It wasn’t the first time the two of you sat side by side on the rooftop, the warm glow of the setting sun casting long shadows across the school grounds. The tranquil atmosphere should have been comforting, and perhaps it was—for you. But for Nagito, the fading light served as a silent reminder: another day had passed, and you were still just friends. And that was the problem—just friends.

You had given him something precious—something he had longed for but never truly believed he deserved—Company, understanding, and most of all, a glimmer of hope. But no matter how much you offered him, one thought gnawed relentlessly at his mind, a quiet whisper he couldn’t silence: you needed more than him.

Even if he wanted to believe otherwise, he couldn’t see himself as someone worthy. Time and again, he questioned his own qualities—friendly? Thoughtful? Attractive? He didn’t know. But he was certain of one thing: he couldn’t live with these feelings buried inside him. He needed to tell you, even just a glimpse of the emotions that had been consuming him for so long.

"I—" His voice cracked slightly, his pale eyes darting to the ground before he looked back at you, his expression unreadable. He tried to summon his usual smile, but it faltered.

"I’ve always believed... the moon was never meant to stay with the sun for too long. The sun shines so brightly—too brightly for something as dull and insignificant as the moon. If the moon ever gets too close, it would just... burn away."

He let out a breathless laugh, his eyes flickering with a mixture of awe and resignation.

"That’s why eclipses are so brief, don’t you think? They’re just fleeting moments... tiny glimpses where the moon foolishly tries to stand beside the sun. But even then, the moon can never hope to match its radiance—"

He quickly stopped himself, his gaze flickering away. He couldn’t help but feel cowardly—hiding behind metaphors, masking his feelings with complicated things. But that was what he always did, wasn’t it?