Orochimaru got up before Sasuke, as always. The Uchiha would be angry if he woke up and Orochimaru hadn't drawn his bath, made breakfast, and woken up everyone else. He slipped into the bathroom, washed himself off, and dressed, tying up his hair and heading back to the kitchen. Since he was never sure what Sasuke would want to eat, he usually set out a box of cereal for the Uchiha and left it at that. Sasuke was eating it and he wasn't complaining or kicking Orochimaru, so life went on.

Orochimaru went around to each room in the immediate complex: the rooms of several high-ranking shinobi and officials and the Sound Five. "Kidomaru…get up." Kidomaru was always easy to wake; he would get up and make coffee, then distribute it to everyone alive at that hour; usually five a.m. Sakon and Ukon usually required a slap across the face, but they rarely knew what was going on at that hour, so whoever woke them up was usually safe from harm. Jiroubou had a tendency to sleepwalk, so someone had to find him before he fell down the stairs or woke himself up somehow. Kimimaro would take a few minutes to wake up, but he would get up once he was awake. Tayuya was the hardest to wake up; she would kick and whine and fight, and Orochimaru always had to be ready to dodge her-or her Doki. Finally, when Tayuya was up, Orochimaru would go back to Sasuke's room, eat something if he had time, and draw Sasuke's bath when he saw the Uchiha getting out of bed. Today, he looked early, so he grabbed an apple and ate quickly. Sasuke hated it when Orochimaru as late; especially if he caught him eating.

Orochimaru finished the apple just in time; Sasuke's door opened just as he was going into the bathroom. It took a minute to get hot water up to Sasuke's room, but eventually Sasuke had a hot bath waiting for him, and Orochimaru left the room, leaving clean towels and soap.

While Sasuke took his bath, Orochimaru usually checked on the Sounds. Kidomaru, Sakon and Ukon, and Kimimaro would usually be up, dressed and having breakfast. Jiroubou would be in one bathroom, and Tayuya would be in the other. This time, however, Jiroubou was out early, and Tayuya was just going in. "Hurry," Orochimaru advised her. "Sasuke-sama hates it when you're late."

Tayuya snorted. "He can hate me all he wants," she said caustically. "I don't care."

Orochimaru sighed. "But I do-he's going to think I didn't get you up on time and then he'll beat me."

Tayuya sighed. "Right, sorry, I forgot. Alright, I promise I'll be on time."

"Thank you," Orochimaru whispered.

"Orochimaru!!"

Orochimaru gasped at Sasuke's yell. "Oh, no…"

"Go," Kimimaro said. "I'll come with you."

Orochimaru nodded. "Thank you."

Kimimaro and Orochimaru left, Kimimaro slipping a slice of bread into Orochimaru's hands.

"Even if you've eaten already, you never get enough," he said. "You need your energy."

"I'll probably throw it up again at some point," Orochimaru said. "But thank you."

"Eat quickly," Kimimaro advised. "We'll be there soon."

Orochimaru said nothing in reply, and Kimimaro smiled when he saw Orochimaru eating. He finished just as they approached Sasuke's door; Orochimaru swallowed, took a deep breath, and knocked twice on the door to let Sasuke know he was entering. He slowly opened the door and, hearing no objections, slid inside the room, quiet as a mouse. Kimimaro followed, staying next to Orochimaru the whole time.

"Where were you?" Sasuke snapped. He stood in front of Orochimaru, fully dressed and glaring. "You were supposed to be back here seven minutes ago!"

"I-I'm sorry, Sasuke-sama," Orochimaru stammered, dropping into a deep bow at Sasuke's feet. "I was making sure the rest of your servants were up-"

"I don't care," Sasuke continued, kicking Orochimaru in the ribs. The sannin yelped, but took the blow. "You are with me at all times, except when I tell you not to be, and you when else. Stupid little animal-"

"Sasuke-sama, please don't kick him again."

Sasuke glared at Kimimaro. "It is not your place to tell me how I can and cannot discipline my slaves," Sasuke snarled, kicking Orochimaru again. "You're lucky I don't kick you for your insolence!"

Kimimaro fell silent, instead reaching out to Orochimaru. Hope flashed across the sannin's eyes for a moment, but was dashed when Sasuke kicked Kimimaro back. "Get out," he hissed to Kimimaro. "As for you-!" Orochimaru flinched when Sasuke turned his gaze upon him-"Get up, clear the table, and when you're done you can clean the floors."

"Hai…"

Orochimaru stood up and skittered around Sasuke, scrambling to do as he was told. Sasuke sighed and slammed the door after himself, heading down to the Sounds' room. Orochimaru put the dishes in the sink, put away the remains of Sasuke's breakfast, and sighed. True enough, the floors were disgusting, and Orochimaru was not looking forward to cleaning them. The only way to get the stains out was to scrub them by hand…Orochimaru sighed again and headed for the closet.

OOOOOOOOO

"I feel really bad for you."

Orochimaru glanced up from the bloodstains he was currently attacking with a sponge, a bucket of water, and some soap, but said nothing. Tayuya sighed and knelt down next to Orochimaru, pulling several strands of hair out of his face and wiping his forehead with a clean cloth.

"Thank you," Orochimaru whispered. Tayuya nodded and gave him a drink of water from a small water bottle she had hidden in her kunai pouch.

