Orochimaru groaned in response to the rough treatment he was receiving. He grabbed onto my waist and pulled me down so that our bodies were flush with one another. After our need for oxygen had become too great, we pulled away from each other. Orochimaru looked up at me and smirked, although; he did look quite breathless, and a little flustered. "I must say, the aggressive Sasuke is so much better than the shy and flustered Sasuke."

"Heh." I returned his smirk and leaned down to peck his lips softly. I placed my hands on his chest and locked my eyes with his. "Well, my confused emotional state has passed now that I know you've accepted me." I laid my head down on his chest and closed my eyes. "Can we go to the photographer's stand now?"

Orochimaru ran his hands up and down my back a few times before resting them on my head. He started to massage my scalp like he had earlier in the day, and kissed the top of my head. "If you really want to, but you should know that I'm quite comfortable here."

I sat up and frowned at him. "I want photographic evidence of this night in case you decide to break my heart later on." I fixed my face into a stern expression. "I have been waiting all day to enjoy this festival with you; we have every other day to lay around like this..." I looked at him pleadingly. "...So please, just come with me..."

His expression hardened at my words and he sat up with me still on his lap. He gently wrapped his arms around my waist and pressed our foreheads together. "Now I know for a fact that I can be a cruel man Sasuke, but I would never break your heart. At least not intentionally; do you understand me?"

I felt my face heat up and I bit my bottom lip as I stared at him. He looked so serious in that moment and I wasn't quite sure how to react. It dawned on me a few minutes later that he was probably waiting for an answer to his question, so I slowly nodded my head once. "Okay."

Orochimaru chuckled softly at my simple answer and kissed the tip of my nose. "Alright, let me up so I can seal our clothes away with the rest of our things." He carefully lifted me up off of his lap and set me back down on the bed. He scooped up our other clothes and sealed them away in a scroll. "Alright, are you ready to get back to the festival?"

I got off of the bed and walked over to Orochimaru's side. "Yes, Orochimaru." I smiled slightly when I felt his hand grasp mine. I allowed myself to be lead out of the Inn and back to the busy streets of the village. It didn't take long for us to find the photographer's stand, and we were fortunate enough that there wasn't a wait.

After we received our photographs, Orochimaru had sealed them away in the scroll along with our other items. We had been walking through the streets hand-in-hand, however; something caught Orochimaru's attention and he ventured off to one of the stands.

"Hey, Orochimaru." I frowned at the loss of contact between us. "Where are you going?" I quickly followed him and wrapped both of my arms around one of his. I tilted my head when I saw which stand he had approached. "The...koi fishing game?"

Orochimaru chuckled softly at the unamused expression on my face. "I haven't played this game since I was younger than you are now." He pressed our foreheads together again. "You've gotten everything you asked for tonight, so just let me have this one thing."

I sighed and let go of his arm. "Fine, play the game, I'll just stay here and watch."

Orochimaru had won the first round he played – and the second round, and the third, and the fourth one... He must have played the game a dozen times before he finally told the vendor that he was finished. He turned around with a small smile of amusement on his face, which immediately vanished when he looked at me. He titled his head in question. "What?"

I sighed and shook my head. "Of all the things to get excited about, you pick the koi fishing game?"

He tried his best to glare at me, but that just made the embarrassed expression on his face all the more evident.

I smirked triumphantly and crossed my arms over my chest. "You know, the shy and flustered Orochimaru is much more interesting than the aggressive Orochimaru."

He frowned when he realized I had twisted his earlier words around, and his face turned a deeper shade of red. "I take back what I said earlier, you're no fun when you're aggressive..." He sulked his way down the street we were on and headed towards the park.

My smirk turned into a smile as I hurried after him. I easily looped my arms around his even though they were crossed over his chest. I leaned my head on his shoulder and nuzzled into him.

Orochimaru growled at me, but didn't push me away. "...I think you may be the only person in existence to have embarrassed me..." His face was still a little red and he looked pissed off.

