[ it's like zack speaks directly to the thoughts whirling around in cloud's head, and he'd probably laugh at the accuracy if what zack was saying didn't leave him breathless. it's just... a lot! to wrap his head around!

but the question snaps his attention back to the moment between them, enough for him to realize that he left the obvious unsaid. ] Yeah.

Yeah, of course, I -- [ there's no reason to be shy about it! not when zack has already said it first, but! it feels... huge. monumental, a declaration, and the enormity of it all smacks into him all over again. ] I love you, too. So much, it -- [ a little puff of laughter, wonderfully overwhelmed. ] It's almost scary, sometimes.

I just never thought -- [ but he doesn't want to ruin the moment with self-deprecation, so. he shakes his head, switches his train of thought to something better. something that makes him smile so hard his cheeks hurt, leaning up a little to bump their foreheads together. ] Talk about a birthday present.