Disclaimer: Nope, dont own...too bad

Only the Stars Know

"I thought you were supposed to be a genius." Snake like eyes merely glared up at him, choosing not to respond. He tightened the bandage in a childish attempt at gaining a reaction. There was none. "Wish Tsunade were here." The large gash marring his companions pale skin was bleeding sluggishly, staining the ratty old kimono the other ninja insisted on wearing during missions.

The three of them worked better as a team, he should have know something would've happened when they sent Tsunade ahead to get the scrolls back to Konoha.

It had been stupid to believe that the two of them could have gotten rid of the ninja's following them. Even with all of his friends' strange jutsu's that no one his age should know.

Orochimaru had tried to warn him, had given him the disapproving 'look' that normally he paid attention to, but had been too stubborn and pig headed this time. It figured that for some strange reason Oro had chosen not to insult him on the decision. If he didn't know any better, he'd say that the amber-eyed teen was still mad at him for their earlier argument, before they left the other village.

Their healer nin was nearly back to Konoha.

"We need to continue."

"No, we need to patch you up. So stay still." Jiraiya would have taken great pleasure in tearing parts of the ratty old kimono, but as it was he did not need his teammate any angrier at him- he used his own sleeves instead. Creating make shift bandages, he concentrated on propping Orochimaru against his chest and not on the death glare he was receiving.

He slowly wrapped the material around, as gently as he could this time- wincing at every strained gasp that came from his friend.

"Can't believe you actually got hurt this time. That hasn't happened in over two years." Jiraiya grinned, deciding that if he made Orochimaru mad, it would take the other teens mind off the pain; at least for a while. He tied the material off, coming to the conclusion that the best way to keep an eye on his genius was to not let him move, so shifting backwards until he was resting against the wall, he carefully wrapped his arms around Orochimaru's chest, mindful of the wound, making it so he couldn't move.

"Let go."

"Not a chance." Most people knew enough that if you didn't want to die, you didn't piss the other teen off. Jiraiya was not most people. On top of that, Orochimaru had never really tried to kill him. The amber-eyed teen claimed it was because he was still useful, Jiraiya claimed it was for sex.

"If we do not keep moving, we will be discovered."

"Aww, don't worry about it- Tsunade's probably already back in Konoha and the bad guys are at least a day behind us. So for the next few hours you're gonna rest." There was a snort of annoyance and then he stopped struggling in the white-haired teens grasp.

Silence descending upon the cave, but Jiraiya wasn't foolish enough to believe that his friend had taken his advice and had gone to sleep. No, the smaller teen was probably replaying every second of the fight, in that over stuffed head of his, trying to figure out where he went wrong.

Jiraiya already knew where he had made the mistake. Orochimaru had momentarily lost his focus when Jiraiya had been swarmed, mistaken as the dangerous one. It troubled him, because normally that wouldn't have made the other teen blink, but this time… Sometimes he worried about what was going on in his head, today especially. He had never met anyone more focused than Orochimaru and yet he had allowed himself to become distracted.

"You still mad at me?" The silence fell again and he began to wonder if the other teen was going to respond to him.

"…Yes…" The amber eyes remained closed and if he hadn't have been able to see the steady rise and fall of his chest through the kimono; he would have suspected that Orochimaru actually wasn't alive.

"Why? I already apologized!" His friend didn't reply this time, letting his head relax almost grudgingly back against Jiraiya's shoulder. "Will you at least tell me why you're mad?"

"No."

"No? Why not?" Some time's he got the impression that he was either speaking to a two year old, or was being tested- to see if he could figure it out on his own. This was one of these times.

He wasn't going to get anything else out of his friend, either until help came or he figured it out on his own. He wracked his brain trying to figure out what he had said when he had woken up that morning. Something about…a blanket hog? No, that didn't make any sense. What could it be then?

"Any clues?" He finally asked, tightening his hold when Orochimaru tried to pull out of his grasp. What else? Jiraiya had thought Tsunade had found out about their relationship… was that it? He knew he had gotten angry because Orochimaru had seemed so calm about it, as though he didn't care…oh shit, he probably should have thought of that earlier.

"You're mad cause I cared if Tsunade knew about us or not?" This just confused him.

"…You care if anyone knows." Jiraiya winced, holding on as his friend continued to try to escape. So that's what he had thought. He decided that if he wanted to wake up tomorrow he would have to fix that tiny mistake quickly.

"I wanted to tell her, not have her walk in on us in the middle of, well you know." He grinned, resting his chin against the crook of the smaller teens neck. "I don't care if she knows." Silence met his confession, but he could already feel some of the tension melting away from the slender body resting against him.

"I know how I can prove it to you!" He was slightly surprised that he hadn't thought of this idea sooner! It was perfect! "When we get back to Konoha, I'll go to Hokage tower and tell everyone! I can be pretty loud, you know."

"You do that and I will make sure you never wake up." Jiraiya smiled; fairly certain that the threat was a joke, as there was no description about the probably excruciating death.

"Aw, you know you love me for my quirks." The person in front of him snorted, but it sounded more like an amused noise than anything else. Yup, Oro was slipping.

"I'm going to sleep now." He shifted so Orochimaru had a more comfortable position to sleep, glancing over the gash that seemed nowhere as large as it did earlier; before settling in to keep watch for a few hours.

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