Never Grow Up -SealandxReader-

Your little hands wrapped around my finger
And it's so quiet in the world tonight
Your little eyelids flutter 'cause you're dreaming
So I tuck you in, turn on your favorite night light
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You hum your favorite song with a smile as you watch the young and small nation have his peaceful sleep on your lap. Both of his hands were wrapped on one of yours and he was holding it very close to his chest like he wants you to not leave him in his sleep.

"I'd bet anyone a thousand bucks you're dreaming of being recognized as a nation right now." You instantly think as you notice his eyelids flutter.

Peter emits a soft snore as if to say "Yes." and you tried your best to stifle your laughter as you move him to his bed. Once you were able to shift him into a proper sleeping position, you place his favorite blanket on him.

"Good night, Peter. I'll see you tomorrow." You mutter as you give him a quick kiss on the forehead.

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To you, everything's funny
You got nothing to regret
I'd give all I have, honey
If you could stay like that
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Laughter echoes throughout the whole conference room as everyone watches Arthur desperately catch Peter.

"Just go home already! You bloody little twerp!" Arthur screamed as he failed his attempt to grab a hold of Peter's shoulders.

Peter ignores Arthur's pleaded screams and continues running like he's very life depended on it. But instead of feeling scared of the rather temperamental British man, you could see it in the young boy's eyes that he was actually having fun.

His small body gave him the agility he needed to get away, but his small legs proved to be no match, for Arthur has finally grabbed him by his shirt collar.

"Why can't you just let me stay?!" He screams as he swings his arms back and forth.

Arthur shakes his head in mild annoyance then he turns to look at you.

"You. Take care of him. Bring him back home and let him watch some anime." He briefly says as he gives Peter a slight shove to your direction.

"Will do, Master Arthur." You kneel down to look at the small nation in the eyes. "Peter. Let's go home."

Peter nods his head, but not before sticking his tongue out to Arthur.

"Sheesh. You want to be recognized as a nation so badly, but you're acting like a completely annoying little child."

And you don't know what I'd do to make him stay like that, Arthur. You think to yourself as Peter grabs your hand and pulls you out of the conference room.

"Hmph. Let's just get away from that jerk face, big sis!" He says to you with a cute smile drawn on his adorable face.

And all you could ever do was smile right back at him.

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I won't let nobody hurt you
Won't let no one break your heart
No, no one will desert you
Just try to never grow up, never grow up

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"Why can't anyone just recognize me anyway?! They even act like I don't exist! It isn't fair!" Peter whined as he eats the ice cream you just bought him.

"Come on now, Peter. They don't act like you don't exist. Can't you even hear all the laughter in the conference room when you were... er... playing "catch" with Master Arthur?" You reply in a careful comforting sort of way.

"Boo. That's all they ever see me as. Comedy Relief. After the laughter dies down, everyone will start ignoring me again." Peter pouts. "It really makes me sad, you know. And what hurts the most is no one would be there to comfort me but Ravis."

"You're wrong, Peter. There will always be one other person --besides Ravis-- who'll never ignore you and will always be there to comfort you."

"Who?"

"Why... Me, Of course." You look down at him with a gentle smile and you remove his hat to ruffle his hair.

Peter's face instantly turns bright red at the sudden contact of your warm and soft hand.

"He-Hey! Big siiiiis! Stop that!"

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No one's ever burned you
Nothing's ever left you scarred
And even though you want to
Just try to never grow up
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The two of you finally arrive at your Master Arthur's mansion, and upon stepping into the doorstep, Peter instantly lets go of your hand and enthusiastically runs to the TV set to watch his favorite Anime.

"Big Sis~ Make me lunch and then join me watch, okay?" He shouts as he removes his shoes and then starts jumping up and down on Arthur's couch.

"Okay." You reply with a sigh. If he continues doing that to the couch, he will have to face Master Arthur's wrath again.

You prepare lunch for the two of you and once you were done, he finally settles down and consumes it.

As you watch him eat, you couldn't help but remember that one conversation the two of you always had.

"One day! I will become a really big and powerful country! I will be as big and as cool and as strong as Alfred, and then... and then... that jerk face, Arthur, will finally stop ordering me around!" He says to you as he pumps his fists in the air.

"Are you sure you really want to be big, Peter? Don't you want to enjoy your childhood first?"

"But being a child sucks! No one takes me seriously!" He retorts indignantly.


Then after reminiscing on that very sweet memory of yours, you instantly remember the wars every powerful country like Alfred had to face, and to make matters worse you also remember the scars on Toris's back and that one huge scar on Yao's back.

You don't want that happening to Peter, you really didn't, and every time you made an attempt to point it out, he will ignore it. That was when you swore to yourself that you'd protect him, but then you realize, what exactly can you do? You were a poor and weak country and your only mean of survival was to work under Arthur and rely on him.

So all you could do was pray and hope that he'd never grow up.

But unfortunately, fate decides to play a cruel trick on you. Only more than two years has passed, and in the span of those two years, Peter had worked hard and finally matured into a fine young man.

Both you and Arthur were shocked, the two of you even yelled out "How in the world did that happen?" at the same time. But unlike you, Arthur mysteriously managed to get over the initial shock and proceeded to congratulate him by finally letting him live on his own.  

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So here I am in my new apartment
In a big city, they just dropped me off
It's so much colder than I thought it would be
So I tuck myself in and turn my night light on

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~~~*~~~SEALAND/PETER'S P.O.V (Told in 1st Person)~~~*~~~~

Finally! I've gotten it! Arthur has finally accepted me and now acknowledges me as a nation!

And to help me start my new life, Arthur even gave me a new mansion of my own! Wow! Whoever knew that jerk face could be so nice? Haha! I feel so happy right now! Those two years of hard work finally paid off!

