"That bloody wanker!" Arthur seethed, glaring at the dusty mirror in front of him. His bright green eyes churned with irritation, his thick eyebrows furrowed and low. He was dressed in formal entire, being he just got back from a world meeting. "He thinks he's so mature." He mocked, disgust in his tone as he turned away and stormed into his living room. "Why, his country has barely existed for 200 years! What does he know about politics or solving world issues! He's a child!"

France glanced up from the book he was reading from his seat on the couch. "He may be a child to you, mon amie, but he's a world power. His ideas must be heard whether you wish to accept them or not." He stated in a rather bored tone, making it obvious that he had heard this rant a hundred times before.

"But he's immature! He's rash, egoistical, only thinks of his own country-"

"Arthur, you need to breathe."

"GOD DAMNIT, FRANCIS, I AM BREATHING!"

"Would like me to make some tea? Would that make you feel better?"

"YES I WOULD LOVE SOME TEA."

"Alright, just try and calm down, amour. I will return with the tea." France smiled, walking off to the kitchen.

Arthur watched him leave, his muscles still ridged with anger at his younger brother. He wasn't fit to have such authority. He was only a child.

Only a child.

A wicked smile flashed on his face, and he raced to his room. "I'll show that twit just how grown up he is."

~~ Two hours later ~~

"Alfred!" Shelby shouted, knocking on the country's door. "Come on, I got the movie! Let pop this sucker in and watch it!"

No answer.

"Al, seriously, you know I hate standing in front of your house like an idiot. Open up!"

Again, no answer. She couldn't even hear his footsteps approaching the door.

Sighing in frustration, she slowly turned the doorknob and stepped inside. The country never kept his door locked during the day, which made no sense to the teen, but it came in handy when America decided not to come to the door.

"You're an ass, you know that?" She yelled, setting the movie on the table. "One of these days, I'm gonna walk into something you don't want me to see, right? Right." Shelby continued on with herself, since no one was answering her.

"Oh, don't trouble yourself, Alfred. I'll get the popcorn ready." She said loudly, making her way into the kitchen.

She stopped dead in her tracks.

Standing in the middle of the kitchen floor, covered in microwaved popcorn and buttery oil was a small child with chubby cheeks, big blue eyes, and blonde hair with a little cowlick sticking up above the rest of the greasy mop. He was wearing a oversized sweater, and he stared at her nervously, before speaking in a high pitched voice, "I tried to have popcorn ready before you came, but I spilled it when I tried to reach for a bowl." He explained, still holding an empty popcorn bag in his fat fists.

Shelby took a step back. "Alfred... There's a small child in your kitchen..."

The child stomped his foot. "Shelby!" He whined. "I am Alfred!"

The brunette knew that. As soon as she saw those sky blue eyes, she knew it was Alfred. But she just didn't want to believe it. She couldn't quite wrap her head around it. "How- when- WHAT?" She stuttered, getting gradually louder as she went. "HOW DO YOU TURN INTO A CHILD?"

"I don't know!" He exclaimed in a squeaky voice. "I was just got home from the world meeting a suddenly I was three feet shorter!"

"Well, what do we do?" She demanded. As she asked this, Americat padded in from behind her and began licking up the mess of popcorn.

"Oh, kitty!" Alfred shouted in excitement, attempting to tackle the fluffy cat. It mewled in protest, maneuvering itself so it avoided America's arms, and the young country fell flat on his face. He yelled in pain and lifted his face up, tears collecting in his eyes as he began to cry.

"For the love of all things holy." Shelby muttered to herself, rubbing her temples. She was not very good with children. In fact, she hated them. But she couldn't just abandon her best friend- especially not when he looked like a crying three year old.

She walked up to him, scooping him up off the ground and placing him on her hip. "Hey, don't cry, dude. We can still watch Jurassic World if you want." She stated, trying to sound somewhat comforting.

Alfred sniffed, wiping the moisture for his face. "Can I take a bath first? I got butter all over me." He stated, wiping some of the oil from his skin on Shelby's face.

Her face flushed in anger, but she held it together. "Sure, I'll get the bath running." She said through gritted teeth, setting the country down and making her way to the bathroom, wiping off the butter in irritation.

She stooped down and started the water. She tried to think of how hot was 'too hot', given Alfred's new-found toddler skin might not be able to handle was she considered a comfortable water temperature. Once she was confident she had it figured out, she put the stopper in the drain and allowed the tub to fill up.

