#tomorrow and today ; beside you all the way ( v ; vipcridae )

[raichoose-moved-again]

Starter for @vipcridae​

The pale pink petals of a cherry blossom tree drift down around him; a small group of their closest loved ones stand in two small arcs, creating a pathway through the grass and flowers; summoned serpents that have been there for each of them even in the darkest of days slither close; and, of course, their two wonderful sons are right up front, having given him their blessing long ago.

And yet, in this very moment - in spite of all the warmth and beauty and love that surrounds him - he only sees one person, the epitome of all that is warm and beautiful and loving to him, as if everything and everyone else has vanished.

He can hardly wait for them to approach, for how badly does he want to run up to them, scoop his beloved bride-to-be into his arms, carry them and hold them and say the sweetest of words and vows, just for them -

But, it is their wedding, and Kabuto and Orochimaru have already done so much to be able to have this blissful little ceremony, undisturbed by the world; he won’t technically ruin it by galloping up to skip right to the end, to the best part, where medic and Sannin become husband and wife. 

And isn’t this just a dream come true anyway?

Isn’t it even better than anything he could dream of?

It truly is, with the way Kabuto doesn’t even try to stop from tearing up as they gracefully walk towards him.

He’s not a Shinobi today, after all - he’s a father to two perfect boys, and a groom to one perfect person, and if asked (and even if not), he’ll boast to the heavens that moments just like this are the ones that really make life worth living.

Wearing the gentlest and warmest of smiles, Kabuto reaches out to take Orochimaru’s hands in his as they draw near. “You look beautiful, Hebi ... I guess Mitsuki was right when he said I shouldn’t see you today, not until this very moment. Dreams will never compare to the real Orochimaru.” A wink (even as he’s visibly crying tears of joy). “No one can. I love you.”

[raichoose-moved]

Tea Meme - Accepting

@vipcridae​​ asked: 🍵 //kabu

The tea appears to be such a dark shade of black that it might as well be ink - or so it seems, anyway. It’s actually a very dark purple, with the occasional flicker of gold, though the only way to realize such a truth is to examine it closely, and few wish to. Indeed, he notices that most seem to recoil from this drink as if it were poison, for this blend bears the name of a Shinobi so infamous and deadly as to strike fear into the hearts of even the most battle-hardened warriors. 

Not him, however. 

Long ago, Orochimaru had offered him a metaphorical chalice from which to drink, and he hadn’t known what it contained - maybe an elixir of eternal life, maybe the deadliest of poisons - and after hesitating, he’d taken a sip, then a swallow, and how well had it all paid off.

There’s no hesitation now.

Kabuto finds himself drinking continuously, scarcely coming up for air. Because, much like the real Orochimaru, the tea he has now is wonderful and complex, its flavors shifting as a treat for those who dare dive in, and yet not clashing at all, as if this blend was created to symbolize how eagerly he accepts and wants all parts of his spouse - light hints of lavender, a nod to their past; suddenly seeming to become the boldness of blackberry and rum and almond, which would be deadly if it tasted bitter; ending with a floral flavor, evoking images of the gardens Sannin and medic strolled though in their blissful and peaceful eternity.  

Kabuto’s health is fully restored. 

[raichoose-moved-again]

@vipcridae​ - Cont.

When Kabuto utters those simple words ‘is that what they have you thinking?’ the serpents expression falls away completely. Leaving a blank stare as they slip away in to their own thoughts to dissect his words, to repeat them again and again, and then to repeat their own words to try figure out what they had said to prompt his comment. It must lend the impression that he has spoken the words of treason, that the Sannin may very well report the traitor of a doctor who dares defy the mantra of the Will of Fire. Quite the opposite. Orochimaru is not horrified the doctor would oppose the status quo, they are horrified they themself may have been blindly adhering to it. Blind and ignorant. They prided themself on their independence, on their ability to break the mold and flee the prison of brainwashing and manipulation. They were the wolf, their peers were the sheep. But Kabuto, who lives removed from Konoha’s manipulations, seems to have seen a sorrowful display of brainwashed beliefs in the serpents words. They have to dive in to themself to find out where they have been tricked, but they come up a little short, so they meet the doctor’s eyes in serious curiosity. “Don’t back out of your words, I value your truthful view, not your view crafted for the sake of the laws militant ears. I have become quite good at keeping secrets from Hiruzen,” they say, not wanting to lose this moment of revelation due to legality and fears. They do not know yet if they think the doctor is right, but they are now less sure about being right themself. They take the bait of uncovering truth like a dog takes to the scent of a rabbit. “What did you mean by that? What do they have me thinking that I should not?” they ask, their golden eyes a little too bright and a little too intense now that he has piqued their inquisitive side. Curiosity that often killed not just the cat.

