The room was always dark and humid. The fabric of sheets, curtains, sweat-dampened clothing and blood-stained bandages folded up and filled space like skin that had been peeled off a large reptile and abandoned. The stiff, even pattern of the hardwood floor was rectangular and rough. The dark-colored candles didn't give off light, but rather an unreal flicker that made visions of the place look like an old and damaged film. The melting wax gave off a sickeningly sweet odor, made stronger by the heat, but the scent of death still overpowered it.
Orochimaru slept uneasily, a combination of pain-induced exhaustion and the sleeping draft Kabuto had given him a few hours earlier keeping him in wavering unconsciousness. His dreams were disturbed thoughts and visions, raging against the chemical effects on his brain, struggling to wake him.
A soft click and a bar of light came from the door, and his young doctor stepped quietly into the room. Kabuto took in the room with a swift sweeping glance, taking note of what had been changed since he had last come in to check. A new set of soiled bandages had been strewn over the floor...those would need replacing. A few of the candles had burned down too...they would be taken care of after Orochimaru had his medicine. He carefully closed the hall door behind him, shifting his shoulder bag higher as he walked over to the small sink and counter next to Orochimaru's bed.
The minute noises of Kabuto entering and mixing medicines woke Orochimaru from his unrestful sleep. He turned over onto his side, yellow eyes slitting open ever so slightly. He watched Kabuto's movements dully, gaze traveling lazily over his bare shoulders, his focused expression, his tousled gray hair. He let his eyes rest their focus on the base of his throat, and then he sat up.
"Kabuto", Orochimaru purred, his voice rasping from his dry throat, "Come here".
Kabuto didn't look at him, occupied with measuring a draft of clear orange liquid into a syringe. "The sleep medication shouldn't have worn off yet, Orochimaru-sama. I'll increase the dose."
"Don't give me more of that shit. I don't even know what you're giving me anymore." Orochimaru's voice slurred, his bruise-colored tongue passing over his lips briefly. "I told you to come here."
Kabuto looked over at him warily, examining his posture. It was hard to see what the exact problem was, but it seemed that the new pain medication was reacting badly with the other drugs. He was breathing hard and his arms had begun to bleed freely. The manic look that he wore so often was as present as ever, but his eyes were glazed over and unfocused. It was likely dangerous to go near him, but it would be more dangerous not to do as he was told. Kabuto laid the syringe down on the thin white towel spread out on the counter, and then took a roll of gauze out of his bag. He stepped cautiously over to Orochimaru's bed, stopping a few paces away, and started to unroll the bandage. Orochimaru shot his arm out impatiently, grasping the front of his shirt and pulling him close enough that his chin curved over his shoulder.
"You're a doctor, aren't you Kabuto?"
Kabuto's expression didn't waver, his tone as he replied was blank from emotion. Orochimaru was obviously not thinking right, and he probably wouldn't even remember this later.
"Let me bandage your arms, Orochimaru-sama. They're bleeding."
Orochimaru made a sound of impatience, pulling Kabuto from his upright position and shoving him on his back into the mattress. Kabuto bit the inside of his cheek to stifle his distaste. The sheets and pillowcase were still damp with sweat, and they were rank with it. Orochimaru licked his lips again, offering the boy beneath him his left arm, while his right clutched the front of his shirt like a lifeline. Kabuto dutifully began to wrap it in the gauze, ignoring the fact that Orochimaru was slowly lifting the hem of his shirt up past his chest, or the way his tongue kept ghosting over his neck and jaw line.
"The other one hurts much more, Kabuto. The right one is on fire."
"If you stopped clenching your fingers so hard, it might not hurt as much."
"If you were a better i doctor /i it might not hurt as much. You keep all that blood to yourself, that healing blood. You're so selfish. You dare to keep things from me." His face wore an ugly scowl, and the tightness in his fingers was not decreasing.
Kabuto paused, looking up at him with a questioning expression. "It's just a jutsu, Orochimaru-sama."
Orochimaru made a sound that was half hiss and half groan. His teeth ground against each other as he lowered his head, nudging and rubbing his forehead against Kabuto's cheek. It wasn't the right time to be contradicting him.
"I'll just take some of it then."
"I can't give you my blood."
"No, I'll take it. You'll let me take it, won't you? It'll help, I know it will. I'll feel better when I have some." Orochimaru lifted his head from his shoulder, smiling slowly while licking the underside of his chin. "Your blood is a beautiful color."
Kabuto knew from experience that he wasn't rambling idly, and he didn't like where this was going. He started to pry Orochimaru's fingers from his shirt, but when he let out a growl like a wounded animal he stopped. Orochimaru loosened the death grip he held on his shirt, trailing his fingers down his chest to the top of his bare stomach, just under the ribcage. His fingers were warm and wet, and as he held them against his skin Kabuto could feel small beads of his blood trailing down his side. Orochimaru chuckled, amused.
"You feel soft right here. Feel it." Kabuto ignored the comment, again trying to gently take his hand off of him.
