and claim him? Zack smiled, tightly, at the thought.
He was indeed quite selfish.