A/N: Enjoy, and remember to—

Keep An Open Mind

"She did what?"

"Oh, are you deaf as well as stupid? No problem, I can repeat it. She did that."

"I just… are you sure? Nah, you gotta be lying—there's no way she would ever—"

"She would, and she did. Told you, she was eager to please, ready to do anything I wanted, I could probably get her to do it again, too."

"There's just no way. Sakura-chan wouldn't… not that, and damn sure not with you. I can't even see her doing it!"

"Of course you can't, idiot, and you won't. The image you have of her, that's for everyone, but me? I get the behind-the-scenes version when we're alone. Once those doors close, she's one word in its entirety: insatiable. I barely had to persuade her, I just mentioned it in passing, just to gauge her reaction, and she was more than happy to oblige."

"So… but I mean… how do I get there?"

"Get there what?"

"You know what I'm talkin' about, you raven-haired ass—how do I, uh… get to the thing? Get her to do the thing?"

"I still don't… oh. Ohhh. The thing. The thing you've been talking to me for months about trying with her. Wait, don't tell me you still haven't even bothered asking her yet?"

"Er, no?"

"Well, sounds like the real problem is just you being a coward, don't you think? You'll never know what she's willing to do if you can't even get the courage to ask."

"Firstly, bite me. Second, you make that sound so simple, but what I wanna do is so… so weird and—"

"It's really not, at least compared to what Sakura let me do last night. That's why she's not at school today."

"Wow. That's, uh… that's pretty drastic, ain't it?"

"It's not called "drastic", you coward. It's called being open-minded. Look, that's your girl, just ask her, she can only say 'yay' or 'nay'."

"I… you know what, that makes sense, which kinda makes me not wanna do it since you're the one who said it."

"I always make sense, you just lack it. Let me know how it goes, though—second period is starting and I have to hand in Sakura's absent letter before she gets a demerit."

By the end of the day, Sasuke's words were still flitting about Naruto's mind, even as he leaned against the gate that led to Konoha High. His face was scrunched up in thought, barely able to return the farewell waves his friends gave him as they passed amidst a throng of students happy that the day was finally over; because on the surface it seemed so simple: he had something that he really wanted to try with his girlfriend, a fantasy that he had been toying with and refining within the confines of his head for the better part of a year, but his gut was adamantly telling him that not only would he be summarily rejected, she would come to see him as little more than a gross freak and break up with him.

Granted, they had been dating for the past three years, but still… and then he thought about what Sasuke had done to Sakura, marveling how he had convinced her to do that… because first of all, there was no way in this land or the next that his girlfriend would do that, but knowing that Sakura had done it—done it the point where she couldn't even make it to school the next day.

"Thaaaat's pretty fuckin' crazy…."

Brow furrowed, Naruto bit into his lip. His stomach was in knots replaying how he would ask over a dozen times in his head and no matter how he said it, no matter which combination of words he threw out and with what inflection, the degree of how he was shot down ranged between comical to absolutely furious, but they all ended with rejection nonetheless.

When he started to sweat, it had nothing to do with the burning orange disc in the sky unburdened by clouds or the fact that it was a gloriously humid day and everything to do with the nerves twisting at his insides, the snide voice in the back of his head telling him that his girl was not Sakura, that she possessed more class and more poise than that pink-haired harlot, and would never debase herself by complying with his sordid request.

Or.

OR.

Maybe…? Maybe once Naruto explained to her how much it mean would to him? Did he even possess a vocabulary vast enough to get it out properly when he was struggling on how to simply ask in the first place? Maybe if he pulled out his best puppy-dog expression? Nah, she was immune to that after so long; any agreement gained from it was more out of pity than anything. Well, what about a full-body massage? No, those weren't as special when he already did them almost every day. Maybe if he promised to bring her lunch for the next month? That one had the best chance of success if he wanted to get laughed at and flat-out rejected on the spot, because they both knew he couldn't cook much paste ramen—but hey, the thought was there, right? Effort had to garner some positive points, didn't it?

Forcing a blast of determined air through his flared nostrils, Naruto gave a firm nod. "Alright! Enough thinking!" he declared to the sky, clenching his hands in front of him. "I don't care what happens—she's gonna say yes! She's gonna say yes 'cause I said so there's nothing she can do about it!"

