[Kind of like... His eyes brighten at the suggestion, as if Zack hit some nail on the head, joined up some dots because... well, to him, that's exactly what it was. The idea of that kind of work had been subliminal, nothing but an afterimage of one of Zack's (many) one-sided conversations at him, rather than with him, as he hauled him between continents.
Of course, none of them had got through. Not really. But there's little things. Like starting mercenary work, the same as the feeling of lying in a truck bed in sweltering heat. Other things... which aren't pleasant and reult in some crushing, immediate sadness at rain of all things.
But all they are is stray thoughts. Errant emotion. Subliminal, more than anything he can use. He hadn't been able to use, to reference any of those things... But when they're presented to him, especially that word, by that man, something just seems to click.]
Right. Exactly like that.
[Idly, without any kind of conscious thought, his hand rises to lightly cover the other man's, the one connected to the arm that drapes over his shoulder. It's a small gesture. But it's affectionate.]
Tried that for a while back in Midgar, too. Didn't pay well there, either... [He trails off, his eyes moving to the side.] But then I found someone. You remember Tifa, right? The guide, from Nibelheim? ...She survived it. She's well, and she was in Midgar. I... started doing jobs for her. She needed a hand, so...
[Two things aren't mentioned there. The promise, because honestly? It's something embarrassing. It's omething between the two of them, and... honestly, he didn't think anyone else would get it. The second: AVALANCHE. Despite not knowing the extent of what happened with Zack courtesy of Shinra, and even though Zack of all people probably wanted to stick it to them more than anyone, Cloud had learned, through Sephiroth, not to mention it so lightly. Especially with people like Sephiroth and Zack, who, of course, knew them via previous incarnation than what they were now.
So a silence follows. Despite trailing off, it's... actually comfortable. And comes with a light squeeze of that hand. And the question.
...Oh boy.]
One of those jobs meant I fell from the sector 5 plate. Right through the roof of her church, actually- straight into her flowers. Still got no idea how those things broke my fall. Or how she wasn't pissed about it.
[A smaller pause.]
There's something you should know. The Turks were after her.
no subject
Of course, none of them had got through. Not really. But there's little things. Like starting mercenary work, the same as the feeling of lying in a truck bed in sweltering heat. Other things... which aren't pleasant and reult in some crushing, immediate sadness at rain of all things.
But all they are is stray thoughts. Errant emotion. Subliminal, more than anything he can use. He hadn't been able to use, to reference any of those things...
But when they're presented to him, especially that word, by that man, something just seems to click.]
Right. Exactly like that.
[Idly, without any kind of conscious thought, his hand rises to lightly cover the other man's, the one connected to the arm that drapes over his shoulder. It's a small gesture. But it's affectionate.]
Tried that for a while back in Midgar, too. Didn't pay well there, either... [He trails off, his eyes moving to the side.] But then I found someone. You remember Tifa, right? The guide, from Nibelheim? ...She survived it. She's well, and she was in Midgar. I... started doing jobs for her. She needed a hand, so...
[Two things aren't mentioned there. The promise, because honestly? It's something embarrassing. It's omething between the two of them, and... honestly, he didn't think anyone else would get it. The second: AVALANCHE. Despite not knowing the extent of what happened with Zack courtesy of Shinra, and even though Zack of all people probably wanted to stick it to them more than anyone, Cloud had learned, through Sephiroth, not to mention it so lightly. Especially with people like Sephiroth and Zack, who, of course, knew them via previous incarnation than what they were now.
So a silence follows. Despite trailing off, it's... actually comfortable. And comes with a light squeeze of that hand. And the question.
...Oh boy.]
One of those jobs meant I fell from the sector 5 plate. Right through the roof of her church, actually- straight into her flowers. Still got no idea how those things broke my fall. Or how she wasn't pissed about it.
[A smaller pause.]
There's something you should know. The Turks were after her.