The next few days were spent relaxing, enjoying my time back in the city while I could. That and I living the high life was awesome. I couldn't wait to waste Bruce's money, getting dressed up for a gala raising money for the victims of Professor Pygs' latest messed-up experiments.
A classic black and white suit, a bow tie, and enough product in my hair that it felt like I was wearing a hard hat, but it had to be tamed in the name of philanthropy.
"Aww, you look adorable." Tim teased, getting a pillow tossed in his face.
"I look like a rich asshole. Guess that's the point, though, yeah?"
Tossing the pillow back, he got up and scratched his stomach, wearing casual clothes and bunny slippers.
"How come you don't have to go? It's not fair." I whined, and he patted my cheek with a chuckle.
"Because I don't want to go, and you're the new guy. It's what happens whenever Bruce picks up a new kid." He told me, and I grumbled under my breath.
"Well, you should probably go. Go and have fun? I mean, at least try?" He told me, kissing my cheek and waving me towards the door.
"I'll try. But if I don't, I blame capitalism." I joked with a laugh, kissing him quickly before heading for the garage, getting in the back of the limo.
Bruce didn't look up from his phone, a woman with short hair and a low-cut dress sitting next to him.
"You know, it's not cute when you do the whole "fashionably late" thing."
"I'd heard you took in another lost kitten, but actually seeing him is another thing entirely." She cooed to Bruce as I mimed puking.
"Now you know how I feel when you and Tim are flirting." He replied, and I put my earbuds in to ignore theboth of them until we arrived.
"God bless you, Alfred Pennyworth. Without you, I'm sure Bruce could dress himself." I joked, waiting until Bruce and his date got out before making my debut.
Ignoring people was easy, putting my earbuds away as I followed after Bruce. What did I do now? I mean, who brought a teenager to a gala in the first place?
Standing out in a room full of people was easy when you were the only one with green skin, and eyes weren't easy to ignore. But it was good practice for when the real thing happened, so I kept my mouth shut and stood around awkwardly. The worst part was how boring it was. It almost made me wish a villain would come in and ruin this thing.
Taking a platter of shrimp and cocktail sauce, I found a good place to hide away for a little bit, eating fancy food and scrolling through my Instagram feed, wondering if I should make a new one so I could monetize my face and status as a minor celebrity.
Just as the thought crossed my mind, the door of the room I was hiding in opened, and I looked up to see a familiar face.
"Momo? Whatcha doin' in Gotham?" I questioned, taking in the elegant look she'd gone for, a simple green dress that looked really comfortable.
"Midoriya? What are you doing here?" She asked, and I noticed the tray of cupcakes in her hand.
"Got my memory back, so I'm here with Bruce. I just needed somewhere to go and be alone for a while. Looks like the same thing you're doing. Also, and I hate to repeat myself, why are you in Gotham? I mean, that's like, at least seventeen miles away from Japan."
She offered a cupcake to me, and I offered her some shrimp.
"My parents were invited, and they thought it was a good idea to put my face out there." She took a seat next to me, laying her head against the wall.
"I gotta say, this sucks. It's like, why are we not just raising money? Why can't we just donate money?" I asked, biting the cupcake she'd given me, and I had to admit that it was the best thing I'd ever eaten.
"You hit the nail on the head. This is really just an excuse for the rich to show off and have a fun night on the town."
"That's not true. Do you think your parents are here just to show off? You always talk so highly of them. It's just hard to believe they're so shallow, y'know?"
She looked a little taken aback, but that didn't last long.
"What about Bruce Wayne? Do you think he's not here to show off?"
I knew why Bruce was here because Batman couldn't solve every single issue in Gotham. Money was needed to fix the systematic issues that caused more crime. To fix the broken systems that spat out people like I used to be. Poor, angry, desperate.
"Oh no, he's definitely here to show off and show up other rich people, but he runs dozens of programs to help the lower class, donates to charities, gives back to the community. I'm not saying he's perfect, but he's the only rich person in this city who's constantly working to improve Gotham."