But they must answer his questions too, lest he can not provide them with an answer without such information, so with as much emotional distancing as one would discuss a perfect stranger, Orochimaru provides Kabuto with an answer in removed matter of fact nonchalance, “I was terrified. Every step I took could place me in the path of a trap, explosive or enemy’s blade. But I lived. I might not have without my early training.” “I am not under some manipulated belief that I owe Konoha anything. It has done little for me. Nor do I delude myself in to thinking I am some saviour when I fight its wars. I promise no civilian that I will save them, I promise only to kill their enemies. Shinobi are bringers of death, mere shinigami. It is those in your line of work who do the saving,” Orochimaru says, “I fight because it is my life that will be terminated if I do not, I fight because it is all I know how to do, because it teaches me more in a few precious seconds than any classroom does in a year. And I suppose… I fight because an unfinished war is all my parents left me, so what choice do I have, but to partake in it like it is last surviving heirloom to collect.” They pause then, before taking his hand to stop his efforts of healing them, gentle, but firm, so that the only focus is on their next question, “I do not pride myself on being right, there is nothing more important to me than discovering the truth amid our personal realities. Your words indicate I have strayed from what is real, and believed what Konoha wants me to believe. Tell me why.”

Is this a trap?

The thought repeats itself over and over again in his mind. After all, Kabuto’s experiences with the Leaf’s Shinobi and Kunoichi - few and far between as they are - have caused him to believe that voicing any potentially or even minutely treasonous views would lead to his ruin. And is Orochimaru not the best of the best?

“Well ... I, ah ... ”

He wonders whether he can tug his hands away, only to ultimately decide to allow the Sannin to continue holding onto him.

“I mean ... Do you really think it’s ... I’m sure I don’t need to tell you how dangerous your lifestyle is, even for an adult ... So for a child, it’s bound to be even worse, and ... ” 

Kabuto tries to come up with some tactful way to word what he wants to say, in case this is some trap on Orochimaru’s part. However, as midnight eyes meet their golden pair, as he really digests what they have told him as they’ve asked just what it is he thinks they’ve been tricked into believing ...

They’re being as genuine as I am.

“ ... This doesn’t leave this room. That is your new rule to follow.” Kabuto clears his throat. “Whenever you, or anyone, tries to justify the use of children in war, even in what we are told is a necessary one ... It just - sounds like Konoha, or any village, speaking. You say you don’t owe our village anything, but I firmly believe you and every ninja is only doing what it expects of you. Why else would they train you when you were only a child? It’s easier to ... indoctrinate ... children than adults. Maybe it’s because of what I’ve been though, granted, but I firmly believe that our village’s youngest shouldn’t be raised to kill one another or to think that violence and wars are okay. If the leaders of Konoha want to fight, they can do it themselves - leave children out of it.” 

Kabuto knows Orochimaru can feel the way his hands tremble.

“I’m sorry about your parents. I ... In a way, I know how you feel. My mother fought tooth and nail to make sure I wouldn’t be shipped off to the battlefield, in spite of my skill, and she’s dead now because - because she took my place. She died because I was more important to her than the village was.” He swallows thickly. “Someone - I don’t really want to say his name. It’s silly, but it feels like he’s listening whenever I do. Anyway ... A man tried to convince me, in much more persuasive words than I’ll use now, that I needed to fight to prove her death wasn’t in vain. He almost succeeded. But when I was going through her belongings, including her glasses - these glasses ... I knew that wasn’t what my mother would have wanted me to do, maybe even if it was something I desired, and it wasn’t. Call me a coward, but the thought of being killed in some war I didn’t understand, when I was only eight? That terrified me. So I stayed here, away from the village, in my and Mother’s old house, trying to become a better medic without needing to answer to the elders because I didn’t want to be ... I didn’t describe it like this when I was a child, I saw it more as a fear of being monitored or controlled, and please don’t take offense, but nowadays I ... I ... Cannon fodder. That’s the phrase that goes through my mind. I don’t see you that way, but it feels like you’re all just ... tools ... to the ones you take orders from. Like you’re kunai that bleed and suffer, instead of children who were turned into killers.” 

