Hey! So, thanks for checking out this story! Just a quick note for anyone who may be wondering:

This fic will include a variety of pairings leading to a very eventual ASGZC. It's also worth mentioning this isn't my usual take on this pairing, so I hope you came with an open mind! You can expect plenty of the characters just living out their day to day lives as they start to build toward that eventual ASGZC pairing.

Chapter One

Zack didn't get nervous often, especially not around Cloud. A conversation like this though? Even he couldn't predict how his boyfriend might react this time. It was way past the time to talk about it though, so he took Cloud's hand into his own and clarified, "It's more than that."

Cloud blinked, his smile faltering slightly. "What's that mean?"

It was a regular occurrence for Zack to notice how attractive a co-worker was, or someone he ran into in a book store, or a someone he met in the mall—just like it was normal for him to tell Cloud as much, to admit to the harmless flirting that may have occurred. There was no reason to deny it, and no reason for Cloud to worry about it.

Zack liked to flirt, but he loved Cloud. He made sure there was never any doubt about that. But they weren't discussing his meaningless attraction toward a random person this time. Angeal was a mutual friend, one they'd known for several years now.

Originally he'd worked under Angeal as an intern, right out of college. A few years had passed since, and Zack had long since been hired on by the same company—he was head of his own department now, and his former boss had quickly become a solid work buddy. It hadn't taken long for Cloud to meet Angeal as well after being dragged along to more than a few of Zack's work functions.

And then that changed.

Somewhere along the line work buddies had blurred into buddies who did more than greet each other in passing or grab the occasional drink to catch up or blow off steam after work. They had become friends, and that came with the full benefit of hanging out around Cloud regularly as well—he did live with Zack, after all.

Angeal had eventually left the company, opting to open his own business—a venture Cloud had joined him on, as his own dabbles into the workforce hadn't gone quite as smoothly as Zack's. He was happy for both of them, supporting their decision in any way he could…but it was hard not to notice that they were spending even more time with Angeal since that change. Harder yet to ignore the fact he was enjoying it more and more.

"I don't know, he's just…there's something about him I can't shake," Zack tried to explain. "You know what I mean, right?"

"He is…"

Handsome. Considerate. Kind. Probably at least a dozen other great things he could see Cloud struggling to say. The thought alone made his heart flutter in the most peculiar way, something he'd been trying to ignore for a few weeks too many now. He gave his boyfriend's hand a gentle squeeze, encouraging him to think out loud.

"Okay, yeah," Cloud admitted with a sigh. "I get what you mean. I just don't get what you want to do about it."

"I dunno, it all depends what you wanna do."

"So you already know what you'd want then?"

"Kinda. But like I said, I wanna do what you wanna do."

Cloud arched an eyebrow. "It's fine, just tell me. Did you wanna try hooking up with him?"

Something they had done way back when—separate hookups. Fun but meaningless one night stands they had both agreed would be acceptable when their relationship was a bit more casual than it had become.

"Uh, yeah. But it's more than that."

"You want…both of us to hook up with him?"

Another thing they had tried a handful of times. Also fun, also casual—but something they had both found not quite as fulfilling as they had hoped. It had actually been the breaking point where they realized they either needed to be exclusive with each other, or call things off entirely. Neither had looked back since their decision to keep things between them only.

"Getting warmer."

"You want us to do more than hook up with him?"

"…Only if you do."

"Like…have him be a part of our relationship?" Cloud pressed, blinking when Zack nodded in acknowledgment. "Us and him? Regularly?"

"Yeah."

Zack watched carefully, noticing the way Cloud's eyes narrowed in thought. He had so many thoughts of his own about this—why it was a good idea, how it would work out with three of them…But it was a big change no matter how he presented it, so he bit his tongue, hoping to give Cloud time to really think about it himself.

