Responses

He...did tho? Towards the end. IMO I think part of his reluctance to bottom is due to the fact that in the beginning if he quickly bottomed without putting up a fight then he would be like all the other flings ashitaka had where he topped and wouldn’t be special anymore. Initially the reason ashitaka even keeps an interest in him is to top him, if he made it easy then there was a possibility ashitaka would loose interest. There’s probably also some residing guilt about the trauma and he wants to fix it. Just my interpretation tho.
The only problem i have with this is that the top never even considered bottoming for his loved one. Like he was ready to put everything on the line except for that which is kinda sad. Still he was really caring and considerate and an overall very non - toxic angel, so much that it was almost surprising for a yaoi manga. Their relationship and interactions were really cute and i loved the overall fluffy, easygoing mood (also the fact that they don't hesitate to kiss in public bc aw)