Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

AN: What? Another futuristic fic? I know what you're all thinking: "Kit, you've already written a sci-fi SasuNaru story and the future part of it was a bit of a failure." I know and I apologize. Honestly, this was actually the very first sci-fi plot I thought up before "In Your Genes". I thought I would forget about the basic premise of the original story, but nooo. My mind had to keep bothering me about it. While "In Your Genes" was about starting a family and reviving the genetic pool, this one is about…I don't know, getting a life? It's not as far ahead into the future as the other story, and I really do hope they come off differently.

I had intended to keep this a strictly y!gal only story on my account over there, but I've received a couple of requests to bring it over here to FF so I'm finally giving in. I'll let you guys decide on what to think!

Shortcut

"I don't understand…"

"You're a great guy, Naruto, and you're really cute, but…you work at Wal-Mart."

"Wha…so do you!"

"Yeah, but I'm only working here over the summer. You'll be working at Wal-Mart for the rest of your life."

"No, I-"

"Goodbye, Naruto."

Left dumbfounded and alone in the sporting goods aisle of Wal-Mart, Naruto Uzumaki couldn't help but drive his foot into the box of shin guards on the lowest shelf. He groaned when the toe of his custom print Vans pierced the cardboard box and got stuck there.

"That's coming out of your paycheck," a young man around Naruto's age teased as he rounded the corner of the aisle. He kept his hands in the pockets of his black corduroy pants, an obnoxious sense of ease hovering about him as though nothing bad could happen to him. The shelves could be falling like dominos on top of him and he'd still walk away unscratched. "Aren't you supposed to be rounding up baskets in the parking lot instead standing around getting dumped by another girlfriend?"

"Hardy har-har, Sai," Naruto spat the name in distaste. He never did like the guy, ever since he first started working at Wal-Mart fresh out of high school.

He couldn't afford to go to the auto mechanics school in the next town, and the old bastards running all the auto shops in the city wouldn't hire him without a formal education. At least here in Wal-Mart he could run by the tiny repair shop and watch the guys at work during breaks and lunch, though they didn't get much action – only the truly desperate brought their cars to Wal-Mart to be repaired, otherwise they'd head over to a name brand shop or Sears.

That's right, Naruto's childhood dream was to become a mechanic. Laughing matter? Depends on how you looked upon it. While most kids wanted to be policemen or actors or writers (heck, one girl in his eighth grade graduating class had said she wanted to open her own weave shop), Naruto wanted to get his hands dirty inside the motor of a car.

It had started off as an infatuation to look cool and get girls to like him. It worked for the guys in all the 80s movies, so why wouldn't it work for him? All he had to do was wear a white wife beater – or no shirt at all – and old blue jeans with an oily rag sticking out the back pocket.

When he was twelve, he went into the garage of his foster home in the middle of the night and forced open the hood of the 1988 Dodge Caravan. What was laid out before him, Naruto could honestly compare to the first time he saw a woman naked.

He had been nine years old, hiding in the neighbor's tree from one of the other foster kids when the teenage daughter of their neighbor came home from school and decided not to close her blinds before stripping down completely and touching herself. He hadn't been sure what his body was doing in reaction, but it was exciting; heart pounding, palms sweating, heat prickling him from the soles of his feet to his scalp.

All of that happened to him, but ten times stronger, as he stared under the hood of the car.

He remembered blatantly crying out, "what the hell?" How could something so jumbled and confusing move an entire vehicle, not to mention the occupants inside of it? It looked like someone placed giant, misshapen Legos inside the compartment, and then tried to connect them with several wires and tubes. He couldn't even tell what the motor was in this mess. He had to know how it all worked. He had to!

That was how he spent many days for the next eight years of his life. His foster parents had been very supportive, especially the husband who would allow Naruto to help him when it came time to change the air filter or oil. It was a thrilling experience every time, and he looked forward to the old vehicle breaking down just so he could go with his foster father to the repair shop and shadow the mechanics there.

They answered all his questions, some more eager than others that seemed they'd rather have a truck roll over their heads. One bearded man asked Naruto if he was actually considering auto mechanics as a career or if this was just some hobby that would eventually fade. Of course Naruto had excitedly told him it was his dream job. He was fourteen by then, but he didn't understand why the men in the shop had laughed. However, that didn't matter because that was the first time Naruto saw it.

One of the younger mechanics drove it in, and someone helped him chain the wheels to the lift. It was a routine thing, so why should they be stricken with awe like young Naruto was?

Damn, did Freddie Mercury have it right. It sounded foolish to fall in love at first sight, but Naruto would come to find that no other car caught his attention like this one did. He wished he could say that it was some sleek, red sports car with a small body and flames for decals, but that just wasn't the case. Like some pale, cracked shell on a beach, the vehicle could easily be overlooked without a second glance.

Long body, the most rectangular-shaped car Naruto had ever seen. The paint job was a sloppy baby blue, not even waxed, and cracked and chipping in places to reveal a rusty patch of the body. It was a convertible; the top was down to reveal the torn, white leather seats (it looked like someone had angrily slashed it with a blade from the way the stuffing was peeking out). It had an unusually big steering wheel, something only found in vintage cars; not that the size of the wheel was necessary to ind-icate just how old this car was. Scratched wood paneling on the dashboard and inside the doors was about the only thing intact.

"Naruto, ready to go?" his father had placed a hand on his shoulder to usher him out of the enormous garage.

But Naruto wouldn't budge. Not until he found out. "What kind of car is that?" Despite being taught that pointing was impolite, he stilled raised his index finger at the shabby car.

The bearded man that had asked him about his career got up to see what he was talking about. "Let's see…that's a Mustang, manufactured by Ford. Judgin' by the body, I'd say it was made in 1965, but its model is called the 1964 1/2. A real vintage car, they don't make those anymore. Whoever owns that baby has had her for a while."

That was that. Naruto didn't care if he had to sell his soul to Satan himself, he would own a '64 Mustang convertible! A silly dream, but one he's spent the last six years of his life saving up to achieve it. Sure, he wasn't able to splurge money on girlfriends because of his goal, but if they could just understand and be patient with him…

None of them ever did, though. They saw him as a cheap idiot who couldn't get cars off the brain. Why couldn't they see what he saw when he looked at an engine? Always changing, ever evolving, something new coming out every year; something he could always learn from and better himself at. The idea of ethanol fuel made the wheels in his head turn with even greater possibilities of what cars could run on! Not that anyone would listen to him anyway.

Didn't matter. Once he saved up enough money to get his dream car, Naruto was going to be long gone from this place. The girl who just broke up with him had to be his sixth girlfriend this year alone, and she was also the most wrong. Because Naruto wasn't going to work at Wal-Mart for the rest of his life. He refused to. But for now…

He sighed in annoyance as he reached down and pulled the box of shin guards off of his shoe, hopping on one foot in attempt to stay balanced. "Stupid…" he grumbled to himself before kneeling on the linoleum floor and pulling out the rest of the duplicate boxes so he could hide the damaged one in the back. "Do not tell anyone about this."

Sai gave one of his innocent smiles that didn't reach his eyes. "I didn't see a thing." He watched Naruto stand up before approaching him casually. "You seem to have a lot of bad luck with the ladies."

Naruto did not need this pale bastard's sarcastic observations of the obvious. "Yeah, well…who cares about them anyway?"

"That's the spirit." Sai's voice was flat even with the encouraging words. "Don't let them get to you. That's what a friend would say in this situation, right?"

Naruto eyed the other man warily, his shoulders stiffening under the blank gaze. "I guess…"

Sai seemed pleased with himself, but he didn't budge. "Just out of curiosity, have you tried – oh, what's it called – batting for the other team?"

