[ Drabble from my tumblr rp account. Characters belong to Squeenix. ]

All Dressed Up

Cloud wasn't sure how long Genesis had known about him and Angeal but he was fairly sure that it was before even they'd known themselves, and that all that time had been spent watching them, analysing Cloud to see if he was worthy. Cloud thought this because out of the blue, while he'd been reporting in for an assignment, Genesis had appeared and announced out of the blue that he was taking Angeal out for dinner at a restaurant called Lavender that Cloud knew was classy and upmarket and definitely not somewhere Cloud would ever had gone anywhere near if he'd known he could avoid it.

But then Genesis had snidely added that he was taking Angeal to that restaurant because Cloud hadn't taken the raven anywhere.

Ever since then, Cloud had appreciated that Angeal and Genesis were close but taken a dislike to the redhead and his scrutiny of their relationship as well as his interference in it. The implication in every interaction between them became one of how Cloud not treating Angeal enough, not spending enough time with him and just generally doing it all wrong.

Worried after several inferences that he wasn't going about it very well, Cloud began to wonder if there was actually some truth to what Genesis was saying.

Days of fretting, of catching Genesis looking at him with this smug look in his eyes had resulted in the mess that Cloud found himself in right then, stood in front of a mirror and trying to straighten his tie, sweating in the neat white shirt that he'd bought for the occasion and he'd not even left his barracks room yet, never mind gone to meet Angeal.

Looking stiff and formal and feeling the same, Cloud straightened his tie one more time, brushed out some imagined creases in the dress pants and threw his hands up at the mess his hair was in before turning away and moving out to collect the shinra-issue vehicle that he'd requested for the evening from the garage on the lower floors. Hardly the classy little convertible that he'd seen Genesis in (red, as if it could be any other colour) but Cloud's wages could only get him so much, even though he'd made it into the ranks of the Thirds.

Tense and nervous, Cloud pulled up outside Angeal's apartment complex and headed up to collect the raven, hoping that the surprise would be worth it, that Angeal would appreciate it.

What happened next was absolutely the opposite of what he could have expected.

There was a long period of silence once the door opened, as Cloud stood there awkwardly shuffling his feet while Angeal took in the unexpected sight. It felt like a small eternity before Cloud noticed that Angeal's cheeks were a bit pink and his expression didn't make any sense to Cloud until he heard a stifled giggle and watched in disbelief as Angeal raised a hand to hide a snicker behind it.

The giggling gained volume when Cloud pinned him with a betrayed look and Angeal finally tugged the blond into the flat, pushing the door closed behind the younger SOLDIER and then setting his hands to hair that had been painstakingly combed into a completely different mess to the normal one it was in, returning it to its original spikey glory.

"What are you wearing?" Angeal asked, still wearing a grin that Cloud was starting to dislike.

Cheeks burning, Cloud tried to explain and had to watch helplessly as Angeal's grin widened until he was laughing outright and Cloud shrank in on himself, embarrassed and feeling stupid in his neat suit until Angeal calmed enough to reassure the sullen-looking blond.

"You know Genesis was doing it on purpose right?" Angeal asked. "He's just winding you up, trying to get under your skin and see how you'll react. Don't let him get to you Cloud. I know he's trying to protect me but he can go about it in strange ways. I know you're not used to being in a relationship but you're doing fine, no matter what Genesis implies. And honestly, going out to fancy restaurants is definitely more Gen's thing than mine," he confessed, unable to help the return of that grin, even if it made Cloud's eyes slide away from him in embarrassment again.

Reaching forward, Angeal took Cloud's tie from the slender but strong hands that had begun to twist it into knots and carefully unwound it before using it to tug Cloud closer to him.

Cloud went slightly reluctantly where the tug on his tie urged him but he couldn't help but relax into Angeal's embrace, still wearing that blush of mortification over the whole situation. He'd even made reservations at a fancy upper plate restaurant just as Genesis had taunted him about not doing before.

"Cancel it," Angeal urged gently, nuzzling into soft blond hair. "Cancel it and we'll do what we always do. What we both enjoy." Already undoing Cloud's tie, he began leading them towards the couch. "Let's get you out of this suit and you can borrow some of my clothes. I have a movie picked out already and you can pick what takeout we get," he continued, grinning again as Cloud began to warm up to him, helping him shed the restrictive layers of the suit and tie that definitely didn't suit the blond right then.

"Can I-"

"Your favourite hoodie of mine is waiting for you at the foot of my bed," Angeal added, cutting the blond off with a knowing little smile. "You don't really think I'd let you leave without seeing you in it at least for a little while during your stay, did you?" the raven asked, not expecting an answer and not receiving one as Cloud's expression brightened and he pulled away from where Angeal was undoing the belted pants to disappear into the first's bedroom.

When he emerged, clad in his own boxers and almost but not quite swamped in the hoodie he'd made Angeal buy but probably worn more often than the raven, he beamed radiantly and padded over to Angeal's side, leaning against the bigger man when a strong arm circled around his waist and steered him towards the couch.

"I cancelled the reservation at the restaurant and ordered takeaway Wutaiian instead," Cloud announced brightly.

"Good," Angeal replied, ruffling unruly blond hair as though Cloud was a child. "That's much better than some fancy meal out," he assured the younger male, though all it served to do was make Cloud hide in his arm.

"Genesis is never going to let me live this down is he?" Cloud lamented softly, having absolutely no doubt now that it had all been deliberate on the redhead's part.

"No… No I don't think he will," Angeal replied sympathetically as they settled down for their night in together.

Two days later, Angeal was hiding laughter behind his hand all over again as pictures of the blond in his suit began circulating through the shinra building.

In response, Cloud had taken to avoiding the building completely where he could and in situations such as those, what else could any of them do but laugh?