"Please let me bandage your arm, Orochimaru-sama. I have a good salve for it, it will help with the pain."
Orochimaru shook his head, his face screwing up like a child about to throw a tantrum.
"Your i blood /i will help it. Stop being so selfish and contrary all the time. I'm sick of it." He sank his fingernails into the soft patch of flesh under Kabuto's ribs, pressing his lips together in concentration as he slid his fingers in, ripping the skin apart.
Kabuto reacted slowly, shrinking away from Orochimaru's offending hand by burrowing his back into the foul sheets. His fingers closed on Orochimaru's bleeding wrist, trying to twist it away, unsuccessfully.
"Don't do that, Orochimaru-sama..." His voice had lost its tonelessness, it was soft and breathy, a step away from pleading. It made Orochimaru grin.
"I i will /i do it and you'll lie there and take it. My arm is so cut up your blood will just flow right into me, and then I'll be cured." He emphasized his point by curling the fingers he had dug into his body, worming them through it with an alarming amount of speed. Kabuto tried to protest again but Orochimaru silenced him with his lips on his mouth. Kabuto made an indistinct sound against his tongue, curling his legs up between their bodies and trying to push him away. Orochimaru remained immovable, and he shoved his hand in up to the wrist, causing a deep-searing throb in Kabuto's side. His pained yell was muffled against Orochimaru's mouth, but he gasped as Orochimaru broke the half-kiss, shuddering visibly.
"Not enough yet..sit up, Kabuto." Orochimaru's curled his hand around to his back, splattering blood across his skin. Kabuto put an arm around Orochimaru's neck, clutching tightly at his dark damp hair. He shifted himself into a sitting position carefully, trying not to move his side against Orochimaru's wrist. Immediately Orochimaru pulled him into his lap. He threaded his forearm swiftly through the hole in his side, drenching it in his blood.
"A.. i ahhhh /i ..." Kabuto curled up instinctively, wrapping his arms tightly around Orochimaru's back, digging his folded knees into his waist. Orochimaru was whispering jumbled syllables in his ear that he couldn't register. Blood, pain, fire, cure, selfish selfish selfish child. Kabuto didn't allow himself to think, shutting his eyes tightly against the onslaught of pain. Orochimaru jerked his arm in past his elbow, moving the bony joint along the inside of the wound deliberately. Kabuto let out a small whimper, pressing his forehead into Orochimaru's shoulder, still shivering.
"Orochimaru-sama, pl...please stop...it won't.." Orochimaru growled again, sounding much more like a beast than a man.
"It will work, you're just not letting it work. It needs more time, so stay still and stop resisting."
Kabuto nodded his assent shakily, but he wasn't able to keep himself from gasping out a protest when Orochimaru started to lift him against the headboard of the bed, forcing his weight to rest on the arm that was jammed through his stomach like a pike.
"It needs to seep in, Kabuto. Let it in. You're not doing this right, look at all the blood on the sheets..."
Kabuto's face contorted in a pained scowl, trying to support his weight on Orochimaru's shoulders rather than his own wound.
"F-forgive me for not i bleeding /i correctly. I'll make a note to aim my vital fluids more carefully n-next time you get this idea."
The sarcasm made Orochimaru's frustration peak, and he thrust Kabuto away from him roughly, widening the hole as he drew his arm out.
"It's shit. It doesn't work. All of your medicine is shit." He glowered at him angrily, he was in pain and it was Kabuto's fault, this time.
Kabuto did his best to ignore the nasty look, but the words scathed him. He disliked being called inadequate, even if it was drug-induced idiocy in the middle of the night.
" i I'm /i not the one who suggested you use my blood as a miracle cure." His tone was bitter and tired. He turned onto his side, concentrating his energy on repairing the damage that had been done to his stomach. It wasn't easy. His hands kept shaking as he tried to seal the tissue back together, and he hadn't been able to gather energy while Orochimaru's arm was inside of him. As he focused on his injury, Orochimaru came up behind him and buried his face in his neck. Kabuto pulled himself away carefully, his palm sliding on the blood-slicked sheets.
"Stay with me." Orochimaru's voice was still hoarse. It was expressing an emotion that was similar to pain, but closer to something deeper. He put his blood soaked arm around Kabuto's waist, bringing his hips close enough that his intention was made clear. Kabuto recoiled slightly in response. This was the last place he wanted to be. The wound in his side needed immediate care to prevent further damage, and judging by the heat pressing against his lower back, that wasn't going to be possible. He narrowed his eyes, pressing one of his elbows into Orochimaru's side to mark his reluctance. His disgusted response made Orochimaru laugh.
"I won't do anything. I'll just sleep, like a good patient. I'll sleep and take medicine and let you bandage me to your cute little heart's content."
"Liar." Kabuto hissed, his teeth grinding hard against the pain. Orochimaru smiled at him.
"That's right, I am."
Then the liar kissed him, and he wasn't lying anymore.