He swallows thickly, then, and Kabuto finally pulls away. 

“ ... I hope I didn’t offend you. It wasn’t my intent. But you wanted the truth, and, ah, there it is. Please don’t - think I view you badly, or anything of the sort. It’s ... not you I have a problem with.” 

[raichoose-moved-again]

Shining Armor Prompts - Not Accepting 

@vipcridae​ asked: [ KISS ] //kabu

// Thank you! Please ask before continuing. 

[ KISS ]: after having been saved from immediate danger by the receiver, the sender, in a state of intense emotion and relief, kisses them to express these feelings.

“Orochimaru! Are you all right?!” 

He speaks frantically, terror in his eyes even as his hands are stained with the blood of a potential assassin. That someone could get into their bedroom and try to kill them, while they’re bedridden and preparing for their next body transfer - that he could get there just in the nick of time -

Yes, he knows that even at their weakest, the serpentine Sannin is still a force to be reckoned with. But that doesn’t mean he wants them to be alone, in times like these; that doesn’t mean he won’t lunge forward and brutally end the life of whoever seeks to end Orochimaru’s.

That doesn’t mean the thought of the worst-case scenario doesn’t terrify him.

“I’m here! Did he hurt you?! Talk to - Mmph!”

His words are cut short when Orochimaru’s lips crash against his - 

And Kabuto doesn’t mind at all, he kisses back as soon as the momentary shock wears off, he hugs them securely against him, their relief and the intensity of their emotions matched only by his.

“You’re okay,” he says, panting slightly as they part. “You’re okay ... I won’t let anyone hurt you. I promise. I don’t know how he got in here, but I’ll fix it, and I’ll protect you. I always will.”

[raichoose-moved-again]

Unprompted - Always Accepting

@vipcridae​ asked: 

He had always told them these trees reminded him of them. Cherry blossom leaves filtering down from their high branches, and dusting the serpents long raven hair. He had told them the story of why these flowers remind him of them, for how the serpent had turned quizzical at first. No one ever looked at them and saw a delicate beauty, no one saw them as anything close to innocent petals that prettied up the area. They were the feared one, the despised one, envied and called upon only because they could and would be merciless and unstoppable in the wars to come. They had been called beautiful, but not in any way that could be called complimentary. 

Still, while these flowers may remind him of them, these gardens remind them of him. Every cobbled footpath, every shade offering tree, every blooming flower and lily on still ponds, every winding vine and every critter scurrying in and out from the bushes. This was his creation. His project. They know which plants are poisonous, since they had asked for those additions, necessary ingredients for necessary experiments. And they stay clear of those areas now. 

Sitting beneath the largest cherry blossom tree, with a little girl who looks just like them, save for the thicker and fluffier long hair on her head, “is it not to your liking, this song?” they ask her, slender fingers and painted black nails pausing on the strings of their koto, as their daughter grows restless of sitting and listening to the music in the gardens. They reach forward to correct a strand of her black hair, and to offer her a gentle but teasing smile, “you’re the one who asked me to come and play out here, Nono dear,” they say, though they have no impatience when it comes to their own little one. 

It is only a few moments later however, that the sound of her father can be heard. Having evidently followed the melody of strings to his family. And that is when the serpents smile really grows, impressed and endeared at once. 

“Ah, you heard your father. You’re a talented one aren’t you?” they say, kissing her forehead, before releasing her hand that they had took so she could barrel through the bushes and surprise her father before he reached them. She always grew restless with excitement when she heard her father, though he was never away for long, she preferred him being there than even attending to short tasks. Finally, they see him emerge in to the small garden they sit in, where they abandon their Koto, approaching to kiss their husband beneath his favourite tree, “you’re in trouble with Mitsuki you know. He wanted to go with you today,” they tease, though it not the father’s fault. His son had slept in, and had ample time to request he go with before the morning time. Last minute requests were typical of him. But being accused was the role of the parent at times. One simply had to be patient with their young ones and their teenage mood swings. Nono has scrambled in to her father’s arms, where she also gets a kiss from her mother, “we’ll have to make it up to him. Plan a day as the family hm? My parole has been especially blind today.”

