Step 11: Papparapa! Warning: Your Audience's Reactions May Vary

Alfred/Amelia stared at the robin on Arthur's shoulder but didn't say anything."I didn't realize you wanted some of that coffee," she repeated, still looking at the bird. "If I'd known, I would have saved ya some."

Rowan laughed. "He wouldn't drink that stuff if you begged him."

Alfred/Amelia's eyes got wide.

"After all," the robin continued, "it's a pot—" Arthur grabbed Rowan off his shoulder and turned his back to the younger nation.

"She doesn't know about the potion," Arthur hissed quietly, "and I don't want her to find out about it from you. Understand?"

Rowan let out a little cough. "Got it. Please let me go," the bird squeaked out. Arthur released Rowan who flew over to a chair and landed on the back of it. "Crikey, I don't see what the big deal is," the robin said. "She's going to find out anyway when Mistress Ceridwen gets here."

Alfred/Amelia stared at the small red-headed bird, then looked over at Arthur and pointed at Rowan. "Artie, that bird is talking, like, totally speaking English with an accent like yours."

"Um, yes it is," Arthur replied, his voice cracking slightly. "Rowan is a friend of mine. Listen Amelia, I can explain—"

"Kyaaa! He's so cuuuuute!" she said, clasping her hands together and giggling.

Arthur blinked. That was not the response I was expecting.

She ran over to where the robin was sitting. Rowan hopped backwards onto the table near the chair. When she had almost reached the table, she held out her hand. "Come here, little cutie-pie," she said, coaxing with her fingers.

The robin fluttered over and landed on her finger. "You think I'm cute?" Rowan asked.

Alfred/Amelia nodded. "You're totally adorable," she said, letting out a giggle.

Rowan flew into the air and did a somersault. Mid-somersault, the robin morphed into his human form: a 12-year-old boy with red hair and violet eyes, dressed in a brownish-gray double-breasted suit. Spreading his arms wide like wings, he easily landed lightly on the floor, and Arthur guessed he was approximately 140 centimeters tall* and probably the same weight as Latvia.

"How about now?" Rowan asked her.

"Kyaaa! You're even more adorable!" she said, running over to him and embracing him. She lifted him in the air while giggling and whirling him around. Rowan hugged her back. Arthur noticed his face was snuggled right up against her bosom, and a touch of jealously rose up inside him. Alfred/Amelia set him down, but Rowan didn't release her.

"You sure feel nice to hug, lady," he said, grinning. He snuggled against her, caressing her in various places on her body.

Arthur glared at Rowan, his vision clouding white and indignation rising up from his stomach.

Alfred/Amelia giggled. "Careful, Sweetie-pie, I'm ticklish!"

Rowan released her and blushed. "Um, you sure are a nice lady. Can I ask you for something?"

Alfred/Amelia nodded.

"That man promised me pancakes," he said, pointing at Arthur. "I can smell 'em, but I don't see any in here. Where are they?"

That little liar! Arthur fumed. I promised him no such thing.

"Aren't you just adorable," she said. "Does that mean you're hungry, you widdle sweetie?"

Rowan nodded. Arthur mentally retched at the baby-talk.

"Well, Cutie-pie, there are pancakes in my room," she said, holding out her hand. "If we hurry, you might get to eat them while they're still warm."

Rowan smiled and took her hand.

"Just one bloody minute! That's my breakfast," Arthur said marching over to them.

"Aww. Don't be jealous, Artie," Alfred/Amelia said, slugging him on the arm with her free hand. "I'll ask Mattie to go order you another one."

"Yeah. Don't be jealous, Artie," the bird/boy said, sticking out his tongue. "I'm sure you'll get all of her attention once my Mistress gets here."

Why you little brat! Arthur almost shouted, but he just grit his teeth instead. Rowan was probably right; if America found out everything, he didn't know how she would react. Hopefully she would control any anger she felt later and not beat the living daylights out of him.

"Let's go, Puddin'," she said, leading the robin-turned-shota out the door.

