Damn, it was just his luck that there was a new guy already. He'd only had his room to himself for a week, and now some snot-nosed little brat was coming along to fuck it all up. Gojyo flopped down onto his bed the second the counsellor had closed the door behind her. Slipping his headphones over his ears, he pressed the 'play' button on his little stereo and cranked the volume knob way up. Immediately, the cathartic rumble and thump of his favourite band washed over him; Gojyo let his lids slide closed over crimson eyes, his right hand unconsciously moving to imitate the guitar player's fingering.

That evening, Gojyo greeted the chaos ritual known as 'supper' with a wide yawn, having taken an impromptu nap after his meeting with Yaone earlier in the day. There were eight other kids in his house, which made meals loud and unruly affairs, to say the least. He wandered over to his usual chair, only to find one of the younger boys occupying it. Normally, Gojyo would have simply asked the kid to move, but he wasn't in a particularly charitable mood.

Kougaiji was a few years younger than Gojyo, with a slight build and, in Gojyo's opinion, something of a wuss. Engaged in a close conversation with his younger sister, he was oblivious to Gojyos approach. Without bothering to say anything at all, Gojyo grabbed the back of the chair, and in one swift movement, pulled it back and twisted it to the side. Kougaiji landed unceremoniously on the floor with a thump; Gojyo calmly placed the chair back on it's feet, swung one long leg over it and settled himself on the seat, coolly returning Kou's glare.

Apparently deciding that it wasn't worth it to start a fight right then, Kou got up and moved around to the empty chair on his sister's other side. He didn't say anything, but Gojyo was certain that Yaone would hear about this little altercation before lights out. He would likely be spending the following afternoon at the house, while everyone else went on the usual Sunday trip into town.

Fuck it. He'd rather be alone, anyway.

As if on cue, the house counsellors began trailing in from the kitchen, carrying large metal dishes filled with food. Gojyo put his annoyance aside long enough to tuck in, using his size and relative age to his advantage to get the best of the grub. He had been living in the group home for a long time, and had learned the ins and outs early; years later, he was finally at the top of the food chain, and he would be damned if he was going to give up the privileges that went with it. It was a constant source of issue between him and the house staff, but so it had been with the ones before him, and would be with those who came after.

When the meal was over, most of the kids retired to the common room for an evening of television and games. Gojyo slipped out the back door and around the side of the building, where there were no windows. After a quick glance around, he pulled a battered pack of cigarettes out of his pocket, pulling one out with his teeth. A deft flick of his wrist, and he gratefully inhaled the slightly acrid smoke. They were drying out, damn it all. If Kou managed to get Yaone to bar him from the trip the next day, he was going to be in big trouble. None of the other kids would be sly enough to sneak away and convince a shop clerk to sell them a pack so if he wasn't able to do it himself, he was screwed. All of the kids received a small allowance in exchange for doing work around the house. In as much as no one ever tried to restrict what the kids spent their money on, Gojyo was well aware that the staff frowned on his smoking. They never gave permission, so he was obliged to be sneaky in acquiring his smokes.

Closing his eyes, Gojyo leaned back against the wall and bent one leg to press his heel there, too. Just as he plucked the cigarette from his lips and exhaled, he heard the unmistakable sound of Yaone's disapproving sigh.

"Gojyo, don't you think you could wander a little farther from the house to do that?"

Gojyo turned his head to peer at her through lowered lashes. He favoured her with his best lopsided grin (which never worked on her, but he continued to try) and took another long pull before obligingly putting it out on the sole of his shoe. As Gojyo tucked the end behind his ear, Yaone turned and beckoned someone to come around the corner. The new kid moved into view, he head hung so low that all Gojyo could see was a mop of unruly brown hair.

"This is Goku," she said, and rested her hand on one of the youth's shoulders. "He's your new roommate, but he's quite shy just yet. Please be kind to him." That last was delivered in a tone that sounded sweet, but Gojyo knew better. He'd been living at this house and under Yaone's care for some nine years, and he knew one of her threats when he heard it.

Swallowing his irritation, Gojyo straightened, holding out his hand to the boy. "Hey," he said, "I'm Gojyo. Good to meet ya, kid."

For a moment, Goku just stared at it, as if he wasn't sure what to do. Then, he hesitantly reached out to grasp Gojyo's hand in his own, pumping it a couple of times before pulling quickly away. Goku raised his chin a little, and Gojyo found his gaze met by large eyes of the strangest colour he had ever seen, peeking out from under the dark fringe of the boy's bangs. For just a moment, everything faded from Gojyo's senses, except those eyes. Dimly, he heard Yaone, calling his name impatiently. Breaking the spell with difficulty, Gojyo turned to look at her, instead.