"What do I apparently have no choice but to say "yes" to, Naruto-kun?"

The voice that echoed from behind him, that soft coo of regality sprinkled with amusement, caused Naruto to pitch forward so violently that he almost hit the ground. He caught himself mid-fall and clumsily whirled around to see his girlfriend standing there, one hand resting on her tilted hips and sporting a quaint smirk toward his erratic behavior.

Damn. Even after three years together, just the sight of her was still enough to set his heart ablaze in the best way. Problems didn't seem so problematic, worries didn't weigh as heavily on his shoulders, and his anxiety dropped significantly when she was around—even if right now, he could feel himself beginning to blush like mad as she stepped forward with a refined elegance, one foot after another until she had to incline her head somewhat to look him in the eye.

How she managed to come across so much more intimidating when she was almost a good half a foot shorter would forever boggle Naruto's mind and he could do nothing but offer up a nervous swallow when she lifted a finger and began tracing a heart on his chest.

"Did you have a good day today?" she questioned sweetly.

He nodded stiffly, like he had a crick in his neck. "I, uh.. i-it was a… you know… a day," he finished lamely.

The giggle that left her almost buckled his knees and he had to wonder if the looming question he was still trying to work out in his mind was making him extra sensitive to her everything right now, because all though he remained just as enamored with his girlfriend as the day they first started going out, it was giving him heart palpitations just trying to make simple eye contact.

And there wasn't a doubt in his mind that she hadn't picked up on that, given the way she was cutely swerving her head in every direction he tried to look, getting up on her tippy-toes to try to catch his gaze. She was just amazingly intuitive like that… or he was just that obvious with it.

A couple of students either chuckled or merely shook their heads at the pair in passing because everyone in the whole school knew that although Naruto was the loudest, most havoc-causing nuisance to ever walk the halls of Konoha High, there was only one person who could calm him down and get him to act right. And it was the girl with her hands clasped behind her back, stretching up as far as she could go and enjoying the anxiety she seemed to be causing him.

Deciding to take it easy, she took him by the hand and, with a gentle tug, began leading them down the road. "So," she started conversationally once Naruto had managed to calm down somewhat, "what was it that I would have no choice but to go along with?"

And there it was again, the uptick in his heartbeat that nearly caused him to black out, but Naruto passed it off with a wry chuckle, scratching behind his head with his free hand. "Oh, uh… I w-was just talking to myself, I do that a lot… wasn't nothing really important," he shrugged.

"Nothing important," she repeated after him slowly, clearly suspicious, "but important enough for you to yell it to the heavens—"

"No, see, I was just… just practicin' my singin'," Naruto spoke quickly, he could just about kick himself. That was nothing more than a case of his mouth speaking before his brain could catch up and review his words because even to his ears the lie was insultingly apparent.

And if it was obvious to him, it was double obvious to the girl at his side, the girl who quirked an eyebrow and proceeded to glance around like she couldn't comprehend who he was talking to, trying to convince with that excuse, because it damn sure wasn't her.

"Funny, I don't see anyone else," she mused, turning back to him with a slight frown that did nothing but melt his heart, "but I also know you weren't talking to me just then. Right, Naruto-kun?"

Either he said "no" and suffered a scolding for lying or he said "yes" and suffered a scolding for thinking she would be dense enough to accept that. Damned if he did, damned if he didn't, so Naruto merely came to a stop next to a shopping outlet displaying outfits for the coming summer and inhaled, extending his chest, only to exhale with a defeated flare.

This wasn't exactly the time or the place where he wanted to have this conversation—mostly because so far as he managed to plan it out, he wanted to wait until their usual weekend date to ask, preferably after feeding her and showing her a good time, hoping that would grease some wheels—but she was clearly not going to let this go judging by the way she was borderline glaring up at him, those adorably opaque eyes narrowing with all the intensity of a hawk.

Almost as if she could sense the way he teetered on the edge of defeatism and was ready to deal the finishing blow, she took her hand back, crossed her arms moodily, tilted her hips with an exaggerated flair, and set to tapping her foot. Just like the both of them knew Naruto couldn't cook for beans, they both knew that she was the farthest thing from annoyed, or angry or upset; it was just another well known fact that when she got pouty, there was virtually nothing Naruto could do against that onslaught of sexiness.

