Title: What Wise Men Don't Know
Warnings: yaoi, het, angst, drama, romance, language
Summary: At the most inopportune moment in his life, Naruto meets the woman of his dreams. Not long after, he meets the man of his dreams too. (Strange… He never even realized he had one.) Did love – and life – always have to be so complicated?
Disclaimer: Naruto isn't mine.

Prologue
A fool comes rushing in

Naruto stared at the computer screen, feeling his stomach drop to a point he previously thought physically impossible. His heart almost stopped. For a moment, it was all he could do - just sit there and stare in disbelief at the screen. Taking in a shaky breath, his heart resumed a loud, fast-paced beat that throbbed in his ears. With wide eyes, he pressed the refresh button, feeling the faint trace of irritation that managed to pass through his panic when the screen prompted him to log in again.

With shaking fingers, he typed in his username and password, following the links to view his grades for the fall semester with growing trepidation. There was no way it had been a mistake. They couldn't make mistakes like this, could they? No, he knew it wasn't a mistake. And there, at the last click, was proof that it had not just been a trick of his eyes.

He failed. He failed all his classes.

He was blissfully blank for a moment at what that meant for his future but, as always, the momentary reprieve from his worries remained just that – fleeting and so very unsatisfying. Realization crashed down on him and he let his hands drop to his knees as if the very weight of it rendered his muscles useless. He was doomed. Completely, irrevocably, undeniably doomed.

"Holy shit," he said, disbelieving and wide-eyed. "Holy..."

He jumped to his feet, holding his head in his hands as he paced – paused to vehemently deny reality – paced again when he realized he couldn't – paused to hit his head with angry fists – stopped because it hurt. He froze, stopping entirely when the enormity of the situation truly hit him full force. He wasn't just completely, irrevocably, undeniably doomed; he was fucked. He was so very fucked.

"Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my fucking, fucking god."

He turned again to stare at his final grades as they had been submitted, skimming down to the GPA. Less than a 1.0. He stared at it as he'd stared at the letter grades, disbelieving and entirely unconvinced he could have pulled such low marks. How did one get less than a 1.0? How did one literally fail all their classes? Even if, technically speaking, he hadn't failed all – if half was even remotely better than all four. The B and D he had received in the other two courses did nothing for him.

Naruto wanted to cry, suddenly feeling completely worthless. There was nothing he could do – the school would kick him out and there was nothing he could do. And it was all his fault.

Even if he'd worked hard in the beginning, he couldn't deny he'd begun to slack off in the end. If only he had sacrificed one more hour to study for that one class, he wouldn't have failed the midterm. If only he had handed in the last three assignments in the other class on time. If only he hadn't skipped classes to sleep in when exhaustion kicked in. Hindsight was a bitch. He didn't want it unless it could serve a purpose in the present, unless it could have prevented this very situation.

Letting out a bitter laugh, he collapsed heavily onto his bed, dropping his head in his hands. All he had needed to do was pass one more class and he would have been okay. All he needed was a fucking 1.0.

He raised his head at the sound of a key turning in the lock, watching quietly as his roommate walked into their shared university apartment. The newcomer didn't acknowledge Naruto's slumped figure, completely oblivious to the aura of depression suffocating the cramped space, and instead stomped snow from his boots and shook remaining flecks of it from his hair and jacket.

"Fuck," he said, removing his coat to hang it on the rack behind the front door. "It's fucking freezing outside."

He started to walk through the kitchen when he finally glanced at his friend, immediately noticing the dejected slope of his shoulders and desperate look on his face. The transformation was almost instantaneous – Naruto watched as the expressive face flashed from surprise to confusion to overwhelming worry in a split second.

"Hey!" the concern was evident even in his voice as he moved towards Naruto's share of the small apartment. "Is everything okay?"

For a moment, Naruto only stared at him, in the same way he'd stared at the computer screen – it really seemed the only thing he could do without failing, he thought sullenly – but this time he only felt guilt and shame. There was no longer any disbelief.

"Kiba."

His friend waited attentively for him to continue, standing at the foot of the bed with one hand resting on the bedpost and the other fidgeting with the edge of the pocket on his jeans.