"Gojyo, I want you to stay here with Goku tomorrow. He needs the time to adjust, without all the bustle from the other kids, or the trip into town." Yaone held up a hand to stop Gojyo's protest before it could start. "No arguments, now. I am willing to overlook the incident with Kougaiji at supper and not make this a punishment, but you will stay anyway. Since it's a request from me, I'll pick up a pack of cigarettes for you. Of course, it goes without saying that, should anyone ever find out about it, I will make certain that your life is very uncomfortable." She inclined her head, "Agreed?"

"Right," Gojyo replied with a sigh. "I'll take care of him."

Yaone's face brightened with a smile. "Excellent! I knew I could count on you." With that, she turned and walked away, calling over her shoulder, "Farther from the house, please!"

Gojyo, who had just plucked the cigarette end from behind his ear, sighed again. "All right, c'mon kid." He slung one arm around Goku's slim shoulders and guided him across the yard and behind the shed, so he could finish his smoke.

By the end of the first week, Gojyo had figured out a few things about this Goku character. First, it had been meals. Gojyo suddenly found that he was being out-manoeuvred by Goku, and was no longer getting the choicest bits for himself. The kid ate as constantly as he could, and had been provided with a stash of munchies by Yaone. He seemed to be constantly hungry and, though Gojyo never pried into the reason, would scarf down as much as his small frame could hold. Sometimes the food ran out before Goku did, and then Gojyo would spend the evening listening to the kid's stomach growl.

Gojyo had seen lots of kids come and go, and he was used to the way they tended to react when they came to the house. Goku, though, walked a line directly between the usual dichotomy of introversion and gregariousness, keeping mostly to himself when the other kids were around, and talking Gojyo's ear off when they were alone together. And all the time, Gojyo found himself drawn closer and closer, as if there were an invisible string wrapped around the two of them, tightening every day.

Seriously, he found himself thinking, on more than one occasion, who the hell has gold coloured eyes?

As the months passed, Gojyo found himself becoming very protective of Goku, even as Goku himself grew more and more confident with the other members of the house. The pull of the kid's eyes continued to grow, and Gojyo often found himself drifting while Goku talked animatedly to him about this or that delicious treat, about the other kids, or his hatred of mathematics.

During the evening, when they often retired to their room rather than socialize with the others, Goku became a bundle of energy. More than once, Gojyo had been forced to physically tackle the kid, in order to avoid a visit from one of the counsellors looking to stop the unholy thumping that resulted from Goku jumping on his bed. Gojyo, who would normally have been annoyed as hell by the bouncing, munching, chattering ball of life, found instead that it made him feel special to be the only person around whom Goku would really relax.

In time, the situation became mutual, and Gojyo began to let himself open up to Goku. Most of the time, this came down to picking on the kid, calling him goofy names and poking fun at his bottomless stomach. After a while, Goku began to retaliate, tossing back insults about Gojyo's cowlick or his flirtatious style with girls. It was as if they had found in each other, the family that neither had been allowed as children. Gojyo often considered how much his relationship with Goku resembled the one he'd had with Jien, before...

It was in those musings that Gojyo found his darkest moments; even Goku couldn't pull him out of the funk that overtook him then. Because Goku was like a little brother, and a big brother shouldn't be feeling what Gojyo felt, when Goku looked into his eyes. A big brother certainly shouldn't find himself getting aroused when teasing turned to horseplay and wrestling. Gojyo wondered if this was his legacy, the one thing that he had really learned from Jien and their mom. So, in the dark corners of the night and his mind, Gojyo fought against himself, the losing battle of his righteous self-denial against his growing desire for Goku.

As with any war that cannot be won, there came the day when the only options were retreat or surrender.

Gojyo lay awake, listening to the night time sounds of the house settling, mixed with the stuttered percussion of Goku's snore. He told himself for the thousandth time, that this was the only way. He was only a few months away from leaving the house, anyway. Once he turned eighteen, he'd have to go out and make his own way in the world. The thought of walking away from the only home he'd known for half of his life was terrifying, but staying was far more so. Gojyo had pushed himself, denied his feelings, and eventually given in enough to have a couple of quick sessions with his fantasies in the shower. He was miserable, and though it burned in his gut like fire, Gojyo knew that he had to walk away before he did something he couldn't take back.

When he was certain that Goku was deeply enough asleep, Gojyo flipped back his covers and rose quietly from his bed. He'd left a change of clothing on the end of his bed, ready for this. With as much stealth as he could manage, Gojyo wriggled out of his pyjamas (gods, he'd be happy when he could sleep naked) and pulled on his clothing. A quick glance over his shoulder assured him that Goku was still an inert lump under his blankets. Good.

Gojyo reached under his bed and grabbed the handle of his suitcase, wincing as it bumped against the leg of the bed on the way out. He froze, but Goku only snorted and rolled over. Little beads of sweat popped out on Gojyo's forehead. The last thing he needed right now was to get caught. He couldn't face Goku's huge golden eyes staring at him with the dreaded question, why? It would kill him, he was sure.

