Foster Love

Aiji was in the car and blaring his music as loud as he could through the ipod. It was one of two things he was allowed to keep from previous foster homes. Aiji hid them well and never let them out of his sight when out. He had messed up at the last house and was now being shipped to a new one. It was his 'last chance' house. Aiji was 17. He had a total of 10 months before he aged out of the system and be required to find his own home and things. If he didn't get adopted here or anything then he would be screwed.

"Alright this is your last chance Aiji. Make this count. Stay in school. Don't make a fuss. And please...don't do anything that would get you kicked out of here." Oh that kid at his last house was such a tattle tale. So Aiji smoked? Who cared? He was under age sure but that didn't mean anything. Okeh so maybe it meant something when he was caught drinking underage. That was why he'd gotten kicked out before.

"Here we are. The Ishitayo residence. They have two other foster kids. One they adopted as a baby, the other they took in as a foster and are in the process of adopting. You play your cards right and they might adopt you too." Aiji sighed as the car stopped. Here it was. They were heading inside when Aiji was met by two teens his age. These must be the other two.

"Hi! I'm Ayumi and this is my soon to be brother Maya. You must be Aiji! We're happy to welcome you~" Aiji smiled at them as he was introduced.

"Yes, I am he. I hope to fit in well here..."

Maya was a good kid. He always obeyed the rules and did whatever he could do to keep himself in this foster house. He got here when he was 13, after his parents died in that crash. He got very attached to Ayumi, his foster sister, and did whatever he could to get adopted so he could be with her. He was getting lucky. His foster parents were finally going through with it and putting the papers in to adopt him. They would be a family. But his foster parents were good and kind and wanted to keep helping other teens. So that's how Aiji joined their little family.

"Hi, Aiji. It's nice to meet you. Let me show you to our room. The house isn't as big as others, so us boys will be sharing a room. No worries, though. It's spacious enough." Maya helped and grabbed Aiji's bag so he could lead Aiji to their room. He couldn't stop smiling. Aiji was very cute. A little distant, but still cute.

Aiji smiled at the blonde as he lead them upstairs. He was quite cute and helpful and Aiji couldn't help but notice how far their room was from everyone else. That could be a particularly useful thing when it came to his smoking...and possible drinking depending.

"Thank you. I don't mind rooming with you. I rarely ever had my own room in my other houses. Made for interesting nights and guilty mornings for most of them. Oh well. I'm supposed to behave and not cause trouble anymore since I'm about to age out of the system and have to leave to find my own place and stuff. I just don't think it's worth it anymore. No matter what I do I get in trouble. It just...finds me." Aiji sat down on the bed on the empty side of the room. It was a fairly decent sized room. He'd give him that.

"How long have you been here if I may ask."

"I was actually happy to hear I would be getting a roommate. I get kind of lonely..." He said, blushing a little.

Maya set Aiji's bag down and sat on the other bed. He hoped the new addition didn't mind his array of colorful belongings. He had bright purple bed sheets and a pink, stuffed lion on his pillow. There were posters on his walls, all of bands and anime characters. He had a bookshelf, but he had cleared off half of it for Aiji to use. He had mostly manga and some other random novels, mostly dealing with Star Wars.

Maya listened to Aiji's story and he wanted to help him. "Don't worry. As long as you aren't in danger, I will do my best to make sure you don't get in trouble. The Ishitayo's are great. They adopted Ayumi as a baby and got me just a few years ago. I'm only 16, so I have a few more years to go before I'm out, but they wouldn't turn me away. They won't turn you away, either. Come on, let's go help make your welcome dinner."

Aiji smiled at all of Maya's things. It would be nice to have things. He was liking this boy already. "That is what they were hoping for. That I could find a place here. I don't dare begin to hope to be able to stay. After so many houses I've been to I've grown used to being the unwanted kid." Aiji stayed quiet for a moment before he got up and stretched a little.

"Sure, we can go make dinner. I haven't been allowed to make anything in the kitchen since that mishap with lasagna three years ago."

"Don't worry. You won't be unwanted here." Maya smiled. And Aiji wasn't.

After a few months, Maya and Aiji were very close. Maya was finally adopted into the family and he was very excited for that. Aiji's half of the room soon became populated with his belongings, including a black and fire striped guitar. Since their room was technically the attic, it was okay for Aiji to play as much as he wanted. Maya loved to hear him play. So did Ayumi.

Aiji and Ayumi would wander off alone a lot. That would make Maya sad. He began to feel like the unwanted one. What were they up to? He got bored of reading and went down to Ayumi's room, but her door was closed. He leaned against the door to listen, but Ayumi's giggles were soft and unlike any Maya had heard before. Was...was something going on? He bit his lip and turned to go back upstairs. He knew it was a stupid idea to start crushing on Aiji. Why would the rebellious teen ever want anything to do with him?

