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“No, really, it’s no problem at all! …Yep. Yep. Will do. Okay, thanks, sensei—I mean, Aizawa. See you tomorrow,” Uraraka finished and hung up the phone. She turned her head to Bakugou and Deku and smiled. “His mission is going to take longer than he thought, so he asked us to make Eri dinner and let her sleep over for the night.”
“Isn’t that great, Eri? We get to spend more time together,” Deku said, leaning down to Eri’s eye level as she held his hand. She nodded, her eyes sparkling.
Bakugou looked over to the kitchen, and then to Eri. In the small hallway behind the front door, the four of them were standing almost shoulder-to-shoulder, and his voice was uncharacteristically quiet in deference to their close quarters. “Well, it’s almost time to eat already. What do you want for dinner, squirt?” he asked.
Her eyes drifted upwards, thinking the question over. “Um… candy apples,” she said.
Bakugou squinted at her. “Dinner first, dessert after.”
Eri pouted, staring him down, but he didn’t break. After a few moments, she relented and said, “Miso soup and rice, please.”
“That’s better. I’ll make it so delicious, you won’t even want dessert.”
“Yes, I will!” she cried, clenching her free hand into a fist and shaking it up and down.
Deku chuckled. “I’ll make sure he makes something sweet, too, Eri, don’t you worry,” he said in a stage whisper.
Uraraka stepped around them to enter the kitchen and rifled through the cupboards. Opening the fridge, she commented, “Think we’ve got everything we need to make it. Shall we start cooking now? I know I’m getting hungry.”
“You mean, ‘shall I start cooking now,’” Bakugou corrected, leaning against the fridge.
She blinked at him. “Yeah, obviously. You’re not expecting me to offer any help, are you? I wanna watch TV with Eri.”
He heaved out an exhausted sigh. “No, I don’t expect anything from you anymore, you little rascal.”
“You know it’s only because you’re so good. No one has better chopping skills,” she said, poking him in the arm.
“Yeah, we love your food too much, Kacchan,” Deku gushed, walking over to wrap his arms around him and place a kiss on his cheek. Eri giggled when Uraraka copied the move on his other cheek, making a perfect sandwich.
“Alright, out! Everyone, out of my kitchen!” Bakugou ordered.
The three of them laughed and moved into the living room, hopping onto the squishy sofa with Eri sitting in-between the two grown-ups.
Deku picked up the remote control for the TV. “Do you wanna keep watching this anime?”
“Yes, please,” Eri said, snuggling into his side. Deku inwardly melted. He was thankful every day he got to see the now ten-year-old girl feel happy, comfortable and safe. He unpaused the anime, making the screen burst to life with colourful characters shouting about the power of friendship. As Deku settled in, he put his arm across the back of the sofa, letting his hand fall on Uraraka’s shoulder.
Deku may not have been paying that much attention to the story, but the laughter, gasps and squeals from Eri gave him all the serotonin he needed. They sat like that, with chops and clanks and bubbling from the kitchen in the background, as episode after episode passed. He started to wonder why it was taking so long to make some soup just as Bakugou called out, “Dinner’s ready!”
Deku got up and asked, “You hungry?”
“I’m starving,” Eri said in a tone so earnest he couldn’t help but laugh. He held her hands and pulled her up and off, making her squeal with delight as she kicked her legs in the air. He wanted to take every moment he could to inject a bit of fun into her stay here, moments where she didn’t have to think about trauma, or the safety of the people she cared about: moments where she could just be a kid.
In the little dining room, the four of them settled on their knees around the low table, Bakugou and Deku on one side, Uraraka and Eri on the other. Bowls and dishes were laid out and filled with plenty of food to satisfy even the hungriest of appetites (Uraraka’s). In amongst the fresh smells of vegetables and savoury spices, there was something else underlying it, a sweet aroma Deku could almost taste on his tongue. “What is that?” he said, looking at Bakugou.
“Dinner first, Deku.”
“Okay, okay, fine.”
Eri picked her spoon and dunked it into the soup, her lips almost on it before Bakugou said, “Hey! That’s still hot, Eri. Wait for it to cool down first.”
Her mouth was frozen open in a comical “aaah” for a second before the spoon plunked back into the bowl.
“Here, try some of these veggies,” Uraraka prompted, holding a bit of greenery in her chopsticks.
Eri leaned forward and caught it in her mouth, chewing thoughtfully, and then perked up. “It’s yummy! Thank you, Bakugou.”
“Uh—yeah, I, obviously, squirt.”
Uraraka snorted, enjoying seeing Bakugou short-circuit.
Bakugou seemed almost anxious to finish as they ate, making sure Eri had enough soup, rice and vegetables in amongst glances to the kitchen and tapping fingers; when a “ding!” rang out, he dashed off without saying a word.
“What’s gotten into him?” Deku asked, to which Uraraka shrugged.
