One of two requested drabbles for alittlesilent on LJ. Personally, I like the other one better, but this one's not bad.
Kabuto knew that it wasn't his body Orochimaru wanted so badly; at least not in the same sense that he wanted that of the Uchiha boy. He also knew that if he was good and did everything the sennin asked, he, in turn, would get exactly what he wanted.
It hadn't taken the boy long to get used to the idea of give and take, and in the end, giving his body to Orochimaru so that the man would give him the bodies he wanted seemed a perfectly fair trade to him. Anyone else might have seen it as degrading, but he certainly wasn't using those skills for anything else, because he didn't need to.
It was a twisted sort of relationship, but over time it became clear that both, in their own ways, needed each other.
Orochimaru kept the boy close for plenty of reasons, some of which only he knew. He allowed the child the most freedoms of any of his subordinates, but at the same time, asked the most of him. Kabuto was an invaluable pawn and medic, a pretty face, a keen mind (perhaps too keen, sometimes). The medic-nin put out and always had, while Sasuke downright refused him the pleasure of touch, and the sennin appreciated that.
Kabuto stayed with the sennin for several reasons as well, most of which only he knew. He was attached more to the man's power than the man himself, paid in sexual favors for each and every one of his freedoms, but didn't mind. Orochimaru was leverage, protection, resources (everything he could possibly dream of). He gave him every opportunity to test his skills and experiment with new drugs, and besides that, while he was with the snake, nobody could touch him but the man himself.
Theirs was a relationship of necessity rather than anything remotely resembling attraction, but each got what they wanted, and that was all that mattered.
Like it, love it, hate it. You're entitled to your opinions, and I feel as though I'm entitled to reviews. Please?