Perhaps the biggest disappointment in the Japanese BL Old-Fashion Cupcake is that the dessert shop tour undertaken by the two leads never actually led to the consumption of an onscreen cupcake. Frosted pastries tend to rivet my attention; so, the assorted confections that paraded past onscreen enhanced my enjoyment of this modest Japanese BL. In the style of most limited-run BL series (few episodes, brief episode length), Old-Fashion Cupcake focuses almost exclusively on the dynamic between two men. Here, these are co-workers Nozue and Togawa. Approaching 40, Nozue is so content with his life that he rebuffs his company’s every effort to promote him into higher management. His life has settled in nearly every respect, but he’s comfortable. Approaching 30, Togawa is so smitten with his boss that he pushes Nozue to re-examine want he expects from both his professional and personal life. Togawa’s initiative drives the story forward, as the two men attempt a “de-aging” regimen that consists of hitting up dessert shops across Tokyo.

As the two men become better acquainted outside the workplace, the burgeoning friendship confuses each of them, albeit for different reasons. Togawa has harbored a crush on his boss for years, and the increased sociality between them magnifies his feelings until a halting, apologetic confession pours from his lips and into the startled Nozue’s ears. The moment will resonate with anyone who ever confessed their own feelings to a long-term crush, but especially with those who confessed to someone of the same sex. For his part, Nozue has for so long ignored the stirrings of emotion from his heart that he initially fails to understand his attraction to his young subordinate. When Togawa, who believed Nozue was repulsed by his confession, reduced their interactions in order to shield his own heart, Nozue felt the younger man’s absence so keenly that he belatedly accepted his boss’s offer to promote him—a promotion that would remove Togawa from his direct supervision. That move would clear the decks for them to move forward with their relationship by removing any office impropriety from the equation.

Old Fashion Cupcake joins a prominent list of inventive Japanese BL series. It is a worthy addition. The variation here is the focus on an older couple. The seniority gap, both in age and at the office, plays a prominent role in shaping their dynamic. The conversations between the two friends during their sugar-fueled “de-aging” sessions provides far more introspective character development that BL usually delivers. And their awkward visits to one another’s cramped apartments hint at both the bleakness of living alone (even when one believes themself to be content) and at the smoldering tension between them. Here, the intended sense of “smoldering” is the idea that a fire burns somewhere, it’s just hidden from sight. Old Fashion Cupcake is a compelling tale of how two people redefine a longstanding dynamic as acquaintances to let some of that fire into their placid, plodding lives.