// Thank you! Please ask before continuing.

Kabuto hears the sound of his spouse’s gentle koto-playing, and he instantly follows the melody to where Orochimaru and little Nono can be found. When she runs towards him, their daughter is scooped into his arms - aside from the round frames she needs to see and the very fluffy and thick nature of her hair, both traits she’s gotten from him, Nono looks exactly like her golden-eyed mother. 

Kabuto presses one kiss to the little girl’s forehead, another to Orochimaru’s lips. 

“I did want to wait for Mitsuki, but I’m afraid I was running late, and I didn’t want to wake him, not when sleep is so very important. I’ll be sure to bring him to the orphanage with me next time. He’s a wonderful helper, and of course I’ll never pass up the opportunity to bond with my little ones - our little ones.”

He nuzzles his pretty viper’s cheek, then. “Speaking of ... A family day sounds wonderful. You, Rogu, Mitsuki, and Nono ... There’s no one who’s ever walked this earth, or who ever will, that I’d rather be with. Where shall we go? Your parole is inept on a good day, after all, so we ought to take advantage of their blindness.” 

Then, Kabuto moves to scoop up Orochimaru as well, delicately balancing his spouse and their child in his arms.

“Let’s go round up our sons. I’m sure they’ll want to give their input on our impromptu venture.” He winks, as a way to show that his following words are simply a familial jest. “And, lest we forget, I do need to grovel for Mitsuki’s forgiveness. How it pains me to think he might resent me!” 

[raichoose-moved-again]

Sacred Romantic Prompts - Not Accepting

@vipcridae​​ asked: “ i didn’t know where else to go. “ //kabu

// Thank you! Please ask before continuing.

It breaks his heart to see them like this. Yes, the relationship between Sannin and medic hadn’t had a good ending - no matter how neither of them wanted it to end in the first place; they could thank his parole, and his own fears and perhaps cowardice, for that. But that hardly meant that if Orochimaru should ever stand on his doorstep, hurt or sick or scared, or even just missing him, that he’d turn them away.

"Come in. My room is right down this hallway.” Kabuto holds the door open, casting nervous, concerned glances their way. “What happened? Talk to me. I’ll help you.” 

And maybe, depending on how things played out - just maybe, he’d tell them the truth about why he’d left them. 

[raichoose-moved-again]

Sacred Romantic Prompts - Not Accepting

@vipcridae​ asked: “ don’t go. stay. “ //kabu

// Thank you! Please ask before continuing.

He has work to do - they both know it.

If Orochimaru calls for him, then he’ll drop everything, no matter how important, to tend to their wants and needs - they both know that, too.

Thus, when the Sannin he loves asks him to stay, he willingly, readily obliges. Kabuto smiles, reaching out for them, pulling them close for sleepy kisses and cuddles, already forgetting just what it was he was getting out of bed for in the first place.

(Probably to check on a patient, but who in the Sound Village means more to Kabuto than Orochimaru, anyway?)

“I’m right here,” he murmurs. “I won’t go anywhere. I promise.”

And then, because he just cannot help himself -

“You know, Princess, you’re very cute when you’re needy. Maybe I ought to get up early more often ... Just so I can hear you call for me.” 

[raichoose-moved-again]

Dancing Prompts - Accepting

@vipcridae​ asked: i exited the ballroom to take a breather (or because i was angry) and you noticed and followed me out because it’s dangerous to be alone in the dark. seeing me safe, however, you think it’s a perfect time to confess your love for me in the gardens //kabu for the prompt meme!

// Thank you! Please ask before continuing.

As soon as Orochimaru leaves the ballroom, Kabuto follows - ever the loyal servant in the eyes of many, but he knows very well of the genuine bond between Sannin and medic, as does Orochimaru, and the opinions of others thus cease to matter.