I pressed my face further into his arm to hide the smile on my lips as we continued through the park. "Am I supposed to feel honored by that?" I yelped in surprise when I was suddenly spun around and pushed up against a tree.

Orochimaru was towering over me again and his face was mere inches from mine. He was staring at me with an intense expression, and his eyes showed no sign of amusement. "You say I have no idea what you've been through recently, yes?"

I stared at him wide eyed and it took me a moment to form words. "Y-Yes."

He continued to stare into my eyes with a stern expression, but then he frowned suddenly and the light returned to his eyes. "Do you have any idea what you have put me through?" He pressed his forehead to mine and cupped my face. "Your mood swings, your self-confidence, your physique; everything about you sets a part of me on fire. Your arrogance sets me off more than anything; and now that I know you share my feelings I'm not sure I'll be able to control myself." He closed his eyes and sighed before leaning down to rest his head upon my shoulder. "So please, do me a favor and be careful of what you say around me."

I was taken off guard by his words. "I had no idea he felt that way..." I wrapped my arms around Orochimaru tightly and pressed my face into his hair. "Sorry..." I smiled lightly. "I like pushing buttons and seeing how far I can go before a person snaps at me. I think it's a trait I inherited from my clan..."

Orochimaru nuzzled his face against my neck and pecked my skin lightly. He continued to affectionately nuzzle his nose against my neck. He placed a few kisses every so often, and I could feel him smile against my skin. "Hmm." He hummed softly against my neck and brought his hand up to the collar of my kimono. Orochimaru's hand pushed the left side of my kimono off of my shoulder and moved his face towards the back of my neck.

He did something in the next moment I had not been expecting; he sunk his teeth into the skin on my neck where the curse mark was located.

I inhaled sharply and laid my head back against the tree; closing my eyes in the process. The curse mark pulsated in response to Orochimaru's teeth. "O-Orochimaru..." I slowly brought my arms up and placed them upon his back, using my hands to gently cup his head.

He pulled his teeth out after a moment and slowly lapped up my blood. He brought his head back up and placed a gentle kiss on my lips. "Do forgive me; I can be a bit possessive."

I slowly blinked my eyes open and looked up at him. "I don't mind." I threaded my fingers through his hair and locked eyes with him. "I'm yours, Orochimaru." I gently tightened my grip on his hair and pulled his head towards mine, causing our foreheads to collide. "However, this is a two way street...", I softly murmured my words against his lips. "...which means that you are also mine."

Orochimaru grabbed my waist and closed the distance between us; gently kissing my lips once. "Didn't I just tell you to be careful about what you say to me?" His lips moved against mine as he spoke, and his voice sounded so quiet; so desperate. He claimed my lips once more in a heated kiss as he pushed me into the tree. He was no doubt causing the bark to dig into my back, but I didn't mind; he was kissing me.

I groaned softly and allowed myself to be dominated by him. "Orochimaru is kissing me so intensely, and touching me...and—!" I broke the kiss as I jumped in surprise. "...Fireworks..."

Orochimaru was looking down at me with a raised brow and a smirk; a sure sign that he was amused. "Jumpy tonight, are we?"

I felt my face heat up and I tried to glare at him. "Shut up..." I looked away in embarrassment and brought my hands down to rest on his chest.

Orochimaru chuckled softly and placed a gentle kiss on my cheek. He inhaled deeply and smiled against my skin. "Oh Sasuke, revenge is sweet." He easily stopped my efforts to push him away as he turned me around and cradled me against his chest. His arms were wrapped gently around my waist and he littered the side of my face with kisses.

"H-Hey! Orochimaru stop..." My face was becoming hotter and hotter by the second and I squirmed in his arms.

He chuckled again and tightened his grip on my waist. "No, I don't think so, you're not going anywhere." He resumed placing gentle kisses on my face, neck, and shoulders as I continued to squirm.

