Piper walked back to UA on her own, Ellie and her Dad decided to celebrate with Esme after she got off work that afternoon. Piper didn't mind the walk, it was a pretty day anyways. She walked through the gates and headed up to her dorm room. When she reached the common area, Iida was the only one there. He was sleeping on the couch again, all sprawled out and sleeping soundly.
Piper giggled to herself, did he do this often? Why wasn't he in bed. She went to her room and draped a blanket over him once again and went to leave until he started stirring.
"Mmm..." He opened his eyes slowly and noticed Piper standing in front of him. "...Good morning." He said in a groggy tone of voice.
"Good morning." She chuckled.
"You gave me a blanket, how sweet of you." He rubbed his eyes.
"Did you stay out here all night?"
"Yeah, sometimes when there's students out I stay out here in case they come back too late. I let them in by using the code the teachers gave me."
"Do you do this every time a student is out past curfew?"
"I do my best to. I don't want anyone getting locked out."
"That's very kind of you."
Iida sat up and rubbed his eyes, he stood up and struggled to stay on his feet.
"Whoa." Piper came to his side to help him stand. "Been using your quirk too much, have we?"
"Possibly. I might have over done it with Eri yesterday." He winced.
"Sit back down. I have an idea." She sat him back down on the couch and headed to her room to get a couple of hand towels. She soaked them in hot water and put them in the microwave.
"What on earth are you doing over there?" He asked.
"You'll see." She took out the steaming towels and she knelt down, wrapping his feet in its warmth. Iida blushed and was hesitant for a minute until he felt the heat on his aching muscles.
"Oh, wow." He sat back, relaxing until the towels cooled down. "Where did you learn that?"
"My mom and dad loved each other once. Mom used to do this for Dad when he came home from work."
"What made them...split? If I may ask?"
"According to Mom, he just wasn't fun anymore. They fell in love pretty young and in their rebellious punk rock phase of life. They went out every night to listen to music or go to concerts. When I was born, he took him becoming a father seriously. Mom on the other hand didn't like the serious version of my Dad so they ended up separating." She shrugged, taking off the towels and heating them up again.
"Im sorry, Piper."
"Its okay. My Dad is happy now, he has me and has Eri. Might have a potential girlfriend in the works...everything is coming together for him. I couldn't ask for anything more for him. He deserves it all."
"Aizawa is a champion Dad. After what you told me what he went through just to see you every friday."
Piper came back, wrapping his feet one last time. Iida smiled at her, no girl had ever cared for him like this. It was so sweet of her to take care of him like she did.
"You don't have to do this, Piper."
"Yes, I do." She chuckled. "You can barely move."
"Thank you."
"Any time." She smiled up at him. "Where is everyone?"
"They all went to the beach. I stayed behind, waiting for you."
"So, you did crash on the couch just for me?"
"Yeah...Yeah I did." He confessed.
Silence overtook the room and they looked at each other, "Do you want to hang out, Iida? Just you and me?"
Piper asked.
"Where would we go?"
"I don't know. Lets not think about it too much."
"Well, lets see if your magic works on my sore feet first then we can go."
"It will." She took the towels off and repeated the process one last time. She sat down next to Iida who seemed too relaxed to speak.
"This is heaven." He leaned back, closing his eyes. Once the towels cooled, he tried standing up again.
"They feel good as new. That's a pretty great trick."
"Thanks."
"Where to?" He asked sticking on his shoes.
"Lets just go out and walk. Well find something to do."
"Okay."
They left the Dormitories and headed to the streets. They walked fir a little while until Iida spotted a book store. They walked in and they started to look around. Iida seemed to be enjoying himself, looking for more scifi books to add to his collection. Piper looked around and spotted a book on song writing. She picked it up and skimmed through it. Iida came to her with a stack of four books in his hands, each one thick.
"They have the last four books in the Game of Thrones series. I cant wait to read them.
"Its a show now, Iida. You can watch it on tv."
"Yeah, but the books always have more detail in it." He looked down at the book in her hand. "Ill buy that for you." He said.
