The fact that everyone passed the provincial licensing exam was cause for a big celebration. Aizawa sensei had congratulated them and told them not to make it too late, but everyone knew he wouldn't mind if they stayed up all night as long as they didn't get any noise complaints. And so the party was on! People cheered and chatted, comparing their pictures and laughing at the way they looked, but still being proud of the fact they now all had their licenses.

Izuku smiled as he watched everyone relax in the common room. They deserved to let loose after the tension and stress they went through in the last few weeks. First the exams, then the training camp and the whole kidnapping thing, and now the licensing exam. It was a lot for a couple of high school students, even if half of them were actually already in their twenties and already gained their real licenses a long time ago. Yeah, this was a milestone, a small victory, and Izuku enjoyed watching everyone smile and laugh.

"We need to talk about that power of yours," Katsuki mumbled as he passed Izuku, making the green head tense up again. He didn't let Kacchan pass, grabbing his arm before the blonde could get away.

"Are we really doing this?" Izuku asked. "There's no reason-"

"There is," Katsuki stated, not making eye contact. "Meet me outside in five minutes."

With that he ripped his arm free of Izuku's grip and continued on his way to the kitchen. Izuku frowned, not looking forward to their meeting at all. He knew what this was going to be about: Blackwhip. The first time around it was about One For All, it was the moment Kacchan was finally let in on his secret, their secret from that point on, and it was that moment that they finally became proper rivals. Izuku was sure they weren't actually going to fight this time around, no, Kacchan was probably just going to lecture him about going solo and acting like a reckless little shit.

Nonetheless, Izuku made his way out of the dormitory building a few minutes later, seeing that Kacchan was already waiting for him. He was wearing the same outfit as before, Izuku noticed. His black tank top and loose sweatpants. It was the outfit he wore to their original fight on ground beta, too. Izuku didn't know whether he planned that out or if it was simply a coincidence. Kacchan did own a lot of black clothes, after all. Yeah, it probably wasn't the exact same, but Izuku still recognized it. Kacchan had looked so hot in them on top of him, after all.

"Let's walk," he grunted, putting his hands in his pockets as he turned around, not giving Izuku a moment to catch up to him.

"We're not really going to ground beta, are we?" Izuku asked, trailing behind his boyfriend, who remained silent. "There's no need to go that far, Kacchan. You could've just lectured me about Blackwhip back at the dorm. I mean, that's what this is all about, right? Me not telling you and losing control? Me being reckless?"

Katsuki still didn't answer, making Izuku huff. Guess they really are going to ground beta after all... Was Kacchan actually planning on fighting him again? They'd be grounded and miss out on school! Well, not like they hadn't seen all of those things before but still! Tenya would be so disappointed in them if they fought again, and so would Aizawa sensei! Izuku wanted to avoid angering any more people after the stunt he pulled today and this wasn't helping at all!

"You remember this place, right?" Katsuki asked as they stopped somewhere on ground beta, turning towards a building Izuku recognized all too well. It was the building in which they did their first indoor battle training, their first class with All Might, the first time- "It was the first time I lost."

"In this universe I technically already beat you-" Izuku pointed out, quickly shutting up when Katsuki turned to glare at him. He didn't want to anger him any more than he already was. "Sorry."

"It was the first time you beat me," he stated, as if to make a point. "It was also the first time I realized that, shit, I'm not the strongest one here. It was a wake up call."

"Your starting line," Izuku hummed, staring at the building in front of them. A lot changed from this point on. Izuku finally won over his childhood friend and Kacchan got a reality check. It spurred on growth in both of them and in the end, it would lead to another fight on these very training grounds.

"I realized I didn't have to do everything alone. That together, we stand stronger than alone," Katsuki added. "I know you're strong, Izuku. You've proven that time and time again. But being strong doesn't mean being invincible. You can't take on everything alone."

"The Assembly exists for a reason," Izuku finished, knowing that was what it always came down to. Whenever someone lectured him on working alone, on taking on too much work by himself, they'd always say that. Izuku wasn't sure why they liked to point it out so much, he was certain nobody else got that lecture whenever they were reckless or acted out.

"So why the hell do you still keep everything to yourself?!" Katsuki yelled, suddenly exploding, quite literally in this case. Izuku's eyes widened, his body reflexively stepping aside to dodge the sparking hand. "Why didn't you tell anyone about Blackwhip?! Answer me!"

"Kacchan, I don't think-" Izuku stammered, not wanting to fight. He didn't want to use his quirk right now, not more than he had to, not after what happened. He would lie if he said he wasn't a little shook up about it, even now.

"Fucking fight me!" Katsuki exclaimed, continuing his assault on the green head. And oh, Izuku suddenly understood what he was trying to do. Communication through combat. It was their love language, in a way. It was cute, but also weird, and Izuku didn't know what to think about that combination. He didn't have time to think, not with the explosions and fists flying in his direction, pushing him off balance and trying to throw him onto the ground.

