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The first time the girls are asked to babysit Eri they come wholly unprepared.
“We should watch a movie!” Ochako crows, fist pumping the air in excitement. “She’s probably never gotten to watch one before.”
“Yeah!” Tooru immediately chimes in, her own gloves waving excitedly. “We should watch Tangled! All those sparkly lights and her glowing hair, Eri will love it!”
“Don’t you think that one’s a bit too on the nose?” Tsuyu hums, finger tapping at her chin as she tilts her head at them. “A young girl taken for her power and kept isolated by her parental figure who kept forcing her to use it? Flynn even gets stabbed saving her. I think it might be too much for her, kero.”
The girls deflate before rallying once more.
“Encanto?” Mina offers. “It’s so colorful and all the songs are so catchy and the ending is awesome.”
“Tsuyu is right,” Momo interjects, clicking her pen repeatedly in a sign that she’s itching to write things down but is waiting till they actually settle on something. “We need something where nothing is scary and no one dies.”
“What’s so scary about Encanto?”
“The cracks in the house might be,” Kyoka admits, twirling an earphone jack around her finger. “Like when it’s all coming down? And when the flashback shows what happened to Abuelo Pedro. I know I’ve cried tons watching Encanto.”
“Gah why is this so hard!” Mina wails, thumping her head down onto the table. “Aren’t these supposed to be kids movies? Why is there so much death???”
“Dylan actually prefers it that way, kero.”
No one bothers asking who Dylan is.
“Okay um let’s just go through all the classics.” Ochako rallies, pulling out her phone for a quick google. “Mulan?”
“She literally gets stabbed and passes out from it.”
“Not to mention everyone abandons her when they find out she’s a girl.”
“Okay uh… Sleeping Beauty?”
“Have you seen Maleficent's dragon form? Prince Philip literally plunges his sword into her belly too.”
“You’re forgetting that before that Aurora pricks her finger and falls into a deadly coma.”
“Right, okay scratch that… Pinocchio?”
“Don’t even fucking think about it!”
“Well, we really have to decide soon,” Momo cuts in, glancing at her watch. “I’m sure Mr. Aizawa will be here with Eri any moment now, and I really don’t want her to hear us arguing about this.”
“You’re so right,” Mina says, the other girls quick to chorus their agreement. “Come on guys, think! Surely there’s one Disney movie that’ll be fine for us to watch.”
“Now that I’m looking at these movies through Eri’s eyes, it seems that every movie is full of doom and despair,” Tooru says sadly.
Ochako frowns. “She’s had more than enough doom and despair in her life.”
“We need to do something that’s just plain fun,” Kyouka agrees. “We can do way better than any Disney movie. We could do something like–”
A small, tentative knock at the door cuts her off, and the girls all look at each other in wide-eyed panic. Tsuyu hops over to open it, smiling at Eri as the young girl peers into the room.
“Welcome to our dorm, Eri-chan,” she says with a smile.
Eri glances up at Aizawa, whose hand she’s still holding (which the teens all find absolutely adorable), then blinks at Tsuyu. “Thank you.”
Tsuyu’s smile somehow grows even bigger, and the girls rush over to sweep Eri into the dorms.
“Thanks for dropping her off, Sensei,” Momo tells Aizawa.
“Just keep her in one piece,” he says, “though I’m sure I don’t have to remind you.”
Momo nods. “We promise to take care of her!”
“This is gonna be the best sleepover ever!” Tooru squeals in agreement.
He just blinks in acknowledgement, then spins on his heels and walks away. Mina rushes to close the door behind him, then drops to her knees so she can meet Eri’s eyes. “Are you excited for our fun sleepover?”
Eri stares wide-eyed at Mina for a long moment before nodding in that reserved way she still has as a carry over from her past. That’s okay though, the fact she is here and excited is good enough for Mina. More will come later as Eri relaxes.
Opening her arms for a hug, Mina waits patiently for Eri to step close making sure she doesn’t move too fast when she cradles Eri close.
“What would you like to do first?” Tsuyu asks, watching the hug with an expression that hints to her own desire for one.
Eri frowns at the question, clearly perplexed.
“We could watch a movie, or maybe make treats, or even do each other's hair!” Ochako suggests excitedly, bouncing up and down in place.
Tsuyu smiles brightly at that, bouncing onto the couch in one smooth movement. “I could braid your hair like I do my little siblings, Kero. Then you could do mine if you wanted?”
Eri grins and pulls away from Mina to hurry over and sit on the stool Momo produces and set down in front of Tsuyu. “Yes please, I would like that a lot.”
Someone has produced a brush, then soon after everyone has gathered and paired up to braid each other's hair. Mina insists they should all match Eri, so Tsuyu spends a while teaching the rest how to do the braid.
Eventually, they all sport braids that are varying degrees of the same. Some had more success than others at replicating Tsuyu’s work.
Tooru disappears upstairs for a moment. She returns with her arms full of colorful little bottles.
“Manicure time!” she squeals.