Aiji actually felt like he was fitting in. He found himself not drinking, and smoking less. They got him a guitar and Maya would sit and watch him play constantly. He thought it was adorable but had told Maya he didn't need to stay and just watch him play guitar. Maya had rejected that thought saying he loved listening to Aiji play. This only served to make the teen happier. It was bad if the family wanted to adopt him since he was starting to crush on his would be brother while his would be sister was starting to crush on him.

Ayumi would hang out with Aiji while Maya studied or had other things to do. She would giggle and laugh all sweet-like and stuff and flirt with him. Eventually he had to set the record straight, even if it meant losing the one home he felt right in.

"Ayumi...we have to talk."

"I think I know what you're going to say and-"

"I don't like you that way. I'm sorry 'yumi-chan but I just don't. I thought maybe if I entertained the idea it would change but all it did was solidify the liking I have for your brother..." He was waiting for the yelling and the screaming and everything else. But all Ayumi did was look a bit depressed and then surprised.

"You like Maya? Like, like-like him? OMG have you told him? No, of course not. If you did he would have surely-Aiji if you like my brother then tell him. I didn't know that you liked him. Holy Heaven this is almost...but what if Maya....he would probably like...oh! Aiji don't hide your feelings k? I'm going to head out to the mall. I'm sure Maya is done with his homework by now. Sorry I distracted you." With that Ayumi kissed Aiji on the cheek and left to go meet her friends. Aiji sighed and went back upstairs to find Maya on his bed looking extremely sad.

"Hey Maya-chi. You done with your homework?" The teen grabbed his guitar and sat on the bed with his blonde roommate. He really was too beautiful for his own good.

Maya was very sad, but Aiji came into the room and smiled at him. Maya couldn't help but smile back. He nodded and sat up as Aiji pulled his guitar out.

"Yeah. I finished. Did you need help with yours?" He was holding a book in his hands, fidgeting with it a little. He almost wanted to ask what he was up to with Ayumi downstairs, but he didn't know if it was appropriate. Was Aiji into Ayumi? They would make a good pair and Maya wanted happiness for both of them, but...but he really wanted Aiji for himself. That made him selfish and bad, didn't it?

"You're going to play?" He asked, just to keep himself from asking other questions.

Aiji nodded at the homework and set it down the guitar. Maya was sitting close to him as he did his homework, the teen helping all the way. When it was finished Aiji was happy to see that Maya didn't move away but simply sat next to him like he had been. The guitar music soon filled the room and even Aiji's voice joined in. It was just an old song he'd known forever but that didn't matter. The dark haired teen felt like singing to his crush.

When it was over though he found himself looking into those eyes and getting lost. Without a thought the teen leaned closer. They were about to kiss when they had been called to dinner. Shit. Hastily, the teen moved back and set his guitar down. He'd almost kissed Maya! Heaven only knew what kind of damage that could do. What the hell had he been thinking? Maya wouldn't like him. Hell to what Ayumi said. There was no way he was going to jeopardize that friendship or this home. He would just have an unrequited love. End of Story.

"Come on. Time for dinner. It's taco night."

Maya went to help Aiji with his homework. It was surprising how comfortable he felt being so close to Aiji. He wasn't afraid of anything. He smiled more and laughed like only Aiji could make him laugh. Homework was done and Aiji started to play. Maya sat close, watching as the other teen worked the instrument like a virtuoso. He nearly sighed in his swooning. He was sitting close, his head tilted ever so slightly, and gazing fondly into Aiji's brown eyes. Aiji had the most beautiful eyes.

He didn't even realize Aiji was staring back until the music stopped. There they sat, staring at each other for a moment before Aiji started leaning in closer to him. Maya's breath caught in his throat. This was it. Aiji was going to kiss him? Was it a joke? It couldn't be real. Aiji was showing feelings for Ayumi, wasn't he? Maya couldn't get in the way of that. It would be far too selfish of him. Maya's eyes held so much hope, though.

Before the moment could reach fruition, they were broken from it by a call. Dinner was ready. Aiji was quick to break away and leave the room. Maya gasped back tears and covered his face. Beautiful, perfect Aiji. Of course it was too good to be true.

After dinner, Maya stayed behind to help his foster mom with the dishes. He wasn't sure what to say to Aiji. By the time he got back upstairs, Aiji had his back to the door and had his headphones on. Maya crawled into his bed and hid his face in his pillow, muffling his quiet sobs. Aiji would never want him. It was all just an accident.

Maya didn't sleep well. He kept tossing and turning, his pink lion falling out of his arms and landing on the floor. He whimpered and kicked away his blankets as if they were trying to hurt him. He was having a nightmare. "N-No...nnn..." He curled into a ball, whimpering and shivering from fright. In the dream, Aiji was being taken away. Maya could never let that happen. Aiji was happy here. Maya so badly wanted Aiji to be happy.