He follows them to the gardens, and though he doesn’t immediately say anything, Kabuto knows they know he’s there - how could they not, with how frequently he chooses to be by their side, ever since that failed invasion of Konoha? 

“I hope you weren’t looking for some alone time,” he says, moving to sit beside them. “It’s ... Well, you never know what stunt someone could pull out here. I just wanted to make sure you were safe.” 

They stay together for a while, then - admiring the flowers, chatting, occasionally looking up at the stars - but Kabuto’s attention keeps returning to them. They’re beautiful, intelligent, cunning, powerful, attentive, curious, insightful, conscientious ...

They’re kind to him, caring, loving, even, and they make him feel real, like he’s more than just the sum of all those fabricated personalities he’s had to patchwork together over the years. 

Hesitantly, Kabuto places a hand over one of theirs, his flushed cheeks perhaps betraying him even as he tries to make it look like his attention is captured by a nearby rosebush. 

Eventually, of course, he speaks. 

“You know, I’ve been thinking. About us. It’s been wonderful lately, hasn’t it? Aside from the, ah, arm thing. Aha. Sorry, I probably shouldn’t have brought that up ... ”

When has he last been this nervous? Truthfully, he can’t even begin to recall. 

But, nerves or not, he swiftly recovers, given the importance of what he longs to share.

“What I’m trying to say is, is that it’s beautiful out here, like you, and just ... Sitting with you, like this, feels so right. Anything could happen - a repeat of our loss, or Sasuke could up and leave while we’re at this party, or the world could just start ending, and I’d be okay - we’d be okay - because we’re together.”

Kabuto reaches up, then, gently cupping their cheek, leaning forward. “May I ... ?”

The slightest nod or word from them would be enough - for as bold as he is, as brave as he’s become over the years, his desire to kiss them would never override their own wants and needs. Such is the nature of his love: hungry, yet nurturing, forever focused on protection and devotion and the happiest of endings for the serpentine object of his desires.

“I love you, Orochimaru - through eternity, and beyond even that.”

[raichoose-moved-again]

Spooning! - Not Accepting 

@vipcridae​​ asked: "Little spoon" // Kabu

// Thank you! Please ask before continuing. 

Nighttime has fallen over Otogakure, and a certain medic is eager to spend this dark, cool, peaceful night with his eternal beloved. 

Kabuto slips into Orochimaru’s bed, wrapping his arms around them, gently tucking their svelte form into the curve of his body. He knows they won’t strike, in spite of their technically vulnerable position - because there’s no doubt that they have the sound of his footsteps and the feel of his touch memorized after all these years, because their senses are far too attuned to their surroundings to be tricked by anyone simply walking into the sanctity of their bedroom, and because the summoned serpents that permanently reside in Orochimaru’s home would alert them to any potential or actual threats, and a threat to them he would never be.

Still -

“It’s me, honey.” Kabuto’s tone is warm and reassuring, and certainly loving. “Only me. I hope you don’t mind ... I just want to hold you for a few minutes. Such a long day, we had ... ”

(Minutes would surely turn to hours, of course, and he’d welcome that without a moment’s hesitation.)

He kisses the nape of their neck. “I’m surprised you went to bed before I did - not that I’m complaining, of course. I know you’re awake, and that just means we can cuddle. And what could be nicer than that?” 

[raichoose-moved-again]

Nightmares & Sleeping Meme - Accepting

@vipcridae​ asked: “I broke the lock. You were screaming.” /kabu

// Thank you! Please ask before continuing.

"How ... H-How did you ... How ... ?”

Stuttered words, incomplete sentences, a body drenched in sweat, a throat raw from screaming, eyes stinging with unshed tears, a heart racing -

Orochimaru’s answer to his unfinished question of how they had gotten into his room is the final piece that causes the nightmare he’d had to come flooding back.

But it’s not just a bad dream, it’s not something he can escape by waking up - it’s a memory.

(His nightmares usually are - and for the ones that are not memories, then he sometimes worries and fears that they might very well be wicked prophecies.)