Somehow Naruto knew that he wasn't going to be getting an ordinary pep talk for when a girl dumps you from the weirdest guy to ever walk the planet. In a way he knew Sai was only trying to help, but this guy perpetually made cracks about Naruto not having a penis (which he did have and he was exceptionally proud of its size compared to his lean, but muscular build). To start making gay jokes after the twentieth (twenty might even be an understatement) girl to dump Naruto for his dream revolving around cars…actually intrigued the blond. He was willing to try anything at least once.

"Sorry Sai, but you're not really my type." Naruto teased. While he did prefer girls with dark hair, this guy was just a few marbles short of normal, and Naruto was nearly convinced Sai followed him home once. He was creepy and it was rare for them to get along.

Something like a snort emitted from the pale man, making Naruto's smile fall. "Please, like I would want to go out with a moron."

That was exactly why Naruto didn't like Sai. The conversation starts off nice – border lining supportive in this case – and then he turns around and leaves you flat on your ass with an insult. Before Naruto could even respond, he found himself alone in the sporting goods aisle again. He was certain that Sai had secret passages all throughout the store, and this just proved it.

Well, whatever. His shift would end soon and he could take the bus home. Of course the original plan had been to take his girlfriend to see the new Batman movie after work, but that was obviously not happening now. At least she didn't break up with him after he spent money on her at the theater, which was far more considerate than some of his previous exes.

When it was time to head home, Naruto already had his ear buds blasting Say Anything's "This Is Fucking Ecstasy" as he swiped a Coke Zero from the employee's lounge and headed out the front of the store. He had to step out of the way as a young boy with bushy white hair and red marks jutting from his eyes. The kid could be no older than twelve, and he was being chased by (or racing, Naruto couldn't tell) a girl his age with soft blonde hair pulled up in a puffy ponytail.

He smiled briefly as the two kids ran further into the store before glancing at the bulletin board next to one of the claw machines that was littered with colorful flyers. A lot of them were torn or covered with newer flyers, ones that probably weren't permitted to be there. Usually he only checked the board to see if someone was missing a pet so that he could keep an eye out (although he had yet to find one), but today something else caught his eye.

LONELY?

Naruto snorted. Well that was a good way to get someone's attention. Probably a "service" advertisement, which was prohibited on the boards, and it was up to the employees to take it down and report it when they spotted one. He reached over and plucked the paper from its staple. His smirk faded as he read the flyer. It was a small, white rectangular sheet up paper with plain black Times New Roman font; very inconspicuous for a service ad.

No friends or family to call your own?

BROKE?

Struggling to make it through each day?

We could use people like you.

Here at the White Eye Research Facility, we need people to test the final stages of vaccines before releasing them to the public. If you want to help serve your country in the utmost discreet and inexpensive manner, you won't think twice about this chance. For every shot you receive, you will be paid $500 in full.

Naruto's lips moved as he silently read the address and phone number to himself. He twisted his neck around, checking for anyone watching him. He wasn't sure why he felt apprehensive as he balled up the paper and stuffed it in his pocket as he walked out the automatic doors.

Five hundred dollars…that was a lot of money. To those who had at least 40k in their checking account, five hundred dollars was a mere hour wasted away on eBay buying designer clothes and books for their kindles. To Naruto, five hundred dollars was a hundred meter leap closer to his dream car. And that much for just one shot! If he could handle two, or maybe even three…the possibility of owning a '64 vintage Mustang by the time he turned twenty-one was actually tangible!

He would call this number and set up an appointment for his next day off! Hello dream car, here he comes!

Naruto wasn't sure exactly what he had been expecting when he called the White Eye Research Facility, but…normalcy definitely wasn't it. Perhaps he had expected it to be more open and self-important like a hospital, or maybe even something smaller, but on a busy highway. Definitely not an obscure office space on the side of a rundown strip mall with a family-owned pizza parlor and tiny Starbucks Coffee on each corner of the parking lot. The place was hidden within the bricks on the side of a goodwill store, no windows, not even in the heavy wooden door that was painted the same faded blue as the wall. There was a FOR LEASE sign with a penis and balls etched into it duct taped next to the door, and he stared at it as he stepped into the so-called research facility.

This was really sketchy. Maybe he should leave. The walls inside were covered with fake wood paneling that was peeling. The wall to the far left was actually the outside of a grey cubicle, and it had a narrow gap between where it ended and the next cubicle began on the other side of the room. Could they not refurbish the place or something? If they could afford to give volunteers five hundred dollars, why didn't they spend that money towards getting a better equipped facility?

There were already two people sitting in the only available metal folding chairs by the front desk, both busy filling out some form on clipboards. A woman at a wooden desk that had seen better days was very kind when she instructed him – in an accent that Naruto placed as Cajun French – to provide as much in-depth information as he could on his own form.

He smiled to himself to quash his anxiety as he settled against the wall and slid down until he was sitting cross-legged on the rough, stained carpet that provided no comfort to his ass whatsoever.

Flipping through the form, he nodded to himself. It was what he expected for something like this; how many bones had he broken (five, and a hairline fracture), when his last flu shot was (Wal-Mart provided that evil luxury for its employees), how many partners he'd had since he became sexually active (fourteen…or maybe fifteen…okay, he was being modest; it was probably more like seventeen or eighteen, but he used protection every time and he always got tested!). It always bothered him when these things asked if his parents or other relatives had any kind of mental or hereditary illnesses; he didn't know anything like that, he'd lived in a foster home all his life.

He was on the last page of the form, vaguely wondering where the insurance inquiries were – he figured this place preferred to keep a low key and not risk any kind of law suits. Normally that would worry someone, but what did Naruto care? A little side effect for five hundred dollars was a good deal – when a man that had to be in his early twenties, if not younger, came through the constricted hallway created by the cubicles.

His long, straight brown hair was pulled back in a low ponytail, and he was holding his own clipboard as he studied the three volunteers in the room with lucid white eyes that made Naruto shiver when they settled on him.

"Are you done?" the man suddenly asked him.

While there was no one else sitting near him, Naruto still pointed to himself in question. At the curt nod of confirmation, he stammered with his words. "Uh, well…I think so? I mean, I still have-"

He didn't get a chance to finish, the man turning his back on him. He motioned with his hand for Naruto to follow him and began walking down the hall. Naruto swallowed, scrambling to his feet to catch up to the man. He glanced at the other two occupants waiting and they glared at him. It wasn't like he was purposefully cutting in line. He was just doing as he was told to by the…doctor? What was this guy, anyway? He was wearing a white lab coat, so Naruto supposed doctor was the proper title.

They turned into one of the cubicles so suddenly that Naruto had to take back a step. The cubicle was 6x6 and had a narrow examining table in it, a metal cabinet, a swivel stool and a small, rolling medical table that held a couple of syringes, a jar of cotton balls, a box of disposable latex gloves, and a few other medical devices that looked like normal procedure to Naruto.

"What's your name?" the man asked, holding his hand out to Naruto.

It took him a moment, but he gracelessly handed the doctor his clipboard. "Naruto Uzumaki." He grinned, but it went unseen.

"Sit on the table," The man went through his form quickly while Naruto hopped up on the examining table. "No family?"

Naruto gave a light chuckle, as he usually did whenever his family situation was brought up. He found it made people less uncomfortable while he explained. "Well, yeah. I lived in a foster home all my life. Now I'm twenty, so I'm all on my own."

"Do you keep in touch with your foster family?" the man didn't look at him.

"Nah, I don't want to bother them. They'd been great, so why burden them any further, right?"

This time he did get a look, but it was brief and empty. "What about friends? Anyone we should contact in case of an emergency?"

"None of that. Well…my boss, I guess?" Naruto shrugged.

"Where do you work?"

"Wal-Mart." Was it just Naruto or did this doctor seem dissatisfied?

The doctor flipped back to the part of the form where Naruto had filed out his job description. "You just work in the aisles and collect baskets in the parking lot?"

Now Naruto knew he was disappointed. Well shit, if he had known he'd have to deal with a disgruntled father-figure for a doctor then he wouldn't have signed up for this. "Mister, can we just get this over with? I just want my money, I kinda need it."