Arthur's left eye twitched as he watched them leave, unsure whether or not he wanted to follow and watch any more of the interaction between them.

"Why is your eye twitching, England?" someone said off to his left. Arthur looked at the source of the voice.

"Flying Mint Bunny!" he exclaimed, embracing his feathered friend.

"Hello, England!" the light green bunny squealed, snuggling against him.

"Did you come to cheer me up?" Arthur asked.

"Of course! You summon me every time you're upset or sad," FMB said. "That's how it works."

Arthur blinked. I'm upset? He furrowed his brow. "It's just America. Why would I be upset?" he vocalized.

"Because you want her all to yourself?" FMB offered, even though Arthur wasn't really asking for an answer.

"I'm with the flying fur-ball," someone said off to their right. Arthur and Flying Mint Bunny looked at the source of the other voice.

The fairy in the red dress fluttered in the air, arms crossed. "America was really laying on the pet names with that bird boy, and all she ever calls you is 'Artie'. The only way such behavior would tick me off is I wanted her to pay attention to me."

"Don't be silly, you two," Arthur said, releasing his minty friend. He waved off their suggestions. "Anything that looks like jealous behavior is merely that love potion of Ceridwen's working on me."

The red fairy smirked. "If you say so, England. You know better about that than either of us."

"I'll prove it. I'll go in there right now and have a perfectly calm and un-jealous conversation with them," Arthur said.

"Un-jealous isn't a word," Red said as she twinkled from sight.

"I know that. I meant confident and uninterested conversation." It was then Arthur noticed he was talking to empty air. FMB had also disappeared from sight.

Arthur sighed, shrugged, and walked down the hall towards the room America was staying in. Alfred/Amelia was sitting on the bed, watching Rowan stuff his face with pancakes with a goofy smile on her face. Arthur did his best not to roll his eyes at how she was acting. She looked up when he came into the room.

"Hey Artie, took ya long enough," she said. "Mattie went to order you another breakfast. It was sweet of you to let this kid have yours."

Embarrassed all of a sudden, Arthur couldn't help but smile. "I don't mind. He came a long way after all."

She raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"I came through a dimensional portal from the States," Rowan said, chomping down on a forkful of pancakes.

"Huh. No kidding," Alfred/Amelia said, leaning on her elbow and propping herself up on her hand. "So are we talking a space-bound hypergate system, a space-time portal, time-jump portal, or a star-gate?" Then she got an excited expression on her face. "Or were you actually able to open and close a wormhole without imploding the planet?"

Arthur raised an eyebrow. What the hell is she talking about?

Rowan laughed. "You're smart about these things so I'll tell you: it's a magic portal, but it functions the same way as a space-bound hypergate system. You have to pay a toll, though, if you want to go through it. The toll has to be something precious and part of you, like a drop of blood or, in my case, a feather."

"Ah I see!" she said, nodding. "Can you transport more than just yourself or is it single-fare passage?"

"It's single-fare," he replied. "If you want to take something or someone with you, that thing either has to share your toll or needs to pay a toll as well. For example, if you put some of your blood on the item, then you could take it with you."

Arthur blinked. Up until Rowan said that, his head was spinning at their conversation. He hadn't really understood what the two of them were talking about. Now, Seren's instructions from the other night were starting to make sense. That's why I had to prick my finger on the rose thorn and not just on some knife or something like that.

"Wow. I had no idea portals like that existed," Alfred/Amelia said, her eyes sparkling brightly.

"They're all over the world," Rowan stated. "You just have to know where to go to find them."

She looked at Rowan. "Wait, so they're in stationary locations? They don't move around?"

The boy looked at her incredulously. "You've got one right near your country. What do you think the Bermuda Triangle is?"

"What? You're kidding me," Alfred/Amelia said, her mouth hanging open.

