Title: Cap O' Rushes

Pairing: 4827

Summary: Cast out by his father, Prince Tsuna disguises himself and goes to work in the kitchens of Lord Spanner. But when he sheds the disguise for a night of dancing and partying, Spanner falls for this mysterious stranger.

Notes: Not one of the more well known fairytales, but I still really like Cap O' Rushes, so here ya go. Cap O' Rushes with a bit of King Lear thrown in there, since that was how I learned about the fairy tale. The original story doesn't really say that Cap O' Rushes is royalty (the version I found said that she was just the daughter of a rich man), but I wanted to make Tsuna a prince.

I own nothing.

Once upon a time, there was a boy named Prince Tsuna, who was the son of the royal family in the Vongola kingdom. He was a kind and caring boy, who loved his family very much, even if his brothers were a little on the vain and self-centered side. His father was a man who loved all of his sons very much, and when it came time that he wanted to retire and pass on his kingdom to his sons, he wasn't sure how to do so. It would simply be easy to split it into thirds and give them each a piece, but the king was slightly insecure.

So one day he called his three sons to the throne room and posed them a question. "How much do you love me?"

The first son replied. "I love you more than all the moments of my life I have experienced."

This pleased the king greatly, and he turned to his second son, who smiled and said, "I love you more than I love the Earth that holds and cradles us."

The king was again pleased, and turned to his third son, Tsuna, who he always loved them most. "And how much do you love me, Tsuna?"

Tsuna, who had been feeling rather hungry at this moment in time, due to his father calling him away as lunch was being served, gave the answer that made the most sense to him at that moment. "I love you as much as fresh meat loves salt."

His brothers stared at him in silence, and his father's face twisted up in hurt and anger. "What kind of answer is that? You don't love me at all! Get out of here! Get out!"

Tsuna was driven out of the castle with nothing but the rich clothes on his back, and he wandered for miles before he came across a small pond. Ashamed of being banished from his own house, he did not want anyone to realize his true identity, so he took the rushes that were growing around the large pond and weaved them together. He created a cap to hide his brown locks of spiky hair, and a long robe that covered the fine material of his princely clothes. He dirtied his hands and his face and looked at his reflection in the water, satisfied with how he looked nothing like himself.

He wandered around for a long while, following old dirt roads and praying the come across someplace that would give him food and shelter. Finally, as the sun's beams began to disappear behind the horizon, Tsuna came across a large manor, and knocked on the door. A bespectacled redhead answered it, and grimaced at Tsuna's dirty appearance.

"I'm sorry, this is the manor of Lord Spanner. Do you have business here?"

Tsuna stared up at the man was imploring eyes and he spoke with a voice wavering with intimidation and the stress of his situation. "I only need a place to stay and a way to survive. I can clean or cook or do whatever you ask of me, and I only ask that you let me stay here. I have nowhere else to go…"

The man at the door faltered, thinking for a long moment, but he eventually sighed and guided Tsuna in. "You may work in the kitchens, scrubbing pots and sweeping the floors. I work as a cook there. My name is Shouichi."

"Pleased to meet you." Tsuna said politely, but did not give a name in return. Shouichi looked at him oddly, but did not press. He showed Tsuna the kitchens, as well as a small room nearby that would be his.

Tsuna worked hard in the kitchens, never complaining about his work and always doing as he was told. He never gave any of his coworkers a name, so they took to calling him Cap O' Rushes for his clothing and everything worked smoothly.

One day, a month after Tsuna began working at the manor, a young cook named Haru excitedly announced that there was going to be a large party spanning three whole days. The servants of the house organized it so that the master of the house, Spanner, would get out of his workroom and socialize. Tsuna had yet to ever see the man, though Shouichi had taken the time to tell him numerous stories of the man's childhood and hobbies. Apparently, the lord spent his time tinkering and creating mechanical toys and gadgets that were sometimes mass produced and sold across the land. It was a good supply of money, but the man spent every minute of every day in his workshop, which no one thought was healthy.

When the first night of the party came, the staff dressed in their finest outfits and asked Tsuna to come dance with them. There would be all the occupants of Spanner's manor, as well as his relatives and their company, and their neighbours. There would be many people, fine foods and good wine, and lots of dancing and merrymaking. Tsuna told them he was too tired from his work, and retired to his bedroom. The kitchen staff simply shrugged their shoulders and left for the dance floor.

