Work Text:
Emi smiled and laughed as she watched Eri run around and flapping her wings as she tried to get the gold wings on her back to flap. She couldn’t help but look at the little girl with warm eyes as she raced around the living room with the braid that Shouta had done flying behind her as she went.
“Are you almost done, Miss. Emi?” Eri asked as she stopped in front of the small dining room table where Emi had set up her fabric and her sewing machine.
“Almost, Sunshine,” Emi promised as she looked back down at the dress that was made of pink, white, and gold fabric. “I just need to finish making it nice and fluffy for you,” She said, watching as Eri let out a little squeak of happiness and threw up her arms in excitement.
“Did you hear that, Papa?” Eri asked as she looked at the man that she saw as her father with bright eyes, a big smile on her face that Aizawa loved seeing more than anything in the world. “Miss. Emi, it’s almost done, and then I can be an Alicorn!” She said excitement in her voice as she bounced on her toys
Emi giggled softly as she watched how excited Eri was. A warmth began beating in her heart, just like it had when Aizawa had asked her to help him make Eri a costume for Halloween. She honestly hadn’t been able to say no when he had asked her since she would be helping two of her favorite people celebrate her favorite holiday. Emi couldn’t think of a better use of her time
“I heard and I’m very excited for you,” Shouta said with a soft smile as he watched the little blue-gray haired girl dance around in a circle. “But while she’s finishing it, why don’t you get your shoes on and grab your candy bag,” He offered gently and watched as Eri nodded her head, her bright smile still on her face.
“Okay!” Eri chirped happily as she turned towards the hallway that led to her room and that led to Shouta’s room. “I’ll be right back, Miss. Emi!” She called towards the green-haired woman who was still working on her dress from the sound of the sewing machine.
“All right, the dress should be done once you get back,” Emi called back to the sweet little girl as she watched her disappear into the hallway to get her things while she looked back at the fabric and the machine in front of her.
Emi knew she had a good few minutes to finish the dress since it usually took Eri a few minutes to get her shoes on which was a normal thing since most little kids took a while to get their shoes on when they wanted to be “all grown up.”
She couldn’t help but giggle at that thought, but she also felt a small bit of sadness and pain which made her wince.
“What’s wrong?” A man’s voice asked from in front of her, causing her to jump slightly and pull away from the machine, causing it to stop.
“What?” Emi asked as she looked up at Shouta, who had somehow ended up in front of her without her notice.
“You winced,” Shouta said in his usual impersonal voice as he looked at the woman before him with the Seafoam green hair. “What’s wrong?” He asks once more, clearly wanting an answer from his not so secret admirer.
“Oh! Nothing,” Emi said cheerfully as she looked up at the man before with gentle eyes and a bright smile on her face. “The needle just scrapped against my finger is all,” She laughed as she brought both her hands up to the sides of her face as if to show him she was okay.
She watched as he looked at her and hum which meant he didn’t believe her but he wasn’t going to push her to talk about it. Something inside of Emi wished that he would, but she quickly pushed that thought away in fear she might come off as creepy.
She knew that Eri wasn’t her daughter, and even though the two had grown close at the end of the day, she knew she was nothing more than a babysitter, and at most Eri might just see her as a big sister. Emi couldn’t feel sad about that as long as she got to make the little girl with such a dark past smile it was all worth it.
“I’m almost done with the costume,” Emi said, trying to fill the silence that had been created between the both of them as she wiped her hands on the legs of her overalls. “I have to admit this idea of your’s was great for her,” She said, keeping her eyes on the fluffy fabric before her. “An Alicorn is perfect for her, especially since she’s been a little self-conscious about her horn lately,” She continued when Shouta didn’t say a word, which honestly made her nervous for reasons she didn’t know. Emi was used to filling the silence between them with her jokes and her flirting, but this time everything just felt different. “There’s no reason for her to be self-conscious, she’s such a sweet and wonderful…” She started but was cut off by the man that was now sitting across from her, a stern look in his gray eyes.
“Why are you doing this?” Shouta asked, his voice just as cold as it usually was.
“W-What?” Emi stuttered out, startled by his sudden words as she looked at him with wide, confused eyes.
“Why are you doing this for her? For me? For us?” Shouta asked, scanning her face as if trying to figure out if she was lying before she even spoke.
