Can't Choose

Chapter Fifteen

The next couple of days passed pretty uneventfully. They were adjusting quickly, Kirishima and Izuku were still working together on their project, and there weren't any real issues. At least, none that were voiced. Izuku had started to feel like something was off.

Now that all of them were together, he saw a much different side of both Kirishima and Kacchan. They were so open with their affection, they were so comfortable with each other. And sometimes, Izuku felt like he was on the sidelines. But he wanted them to be happy! Why wouldn't he? It was fine. It was going to be fine, he was sure. He'd just have to wait it out.

So that's what he did.

He wasn't bothered by it, really. It was cute to watch, and sometimes pretty amusing. Sure, he wished he could be in either of their places, but it wasn't something he really needed. He was content.

The three of them were currently hanging around in Kacchan's room. Izuku was browsing through the rather large All Might collection on the bookshelf with his entire face practically glowing, at which the blond snorted. "Wanna see where I keep the limited editions, nerd?"

He hadn't really needed to ask. It was obvious before he'd even spoken that the answer would be a yes, and the way Izuku somehow brightened even more indicated this.

"Awwwww, that's sweet," Kirishima commented, Izuku watching his face struggling to stay as straight as possible. The twitching of the corner of his mouth and the laughter in his eyes betrayed him, however, and a moment later he failed to restrain himself. "God, you guys are both nerds!" he managed to get out between laughs.

"Shut up, shitty hair! You're clearly too goddamn incompetent to understand how great All Might is."

"Oh, yes, that must be it," Kirishima rolled his eyes. "But I'm not saying it's a bad thing! It's cute, honestly!"

"That's not better! I'm not fucking cute!" Kacchan responds as he opens up a drawer in his desk to reveal several more All Might comics. "There, Deku! Enjoy." Izuku grinned and started looking through them.

"And you better be careful with those! If you fuck any of them up I'll kill you!"

"Don't worry, Kacchan! I'll be super careful."

Izuku picked one up and began flipping through it, while Katsuki sat himself next to Kirishima again. "Come on, Katsuki, you're adorable," Kirishima smiled while Izuku busied himself by the desk.

"Fuck no."

Their banter played on in the background while Izuku continued to appreciate Kacchan's collection. He smiled as he listened to them, Kirishima's teasing and Kacchan's gruff denial. Izuku bit his lip gently, shoulders stiffening in a barely noticeable twitch as he felt a sharp sting of jealousy. Jealousy? He didn't have any reason to be jealous of anyone. This was stupid. He was being stupid. He huffed quietly to himself, exasperated, and continued to peruse the comic. This was one of his favourites actually! To be perfectly honest, though... all of them were his favourites, heh.

"Hey, Izuku, back me up here! Katsuki's totally adorable."

Izuku glanced, up laughing as soon as his gaze landed on Kacchan's face, either angry or embarrassed, and possibly both. "Deku, you better not side with this idiot."

"I... I think it's better if I stay out of this," Izuku said, chuckling, hands lifting up to surrender before he even got involved. Kacchan was fixing him under a serious glare, and he wanted nothing to do with that chaos.

"Aw, come on! I need some help!"

"Well, I value my life," Izuku joked, shaking his head. Kirishima's face became pleading. "You know he's cute, though! Just agree!"

And there was that glare again.

"U-um. Fine. Kacchan is definitely adorable."

"Deku." The blonde made eye contact with him, and Izuku could feel the threat in that simple action. A threat of what, he didn't know. He carefully closed the comic he was holding and set it on the desk.

"Kacchan, r-relax..."

"Don't 'relax' me, nerd!"

Before Izuku could respond, Kirishima had grabbed Kacchan around the waist. "Calm down, babe," he said, almost teasingly, and Kacchan turned and redirected his glare to the red-haired boy.

"Oh, you wanna go, shitty hair?"

"No, no! How about we just... chill Like how we were?"

"You started this," Katsuki deadpanned.

Kirishima looked as though he was thinking for a moment. "Oh, yeah, I did! Oops."

"Dumbass," Katsuki snorted. "Now get your hands off me."

"Aw, but you know you like this."

"Fuck you."

Izuku watched them, happy and amused, but at the same time, feeling unsatisfied. Why couldn't he just shove these feelings away? Why were they so ridiculously persistent? All they needed was more time to adjust, and everything would work out. He didn't need to keep longing for these things. Patience would pay off, right?

For now, he smiled.

A/n: Alright, let me say I'm sorry for not updating for what, 4-5 months? I've lost a lot of the inspiration for this story, and I'm disappointed this chapter is so short, but I'm letting you know I'm still alive, haha. Very grateful that school is almost over; not a guarantee that I'll be writing more, but definitely hoping I can.

Hope you guys are having a great day!

-Lavender