Once upon a Modern Tale…

Pairing: Naruto x Sasuke

Warning: Shounen ai, Kakashi x Iruka (again, but no need to squint this time)

Inspired by: Robin Hood, Love among the Walnuts, and always by my wacko imagination

Summary: AU (NaruSasu) Once upon a time, there lived an extremely handsome and exceedingly rich young man. But, he didn't care for any of it, and so he locked himself up in his large manor, never coming out. Then, one day, he met the most amazing person; a beautiful boy with cerulean blue eyes. This is where our Modern Tale begins, with a Modern Robin Hood, and a Modern love story.

Please forgive my bad usages of Japanese terms; I don't speak the language so I have almost no idea how to use them.

Disclaimer: Naruto and anything related does not belong to me. Don't sue.

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Ninth

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Iruka had been shocked that his son had been arrested. He had to sit down after hearing the news, in case he fainted, and he feared that he would soon. He couldn't believe it! "B-but there has to be a mistake!" he said feebly to the silver-haired man. "It can't be Naruto we're talking about, right? He was always such a good child!"

He stared hopefully at Kakashi. The other man was seated beside him at the wedding cathedral. The rest of the guests had all given up and left after they had waited for several hours. Now, only he and the ex-butler remained. They were the only ones actually needed for the wedding, anyways. Kakashi shook his head slowly. "No, it is Naruto. They're sure of it." His voice was grave. "They caught him red-handed, right in the act of taking the money."

Iruka groaned and buried his face in his hands, all the while muttering, "Why, Naruto?" Kakashi raised his hand and hesitated a second before patting the brown-haired teacher on the back soothingly.

Not a single word was said for the longest time afterwards. Neither had anything to say about this situation; they –like you- are still digesting this new bit of information. It was certainly a lot to take in at once. But, let's go see how our favourite prisoner is doing.

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It was all more complicated than Naruto had thought. After he was arrested, they brought him over to the police station in the car with the siren going off like crazy. Then, they searched him for any weapons and took away anything that he might use to hurt himself, or escape, with. They locked him in a small cell with only a sink, a toilet and a bench as the furniture. A small bulb provided all the light he would get, he suspected, for a long time. Naruto sighed, and plunked down on the hard bench thing attached to the wall.

While he was in that cell, he had a lot of time to think. And I mean a lot because after all, there isn't much to do in jail besides staring at the blank wall. So he thought about, well, a lot of things.

He smiled wearily as he wondered if Robin Hood had ever been put in jail. It had probably been dirtier and smellier than the one he was in. Somehow, he felt a small ping of gratitude that this jail cell wasn't at all like what he had imagined – a lot of guys with tattooed arms and stinky breath crowding around him looking for a fight. Well, not that they'd ever beat him, but it was still a bad thought.

He thought about Iruka-sensei and the stupid silver-haired butler who had visited his house before. It seemed like they had met somewhere before. The way his sensei blushed when that guy handed him a rose…Naruto frowned. 'He'd better not do anything perverted to Iruka-sensei, or I'll bash his head in!' Then he realized something, 'Oh, so making sure I was home that night was all a part of his planning, huh?'

Naruto trailed a finger down the white wall. (It was pretty dark inside the cell, so he just presumed that the wall was white.) His thoughts fluttered towards Sasuke, and he began to feel a headache coming on. 'That guy is really confusing! It seemed like his smiles were so genuine and true one moment, so much that I actually worried about hurting him,' Naruto thought angrily. 'But then he turned around and landed me right in this mess.'

He dropped his hands and stared at the tiny hole in the door – the one that was covered with a metal flap. 'But I guess it's really my own fault that I'm here.' Naruto felt that he just had an epiphany.

Suddenly, the metal flap opened and a face peered in. It was not a face that Naruto recognized, so he guessed it was one of the police officers. Here to take him to his punishment, maybe? He stared dully at the door as it swung open. The officer gestured for him to follow, but not before putting a pair of handcuffs on him. They walked through the station, which was somewhat crowded with people, and went into a room with a single light overhead, a table and two chairs.

Naruto's breath hitched when he saw who was sitting in one of the seats. Hyuuga Neji. His eyes widened, and he would have rubbed his eyes if his hands weren't tied behind his back. He felt a slight pressure from behind pushing him forward, and he landed in the chair. Naruto slowly regained his posture and, almost hesitantly, turned to look at the pale boy.

It was the same person; the same Neji that he used to call his, until something happened and he lost his precious person for good. He glanced around, but did not find Subaku no Gaara, the redhead whom Neji had chosen over him. His heart felt a mixture of relief and puzzlement when he could not find him.