Defending a billionaire was weird, but I didn't mind if it was the guy who was making the city safer as a hero and as a civilian.
"Wow, you're really passionate about this, I've never seen you look so alive." She joked, elbowing me with a laugh I'd never heard.
"Well, I've never seen you relax or heard you laugh, so maybe we're even." I replied, watching as she stuck her tongue out at me.
"Oh my god, you can be silly? Well, color me surprised." I told her, laughing at my own joke and loosening my tie, the top button of my undershirt getting undone.
We fell into a comfortable silence, snacking on shrimp and cupcakes until we couldn't eat anymore.
"Hey, can I ask you something?"
The silence was broken, turning my head and looking over at her.
"Do you actually want to be a hero?" She was silent for a second, and then she held her hands out, apologizing for something that I hadn't taken offense to.
"Im sorry, it just that you kept saying that U.A. was your punishment, but you gave your all at camp and went beyond fighting your dad. I mean, that doesn't seem like the actions of someone just there for a punishment."
Oh. Yeah. Made sense she was curious since the me that she knew was a asshole.
"I just wanted to make up for the bad things I did before I got to U.A." I paused, and I saw her face fall. I didn't want it to.
"Now, I want to save lives and protect people. I want to make this world better, so no one has to grow up like I did. Like so many kids in Gotham do." I told her, my and I didn't care how she saw me, so long as she did. I just wanted her to look at me.
"I'm sorry. I didn't know." She apologized again, sincere and kind when she doesn't need to be.
"Yeah, I've changed since we met. Hell, since you gave me the tracker. I learned the kind of hero, no, the kind of person I want to be."
It felt weird to talk so much to someone I never really looked twice at, even if she was vice class president. She just seemed so bland.
"That's a very admirable reason. My own lies in the fact that my parents are heroes. It's just expected of me." She admitted, giving herself more depth than I'd ever imagined. I guess we were all going through things that no one else noticed.
"That's a good enough reason to me. You want to do good to make your parents proud. It makes sense."
How the hell should I know what parents want? My mom's were villains, and my father figures were a billionaire and his butler.
"You think so? You don't think it's kind of sheepish, just following the path they've already paved?" She asked, and I could see she was in need of the truth with someone who wouldn't bullshit here.
"I think that as long as you're happy, then who cares what anyone else thinks? You're doing kickass." I told her, watching her shoulders fall in relief. Why was she so worried about what I think?
"Thank you, Midoriya. You've put my unease at rest."
A laugh left me before I could stop it, and I saw her face look hurt as she stood up, walking to the door.
"No, I wasn't laughing at you, I just thought it was funny that if anyone could make you feel better -" I turned into gas, moving next to the door. "-that it was me. I'm the guy who worked with Joker and hated heroes. I'm not someone I'd ever think you'd value the opinion of."
It hurt to admit, knowing that somewhere inside of me, I thought I wasn't as good as someone else, just because of the things I'd done in my short life.
"Hey, that's the whole point of growth and seconds chances, isn't it? Besides, no one else would ever give me the truth as straight as you."
She took a step closer, putting a hand on my chest.
"Wh-What are doing?" My voice was cracking, and I felt nervous for the first time tonight.
"Well, if a pretty girl wanted to kiss a stupid guy, how many signs would the pretty girl have to give?" She asked, and I understood what she wanted.
"Listen, I have a boyfriend. I-I can't, and even if I didn't, I don't know if I would." I told her, stepping back against the door and fumbling for the doorknob, tripping over my feet as the door opened and hitting the ground in front of the gala guest.
A woman with grey hair looked down at me, then actually stuck her nose up, an air of indignation coming off her.
"Good lord, this is supposed to be a charity event, not an excuse to have an assignation with your little girlfriend."
The door shut as I stood up, cameras flashing as I looked over at the woman, standing in front of the door and using the wood from the door to grow small branches that intertwined with one another, shutting it tightly.
"Jokes on you, I don't know what assignation means." I told her, hoping Momo got the idea and snuck out. Those windows were plenty big enough, and she was plenty talented enough to do so without being caught.
