Title: Ruby Red

Characters: Cloud/Tifa

Rating: Teen

Disclaimers: I do not own anyone/anything from the forum Final Fantasy. Square Soft/Enix owns Final Fantasy and its characters. There is no copyright infringement intended. I do not make any profit/money or take any credit.

Summary: The rest of her was sexy as hell, but it was the red lipstick that really got him.

A/N: Prompt for February 9th – Cloud/Tifa – Dress Up – 'The rest of her was sexy as hell, but it was the red lipstick that really got him.'

Timeline: Advent Children Complete

Word Count: 1,066

Betaed: No

~~~~Ruby Red~~~~

Cloud paced in the living room, tugging at his tie as he did. He hated wearing a tie but Tifa had asked him and he couldn't deny her. He never could. So here he was, stuck wearing a suit and a tie. Shin-Ra had decided to have a celebration that all the dangers, so far, has passed leaving them in a state of peaceful harmony.

They had invited the whole group who had been the one to help bring an end to each danger (though they were really the only ones who did the work with Shin-Ra the one creating the mess). Marlene and Denzel were staying at a friend's house whose parents had agreed to babysit them for the night as the whole group was going to be at the party. Denzel had complained that he didn't need a babysitter and that he could look after Marlene as he had used to live on the streets.

Cloud and Tifa had been amused by the young man's antics before Cloud set him down and explained that while they trusted Denzel to look after Marlene, they didn't feel comfortable with the idea of leaving the kids alone. They would be worrying about them for the night. Denzel hated worrying Tifa and had agreed to stay at his friend's house.

Soft footsteps on the stairs alerted Cloud that someone was coming down and he turned to see Tifa reaching the bottom step and turning around to face him. Cloud's jaw dropped when he spotted Tifa.

She was dressed in a dark red halter neck dress, the front was plunging; enough to tease Cloud with her cleavage but it was modest enough to feel that she wasn't showing off. The dress itself was floor length with a thigh high split on the left side and he could see that she was wearing red heels. Her long black locks were pinned up with strands framing her face.

A throbbing started below his belt as he discreetly adjusted himself, swallowing as he tried to speak only for it to die once more when his blue eyes landed on her lips. She looked sexy as hell but holy mother of Gaia, when she wore dark red lipstick; it got his blood pounding through his veins before they would rush down his lower member, making it very clear that he liked what he saw.

"Well?" Tifa's ruby red lips curled up in a smile. Cloud tried to form a word but found it just died before it even reached his lips. He tried again only to fail.

'Dude, you are so making yourself looks like an idiot,' a familiar voice spoke up only for a skin meeting a thick skull rang through Cloud's head.

'You just keep your mouth shut,' the female voice warned. 'Remember what she said, Cloud, you don't need words to show your feelings.' A sense of relief crossed through him at Aerith's gentle words.

Cloud crossed the short distance, slipping his left arm around Tifa's waist and pulled her into his body. With her high heels, she was his height, their eyes meeting each other. Tifa gasped when she felt his very clear reaction in his pants and an appreciative smile crossed her face.

"You're driving me crazy," he promised her, his right hand coming up to take a lock of hair into his fingers, loving the feel of it. Tifa bit her lower lip and Cloud groaned, wishing that he could kiss her but he didn't want to smug her lipstick. Beside, if he was to kiss her, he wouldn't be able to stop and they would really be late and end up catching hell as a result as the other team members didn't want to go to the party but Tifa had managed to convince them.

"We'll…" Tifa stuttered as Cloud's grip on her tightened. "We'll return to this…later," she promised her eyes dark with desire. Cloud growled. He didn't want to wait, he wanted to take her upstairs and see how the dress looked on their floor and just what she was wearing underneath.

Tifa, sensing his thoughts, pulled herself out of his embrace and grabbed his hand, tugging on it before she turned around completely, making Cloud stumble over his feet when he saw her bare back. The strings criss-crossed her upper back before being tied but the rest was completely bare to lower back, just where the curve of her buttock started.

Holy mother of Gaia, was she deliberately trying to drive him insane? It was rare to see Tifa show a lot of skin outside in public as she had learnt her lesson with her old bar-tending outfit, the same one she had run about all over Gaia in, but to tempt him with the dress and the sinful lips…

'Man, you are totally whipped,' the male voice remarked only to get another stinging slap. 'Jeez, Aerith, do you need to hit so hard?'

'Are you sure I'm the only one whose' whipped?' Cloud asked with an amused smile, getting laughers from Aerith and mumbles from Zack.

'Have fun, we'll keep an eye on the kids for you,' Aerith assured him before he felt the two of them leaving. Cloud just grinned, following Tifa out of the house, locking the door behind him then the two of them stepped into the car that Rufus had sent to bring them to the party.

Once they reached the party, Cloud adjusted his tie once more before placing his hand on the small of Tifa's back only for his blood to rush again when he felt bare skin. Tifa turned to face him and his eyes dropped down to her lips, feeling the urge to kiss her. Giving into his desire, he kissed her softly, making sure not to smug her lipstick before he pulled back.

"We can leave early…right?" he asked. Tifa just laughed as she pulled him into the party, giving him a wink and curling those sinful dark red lips.

"Only if you promise to be a good boy," she told him and he arched an eyebrow.

"Then I can be a bad boy later?" he breathed into her ear. Tifa spun around, walking backward as she held onto his hand.

"I'm all yours," she promised before they stepped into the ballroom where the party was in full swing.

"Then it's a promise."

The End