Parent!England x Fem!Reader: The Park

Chapter 16: The Mall

At first, you thought you had simply misheard the girl. But when Michelle called you "Mom" again, your brain went into panic mode. You didn't want to tell her not to call you that because that would likely hurt her, but you don't know how you feel if she was calling you her mother, since you weren't. Unless Arthur...

"Mom?" asked Alfred, drumming his hands on the table. "Are you okay?"

You had been frozen in your spot leaning against the counter for a while now, you just noticed. Quickly, you shook your head.

"Yeah, everything's fine. You kids almost ready to go? Your dad will be here any minute."

"Hang on," said Matthew, trying to tie his shoe.

"Do you need help"' You stooped over to assist the boy.

"Thanks, Mom." You choked on air for a moment before finally addressing the children.

"Okay guys, seriously: what's up with the 'Mom' thing?" Michelle began playing with her hair as she spoke up.

"Well, uh, in school, the teacher said that a family usually has a Mom and a Dad. She asked us all about our Mommies, and I told her that I didn't have one. But then she asked me if there were any big girls that took care of me and I said 'yeah, there's (Y/n)', so she said that you would be my mom." Her brothers nodded in agreement. Well, when you define a mother with such loose terms, it could really apply to anyone. But you didn't blame the kids, of course. Their parents were separated, and clearly you were one of few consistent female figures in their lives. It was your duty to be a guiding figure to these kids, even if you weren't their birth mother.

Arthur walked in just as you came to that conclusion.

"Hello everyone, I'll be outside in the car." You nodded before holding out your hand to Michelle. She happily accepted it, skipping out the door beside you.

The plan was to get some new clothes for the kids and school supplies for the kids before heading to the food court for lunch at 1. At the moment, Arthur and the boys were at the shoe store getting fitted. You and Michelle were walking around a clothes store, since Arthur thought you'd be better at choosing girl's clothes. In other words, he had no sense of fashion.

Nonetheless, you and Michelle had just walked into a clothing store. She didn't even spare the shirts up front a glance, instead heading to the dresses in the back.

"This one," she said, pointing at a blue dress exactly the same as the one she was wearing. You inwardly sighed.

"Are you sure? You already have 3 that are just like it." She nodded, pointing at the dress. You looked over at some other items, some matching hoodies catching your eye.

"Look, we can try these blue hoodies," you said. She looked at them before smiling at something behind you. You turned around to look at them.

The larger shirt had a dolphin that said "Wild Mama" while the smaller one said "Wild Girl". Your eyebrows shot up and Michelle pointed excitedly.

"Look Mom, they have dolphins on them!" A absent-minded nod was sent her way as you studied them. They were really cute, although kind of cheesy. But right now, Michelle's eyes were so bright they could rival Alfred's starry gaze. You swiped your card on it without another second of hesitation.

Michelle immediately put hers on and you followed suit, heading out of the store hand in hand. You met up with the guys at the center of the mall. Alfred came barreling towards you at a thousand miles per hour.

"Look at my new Jordans, Mom!" Your eyes widened as Arthur looked at Alfred oddly. Matthew held up his foot for you to see.

"Me too!" While Matthew was showing you his sneakers, Arthur was looking at the shirts you and Michelle were wearing. You internally panicked for a second before he spoke up again.