Sleeve goes. It was solely to hide Geostigma.
And what Tenny (I think) said about Cloud and Barret being unlikely friends. I always liked that, I'm actually a pretty big Barret fan, people are always ripping on him. (Fans are; I like it when the game characters do, lol)
But you're right, they're complete opposites and do not like each other early on. Though Barret, at least, respects his ability from the beginning "Yeah, you're strong."
And then when Cloud's comatose Barret goes through that whole quandry about whether they want him back or not, and he's annoyed by how distraught Tifa is by his absence. But they definitely are pretty good friends, I think, the kind that are always playfully insulting one another. It is Cloud, Barret, and Tifa that stick together after Meterofall, after all. I also like when Cloud comes in and rescues Barret in the Bahamut fight, "Where the hell you been?!" lol