"I came alone." Naruto turned towards the voice, and ended up locking eyes with the Hyuuga. Neji gave him a small smile and Naruto's heart clenched. It was the same smile which he had seen as a child – a small which lit up the ivory-white eyes of the other boy.

No matter how many years have passed, he still felt something for his first love. Anger? Sorrow? Hate? Resentment? He wasn't sure, but there was definitely still something between them.

"You are in quite a big mess, Uzumaki-kun." Neji said in a quiet and calm voice. Naruto cut him off with a shake of his head. He didn't want to hear from the Hyuuga how badly he screwed up.

"Naruto-kun," The ivory-eyed boy tried again, "I could help you." He paused, "If you want."

Naruto glanced at the other's face. It was so blank and emotionless, but the eyes remained somewhat soft. Neji's pale eyes contrasted Sasuke's onyx-black ones so much, and yet they were so alike. Both were quiet, and stoic. Both were good at fighting and excelled in so much. Both of them were born from noble blood.

The blond turned his eyes away, to focus on something else other that his childhood crush. "No. It's okay." He leaned back in the chair, feeling the cold and stiffness of the plastic dig into his back.

"May I ask you one question?" Neji had dropped the formality, for it seemed awkward for both of them to say.

Naruto nodded, but answered evenly, "Only if you let me ask one in return." To this the Hyuuga smiled softy again.

"Was it, "He stopped for a moment and tried to catch Naruto's eye. The blond looked without really seeing, but still cerulean-blue locked with ivory-white as Neji continued, "my fault that you did such a thing?"

"No." The answer came swiftly and without hesitation. "It wasn't, so don't go beating yourself up 'cause of me." Naruto grinned in true Uzumaki fashion – wide and cheerful.

There was a silence in the room, and then Naruto laughed, "I mean, your boyfriend Gaara wouldn't like that right?"

The Hyuuga stared. "Is that your question?" Naruto nodded, "Yeah." He had wanted to know for some time now, "Why did you leave me, for him?"

Neji shook his head, and the blond was afraid he would refuse to answer. "I'm sorry, Naruto-kun." Naruto opened his mouth and was about to tell the other boy that he didn't have to apologize, when Neji held up a hand. "I should have told you this from the beginning."

"I really did like you, and perhaps you were the first person I ever liked that much. However, it wasn't up to me who I was to be with in the future, as much as I hate to admit it." Naruto stayed quiet upon hearing this. "It was my uncle's choice, and he decided that I was to be engaged to Subaku no Gaara; for his status." Neji spat out the last three words like they were poison. His eyes held a look of disgust to them that Naruto had never seen before.

Then the Hyuuga turned and said in a softer voice, "I couldn't be with you because…"

"It's okay, I understand." Naruto smiled sadly at Neji. He knew how difficult it would be for the other boy to say it. He was sick of all this talk of money, and status, and control. Naruto stood up and grinned at the Hyuuga. "I'd like to hug you and wish that we could be friends, but my hands are unavailable at the moment." His grin grew brighter, "but I could still wish that we would be friends in the future."

Neji stood too and smiled back. He nodded, and stepped forward. As he wrapped his arms around Naruto, the blond tried to recall any love-related feelings he had for this boy. He found none, but wasn't surprised. As Neji turned to leave with one last smile, he hoped Naruto good luck with the trial. The blond nodded.

"Oi! Say hi to your boyfriend for me will you?" Naruto grinned like an idiot, for he has shouted that really, really loudly at the leaving ivory-eyed boy. Neji raised a hand and waved.

Naruto knew he was over the Hyuuga, for as much that Neji meant to him, there isn't enough room in that department of his heart for two people. Even though they are both of noble birth, have similar personalities, and are both equally beautiful, Naruto knew there was only one person whom he liked now. If only the teme would visit him so he could spill out his feelings in a gushy romance-novel scene. He scoffed at the thought. 'Sasuke-teme wouldn't ever do anything remotely romantic.' And then, feeling extremely sorry for himself at falling for such an unromantic person, he shook his head and uttered a true chuckle (his first in such a long time) as he stood, expecting to be lead back to his dreary cell.

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Sasuke never knew that there was so much paperwork to be filled out when visiting a prisoner. But he was willing to write until he got Writer's Cramp if it meant seeing how the idiot blond was doing. After a long time, and a long and terrible case of Writer's Cramp, Sasuke was finally allowed to see Uzumaki Naruto. It seems that there was a visitor before him, so he had to wait for a while longer. He scowled.