"Al-" She had began to call him into the bathroom, but before she could even finish saying his name, child America ran past her, already naked, and jumped into the tub with glee, splashing water everywhere.

Including on Shelby.

"Alfred!" She shouted in exasperation, her sweater and bottom of her tee now completely soaked. "Why would you think it was okay to do that?"

"I wasn't thinking." He stated, flashing a wide smile.

She covered her face for a second, ready to scream, before turning to leave.

"Wait!" Alfred called.

"What?" Shelby snapped, keeping her back turned.

"Can you wash my hair? Britain used to wash my hair."

"Well, I'm not Britain."

"But you're part English!" America countered.

Shelby huffed in defeat, turning slowly and walking over to the tub. Alfred smiled, dipping his hair in the water as she poured some shampoo in her hands and began scrubbing Alfred's messy hair. She was surprised at how thick it actually was and took extra time to get to the roots, similar to how she washed her own mane of curls.

When she was finished, she grabbed a cup from the sink's counter  and dipped it in the water, leaning Alfred's head back and pouring the water at just the right spot on his head, so soapy water wouldn't splash into his eyes; just as her mother had done over a decade ago for her.

"Aw, you're so gentle." Alfred teased, closing his eyes in contentment as Shelby glared, running her fingers through his hair to make sure the soap was all out.

"Shut up." Shelby grumbled, before continuing to the conditioner and body wash, making sure that no residue of the oil was left on his soft skin. She even cleaned off his face, using soft, circular motions and a minimal amount of soap.

When she finished, she unplugged the tub's drain and handed Alfred a fluffy towel, before making her way into his room, where she tried to find clothes that would fit him. Seeing as there were none, she settled for a comfortable looking sweat shirt. She then went to her guest room and changed out of her soaked clothes, opting for a pair of soccer short and a new tee. When she exited, Alfred was standing at the doorway in, looking up at her sadly.

"You couldn't find any bottom for me?" He questioned sadly.

Shelby sighed, retreating to her room and slipping off her soccer shorts. She put on pair of pajama pants and brought the shorts out to Alfred. She slipped them on him and pulled at the strings inside the waist, tightening them to fit America. She then got the movie ready and made popcorn for the two of them.

At the beginning of the movie, Shelby wasn't able to pay close attention because she had to brush Alfred's hair. She didn't mind too much; it was a lot easier than brushing her hair and his was a lot shorter. She found his part easily and followed it. As his hair air-dried, his cowlick slowly began collecting itself.

Once she was done, she curled up against the arm of the couch, watching the movie with fascination, given she had been a fan of dinosaurs since she was able to play with toys. A few minutes later, Alfred crawled up next to her and snuggled into her side. Subconsciously, her arm fell around him and pulled him closer.

It was around 9 when the movie finished, and Alfred yawned. Silently, Shelby picked him up and walked to his room, placing him in his bed and pulling the covers over him, tucking him in.

He looked up at her, sadness swimming in his groggy eyes. "Thanks for taking care of me today. Sorry I'm still a little kid..." He muttered, angrily wiping away a tear that threatened to slip over.

Shelby smiled warily. "Don't worry about it, Alfie. I'll be in the next room if you need me." She stated, and walked towards the door.

"No! Stay here!" The young country urged, shooting up and grabbing the teen's hand with his smaller one.

Huffing in defeated, she crawled into his bed and laid down. Within seconds, his head was snuggled under her chin. "Good night, Shelbs." He said softly.

"Good night, doofus." She whispered, holding him close to her chest.

~~ The next day, early in the morning ~~

Alfred stirred, his eyes blinking open, only to be greeted by the blurry world that he usually he saw when he was without his glasses. It was dark- night time no doubt- and it could quite a bit for Alfred's eyes to adjust.

He looked down to see Shelby snuggled into his chest, fast asleep. He felt his heart seize before he remembered the events of what had happened yesterday. He lifted up the covers and sighed in relief; he was back to being physically 19 and was dressed in a pair of soccer shorts (which barely fit him now) and a sweatshirt.

He smiled, looking back to Shelby. America was well aware of her hatred for children. But she had taken care of him anyways.

"You aren't so tough." He whispered to her, moving a curl away from her face. He placed a gentle kiss on her forehead, before wrapping his arms around her, falling back asleep rather quickly.