"Oh, that's so fuckin' unfair," he groaned, vehemently trying to look anywhere else yet unable to keep his eyes off his girlfriend for more than a few seconds at a time, and each pass only saw his defenses crumble further and further until—"FINE!" He threw his arms up in aggravation. "I'll tell you! Okay? I'll tell you, I promise—just… c'mon, stop lookin' like that…."

The shift in her demeanor was so quick there was little Naruto could do but laugh when she graced him with a victoriously cute smile, once more getting up on her tip-toes to kiss him over the cheek. "There's my good boy," she whispered in his ear, causing his entire face to flush red. "You can tell me when we get to my house, okay? Give you some time to work out just what you want to ask."

The fact that she knew he was having trouble with what he wanted to say didn't go unnoticed and Naruto graciously nodded. His girlfriend was so awesome and understanding, she knew stuff like this had the tendency to leave him tongue-tied. Oh sure, he excelled at fighting—everyone at school knew his hands were blessed—but when it came down to expressing himself? Trying to get out exactly what he was feeling at the time?

It was one of the rare fights he couldn't win.

So they walked, and she talked, and he listened. He listened to her talk about her day, what she learned, who she saw… because even though he couldn't give a rats ass about what happened at school, it was simply the pleasure of hearing her speak with that melodious voice that had him not only invested, but asking follow-up questions. He couldn't care less that Ino had gotten a question wrong that the two of them had just discussed prior to class, but Naruto loved listening to her explain the convoluted answer.

The whole walk really helped his mental. True, when he looked at it logically it really was as easy as that bastard Sasuke claimed it was, just asking a question, but even before dating him, Sakura was known to be a bit of a wild one, so when Sasuke asked her to do that it was already well within her realm.

His girl, though? This dainty girl who Naruto had never even heard raise her voice once? This curvy girl with the body so damn sinful it was partly the reason why he received a fair amount of hate at school? This literal princess who, for some extraterrestrial reason that still eluded everyone, found him to be so worth her time that she deigned to accept his hand when he offered it to her?

When he suddenly could no longer hear the distinctive sound of her footsteps, the absence jarred Naruto back to the present and he glanced around, stunned to find himself outside the imposing main gate that led down the ridiculously long driveway to her family's estate. It sat there on the horizon, a cluster of buildings joined to make a mansion the likes of which Naruto had only ever read about. Because she came from a very prestigious family. Because of course she did.

And he wasn't allowed on the premises.

Because of course he wasn't.

It was something she was working on, soothing the matter over with her father, even though Naruto had very little faith in anything about his existence being good enough for her in any capacity. The truth of that didn't even phase him, nowhere near as much as it utterly annoyed her, because Naruto already knew he was living a fairy tale dream simply by dating her, like the vagabond would ever be accepted by the princess' family.

Still… when she turned to him with that beatific face, her eyes closing with the warmth of her smile, he quickly found that none of that mattered. None of what anybody thought of their relationship mattered. Because he wasn't dating them. He was dating her. And as long as whatever brain ailment that so obviously plagued her continued to do its job and cause her to love him, he was okay with that.

"Naruto-kun…? What's so funny?" she asked, sincerely confused when he started laughing out of nowhere, but he waved her question off.

"N-nothing, nothing, just… I'm just stupid, that's all," he chuckled, calming himself down with a few deep breaths.

The wind kicked up when she giggled along with him, shaking her head with a loving sigh. "You're not stupid, you're goofy, there's a difference," she corrected gently, using a hand to tuck a wayward strand of her lengthy dark blue hair behind her ear. "Are we clear?"

"Yes, ma'am, as crystal," and when Naruto snapped into an oddly professional salute, she only rolled her eyes with a very inherent kind of patience.

"At ease, my little soldier. Now, what did you want to tell me?" She stepped closer. "Did you get it all together in your head? Feeling confident about it?"

Amazing, how she was encouraging him to ask her something that she already knew he had every intention of forcing her to agree with—but that was just her, wasn't it? Ever helpful, his princess. She had no earthly clue what it was that he was going to ask, but trusted him so completely that it didn't matter if the option to deny it was stripped from her.