Then, as he was in mid-rant about the uncomfortable waiting chairs they have at the station, the police officer called for him. It was his turn to go see the blond. Sasuke stood and walked behind the guard. As he went down a long hallway, he passed by another person. This boy had ashy-chestnut hair and striking ivory-white eyes. He eyed this person and knew the other was doing the same to him. They nodded at each other as they passed.

Sasuke was relieved to see that the blond was okay. For all he knew, the moron could've hit his head by tripping, or did something stupid which would have warranted a beating. Well, it wasn't like he'd ever admit to Naruto that he was worried about him…

The raven sat in the chair opposite of Naruto and the blond just stared at him. "What?" He asked, slightly nervous, and extremely annoyed at himself for being so nervous.

"I just wasn't expecting you to come visit me, that's all." The blond shrugged.

"Who would you expect come to visit you then?" Sasuke asked calmly.

Again the blond shrugged, which wasn't all that easy to do if your hands were tied behind your back, "Iruka-sensei, stupid pervert Kakashi…"

The Uchiha felt like whacking the blond across the head. Let's just say he wasn't in the best of moods today, but then again, if anybody did what he just did, then they wouldn't be all that happy either. "So even Kakashi?"

Naruto grinned, "Yep, he's been acting all lovey-dovey with Iruka-sensei, so I wouldn't be surprised if they came to visit together." Sasuke wasn't sure whether to roll his eyes or shudder at the prospect of Kakashi being his Daddy. He settled on grunting.

"Ne, what's up with you today, teme?" The blond copied the famous Uchiha smirk. "You're usually not so grouchy, just kind of scowling and angry all the time. Although I shouldn't say that, since you blushed like crazy when I first met you, and stuttered more than Hinata-chan did when I last saw her!" Naruto laughed softy at Sasuke's surprised face.

The raven-haired boy waited until the laughter had died down before asking quietly, "So does this mean that you're don't…hate me?" He averted his eyes away. There was a long silence in the room.

"Sasuke-teme," Naruto whispered, "I'm sorry." Their eyes met, and neither of them tried to break the gaze.

"Forgive me." Naruto grinned foxily at this. "So the great Uchiha Sasuke-kun is finally admitting defeat?"

With an "hn" Sasuke stood up and walked to the door. Then he motioned for Naruto to follow him. The blond looked puzzled. "But, I'm in jail remember?" The Uchiha didn't answer but instead just walked out. One of the two guards came over, unlocked Naruto's handcuffs and slapped him across the shoulder. Both the guards were smiling, and the one who had taken off the cuffs gestured towards the door. Naruto walked uncertainly towards it, thinking this was all too weird.

Sasuke glanced back to make sure that the dead-last was still following. He nodded at the blond when he saw him, and then continued to walk along the hallway towards the main station office. There, he would have to file one more thing and then they could go free – or at least Naruto could go free and he could…well, just leave this place.

"Oi! Teme, why'd they let me go?" Naruto still looked confused, and Sasuke smirked. He shook his head mysteriously, and didn't say a word. They arrived at the main office and the Uchiha simply went in. Naruto's eyes widened at who he saw was inside.

"Iruka!" He ran towards his adoptive parent and threw his arms around his sensei in a big bear hug." You're here!" He smiled happily, and then turned to see the silver-haired man standing close by. Kakashi gave a small "Yo" and went back to his discussion with Sasuke. Naruto shrugged and turned back towards his father, feeling suddenly unsure of this situation.

"Are you alright, Naruto?" Iruka's voice was laced with concern. The blond nodded and shifted his weight from foot to foot. "Thank goodness." Iruka smiled and hugged Naruto again.

"Oto-san. You're not mad, are you?" Iruka was surprised at being referred to as 'Oto-san' but smiled with tears in his eyes," No, not in a million years."

"But I got in this huge mess, and now I'll probably be stuck in jail for the rest of my life." The blond rambled on," which is a long time to be staring at the walls and thinking about stuff. I got a giant headache in there, sensei, and it was completely horrible!"

Iruka was laughing by now and he tried to calm Naruto down. "Don't worry, Sasuke got you out of this." He glanced in the direction of the Uchiha. The raven-haired boy felt a cold shiver run down his spine at that moment. (Iruka had found out about the Uchiha's real name before the wedding from Kakashi, but decided not to give him a big lecture about it until later).

"What?" Naruto was surprised. "Sasuke? How could he do anything? This was a big case; it was all over the newspapers!"