This was something they'd never done before—something they'd never even discussed. Dating anyone else. Their relationship had been exclusive for years now, and they'd been much happier since. It was Angeal they were talking about though. That alone made it different in a way he couldn't totally pinpoint. They had other mutual friends, but the connection he felt with Angeal was unlike the rest.

"He's my business partner," Cloud said, an obvious but necessary statement.

"Hey, that's why it's a discussion. If you're not comfortable about something, that's fine. It's not like you work for ShinRa and there's tons of policy about this stuff. I figure you guys are your own bosses—you're both mature enough to handle it if we took a step in that direction and it doesn't work out or something. Just a matter of whether or not you think it's worth the risk."

"…I don't think he's the kind of guy to hold a grudge."

"I don't either. And it's not like we know how he feels about us—I mean, he likes us, but that doesn't mean he's interested in more, right?"

"Right. I guess we could talk to him about it first. There's no point stressing if he's not even into the idea."

"But you're into the idea, right? You can tell me if it's not something—"

"Zack," Cloud interrupted, slightly exasperated. "If I wasn't into it, I'd have said so by now."

"You're sure? You don't sound…I dunno, enthusiastic."

"I've been thinking about him maybe more than I let on," he admitted slowly. "There's definitely something about him, and if we both agree and we both could see something more with him…you're right, maybe it'd be worth pursuing."

"I love you."

"I love you too."

"Wanting to see if he makes this even better doesn't make it any less. Right?"

Cloud scoffed, instantly easing the rest of Zack's potential concerns. "Of course not."

"So you could see it—all three of us together?"

"Yeah, I could. I mean, he's over so often anyway lately, he already kinda feels like more than any of our other friends. It's not that big of a stretch to think about even more with him."

"You think he'd be interested?"

Cloud considered it shortly. "He always play along with your flirts."

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean much, it's just fun—most people play along."

"I guess. Your flirts are kinda different with him though. And he blushes."

"Does he?"

"Yeah," Cloud confirmed with a small smile. "It's really cute on a big guy like him."

"Look at you! You're blushing just thinking about it. Almost makes me wish I'd brought all this up sooner."

"How long have you been thinking about it?"

Zack shrugged. "I dunno exactly. I guess it kinda started when we found out he was single again, but I never thought about you any less so I kept trying to shrug it off, ya know?" Cloud nodded in understanding. "It wasn't until our holiday party that it occurred to me there might be a better solution."

"Why the party? Nothing even happened."

"Uh, because you two got each other for the gift swap and both spent an entire month stressing about what to get! It was cute at first, but borderline obnoxious by the end of the month."

"I didn't wanna get him something he wouldn't like."

"It was a twenty gil price limit! Anything was gonna be a silly gift, that's the entire point!"

"I know, but I wanted to get him something nice still."

"And that was when I realized how bad you had it! Anyone else woulda just gotten him a potted plant and called it a day."

"Everyone gets him gardening stuff."

"Exactly! You care enough to notice things like that and do something special instead, even when it's just s'posed to be a silly gift exchange. And him, I still can't believe he got you that book! I looked it up, y'know. That author hasn't had a leg of his book tour in this area in almost a year—he's doing a full Gaia tour, so he's all over the place."

"So?"

"So for Ang to get that autographed by the author, he musta gone way outta his way. And that's gotta boost the value way up past the twenty gil mark, right? For a guy that cheap, that's impressive."

So impressive that he'd been a little jealous that he hadn't gotten Cloud such a thoughtful gift. He followed Cloud's gaze to their bookshelf, eyeing the book in its prominent place; To Be Loved, by Genesis Rhapsodos. One of their favorites, albeit a guilty pleasure more than anything. Usually he was more into adventure fantasy or sci-fi stuff, but at some point he and Cloud had both started reading the occasional romance novel. Their interest had only gone up when Genesis Rhapsodos hit the writing scene, his book a complete standout in the genre.

The man had a talent, arguably second only to the renowned Sephiroth Crescent.