After muffled struggling emanated from the kitchen, that delicious smell Deku had noticed earlier burst with potency, now identifiable as a fruity, burnt sugar scent. Bakugou walked out carrying an American-style pie with a lattice top, with All Might oven gloves on his hands.
“Found a few things lying around to make this,” he said, placing the serving dish in the middle of the table on a slate block. He tugged off his gloves and held up a knife. “Anyone want a slice?”
“Oh, yes, I do, I do!” Eri shouted, practically jumping up and down with her palms spread out on the table. It was a far cry from the girl who barely made a sound, and it made Deku grin from ear-to-ear.
Bakugou cut her a generous portion and gave it to her; the slice of apple pie was topped with perfectly crispy pastry and dripping with caramel. Uraraka looked like she was salivating. Bakugou rolled his eyes at her and cut her an even bigger piece, then more reasonable portions for himself and Deku.
When Deku bit down on a forkful of the dessert, the taste lit up his senses, spreading cinnamon warmth right to his stomach. “Oh, wow! This is—you’re amazing, Kacchan,” Deku cooed after he tried it.
“Yeah, you’re amazing, Kacchan! It’s so good.” Eri parroted.
As soon as Bakugou blushed, Deku knew that Eri would join the very small group of people that Bakugou would allow to call him ‘Kacchan.’ “It was nothing,” he muttered.
Uraraka, in contrast, was too busy inhaling her food to say anything except for “Mmm! Mmm, mmm!”
After everyone was satisfied and full, Deku and Uraraka volunteered to do the washing and drying. They left Bakugou and Eri on their own, only able to overhear Bakugou commenting on a game they were playing together with a teasing, competitive tone.
“I think ‘Katsuki dealing with kids’ is one of my favourite genres of Katsuki now,” Uraraka said as she put the dishes away.
“Isn’t it the best? I’m going to start asking any kids wanting an autograph to go to him first.”
“Yes!” she said with a laugh. “And every time he meets a tyke with an attitude, he’ll pretend he hates them sooo much, then go straight back to spoiling them with personally signed merchandise.”
Deku laughed with her about their little tsundere and finished up with the last of the cutlery to put away, eager to get back to the other pair.
As the evening drew on, Bakugou enlisted Uraraka and Deku to play Mario Kart (somehow, Eri beat them every time), then they moved onto card games with steaming mugs of hot chocolate. When the stars started to peek out from the deepening blue of the sky in the window, Bakugou helped Eri lay out the spare futon, got her a glass of water, and fetched an old t-shirt of Uraraka’s that she could change into. Deku would have worried his boyfriend was going to steal Deku’s place in Eri’s heart, if only he weren’t overwhelmed with adoration every time they were sweet together.
They decided to do things sleepover-style; Deku silently hoped it would help ward off the nightmares Aizawa told them she was still prone to having. With all of them crowded into the living room, Deku on the sofa, Uraraka and Bakugou on the mattress they wrangled from their bedroom, it was snug and cosy.
Eri fell asleep halfway through telling them stories about her friends at school, and the three young adults didn’t take long to follow suit, the burden of hero work tiring enough. When Deku awoke to Eri’s peaceful face, after a night free of incidents, his chest was warm with relief.
His mood dampened when Aizawa called to tell them he’d be there in half an hour, but it was Bakugou who went dead quiet. Uraraka helped nudge the girl awake and get her ready. Eventually, Aizawa was buzzed into the apartment complex and they had nothing else to do but wait. As they were standing by the door, Eri holding around Deku’s waist, Bakugou held out a tupperware box to her.
“Here. Had some pie left over.”
Eri’s expression turned from downbeat to beaming, and she rushed over to envelop him in a hug just as there was a knock at the door. As Uraraka opened it, Aizawa’s eyes widened at the scene that greeted him.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Eri said into Bakugou’s black shirt.
“Alright, alright, you little sugar fiend, get off me. Your pa’s here.” He ruffled her hair and gently placed the box into her hand. She took it and spun around to show Aizawa.
Taking a second to recover from the momentary confusion, Aizawa blinked and inspected the contents. “Impressive. Thanks for looking after her. Was she any trouble?”
“No,” “None at all,” “She almost burnt the house down,” Uraraka, Deku and Bakugou answered simultaneously.
“Good. Did you enjoy seeing Deku again?” Aizawa asked Eri.
“Yeah, it was a lot of fun!”
Uraraka said, “If you ever need us to babysit again, we’ll happily accept.”
As Aizawa took Eri’s hand in his own, his tired expression softened. “You’re in competition with Mirio, but I will keep that in mind. Thanks again. Hope your sidekick apprenticeships are going well.”
“As well as they can be. Great to see you, Aizawa-sensei!” Deku said, moving to the doorframe as the two visitors made their way out.
“Smell ya later, squirt,” Bakugou said from his shoulder.
“Bye, Kacchan!” Eri called out.
Deku saw the smile from the corner of his eye, and thought, Yep. She’s got him wrapped around her little finger.