All of my efforts to get away were in vain, and I finally gave in. I stopped squirming and let out the laughter that I had been desperately trying to hold in. "Orochimaru! Please st-stop." I was still fighting against my laughter and started to squirm again. All of my squirming caused us to lose our balance and we both went tumbling down towards the ground.

I landed right on top of Orochimaru and my eyes widened. I stared at him in total shock; my face was beet red and my heart stopped for a moment.

Orochimaru locked his eyes with mine and just stared at me for several minutes. The two of us laid there lost in each others eyes as the fireworks went off in the background. And after a few more minutes, Orochimaru carefully sat up and spun me around to sit in his lap with my back against his chest. He wrapped his arms around me and tightened his grip so that my body was flush with his. Orochimaru gently placed his chin on my shoulder and sighed contently.

I leaned my head back against his and smiled. I brought my arms up to rest them upon Orochimaru's and let out my own sigh of contentment. As we watched the fireworks together, I noticed my eyes becoming heavier and heavier. I could feel my head start to nod and it wasn't long before I had to close my eyes entirely. I shifted in his lap and made myself more comfortable. I yawned softly and nuzzled my face against his chest. "Hngh..." I was quite content in his gentle embrace, and it only took a few minutes for me to drift off to sleep. "He's so warm..."

That was the last thing I remembered before entering a peaceful slumber.

I slowly started to become conscious again. My eyes started to blink open and I was vaguely aware of the fact that I was being carried on somebody's back. Once my eyes focused on my surroundings, I noticed that my arms were wrapped around someone's neck. They had long black hair. My exhausted state caused me to think unclearly, and for a moment I was panicked; it looked like I was being carried by Itachi Uchiha. "Why is he carrying me?!"

My whole body tensed as I tried to remove myself from this man's back. It wasn't until he stopped walking and spoke my name, that I realized whose back I was on; it was Orochimaru's.

"Sasuke, calm down it's just me." He looked back over his shoulder and gave me a sympathetic look. "The lair is still a good hour's walk from here, go back to sleep."

I yawned softly and immediately relaxed as I laid my head across his neck and shoulders. "Hnn..." I closed my eyes and let out another yawn. I nuzzled my face against him once before drifting off into a state of half-consciousness. I could feel his body move against mine as he breathed. I could hear the soft sounds his feet made as he walked across the dirt paths.

I wasn't very aware of how much time had gone by, but it had to have been at least an hour. I opened my eyes half way and noticed we were back in the lair. "Hngh... Orochimaru?"

He stopped walking and looked back at me. "Hmm?"

I blinked at him sleepily and willed myself to speak. "Can I sleep with you tonight?" I was fighting so very hard to stay awake, and my eyes felt extremely heavy again. My speech had come out a little slurred, but I knew he had understood me.

Orochimaru chuckled softly. "I wouldn't have it any other way." He turned his attention back to the halls and began walking towards his bedroom. "You're never allowed to sleep alone again." I could tell by the sound of his voice that he was smiling. He opened the door to his bedroom a few minutes later, and pulled back the blankets that were on his bed. He carefully laid me down on the bed and smiled. He crawled in next to me cradled me against his chest.

I smiled as I wrapped my arms around him and nuzzled into him. "Orochimaru, I'm cold."

Orochimaru chuckled softly and pulled the blanket over our bodies. "So demanding." He wrapped his arms around me again and began to litter my face with gentle kisses. "You're all mine Sasuke, all mine." He continued to kiss me and speak to me in between my fits of laughter. "From now on, it's mandatory for you to sleep with me." He closed the distance between us and kissed me passionately.

After I could no longer breathe, I pulled away from him just enough so that I could gaze into his eyes. The same irresistibly golden eyes that used to send chills down my spine, the eyes that belong to a cold-blooded killer, a liar, and a thief...but even so, I felt a smile form upon my lips; for they also belong to the man that I love...

—The End.