"Alright Dudes and Dudette's, this is how this is gunna go down! China! You'll start cheaply mass producing the new suits that Japan is supposed to design. Britain, you have to get Uncle Wales on board to herd up the cows. He's likes sheep right? Cow's aren't that different. Russia I need yo-"
"What the bloody hell are you spouting you tosser?!"
"I do not like idea of work with Japan, aru."
"I would very much like to know what Amerika wishes me to do."
The self-proclaimed hero gave his signature laugh, his brain believing his 'prevent-earth's-destruction-by-stopping-cow-metha ne-with-super-suits' had been unanimously approved.
Well almost.
"I knew you guys would finally see it my way. Hey, bro, aren't you happy I saved your ice shit?" Blue eyes darted to a certain seat, but they soon narrowed as he realized it was empty.
"America, what the hell-"
"Ah, L'Amérique, mon fils 'as been, 'ow you say, 'under zee weather' today." There was a flourish of dramatic hand motions in conjunction with that statement.
"What?! And you didn't say anything? Not cool man! I say we adjo-adge-….stop this meeting and go take care of Mattie!" There was a loud bang as America slammed his fist on the podium.
Germany could only sigh as he wrote down a side note to have maintenance replace it…..again.
"I hate to admit it, but he's right, Frog. You should have said something." There was a murmur of agreement from various other nations, most just wanting to blame the flamboyant blonde for something.
France was shocked for a moment before returning to his dramatic gestures, horrified that such blame was being placed on him.
"Vell…I guess we could dismiss for today. Ve can pick up tomorrow." I really just want to get the hell out of here-oh God, I left Prussia alone in my hotel! "Are z'ere any closing statements?" There was a sound of papers shuffling quickly. The meetings were a week long affair this time around, giving them ample time to slack off the first day or so.
"Very good. Let's-"
Creak
Every head turned at the sound of the door being opened. There was a squeak of exertion that was barely audible. It gave a good three feet before all movement stopped. There were many bunched eyebrows at the scene.
"OH LORD JESUS, IT'S A GHOST!" The manliest of high school girls managed to shout before his body dived under the table.
A white foot crawled through the door, followed by another. And another. And another.
Four of the Nordics stood with mouths agape while Norway took to internal screaming.
Two older nations found themselves doing both.
"Art'ur! Turn me back now!" A tiny accented voice demanded, chubby hand brandishing a hair brush while clinging back of a young polar bear. The greatly oversized white shirt drug comically, even tied in various places, while violet eyes stared hard at his target.
Said nation could only gawk at the sight before him. His eyes shifted so slightly to look around. He wasn't the only one seeing this, right?
Not if the choking babble coming from behind him was any indication.
"ART'UR!"
"England? Isht dis un …child of yours?"
"W-what?! I'll have you know I am a respectable man. I don't have children nor do I want-"
The utensil fell from the boy's hands, cutting off any argument as it clattered against the hard floor. The pretense of anger dropped from his body and by the time the wooden object had bounced twice, tears being fought back in those dark eyes. England's attention snapped back to the child.
"It S'kay. Daddy will 'member me…later." His lip quivered but he held it in. Matthew Williams! You are a grown country! Don't you dare cry! What's wrong with you?
Well. That was one way to get the entire world to hate your loathsome existence.
Bravo.
France's mater…fraternal instincts kicked into overdrive, pushing aside his chair and practically running to scoop the shuddering toddler into his arms.
"C'est bon, mon bébé." His words were hushed as he situated him, quiet hiccupped sobs began drowning into his shoulder. A piercing glare directed to a certain Englishman accompanied by gentle rocking.
"P-papa…Why did he do d'is. I-I..Did I do somet'ing?" The words were now muffled as anger and confusion took over.
"Non! Non!" The Frenchman retorted. "Right…England?" He had no idea why his Canada was once again a child, but the reasons were insignificant while the boy was having a breakdown.
By now, a few of the more intelligent nations had caught on to something, gears turning furiously in their heads.
"That's right, lad...Matthew…I swear, I didn't do anything to you."
Everyone understood to some degree at the drop of his human name. Some began to murmer amounst themselves as a small wave of confusion drifted in.
"Ay! Look at the cute little niño! Lovi~! It's so cute! I didn't know Francis had a new peque!"
Minus one.