But even though I achieved what I always wanted, I still can't shake the feeling that something's wrong.

And those feelings get even more and more stronger every single time I see Big sis.

When I had this growth spurt, Big Sis and Arhur were shocked, but the two of them became happy for me. Arthur continued being happy but as days pass, Big Sis got sadder and grew distant to me. I could have sworn I even saw her cry when Arthur announced that he'll leave me to take care of myself.

And when the day came that I was about to move away from Arthur, Big Sis, didn't say a single thing, she remained unusually quiet for the rest of the trip to my new mansion, and her face was hidden behind her long (h/c) hair. And when I asked her to sit beside me, she ignored me.

"Well. Here we are, Peter!" I hear Arthur proclaim, thus, snapping me out of my train of thought.

~~~*~~~ READER'S P.O.V (Told in 2nd person)~~~*~~~
The day has come for Peter to leave the Kirkland household, you didn't know what to do. Half of you wanted to stop him, but the other half of you was insisting that you couldn't do anything.

That sweet little boy, that young kid whom you treated like your own little brother... He was long gone. So, who are you to stop him? To him you're probably just another weak and poor country to ignore.

If only you stood up to Arthur and demanded him to stop treating you like a god damned servant, if only you worked hard like Peter, then you'll probably look less pathetic, you'll have the confidence to stop him and he'll have the respect to at least listen to you.

You were too busy mentally chiding and slapping yourself to realize that you had already arrived at Peter's new place.

"Wow! This is so cool!" Peter exclaims and you couldn't help but be happy. Even if he has grown, he was still a young child at heart, so maybe... maybe...

However, your happiness was short lived when he told you one single thing.

"I'm going to let me and my people grow some more! And we'll be really powerful soon enough! Just watch me, Arthur, Big Sis!"

To spare yourself from the embarrassment of crying in front of him, you make a mad dash back to your Master's car.

I always tried to stop you from growing up, but why can't you listen?! You thought to yourself as you slam the car's door shut.

~~~*~~~SEALAND/PETER'S P.O.V (Told in 1st Person)~~~*~~~~
The moment I make my promise to Arthur and Big Sis. Big Sister suddenly runs for Arthur's car, enters it and closes its door with a loud "thud".

"She must be feeling sick. I think she might need to get a check-up." I hear Arthur mutter behind me. "Well, I'll see you later, Peter. Good luck with your new life!"

Arthur pats my back and follows Big Sister into the car.

As I watch the car get smaller and smaller, I can feel myself slowly being surrounded by the cold air, and once I enter my new "home" it only gets even colder.

I tried thinking how cool and big my new house was, but somehow, my mind always wanders to big sis and how she has started avoiding me.

Does Big Sister hate me... now that I've grown?

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Wish I'd never grown up...
I wish I'd never grown up."
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I begin singing the song Big Sis used to always sing, if it's out of missing her or just because I feel like doing it, I don't really know why.

"Oh, I don't wanna grow up, wish I'd never grown up
Could still be little
Oh, I don't wanna grow up, wish I'd never grown up
It could still be simple."

And then all of a sudden, I feel a single teardrop come out of the corner of my eye...

"What the?! Big boys like me aren't supposed to cry! I chose to be like this... I just... I just."

More tears stream down my cheeks as the realization of what just happened slowly but surely hits me. I can't do anything else to fix it. I shouldn't have hurried, maybe if I decided to take things a little bit slower, I could still be playing with Big Sis right now. She'd sing me songs... She'd cook me food... She'd be right here, right now, comforting me.

Almost all of the past memories I've had with my beloved big sister reels into my mind, and I get enveloped into a warm feeling of nostalgia. But once they were all over, I finally notice that I'm all alone in a lovely, new, --yet uncomfortably cold and empty-- house, and there's little to no chance that I can make those memories happen the second time.

Why didn't I realize that she already liked me for who I am sooner?

Knowing the fact that I can't do anything else anymore, I find the nearest bed room, lie down on its bed and cry myself to sleep.

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Oh, darling, don't you ever grow up, don't you ever grow up
Just stay this little
Oh, darling, don't you ever grow up, don't you ever grow up
It could stay this simple
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~~~*~~~ READER'S P.O.V (Told in 2nd person)~~~*~~~
You were already on your way back to Arthur's mansion, and you still had your hair on your face and you were still making silent sobs.

"You should really wipe that sad look on your face, love. I bet Peter could barely recognize you when he sees that face." Arthur says in an effort to comfort you.

"Y-You don't understand, Master Arthur. It's just... It's just..." You try to tell him everything that's been going on on your mind, but fail miserably.

"You must be taking me for a fool if you think I don't understand."

"Huh?"

"What makes you think I can't understand? Like you, I've treated Peter like he was my own son." He explains. Then with a bitter smile he says. "I just handled everything that happened better than you, because I know everything will be okay."

"What makes you say that? What makes you think he can avoid those horrible things that await him now that he's no longer under your care? What makes you think Ivan won't make an attempt to conquer him? What makes you think..." You continually pour out your concerns, you were getting tired from all the silent sobbing, so you decided that now was a good time to let it all out.

But you automatically stop when Arthur raises his hand, a gesture that he wants you to quiet down.

"Peter is Peter, he may have been a grown man now, but I assure you, his heart is still the same. He'll remain as the same little boy we both knew and loved."

For some insane, unexplainable reason, Arthur's words somehow comforted you, and as if to erase all the doubt you have left he says...

"And don't worry even if he's currently away from us, there's no way in hell that we'll stop giving him guidance. Am I right, love?"

You nod your head in agreement and for the rest of the trip, you hum the song you had always sang for Peter.

"Don't you ever grow up
Just never grow up"