“Because, I care about you both,” Emi spoke honestly, her voice holding more truth than Shouta had ever heard come from her. “I care about both of you so much and I just want to help whenever I can,” She explained with a soft smile and sad eyes.
Emi looked back down at the dress, trying to hurry up and finish it in hopes of keeping her mind off of the thoughts that wanted to fill her mind.
“Why?” Shouta asked, clearly not done with this conversation like Emi wished he was.
“I just want to,” Emi told him, not even daring to look at him in fear she would give away the pain that filled her heart. “A few more stitches and it will be done,” She told him, trying her best to change the subject so the sad memories that wanted to surface at bay.
Emi kept her eyes on the nearly complete dress as the tears started to well up in her eyes that she forced away to the best of her ability.
“Emi…” Shouta started, using the woman’s name, which he nearly never did.
“Shouta,” Emi said back to him, trying to get him to just leave it alone, and for a moment she wondered if this is how he felt whenever she asked him to marry her.
Emi wasn’t trying to be rude, but she didn’t want to bother him with the thoughts that were starting to swirl in her mind as she finished the dress.
The truth was that Emi had once been in the same position as Shouta and Eri were in now.
Her own Dad had been a single father who had raised Emi all by himself when her mother decided to leave them both in the dust for an ex-boyfriend she had rekindled with. Emi loved her Dad more than anything and he had done his best to raise her and take care of her. He had worked two jobs to take care of them both and he tried as hard as he could to make time for her though sometimes that didn’t always work out.
One of Emi’s favorite memories of him was how he taught her how to shave by shaving his own leg, which ended with his legs being covered in bandaids afterward.
Despite how much she loved her Dad, Emi couldn’t help but sometimes wish she had a mother, someone she could talk about boys with, and go shopping with. Of course, she could do all of that with her Dad but that was different.
Emi knew she wasn’t Eri’s mother, but if she could give that little girl at least some amount of motherly affection and help Shouta take care of her then she felt like she was doing something right.
As Emi pulled her hands back from the sewing machine to remove the dress from where it was placed she felt Shouta’s eyes on her. She could tell that he wanted to say something, but before he could, Eri’s voice stopped him.
“I’ve got my bag and my shoes!” Eri cheered as she ran back into the room, eyes bright as she held her pink cat candy bag and tapped her golden glitter shoes on the hardwood floor. “Aren’t they pretty, Miss. Emi?” She asked as she made her way over towards them.
“They sure are, Sunshine,” Emi said sweetly, using the nickname once again as she pushed herself up from the seat to walk around to Eri. “And I’m sure they’ll look extra pretty with this,” She said as she got down on her knees and held out the dress for Eri to see.
For a second all was still as Eri looked over the handmade dress that Emi had made just for her but before Emi could ask how she liked it, she suddenly had her arms filled with the little girl who was gripping tightly to both her and the dress.
“Thank you, Mama,” Eri squeaked softly as she gripped tightly to Emi for a moment before she let go of her and began to pull the dress over her white long-sleeve and white tights.
For a moment Emi and Shouta were stunned into silence, both looking at one another before Shouta cleared his throat and headed towards the door to wait for both Emi and Eri.
Emi was still in surprised shock, which made it so she didn’t see the soft smile that curled on Shouta’s lips after he processed what his daughter had just said.
Emi stayed silent since she was still in shock, but she still helped Eri pull the dress over her head as Shouta pulled his jacket on over his black shirt before wrapping his capture weapon around his neck in case of emergencies.
Once the two were done with Eri’s costume Emi pushed herself up from her place on the floor before turning towards the door where Shouta was waiting for the two of them.
“Are you and Mama ready to go trick-or-treating?” Shouta asked with a soft smile as he looked at Emi who looked absolutely surprised and Eri who looked happier than either had ever seen her.
“Yep, Papa!” Eri said brightly as she grabbed Emi’s hand as they both headed towards the door to head outside with Shouta.
Emi quickly pulled her own jacket on before grabbing the big fluffy pink one that belonged to Eri as they walked out the door.
The two stayed put as Shouta locked up the door before turning around to join them. He took Eri’s other hand, the one that the kitty candy bag was hanging from since Eri was still holding tightly to Emi’s hand.
Once Eri was safely secured between the two of them, the now family of three began to walk heading towards the first house on their journey of trick-or-treating.