It’s not Mother’s fate that affects him this time, however, and it’s not the recurring dream of losing the very Sannin that sits beside him now. Though asleep, he’d nevertheless been assaulted by visions of his time with ROOT - Danzo having him perform the same training exercises over and over again, with orders to not let Kabuto heal himself until the practice missions were performed perfectly; his emotions being snuffed out as if they were hideous candle flames, as if happiness and suffering alike were evil; and in Danzo’s absence, being left with another instructor whose brutality and sickening visage and sounds left him so afraid as a young boy -

He begins shaking. The physical scars that trace his back are a reminder of such horrific times, combining with mental scarring like this -

All of it done to make a loved and loving orphan morph from a child to a weapon on an expedited course. For Konoha had needed its spy immediately, and he had volunteered, with no Shinobi training of his own other than medical ninjutsu, so learned to care and to heal and not to serve as a soldier -

As if that hadn’t been over a decade ago, as if his life in the Sound wasn’t far different -

As if the serpentine Sannin, so hated by the Leaf, hadn’t been the one person he had left who promised to protect him.

Orochimaru’s words, so deceptively simple, echo in his mind - I’ll protect you. I’ll protect you. I’ll protect you. - and he suddenly collapses against them, clutching their kimono and hiding his face against their chest, as if obscuring his tears from their vision makes it so that he’s not sobbing.

[raichoose-moved]

SEND “FAKE-OUT MAKE-OUT!” FOR OUR MUSES TO SUDDENLY START KISSING TO AVOID BEING DISCOVERED WHILE ON A MISSION - Not Accepting 

@vipcridae​ asked: "Fake-out make-out" /Kabu

Thank you for sending! Please ask before continuing.

Desperate times call for desperate measures. 

Such is what Kabuto tells himself, at any rate - as if he hasn’t been wanting them in the night, as if he doesn’t welcome the opportunity to further test the waters of his attraction, to seek reciprocation.

Admittedly, it’s not the first time they’ve kissed - he remembers that night in the inn, where he’d used that very action to prove his loyalty.

But this is far different, and as there is no way for the two Shinobi - powerful and stealthy as they both are - to disappear from the cemetery before the approaching nightguards spy them, he acts on sheer impulse and desire.

“Forgive me, My Lord.”

In one swift movement, Kabuto lifts Orochimaru off the ground, propping them up on a flat headstone before pressing his lips against theirs in a deep kiss.

Kabuto rubs their back with one hand, the other teasingly touching an inner thigh - the DNA samples the pair have been collecting hidden behind the Sannin as the impromptu make out session begins to get rather heated, as he groans against their lips, forever finding their tongue, their fangs, their face and body and being so very enticing -

But then, the door of the mausoleum opens, and for a tense moment, he wonders whether they’ll be recognized -

Only for a guard to scoff, to shout something about “It’s just two idiots fooling around!” before demanding that they vacate the premises.

“Sorry, sir,” Kabuto says, putting a slur in his voice that implies drunkenness, even if he’s very sober. “I just can’t keep my hands off my pretty girl ~”

“Yeah, yeah. Get lost. This place is closed.”

[raichoose-moved]

parent and child picrew!

Just a concept for Kabuto and @dokuhebi’s Orochimaru’s daughter, Nono! I picture her looking a lot like Oro, but with Kabu’s fluffy hair and vision.

[raichoose-moved]

prompts for specific scenarios that make me chef’s kiss - Not Accepting 

@vipcridae​​ asked: 10) one muse has been brainwashed and the other one refuses to hurt them,  trying to bring them back with a gentle touch. //kabu

Thank you! Please ask before continuing.

He’s terrified, but this is neither the time nor the place to let it show. That Orochimaru could have been so overpowered by a Jutsu as to effectively have their own desires and beliefs overwritten - that their enemy could be so vile as to force the Sannin to attack him -

“Please!” he shouts, fighting back only in self-defense, not wanting to hurt them anymore than necessary to snap them out of their feral trance. “Orochimaru, it’s me! You know me! This isn’t you!”

He knows what he must sound like - perhaps an onlooker would find him pathetic, for as hellbent as he is on pleading and begging and fighting for the return of his lover’s sound mind, he’s too scared to go too far - but he can’t help it. The days of Kabuto having just an uneasy alliance with Orochimaru are long over. There’s a real bond between them, genuine love, the type of affection and care neither of them have felt previously -

But that’s not the only thing that stops him from going all out, as he would have done with someone who matters less to him. 