But in his room, Tsuna shrugged off his robe of rushes and his cap, and washed all the dirt from his hands and face. He stood in front of the mirror, looking at himself in all his former glory, and quietly slipped out of the manor. He sneaked his way up to the entrance and made his way in as though he was just a neighbour, dressed in a fine black and gray suit with golden trim.

It was a beautiful sight, and Tsuna enjoyed the small step back into the finery that he had been so used to. Numerous people turned to look at him, trying to figure out who he was, this stranger, but captivated by him, rather than threatened. As Tsuna made his way to the buffet table, he caught the gaze of a blonde man staring at him with captivated interest.

While Tsuna had never seen Spanner before, Shouichi had given him a description, and the swirling hair was rather unique. Blushing slightly, he flashed the man a smile, which seemed to spur Spanner into action, because he was soon walking away from his wallflower position until he stood right in front of Tsuna. The boy gulped.

"May I help you?" Tsuna asked, glancing up into Spanner's eyes for a moment before the intense gaze caused him to flush and look somewhere near the older man's shoulder. Spanner paused for a moment before answering.

"Let's dance."

"Heeeeh? Excuse me?" Tsuna squeaked a little, eyes jolting back to Spanner's face.

"If I'm going to be forced into coming here and dancing with someone, I might as well do it with someone who interests me."

Tsuna could only splutter for a few moments more before the blonde took his hands gently in his own and led Tsuna out onto the dance floor. Couples already dancing parted in amazement, leaving a large space open for Spanner to twirl Tsuna around in a relaxed dance.

But eventually Tsuna knew that the kitchen staff would retire for the night, and they would check on Cap O' Rushes, only to find him not there. So he excused himself for a moment and slipped away in the shadows of the manor, efficiently sneaking back to his room, where he had just enough time to throw on his rushes and curl up on the bed before he heard the door creaking open. Shouichi peered into the room and saw Cap O' Rushes 'sleeping' form, and the door was closed again as Shouichi left for his own bed.

The next morning Tsuna woke up with the rest of the manor, and quickly got to work sweeping the kitchen floors while the staff gossiped around him. All they could talk about the whole day was the mysterious stranger that had come to the party last night. Tsuna flushed and hid his face in his work, scrubbing the pot he held with an almost vicious ferocity.

Later in the day all anyone could talk about was how Spanner was sitting in his workroom, working on his toys and sulking about how the boy he had been dancing with had disappeared on him.

When the evening came, Shouichi turned to Tsuna and insisted that he come this night. But, again, Tsuna told him he was simply too tired and that he would try and make it for the third night. He then left for his room, and exited in his finery once all the others had left.

Almost as soon as he walked through the doors did Spanner swoop in, clearly waiting for him already, and the two swept onto the dance floor. They twirled the night away, dancing care-free and having a great time, but soon Tsuna slipped away again, returning to his identity as Cap O' Rushes and falling into his bed.

The day passed by much like the last, and in the evening Tsuna repeated his little act, and returned to the party, Spanner quickly finding him. The two continued their dancing, but when the time came close to when Tsuna would usually slip away, Spanner gripped his left hand a little tighter and stopped dancing.

Tsuna looked at him curiously as Spanner slipped a golden ring from his own finger and slid it onto Tsuna's left hand's ring finger. The boy's brown eyes widened as he stared at it, and Spanner leaned forwards, pressing his lips close to Tsuna's ears.

"I would like to marry you."

Tsuna stared at him, red-faced, and found his words had failed him. He let loose an intelligible string of garbled words that Spanner found amusing. Finally, Tsuna regained his speech and asked Spanner for a glass of wine. The blonde left him for the buffet table, and did not notice when Tsuna slipped away.

Tsuna awoke the next morning and got to work, the kitchens filled up with the gossip of the staff. Again they wondered who the mysterious boy who danced with Spanner could be, and he found out that Spanner had actually sent people out to ask all around the surrounding area for any clues, but had not found any.

"He looks so distraught." Said Kyoko, the young maid who had taken Spanner his midday meal. The tray filled with barely touched dishes was placed next to Tsuna. The food was emptied out for the staff to eat, so it would not go to waste, and then Tsuna began scrubbing the plate. "He doesn't even want to work on his toys."

