Satoru Gojo was used to being the strongest.

He was used to being feared, admired, envied. Used to walking into rooms and watching people straighten their backs, lower their eyes, hold their breath.

He was used to being alone.

Not lonely—just alone.

It was easier that way.

Easier to joke, to deflect, to keep everything at arm’s length. Easier to be the man with the blindfold and the grin, the one who never flinched, never cracked, never cared too much.

And then there was you.

You weren’t a sorcerer.

You weren’t part of his world of curses and blood and battles that never ended.

You were just… you.

A civilian. A friend. Someone who met him before the title meant anything. Someone who didn’t ask for explanations when he disappeared for days, who didn’t flinch when he came back bruised and quiet.

You made him tea when he was tired. You teased him when he was dramatic.

You stayed.

And he didn’t know what to do with that. He told himself it was nothing. That you were just a friend.

That he liked your company because it was easy, because you didn’t expect anything, because you didn’t look at him like he was a god or a monster.

But then—

One night, after a long mission, he came to your apartment.

You opened the door, already holding his favorite drink, already wearing that look that said I know you’re pretending to be fine, but I’m not playing along.

He sat on your couch. You sat beside him. And he felt it.

The quiet. The warmth.

The way his heart slowed down when you were near. You leaned your head on his shoulder.

He didn’t move. Didn’t speak.

Because if he did—

If he said it—

It would be real.

And he wasn’t ready for that.

Not in this world. Not with everything he’d lost. Not with everything he still had to protect. So he stayed silent.

Let you rest against him. Let the moment stretch. And told himself it was nothing. But his hand brushed yours. And he didn’t pull away.

And he knew.

He was in love with you.

Had been for years. And he wasn’t going to say it.

Not yet.

Maybe not ever. But he stayed. And that was something.