"Oh please, you can figure it out." She chastised with a look that made me wonder if she had shit under her nose just so she could look that disgusted.
"Yeah, probably, but I think you're just mad that I've picked up tricks from Bruce Wayne." I told her, giving the most carefree smile I could as I heard the window slide open, an oomph as I assumed she climbed out.
"But if you're so concerned with what I do, you're more than welcome to see."
Stepping away from the door, she seemed like she wanted to call me names before turning away indignantly, a few of the more brave from the press trying to open the door as I walked off, chuckling to myself. I'd have to talk to Tim about this before the story hit, but it should be no problem.
Floating along and messing with people was a good way to end the night, Bruce stopping as word got around.
"We're leaving." He told me simply, and I followed, stopping in front of the cameras and looking right at a member of the press.
"Got those pencils ready? On top of what Bruce has already pledged, I'm proud to announce that he's donating another ten million to the victims of Pyg." I called, a wave of cheers going up and making Bruce walk over.
"I think you misheard me, Izuku. I'm donating an additional twenty million." He spoke, flashing a charming smile to the cameras and waving, heading to the limo and motioning me to follow.
Once the door shut and we'd driven off a bit, his smile dropped.
"I heard you had a rendezvous with someone. I'm going to tell you this, so listen up. If you give yourself the loverboy mask to hide behind, it doesn't go away. Anyone you love is going to wonder if you mean it." He told me, and it was then I noticed the woman he'd arrived with was gone.
"It wasn't like that! I knew her from school and there was a misunderstanding between us, but nothing happened. We didn't even meet on purpose. We both just wanted to get away from the rich assholes, no offense."
His expression got more serious if that was possible, leaning forward a bit.
"That doesn't matter. The press doesn't care, so you should be more aware. Do you understand?" He asked, sending a flood of embarrassment through me. It could have been exactly what they'd thought if I just listened to the small voice that wanted me to go along with what she wanted.
"I'll do better." I told him quietly, ashamed of that line of thinking. I didn't want anyone to wonder if I really cared about them.
He nodded, leaning back as an unsteady silence fell over the both of us, the ride back to the Manor awkward as hell.
"I'm gonna... go talk to Tim, get ahead of the papers. Goodnight, Bruce." I mumbled, stepping out and stopping to wish Alfred a good night as well.
The kind of nervous I felt in front of Tim's door was new, putting my head against the frame so I could figure out what I was going to say to explain it.
One. Two. Three knocks, and a sleepy Tim opened the door, rubbing his eyes.
"Agirltriedtokissmeandnowpeoplethinkwedidthedirty." I spoke quickly, my words blurring together as he blinked one eye, then the other, yawning softly.
"What?"
"Okay, maybe this isn't the best time, and we can wait until tomorrow." I told him, stepping in and closing the door behind us.
"Come on, I'll explain when you're more awake."
I took his hands and walked to the bed, taking off my shoes and jacket before getting in next to him, listening to him softly snore.
His alarm went off before I could get to sleep, waking him up and reminding him that I was there.
"You stayed?" He mumbled, sitting up and looking at me.
"When was I gonna get another chance to spend the night in your room?" I asked, covering my eyes and wondering when a good time to talk to him about what happened last night was.
"Fun night?" He asked, scrolling through his phone before looking up at me, a smile on his face.
"You've seen the news?" I asked, and he nodded. "And you aren't mad?"
He snorted, and I was confused.
"Dude, same thing happens to all of us at least once. Besides, Bruce already texted me what happened, so I'm not upset. Just walk me through what happened, so I know."
God, I didn't deserve him, telling him what had happened, although I left out her trying to kiss me. If I told him that, I wasn't so sure he'd be comfortable with me going back to class with her.
"You sure know how to get into trouble." He told me, moving hair out of my eyes, and I felt guilty all over again as he put his arms around me.
"God, I wish I didn't." I muttered, closing my eyes and pretending that this was what I still wanted.