"Saving up for college?"

"A car," There was the discontent again. "A model I've wanted since I was a kid. I've been saving up for years." He frowned when he noticed the doctor started writing something down on his form. "It's my dream car."

This time the doctor didn't glance at him with disgruntlement or boredom. At first his expression was pensive, then it morphed into…was that, admiration? "I see…" He scratched out whatever he had just written and started over. "Just curious, what would you say your specialty is? Maybe a hobby or just something you're particularly good at?"

Naruto grinned, straightening his back proudly. "I know my cars. I can fix any kind, just tell me what's wrong with it. I've wanted to be a mechanic since I was a kid, and I've shadowed all the garages in town. My foster father used to come to me first before going to a repair shop when he was having car troubles. In my freshman year of high school, I fixed the car myself and it never broke down once during my remaining years in that home."

Clearly this was a pleasant surprise to the doctor. He wrote some more on Naruto's forum and then set it down on the swivel stool. Naruto leaned forward to see what he had added to his information, but the other man stepped in his line of vision. He wordlessly rolled the small table closer to them and yanked on a pair of blue latex gloves. He gave Naruto a quick onceover, taking his blood pressure and the works that came with a customary checkup. He happily declared Naruto in perfect health.

Naruto peered at the two syringes that were each filled with some pellucid substance. There was no label on either, just a red tab on one and green on the other.

The doctor lifted his left arm between them, and he cleaned the skin on the inside of the elbow with a damp cotton ball before applying just a dab of EMLA numbing cream to the area. He lifted the syringe with the green tab off the table. A soft sigh escaped the man's lips as he deftly placed the tip of the needle to the blue vein beneath tan skin.

Naruto eyed the shot before averting his gaze to concentrated white eyes. "So what's this one for?" He hoped he didn't sound as nervous as he felt. His stomach was knotted with anticipation. He'd gotten shots before with no qualms, and he gave blood once or twice, so he had no idea why red flags were going up in his head. He had to know what his body was about to take in.

"Hm?" the doctor raised an eyebrow, not diverting his eyes or hands.

"The flyer said you'd be testing vaccines? What's this one for?"

The man's mouth formed a small 'o'. He swallowed and said, "It's for the future."

"Huh?"

The needle punctured his skin before the doctor had any time to elaborate. Or at least it looked like the doctor was trying to explain it to him, but the volume of his voice kept decreasing until everything was mute but the droning of the ceiling light and his blood pulsing in his ears. He frowned, blinking several times. When had those other two doctors come in, and why did they all look the same?

He rubbed his eyes, trying to make them focus right, but the darkness from closing them was pleasant to his senses. He wanted to stay there, even if just for a little while. It felt good, peaceful. He could rest easy in this emptiness. The problems of the day were brushed off his shoulders like dust. This darkness was not a bad thing, or it didn't feel that way.

But he couldn't stay too long. He was actually pretty hungry; he had been thinking about ordering a pizza from the Dominos near his house. He could shovel down a small on his own in a matter of minutes. Deep dish sounded great right about now; who cared if it would cost a little extra? He'd be getting five hundred dollars from this little excursion anyway.

Speaking of which, had he passed out or something? He had never fainted from the sight or feel of needles before. Damn, he hoped he wasn't having some chronic allergic reaction to whatever they injected him with. Was he dead? Did he actually die from a vaccine? That would be ironic. What had the guy said the injection was for? The future? He was probably being cryptic and meant something like the future of all mankind. Weirdo.

"…appears he's coming to…"

That was a female voice just now. Oh great, did he actually pass out from the shot and now he had a nurse looking over him? Hopefully she wasn't cute otherwise this would be horrifically embarrassing. He tended to pass gas in his sleep.

"…anks, Hinata…insurance forms…Mr. Uchiha out in..."

Naruto groaned, or at least he tried to but it came out as more of a crackled whimper. His throat was inordinately dry and it burned to simply swallow his own spit, as little as there was. Instead of the incessant blackness that he been experiencing, he became progressively aware of light prickling through his eyelids. Like waking up to the sun's rays breaching the blinds of his bedroom window. His lids split open only slightly, but he had to shut them immediately to the blaring overhead lights. He tried to request for them to be turned off but all that came out was an odd croaking noise.

The corners of his mouth were caked with dried spittle, and his tongue was heavy and desiccated within his mouth. "Wa-" He coughed. "Wat…er…"

Feeling was slowly returning to his body, unfortunately baring nothing but discomfort. His feet and hands were fucking freezing! His joints and muscles were agonizingly stiff, pain radiating in his knees and shooting through the rest of the leg. He had a headache the size of Lake Pontchartrain, and his stomach was twisting around a ball of needles, or at least it felt that way. He couldn't tell if it was hunger pains or simply gas. God, if it was gas he prayed that he could hold it in while that nurse was in the room (if she was even still there).

"Yes, I'm sure you're thirsty," a man said on his left.

Naruto's surroundings went mute again, his mind falling back into the prior darkness once more. Something touched his lips gently, bringing him back to consciousness. He squint his eyes, seeing nothing more than a blurred shape before him.

"It's water. Put your mouth on the straw."

It took a few moments, but with the help of the man, he was able to find and get his chapped lips around the straw. The effort it took just to suck in and swallow the liquid frustrated Naruto. He hadn't been this helpless since he was seventeen and had his wisdom teeth removed. Even then he had pushed himself through the pain and numbness of the recovery period.

"Take your time," the man spoke softly. "You've been in a deep slumber for a very long time, so you'll find that your body is weak. You'll regain your strength in half an hour, maybe."

Naruto turned his narrowed gaze on the man holding his water. He couldn't see any defining features, but he recognized the long, dark hair and pale skin. It was the doctor. He clumsily pushed the straw out of his mouth with his tongue, licking his lips but they stung at the contact. He winced and tried to open his eyes some more to see the doctor fully. "Half hour…?" he asked, his voice gruff with sleep. "How long…have I been asleep?"

"Fifty-two years," The doctor held the straw to him again. "Drink some more water."

Naruto blinked through his blurry vision. He ignored the plastic straw rubbing against his lips as he spoke. "Sorry, 'm still kinda coming to, doc…did you say fifty-two years? You mean minutes, right?"

"No, I mean years," the man said nonchalantly. "You've been frozen for fifty-two years."

Well that would explain his cold hands and feet…wait, what? "What?"

"Ah, yes, memory loss is a common occurrence when wakened from cryogenic stasis. Tell me the last thing you recall before you had been put under." The doctor finally pulled the cup away, seeing as Naruto was no longer in the mood to quench his thirst.

"Wha…I was being tested on with vaccines…like…only five minutes ago?" His vision becoming clearer, Naruto looked around the room with a hooded gaze. He saw his reflection in a mirror across the room from the table he was stretched out on. He looked the same as usual, just with an exhausted, yet impassive, visage and wrapped in a thick brown blanket from the neck down. His eyes landed on the doctor sitting before him and recognized immediately that it was not the same guy from before, though they had some identical features. The doctor's brother? "You kinda look like him…" he blurted out.

"Who?"

"The guy that gave me the shot. What was the shot for…?"

"Do you remember the exact date of when you received this shot?" The doctor lifted a black tablet off his lap, running his index finger over the screen.

Naruto stared at the back of the tablet (there was a red and white fan on the back…a brand logo?) while he recollected the date. "It was…a Wednesday? Yeah, it was July 25th, 2012."

The doctor nodded. "Mhm. Exactly fifty-two years and one week ago. It is August 3rd, 2064 today. See?" He held the tablet out to Naruto so he could see the screen.

Naruto flinched at the icons and words on the screen as they seemed to pop out at him with an impressive 3D effect. It took him a moment for his mind to focus on the date that was displayed at the top of the screen. He blanched at the numbers. "But…that's impossible. I mean…this has got to be a dream, right?"

