He never would’ve done it if it weren’t for Zack’s insistence. Zack had been gushing about Aerith whenever he got the chance since their meeting. Angeal had warned him time and time again that he should get his head out of the clouds or his performance would suffer, but Zack had proved him wrong. Apparently, if done right, relationships didn’t have to be a weakness. They could become a strength.

Zack had suggested that Angeal find someone himself—he wasn’t getting any younger—and had even set up a dating profile for him. Sure, some of his qualities were exaggerated, but it could give him something to laugh about. Angeal did not, in fact, have two guard dogs protecting his mansion. But Genesis and Sephiroth kinda passed as some, no?

Despite Zack’s advice to wear something nice, Angeal arrived at the designated restaurant in his standard SOLDIER uniform. He wasn’t going to pretend to be something he wasn’t. Being a SOLDIER defined him, and if whoever he met tonight didn’t understand that, there was no point in wasting time.

At the very least, he didn’t expect you to be the recipient of the bouquet he’d been awkwardly stringing along to the fancy restaurant. Nor did he expect to see you in anything other than the SOLDIER uniform meant for Second Classes. Angeal had to take a look around just to make sure he didn’t have the wrong person before he held the bouquet of roses out to you, coughing into the fist of his other hand.

“I didn’t…” he began, then paused, realizing how uncharacteristically flustered he sounded. You were one of many SOLDIERs who looked up to him, so why did he suddenly feel like a teenager again? “I mean, you’re here for me, right?” He crossed his arms over his chest once you’d freed up his hands. You must’ve known who he was when you agreed to meet with him, right? Maybe he should’ve paid more attention to Zack’s explanation of how dating apps worked. “Were you roped into this too?” Angeal couldn’t help but be curious now. “Or did you come here intentionally?”