"Oh, no you don't have to-"
"Its the least I can do since you fixed me up earlier." He said taking the book and paying for it with his others. Piper smiled at the favor and they were off again to explore. Piper and Iida crossed the street and entered a store that Piper had her eyes on. It was a record store, she flipped through the vinyls to find a few she wanted to add to her collection. She gasped when she saw what she had found and almost started to cry.
"Whats the matter, Piper?" He asked.
"I found it. Its mine and my Dads band. The first band I ever saw live. I found their record."
Iida chuckled at her, seeing how happy she was. Piper was a bit if an old soul when it came to music and Iida found her interest in vinyls unique. She looked at the price tag and her eyes went wide. She didn't have enough. She sadly put it back into the row of records she found it in.
"You will not put that back, that just made you the happiest I've ever seen you." He told her sternly.
"I don't have enough."
"Ill get it for you."
"No, Iida. You've already bought me a book. I cant ask you to buy me this too."
"Im rich. Its not that big of a deal. Plus, this record means a lot to you. Im not letting you just leave it here, it belongs with you."
"Thank you, Iida."
"Ill get this and the others you have on one condition."
"What's that?"
"I listen to them with you."
"Yeah, of course."
Iida smiled and paid for the vinyls, when they left the store, he was enveloped in a hug.
"Whats this for?" He asked.
"For being so kind."
"I think I owe it to you since I was such a jerk to you." He confessed.
"Don't worry about it, Iida. I know you'll tell me when you're ready."
Iida placed a hand on her back, returning the embrace.
"Are you hungry?" He asked.
"You've done enough-"
"Were eating. Lets go." Iida let go of her and they found a place to eat. Tenya loved seeing Piper happy, it was almost addicting to see her face light up. He would've bought her everything she looked at if she'd let him.
They sat down on one of the patio tables outside of the restaurant Iida chose and ate their food.
"So, I have to ask, what is the whole interest in collecting records?"
"They're collectors items. Some of them can be autographed and some bands that break up, their records can be found in stores still...like the one I found today."
"That band broke up?"
"Yes and no?" She shrugged. "They mostly all became parents and decided to leave that life behind to start a family. I've been looking for that record forever."
"Okay, so its more of the hunt for the right album that is enjoyable."
"Yeah. Its a good hobby." She looked up at him gratefully. "Thanks again by the way."
"Its no problem...I like seeing you happy." He blushed.
"You're very sweet."
They finished their lunch and headed back to the dormitories. They retired to Pipers room to listen to her new records. They both laid on the floor, listening to the music that played.
"Oooh, here comes my favorite part...ALL MY BALLOONS ARE POPPING!" she sang out. Iida just watched her rock out to her new favorite album, Iida was on a high from her energy. He enjoyed seeing her happy and loved the fact that he made her so elated.
"You're so silly." He laughed.
Piper hardly heard him, she was having too much fun belting out the lyrics.
"I think I broke Piper. Shes non responsive." He laughed.
"I will love you and eternity's mine!"
"Yep, I broke her."
The record player stopped playing and Piper stood up to flip the vinyl over. "What were you saying?" She asked.
"Nothing. Just enjoy yourself, silly."
"You can pick a record if you want."
"I wouldn't know what to pick. Im just having fun watching you rock out."
"You seriously need to go to a concert. We could rock out together." She said excitedly.
"Maybe I will."
Piper giggled happily, just thinking about it. She finally had a friend who she could be her weird self around. Iida didn't bat an eyelash at the fact he was sprawled out on the floor with her. It felt so natural to be herself around him, more natural than usual.
"I didnt know you were rich." She said.
"Its not something I feel needs to be broadcasted to the world."
"I respect that." She turned her head to him. "Im sorry about your brother."
Iida was taken by surprise, "Who told you about my brother?"
"Ellie did. Don't get mad at her for telling me we were just chatting."
"Its fine. It was two years ago anyway...he cant be a hero anymore because of what happened.
"I know." She reached her hand over to his to comfort him. She held his hand sweetly, the feeling of her skin on his was elecrifying.