He spent all of last month working hard to line pieces up, to fill in the gaps with facts. It had required doing something he never would have considered, outside the strange series of circumstances he keeps finding himself in... But, having the facts? Maybe, he thought, it could give his frustrating mind less room to keep confusing itself.

A lot of the things Sephiroth told him were hard to accept. Still are. But... none of that's what's important, right this very second. That figure running up to him has his eyes widening, and a sting swelling within his throat.

The lack of intense pain, for now, could be due to any number of things. But he isn't thinking about it, for the moment. His own arms lift as he returns the hug, closing his eyes. He has to clench his teeth to manage a steady breath, but it doesn't do a ton for having his voice perfectly even as he mutters, "Hey..."

Just that, at first. After letting his forehead somewhat drop onto Zack's shoulder, it's followed up with him saying, even quieter, "Welcome back."

[Oh... this brings to mind the image of Sephiroth trying so hard to contact an inmate, as a new warden. Not that he thinks he'd do much better. A for effort.]

I, uh... yeah. Soup sounds... nice, actually. Thanks. Maybe the lobby close to where I am?

[Warden devices show location, even with temporary pairings, if he recalls correctly.]

[After that whole... attempt at talking, and all that became of it, Cloud's been even quieter than is normal for him. He's spending what time he can with Zack's dog, just sitting with or even playing fetch.

Today, though, he was working out in his cabin, and had just finished washing his face, with plans to hit the showers after. He frowns a little at who he sees, upon opening the door. Not because of who it is, but because of some strange, knee-jerk feeling of wishing he'd already done the showering thing, since he's still all sweaty...

... Stupid Breach with its stupid lingering impact.]

Yeah?