Rowan shook his head. "Nope. But I wouldn't try using that one; the toll is way too high because of the size and power of the portal. That thing will literally eat you whole—well, maybe not you nations, but your bodies are different from normal humans—plus, no one knows where it exits." He looked over at Arthur, then back at her. "Since you're involved, I'll tell you: Mistress Ceridwen's front gate has one, but she's enchanted it so that the exit portal changes. Depending on the toll you pay, you'll go to a variety of places like a gate near the stone circle in Builth Wells, or to Stonehenge, or to the moors of Scotland, or even to your hometown; it just magically takes you where you really want to go. If you don't pay the toll, it doesn't end up a mess like you could with other portals, though; you just end up in the middle of the village near Mistress's home."

Alfred/Amelia clasped her hands together. "Wow! I have to say that's pretty awesome magic that your mistress can do."

"Wait a minute; you don't believe in magic," Arthur stated.

"Sure I do," she said, turning towards him. She gestured at her body. "If I didn't, how could I accept this costume-spell of yours?"

Rowan turned to look at Arthur. Costume-spell? he mouthed. Arthur put a finger to his lips and shook his head. The boy shrugged and took another bite of pancake. A wave of relief rushed through him, grateful the witch's familiar chose not to reveal the truth.

"Though magic is way too unpredictable. Can you imagine if I tried summoning some evil creature to do my bidding and Russia appeared instead?" She let out a laugh.

"Uhhh. Yeah. That would be terrifyingly horrible," Arthur replied, feeling a bit sheepish. How the hell did she know that happened?

"Not to mention embarrassing," she said with a laugh. "I wouldn't be able to face my spell-casting magical friends after something like that. 'sides, science or that space technology stuff Tony has is way cooler anyway."

Arthur let out a couple of small laughs to hide his reaction to her words. Well, at least I can be grateful America didn't interrupt me the second time I tried summoning.+

Rowan let out a little burp and stood up. "Thank you for the pancakes, lady."

Alfred/Amelia climbed off the bed, walked over to him, and patted him on the head. "You're welcome, Cutie."

The boy hugged her again, snuggling into her bosom a second time, and she willingly returned his affection. Arthur suddenly had an overwhelming urge to pounce on the embracing couple to separate them but managed to control himself at the last moment. Why do I care who America hugs? he wondered. Blast this stupid love potion!

When they finally finished hugging, Rowan stepped back from her and then got a shy expression on his face. "Can I ask you for one more thing before I go? You're such a nice and pretty lady. Can I give you a kiss?"

You bloody flirt, Arthur thought.

"Of course, Sweetie," she said, leaning over and offering her cheek to him.

Arthur noticed that her flapper-style dress sloped open a little more when she leaned over. This gave him a front row seat to a view of her cleavage and the lacy top part of her red bra. As a gentleman, he knew he should look away but couldn't find the willpower to do so.

Rowan stood on his tiptoes, grabbed her face, and turned it to face his. Then he kissed her full on the mouth. Her eyes grew wide, and she seemed frozen on the spot. Rowan moved away from her lips and let out a little laugh. He licked his lips. "You taste like maple syrup," he said before kissing her a second time.

Arthur marched over and grabbed him by the collar of his jacket. "Oi! Stop being fresh, you cheeky brat," he said, scowling at him.

"Jealous?" Rowan asked, smiling up at him.

"I . . . you . . . Excuse us for a moment, Amelia," Arthur said. She nodded, still stunned. He dragged the boy over to a corner of the room.

"Relax, Arthur, that was all part of the inquiry," Rowan stated.

"What the hell are you talking about? Since when did acting like a letch count as examining someone?" Arthur asked quietly, glancing over at Alfred/Amelia for a moment.

Rowan laughed. "Acting like a letch? That's a riot. I'm not even attracted to her," he whispered, following Arthur's cues to be quieter. "Now if she was a female robin, all fat and fluffy . . ." He absentmindedly gestured in front of himself like he had breasts.

Arthur grabbed him by the collar again and lifted him partially off the floor.

"Blimey, I was kidding," Rowan managed to cough out. "Let go."

Arthur released him. "You're a kid. You shouldn't even be thinking about that kind of stuff."

