muse ✨'s manga / #childhood friends(173)

Rin and Maki are inseparable childhood friends whose relationship evolves from close to intimate when they start living together. Maki is completely devoted to him, but Rin - who initiated things - is worried what other people will think. This is the one with the sweet boyfriend with long hair who is so terribly, terribly in love. They slap each other a lot. Some readers took issue with it; I agree it's not something you should do in your own relationship, but it didn't ruin the story for me.

Multiple stories: childhood friends who fall in love, a guy who intentionally tries to make straight guys fall for him and then falls for a gay man he accidentally seduces, a couple who role plays to spice things up.

Two sets of childhood friends reunite five years later.

Aoi struggles to suppress his feelings for his best friend, a photographer he has known since childhood and who has been like an older brother to him.

Aizawa has loved Tsuji since they were in school. Tsuji, who is dependent on Aizawa, is uncertain about his feelings until he fears Aizawa might reconcile with an ex-girlfriend, so they begin dating. A few months later, as things are turning into real love for Tsuji, Aizawa breaks off their relationship without explanation and moves, leaving Tsuji heartbroken. But for the first time in his life, Tsuji isn't willing to let someone go. I was frustrated by the breakup, because communication would have cleared up the issue. You don't just leave someone. But Aizawa never believed that Tsuji loved him until that point, so I believe he thought only his heart was truly on the line, and that he was doing Tsuji a favor by making a clean break. I love how much Tsuji grows across these stories. This author is wonderful about continuity.

A student is in love with his teacher, who had dated his older sister years before. The final chapter is a quick oneshot, childhood friends reunited as adults when one has become a police officer.

After giving up on the man he's loved for 15 years, a young man agrees to go out with their mutual friend.

For a decade, a man has harbored a one-sided love for his older brother's friend, only to find they are neighbors. The final chapter is a oneshot: a writer goes to an oceanside retreat and is visited nightly by a boy who can walk on water.