The tablet was pulled away and the man stared at Naruto. "This isn't a dream." He set the tablet on a metal table behind him and stood up, smoothing out his already perfectly pressed lab coat. "Can you sit up?"

Naruto rose to a slouched sitting position with the help of the doctor supporting his back, the blanket falling off to reveal him in a standard blue hospital smock. This definitely wasn't what he had been wearing earlier. He wondered if they still had his clothes stashed somewhere. Not that it mattered or anything; he was…in the future, for Christ's sake!

He had loved watching Futurama as a teenager, and still caught a few episodes on Comedy Central when he had time, but this…this was different. In a way, he was the same as Phillip J. Fry; waking up in the future with no clue as to how or why…and no one back in his time to miss him or mourn his disappearance. But for Naruto, he was only fifty-something years in the future, and so far he was receiving much better treatment after just waking up. Things didn't appear to have advanced far since to his time; they were still using touch pads and had florescent light fixtures on the ceiling. Then again, he had yet to discover what was beyond this room. He could still be ushered off to a hot career assignment officer that would force him to be an employee at Wal-Mart for the rest of his life. "You're not going to stab me in the hand with a career chip, are you?"

The doctor looked at him in bemusement.

Naruto waved a hand sheepishly, the limb still heavy in his wakening state. "Lame joke, sorry." He snickered suddenly at a thought. "It's from before your time."

"You're taking this rather well," the doctor said slowly. "Normally the ones who wake up are disoriented and sometimes get…hysterical."

Naruto shrugged. "Well if I really am in the future, then there's not much I can do. And if I'm not, and this is all just one big joke, like reality TV, I am going to break some bones. You've been warned."

The man hummed, indifferent to the threat. "Well thank goodness this is reality. Follow my finger with your eyes." He shifted his pointed finger around between them, watching Naruto's face carefully. He began to instruct Naruto to move his arms in certain ways, such as rotating them, flexing, so on and so forth.

"Where am I?" Naruto asked as he touched the pads of his fingers together and then touched the tip of his nose when he was told to.

"The White Eye Research Facility. I'm Neji Hyūga, the current head scientist. Hizashi Hyūga, my father and co-founder of the company, is the one who put you under fifty-two years ago."

"That explains the resemblance. He had to have been really young in my time to have a kid your age."

"He was twenty-three when he met you. I myself turned thirty-one a month ago."

"Huh…you look good for thirty." Naruto flushed when Neji smirked at him for the comment. He hadn't meant for it to sound like he was flirting with the doctor. After all, that had to be like pedophilia or something. He was technically in his seventies now, probably a couple of years older. Wow, he had never thought he'd ever get to this year! The idea never even crossed his mind, really. Usually people asked where they saw themselves in ten years. Fifty years was a long ways away, or at least it had seemed that way. He used to joke around, saying he'd kill himself before he got too old. Now he was the only one in his generation that could do a somersault and not break something in the process.

It was a sobering thought. Everyone he knew from his time was either dead or using a walker to get around by now. There was no one he could pop in on, ask how they've been, catch up on good times...he was just as alone now as he had been back in 2012.

Naruto clicked his tongue as Neji checked his reflexes. "Can I ask you some questions?"

"Certainly." Neji accentuated with a swift strike to his knee with a small rubber hammer. Naruto's leg kicked the air involuntarily.

"Why did I get shoved in a freezer in the first place? I had just gone to test some vaccines…that's what I thought I'd be doing." He couldn't help but frown, vaguely relieved that his body was almost fully under his control once more. It still ached in places, but the pain was dull. The black haze had completely disappeared from his consciousness, and the sleepiness with it.

Neji made a pensive face, his movements robotic as he took Naruto's blood pressure. "Well, it's not often that we come across cryogenically frozen subjects…er…people that didn't volunteer to do this. You're actually one of the first to be frozen after my father and uncle began this whole project fifty-five years ago. I assume they were just looking for inconspicuous people that wouldn't raise questions if they went missing. Your file does say that you had no contacts in your time."

Naruto's eyes narrowed as he remembered the prying questions the other doctor had asked him about his nonexistent family and friends. Naruto had told him that his boss was his only emergency contact, so it would have been easy to just call in his resignation. "Son of a bitch…" he muttered under his breath. He had never felt so stupid. Too bad the guy was old now, or Naruto would tear that doctor a new one next time he saw him.

Neji handed him the cup of water, his expression almost contrite. "Drink some more." He waited for Naruto to drink from the straw before speaking again. "The point of the project is to preserve skills from the past so that they could be put to use later on. At first we were a government secret, so only federal officials would come in and make requests for certain people to be unfrozen. However, we went public about ten years ago. Now those with enough money come in, looking for particular people with skills they need and buying them."

Naruto choked on his water. "Buying them? Isn't that human trafficking?"

"Well, you might see it that way," Neji said defensively. "But in the long run, it's the perfect set up. A wealthy benefactor calls upon a skill and when they no longer need that skill, they set the person up with everything they need to survive in this time period on their own."

"Oh…" Naruto looks down at his water. "So it's not like a bunch of rich bastards are keeping people in shackles in their attics."

"Not at all," He indicated for Naruto to continue drinking with a tilt of his head. Checking the watch on his wrist, he peered over his shoulder at the mirror. Sighing, he got to the point. "Of course, a few of the subjects' skill sets have become outdated as it was never necessary to unfreeze them. You were among that obsolete group for a while."

Naruto's eyebrows disappeared beneath his bangs as he stared wide-eyed at the doctor. That was right…he had told Neji's father that his specialty was auto mechanics. He didn't think of that until now. He could only imagine how much cars had changed in the past fifty years. So if he was now useless in this time, why was he awake now?

Neji didn't wait for him to ask the question aloud. "Someone has need of your particular skill." He lifted his tablet and glanced at the screen. "Auto repairs. Supposedly you can fix any car from your time and before that."

This news threw his heart into overdrive due to excitement. He was being sought out to do the very thing he loved! It was about time. It was good to know people in this time still found pleasure in collecting antique cars. Oh, but now the newer models he was used to seeing in his time were considered vintage; that would take some getting used to. "Yeah," Naruto confirmed for Neji when he noticed the other man was waiting for him to say something. "All the way back to the late forties, early fifties models. What kind of car is it?"

"I don't know," Neji clipped. "He didn't say."

"Oh," Naruto didn't bother hiding his disappointment. He really wanted to know what kind of car he'd be working on. "Well…okay. Yeah, sure, cool. I'll fix some rich bastard's car. It's what I've always dreamed of doing."

"That's good. Can you stand?"

Naruto pushed off the examining table, not even noticing how cold the linoleum floor was with his own freezing feet. His legs were wobbly, and he had to hold onto the table for support until he was sure his knees wouldn't give out. Several minutes passed, Neji waiting patiently in silence, and Naruto stood up straight when his legs no longer felt like putty. He put his hands on his hips, a triumphant grin making his lips crack despite the moisturizer Neji had applied to them during his physical examination.

"Now try walking around the room."

He did just that, taking a few unsteady steps at first, and then pacing himself with a leisure walk around the room's perimeter. Excited, he ended up skipping the last few steps back to Neji, which was a dire mistake as it gave him a tremendous headache.

"You need to get some proper food in your system before trying anything like that again." Neji's tone was a mixture of both advising and teasing. He tapped his fingers on the screen of the tablet as he spoke. "How do you feel?"

"Besides my knees feeling like they're on fire and a killer headache?" Naruto chuckled in spite of himself. "My feet and hands are freezing, I can't feel my butt, and I'm starving!" He never knew his butt could go numb. Was it even still attached to him?

Neji's eyes followed Naruto as the blond approached the big mirror embedded in the wall. "Yes, all that's normal. I was looking for symptoms such as nausea, dizziness, pressure against your skull which could mean swelling in the brain…" he trailed off.

