Neko Theme Challenge Fanfic

The Wolf Prince

Zack Fair was the prince of the wolf pack in the forest of Midgar. He was kind and strong as well as incredibly handsome.
His Father, Angeal, was the King of the pack and was constantly training Zack to be the next leader.  
As of a few weeks ago though, Zack had been avoiding his training.  Angeal would spend hours hunting down the young wolf and would never find him. An when Zack would finally come home, he had a big grin on his face and he didn't breath a word to his father about where he had been.
It angered Angeal. What could be more important than his training? Zack was becoming lazy and slacking off, Angeal was sure of that.
So on the rare days that Zack did show up for training, Angeal made sure to make the session an extra hard one.
Zack would always complain and Angeal would always give him the same answer.
"If you don't like it, then stop slacking off."
This however didn't stop Zack from skipping out on his duties. Angeal tried different things to get the raven-haired wolf to go to training, from bribing him with his favorite meals to locking him in his room.
Nothing worked.
Zack showed no interest in getting his favorite meal every day, stating that it would quickly get boring. And he knew how to pick the lock in his room. Even if you locked the windows and posted guards outside the door, Zack would always find a way to get out.
It was frustrating and Angeal was ready to explode from anger.
What the King did not know was that Zack was doing something very important. Something that King himself had advised Zack to do a long time ago.
He was finding a mate.
Actually, he had already found a mate; a beautiful blonde wolf by the name of Cloud. He just wasn't sure if Angeal would approve of their relationship.
Cloud was a male wolf and a commoner, making their relationship a double taboo. Zack was expected to marry a wolf that was not only female but also had a high status in society. Zack wasn't interested in most of the female aristocrats in their clan (or in other clans for that matter); they were all stuck up and spoiled.
He met Cloud a few months ago, when he was escaping from one of Angeal's wraths (Zack had accidently broken Angeal's favorite sword during training). He had gone deep into the forest nearby their castle to hide and there he found Cloud. Apparently the young blonde wolf had gotten lost while hunting for food.
For Zack it was love at first sight. When he saw the golden haired wolf hunched over by a tree, crying his eyes out it was instant love.
He helped the wolf find his way out of the forest and get back home. Along the way Zack kept on talking, trying to coax the shy blonde to do the same. Eventually he got the timid wolf to tell him his name and talk alittle more. Zack even got him to laugh a couple of times (the sound of his laughter made him fall in love even more). When they finally arrived at Cloud's small house, the blonde invited the prince inside and they spent the rest of the day and night talking.
Angeal had yelled at Zack for an hour straight when he finally came home that day and any other time Zack would come home late from spending time with Cloud. But he didn't care. Every minute he spent with Cloud was worth it.
He went to see Cloud almost every day after that and the two of them quickly became closer and closer and fell more in love. After just one month of knowing each other the two starting dating.
Zack had hid the fact that he was a prince from Cloud at first. And he didn't have the guts to tell Cloud until three months into their relationship.
To his relief Cloud, while surprised and a bit upset that Zack had hid something so important from him, took the news pretty well and didn't treat him any differently.
After that their relationship continued rather smoothly. Even with Angeal's constant insistence on having Zack train all the time.
However, Zack was tired of having to sneak around and even if he didn't say anything, he knew that Cloud was getting tired of it too.
So on the day of their one year anniversary Zack decided to do something about it.
He had asked Cloud to meet him in the forest where they had first met, saying that he had a big surprise for him. Cloud had tilted his head to the side when he had asked this, his blonde tail swayed slowly and curiosity was written all over his face. Without even waiting to hear Cloud's response he had scooped up the blonde and taken him to the bedroom. Who could resist a face that cute?
The next day Cloud was waiting for him by the tree where Zack had first seen him and smiled sweetly when he saw Zack.
"So what's this surprise you have for me?" Cloud asked eye's full of expectancy.
"You'll see." He replied simply. He intertwined their hands and led Cloud out of the forest.
Cloud followed him willingly until he saw the castle Zack was leading him to.
"Wait Zack!" he exclaimed. "What are you doing?"
"Something I should have done a long time ago." Zack answered with determination.
"Zack," Cloud said fearfully, struggling against the raven's grip. "I don't think this is a good idea…"
"Cloud," the prince said sternly, stopping so he could look at his boyfriend in the eye. "I love you. And I don't care if my dad or the entire clan doesn't like it. You're the one I want to be with forever."
