garasu no hako, aka cute, warm and fuzzy fluff

[insaneneko]

Garasu no hako by Masaki Hikaru and illustrated by Honami Yukine is totally and utterly cliched in a way that totally satisfied me. I'd recommend reading it if you like the following:

1. Kids who lose their parents and live with a guardian whom they eventually fall in love with.
2. Kids who hide the fact that they are in love with their guardian and try to emphasize how they are FAMILY.
3. Kids who work hard to please their guardian by taking care of him because the guardian is incapable of taking care of himself.
4. Slightly dopey but sweet and hard working kids in general.
5. Pretty art.

I've read so many stories with a fairly similar premise, and I'm rather fond of this kind of story. This is not the best version I've ever read, but it's sweet. It made me feel warm and fuzzy. The kid and the guardian are such dears.



A bit more background: Kid is Nanao, guardian is Tomonaga. Tomonaga had been Nanao's older sister's fiancee when Nanao's sister and parents had died in a car accident that only Nanao had survived. Nanao was in middle school at the time so needed a guardian. He didn't want to live with his uncle and was instead allowed to live with Tomonga (who isn't a relative as he hadn't married the sister yet).



Pretty kiss!




Tomonaga doesn't wake up well in the mornings, so Nanao has to work hard to wake him up.




They have a nice quiet time together at home.




Nanao wakes up in the hospital and finds out his parents and his sister are dead. He apologizes to Tomonaga for living instead of his sister, but Tomonaga embraces Nanao and tells him he's glad Nanao is alive.

Nanao thinks this is when he fell in love with Tomonaga.




Chaste, comforting sleep together.




Nanao's best friend had been in love with Nanao and can't contain his feelings any longer. Tomonaga interrupts their struggle and thinks they are together.




Nanao being very adorably frantic. He'd accidentally confessed his feelings to Tomonaga while trying to convince Tomonaga he's not dating his best friend.




Nanao watching Tomonaga working. Things are a bit awkward between them.




The inevitable misunderstanding! Nanao thinks of Tomonaga as "belonging" to his sister so he can't accept Tomonaga's confession that he likes Nanao back. Tomonaga tries to go physical, but Nanao rejects him and he stops. He isn't happy that Nanao seems to want to keep him with a dead person...




But of course they get together.




And have sex. They are adorable because Tomonaga wants Nanao but is a bit hesitant because Nanao is young and he doesn't want to hurt Nanao. Nanao just wants whatever Tomonaga gives him, even if it's not that pleasant. Good thing Tomonaga's a good guy, no?

It turns out that Tomonaga is completely able to take care of himself. He'd just pretended to be worthless around the house because Nanao had wanted so much to please and be useful to Tomonaga. And Tomonaga had enjoyed being taken care of as he'd lived alone for a long time (he'd lost his family pretty young as well).