"It was definitely better than what I ended up getting him," Cloud concluded, tearing his eyes away from the book to meet Zack's again. "Is he still coming by for dinner tonight?"

"Uh, it's meatball Monday, he'd better be here!"

Angeal did make the best meatballs. Cloud seemed to be thinking the same thing, promptly pulling out his phone. "I'll send him a message to make sure."

"You think we should talk to him about all this tonight, or do you wanna talk it out just us a bit more?"

His boyfriend looked over at him. "Is there more you wanted to talk about?"

"Nah, I mean, I think that's everything. I want more, you want more—makes sense to go for it."

"Then let's go for it."

Angeal's meatballs looked and smelled delightful, as expected. He always joked about how he was supposed to be the guest, not the cook, but he was the first one to get his hands messy in the kitchen when he came by to see Zack and Cloud. The weird thing was, none of them were even sure how their little Monday night tradition had begun—they were just sure they were enjoying it.

"Go sit down now!" Zack insisted, gently steering Angeal out of the kitchen. "I got the rest of this under control."

"Remember not to burn the garlic bread."

"Again," Cloud added, winking when he caught Zack's eyes.

He huffed playfully, wasting no time headed back into the kitchen because…well, he might've forgotten how long the garlic bread had been in now that he was thinking about it. Everything else was basically done for him, waiting to be plated up already.

The bread, thankfully, was done perfectly when he peered into the oven. He pulled out some plates, listening in on the conversation in the next room as he began portioning out their meals.

"So," Angeal began, taking a long sip of his beer, "how'd that meeting go?"

"It went okay," Cloud replied. "I think he's trying to play it cool—read the contract again overnight before calling with his answer tomorrow. I'm pretty sure he's gonna sign though."

"Oh yeah? Maybe you should handle those meetings more often. He sounded like a tough sell when we set that meeting up."

"I think I prefer handling the designs and deliveries," Cloud said, both men laughing softly. "You're better at dealing with those people."

"Don't sell yourself short. We haven't even been in business for a year yet and our growth numbers are three times what we expected. And just think, our flour cost will go down 20% if he signs—that's huge! And all of that, it's not just me—that's us. As a team."

"Us," Cloud repeated, bringing a smile to Zack's face.

It was like they'd given him a cue to enter the dining area, and he was ready to run with it.

"Us, huh?" Zack said, a plate in each hand and a third balanced gracefully on his forearm. Maybe he was showing off just a little. He passed them out effortlessly before settling down in his own chair, not skipping a beat now that he had both their attention. "I like the sound of that."

"Yeah, too bad you're not included."

Angeal chuckled. "That's right—you're ShinRa's plaything still."

"Hey! It's not my fault you deserted," Zack teased, putting on his best smile. "I'll be the first one to admit the company has its problems, but that's what I'm working toward, right? Solutions."

"You're going to solve all ShinRa's environmental problems from the marketing department?" Angeal asked, half serious and half joking.

"Trust me on this, I'm a first class businessman these days. I can convince them that marketing eco-friendly, clean energy would be a breeze—that profits would go up with a few changes. I just need a little more time to get them some specific projections. These kinda people only think in numbers."

"You always did like to take on big challenges," Angeal said fondly.

"Yep. I feel like I got some of that from you actually. Someone's gotta be the hero, right?"

"Little did you know I'd turn tail and go open a custom cake shop."

Zack laughed. "I shoulda known. You were always talking about dreams and all that—it only made sense for you to go pursue yours. And ya know, I can't say I blame you—I mean, not only do you get to make fancy cakes all day, youget to work with Midgar's sexiest deliveryman!"

"Well, I won't argue with you on that."

Zack raised an eyebrow, his smile turning into a big smirk. "Oh?"

"Oh, no," Angeal corrected quickly, clearing his throat. He turned his attention to the blond. "What I mean is, it's been a pleasure working with you, Cloud. I couldn't ask for a better business partner. Not to say that you aren't Midgar's sexiest deliveryman—that's something I haven't put a lot of thought into."