"Codswallop. How old do you think I am?" Rowan asked, rubbing his neck. "We familiars don't age like humans; we're actually more like you nations. I may look 12, but I'm a lot older than that. As for knowing about females, I've mated with lots of hens and raised many broods over the years."

Arthur's head spun as he tried to equate "father" with the "child" standing in front of him. "That's no excuse for groping America and kissing her without her permission."

Rowan scoffed. "Arthur. Seriously. That's part of my job."

"I'll bet you tell every girl you fondle and kiss that," Arthur hissed, narrowing his eyes.

Rowan rolled his eyes. "In order to make an initial determination of how deeply and thoroughly the potion has ingrained itself in her body, I have to use physical touch," he explained quietly. "Also, to ascertain how completely the spell worked, I need to kiss the subject twice in an attempt to transform him or her."

Both of them glanced over at Alfred/Amelia. She had sat down on the bed and looked a little flustered.

"As you can see, she's still in the form you conjured," Rowan whispered. He rubbed his chin and nodded. "You must have some pretty amazing magical powers, Arthur."

Arthur blushed. "Thank you—wait a second—that's not what the point here," he said quietly. "If she's stuck that way, she might not ever forgive me."

Rowan raised an eyebrow. "Why do you care if she forgives you?"

"I . . . that is . . . it would be unfortunate to have America as an enemy," Arthur replied sheepishly, heat enveloping his head.

Rowan narrowed his eyes. "Uh-huh. I'm sure that's the reason you want her to like you," he whispered, smiling cheekily. "But putting that aside," he continued, gesturing like he was setting an invisible box off to the side of them. "I don't think you need to worry about her not forgiving you."

Arthur furrowed his brow. "I don't under—"

"Has she been acting all lovey-dovey towards you?" Rowan interrupted.

Arthur nodded.

"You don't need to worry about anything then," Rowan said quietly. "She'll forgive you. Trust me. Like I said, I've mated with lots of hens and as long as they're acting lovey-dovey, you can get them to forgive you for anything."

Arthur glanced over at Alfred/Amelia. She appeared to be staring off into the space in front of her mumbling something.

"Man, she's out of it . . ." Rowan said. "So what are you going to do until Mistress gets here tomorrow morning?"

"What do you think I should do?" Arthur asked, then mentally rolled his eyes when he remembered what Rowan was. I can't believe I just asked a bird for advice.

Rowan shrugged. "You've got two choices: explain to her what actually happened—that the spells were accidentally switched and that Mistress is coming to fix it. Or stall and distract her until Mistress arrives tomorrow."

"I can't tell her—!" Arthur started to yell, then lowered his voice. "I'm not going to tell her that the reason she's a girl is because of a cocked-up spell. I don't care what you say about her being affectionate. She'll definitely blame me for it and hate me for the rest of eternity."

"Do whatever you want to do, mate." Rowan waved his hands. "I'm not going to tell her. I've got work to do." He straightened his clothes. "If you need me later, I'll be at home. I'll text you Mistress's home number later." He walked over to the bedroom window and opened it, then turned to look at Alfred/Amelia again. "I've been meaning to ask you for a while now . . ."

"Yes?"

"What kind of kinky game are you two playing anyway?" Rowan continued as he gave Arthur a once-over. "I know some humans like to dress up when they—"

Bloody hell! I forgot we were still in costume. "This isn't what it looks like," he interrupted, his face afire with embarrassment. "W-w-we're dressed like this for a fancy dress party we had last night," he stuttered out.

Rowan sent him a crooked smile. "Uh huh. Suuuurre." He shrugged and shook his head. "You can tell me the truth. Been there, done that . . .well, not this," he said, waving his hand at both nations. "But you know what I mean."

"That was the truth!" Arthur protested.

"And you slept in your clothes last night because you were sooooo sleepy . . ." Rowan offered.

"Yes. That's it exactly."

Rowan gave a half-salute as he turned to leave. "Whatever. I'll never understand you humans and your weird fetishes."

"It's not like that," Arthur said, glancing over to see if Alfred/Amelia had heard them. She was still staring into space and muttering. He turned back to Rowan and saw that the boy had returned to robin form.