After a moment, Gojyo stood, the creaking of his own knees sounding incredibly loud in the quiet room. There was a weight in his chest, the beating of his heart slow and almost painful as he turned and moved to the door. He closed his eyes and reached out, turning the knob slowly, so as to avoid making any noise. When the latch slid free he pulled gently, and the door didn't move. Confused, he opened his eyes.

There was a hand pressing at the door, keeping it closed. Wrapped up in making his escape, Gojyo hadn't heard Goku's approach and now he was totally screwed. iFuck./i Defeated, he turned to look into the big, beautiful eyes that had so worried him and saw, not the dreaded question, but a kind of smouldering anger in their depths.

"Don't you dare," Goku said, low into the night. "Gojyo, don't you dare leave me." His tone carried all the anger, all the pain that he couldn't put into volume, and Gojyo winced at the sound of it.

Gojyo took a shaky breath. "Goku, I have to go. It sucks, but I have to leave...before I-"

"What?" Goku interrupted, his frustration evident. "Before you make the pass at me that I've been expecting - wanting - for months?"

Gojyo gaped. He couldn't have heard that right, could he? No fucking way. Goku did inot/i just say that he wanted Gojyo to make a pass at him. In his shock, all Gojyo could manage was a small, "Bullshit."

Goku, apparently realizing that this discussion could take a great deal of time, truncated it by rising onto his toes, grabbing a handful of Gojyo's shirt, and pulling him down for a kiss. It was chaste, but a passion burned behind that kiss that wound it's tendrils through Gojyo's gut and trickled down into his groin. When they parted, Gojyo continued to stare at Goku for a few seconds, still not sure if this was real.

Eventually his body gave up on waiting for his brain and moved on by itself, dropping his suitcase to the floor and wrapping his arms around Goku, who jumped up to throw his legs around Gojyo's waist. Crushing his lips to Goku's, he walked back over to his bed and leaned down until they were safely deposited on the mattress. They stretched out, legs tangling together as their mouths met over and over. The desire curling in Gojyo's belly was intoxicating, like the warm sleep-scent of Goku's body and the taste of his skin.

Within moments they were pawing at each others' clothing, wanting to press themselves closer and still closer together. Goku's hips rolled, pushing the hard length of his sex against Gojyo's thigh and earning an appreciative groan. Gojyo made short work of Goku's buttons and pushed his shirt aside to flick his tongue lightly over a hardened nipple, loving the sharp intake of breath that resulted. His large fingers roamed across Goku's belly and hip, while Goku busied himself with the fastenings of Gojyo's jeans. The low sound of Gojyo's zipper might just have been the sexiest thing either of them had ever heard.

Gojyo gasped as Goku's fingers wrapped around his achingly hard cock. It was all he could do not to buck his hips, looking for the wonderful friction for which his body was screaming. Instead, he busied himself with slipping his hand under the elastic waist of Goku's pyjamas and sliding them down over his hips. The brunette obligingly lifted his hips to help, and in seconds Gojyo had the silky skin of Goku's sex encased within his hand. Returning to Goku's mouth for a fevered kiss, he began to pump his hand in a slow rhythm. Gojyo feathered his tongue across Goku's lips. Their tongues met, sliding together in a sensual mirror of their hands' work.

Before long, neither could concentrate any longer, and Gojyo let his head fall to the pillow beside Goku's. Their tempo increased, gasp after pant, their breath grew shorter and ever more harsh as they built toward release. Gojyo closed his eyes, drinking in the sound of Goku's whimpering like a fine wine. Little shocks of pleasure raced through him each time Goku's thumb slid over the head of his cock, and Gojyo wanted this to go on forever. He wanted that, but he could feel the tightening that signalled his climax, growing stronger with every stroke of Goku's hand.

The thought spurred Gojyo on, and he tightened his grip, pumping faster, stronger. Goku's whimpers built to moans; he bit his lip to keep from crying out as his body stiffened and he came in a warm splash over Gojyo's fingers and his own belly. The sight of his beloved Goku in such a state, the knowledge that he was the cause, brought Gojyo off at considerable speed, and he crushed their lips together, groaning out his release into his lover's mouth.

They spent some time just lying there together, kissing playfully and revelling in each other. After a while, they became uncomfortable enough for Gojyo to get up and grab a towel with which to clean themselves. He changed back into his pyjamas as Goku straightened himself up, and they lay down there in each others' arms.

"You'd better not ever leave," Goku whispered, and Gojyo smiled.

"I'll have to, eventually," he replied, "but I'm never leaving you behind. One year and four months after I move out, I'll be right back here to pick you up and bring you home."

Goku nestled a little closer. "Promise?"

"Death couldn't keep me from it."