"But you did think about it?"

"Zack!" Cloud said, looking more red than Angeal did. It never got old seeing him get like that, even after all these years.

"What? He knows I'm kidding around. Plus, it's not like I'm gonna be upset if he says yeah. I'm kinda hoping he will at this point."

"You are?" Angeal asked, brows furrowed.

"Look, let's stop beating around the bush here. Cloud and I were talking about it and we both kinda feel like you're more to us than just another one of our friends. You're…different."

"You've been here for me through some difficult times—this last year in particular…I don't know what I would've done without your support."

"Yeah, but it's a lot more than that now. To us at least."

Zack nudged Cloud with his elbow, shooting him an encouraging look. It was his turn to chime in. If they were serious about this, they needed to make it clear it was something they both wanted.

The dilemma was clear on Cloud's face though. Neither of them were the best at explaining how they felt romantically. Cute or fun? Sure. Smooth or charming? Zack could handle that, too. They were even pretty good at being straight up blunt these days.

The mushier bits were a bit more complicated, for Cloud especially. Zack nodded reassuringly, hoping Cloud would take a hint—he didn't really need to say anything mushy here. He just needed to say something.

"We care about you more than we'd originally planned, Ang," Cloud settled on, tacking on a tiny smile.

"…How so?"

"We want take all this all to the next level with you," the blond explained slowly. "Maybe call this date night instead of meatball Monday. See how things for from there."

Angeal, bless his heart, looked completely dumbfounded. "You want to date me?" The two nodded. "Both of you do?" Another pair of nods. "All together though?"

"Yeah," the boyfriends answered, one amused but no less sincere.

"You just seem so happy together already. Why would you want—"

"We're happy," Zack jumped in quickly, reaching out to give Cloud's hand an obvious squeeze on the tabletop. Neither pulled back after. "Hell, things are the best they've ever been right now. But we think with you it'd be even better."

"Yeah," Cloud agreed easily. "We spend so much time together already—I mean, I never thought I'd be this close to anyone other than Zack, but with you it's just…"

"Easy," Angeal finished, nodding in agreement with the sentiment. "I feel the same about both of you."

The long pause that followed was a bit unsettling though.

Zack could practically see the high hopes draining from Cloud's face, replaced by a look of caution. He tried to keep his own expression neutral, but his stomach was turning in a way that felt all wrong on meatball Monday.

"…But?" he prompted gently, the silence too much.

"It's not a but," Angeal responded instantly. "It's more…I guess I feel a little out of my depth here. I've never done this before—gotten involved with more than one person like this."

"Neither have I," Zack admitted, hand on the back of his neck. "But, I mean, we all care about each other, right? We have fun together, we want it to work—that's at least half the battle in any relationship!"

"And the other half?" he asked, glancing in Cloud's direction.

"Communication and follow through," the blond answered, almost automatically. The sudden confidence in his voice brought the smile back to Zack's face. "I've never done this either, but I'm pretty sure that's the same no matter how many people you're with."

Angeal seemed to be considering them both seriously, taking his time to really think it over. "You're right," he said finally. "I'm willing to give it a try, if you're sure."

"We're sure," Zack confirmed, reaching out with his other hand to snatch Angeal's. "This just feels right."

"It's been a while since I was involved with anyone romantically."

"No big deal. Like you guys said, things've always been easy with us. We'll just tackle it day by day, see how it goes."

"So…date night?" Angeal clarified, looking from Zack to Cloud tentatively.

"Yep! Thanks for making the meatballs, babe!"

Cloud rolled his eyes. "You're gonna run him off on our first date."

"Hey, if he was that easy to run off, he woulda stopped hanging out with us ages ago."

"Sometimes I do wonder what's kept me around."

They shared a laugh, the remaining nerves dwindling away as they clinked their bottles together. The food was probably a bit cold by now, but no one seemed to mind.