Momo gasps and applauds. “That’s a wonderful idea! Eri, have you ever painted your nails before?”
Eri shakes her head, eyes wide at the rainbow of sparkly choices. Each girl picks a color, except for Mina who picks two glow-in-the-dark neons to alternate between. Eri stares for about a minute before hesitantly picking up a bright red, like her eyes, and candy apples, and Deku’s shoes. She turns the bottle in her hand as the glitter catches the overhead lights.
Tooru gently takes her hands— they’re so tiny!— and glides the brush over each little nail. Eri tilts her head as the cool polish forms layer by layer until her nails are just as shimmery as the bottle itself.
“The one downside is that we gotta hold super still as they dry,” Mina complains.
Eri nods, holding her hands out in front of her. Her focus goes between watching the other girls do their nails and making sure nothing interferes with her own.
Tsuyu hums. “I’m kind of surprised you own this much nail polish, Tooru. I never really see you wearing any.”
Tooru giggles. Her iridescent manicure on her invisible hands looks like little gems floating in the air. “Oh, it’s not mine. I stole it all from Yuuga, he has tons. Like, this isn’t even all of it.”
Eri stares at her, eyes wide. “You stole it?” she whispers.
“Oh! No, she didn’t really steal it,” Ochako says quickly. “Yuuga is her best friend, he doesn’t mind us using this stuff. It’s not like he can wear them all at once, anyway.”
Kyouka snickers. “I bet he’d try, if we put the idea in his head. He could do each nail in a different color.”
Eri’s nails are dry now. She runs her fingers over the polish— it’s so smooth! She wants to do it all night.
“Now that we’re all spiffed out…” Mina cheers, grabbing for her phone and waving it high. “It’s time for some selfies to commemorate it by!”
Eri tilts her head to one side and blinks. “Sell fees?” she echoes slowly.
Mina lets out a loud gasp, clapping her hands to her face in mock horror.
Kyouka deftly snatches her dropped phone out of the air with one of her earjacks before it can hit the floor.
“It makes sense that she wouldn’t know what a selfie is,” Tsuyu murmurs to Tooru thoughtfully, one finger tapping at her chin.
“Then we’ll just have to teach you!” Mina crows, rejuvenated from her previous horror as she steps one foot onto the coffee table and lifts a fist high like she’s some kind of general commanding her troops. “Step one! Everyone needs a good dramatic pose!”
Momo silently lifts the edge of her shirt and gets to work creating a Polaroid Instant Camera in the cutest shade of baby pink that she can.
Ochako comes bursting back into the room, her arms full with the space themed comforter off her bed. “I’ve got the backdrop!” she cheers, using her quirk to make the heavy blanket weightless so she can hang it easily from the windowshade rod. “Somebody help me move the couch!”
“When did she even leave?” Tooru whispers.
Kyouka twirls an earjack around her finger as she thinks about the absolute ruckus Ochako had made on her way up the stairs, and says nothing.
As most of the girls work on moving the furniture and setting up the photo station, Mina takes charge of teaching Eri how to pose.
“You want to look as natural as possible, so you shouldn’t worry too much,” Mina tells her. “If you’re standing all stiff, worried about ‘looking perfect’ then the photos don’t turn out as well. Just try and have fun with it.”
Eri frowns as she tries to process the instructions. “I have to pose…” she repeats slowly, “without posing?” Her head tilts quizzically to the side, and Mina almost squeals at how adorable she is.
“You don’t have to pose,” Mina assures her. “It can just be fun! Like Tooru, she always does her peace signs.”
Tooru, having overheard, obligatorily strikes her pose. It’s clear that she’s beaming ear-to-ear, even though none of them can see her face.
“Kyouka usually stands with her arms crossed,” Mina continues, then leans in to whisper in Eri’s ear: “She’s just cool like that.”
Kyouka snorts, of course having heard Mina’s whispered comment, but is also happy to hit her signature pose.
By the time she’s listed everyone’s favorite stance and they’ve demonstrated it for Eri, the young girl’s eyes are shining with determination.
“What’s my signature pose then, Mina? Or do I not have one yet?” she asks, slightly crestfallen.
Before Mina can answer, Momo jumps in and says, “I know exactly what it is!” She glances around to make sure the coast is clear, then throws both of her arms up in the air, a wide grin on her face.
“Aww, that’s totally her pose!” Ochako is quick to agree.
“The first time I ever saw you do that was during the School Festival,” Kyouka tells Eri.
“You could see me all the way from the stage?” she asks, amazed.
“Of course we could,” Kyouko replies, smiling. “Brightest face in the room after all.”
Eri beams and flings her arms around Kyouko, snuggling deeply into a hug for a moment.
“Alright let’s get these pictures taken,” Mina says eagerly, and the girls all take many, many pictures in various poses. Once they are done, Momo makes Eri several pretty frames to keep her favorites in. One of them is a photo of the entire group all gathered together and smiling.
Eri can’t stop looking at it and the small peeks she makes at it melts their hearts.