The little bird made a sound that sounded a lot like a laugh. "Don't get into too much trouble while you wait for Mistress to return," he said, his tone a teasing one. He then fluttered out the window and was gone before Arthur could say anything else in his defense.

Sighing, Arthur walked over to where Alfred/Amelia was sitting on her bed.

"My first kiss . . . that kid stole my first kiss . . ." she was muttering. She reached up and touched her lips.

That's what she was spacing out about all this time? Arthur thought. "Um Amelia . . ."

She continued to touch her lips. Tears began to edge her eyes.

"America!" Arthur said a little louder.

Alfred/Amelia took her hand away from her mouth and looked up as if she was noticing him for the first time. "Yeah?"

"That kiss with the bird-boy wasn't your first kiss," Arthur said.

"But I haven't kissed anyone before today," she protested.

Arthur laughed. "I don't think kissing a witch's familiar counts." The memory of their kiss from earlier returned to his mind. Wait so if she's never kissed anyone before, then that means I was her first . . . His heart started to pound so loudly he worried she could hear it. "Um, Amelia, when we . . . ah . . . that is . . . our experiment earlier . . . you don't have to count that either."

"Hmm?" She looked at him absentmindedly. After a moment or two, her face registered that she realized what he was talking about, and her face crimsoned. "Oh yeah! We . . ." She touched her lips again and stared blankly ahead.

Arthur lightly grabbed her by the shoulders. "Like I said, those kisses don't have to count."

Alfred/Amelia locked eyes with him, and his stomach flip-flopped. She reached up and cupped his face gently, pulling him into a tender touch on the lips. "That one counts," she said softly. She wrapped her arms around his neck, crossing her hands behind him, and began to bestow more kisses all over: on both cheeks, the bridge of his nose, the tip of his nose (which was preceded by an Eskimo kiss), and most of all, on his lips.

As if he almost couldn't help himself, Arthur eagerly responded by caressing her cheek with one hand and threading his fingers behind her head and through her hair with the other all while returning the kisses she was giving him. A wave of amusement washed over him when he noticed that her lips really did taste like maple syrup.

"They all count," she said when she finally moved slightly away from him. She kept her arms wrapped around his neck, titillating his skin by tracing her fingers in figure 8s and circles against it. She smiled tenderly at him, and once again Arthur had to remind himself to breathe.

"I-I-I see," he managed to get out. Bloody hell, calm down Arthur, he told himself. It's just the effects of the potion making her—and you—act like this.

"You should probably go get your breakfast, Artie. I'm sure it's done by now," Alfred/Amelia said as she absentmindedly reached up and played with the hair above one ear by twirling a few strands around her fingers. This action caused a ticklish-tingly reaction to flow over his entire body, and he found himself unable to move away from her.

Suddenly, Arthur got the uncanny sensation that they were being watched. He glanced towards the doorway and saw Matthew standing and staring, mouth hanging open. Arthur's face ignited even hotter than when Rowan had teased him. "H-h-how long where you standing there watching us?"

"I-I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to interrupt," Canada said, setting down the breakfast plate he'd brought with him. "I'll leave you two alone. I've got a date with Ukraine anyway and I'm late so I'll just—" He dashed out of the room before Arthur could stop him, slamming the door as he left.

Arthur stared at the door. Why do people keep misunderstanding what's going on between us? It's just the effects of the potion.

"Silly Mattie, we weren't doing anything that he needed to leave us alone for," Alfred/Amelia said, getting up from the bed. She walked over to where a black patent-leather purse was sitting on a dressing table and pulled out her cell. "But I guess I can text him to tell him as much, just to be on the safe side." Arthur looked at her. Her tone was nonchalant, but her cheeks looked as pink as he was sure his face was at that moment.

"Right," Arthur said. "Never hurts to be clear."

She nodded, acknowledging him, and tapped a quick message into her phone before slipping it back into the purse.