Naruto didn't notice the sudden silence as he continued to check his butt through the gap in the hospital gown, eyeing its reflection in the mirror as he massaged and spread the cheeks experimentally. He was glad to see that it was all intact, not sure why he had jumped to the theory that his ass had fallen off from being cryogenically frozen.

"You do realize that's actually a two-way mirror, right? Your benefactor is watching on the other side." Neji announced hesitantly.

Something akin to a yelp tore from Naruto's throat and he hopped away from the mirror, turning to face it while clasping his hands over his rear. His face burned so hot that his forehead began to perspire. Too bad the blush didn't warm his hands or feet in the process. He glared at Neji when the other man failed to suppress a chuckle. Well fucking great. He hadn't even met his benefactor yet and already he had embarrassed himself in front of the guy by giving him a blatant view of everything he owned.

Neji sighed to rid himself of his smirk, and he retrieved a box from the counter in the far corner of the room. "Here are your personal effects from your time." He set the box on the examining table. "Get dressed. I'll be right back to introduce you to your benefactor." Naruto didn't budge from his spot, staring at the floor with his hands remaining behind him. "Uzumaki," he called, successfully catching the blond's attention. "Get dressed."

"Oh, right." Naruto laughed nervously. He watched Neji leave, and instantly felt awkward and alone in the room. He was…really in the future, huh? Well this was crazy. Like a movie from his time. He wondered if he could pull off the heroic lead role. Probably not since he had been bought by some rich bastard to fix his car; it would be a quick and easy job most likely, and he'd be sent off to trudge through yet another lonesome life - no, he couldn't let himself think like that! What did he hope to accomplish with such a self-pitying attitude? He had been given the chance to start over! He could make something of himself this time around, and there was no one around who knew him or judged him for his past. He had a fresh, clean slate that he could do just about anything with. How many people wished they could have a do-over but never got it? He was actually really lucky despite everything.

Mind made up, he opened the box and a sense of nostalgia rolled over him as he stared at the outfit he had worn to the White Eye Research Facility fifty-two years ago. He looked around the room he was in one last time, purposefully avoiding the mirror with his eyes. They had definitely upgraded their facilities since then. Neji had said they'd gone public, so they must have been swimming in piles of money with all the attention they were getting from the rich bastards that harbored no reservations about buying a frozen human being.

Naruto got dressed slowly, minding his sore body. "I wonder what the latest trends are today…" he muttered to himself as he slipped on his Vans. He stuffed his pockets with his cell phone, iPod, and wallet. A sense of familiarity filled his mind, as though he was simply getting ready to leave his apartment rather than step out into the future.

Tossing the hospital gown into the empty box, Naruto strolled casually out of the room. He admired the vast hallway that branched out in three different directions. So much better than that sketchy hole-in-the-wall office space from before. Not to mention the lights out here were softer compared to the room he'd just exited, and his headache lessened noticeably.

Neji was nowhere in sight. Nobody was around, not even a nurse or other scientists. The quiet was unnerving, reminding Naruto of that movie 28 Days Later when Cillian Murphy's character woke up in the deserted hospital.

The idea of waiting for Neji to come back struck him as boring. He was in the future, goddamn it! He should take this chance to explore the new territory; this was a place for research so surely they'd have the latest gadgets in the market. Setting way down the hall that stretched before him, Naruto kept his hands in his pockets as he examined his surroundings. Things definitely hadn't changed much since his time. There were touch screens next to all the doors, but no automatic walkways to take you to your destination or sliding doorways. Robots, like in The Jetsons, were MIA. What year had that cartoon been set in? Weren't they supposed to be in the year 2062? Big shocker there, a children's cartoon being dead wrong about what the future would look like. They even still had the same three-prong outlets along the baseboards of the walls. Naruto only had himself to blame for chalking up high expectations of what fifty-two years in the future could be.

However, back in 2011 he had predicted that touch screens would become a norm, and sure enough he had been right. Even the ultrathin TV screens that were placed in various points along the ongoing corridor were touch screen. They all had the same red and white fan logo as Neji's tablet, proving the brand logo theory correct.

Just how much had he missed while he was frozen? Who was president now, and what political party were they in? Shit, he hadn't been able to vote in the elections. He had registered for the very purpose of participating that time around. He hoped his absence hadn't affected the outcome too much (not that he felt like his single vote was tremendously important, but one never knew).

"Naruto Uzumaki, please report to the front desk. Naruto Uzumaki, please report to the front desk." The intercom above his head clicked off.

Naruto snorted in amusement. He had completely forgotten that he was supposed to be looking for Neji, having been too preoccupied with other thoughts. First he moons his benefactor and now he has to be called out by the receptionist at the front desk. Whoever his benefactor was, he had to be regretting his decision to purchase Naruto by now.

"Wonder what he's like," he mumbled, retracing his steps to the room he had come from. Way to go to the genius who actually thought that Naruto knew where the front desk was. As he got closer to his staring point, he saw a young woman with long, dark blue hair standing by the door to the room he had woken up in. She spotted him coming, and met him hallway with urgent steps. Naruto barely got the chance to admire her short khaki skirt before he was forced to meet her white eyes out of courtesy. She had to be related to Neji somehow; brother and sister, maybe?

"Mr. Uzumaki," she said in an apprehensive tone. "We've been looking for you. You shouldn't wander off on your own, especially when your benefactor is waiting for you. Please come with me."

Naruto grinned sheepishly and fell into step alongside the woman. She was really pretty, with smooth, pale skin that was slightly flushed in the cheeks. He wondered how old she was, since Neji didn't look a day over twenty-one and yet was ten years older. "What's your name?" he asked casually.

The woman looked flustered by the question, but she answered gently, "I'm Hinata, Neji's cousin."

"Let me guess," Naruto smiled. "Your dads were brothers? I knew Neji's dad, and Neji looks just like him. So I assume that's how you're related."

"Yes, that's correct." If Hinata was bothered by Naruto dissecting her family ties she didn't show it. "Our fathers founded this company together."

"Oh." Naruto replied lamely. A tall man in a lab coat walked rounded a corner up ahead and stepped passed them. He also had white eyes, which suddenly made the name of the research facility click in his head. "So I take it just about everyone in your family works here? You all have the same eyes."

Hinata nodded curtly. "We're homeschooled so that we excel in the study of cryogenics."

Naruto figured he should stop pestering her about her family, which came off as wacky in his personal opinion. He decided to try and learn a little about his benefactor with what little time he had before meeting the guy so that there were no unpleasant surprises. "Um, hey…"

Kind white eyes turned to him. "Yes?"

Wow, this girl had the patience of a saint. Most girls he knew back in his time would have yelled at him to shut up by now. Hinata would be easy to talk to on a date, he could tell. Naruto forced such thoughts out of his head. He'd probably never see her again after this. "I was just wondering if you knew who my benefactor was, and if you could tell me."

"Oh, yes. His name is Sasuke Uchiha. He's the CEO of Uchiha Tech." The answer was short and precise, and incredibly dissatisfying.

"Oh…" Naruto said in dismay. "So some old guy."

"Not at all!" Hinata said with surprised delight. "He's the youngest to ever hold such a high position in a successful corporation. He turned twenty-five about a week ago. He was declared a prodigy at the age of twelve."

"Whoa…" Naruto looked away from her in time to see two annoyed men standing next to a circular desk in a wide opened area covered with windows as tall as the ceiling. One he recognized immediately as Neji, and the other was a handsome young man in a suit. The men looked nearly angelic with the way light spilled in through the towering window panes behind them, like two celestial beings awaiting Naruto. It reminded him of that one Ludo album, Broken Bride, where the time traveler is granted his wish to see his wife again after saving the world from the Apocalypse. However, the closer he and Hinata got to them, the angrier the two men appeared. He could practically feel the tension in the air. The thought of angels left him to fend for himself before them.

"Naruto Uzumaki, I presume?" the man with carefully styled raven hair inquired, obviously frustrated.