"Kiba," Naruto tried again, falling onto his back on the bed. "I don't think I'm graduating this year."

Naruto missed the confused look that flickered across Kiba's face at the statement, made with resolute acceptance. The confusion was conveyed clearly through his voice. "What do you mean? Why aren't you graduating this year?"

Naruto laughed at the question. Exactly – why was he not graduating this year? He was supposed to only have a semester left after this last one. The answer was simple.

"Because I'm a fucking idiot." At Kiba's slight grunt of confusion, he continued, realizing he had to be honest with at least his friends. There was no one else he could share the news with and disappoint. "Because I'm a fucking idiot, and I fucking failed all my classes."

Naruto counted four seconds before Kiba's loud shout rang out in their shared home. "What?"

Straightening from his position on the bed, Naruto motioned for Kiba to come closer and turned the laptop towards him. He didn't watch as Kiba leaned down to view the screen. After a moment, his friend managed a comment.

"Holy shit."

"Yeah, that's what I said," Naruto smiled without humor.

Kiba took the mouse, clicking away from the screen and pulling up Naruto's transcript to view his overall GPA. He grimaced - a meager 2.31. But it wasn't as if he himself was any better – no better to be able to judge, anyway.

"Geez, Naruto, this is… Are you sure you're going to be suspended? I mean, your overall GPA is still passing. Can't you contest these things?"

"And say what? 'Uh, yeah, I was totally dicking around when I should've been studying for my finals so please give me another chance'? Yeah, right." He sighed at his own anger. "Besides, I knew I wasn't going to do well. I mean, I didn't think I was going to fail everything. Just that one class. I thought the other classes would make up for it."

Kiba stood there thoughtfully, gazing at the screen. He knew how Naruto felt; he'd only just managed to pull himself from academic probation this semester. After all, a person couldn't run from the crowd they ran with. Or, birds of a feather flock together. Even - you are who your friends are. Clichés were surprisingly adept at describing situations, he thought.

"Maybe you should email your professors? Ask them what went wrong. Maybe they'll change the grades if you talk to them?"

Naruto didn't bother hiding the bitterness in his voice, "As if they'd go out of their way for me. They're all a bunch of assholes."

True to his words, after learning he was only one percent away from a passing grade, he received the email that resigned him to his fate.

Date: Mon, 07 Jan 2008 13:48:07
From: Touji Mizuki (mizuki.t…
To: Naruto Uzumaki (uzumaki.n…
Subject: Re: history 310

Naruto,

I understand your concern with being placed on Academic Suspension.
However, I feel that it would be most beneficial for you to resume schooling
after you have had a chance to reflect on your poor performance during the
semester. It would likely serve as a learning experience. Many students
reconsider college as their best option, realizing instead they are not suited for
the heavily academic environment. You should take this period to organize your
priorities and decide what you can do with your life.

All the best,

Mizuki

"'All the best,' my ass. You're happy to see me go, you stupid fucker," he scoffed at the insincere concern in the words, recognizing the concealed insults – "Don't come back. Losers like you will never succeed."

Mizuki had never liked him. Asking him for help and expecting him to be impartial had been a mistake. He deleted the email from his inbox with a vicious click, and then deleted it permanently from his trash in spite. The petty action did nothing to make him feel better. If anything, it only made him feel worse.

"Fuck you, anyway. I'll show you. I'll show you who the real loser is."

With fierce determination, Naruto Uzumaki, supposed graduate-to-be, began his one year of academic suspension. Had he known his only consolation during the time would come in the form of further stress – two distinct forms of it, actually: a pink-haired faux bimbo and a nauseatingly handsome bastard – he would have resolutely argued to stay enrolled until the end of the school year. Or simply ended his life then and there.

Unfortunately, while hindsight could be all knowing in such situations, it truly was a bitch: one had to live through hell just to see it.

TBC

Notes:
As always, please forgive any errors - I admit I rushed this. Just wanted to get the idea out of my head before I gave up on it. Not much happened so far, I know. I'm slow, so the buildup to romance might be a little slow too, but I promise it will really come to a head. Anyway, all comments welcomed and appreciated. : )

Happy new year!

Edit: 9/9/2011