"Okay, uh… Hinata-chan," he began with a steadying inhale, and he took both of her delicate hands in his and gave them a squeeze that was more for himself than anything. "So I was thinking and, er, you know—I love—would love, actually, 'cause I bet it'd feel so good, but you'd probably hate me for it and I don't want you to hate 'cause you're the best thing that's happened to me since the invention of ramen and that was before I was born so I know I can't do this without you and of course I can't but what if it's painful and I hurt you 'cause then I'd never forgive myself and your cousin Neji would fuck me up sixty-four ways to Sunday and—"

It was painfully apparent that Naruto had slipped into a ramble comprised of all of his doubt and worry, so as she normally did, Hinata merely craned her neck, pressing her lips to his.

Fire. That's what it felt like when she kissed him, whenever she kissed him, just roaring flames of pleasure that originated from the softness of her lips and surged through every chakra point he possessed, imbuing him with a fortifying strength that made him feel like he could take on the whole world. And win. That was the strength of her love, that he felt coursing through their point of contact; she was telling him through touch to take his time, that she wasn't going anywhere, that whatever he had to ask, she would love him just the same when he got it out.

When she eventually broke their embrace, instead of going through the usual motions of loss and immediately craving more, Naruto nearly lost consciousness when she flicked his top lip with that slick, pink tongue of hers. He started to tilt backwards and would have fallen clean over like a chopped tree if not for the fact that he was still holding her hands and she increased her grip to keep him steady.

"Focus up, you," she admonished with a teasing wink, "that was just some motivation."

That was the first time in their whole three years together that Hinata had done something so… so… Naruto couldn't even find the word for it… sexy? Was that it? Probably. It was such an acute contrast to her normally docile demeanor that he didn't know how to process it, but his heart was racing a mile a minute now, he could hear it throbbing just between his ears—

"Hinata-chan, I wanna throat fuck you."

The words that left his lips were so far and away from how he originally planned to utter them that for a second that might have lasted an eternity, while Hinata's eyes slowly widened, Naruto's self-conscious ejected itself from reality and he began to idly wonder just how badly he was going to be die once Hinata told her family what he had just said.

Life hadn't been bad, he figured. True, it hadn't been very great either, but bad? Nah. He had made some pretty decent friends here and there along the way, Sasuke and Shikamaru and Kiba, to name a few reliable ones, and for better or worse, a lot of people knew his name. Sure, his dream of becoming the greatest principal ever and getting his face put up there on Principal Rock with the other ones was now destined to wither away against the four winds once the Hyuga family got ahold of him, but at least—

"Okay."

—at least hopefully he had inspired another student somewhere else to follow in his footsteps and… and wait—what?

Naruto didn't know just how nauseous he had become until he returned to his body, the airy, dopey expression across his face morphing into bewilderment. He zeroed in on Hinata's face to see she her cheeks were flushed pink and… she was smiling at him?

"Whoa, whoa, what…?" He inched closed without realizing, nearly bringing her hands to his chest. "Hinata-chan, d-did you just—"

"Well, you did say earlier that I'd have to say yes, didn't you? That there was nothing I could do about it..." She had whispered it out coyly, and for the second time, she licked at his lip, although this time was slower, with more purpose, to the point where he could feel the saliva left behind and subconsciously ran his own tongue over his lips to taste. "I'm fine with whatever you want to do to me, Naruto-kun."

There was something heated in her featureless eyes, and the longer he stared, the more pronounced it became; it was something he had never noticed before, or maybe he was just as daft as everyone claimed he was and it had always been there, spurred to the forefront by his demand for the first time.

A part of Naruto was yelling at him to retreat, that this was all a trick of some sort, that there was no way this could be happening, not for him—it was the part that revered Hinata like the princess she was, unable to fathom sullying her… but there was another part… a deeper, carnal part of himself that was beginning to see Hinata as a woman, a very needy woman judging by the way she was slowly swaying her hips side to side almost as if she were trying to entrance him by motion alone.

"M… maybe I've been too gentle with you," he found himself murmuring, following his gut and the words it gave him to say, and the way Hinata's eyes lit up with rapture, the way she suddenly bit into her bottom lip—

"Maybe you have, Naruto-kun," she got out almost breathlessly, and it was as if the world no longer existed, like it just melted away leaving only the two of them standing on the precipice of uncovering something forbidden yet so tantalizing. "Maybe you…" She paused, lowering her gaze, and for a moment, Naruto thought she might revert back into the Hinata everyone knew her as, but no, she shook her head so minutely that he almost missed it and continued with, "Maybe you should punish me…."