""Fine!" Izuku yelled, blocking Kacchan's attack with a kick, feeling green sparks rising up inside him. "I didn't tell you I could use Blackwhip! I didn't tell you that I dreamed about One For All! That I spoke to the vestiges! That they know we're from the fucking future!"

"How the hell do they know about that shit?!" Katsuki hissed, and Izuku could tell he realized the answer to his own question the moment he asked it out loud. "And why didn't you say shit earlier?! Why the fuck do I have to find out now?!"

Izuku scowled, grabbing Kacchan's arm as he came in for a right hook, flipping him over his shoulder like he'd done so many years ago. Only this time his quirk was active and Katsuki was slammed into the concrete beneath them, a silent fuck leaving his lips.

"I didn't tell you because I was selfish! Because I wanted to fucking catch you! Is that enough of an answer for you Kacchan?!"

"Wanted to catch-" the ash blonde mumbled, his eyes going wide for a moment. "Hah?! Is that what this is all about, you damn Deku?! Catch a Kacchan?!"

He propelled himself into the air, Izuku quickly chasing after him. Kacchan had the advantage in the sky though, since Izuku didn't learn how to use float yet. It didn't take long for Izuku to be shot out of the air and crash into the side of a building.

"Don't fucking lie to me!"

"I'm not lying-" Izuku groaned, only to get blasted again. He growled, kicking Kacchan away from him and using his shooting style to attack. He was once told it looked like he was dancing whenever he used his shooting style so close to the ground and Izuku had laughed and told them he couldn't dance to save his life. But now, when he was swaying around Kacchan, both of them holding each other off perfectly... Well, it had a certain rhythm to it, he supposed.

"Why don't you ever tell us shit?! Why do you always take on everything by yourself?!" Katsuki hissed. "The plans, the theories, the fucking quirk- It was never this bad before! So what the hell changed?!"

"I changed!" Izuku shouted, managing to kick Kacchan down onto the ground, holding him there as he put pressure on his foot. "I went through hell for years, Kacchan! Twice! Do you have any idea what it feels like to be quirkless?! To have no one to talk to?!"

Izuku could feel tears welling up in his eyes, but he wasn't about to stop now. No, the flood gates had opened and words sprawled out of his mouth whether he wanted to or not.

"I got used to it, you know? To having One For All, to having friends, to be looked up to. And then it was taken away in a second! In a flash it was all gone and I had nothing!" Izuku cried out, glaring down on his boyfriend. "So sorry if I'm used to working on my own! Sorry if I had to perfect my fake smile again so mom wouldn't notice something was wrong! Sorry I have trouble communicating when nobody listened to me for over a decade!"

"A decade..?" Katsuki breathed in shock, his hands clenched around Izuku's leg, unable to push him off his chest. Izuku didn't answer. Instead he took a shaky breath, slowly retreating his foot as he stumbled back. No... No, no, no, no, no, no, no... "What the hell do you mean by a decade, Deku?"

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!

"Talk to me!" Kacchan hissed, grabbing him by his shoulders, making Izuku flinch. Damn, he was hurt more than he thought he was. "When did you regain your memories? Be honest with me."

"I..." Izuku choked out, trying to get his tears under control, barely even noticing Kacchan sported a few of his own. "F-four... I was four."

After that there was silence. Not a word was spoken as Katsuki pulled Izuku into a hug, when Izuku cried and Kacchan desperately tried to comfort him, still wrapping his head around the reality of it all. Four. Izuku had been four. They were fifteen now. Fuck. His grip on Izuku got just a little tighter, tears stinging in his eyes as he tried to stay calm and collected. He needed to be strong for Izuku, needed to show him he was there for him.

"Shit," he mumbled, slowly descending to the ground as Izuku's feet gave out, still holding onto him as they sat down. "I... Fuck."

"Just... Just don't..." Izuku choked out. "Please don't talk right now."

"Okay," Katsuki whispered, kissing his temple, wiping away some of the tears that streamed down his face. "Just know you can talk to me, about everything. I'm serious, Izuku."

"I know," Izuku sobbed, a wobbly smile breaking through. "I love you."

And that just said it all, didn't it? That Izuku was still capable of loving someone like him after everything he'd done to him. After everything Izuku went through for the second time. Reliving the worst part of your life... Katsuki couldn't even imagine what that would feel like. No, he wasn't even the one that got kidnapped this time, that was Izuku. And holy shit how much trauma had this man gone through already..?

"Assembly exits for a reason," Katsuki mumbled, unable to keep it to himself any longer, making Izuku frown. He was probably tired of hearing those words, but then again, he didn't know what they truly meant. "It exists for you."

