Many people didn't believe that Orochimaru would spoil anyone beyond his own self. But those people didn't live in the Hidden Village of Sound. Their master could be quite generous, given the correct circumstances.

He was charitable in his good moods, indulgent towards the servants, benevolent to the slaves.

The fact that Orochimaru had lost his arms just slightly dampened his disposition.

"Kabuto, I'm told you destroyed the gloves that I gave you." Ah, that the eyes of a snake were so mesmerizing.

"Y-yes, Lord Orochimaru." Kabuto was at a loss, drowning in the decadence of the Sannin's gaze, but aware that the pain he was in was impossible to imagine. The medic shuddered at having to even attempt it.

And yet, his lord managed to maintain both his kingdom and gorgeous looks.

"I'm sorry – I know they were expensive, but it was a fierce battle." Kabuto was lying through his teeth. He had escaped a majority of the skirmishes with Leaf-nin; the gloves had been torn on a tree branch on the way home.

Still, it was a bad idea to let that bit of info slip.

"Will I be replacing them, my lord?"

"No, you needn't worry about that." The voice was slick and oily, seductive to the very core. "I have your new pair right here."

A slave appeared from the shadows behind Orochimaru's chair, producing a small black box. "Here, Kabuto-kun, take them."

The medic glanced down at the proffered cuffs and started. "B-but these are..!" For a moment, his spy's mask had broken.

"Yes," the other answered, accentuating the 's' in a prolonged hiss, "the finest leather, from the fattest cattle in Grass Country. Perhaps they will assist you in your nocturnal diversions..?"

That smirk!

Kabuto composed his features, set the façade in place. His expression was blank, telling nothing. "Of course, Lord Orochimaru."

When dismissed from the snake-nin's chambers, he fled through the hallways, as dignified as he could manage. 'Damn him! Damn him and his snakes!'

In the other room, the master grinned – all-knowing – lording over his pawn. Yes, his little slave, his favorite. How could Kabuto-kun know just how much was seen by the Sannin?

But, Orochimaru was not as omniscient as he thought. For how could he know that he was Kabuto's every thought, the goal of his every endeavor? That those nightly romps in the lab were all for him?

Still, how could either know that those gloves would last longer than Sasuke's departure in his memory? Far outlive his master and lover?