[ Zack shakes his head, managing to make it fervent even with the way that the constant coughing has sucked almost every bit of energy from his body. No matter what, he'll always be able to dredge up enough to protest Cloud's self-deprecating words. ]

You were way out of the city. No way you could've known. I shouldn't have gotten caught in the first place.

[ To some degree, he's still kicking himself over that, though with all said and done, there's not much point in doing so anymore. Better to try and find ways to recover and move on, like he has before.

It's hard to imagine Cloud and Rude having any sort of conversation, but Zack sets that aside for now. As much as he'd like to toss in some lighthearted comment about them exchanging no more than five words between them, it isn't exactly the right time for it.

Not with that question that follows. He turns his hand to try and look at Cloud over his shoulder. The soothing hand on his back is appreciated, and it does allow him to get through what he says next without coughing yet again. ]

Right. It never got bad enough that I wanted to pass it on to anyone else, and it sounds like they're gonna fix me up here. I was lucky.

[ His infection was hardly mild, but he's aware it could have been worse. ]