Feeling a little relieved, Arthur started to head for the door when he remembered Rowan's suggestion. "Amelia, what are your plans for today?" he asked.

She shrugged. "I dunno."

"Well, the witch, Ceridwen, will be here tomorrow morning to help clear up why the spell hasn't ended yet," he said. "How would you like me to help you return the costumes that you didn't use? I could drive you to the shops."

"Artie, are you sure you want to use your precious car for that?" She smirked at him. "You wouldn't let me drive it at all during WWII."

"If I didn't want to help you out, I wouldn't have offered," he replied.

"'Kay," she said, pushing a lock of hair behind her ear and smiling. "Then I'll take you up on the offer."

Arthur nodded. "I'll come to get you in about 20 minutes then, after you change out of that costume and I finish my breakfast."

"Artie."

"Yes?"

"You probably should change, too," she said, nodding at the police uniform. "I think you look good in that uniform, but everyone else will know you slept in your costume, and since we were cuffed together, they'll think . . . um . . . you know." She wiggled her eyebrows.

Arthur's face grew warm again. "I'll be back in 30 minutes then," he snapped, storming out of the room as he heard her let out a little giggle. I think you look good in that uniform suddenly registered in his mind. Arthur's heart leapt to his throat, and butterflies swarmed his stomach. Relax, he commanded himself. It's just the potion making you react like that.

After Arthur had finished eating breakfast, he knocked on Alfred/Amelia's door to see if she was ready.

"Come in!" she called from inside.

He pushed open the door and found her stuffing some clothing into a bag. She was wearing a feminine sweater, some jeans, and the suede boots from the "bison" costume.

"Aren't you going to return those boots?" he asked, trying his best not to show how disappointed that she wasn't wearing the white with yellow polka-dots dress he didn't see her try on the night before.

She shook her head. "The store said 'No refunds'. I'll give them to one of the other girls later." She scooped up half of the bags on the bed. "Wouldja mind carrying the rest, Artie?"

"No, I don't mind at all," he said as he grabbed the rest of the bags. As he headed downstairs, he noticed that she was hiding behind him. "What are you doing?" he asked her finally.

"Is anyone still here?" she asked, glancing around him. "I told everyone the costume was only for last night. I can't imagine what they'll say if they knew I'm still—"

"No vay! You're still a chick?" Prussia hollered.

Alfred/Amelia squeaked and hid behind Arthur.

"Kesesese. No point in hiding," Prussia said. "I've already texted everyone about this."

"Oooo! Gil how could you!" Alfred/Amelia said, stepping out from her hiding spot.

"Click!"

Prussia smirked and lowered his phone. "This is so going up on my Facebook and my tumblr pages." He punched a button on his phone and then put it away.

Alfred/Amelia stood frozen to the spot, looking like death was about to come upon her.

"So you liked being a voman so much that you decided to stay like that?" Purssia asked casually.

"No. The spell just hit a hiccup," Arthur said, moving all the bags he was carrying to one arm and grabbing Alfred/Amelia's arm. "Come on Amelia." He pulled her towards the door but stopped before they reached it. "Prussia, your brother sent me some interesting pictures of you from last year's New Year's Eve party when I asked him how it was. I think I'll send them to a certain person."

Prussia went pale.

"I'm sure she'll appreciate them," Arthur said, smirking.

"Vait," he squeaked.

Arthur cocked his head to the side. "Why should I wait? You didn't for poor America here. You didn't even get her permission to post that photo."

"I'll take it down." Prussia pulled out his cell and started working on the task at hand. "But I can't stop anyone who's already seen it."

"Since most of the nations are sight-seeing or on flights back home, I don't think that will be many," Arthur stated, "but if I see that picture circulating, I guess I'll just have to take action."

Prussia started tapping on the screen of his phone like crazy as the other two nations walked out the door. Well, as Arthur guided Alfred/America out the door. She was still frozen. He loaded the trunk with all the bags and then guided her over to the passenger side of the car.

When the door to the garage opened, she started mumbling something about no one ever taking her seriously again.

"Amelia, it's all right," Arthur said.