"W-what..?"

"I came up with the idea," Katsuki continued, pulling a strand of his wild green hair back behind his ear. Damn, he had a big bruise forming on his cheek. Katsuki hadn't realized they went that hard during their fight. "The others agreed."

"B-but Tenya-"

"So you wouldn't suspect anything," Katsuki explained. And wow, that sentence suddenly got a whole new meaning, didn't it? Izuku blinked, remembering all the times people said Assembly existed for a reason, remembered how Momo told him Kacchan would be delighted to hear he was actually using their signals. "I love you. I never want to see you suffer alone again."

"Kacchan," Izuku sobbed, fresh tears flowing from his eyes as he hid his head in the blonde's chest. All Katsuki did was rub his back and hold him to his chest, allowing him to cry his eyes out. It's been so long since Izuku was able to just let it all out like this. It felt relieving, in a way. Yeah, relieving the pressure that had been building up inside of him all these years. It felt good, safe in Kacchan's arms in the middle of an abandoned city. Now that the adrenaline rush was subsiding, he could feel how cold it actually was. The sun had gone down, leaving them alone in the dark.

They stayed like that for a while, simply sitting in silence as Izuku cried and calmed down. He was tired after crying like that, starting to feel sore from their fight and cold from the chilly night air. Kacchan was warm, though. His body was like a natural furnace due to his quirk.

"Let's get back," Katsuki whispered. "We should stop by Recovery Girl tomorrow morning, before school."

It was that moment Izuku realized they hadn't been interrupted by All Might, nor another teacher. The alarms must've been triggered, there was no way the school didn't know they were here right now. So why were they letting them be here? Weren't they going to get punished for fighting after school hours? For sneaking into a training ground after dark and without supervision?

"I told Aizawa sensei ahead of time," Kacchan told him as if reading his mind. "So you could say we somewhat got permission..? Let's not push our limits though."

Izuku chuckled, nodding as he allowed himself to be pulled up by his boyfriend.

"Did you tell anyone else you were going to bring me here?"

"No, but I think they know what's up now that we've disappeared for an hour," Katsuki shrugged, making Izuku roll his eyes. They slowly made their way back to the dorms in silence, nothing left to be said. It was peaceful, quiet. Izuku liked it, even though he winced every now and then when he made a wrong movement. Yeah, they really should see Recovery Girl first thing in the morning...

"You've got to be kidding me."

Izuku sighed, he should've expected this, really.

"You guys went out to fight again?! Why?!" Ochako called out, pulling at her hair.

"I'm severely disappointed," Tenya frowned, chopping the air in front of him. "You two are not teenagers anymore. You should provide an examplimary image to our peers!"

"Oh shut up," Katsuki groaned.

"But dude, seriously, why?" Eijirou asked confused. "I mean, wasn't that whole fight about One For All before? We all know about Izuku's quirk now."

"Was it Blackwhip?" Ochako asked, squinting her eyes at them. "Wait, why didn't Aizawa catch you two? You don't look like he lectured you and forced you to visit Recovery Girl."

"Guess he's just too tired to care," Katsuki shrugged, tugging Izuku along through the common room. "Also, it's past my bedtime and I'm beat. Shouldn't you set a good example by going to bed early on a school night?"

Tenya stammered out a few half words as Izuku got dragged into the elevator. Kacchan didn't let go of his hand as they rode up to the top floor. He hadn't pressed the button for Izuku's floor, something the green head was painfully aware of.

"You didn't tell them," Izuku breathed, breaking the silence.

"I thought you wouldn't want them to know," Katsuki reacted, squeezing his hand before tugging him along in the hallway as the elevator doors opened. They reached his room within a minute, wordlessly closing the door behind them.

"Thank you," Izuku mumbled. "For not saying anything."

"Don't thank me yet," Katsuki grunted. "A decade. Fuck. This is messed up, Izuku."

"Yeah, you tell me," Izuku sighed as Kacchan led him to his bed. Wait, his bed? "What am I doing here, Kacchan?"

"Like hell I'm leaving you alone right now," Kacchan stated, pushing him down onto the bed before walking over to his closet. "You can borrow some of my clothes and we can cuddle or some shit."

Izuku blushed, only for it to be covered up when Katsuki threw a shirt in his face. He changed into the sleeping clothes, crawling next to Kacchan under the blankets, cuddling into his warmth. It's been years since they slept together like this. The last time Izuku could remember was during a sleepover when they were little kids and they watched a movie that was way too scary for them. The time before that was in their previous lives, at the start of their relationship, when they fell asleep underneath a blanket on the couch after a tough mission.

It felt cozy, comforting. Safe. Izuku smiled a little, nuzzling into Katsuki's pillow. Maybe he liked these small victories after all.