Broken

Chapter 13: Counting the Days

Naruto stared at the rain-streaked window that was in the living room – one of them anyway. It started raining when they were making breakfast and hasn't let up yet. He even watched Itachi run out to the car because there was a window down from the other day. Sighing, he turned around and watched the movie that Gaara chose to watch – House of Flying Daggers. He wasn't sure why his friend had an obsession of foreign movies

Then again, he was obsessed over Ichiraku ramen and gardening. He never really told anyone about his little green thumb but it helped him calm down after something annoying. Getting up with a pillow in hand, he laid down on the floor to get comfort for the movie.

Itachi was curled up in a chair with a pillow in case his neck started to hurt or something along those lines. He knew that the older man broke his wrist during a baseball game but that was about it. Hinata and Gaara were on the couch, curled up next to each other.

Lowering his gaze as the movie started, he looked up to see the credits roll onto the screen. Perking up, he knew there was popcorn in one of the cabinets. "Does anyone want some popcorn?"

"Sure." Hinata chimed for everyone while the other two guys in the room nodded.

Getting up, he walked across the room quickly to get out of everyone's way and into the smaller room that was simple. Opening a cabinet, he started to search for the box that had popcorn written on it. Sighing with a pout, he started to go through the higher shelves while he stood on his tippy toes.

"Let me help you." Itachi's voice came out of nowhere as the pale hand and arm of the man helped him push things out of the way.

Naruto hated the fact that the room was a little too tall for him – including the wall cabinets – to the point that he had to rely on someone else. Standing farther away so he can see what was in the cabinets, the Uzumaki watched the long-haired man pull the box out. Grabbing a couple bags out, he handed them to the blond.

"Thanks Itachi-kun."

"You're welcome." Itachi said as he glanced out into the living room to catch the movie.

"You can go back out there. I can handle this." Naruto suggested while he watched the taller man pop his head in and out of the room for the movie.

"No, I rather help you out." Itachi disagreed as he took in the sound of the popcorn finally popping in the microwave. He missed the popcorn that his mother made when he and his brother were kids. It was homegrown in the garden that they put out against their father's wishes.

Smirking at the thought, he felt the blond's confused stare.

"What's so funny?" Naruto questioned as he continued his stare at the ebony haired man.

"Just remembering something I did with oka-san. It pissed oto-san off." Itachi replied with that smirk on his face as the sounder went off on the microwave and the aroma of popcorn with extra butter filled the air.

Naruto disappeared out of the kitchen and handed the bag to Hinata and Gaara who were enjoying the romance movie. Walking back into the smaller room, he put the last bag into the microwave and started it. Leaning against the counter, the blond stared at the Uchiha. "Do you want your own bag or do you want to split this one?"

Naruto turned to get a bowl but was stopped by the pale hand that was Itachi's. Turning his head, his sapphire eyes stared at the twenty-two-year-old man.

"No, I don't really want either. We can share the bag like Gaara-kun and Hinata-chan." Itachi rejected with his hand retreating and falling to his side. Staring into the sapphire eyes, he shook his head and looked at the sliding door.

Sasuke was sitting with a poncho and umbrella over him so he could text his fling. Why couldn't he stay in his room and do that crap, Itachi wondered then shook his head. His brother wasn't a concern any more with the trouble that he got himself into.

"You sure?" Naruto asked a bit dumbfounded. Staring at the dark clothes wearing man, he blinked. "How can we share a bag when you're in the chair and I'm sitting on the floor?"

"You can always move over there or I can always lay down on the floor next to you." Itachi suggested with a smirk as the microwave started to sound.

Opening the door and grabbing the bag, it popped a few more times before the paper bag fell silent. Looking over at the older man, Naruto nodded. "Fine. Either one. You can choose."

"I'll lay next to you." Itachi answered without thinking. Why did he do that, he wasn't sure. Ever since the blond ran into him with tears in his eyes, he had a soft spot for the hurting high school senior.

Nodding, Naruto walked out of the room and laid down where he was before.

Itachi grabbed the pillow that was laying in the chair and put it on the floor before laying down next to the teen. Glancing over at the blond, he took a handful of popcorn and ate it with a few pieces being put into his mouth. He wasn't a big fan of romance movies anyway but his new friends chose it so he didn't complain.

Everyone heard the door open and close with a slam and the sound of wet feet hitting the floor in the kitchen. Sasuke walked into the room and glared at everyone. The glare seemed to intensify when he saw his own brother and ex laying next to each other. Maybe his use to be boyfriend was cheating on him or his brother was just waiting for a chance for Naruto to become available.

Shaking his head, he stormed out of the room.

"You need to mop that up!" Itachi hollered after his brother, only to receive a door slamming as his answer.

"What crawled up his butt?" Hinata asked, only to hear laughter follow.

"Hinata . . . I'm surprise you actually said that. Oh my!" Naruto laughed before burying his face into the pillow so he wouldn't interrupt the movie. Holding his side, he curled up into a ball with his butt in the air so he wouldn't let anyone hear him.

Itachi chuckled as he saw the blush cover the young woman's face out of the corner of his eye.

Gaara just stared at his girlfriend before taking a bite of popcorn and turned his attention to the movie again.

Naruto finally stopped laughing when the woman in the movie was finally with the male main character. He couldn't remember their names. Taking a bite of popcorn, he stopped chewing and smiled. Pretty soon, in a couple of days, they were going to be heading home and get ready for school. That mean troubles of explaining everything. Shrugging to himself, he turned his attention back to the movie with Itachi by his side.

I've seen House of Flying Daggers before. I've got a little spot for foreign movies and I can just picture Gaara having it also.