Cloud was astonished by the intensity in Zack's words and amethyst eyes.
"B-but Zack…"
"Don't worry. No matter what happens, you and I will be together. I won't let anyone tear us apart." he assured the other.
Cloud, after a moment, sighed. His tail and ears dropping wearily.
"Okay…" he said in a quiet voice.
Zack smiled, squeezed his hand reassuringly and continued their tread towards the castle.
The moment they entered, guards and servants stared at them and their intertwined hands. Cloud's tail dropped even more if possible and he clutched Zack's hand almost painfully.
"It's okay."Zack whispered comfortingly to him.
Zack took him down several corridors, passing various rooms and curious eyes until the finally reached the throne room.
"Dad?" Zack called as they entered.
Angeal, who was just about to have every guard in the palace search for Zack, stood up and stomped over to the prince.
"There you are!" he growled. "Do you know how worried I was? Do you know what time-"
He stopped, noticing the blonde wolf next to Zack and the fact that his son was holding the strangers hand.
"Who is this?" he asked.
Beside him Cloud tensed and Zack took a deep breath.
"Dad this is Cloud… my fiancée."
Angeal's mouth fell open in shock and Cloud, along with several guards in the room, gasped.
"Y-You…he…this…wha-"Angeal sputtered.
"Z-Zack?" the blonde squeeked.
Zack turned away from his stunned father and looked at Cloud. He reached into his pant pocket and took out a small blue box. Cloud stared at him with wide blue eyes as he got down on one knee.
"Cloud," Zack said a bright smile. "I love you more than anyone else in the entire world. I have since the day that I met you. You're everything I could ever want. You're cute and sweet and not to mention great in the sack." Cloud turned three shades of red at this. "I want to spend the rest of my life with you."
He opened the small box to reveal a beautiful heart shaped engagement ring. "Will you marry me?"
Cloud opened and closed his mouth several times, not believing what he was hearing.
"….Y-you would to marry me?"
Zack smiled. "If you'll let me."
Cloud tackled Zack into a tight hug that had them both sprawled on the marble floor.
"Yes! Yes, of course I'll marry you!"
Zack had never smiled more brightly in his entire life.
"I love you, spikey."
"I love you too, Zack."
Cloud pulled away enough so that they could kiss. Their lips had barely touched when a voice said,
"Is this why you've been skipping out on your duties?"
Both turned to see Angeal and all the guards in the room staring at them. They both blushed and quickly stood up. They had forgotten where they were.
"Yea," Zack answered his father, standing up and pulling Cloud close to him. "I wanted to be with Cloud."
"How long has this been going on?" the King asked.
"A year." Zack stated.
"A…A year?" Angeal exclaimed. "Why didn't you tell me before?"
Zack rubbed the back of his head nervously.
"I didn't think you would approve…"he admitted.
Angeal gave an exasperated sigh. "Well, I can't say that I'm not shocked. I didn't think that you were…"he trailed off and looked at Cloud and then at Zack again. "So you're serious about this? You're positive this is what you want?"
Zack nodded and immediately answered, "Yes. I love him."
Angeal stared at his son for a minute, taking in the situation and the certainty in Zack's eyes.
"Alright," he said finally. "If you're sure that this is what you want then I won't stop you. The two of you have my blessing."
"Really?" Zack and Cloud exclaimed.
Angeal chuckled. "Yes, I rarely see you get this serious about anything so you must really love him."
He sighed. "I would have liked some grand children though."
"Wohoo!" Zack cried out jumping high into the air, his tail wagging so hard it could have created a tornado. He ran over to his father and gave him a bear hug. "Thanks pops! You're the best!"
"Get off of me! This is not the way a prince behaves." Angeal told him sternly, pushing him off. He blushed when he heard some of the guards' chuckle.
Zack merely grinned and went back over to Cloud, scooping him up and holding him bridal style.
Cloud yelped in surprise.
"Come on Cloud. Let's go celebrate!"
"Zack, where are we going?"
"To my room." Zack replied with a mischievous smirk. "I just got a new bed yesterday and I want to break it in."
With that he carried his blushing bride-to-be out of the room.
Angeal groaned, his tail and ears sagging tiredly. He rubbed his temple as the sound of Zack's laughter and his fiancée's complaints slowly faded away.
"I'd hate to think what's going to happen when he becomes King…"