Theme: Encouragement/Doubt

Momo absolutely loved Eri to death. There was absolutely no doubt in her mind about that. At first, Momo was terrified at suddenly being thrown into essentially being a mother. Granted, she wasn't as scared as Izuku was about being a father.

When Eri called him "Papa" for the first time, he nearly passed out.

But, she couldn't be happier with how it turned out. She had a little family that she would give anything for. She loved Izuku and Eri with all of her heart. She wouldn't change anything about her life.

...Although…

There was just one tiny, small, miniscule, teensy-weensy, little thing that poked at her heart...just a bit.

Momo believed she was a good mother. Or, at least she did her absolute best to be one to Eri. But that was where the problem came in.

Eri was a daddy's girl.

There was no denying that Eri had a strong and special attachment to Izuku out of anyone else. It wasn't that Momo didn't understand why. Izuku was the one that saved her. He was the one that defeated the terrible man that had made Eri's life Hell.

 He was the one that gave her a beautiful new life. A life with hugs, kisses, music, movies, smiles, and most importantly a mother and father.

But Momo gave her that too. She was at the raid. She helped save Eri. She was in the ambulance with them after Chisaki's defeat. Momo had been at Eri's side since then.

Now Momo knew that it sounded petty. And she had no anger or jealousy towards Izuku or Eri. She was just happy that Eri was happy.

...But, she couldn't deny her heart stung whenever Eri would run to Izuku when she was scared instead of her.

And, once again, she understood. Izuku was the big strong hero that beat Overhaul. As a hero and as a dad, he represented protection to Eri. It would just be nice if she climbed in between both of her parents for protection instead of going straight into Izuku's arms.

It made Momo feel like she wasn't doing enough. Was she actually not a good mother? Did Eri not love her as much as she did Izuku? 

Parents should never have a favorite child, but you can't really stop a child from having a favorite parent.

Maybe she just needed a breakthrough with Eri. Izuku saved her. He already had a breakthrough. Now it was her turn.

She hoped she would get it soon.

"Really? Was anyone hurt?"

"No, luckily they were stopped before that could happen. But, it should be fixed by tomorrow. I'll get the earliest train I can back. If not, I'll just run back. It'll be good training to have a run at 20%."

Izuku had left that day to visit his mother. He would have brought Momo and Eri along with him, but Eri had homeschooling to do. So Momo stayed back at U.A. However, a villain attack caused the destruction of the rail line. Izuku was stuck across the city until the next morning.

"Okay. Be safe. I would have you say goodnight to Eri, but she's already asleep."

"Darn. Oh well, I'll see her tomorrow."

"And, speaking of Eri, I've been meaning to ask you about something." Momo leaned back against her pillows as she slipped under her covers. "Do you think that I'm a good mother?"

"Wh-...Momo, of course you are! Why would you even ask that?"

She began playing with the hem of her shirt, "It's just that...I feel like Eri doesn't love me like she loves you. At least not as much."

"That's ridiculous."

"I know, but I can't shake the feeling. I just notice how much she goes to you for everything, and...I don't know. I'm just not sure if I'm doing my job right."

"...Momo, who perfectly makes anything for Eri, from toys to clothes to food, whenever she wants them?"

"...Well, me "

"Who homeschools Eri?"

"...Me."

"Who helps her bathe? Who does her hair? Who plays piano and sings to her?"

"...Me."

"Momo, if anyone should be afraid of not being the favorite parent, it's me."

"Izuku you do a lot of those things too. You cook for her, you buy her things, you teach her, you do just as much as I do."

"Yeah, but not as good or as frequent as you. You're a great mom. You'll see it. Eri and I see it. You should have seen how excited she got when I told her what Mother's Day was. I feel like I'm not doing a good job all the time. I feel like Eri loves you more...Does this sound like we fight for our child's affection?"

Momo chuckled, "A little."

"What I'm trying to say is, we both think Eri likes the other more because we only look at how she acts around the other. We don't focus on the good we do ourselves. The fact of the matter is, we're both doing everything we can to make her happy. And I think we're doing pretty good for a couple of teenagers who were suddenly thrown into being parents for a little girl who has extremely dangerous powers. Just imagine how easy we have it now. What are we gonna do when she hits puberty?"

" Please don't joke about that."

Izuku chuckled, "You at least have experience! You can actually help her through it! What am I supposed to do!?"

"Try not to get killed." The two laughed at the semi-joke (Eri could actually kill them), and once they calmed down, Momo continued. "Thank you Izuku. I really needed to hear that."

"Eri and I love you with everything we have. Never forget that."

Momo smiled and wiped at her stinging eyes, "I love you too. Goodnight Izuku."

"Goodnight Momo."

The phone call ended, and Momo could safely say that her heart was at ease.

*Creak*

Momo turned around to see Eri in her doorway, tears in her eyes and her horn a little bit bigge-Oh no.

"Eri? Sweetheart did you have a nightmare?"

She nodded and closed the door, looking around the room. "Wh-Where's Papa?"

Momo pushed away the small poke at her heart, and responded. "Daddy can't make it back until tomorrow morning. I can call him an-" 

Before Momo could finish her sentence, Eri ran her way to the bed, climbed on, slipped under the covers, and buried herself into Momo's chest. Momo sat in shock for a second, but quickly wrapped her arms tightly around her little girl. "Chisaki's gone Eri. He'll never hurt you again. And anyone who tries has to answer to your dad and I."

Eri slowly calmed down, and her body began to go slack with sleep. Momo carefully leaned over and turned off her bedside lamp. She pressed a kiss to the top of Eri's head. "I love you Eri. Goodnight."

A very tired and quiet response came back.

"I love you Mama."

A smile crept onto Momo's face and a slight tear in her eye. As she buried herself into the blankets with Eri, only one thought came to mind.

'I guess I am a good mother.'