"The one and only!" Naruto stood straight with mock haughtiness, his attempt to lighten the mood lost on the room's other occupants. Clearly at some point in the past fifty years everyone had tragically lost their sense of humor. He attempted to make amends, but he wasn't sure how to address his benefactor. "Uh…so you're Sasuke?"

"Hn," the man glared deliberately at Neji who appeared just as fed up as him, a drastic change from the man Naruto had thought he'd gotten to know back in the room.

Hinata had been right about Sasuke Uchiha. He looked even younger than twenty-five, very pale and the same height as Naruto. His haircut wasn't what one would expect a man of his position to have. It was long and framed his face in the front, bangs reaching past his eyebrows, and it stuck out in the back as though he woke up in the morning, ran his fingers through it and just left it like that. Naruto was not one to judge since he did exactly that with his own hair every morning.

Black eyes gazed back at him, and Naruto realized he was openly ogling his benefactor. He tried not to react at being caught, but he was cursed to with honest expressions. He had the hardest time hiding his true thoughts and feelings, which everyone said was refreshing but then later found annoying as they got to know him.

"If you're done staring," Sasuke even sounded young when he spoke. How did he manage to command authority of a company when he looked and sounded like that? "I'm already behind schedule because you can't stay in one place." He turned back to Neji, missing the discreet middle finger Naruto aimed at him. "Are we done here?"

"Yes," Neji, who did see the finger, shot a warning glare at Naruto. "He's all yours."

Naruto didn't like the idea of belonging to someone, especially this corporate asshole. He almost didn't want to leave the facility; he had become accustomed to its surroundings and felt a slight attachment to Neji even though he was acting like a jerk now.

"Let's go," Sasuke clipped and he began heading for the automatic sliding glass doors at the front of the brightly lit lobby.

Naruto moved to follow him, but he quickly remembered something and stopped in front of Neji. "Hey, I was supposed to get paid five hundred bucks for volunteering with your dad. I believe you owe me some money."

Neji snorted, but seeing the determination on Naruto's face made his smirk falter. His eyes averted to Hinata, but she just smiled in amusement. "Fine," he snapped, reaching into the back pocket of his dress pants and retrieving a leather wallet. "You're from 2012, right?"

Naruto nodded, holding out his hand expectantly, fingers spread.

"Times have changed," Neji's smirk returned full force as he slapped a five dollar bill into Naruto's hand. "That's about how much five hundred dollars from back then is worth today. Take it, it's on me."

Naruto glared between the five dollars and the doctor.

"Unfortunately he's right." Hinata commented unhelpfully.

"Welcome to the future." Neji said mockingly.

Naruto crumpled the dollar bill in his fist and trudged after Sasuke who was waiting by the doors with his arms crossed. Somehow Naruto knew he wasn't going to get to go on some grand adventure in outer space like Fry from Futurama. Especially not when he only had five dollars in his pocket. Hizashi Hyūga better be dead otherwise Naruto was going to find him and punch his lights out, elderly be damned.

"Hey, I'm hungry." Naruto announced as he lounged back in the plush seat of the car. Sasuke sat next to him, looking through emails on his touch screen phone. Dark eyes flitted to him and Naruto grinned innocently. "What? I haven't eaten in fifty-two years!"

Sasuke let out a quiet sigh, putting his phone away. "What do you want to eat?"

"Deep dish pizza," Naruto answered almost immediately. "With four cheeses!"

The phone was whipped out again and Sasuke's fingers flew over the touch screen with practiced ease. He stared at the screen for a couple of seconds before holding the phone up for Naruto to see, an eyebrow raised questioningly.

His mouth watered at the image of the cheese pizza that popped out of the screen. He wanted to eat the phone, it looked so good! "Looks great!" Naruto said excitedly, his stomach agreeing with him. The hunger pains were much more tolerable now that he knew he was going to be fed.

He watched Sasuke lean forward to inform his driver of their new destination, the middle-aged man smiling at Naruto in the rearview mirror. Naruto smiled back briefly before resuming in watching his benefactor. He could see Sasuke running a company. All of his movements were deliberate and elegant; he was graceful even when settling back in his seat. His long fingers – his nails were manicured, Naruto noted – swiped across the touch screen phone with purpose.

"I have to make a call, so keep quiet." Sasuke said suddenly, lifting his phone to his ear.

Naruto watched with mute fascination as Sasuke's face transformed from impassive to severe in the blink of an eye. He bit the inside of his cheeks and turned to stare out the window, finding comfort in recognizing the familiar historic buildings of the Downtown area. Not much was different; a new high-rise here, a renovated family restaurant there. He was grateful for the lack of change, practically reveling in it. He hadn't been aware of it before, mostly because he hadn't been able to name it, but he'd been fretting the idea of being a total stranger in his hometown. And to his relief, the fashion hadn't changed too drastically since his time, either. There were a few accessories he saw on women they drove past that left him utterly bewildered (a hat made out of recycled CDs, a purse that's strap wrapped around the entire arm, fake rubber hands with ridiculous nails for gloves), but he kept his opinions to himself. Who was he to judge what was cool and uncool in the future?

"It's me. Cancel my meeting this evening."

Naruto's eyes bulged, and he whipped his head around to see who was speaking. There had to be someone else in the car besides Sasuke and the driver, right? Because as far as he was concerned, neither of them possessed such a deep, imposing timbre.

"Move it to tomorrow morning, nine sharp. Inform anyone who says they can't make it to turn in their two-week notice. I will not tolerate any excuses."

Naruto wasn't sure if he felt sympathetic for or envious of the person on the other line. The voice Sasuke was using to command them was two whole octaves below what he had been speaking in just moments ago. If this was how he voiced commands while running the company then no wonder he was CEO! He probably seduced his way to the top with that damn voice of his. Naruto knew for a fact that he'd drop whatever he was doing just to listen to what Sasuke had to tell him. What did he sound like during sex, he wondered. Ack, he shouldn't be thinking about that!

"He did what?" Sasuke's brow creased. Something like a dark aura began to emit from him in waves, making Naruto scoot closer to the window in fear (not for himself, but for whoever Sasuke was suddenly livid at). "Fire him. No, on second thought, I'll fire him myself. Tell him I want him in my office tomorrow morning at 8:45. Start looking through the job applications from this past summer and leave the three best options on my desk. I'll look over them when I come in tomorrow morning. When you're done with all of that you may head home for the day. That is all." Sasuke ended the call abruptly and put the phone away in his inside coat pocket. He stared forward for several seconds, frown still in place.

"Sir, we're here," the driver announced as he put the car into park. All he received was a nod from Sasuke, and he exited the vehicle to retrieve the pizza from the restaurant.

Sasuke's expression eased up and he turned sharply to Naruto. "Why are you staring at me?" His voice had returned to normal.

Naruto shrugged absently. He doubted that Sasuke would appreciate him telling him that he had a sexy voice. They sat in silence for a few more seconds before Naruto spoke out of discomfort. "So you're my benefactor?" he asked dumbly.

"You're the auto mechanics expert from 2012?" Sasuke said back challengingly.

"Expert?" Naruto snickered. Geez, what had Neji's father written on his information form? "Well, I wouldn't say expert, but I've been known to make any car purr for me." Oh shit, had that come out as flirtatious? He hoped Sasuke didn't think he was trying to come onto him.

Sasuke glared at him, clearly not amused by his answer. "Can you fix a Ford Mustang or not?"

Had Naruto heard him right just now? Ah, but he couldn't get too excited just yet. Sasuke was most likely referring about a Mustang GT or some other recent model from his time. "Sure, what year?"

"It's a 1964 ½ model. It's the last one of its kind, but I can't get it to work. All the others had been turned to scrap metal for the same reason, but I'm determined to fix this one."