"Germany! Germany! Why does Big Brother France have a bambino?! It'ssocute! Do you think we can get one? I mean, where do you get them from anyway? I never see them at the stores when I go shopping. Do you think France has an extra one. OHLOOKATIT! Germany!"
Minus two
Matthew was ignoring the noise he had stirred up, instead he was too preoccupied to find out if his former caretaker had some sort of horrible grudge against him
"Pwomis?" The blonde head peeked up from his father's shirt, sore eyes pleading for the truth as he glanced toward his other parent.
"On the Queen's honor."
A small grin broke out over the boy's face as he sniffed the last of his tears, relieved that England hadn't done something in retaliation for something he had done unknowingly. Though, the fact was still there.
He was currently in the body of a three year old.
Again
And he didn't know why.
Everything he did was in accordance to his physical age, and it was frustrating. It wasn't as though he wanted to speak with a speech impediment or with lack of grammatical understanding. His mind was perfectly capable of creating well-orchestrated sentences, but when they made it to his vocal cords, they managed to shift into some childish rendition.
The same went for his actions. Did he really cry this much when he was a colony? It was as if his eyes watered from even a weak wind. He was like a pregnant Poland in this state. Not to mention the strong urges to touch everything that was polished, sometimes with an overwhelming urge to put it in his mouth.
He shuddered at the self-control that he had had to use to text this morning. That phone looked so tasty for a moment…and Angry Birds demanded to be played.
And it just kept getting more and more difficult to reign in these impulses as the day went on.
Matt's smile weakened a little as he started wriggling against the arms around him. Francis noticed this and set the boy down, helping him catch his balance before leaving him to his own devices.
Tottering forward, Matthew ducked under the table.
"A'fred?" His hand reached forward, the tips of his fingers touching the trembling shoulder. "A'fred…It jus' me." Blue eyes stole a look at the small body, mind reeling as he took it all in. It had been well over two-hundred years since he last saw that image.
"Mattie? Whaa…?" The American crawled closer to his brother who only shrugged.
"Boys. Can you come out now? I need to have a look at Matthew." Arthur called to them, concern etched in his voice. He hadn't been lying. This was not his doing, but magic was the only way something so drastic could happen.
Matthew easily walked out, followed by a clambering America.
"A'fie all bettah now." He announced as he latched a hand onto his brother's pants, eliciting various squeaks and coos from female and male nations alike.
"Japan! Are you getting this? It's so…what was that word…Moe?" Hungary had shifted from a state of shock to snapping pictures in record time. Her accomplice simply stared, pokerfaced, at the hands folded in his lap.
Grinning like a fool while bouncing on his Papa's lap while France brushed his hair, Matthew allowed Arthur to poke and prod him while mumbling various counter spells, attempting to solve this puzzle. It was troubling to say the least. He had never heard of a country regressing like this and it wasn't as if there was something wrong with the lad's country. If it happened to him…who else could it affect?
"L'Angleterre…are you sure you didn't-" That nasal voice was not what he wanted to hear at the moment.
"Shut up. I have already told you that I didn't cause this." The Brit didn't even spare a glance at the man as he tilted Matthew's head to the side, fingers tickling the soft skin.
"Oui…but sometimes when you drink-"
Arthur relieved the man of the hairbrush, using it to give him a good hard smack across his head. This sent the toddler into a giggling fit, leaving the nations who had remained after the dismissal to squirm in anticipation. They had been assured, for good behavior, time with little Matthew once the inspections were done.
Sending one last glare towards the Frenchman, Arthur turned back to the problem, softening his gaze.
"Now lad, tell me exactly what happened."
"Well…I went to bed 'cause my head had an owwie."His brow scrunched a little. That wasn't exactly the word he had planned on using. "When I woke up Kuma…Kuma…Kumajawa was so BIG," The boy's eyes grew round as he narrated the story. "an-and I wasn't! S'not fair! I wanna be big boy 'gain!" Matthew's face started growing red as a temper tantrum tried to rise up. With a quick hand over his mouth, he seemed to calm himself down. "I-I…why I act like d'is?" His anger was soon accented with tears and he didn't try to fight them this time. Both versions of himself wanted to cry now.
Arthur looked down now, unsure of how to help his former charge while Francis took to rubbing circles on the boy's back.