"I used a genjutsu to get away," she said. "But it won't last long. Drink, and do it quickly."

"My savior," Orochimaru said quietly, "Comes in the form of a potty-mouthed slut of a teenager. The irony is so think you could cut with a knife."

Tayuya smiled. "Well, in the world of dirty play, sometimes you need to play dirty right back." She stood up and refilled her water bottle, letting Orochimaru take another drink. "Alright, I'll see when I can come back-hey, the water's red."

Orochimaru glanced down. Sure enough, the water he had been using to clean the floor was now tainted red with blood-but from what? Tayuya gently took his hand and turned it over; it was criss-crossed with cuts and scrapes, all of which were oozing blood. Tayuya pulled a roll of bandages out of her kunai pouch and wrapped them quickly around each hand, tying a knot around Orochimaru's wrist. "Just be careful, okay? I'll get you some ointment later so those don't get infected."

Orochimaru nodded. "Thank you," he murmured. "But…Sasuke will ask where these came from-"

"I'll come back with him," Tayuya said, "And explain. All you have to say is that it kept getting blood on the floors and you don't want to get more all over."

Orochimaru shrugged. "Alright. Thank you again, and please, go back. Sasuke will be angry-"

"I know, I know," Tayuya said. She placed a gentle kiss on Orochimaru's forehead, straightened, and made her way to the door. "I'll be back; I promise."

Orochimaru actually believed her.

OOOOOOOOO

That night, Sasuke didn't seem very interested in Orochimaru; he chained the sannin down, as usual, and went to bed. Orochimaru knew where the key was, but it took him a while to figure out how to get it. Sasuke set the combination on the lock differently every night he chained Orochimaru; a lock on a key for a lock. Orochimaru would have to get up early when Sasuke chained him like this; he needed to figure out how to get out of the bonds, and then he still had to do everything he normally would.

The key came out easily this morning. Orochimaru sighed, unlocked the second collar around his neck, and got up. He went about the morning as usual, only stopping when someone knocked lightly on the door. He opened it silently, not wanting to disturb Sasuke.

Kabuto stood in the doorway.

Orochimaru started; what was Kabuto doing here?

"Shhhhhh, it's okay; I'm here to help you," Kabuto whispered, seeing Orochimaru's shocked expression. Orochimaru shook his head.

"It's not that," he said quietly. "I just didn't expect you here…"

Kabuto smiled and pulled a clean cloth out of his kunai pouch. "You already look terrible…" he said quietly, wiping Orochimaru's face off. There was probably still crap all over him from yesterday…although Tayuya had come back, as she promised, she couldn't do much for Orochimaru other than calm him down, give him something small to eat, and wipe away the worst of the grime. Orochimaru's face flushed and he looked away in shame.

Kabuto continued cleaning him up for a moment before handing him a peach. "Don't even ask," he said, holding up his hands. "Just eat it. I'll wake up the Sounds, just eat and take care of everything you need to here. Don't worry about it."

"Thank you so much!" Orochimaru cried. "I can't repay you-"

"Just keep out of trouble," Kabuto said, placing a small kiss on Orochimaru's trembling lips. "That's how you can repay me. Wait for me and the Sounds to get back to you on what we're going to do." He kissed Orochimaru again and took a step back. "Wait for me, and always remember: I love you."

Orochimaru nodded, and Kabuto took off down the hall. Orochimaru sighed wistfully and closed the door. He had probably start breakfast…

Sasuke was getting eggs this morning. He had nothing better to do.

OOOOOOOOO

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Wow, hot breakfast this morning. What didn't you do?"

"I did everything, Sasuke-sama," Orochimaru replied quietly. "I just had a bit of extra time this morning, and it didn't take long-"

"Whatever. Dismissed."

Orochimaru went downstairs to the Sounds' room; he wanted to make sure everyone was up and everything was in order.

Kabuto met him halfway.

He picked up Orochimaru and kissed him, holding him as close as possible. Orochimaru held onto Kabuto; his lover was back, and he never wanted to leave his loving embrace. Two tears fell from his eyes and streamed down his face; Kabuto held him and never let him go, and that was all Orochimaru wanted at this point.

"What are you doing here?" he gasped when they finally parted to breathe. Orochimaru shook his hair out of his face.

"What are you?" he asked quietly. "You're supposed to be in the other wing…away from everyone else-"

Kabuto shrugged. "I told you I would wake the Sounds for you. I did; I'm still here. Sasuke dismissed you?"

Orochimaru nodded. Kabuto sighed with relief and kissed Orochimaru again; Orochimaru leaned into his embrace, and Kabuto healed the bruises, cuts, and other injuries Orochimaru had acquired. The silver-haired ninja took his time, though; he wanted to be with Orochimaru as long as he could, and as long as he had an excuse to be touching him-

"Orochimaru!"

Orochimaru gasped. "Kabuto-"

"I know," Kabuto said quickly. He healed the rest of the injuries in less than a second and released Orochimaru, giving him another swift kiss and he gave him a gentle push. "Go; I don't want you to get hurt!" Orochimaru nodded his thanks and ran up to Sasuke's room, praying that the Uchiha wasn't too angry with him.

A/N: A little short, I know, but it seemed like a good place to end it…