Truthfully, this all reminds him too much of Nono.

And if he loses them the way he lost his mother, with a Chakra Scalpel slamming into a loved one who’s too brainwashed to recognize him ... He knows he won’t be able to survive. 

“Don’t let them win! You’re stronger than this!” Kabuto dodges a blow, lunges forward to grab ahold of their hands - something to try and slow their barrage of strikes, to get them to listen. “It’s me! I helped you start Otogakure, I spied on organizations and villages for you, I healed you countless times, I stayed by your side when the Third Hokage cursed you! I’m in love with you! Snap out of it!”

And then, something truly risky -

Kabuto tugs Orochimaru into an embrace.

“I don’t want to hurt you, and I know you don’t want to hurt me, not deep down. What happened to that powerful will of yours, that beautiful mind? What happened to the one Shinobi not even Konoha can control? Come on, Cherry Blossom - fight this!”

A nickname he’s only ever used for them. 

He takes advantage of the pause in their forced battle to suddenly pull away, then lunge forward, trying to pin them down.

“Look at me. Look at me and remember who I am!” 

[raichoose-moved]

PLATONIC TOUCH - Not Accepting

@vipcridae​ asked: Looping their arm around mine’s waist and leaning against mine’s back //kabu

Thank you! Please ask before continuing.

The sun sets over Otogakure, and Kabuto watches the oranges and pinks of the sky from where he stands in the garden. Technically, he’s meant to be watering a few more plants, but the sheer bliss of his time here prompts him to pause, to just bask in the life he loves.

 He’s glad he’s come back here - it’s home.

(For is home not where the heart is?)

Orochimaru’s footsteps are silent, cat-like, particularly on the pleasant paths of the garden - but Kabuto has lived with them for so long that he just knows when they’re approaching. As they loop their arms around his waist, leaning against his back, he sighs contently.

“I love you, Hebi.” He turns around in their arms, fully embracing his spouse. “Want to help me finish up here so we can go for a walk? It’s too nice out to go back inside ... ”

[raichoose-moved]

Bruise Meme - Not Accepting

@vipcridae​ asked: “It’s nothing.” //Kabu

Thank you! Please ask before continuing. 

He takes their arm, intent on preventing them from leaving. He’s an accomplished medic, yes, but Kabuto doesn’t need a trained eye to recognize bruising.

“That doesn’t look like nothing. What happened? - And don’t tell me it was a training accident, because I’m certain you would have just said so if it was.”

He sounds stern, uncompromising, but it’s all born from worry. Ever since Orochimaru and Kabuto had decided to rekindle their past relationship, he’s been nervous, overprotective ...

... Intent on keeping them safe, no matter the threat.

“Tell me. Please.” His voice softens. “No more secrets, remember? Let me help you ... ” 

[raichoose-moved]

Yearning / Devotion - Accepting

@vipcridae​​ asked: ❝I’d choose you; in a hundred lifetimes, in a hundred worlds, in any version of reality, I’d find you and I’d choose you. ❞ //kabu

Thank you! Please ask before continuing.

He’s starting to cry as Orochimaru speaks - because his immortal partner is telling him that they will always choose him, no matter the lifetime, no matter the world, no matter the reality. 

“Oh, Hebi ... I feel the same.”

Kabuto kisses them, smiling against their lips even as tears of joy stain his cheeks. “I can’t say it any better than you did, so allow me to repeat it back to you, my love.”

He scoops them up, cradling them against his chest in a manner both gentle and secure. “I’d choose you. In a hundred lifetimes, in a hundred worlds, in any version of reality, I’d find you and I’d choose you. And I - I want to choose you. I have chosen you. It’s why I - I was going to plan for this, actually, and the ring’s still in my nightstand, but what you said was just ... It means so much to me. You mean so much to me! You’re perfect for me, and I adore you so much that I - You know, I want eternity with you as your husband. Will you - Orochimaru, will you marry me? So that we can go through all these worlds and lifetimes and realities side-by-side?”

Perhaps it’s an impromptu proposal, but Kabuto’s heart is brimming with so much love for his Orochimaru that he can’t keep the question inside any longer.