He felt a pang of guilt shoot through him at her words, already knowing that Spanner had basically locked himself in his bedroom after the boy at the party rejected him. But Kyoko was not one to exaggerate things, and Tsuna knew it was his fault. But he liked Spanner, very much, and he felt that the man deserved better than a disgraced prince. He would get over Tsuna and find someone better, Tsuna was sure of it.

But days passed, and soon the kitchen was only making food for the staff of the manor, as Spanner had completely locked himself inside his room, refusing to eat or leave. He had not even worked on his toys, and almost everyone had done their best to get the man to open the door and eat something.

Eventually, Shouichi pulled out his 'best friend' card and convinced Spanner to have something to eat. The man simply asked for some soup, so Shouichi returned to the kitchens and began making the dish. He stirred it while it simmered, and it wasn't long before Tsuna approached him and asked if he could stir it for a little while. Shouichi told him to wash the dirt off his hands and face first, so they wouldn't get in the soup, and then allowed him to stir the soup.

While Shouichi was inspecting the other kitchen staff, Tsuna slipped the golden ring Spanner had given him off the chain around his neck he had used to conceal it, and dropped it into the bottom of the bowl, pouring the soup into it. The dark liquid concealed the ring from Shouichi when the man picked up the bowl and gave it to Kyoko to take it to Spanner's room.

Spanner sat up in his bed, leaning against a wide array of pillows for support as he gingerly accepted the soup. He slowly drained the dish into his stomach, until he saw the glittering golden ring at the bottom. He shined it up on a napkin and confirmed that it was his ring that he had given to the mysterious stranger. He told the maid to bring up whoever made the soup.

When Shouichi stood before him, Spanner just gave him a slightly bored and annoyed look and asked who really made the soup. Shouichi frowned and put his hands on his hips.

"I did, I told you that." He said crossly, though he paused for a moment. "Although… Cap O' Rushes stirred it for a while, and poured it."

"Bring him."

Tsuna quivered as he entered Spanner's room, both from nerves and from anticipation. Spanner held up the ring and asked him where he had gotten it from.

"Well… From you." Tsuna said eventually, his face flushing as he removed his cap of rushes, familiar brown locks springing into view. He slid the robe of rushes from his body, revealing the gold trimmed suit he wore. With his freshly cleaned face, he looked every inch the same as he did during the party, and Spanner leapt from his bed and embraced the boy.

Tsuna revealed his story, from how he was cast out by his father, and how he came across his manor and wished to live a simple life away from the shame of being a disgraced prince.

"Why did you run after my proposal?"

Tsuna flushed and looked at the ground. "I did not think I deserved someone like you, not after I was banished… but…" Spanner tilted his head, tucking his fingers under Tsuna's chin and lifted it until their eyes met.

"But?"

"I-I do love you… And to be utterly selfish, I do want to marry you."

Spanner grinned and leaned down, brushing his lips against Tsuna's in a soft kiss that left the boy weak in the knees and beet red. "Good," Spanner said, brushing his thumb against the pink flesh of Tsuna's lip. "Because I rather like that selfish desire."

An engagement party was thrown for the two, and every nobleman across the land was invited. Without revealing Tsuna's identity, they even invited his father, who always had an interest in his people and had nothing else to do now that his two eldest sons ruled his kingdom.

Tsuna went down to the kitchens when they were preparing the meal for the party and asked Shouichi to make all the dishes without a speck of salt. Shouichi was confused, knowing that the dishes would be bland, but Tsuna insisted, so he had to assume the boy knew what he was doing.

When Tsuna's father tasted the first dish, the salt less meal traveling to his stomach, and realized what his youngest son had said. The salt less meal was nothing, and only with salt could it be something wonderful. He began crying, and Spanner, who arranged it so he was sitting next to the man, asked him as innocently as he could what the matter was.

"I realize what my son, Prince Tsuna, meant all that time ago." He revealed through his sobs. "He was the one who love me most of all, and I sent him away like a fool."

Tsuna entered the room then, smiling at his father and granting him forgiveness. They reconciled and Tsuna was granted his father's blessing for his marriage to Spanner, his blessing for the two to live happily ever after.