Sleeps In Sunbeams's manga / #reunion(13)

A collection of short stories: ◈ Ch.1-2 I Love You Too Much: College student secretly in love with best friend's younger brother. Best of the stories. Cute. ◈ Ch.3 Brute Love: Famous author uncle who raised nephew needs to decide what to do when their secret sexual relationship is outed. Power imbalance relationship. Very possessive. ◈ Ch.4 School Scandal - Actor who goes to college falls for a guy who treats him as a regular guy. ◈ Ch.5 Am I Your Dog? - Delinquent loner manipulated by senpai into master x pet relationship. When his older brother returns will he steal the guy he has fallen for? (Note: older bro not bad, he just tests others to see if they are worthy of his little bro). ◈ Ch.6 Our Future Diary - A predatory teacher stalking cute male student by leaving gay porno’s in his desk. It’s not a romance, the guy is a real pedo who took job to be close to boys. ◈ Ch.7 Love Fascism - Reunion between two friends who got a little too close. Only now, one is in a nice, safe relationship with a girl and the other wants what he never should have let go.

This amazing story is told in two parts and tells of the path from friendship to love. It’s not all smooth sailing but it’s beautiful and slow paced and full of captivating art. Androgynously beautiful, 2nd year student Shuichirou hides his feelings behind a mask of cheerfulness and playboy behaviour. Sex is an escape, as is his habit of sneaking into the terrace of his school building during lunch, while skipping class, or when he wants to put off going home. It was on the terrace that he met and befriended fellow 2nd year Konno. Looking like a long haired delinquent, Konno is subject to rumours of being intimidating but the quietly observant youth is kind, direct and unnervingly (for Shuichirou) insightful. Jealousy, envy, and an odd sort of mutual regard colours the interactions between these two young men: one who conceals his feelings behind a cheerful facade and the other whose simple-minded, pure-hearted demeanour makes his friend's previously avoidant existence rife with internal conflict. Read this story for a love that takes time and watch these wonderful characters mature and just be too damn adorable.

The equivalent of a manga one shot, this story of a reunion had some great potential with good art and chemistry. Sadly for me, the writing was a little too ‘all over the place’ with so much time flashing between the past and present and the feeling that they would part ways. Still, it was a good quick read.