It was the firmest Naruto could remember ever grabbing her, the way he took Hinata's chin between his thumb and forefinger and tilted her head back up so she couldn't escape his uncharacteristically focused eye. "Punish your throat," he corrected, and when she nodded, he would swear he heard her whimper a little, eager to receive.

And suddenly, it all made sense… that dribble Sasuke was talking about earlier. This, this right here, this Hinata he had by the chin, who was staring at him with more longing and need than she ever had, was the image of her that only he would have the privilege to see. It was the version of Hinata that would do anything he asked, no matter how filthy or embarrassing.

This was it.

It sparked off something within Naruto, something he didn't know existed but could feel it uncoiling at a rapid pace, taking over, shoving all of his previous inhibitions and worry into the corner where they belonged. It propelled him to withdraw his fingers, yet Hinata barely had a second to look confused, and slightly crestfallen, before he snapped a hand around her throat.

The expression that Naruto saw grace her regal face would forever be engraved in his memory, the way her eyes rolled upwards, the way she gnawed into her bottom lip and gave the naughtiest smile he had ever witnessed, the way her legs clenched together—did she just moan…?

Heeding that sensation boiling in his gut, Naruto brought her closer, placing his lips next to her ear. "I'm going to suffocate you with my dick until the tears flow and you're going to enjoy it," he hissed, and it was jarring, hearing those reckless words rumble forth with his voice, but they did, and Hinata shivered in his grip, nodding as best she could.

"I will…."

Before Naruto could do anything else, before he could fully wrap his mind around this turn of events and where it might lead the both of them, he heard something heavy thud to the ground and looked over to Neji and Tenten standing there, having just rounded the corner.

The disruptive noise had been Neji's backpack sliding off his shoulder.

"Ah… I, uh… th-this isn't—look, h-hold on—"

Talking was a moot point, no matter how valiantly Naruto's lips floundered for something, anything, to say; it was as if his brain had just sputtered and died, leaving him to fend for himself. There was only unbroken eye contact while the most eerily still silence filled the air, only broken by the strangled sounds of Hinata happily struggling to breathe. Naruto's grip had unknowingly increased in the quiet and she didn't mind in the slightest, so at ease with every little thing that she glanced over at her shellshocked cousin and managed a weak wave, unable to speak due to obvious reasons.

"Hinata-sama, what… what's going on? Why is Naruto…?" Neji struggled to get out, but next to him, not only had Tenten read the situation in an instant, she had lapsed into a fit of silent giggles, one hand clamped tight over her mouth.

"Neji, dude, wait," Naruto rushed, extending a hand, "l-look, before you do anything drastic, hear me out, I was just—"

It wasn't until Hinata let loose a particularly forceful grunt of pleasure that Naruto realized he was still choking her and snatched his hand back like he had been struck by lightning. Giggling like a drunkard, Hinata stumbled into his chest, glancing up at him with eyes that were struggling to focus yet undeniably pleased.

"Sh-shall we continue at your house, Naruto-kun?" she questioned casually, clearly not feeling the same level of horror that was causing the color to drain from Naruto's face.

"H-Hinata-chan—wait, not now—"

"No, not his place," Neji cut in tersely, and his voice shook with an unholy rage as he cracked his knuckles, those daunting white eyes narrowing into slits, "you can continue whatever this was in heaven. Naruto, I'll send you there first."

"Just let me explain!"

"Oh, please do," Tenten snorted, entirely amused as she grabbed Neji by the back of his shirt to keep him from stalking forward, "I'd love to hear this one."

Hinata suddenly threw her arms around the frazzled blonde in a nuzzling hug and without a shred of hesitation said, "Naruto-kun is going to use my throat to his hearts content."

Naruto froze.

Neji blinked.

Tenten fell over laughing.

And with nothing holding Neji back, he leapt like a cheetah.

"NARUTO!"

"WAIT WAIT WAIT—HINATA-CHAN LET GO FOR A—NEJI WAIT!"

"Ahahahaha—c'mon, Neji-kun, don't kill him, keep an open mind!"

End