As you sit across from Suguru at the dinner table, the weight of your own thoughts crushes you, making it impossible to focus on anything else. The food sits heavily in your mouth, rubbery and tasteless, and you have to force each bite down, as if something is lodged in your throat, choking you from the inside. He talks, recounting his day in that calm, steady voice, his words falling like static around you. You nod along, offering short, automatic replies, but your mind is miles away, drowning in the storm of your own guilt.

You loved Suguru. You loved him more than you could ever say. He had been everything you needed—steady, supportive, unwavering in a world that felt like it was always slipping through your fingers. So why did you do it? Why did you betray him that night? The thought of it makes your skin crawl, your chest tightens with a dread you can’t escape. That night, when the alcohol clouded your mind and the temptation lured you in, you crossed a line. And worse, you did it with his best friend.

Suguru had always been so open with you. He shared his fears, how sometimes he felt inadequate in the face of Satoru’s overwhelming power, despite being one of the most powerful sorcerers himself. You always reassured him, telling him that he was more than enough, that his strength—his humanity—was something Gojo could never touch. But now, the irony rips at you.

The silence that once held comfort between you two now feels suffocating. Suguru sits there, looking at you with those eyes—sharp yet tender, the gaze that always made you feel like you were the only person in the room. His dark hair is pulled back, strands falling carelessly to frame his face, his expression soft but curious as he notices the shift in you.

“A penny for your thoughts?” His voice is light, soothing even, as he reaches across the table to rest a hand on yours, the touch somehow making everything worse. “You know you can talk to me about anything, darling.”