Spiraling back to You

Chapter 4 - A Get Together

It took some...adjusting to get used to this new version of Izuku. Or, well, rather an old version of Izuku. He was jumpy, his mind still stuck in a time of war, his body ready for battle at any given moment. Katsuki wished he could make him feel at ease somehow, filling their conversations with stories of the past, telling Izuku about all the things that happened in their time at UA. Times he couldn't remember. Katsuki tried not to think about the quirk, tried not to stress out over the fact they'd reached another equilibrium of sorts. It all felt the same as before, when Izuku was still 18, and every day Katsuki was scared of waking up to an even younger version of his boyfriend.

"So? How's Deku doing?" Kirishima asked when Katsuki swung by the agency to pick up some paperwork. His patrols and missions had been cut significantly since the whole quirk accident so he could look after Izuku, but they still made him come in for desk work every now and then.

"Fine," Katsuki shrugged. What else was there to say? There were no changes in the situation whatsoever. Izuku was fine, he was safe, for now. "I just wish those idiots would finally get some useful intel out of the fucker that messed him up so we know how long this shit is gonna last."

"Denki says they're doing everything they can to make them talk," Eijirou said, knowing his friend was having a rough time with this. "So still no changes then?"

"Fuck all," Katsuki huffed. "Izuku doesn't remember anything beyond his runaway days, which were fucking shit, so he gets scared and lashes out at the smallest sounds. You have no idea how many times I've been attacked by Blackwhip in the last few days."

"Yeah, he was really antsy back then, wasn't he?" the red head sighed. "I guess we all were... Hey, maybe we should organize a get together? You know, like when we did when we got him to return to UA! Like, a feel good movie night or something?"

That actually wasn't a bad idea... Izuku would feel more at ease with his friends than with Katsuki anyway. No matter how much it hurt to admit that, it was true. They hadn't been close before the war, not in a way that mattered. The only thing connecting them was the secret of One For All, but that was far from a secret now. So maybe it was for the best if Katsuki stepped aside and let someone else take the lead on this one, someone Izuku felt comfortable with. Not his childhood bully turned future lover, not when he didn't remember that development at all.

And so here he was, two days later, in an apartment filled with class A graduates, trying not to get agitated as they spread crumbs everywhere. Yeah, the snacks were a pain in the ass, and some of the idiots kept whining about the lack of booze, but at least Izuku was smiling. Mission accomplished.

"It's been so long since we all got together like this!" Ashido exclaimed. "We should do this more often!"

"Organize it yourself then," Katsuki said, putting another bowl of chips on the table. "I'm not having you animals over for at least a fucking year after this."

"Ahw, come on blasty, you love us," Sero teased. "Besides, Midoriya is having fun, no?"

That was true. Izuku was surrounded by his closest friends, happily chatting away and gushing about new features on their hero costumes. Tenya talked to him about support items, about new ways they learned to use their quirks. Ochako filled him in on any new relationship gossip, which happened years ago at this point, and Shoto added his own unbiased commentary to it. And Izuku... He was eating it all up. Kirishima was right, this might've been exactly what he needed to finally relax.

"Should we tell him about Aoyama?" Jirou asked when the glittery hero made his way over to Izuku. That's right, the traitor had only been revealed after he returned, which meant this Izuku wouldn't remember any of that.