Iruka shook his head, "The police were willing to drop all charges if someone paid back all the money to the rightful owners, since you really didn't harm anyone. The charities and orphanages gave back all they could, but they had used most of the money already." Iruka paused and glanced at Sasuke. "He paid the majority of the money by himself, so you are not under arrest anymore. He had to give up his house and most of his property to pay for it all. It was quite a vast amount of money that he gave up for you, Naruto"

Naruto was speechless, "Sasuke-teme…." The raven turned away, trying to hide his embarrassment: Iruka was making it seem like he was a superhero or something!

Naruto grinned and went over to hug the other boy. Sasuke stiffened and elbowed the blond away. He cleared his throat. "You know that I have a condition, right?"

Naruto waited for him to keep going. "I… you…" Again Sasuke found himself stuttering. Naruto grinned and crossed his arms at the back of his head – rejoicing at the new freedom to do so. "Us? It's about us, ne? Don't worry teme, I know the wedding's off." Even though his heart was breaking in two, Naruto tried to keep his voice cheerful.

Sasuke scowled. The idiot blond was just making things harder for him. "No, Usuratonkachi." He rolled his eyes angrily and huffed, "I was just about to tell you that the next time, you'd better be at the wedding, or I'll kick your butt from here to Europe."

"Stupid teme!" Naruto shouted, even though he was smiling so widely that it could possibly hurt his mouth, "you could've at least asked a bit nicer! And I can beat you any day!"

"Oh shut up and kiss already." Both boys turned expectedly towards Kakashi, but he just shrugged and pointed towards Iruka. Naruto and Sasuke stared at the brown-haired man. Naruto's – and soon-to-be Sasuke's as well – oto-san just smiled kindly at the two of them.

And so they turned towards each other and kissed – a soft and chaste one smack dab on the lips. Both boys acted quite unlike themselves as they pulled away with pink-tainted cheeks.

Kakashi and Iruka just watched silently, both of them smiling at the boys and then at each other.

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The wedding took place at the same cathedral, but this time it was planned for a month after Naruto had been released from jail. They like to call it the "End of Robin Hood and the Start of a New Thing" because it really was what the words imply. Everybody (Naruto, Sasuke, Kakashi, and Iruka) just called it E.O.R.H.T.S.O.N.T. for short, or Eorht Sont – which sounded like something in French.

During this month's time, the soon-to-be-wed couple took their time in getting to know each other by doing that they did best: sparring, training and arguing together. Oh well, at least they were with each other all the time, so they really got to know the other well. It was simple luck that they didn't drive each other crazy – maybe they were made for the other after all!

The wedding took place at the same cathedral, except this time it was made a private affair. Only people who actually knew and cared about Naruto and Sasuke were invited. It was just a small gathering really, but everybody was so happy it didn't matter anyways.

Kakashi and Iruka were just two of the people who came. There was also Hyuuga Neji and Subaku no Gaara. Haruno Sakura, Rock Lee, Inuzuka Kiba, Aburame Shino, Tenten, Nara Shikamaru, and Akimichi Chouji were also there. It seems that both Naruto and Sasuke went to the same high school, so they knew all of the people mentioned above. Neji had said that it had something to do with destiny.

Along with these people, Gaara's brother and sister also tagged along. Their reasons? I don't know since, they were too scary to approach and ask.

And so, it had been a small and peaceful wedding. (Somewhat peaceful; with all the arguing done by Naruto and Sasuke.)

"Sasuke-teme!" Naruto whined, "why'd you go and get me such a big sapphire on the ring? You know that I'll never be able to wear it in public since it's so heavy!" He was smiling though.

Sasuke just rolled his eyes, and smiled/smirked back. "Dobe" was all he said, and that was all was needed to be said.

And then, Kakashi lead a white horse from behind the Cathedral. Naruto stared, "where'd that come from?" The ex-butler patted the animal on the muzzle, and the horse snorted gently. "The priest wanted something special for the wedding, since he heard about the good deeds you two did." The silver-haired man shrugged. "Won't it make such a good storybook ending if you rode together towards a sunset on a pure white horse?" His one visible eye curved up.

Sasuke mounted and pulled Naruto up behind him. The blond wrapped his arms around his teme's waist and together they rode off into the horizon (it wasn't late enough for there to be a sunset yet).

Now, dear listeners, I can finally say: And they lived happily ever after.

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Thank-you to everyone who kept reading through all of this! I'm so very glad that this is over, but also sad too. Well, if anyone finds any flaws with the story, place point it out!

Would it be too much to ask for a review on the very last chapter? (There's going to be an epilogue, but never mind that.) –grins sheepishly-

Thanks to my beta! –hugs-

Ja ne!

-Horologii