“We should have some music,” Mina suggests, glancing over at Kyouko meaningfully. With an answering grin, the other girl vanishes deeper into the dorms, returning with her faithful guitar in her hands. She begins to play, and the rest of the girls all start singing along. Mina grabs Eri’s hand and leads her into the middle of the room to dance with Ochako and Tsuyu.
Soon the sound of a child’s giggles joins the guitar and singing, Eri’s braids flying as Ochako twirls her through the air.
After tiring of dancing, Eri shyly asks if she could try to play the guitar, and Kyouko lets her try strumming some chords, praising her efforts.
“Snacks?” Ochako asks over the sound of the guitar.
“Ooohhh good idea,” Tooru says, bouncing in excitement. “We should make hot chocolate too! With marshmallows. It has to be the real, authentic thing. For the experience, you know.”
“Of course, of course. Eri liked the caramel apples right? We could see what other kinds of treats she likes too!”
Tsuyu goes to make the hot chocolate while the others gather treats. The snack pile grows quickly. Each girl contributes her favorites and other things that Eri might like. From how wide her eyes get, Eri has probably never seen so many snacks in one place. The pile is full of bright colors and sweet smells and all the girls’ mouths water.
Eri picks up a small packet of Tooru’s fruit gummies. “Are these vitamins? I already had some this morning, though.”
Tooru giggles. “These are candy gummies. Nowhere near as healthy, and way more delicious. They’re very fruity and chewy.”
Eri hesitantly bites one in half, chewing slowly. “I think you’re right, they’re much better!” She eats them carefully, one at a time until the packet is empty.
Next, she looks at a cluster of ramune bottles. “What are those?”
Mina picks one up to show her, unwrapping the cap. “This is a special soda bottle! See this marble up here? You have to press really hard on it, and then it goes pop! And it falls into this little space right here. Then you can drink the soda! Do you wanna try?”
Eri nods. Jirou holds the bottle steady as she stands up and puts her palms over the disk.
“The pop is really loud,” Jirou warns.
Eri pushes gently. The marble doesn’t move. Then she pushes harder, and then she puts all her weight on it-
Pop!
Ochako steadies her so she doesn’t fall over, and Eri watches the soda fizz up around the marble. “I did it!”
“You did!” Mina cheers. “Now you can drink it.”
Eri takes a sip. The bottle’s very tiny opening is blocked by the marble and it’s kinda hard to get to, but the soda is good. Very fizzy!
Momo brings out a box of colorful hard candies. “These are some of my favorites, I hope you like them.”
Ochako holds back her surprise- that assortment is probably pretty expensive, it’s definitely gourmet. There’s so many different kinds, and they’re all gorgeous!
Eri is drawn to the star-shaped konpeito, taking a tiny handful and just turning them in her palm. “They’re pretty,” she says.
“They are,” Momo says. “They’re sweet, too.”
They are.
The girls pass around more sweets until Tsuyu comes back with a tray of hot chocolate, with marshmallows and whipped cream and sprinkles too. She looks at all the wrappers and empty containers.
“How much sugar did she have, kero?”
The girls look at Eri. She’s bouncing in her seat with excitement, eyes wide.
Jirou winces. “I forgot about sugar rush being a thing,” she says.
“And so late at night, too. Oh well, she deserves it,” Tsuyu sighs. She passes out the hot chocolate and they all drink together.
Ochako glances at the time and winces. “So uh…” She leans in closer to Tsuyu and whispers, “any ideas for settling a hyper kid?”
“Of course, kero,” Tsuyu nods, taking a nice long drink from her mug without saying anything else.
“Um…”
Tsuyu raises an eyebrow. “Yes?”
Ochako claps her hands over her head in apology. “Ok yes we messed up please please help us oh great and powerful haver of the little siblings.”
Tsuyu laughs. “Snuggly burrito and a bedtime story, kero.”
“Yay! Thanks Tsu! You’re the best!”
Momo immediately creates a warm fuzzy blanket and since she’s designing it for Eri she makes sure it’s solid black with the outline of Eraserhead’s gold goggles across the middle.
Eri’s eyes go wide and she runs her fingers over it almost reverently before allowing herself to be wrapped up in it like a burrito.
The girls settle her on the couch between them and take turns reading from the collection of storybooks Tsuyu had apparently prepared as soon as they’d first been asked to babysit.
Momo reads The Little Engine that Could and Ochako does Brown Bear Brown Bear what do you see. Kyouka reads a cute Peek-a-Boo book with little flaps on each page that lift to reveal different hiding animals.
Eri yawns as she wriggles an arm free from the burrito and carefully lifts each one.
By the time Mina is halfway through Curious George Goes to the Library, Eri’s head has already dropped into Tsuyu’s shoulder and her eyes are drifting closed.
Tooru reaches for the next book in the pile and pauses.
A grin stretches across her face as she slowly reaches for the Polaroid.
Eri snuggled up on the couch and totally passed out along with the rest of the girls is a picture too good to pass up.
The cuddle pile sleeps on as Tooru flashes her signature peace sign and snaps a picture to remember this by.