"S'Okay! I'm the hero remember! I'll fix ya right up, then you can go back to agreeing with my plan to save the world!" For a moment, it was as if the boy had seen all his birthdays at once, but that look was quickly replaced as he fought back thoughts that 'reason' shouldn't have allowed to exist.
Besides, imagining your brother in nothing but a cape and tights was not good for the psyche.
"Stupid git, No one liked your plan in the first place." He paused, thinking hard before he spun on the American, chests nearly brushing.
"Whoa dude, invasion of personal space."
"Personal Space was invented in Korea! Daze~" There was a resounding slap followed by 'aru'.
The Brit just glared upwards and the taller man, ignoring all distractions, as a thought process began churning in his head and he wanted to let it play out before he continued.
This is what we call thinking before speaking.
However, Alfred wasn't as familiar with the term, and simply looked confused as he stared down into green eyes. After a moment, he believed time had stopped for Arthur. After all, that's what happened on T.V. Someone would be talking, then suddenly freeze from an outside force. Now it was up to him to save him before time ran out. How did they fix these things again?
Oh yea!
It wasn't as if he was looking forward to this, but if it saved Arthur…
It was quick, just a peck, but more than enough to set off a chain of reaction.
France stood, indignant shout on his lips, nearly dumping the blonde in his lap, quickly sitting back down when the boy cried out in surprise.
Japan's eyes shot up, his face rather impassive, except for fact that his left eye was currently having a seizure.
Hungary's silent squeal was accompanied by furious shaking and soundless requests for a repeat. Austria hand a hand gently on her arm. Not that he would actually move to stop her if she meant to move.
Then there were the two involved. One looked as if nothing had happened while the other tried to process what had.
When Arthur's skin began to heat up, Alfred regained his trademark smile.
Success! The Hero saved the-
Whack
Close range head shot
It's super effective.
Alfred went down, the offending brush clattering to the floor a few feet away.
"YOU IGNORANT SOD! Pull your head out of your arse for five bleeding seconds!" The Brit furiously rubbing his palms against his face a few times trying to regain his composure and failing miserably. "I was going to ask you if you had anything to do with this." He made a sweeping gesture to the puckered up Canadian. "After all, I remember you two met up yesterday, did you not?"
Alfred was busy streaming curses, and rubbing the skin between his yes. "Yea we –ouch- we chilled after his plane landed. Jus' went for take-out and coffee. Ate at the hotel—Shit Artie that hurt. You would think you were Great Britain again."
One very large eyebrow twitched. Twice.
France instinctively put his hands to the young boy's ears, blocking out the proverbial shit-storm.
Matthew however, was less than thrilled. They were forgetting the fact that he had a problem. An angry grunt built up in the back of his throat as he huffed irately. They could argue later, right now he just wanted his normal body and mind. There were Molson's to be drunk and pancakes to be made.
Neither of which had he had this morning.
Before he could break up the fight however, he felt one of the hands remove itself and a yelp from his Papa.
"-you daft Yank! I'll have you know that-"
"Little Matvey. You have a need to be one with Mother Russia now, da? I would be feeling the happy if you do so." Violet met Mauve as the youngster twisted his Papa's the lap to see the Eurasian peering at him over France's shoulder, his hand gripped tightly around the other.
For a moment, everything went quiet as some nations prepared to defend their fellow country. Others just wanted to see the results.
Matthew gave a grin that would melt any heart, and Russia believe that it was a confirmation.
"Non, you ig'nant sod!" The voice was laced with a diabetes-inducing tone while looking like the cat who caught the canary. He had learned a new word. Had he used it right? Of course he did! It was–Oh look. Welcome back common sense. You left for a bit, but it's okay. Whim took over and did a bang up job.
Oh fucking shit! Stupid brain. Shitshitshitshitshit. Je suis mort! SHIT! His eyes went as wide as they could as his mouth formed a small circle. "Uh oh."
England turned a new shade of red before paling while France nearly fainted where he sat.
Okay. I needed something upbeat to write because..I just did. So I started this. Don't judge me. Because it's meant for fun (but still with a plot), it'll probably have those 'why are you even trying' moments but IDGAF. It'll be kinda fast paced for a while...sorries!
So enjoy this new series and if you follow my other one, it should have an update -very- soon.
Peque[SP]| Child
Bambino[ITA]| Child
Je suis mort![FR]| I'm so dead!