Sasuke clearly had no idea the affect he was having on Naruto at the moment. His breath was caught in his throat, his excitement coming out in a weak hiss of air. His palms began to sweat and he licked his lips while attempting to calm his nerves. "Y-yeah…take me to it, and I'll see what I can do."

At that moment the driver returned with a single box of pizza, passing it to the back of the car. Naruto took it eagerly, opening the lid and practically roaring with delight as the best smell in the world filled the car.

"Don't get any food on the seats." That was the only warning Sasuke managed to bite out before the horrific scene of a starving Naruto devouring an entire medium-sized pizza played out before him. "Be careful, you idiot. What am I going to do when you start choking?"

Naruto paused, scarred cheeks threatening to burst with the overload of food. He carefully chewed, looking away and covering his mouth as he swallowed down the pizza. Sighing in contentment, he turned back to Sasuke with a wide grin. "You get behind me and bend me over."

Black eyes dilated. Sasuke placed his fingers on the bridge of his nose and pinched it. "Oh god…you're a complete moron." He said it as though it were an epiphany.

"What? No I'm not, bastard!" Naruto shouted. "I was talkin' about the Heimlich maneuver!"

"I know what you were talking about," Sasuke bit out in irritation. "You don't bend a choking person over. You'll never save anyone's life that way."

"Aha, that's where you're wrong!" Naruto pointed a greasy finger at Sasuke's face. The other man leaned back to avoid making contact with it. "I have a picture on my phone of a co-worker helping a choking lady like that!" He lifted his butt off the seat so he could reach into his pocket to retrieve his cell phone. He laughed in victory when he presented his DROID between them. Before he could turn it on, a pale hand snatched it from him. "Hey!"

Sasuke held the phone away from Naruto when he grabbed for it. "I haven't seen one of these in years." Turning it over in his hands, he opened the back of it and stared at the battery inside. "How did they ever think this was adequate?"

Naruto huffed in annoyance, attempting once more to take his phone back and failing. "What are you talking about, you bastard? It works just fine."

Sasuke peered over at him briefly. He replaced the back on the phone and handed it to Naruto. "It's not going to work. The inside is rotted. Those models don't last very long."

"Well excuse me," Naruto sneered, pressing the power up button on the phone despite Sasuke's warning. It didn't turn on. Damn, he had been hoping to rub it in the jerk's face when it did work. "Not everyone can have a fancy iPhone like you."

A snort escaped before Sasuke could stop it. He met Naruto's glare with his own arrogant look. "iPhone, huh?" He pulled out his phone and showed it to Naruto. "This is Uchiha Tech's Genius. Do you know why it's called Genius? Because it is the best mobile device in existence to this day. Do you know why they were always coming out with new iPhones? Because those phones constantly needed improvement. There is no Genius 2 or 3, or any other variation of the name, because we got it right the first time. This phone has been in circulation for seven years and has never received a complaint. That is why Apple and all those other companies you remember from your previous life are nonexistent."

Seeing Naruto's blue eyes wide with amazement made Sasuke smirk in satisfaction. He put his phone back in his coat pocket and relaxed in his seat.

"Then…" Naruto said slowly. "Who are your competitors?"

"That's the beauty of it, Uzumaki. When you're the best there simply is no competition. Every TV, every computer, every phone, tablet, music player, game system…it's all Uchiha Tech now."

Air expelled from Naruto's lips and he looked at his DROID. "Wow."

Sasuke also looked at the obsolete phone. "I'll get you a Genius of your own. Anything else you need replaced?"

Naruto couldn't answer him at first. No one had ever asked him something like that before; he would always have to go about replacing anything of his that got damaged with his own savings. Even with his foster parents, as great as they were, the most expensive thing they bought him was a Gameboy COLOR. He had to upgrade to a SP with money he'd save up himself later. He could never squander money on himself, and no one stepped forward to do it for him (not that he'd be able to accept such generosity).

Usually Naruto would politely decline an offer like Sasuke's, but he had to face facts here. He had absolutely nothing now. Nowhere to go, no source of income, and no formal knowledge as to how much has changed in the past fifty-two years. His pride hated to admit it, but he was solely dependent on Sasuke Uchiha. Still, he couldn't just take advantage of the offer. He had been raised better than that. He would only ask for what he needed.

Reaching into his other pocket, he pulled out the iPod he had managed to take care of for over five years. "Is it possible to convert the music from here onto another player?"

Sasuke smirked haughtily at the 'historic' technology. "Certainly. Is that all?"

"Yeah, thanks." Good to know the bastard found his dated equipment amusing.

He looked out the window and stared at a billboard for some lingerie company he had never heard of before. It came as a bit of a shock to see a woman's ass with a thong disappearing between her cheeks blatantly displayed for everyone to see. So public decency wasn't an issue these days…lovely. Unfortunately it reminded him that just a while ago he had unintentionally mooned Sasuke through a two-way mirror. The guy probably didn't care since something as provocative as that was on a billboard, but Naruto still had to ask incase the incident left any awkward tension between them. They'd be seeing each other frequently, right? "Um…"

"Yes?"

Naruto chanced a glance at the older (or would he technically be younger?) man. Sasuke was gazing out his own window, but he noticed that black eyes were settled on him in the reflection of the glass. He swallowed at the sight. Simply put, Sasuke was the most beautiful man Naruto had ever met. He could easily beat all of Naruto's ex-girlfriends in a pageant. He quickly returned his thoughts to the matter at hand. "So yeah, I had no idea that I was checking out my ass in a two-way mirror. You didn't see anything, right?"

There was silence for several seconds, turning the atmosphere awkward. Or perhaps it was only awkward to Naruto. When Sasuke finally spoke, the smirk was evident in his voice. "Would you prefer that I hadn't seen anything?"

Naruto groaned. "Don't play stupid mind games with me! Just be upfront!"

"You want me to be completely upfront about it?"

"Yes, that's what I just said." What was with this guy? He was really starting to piss Naruto off.

"Fine," Sasuke turned to him. "I saw everything. And you have nothing to be ashamed of, it was a very pleasant view."

Naruto couldn't tell whether he was being sincere or sardonic. While he had asked Sasuke to be upfront, and Sasuke had more or less agreed, he couldn't settle with such an answer. He had given Sasuke a front row seat to the viewing of his ass and balls, and the Uchiha thought it was pleasant? What straight man said that sort of thing?

His face fell. Oh. Well of course, Naruto should have seen that coming from a mile away. The styled hair, the manicure, the fashionable suit, the elegance? He had been giving Sasuke the benefit of the doubt, labeling him a metrosexual (he possessed the disposable income, after all). Clearly he had been too generous with his policy of straight until proven otherwise. Still, he was sitting here with all these assumptions but no concrete evidence.

"Are you gay?" He hadn't meant for the question to come out so brash, but at least his tone had been on the casual side.

"I am." Sasuke was just as relaxed. He was obviously comfortable with his sexuality, which unknowingly made it all the easier for Naruto.

Naruto smiled warmly. "Thanks for being honest with me."

Sasuke opened his mouth, inhaling sharply as though he was ready to say something, but then he decided against it. He smirked and shook his head. "You're strange."

"I am not!" Naruto huffed in annoyance, but he didn't stay mad long. Even though Sasuke was a CEO and his benefactor, it was surprisingly easy to relax around him once they started speaking. And they shared the same interest in cars, so that was a bonus. What were the chances of being cryogenically frozen for fifty-two years and then woken up to work on the car of his dreams? One in a million, if that! This was working out perfectly after all. He had a sweet setup and a chance to do what he loved without being condemned by people who couldn't understand.

"…Have you tried batting for the other team?"

Naruto blinked several times, trying to remember where that line had come from. Oh, right. Sai. That was one of the last things he said to Naruto, which felt highly inappropriate now, but neither had any idea that it would be their final conversation. What truly bothered him about it, though, was that Sai's words decided at that moment to resound in his mind while there was a gay man sitting next to him. The fact that Sasuke just came out to him had to be the reason his brain decided to remind him of his intrigue in trying to date the same sex. It had only been a passing thought; he didn't want to dwell on it. He immediately stomped out any further ideas making their way into his head.