"No it's not. Gil loves to humiliate me, and after yesterday, he thinks he has a right to," she said. "When that picture starts getting around—"

"Weren't you paying attention just now?" Arthur raised an eyebrow. "I just traded blackmail for blackmail. Although all my pictures show is Prussia drunk out of his mind. The really embarrassing photos I'm reserving for when I need them."

"Wait. So it's not going to be all over the web?"

Arthur shook his head. "Hopefully not."

Alfred/Amelia embraced him, planting several kisses on his cheek. "Thank you so much! Thank you so much! I may be even more awesome than Gil, but I just didn't know what I was going to do after he took my photo."

"Stop that, you git, I'm about to start driving," Arthur said, removing her arms. It's just the potion, he told his pounding heart. He turned onto the street and headed for Oxford Street.

Returning the clothes was easier than Arthur thought it would be. He noticed that there was a distinct difference, though, than when he returned items. The female shop assistants would chat happily with Alfred/Amelia as they returned the items and asked for her method of payment, and to his surprise, she was able hold up her end of the conversation. The male America would never have been able to do that.

"So is this your boyfriend?" one of the shop assistants in one of the shops had asked.

"Ah . . .Um . . . I didn't say that he was," Alfred/Amelia said, looking away from the group.

"So he's not your boyfriend," clarified another shop assistant who was prepping the returned clothes for rehanging.

Alfred/Amelia looked down at the floor. "I didn't say that either," she replied quietly.

The shop assistants looked at each other and giggled. "No need to feel shy, luv," the first one said. "Men love to hear you call them 'yours'. Go ahead: say it. He's your lover."

Arthur's face ignited at the shop assistant's comment. Alfred/Amelia's mouth dropped open but not a sound came out of it.

"Sorry these items didn't work for you. We hope you'll come back and visit us again," the shop assistant said as she handed Alfred/Amelia the return receipt.

Alfred/Amelia took the receipt, shoved it in her purse (which for some reason she insisted she couldn't return because it was free), and grabbed Arthur's hand, practically dragging him out of the shop while the shop assistants continued to giggle about his and her reactions.

"Augh! That was so embarrassing," she said once they'd gotten out of the shop. "Good thing that was the last return I needed to make."

"So we're finished?" Arthur asked. The warmth from his face had traveled to his ears: she hadn't let go of his hand yet.

"Hmm? Yeah, we're done," Alfred/Amelia said. Suddenly her stomach growled loudly.

"Would you like to get some lunch?" he suggested.

She blushed and nodded.

"I know a great restaurant a short walk from here," Arthur said. "Shall we?" He squeezed her hand to remind her that she was still holding it. Instead of letting go, she maneuvered her hand so that her fingers were interlocked with his.

"Lead the way," she said, smiling at him.

Arthur's hand started tingling and it seemed like his heart had taken residence up in his palm. Trying his best to ignore those reactions but unwilling to be the first to let go of her hand, he looked straight ahead and started guiding her towards the restaurant. Stupid potion, he thought.


A/N

-_-;; I hope you aren't disappointed with this chapter. ;p I am grateful you're still interested. T~T Please note: I'm not giving up on either of my stories. I'll finish them both!

*Rowan's exact height is 4'7" (for non-metric users) and 139.7 centimeters (for metric users). So basically, he's not much taller than Sealand or Latvia.

+Yeah. I'm referring to Episode 13 of the anime. It's one of my favorite scenes. ^_^

As for the dimensional portal stuff, I don't pretend to be the best sci-fi geek out there, so I'm sorry if I got some of the terminology and science mixed up. I just decided to show what I was imagining when talking about the magical portals that Rowan and Arthur had used.

English slang/terminology:

Crikey = general expression of surprise

Blimey = nice mild expletive, in terms of rudeness on a par with "my goodness."

Codswallop = nonsense. All three of these are old-fashioned expressions which shows even more how old Rowan may actually be, despite how old he looks.

shop = store

shop assistants = store clerks

Translations:

"Papparapa" is Japanese for "Presto".