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It wasn’t often that Shouto was nervous. Usually he’d get nervous when his father was involved, but that hasn’t happened since he fought Midoriya at the Sports Festival. He still can’t thank the green-haired boy enough for helping him get out from Endeavor’s shadow. Right now though he was nervous because he was tasked with doing something he has never done before…
“I-Is something wrong, Shouto-ojichan?” asked the little white-haired girl, her big red eyes looking up at him in worry.
…He had to babysit Eri for a few hours.
Normally his interactions with the child also involved Midoriya, Jirou, and Tokoyami. Unfortunately, Midoriya and Jirou had to run some errands and Hawks had called in Tokoyami, so that left him to watch over the child alone.
“Nothing is wrong with Shouto-kun, Eri-chan. He’s just thinking about all the fun things we’ll be doing today!”
Well, he wasn’t completely alone as he glanced at the raven-haired beauty that was giving Eri a reassuring smile.
“What sort of fun things, Momo-obachan?”
“Well, we can play some games, color some pictures, and we can even bake an apple pie if you want!”
Momo had to giggle as she watched Eri’s eyes widen at the mention of apple pie. Shouto himself couldn’t help but gain a small smile as he watched the two, but it soon turned into a frown as he remembered that he still had no idea how to look after a child. Even with Momo’s help it would be difficult. As much as he loved her, he knew Momo would do nothing but try and spoil Eri and even he knew you don’t do that with children.
With no other option he pulled out his cellphone and called the one person who could help him in this situation.
“Hello, Shouto!”
His mouth twitched into a smile. “Hello, Neechan. I’m calling because I need your help on something.”
“What do you need help with, Shouto?”
“How do I raise a child?”
“…Wait, what? Y-You have a child?”
“Well technically she’s my niece.”
“N-Niece?! Natsuo! What did you do?!”
Shouto raised an eyebrow in confusion as he listened to his sister and brother argue with each other. Behind him were Momo and Eri, equally confused as they could hear the sounds coming from Shouto’s phone. It didn’t take long for Shouto to realize his mistake.
“Neechan, she’s Midoriya’s daughter.”
It was silent on the other end, signifying that Fuyumi was currently processing his words.
“Midoriya? That boy with the fluffy hair that you talk about?”
“Hai. He asked me to watch over her, but I am out of my element on this. Since you’re a teacher, you know how to look after children, which is why I called for your help,” explained the half-and-half boy.
“I…see,” replied Fuyumi, still trying to figure out how Midoriya had a child of his own despite only being sixteen.
“So do you have any advice for me, Neechan?”
“Huh? Oh! Ano, just…just go with your instincts, Shouto. If this girl is anything like Midoriya, you should know how to look after her. Okay?”
“Hm, that does make sense. Arigatou, Neechan.”
“You’re welcome, Shouto. By the way, how old is Midoriya’s daughter anyway?”
“She’s six.”
“Eh?!” exclaimed Fuyumi, not realizing that the child was adopted.
Unfortunately for her, Shouto took this moment to hang up on her. He then turned to Momo and Eri who have been waiting for him to finish.
“I believe Momo mentioned something about apple pie?”
The two girls beamed in happiness.
-:-
The two teens were surprised that they didn’t make a complete mess of things in the kitchen. Neither of them was good at cooking or baking, given their upbringing, so they were worried they might screw up the process of making an apple pie. Seeing the look of anticipation on Eri’s face though, they did their best to make this perfect for her.
“That was actually easier than I thought it would be!” exclaimed Momo, after having put the pie in the oven to bake.
“Now we just have to listen for the timer to go off and it will be done,” added Shouto as he and Momo took off the aprons she had made for them.
Eri, who had her own little apron and even a little puffy chef’s hat, looked up at her aunt and uncle. “What do we do now?”
Momo looked down at her with a smile. “Well, how about we clean up first and then we can draw pictures while we wait?”
She giggled when the little one nodded happily.
Once everything was cleaned up, they sat at the table with Eri sitting on Momo’s lap. Momo had used her Quirk to create crayons and multiple pieces of paper for the little one to use, to which Eri eagerly got started. The peach watched as her niece drew and colored and had to hold in her giggles when she realized what Eri was drawing.
“What are you drawing, Eri-chan?” asked Momo, feigning ignorance. Her question caused Shouto to look up from his own artwork.
“It’s me, Mama, and Papa!” squeaked the child as she showed off her drawing. Being that she was six, it was crude looking, but it was still clear what it was supposed to be.
Momo’s eyes sparkled in adoration. Her niece was the cutest little thing! She took a quick glance towards Shouto, who was focused on Eri’s art, and wondered when she and him could have their own little one.
It was then the timer went off, signifying that the pie was done. Shouto stood up and headed towards the kitchen, Momo and Eri following close behind. Taking the pie out of the oven, Shouto put it on the cooling rack before they could eat.
“Hey, what smells so good?” asked a female voice.
The three in the kitchen turned to see Kyouka, Izuku, and Tokoyami in the doorway. They all must have returned at the same time.
“Mama! We made an apple pie!” chirped Eri with a smile.
“Did Satou help?” asked Kyouka, while Tokoyami’s gaze honed in on the pastry in question.
Momo gave off a pout. “I’ll have you know that Shouto-kun and I made it without any trouble. Eri-chan even helped.”
“So there really isn’t anything to worry over then,” replied the rocker girl with a teasing grin, causing her best friend to pout even more.
“Maybe we should try it before it gets too cold,” stated Izuku.
“Agreed,” added Tokoyami as he went towards the cabinets, having Dark Shadow collect the plates while he got the silverware. “Midoriya, I believe there is some vanilla ice cream in the freezer.”
“On it,” said the greenie, making his way to the freezer and taking out the tub of ice cream.
The pie was soon divided into six equal pieces, each with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. As the small family sat at the table to eat, with Eri showing her parents her drawing (“It’s beautiful, Eri,” Kyouka had said, giving her daughter a kiss on the forehead), they all agreed on one thing.
It was the best pie they’ve ever had.
FIN