Sleeps In Sunbeams's manga / #sweet love(52)

A stoic kouhai seme and his narcissistic senpai strike a deal that has them becoming sex friends. But what sort of sex friendship can exist where one is impotent and the other is more in love with his own reflection than anything else? Their story has plenty of funny moments and an overall sweetness that made it a very enjoyable read.

A sweet, feel good style story. Irie-san has sworn off straight guys and meets the very touchy-feely Kousuke-kun at a nearby cafe. The two strike up a friendship and Irie becomes increasingly aware of his new friends awkward attempts at flirting. Did I mention awkward? Because that is the least of the uncomfortable feelings when Irie-san makes a move on Kousuke, only to find out that the guy he was falling for wasn’t flirting with him. He wasn’t even gay. He was simply cursed with being very klutzy. So the rest of this story follows what happens when a vulnerable gay man and a klutzy straight guy negotiate a relationship. Will it be friends? Or are they perfect for each other as lovers?

One shots with some traditional tropes but something special in the delivery. I enjoy one shots when you need a quick escape into fantasy without getting bogged down in anything too heavy and these worked for me. 1. The new neighbour is oddly seductive and friendly...and also the boss on a new project. The younger uke in this story gets metaphorical whiplash learning to deal with the coldly professional man vs the warmly fun private man that was his new neighbour. All while finding himself oddly attracted. The seme in this was harder to warm up to because his professional self was really quite cold. But he gave warm praise where it was earned and was happy to help the uke be his best professionally. He wasn’t the sort to like mixing private and work life so the way the uke overcame that was a laugh. 2. Yuuichi nii-chan and Azusa’s story was one I liked more. Friends for years, the older Yuuichi has been waiting for his friend to grow up enough to become his lover as well as his friend. Azusa tends to spark up at his friend these days, annoyed at his constant girlfriends and player lifestyle. But Yuuichi has his sights firmly set on his friend and Azusa starts to realize why he gets so flustered by the guy he has always looked up to. I liked both characters and the wicked look that Yuuichi often had was rather sexy. 3. Ryou-kun is an awkwardly shy guy scouted by makeup artist Marikawa-san as a model. In this fast paced story the self deprecating Ryou-kun wants the beautiful Marikawa-san to like him for who he is, even as he gains confidence under the guidance of the older man. I liked this story for the way Ryou always seemed to gaze longingly at Marikawa and how Marikawa held himself back, but would look at his hand that had cupped the uke’s chin after he left. Subtle things like that really work for me. It made the eventual move by Marikawa to no longer hold back carry an extra spark of intensity that is hard to achieve in a oneshot. 4. Childhood friends Ayase and Suga reunite after 3 years apart and a confession that took the younger Ayase by surprise and left him speechless. A confession after graduation that he never got to respond to because his friend left for Tokyo the next day. Now Suga is back in town and seeking Ayusa. And Ayusa has years of heartache and unvoiced hurt that he wants to say, along with his own feelings of love. But even now, he seems unable to grasp a moments opportunity to have that important discussion with the friend he still loves. This is a story that has so much wasted time and opportunity that it frustrates you to read. But I figure it would have frustrated both boys even more and I liked how it finally turned out. 5. This story had an old trope of amnesia where Fujihara had an accident only to lose memory of everyone but his friend, Kouji. He returns from the dead to kiss the stunned Kouji and lay a relentless pursuit on his friend. There was an odd mix of ruthlessness and vulnerability in Fuji. The uke, Kouji, was strong willed and resistant, but he had obvious moments of softness for his friend as he dealt with his confused feelings. Like the other stories, this was fast paced because it was a oneshot, but I enjoyed their crazy ride to facing the truth and being a couple.

Three stories. The main and longest story was of the owner of a construction business and the elite salaryman who was appointed to oversee his newest project. Personally I really liked this. The seme was a real “mans man” in a more traditional way than we usually see in yaoi. He was rough around the edges, loud, muscled and frequented hostess clubs with the boys from work. He was also kind hearted and cared about his employees. The uke was a quiet, professional and rather cool guy who held himself apart from others. Oh and he was a 28 year old virgin. Once the seme was aware of that little tidbit was where their fun really began. I loved the seme for being such a guy. He was so normal and relatable, and I loved that he was a bit of a romantic at heart. The second story, ‘One Sided Love Triangle’ was very short. It was about 3 childhood companions and was an interesting idea of loving someone who was in love with someone else. It just finished too early to be a good story. There was potential for a love story but it cliffhangered. The last story...I suppose on a fantasy level it was a hot story about being molested by an unknown stranger. But overall it was creepy because the guy who did it apparently has molested many others too and that is a whopping thumbs down. There are kinky sexual deviants that can be hot and fun. And then there is this serial groper/molester/rapist who is just bleh. All my points are for the first story. I won’t ever re read the others.

These two men had all the intensity and passion for each other you could ever hope for. When dangerous men fall for each other and Nishida Higashi is writing you are set for the very best of stories. I absolutely LOVED this!

The first story with the step brothers was my favourite. Those naughty dreams were hilarious simply for the look on the brothers coyly seductive face and the reaction of the seme. The way it ended also has me laughing, I could happily keep reading about that pair. I took a star off for the last story which was my least favourite. It chopped all over different years and times in their relationship and required backtracking to try to make sense out of the MCs and their relationship.

What a beautiful conclusion for one of the sweetest couples in the yaoiverse. I am so glad Takarai Rihito revisited these guys and gave them even more happiness

An Omegaverse story that was wholesome and sweet. Itsuki (omega, bubbly and energetic personality, brave and friendly) was sent to compete to be the bride of the young master to the house of a wealthy pharmaceutical businessman. But his first encounter with Jin (alpha, young and a little stuck up but kind hearted underneath, training to take on heavy responsibilities) was fiery and the 2 started a toe to toe fiery argument that inspired Itsuki to ‘win’ Jin just to kick him to the curb. Their bickering became friendly over time (both boys very sweet) and the rest of this fluff filled piece was full of friendship, rivalry with some other competitors and a burgeoning romance. It’s a young reader style story with hints of an omega’s heat and it’s complications, but the MCs didn’t even kiss. Very loveable characters though, and full of fun.

Cute little shounen-ai set in Omegaverse where Hinata wants Kageyama to know his love is willingly given.

Loving relationship between total opposites.