"We've arrived at your house, sir," the driver announced, and Naruto thanked the higher power above for the distraction.

He looked out the window as the car pulled around the vast horseshoe driveway. The driver had said house, but all Naruto was seeing was a mansion. A two story mansion built on twelve-foot stilts with a garage that was as high as the first floor of the structure. Two wide stone staircases stretched and wound up to meet in the middle at the front door on the first floor. A tall, white statue of a slender woman with one breast exposed stood shyly amidst the greenery between the landings of the steps, staring down at the jug in her right hand. The stilts were enclosed by rough looking grey stone while the house above had white siding and a faded green tiled roof. Trees just as tall as the mansion lined the property on both sides, leaving it completely enclosed from neighboring homes.

Naruto hadn't realized he'd been pressed against the car door until it opened suddenly and he nearly fell out onto his face. He exited the vehicle clumsily, looking over at Sasuke who was waiting for him by the stairs on the right side of the door. "Are you paranoid about flooding or something?" he asked, jerking his head towards the stilts.

"I'm taking precautions, yes. You may have gotten through Hurricane Katrina, but you weren't around for Venus. The calamity that storm caused still haunts people to this day, almost seventeen years later." Sasuke began to ascend the stairs with his long legs.

Naruto didn't comment on the supposedly horrific hurricane he had the pleasure of sleeping through. He couldn't even complain about Hurricane Katrina as he fared well through the storm with no flooding in his area, or any major damage to his apartment building.

He was a little out of breath by the time they reached the front door, which he blamed on having been frozen for so long. He would need to build his stamina up again when he had some free time.

"Would you like a tour of the house first, or would you prefer to see the car?" Sasuke asked as he opened the door and stepped inside the foyer. He closed the door behind Naruto and waited for his answer.

Naruto swallowed thickly. The walls were a soft cream color that reflected within the polished white tile floor. A white staircase curved along the left wall, leading to the second floor. Across from the front door was a room separated by an archway, but all Naruto could see beyond it was an enormous window with a loveseat set in front of it. There were no pictures or decorations on the walls, leaving the foyer to look empty and plain in spite of everything.

In all honesty, Naruto had expected the CEO of an electronics company to reside within a more modern home, with voice activation devices to welcome him home and tell him the current time and temperature outside. He was letting cartoons fuse with his reality again.

Remembering that Sasuke asked him a question, he looked at the Uchiha with a bright grin. "I want to see the car!"

Sasuke seemed to have figured as much, and he motioned for Naruto to follow him through the foyer towards the huge window. He turned right and they entered a kitchen that fit Naruto's expectations better than the rest of the house he'd seen so far.

Oddly, the area was shaped like an open-ended triangle. The walls were the same white as the cabinets, complimented by a dark grey marble counter and splashback. All the accessories and accents were stainless steel, just like all the modern kitchens in his time.

Naruto didn't get much of a chance to examine the room as Sasuke kept walking towards an inconspicuous white door with a small, square window in it. When the stepped through it, a sense of vertigo left him gripping the railing in front of him. He stared down into the vast garage, having to squint from the bright lights bouncing off the white surface of the floor and walls. The whole room was completely empty save for a single vehicle parked in the center.

He flew down the steps and stopped before the car, nearly falling to his knees. The car…the fucking gorgeous car! Definitely a 1964 ½ model, meaning one of the first Mustangs to ever come off the line. He could see his reflection perfectly in the sleek black paint job. The dashboard was varnished dark wood, the vintage steering wheel peeking over the top (mot likely the original). Black leather covered the seats, and just like in the original models, there were no headrests. Everything was in mint condition.

"Right before my eyes…sweet Jesus, I'm gonna come…" Naruto muttered to himself. He was too afraid to even touch the body of the car in fear of leaving a smudge on the shiny coat. He knew he would have to touch her eventually, but he wouldn't sully the moment. His fingers itched with temptation.

"I tried putting in one of the newly modified engines, but it wouldn't connect. It's almost a hundred year old model, after all." Sasuke said behind him suddenly, making Naruto jump. "I've thought about just taking it apart completely and having the body placed around newer designs. A lot of mechanics have suggested that." He looked at Naruto, his expression aloof. "I wanted to try you as an option first."

Something snapped inside Naruto. Replace the…replace the inside of the car?! It wouldn't be a legitimate vintage 1964 ½ Ford Mustang anymore! Maybe Sasuke was more of a moron than he let on when it came to cars.

Naruto faced the other man completely, making sure his displeasure was evident on his face. "You can't just take a beauty like this and put a whole new engine inside of her! This is a classic, first edition 1964 Mustang!" He took a step forward, the toe of his right shoe stubbing the front of Sasuke's. They were so close now that Naruto could see the flecks of grey in Sasuke's irises. "You need the Ford Taunus V4 engine otherwise you might as well just have a dumb replica! You do not want a replica, Sasuke, trust me. The real deal is always the best deal. Embrace what's in front of you."

Where this speech was coming from was beyond him, but he didn't have time to dwell on his own stupidity. He was yanked forward by a hand on the back of his neck, the small distance between them ceasing to exist in a matter of seconds.

At first he wasn't sure what was happening. Someone was kissing him, and the only other person in the garage with him was Sasuke. So…it was Sasuke kissing him, right? Damn, since when did his brain cells go on vacation from just a mere kiss? It wasn't even an amazing kiss (he told himself despite his toes curling inside his Vans). Why was Sasuke kissing him, he didn't understand.

Sasuke leaned his head back, keeping his hand firmly on Naruto's neck. He scrutinized Naruto's face before finally releasing his hold and stepping away.

"That was really random, Sasuke, not gonna lie." Naruto stated bluntly. He should feel awkward about kissing a guy, let alone his benefactor, but he simply didn't. It wasn't as though it felt right, like he had found his soul mate through that kiss and there could be no one else. It was comfortable, though. He wasn't offended that a gay man just kissed him. It was something he could get used to, honestly, and as much as that should disturb him, it just didn't. There was no cosmic reasoning behind it; there didn't need to be any. "But it wasn't bad."

Sasuke snorted. "It was just a spur of the moment reaction. It didn't mean anything."

Naruto nodded in understanding. "Got it. Now back to the car…"

"Yes, make me a list of things you need and I'll get them for you."

"Well for starters," Naruto began to pace around the room, waving his arms out at the empty walls. "I need shelves, cabinets, one of those metal rolling tool chests. I need to think about the tools I'll need. I'll probably have to take the engine apart, so I'm gonna need an engine jack-crane…" He trailed off and turned to look at Sasuke, wondering if he was going too fast for the other man. He cracked a smile at the sight of Sasuke tapping away on his phone, making a list of what he needed. "That's all I can think of at the top of my head for now."

"That's fine." Sasuke put his phone away in his coat pocket. "If you'd like, I can show you to your room now."

Naruto tilted his head to stare at the Mustang longingly. He had forgotten it was there for a moment thanks to Sasuke.

The Uchiha caught the look, and he smirked. "It's not going anywhere. You can visit it whenever you want."

"Shut up!" Naruto laughed as he followed Sasuke towards the stairs leading out of the garage. It almost felt unreal that he was going to get to work on the car of his dreams. It was right there, in his reach, staying at the same house he was staying in. He glanced at the car one last time before closing the door.

Somehow, he just knew that that Mustang really suited Sasuke Uchiha. It made him feel lonely for some reason.

So that is that! This is a three part story, and the second part is complete, but I'm actually debating whether or not to post it on here considering the content...

I might end up just leaving a watered down version of it with a link on my profile to the full version on y!gal (but that makes me cringe because I would literally be cutting out fourteen pages of the story...)

Well, considering what you guys think, I'll sit on the second part for a while and figure out what I should do.