Dinner was okeh...Maya still seemed a little sad though. Aiji couldn't help but think it was due to his actions earlier. He resolved himself to behave, not matter what. It lasted a good few hours too...at least until Maya came up and started crying. Aiji felt so low. Sure his headphones were on but no music was playing. The teen heard his roommate cry himself to sleep. What the hell had he done?

Aiji laid awake in bed trying to think of how to make it better for Maya and attempt to convince him that the almost kiss meant nothing and he had nothing to worry about but it just wasn't coming to him. Sadly though, Maya's crying from earlier kept echoing in his head and adding to the whimpers of 'no' in his sleep, well Aiji could almost kiss the home he'd actually allowed himself to like goodbye. No way would he be allowed to stay after this. After all, Maya was their son now. Aiji was just a foster.

So with the thought that he wouldn't be here much longer anyway running through his head, the older teen got up and went to Maya's bed. He crawled in next to him and held him, whispering soothing words and singing to him. It wasn't until about five minutes later that Aiji realized a pair of deep brown eyes were watching him with an owl like stare. Fuck.

"Oh...sorry. You were having a nightmare and I thought maybe if I comforted you as you slept it would quell the nightmare. I didn't mean to wake you up."

His nightmare seemed to be escalating but then there was someone next to him, holding him and soothing him. It was Aiji. Aiji woke him from the nightmare. He was still here. Maya looked up at him and was just shocked. Aiji was in his bed and holding him and there was that look in his eyes again, just like when he was playing. Was it concern? Pity? Could Aiji really care for him that way or was it more like a brotherly feeling?

"Please don't leave..." Maya said, wrapping his arms around Aiji and nuzzling against him. He felt so much better with him there. "You made the nightmare stop. I don't want anymore nightmares like that."

"I'll stay as long as you want me. I'll never leave you. Not if I can help it..." Maya was nuzzling him. Maybe he wasn't so upset about the almost kiss then. Aiji moved down into the blankets some more and held Maya close. He was so adorable that Aiji couldn't stop himself from smiling. Maya wanted him there. He truly wanted him around. That made everything feel better. Too bad he had to ruin it.

"I'm sorry about earlier. I let my emotions run away with me and almost ruined our friendship. I don't usually take a leap like that so I wanted to apologize if I upset or offended you. I didn't mean to." He was still stroking Maya's hair as he spoke. He just had to apologize. If only once.

"Promise?" Maya was so grateful when Aiji stayed and got comfortable with him under the covers. It was just so amazing. It was like a fantasy come true. Aiji was smiling and Maya was so happy to be in his arms. It was right where he wanted to be.

"Don't apologize, Aiji. I...I wanted it." He blushed and bit his lip, looking into Aiji's eyes with all his emotions. "You didn't ruin anything. I just...I just figured you would rather have someone like Ayumi. I don't want to get in the way of your happiness. I'll stay out of the way, if that's what you want me to do."

Aiji's heart leapt into his throat. He couldn't believe this. Maya actually wanted him?! The teen smiled as he moved ever so closer to the blonde. "Well Ayumi's beautiful. Any guy would want her...any guy other then me that is. She wanted to date me but after I explained something she understood and no longer wants to." He was going to do something he had never before dared to do. Leaning forward a little, Aiji captured Maya's soft lips in a kiss. He knew instantly that this was what he had been wanting forever. This feeling of belonging to someone without even meaning to.

"You see, I explained to her that though she was adorable and guys would be thrilled to date her, I had my sights on someone I had thought unobtainable. I wanted you. She thought it was sweet and so cute and told me to tell you how I felt but I couldn't get the words out. And then after that whole almost kiss I thought for sure you knew and didn't like it at all. Especially when I heard you crying when you got back in the room. I wasn't really sure what to do. But if you really do want it then it's yours to have. Because you're the one I want Maya. I was just too afraid to admit it." His heart was pounding. Hopefully he didn't read it wrong. Maya wanted him too right? That's what he was saying? Aiji was praying he didn't just make a huge mistake by doing this and Maya not really want it. He was sure he did but sometimes he read things wrong.

Aiji kissed him. He actually kissed him. It just had to be a dream come true. Nothing this perfect happened to orphans. Maya was all smiles and held Aiji close as the teen rambled. He even giggled a little bit.

"Aiji, it's okay. You don't have to be afraid. I want this and you make me happy and I'm going to watch out for you. You're safe here." Maya nuzzled up to him more, still beaming.

Later that day, after school, he convinced Aiji to go walk around the mall with him. They passes one of those photo machines and he squealed in delight, dragging Aiji over. "Come on. We meed pictures."