The Secret

"I'm leaving," Keiko announced, grabbing the discarded bikini from the side of the pool and somehow managing to get it back on. She could feel her face burning with humiliation. How in the hell could she let this happen? Before going inside, she stopped to talk to Shikamaru. She stood in front of the dark haired teenager who eyed her appreciatively. "You know how to keep a secret, right Shika?"

"Yes, ma'am. I do," he responded, looking her over again.

"Stop looking at me like that or I'll poke your eyes out. Sweetie, I'll have lunch ready soon," she informed Naruto as if nothing had happened. She was trying to pretend it hadn't. "You're welcome to stay if you'd like," she told Shikamaru who could not stop staring. She took a deep breath with the realization the boy probably would have found out about the relationship anyway whether Naruto told him or by stumbling upon it like he had.

"I imagine he's worked up quite an appetite," he dared to joke, smiling broadly when her eyes narrowed with anger. His smile disappeared when she gave him a hard shove into the pool. A girlish scream echoed across their backyard when he quickly resurfaced.

"Don't mess with me, you little prick. I would threaten to bend you over my knee and spank you but you'd probably like that," she snarled, sticking her nose in the air and trotting off with what small amount of dignity she had left.

"Dude, I'm in love with our mom," Shikamaru laughed.

"Seriously though. Don't tell anyone," Naruto said, the laughter dying away instantly. His eyes held a thinly veiled threat of violence if something should be said.

"I wouldn't. You know I'm too damn lazy to spread gossip. Besides, I'm thinking the more secrets I keep, the more you will tell me. I'd rather hear about sex than do it," he admitted.

"How in the hell have you ever gotten laid?" the curious blond asked, sincerely wanting to know. He could not understand the concept of a male being so lethargic that he would not even have sex.

"I just let them do all the work. If they want it, they can have it. They just better not expect me to do anything," he said, leaning against the side of the pool. "Don't worry about it. Your secret is safe with me. Saying something would be too troublesome."

Keiko was in her office later going over some patients' files when Naruto walked in. She watched him over her glasses as he lay down on the couch and made himself comfortable, casually putting his hands behind his head while he stared at the ceiling.

"Can we talk about this?" he asked.

"All right. What would you like to say?" she queried, folding her hands together and placing them under her chin. This was her official 'I'm listening' gesture she used with her patients. She could not help herself; she was sitting at her desk and he was on her couch so it was just too easy to slip into doctor mode.

"I don't regret it. Do you?" he inquired, turning his big blue eyes on her.

Keiko sighed heavily as she looked into those pleading, puppy dog eyes that had always been her weakness. "In a way, yes. I regret it because it was just wrong. Whether you know it or not, those kinds of things leave psychological damage. I don't regret it because you were damn good." She could not help but notice the huge grin on his face before he turned his head to stare at the ceiling again. She stood up from her desk, walking over to him. "I know I didn't give birth to you, but you're still my son. I have known you as that for the past eleven years."

"Relationships change. Why can't ours?" he inquired, putting his arms around her waist to prevent her from getting up.

"Do you realize how many boundaries we crossed?" she demanded, her eyes flying open wide.

"Only cultural boundaries. Hell, in some cultures it's accepted. And definitely nothing legal. I'm old enough and technically I'm not really your son so what's the big deal?" he asked, attempting to look her in the eyes but she avoided his gaze.

"You should be a lawyer someday," she snapped. "Well, damn, I guess it's my own personal boundaries. My sense of right and wrong," Keiko muttered, still refusing to look at him

"Think about how I made you feel," he murmured, sitting up and bringing his face close to hers. "How has my father violated your sense of right and wrong? What about that, hm?"

"Don't be cruel," she whispered, feeling as if he had stabbed her in the heart.

"I'm not trying to be. I'm just trying to get you to see what we did wasn't wrong. We've both been hurt and abandoned by my father. Therefore, that makes me the man of the house, right? All we have left is each other. Shouldn't we hold onto to each other?" He paused to run his fingers through her hair and move closer to her until his nose grazed hers. "Why is it wrong to comfort each other?" He kissed her briefly, twisting her long hair around his fingers. "To love each other."

Holy hell! How did this kid become such a lothario? How many little girls' panties has he made fall off with that silver tongue of his? Keiko moaned as he pressed his lips against hers, kissing her like a grown man would a woman. She had to keep reminding herself that he was not a little kid anymore. He certainly did not look like one, and he was not going to act like one either. He was the man of the house now because his father forfeited the position.

"No more, okay. We need to let this thing die down and leave it dead. We can't do this again," she said in a low weak voice that did not even convince of her of what she had said. She pushed him back when he moved to kiss her again. "Please, no more."

"You don't mean that," he whispered, pulling her back to him to kiss her.

He was right. She didn't mean it. Keiko slid her fingers through his hair holding his lips firmly to hers. Tears slid from the corners of her eyes and down her cheeks, wetting his face as he moved his lips against hers.

"Why are you crying?" he asked, kissing away the tears.

"It still hurts. How could he leave us? I loved him." She buried her face in the soft, dark blue t shirt he was wearing.

"I'll never leave you. I'll never make you cry," he promised her. "I love you."

Later that night Keiko lay in bed crying again. Some days were worse than others and apparently today was one of the bad days. Today had been an emotionally trying day all the way around. When would the hurt stop? How long does it take to heal a broken heart? It made her angry that she did not know. She was a psychologist, and she was supposed to know these things. She was supposed to be able to help people heal their emotional wounds and get over their past hurts. Why couldn't she heal herself? A soft knock at her bedroom door surprised her.

"Mom?" Naruto called.

Her gut tightened so intensely she almost felt sick when he had called her that. "Come in, Sweetie," she called back.

"I heard you crying again. Can I come lay with you?" he asked, standing at the door wearing a pair of sleep pants but no shirt.

"Come on," she said, holding back the covers to invite him in like she did when he was little and was scared by a thunderstorm or a nightmare. She held her breath while he lay down next to her, pulling her into his arms. Her cheek was pressed against his smooth, hard chest while his arms enclosed her body. She felt like the child who needed to be soothed from a nightmare tonight.

Naruto buried his face in her soft brown hair. He had always loved that scent of papayas and oranges because it was so fresh and clean – and her. He had loved her from the moment she had shown up on their doorstep. Her brown eyes had captured him; they were like his dad's so loving and tender when she looked at him. His dad – that bastard. Rage flooded his body at the thought of the man who had broken their hearts and turned their lives upside down. How could do that to them?

"Sweetie, don't think about him," Keiko whispered after feeling his whole body stiffen and hearing his breathing become hard.

"You still cry. Why can't I be angry? It's been so long yet he can still make you cry," he grumbled, kissing her forehead as he tightened his arms around her. "I hate him. I hate him for what he's done. Selfish asshole."

"Naruto, don't. Your father just had some hurts that no one could heal and that's what drove him to do what he did," she explained in a clinical manner.

"How can you make excuses for him?" he growled.

"I guess because it makes me feel better. If I feel sorry for him, I can't hate him," she sniffed, turning her face into his chest. "Do you think Shika will tell our secret?"

"No. He won't. I'm sure of it," Naruto said, stroking her hair. He tilted her chin up to kiss her. Nothing felt wrong about this to him. As a matter of fact, when he touched her like this, his world was suddenly all right.

"I'll let you stay if you just hold me," she said, turning to put her back against him.

"I can do that. Do you love me?"

"Of course I do. I always have."

With a smile on his face, Naruto snuggled into her, falling asleep with her held tightly against him.