He hugged her tightly, still grinning, and rocked back slightly as she jumped into his arms. Suddenly he felt a lot younger than he'd felt in a while, what with Haruhi and then Donna and then that disastrous business with Tieria's lost over Christmas, not to mention Mikaela... it was like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders, as cliched as that sounded.

"Long time no see," he managed to get out, past the grin and the giddy feeling.