Then I was Young and Unafraid

Being woken by a cacophony was not the right way to start the day. Ludwig knew this better than most, he'd like to think. He had enough experience with loud noises in general to know if there hadn't been notification of them in advance, it was probably a bad, bad sign of something. So, within a moment of the clatter, Germany had bolted from bed, pulling on pants as he went. Opening his door in a rush, Germany would have tripped right over the tiny figure if he hadn't made a soft noise;

"Mph…"

Looking down, the blond was shocked to note that it was a small brunette in the shirt belonging to his brother he'd lent Austria the previous night. The child was stuck beneath a heavy sword; little hands attempt to push it off him without cutting his palms on the sharp edges. Reaching down, the man noted how the child's purple eyes went wide as he put a hand on the hilt.

"Österreich?" he implored.

Confusion muddled his young gaze, but nonetheless, the small nation nodded.

Taking a breath, Germany explained to him, "I'm going to take this off you, but you can't run understood?"

"Ja..."

With his agreement, Ludwig took away the sword and snagged the boy by his shirt, lifting him to his feet. "Vhat happened to you?" he demanded.

His eyes unguarded, he shook his head and tugged experimentally at the blond's grip. "I-I don't know...?" he answered. "I vas-" he stopped short, pale. "Have I been conquered again? Is that vhy I can't remember?"

"Con-" the man shook his head. "Vhat are you talking about? You came over last night to discuss issues between our nations!"

Stumbling as he struggled to take a step back, despite the hold he was in, Austria shook his head. "Nein! I vasn't! I vas at zu hause!" His purple eyes wobbling with wetness, he asked, "Has Schweiz finally given up on me as an ally?"

Possibly just as confused, if not more so, Germany frowned. Austria didn't remember him. Or yesterday. Possibly all his life after the age he was now; eyeing him, he surmised he wasn't very old at all. He looked six, maybe seven. "Vhat can I do to make you comfortable? I need you to explain alles that happened before you vent to sleep last."

Gnawing his lip, Austria raised his gaze. "Take me to Schweiz, I vant to see Schweiz," he told him curtly.

The blond didn't know how to feel about that idea, but if it would help them fix this mess...frog hopping the boy into his bedroom, he directed the child to sit on his bed as he picked up his cellphone from where he kept it charging on his dresser.

Keeping a steady eye on the fidgeting nation, Germany scrolled through his contacts until he found Switzerland. Hitting call, he only had to wait through one ring when-

"You realize it's not even sieben."

Sighing, Germany leaned back. "Ja, ja...look, I have a, ah, klienes problem...could I come over?" he implored as Austria scrunched his nose on the bed; the gesture bellying the confusion he was doing so well at hiding.

"Vhy? Vhat about this involves me?"

At a loss, Germany feared to give away anything. Worried that it would either cause Switzerland to disbelieve him or cause an adverse reaction in Austria. "Bitte," he murmured.

His fellow nation was silent for a long minute. "...you can come by for dinner, Liechtenstein vill enjoy having company."

Exhaling, Ludwig slumped in relief. "Danke Schweiz."

"Yeah, vell this better be good Deutschland," the man counters before hanging up.

Heart no longer thrumming at a hare's pace now that he's secured the child's one demand, he brought his hand's together and the blond attempted to give Austria a reassuring smile. "Ve better get going, Schweiz is expecting us for dinner."

A suspicious gleam came to the boy's eye. "Dinner today? Isn't that a rather early time to be expecting us?"

"Not by car."

A cocked head and a curse Germany really wished he could use in that instance. "Car? vhat is a 'car'?"

"A mode of transport," was the other's swift reply. "Come, if ve go now; ve can avoid vaking my bruder."

"Vho is your bruder?"

Germany cursed himself for the second time in as many minutes. Why had he said that? What a way to gain a tiny nation's trust. "My bruder is East," he answered evasively. If he was lucky, Austria wouldn't think much more of it.

"A twin?"

"Something similar," Ludwig agree quickly. "He's very loud and annoying, you don't vant him vith us in the car for eight hours."

"Okay..."

Taking his chance, the blond dived in scooping the boy up. "Let's go!"

"Vait!" Austria cried.

"Vhat is it Österreich?!"

Purple eyes stuttered. "I have to pee," he admitted quietly. "Vhere is your toilette?"

Groaning through his teeth, Germany walked them out of the room; he'd not realized Austria could become anymore irritating. "I'll show you," he told the boy as they hurried down the hall.

Putting the boy down in front of the room's door, he pointed to the white seat. "There it is," he urged, giving the boy a shove. Austria closed the door after himself. Relaxing, the blond put his head to the door.

Was the small boy even old enough to ride in the car without a car seat? Ludwig didn't know. "Scheiße!" he finally cursed. This just had to happen, didn't it? At his house of all places! Brooding, Germany thought of the closest place he could stop and get a car seat on his way to Bern.

"Herr!" the little boy cried from the other side of the door. "I can't open the door!"

Scrambling to get his weight off, the blond yelled back,"Try now!"

It opened easily. Face just the faintest of pinks; purple eyes peaked around his brown fringe. "Sorry," he apologized.

Taking him by the hand, Ludwig shook his head. "Nein, it vas my fault. Let's go now, ja?"

"Ja! To Schweiz!" the boy replied with a joyous tone.

Germany wished he could return the excitement, yet all he could think of was the turmoil to come.

I haven't ever seen very many de-aged! Austria fics, have you? Let me know! Because I'd be super interested in seeing them :)

Let me know what you think with a review! Thanks everyone for reading.

Words:

Ja-Yes

Nein-No

Herr-Sir

Scheiße-Shit

Bitte-Please

Sieben-Seven

Toilette-Toilet

Danke-Thanks

Zuhause-Home

Bruder-Brother

Alles-Everything

Österreich-Austria

Schweiz-Switzerland

Deutchland-Germany

Klienes problem-Little Problem

*Thanks a million Mite for the corrections of my German!*