monnom's manga / #oneshot(106)

1: Nemuri Otoko to Koi Otoko (A Sleeping Man and a Loving Man) Part 1 - Jude and Royce have been long-term business partners and housemates. Things were going well for the platonic life partners, one of whom is openly gay while the other is straight; that is until a mysterious sleeping disease befalls Royce... Part 2 - Royce's condition responds to medication, but he hasn't been taking it lately. Seeing Jude chatting with another man, he suddenly wonders if Jude might have a lover. 2: Nemuri Otoko to Koi Otoko - Sono Ato (A Sleeping Man and a Loving Man - Epilogue) Royce goes out of town on his own, forgetting something important.

A finicky eater attracts the attention of the kinky homosexual chef of a fine bistro who combines tabletop sex with feedings in order to stimulate the young man's gourmand tastes, never realizing that a history of betrayal and deception factors into the young man's food aversions. An interesting take on the relationship between appetite and desire, the emotional impact of treachery and betrayal on the gut, the way misery wipes out self-worth and personal boundaries and creates the willingness to be used, and the healing effects of love, even kinky love. Zaria's art is, as always, gorgeous, and this is a surprisingly sweet story, even without the stickier ingredients.

Kazuma belongs to a religious order that forbids all forms of sex, and Kizaki-sama, the landlord of the temple, refuses to accept this. As usual, Zaria pushes the envelope between rape and consent. Sexy and bittersweet.