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Katsuki isn’t the kind of hero who googles himself. Why would he give a shit about what extras on the internet say about him? They aren’t the ones busting their asses to save people or risking their lives to stop villains. So when one evening Denki sends him a link to something called AO3 saying that he “has to read this story” about himself, Katsuki almost doesn’t open it.
Almost.
He’s not sure if he regrets clicking that link or found his new guilty pleasure. Because he’s now 100,000 words into a fanfiction called “From the Sidelines” at 3 in the fucking morning. At first, he scoffed at the mischaracterization of both himself and Izuku. But the way the author captured their dynamic intrigued Katsuki. Sure, they made the gayest man alive bisexual, but damn… Katsuki couldn’t stop reading.
It was easier than Katsuki would care to admit to get lost in the angst of it all. There was so much yearning it almost made him sick. The only reason it didn’t was because it felt a little too close to home. Somehow, this extra captured their feelings for each other so well without even knowing them.
Are we that fucking obvious?
As pro heroes, they are flooded with dating questions and rumours constantly. Both him and Izuku have a well practiced script of denial, but somehow everyone still thinks they are dating.
It’s not that Katsuki thinks that they won’t one day get together... But they graduated high school four years ago. Only a year and a half ago they opened an agency together. They were doing well, but they can and will go much higher as heroes. Katsuki wanted to wait until Izuku had everything else before confessing his feelings.
There would really only be one shot at this, and Katsuki didn’t want to fuck it up.
By the time 5am rolled around, Katsuki was on the living room couch with his full attention on his phone screen, eyes misting over with tears. He was so focused that he didn’t notice the footsteps of his roommate entering the room.
“Morning Kacchan,” Izuku whispered while standing over Katsuki.
Katsuki jumped and threw a pillow at Izuku on instinct. It gave him enough time to blink away the unshed tears from his eyes.
“What the fuck,” Katsuki whispered back. Then he shook his head, realizing that Izuku was in front of him and he had something worse than porn on his phone. Quickly, he closed his screen and tried to discreetly set his phone on the coffee table.
“What are you doing up, nerd?”
“What do you mean? It’s morning, time to get ready for work.” Izuku tilted his head to the side, analyzing the blonde in front of him.
“Wait a second, you didn’t sleep last night, did you?” Izuku accused with a worried look.
“Shut up, I can do whatever I want,” Katsuki waved off the concern as he walked to his room.
“I’ll see you at the agency, Izuku.” Katsuki threw a stern look over his shoulder.
They lived together long enough that Izuku knew when not to push things. At some point, Katsuki would have to make peace with lying to his best friend because there is no way in hell he can ever admit to what he just did. For fucks sake, he read about them having sex! On more than one occasion!
It’s too late to stop now. The floodgates are open and Katsuki knows that he won’t be able to sleep until he’s finished this fanfiction. It would just be this one and that’s it. No more, ever again.
—
It was not just that one. The rest of the week, during his lunch break, he opted to eat alone on a roof, much to Izuku’s dismay. But he couldn’t read this crap in front of him. So he turned his back on those puppy dog eyes and scrolled through the Bakugou Katsuki/Midoriya Izuku tag on AO3. He found some “on shots” to read through as he ate. In the evenings he did the same after dinner with Izuku. Alone in his room he could satisfy the urge for the time being, but Katsuki knew he needed another sleepless night in order to finish FTS.
By the end of Friday, he was in his office slogging through paperwork. He and Izuku stumbled on a fairly big heist and were able to de-escalate and capture the villains with minimal civilian harm. Unfortunately, the criminals are a part of a bigger crime syndicate and the paperwork has to be extremely detailed for future investigation.
Izuku finished his work right on time and was leaving for the day. Before heading out, he popped his head into Katsuki’s office.
“Kacchan, I’m going home. Want me to wait for you?” Izuku offered.
“Nah, I got a buncha crap to do. I’ll be back late, don’t wait up for me,” Katsuki glanced up, but quickly set his eyes back on his computer. He couldn’t stand seeing the other hero look so disappointed.
“Okay, if you’re sure. Goodnight Kacchan.”
“Night, Izuku.”
Katsuki tried to ignore how dejectedly Izuku closed his office and how his head hung as he walked away. To be fair, the two spent nearly every night together. Katsuki cooked dinner for them or they went out with anyone who was available to join. Most mornings they came into work together too. This was the first time Katsuki acted distant with Izuku. He’d have to make it up to him later, he’ll pick up ingredients for katsudon on his way home.
It took the explosive hero another hour to finish his paperwork. When he submitted his last document he let his head fall to his desk and closed his eyes. He meant to rest for just a minute, but when he opened his eyes again, it was dark outside. Which meant it was past 9pm. A little later than he intended, but he couldn’t do anything about it now.
Katsuki made it to the store just in time to gather the ingredients before they closed. Luckily he knew this recipe by heart so he was able to be in and out in under 10 minutes. The night had a slight summer chill to it which was refreshing from the recent humidity. Katsuki took the long way home as his mind wandered back to FTS.
Lost in thought, he opened his apartment door and went to the kitchen to put away the groceries. He was so engrossed in the fanfic that he didn’t notice the lights turn on or hear the approach of his roommate. Only at a hand on his shoulder did his focus snap back and he whirled around to find Izuku in his Dynamight pajama pants and sleep t-shirt looking at him with concern.
“Hey, you okay Kacchan?” Izuku asked.
“I’m fucking fine, just putting away groceries nerd,” Katsuki tried to not sound defensive.
“Yeah, but you’ve been kinda spacey this week. We got better at talking to each other, right? You can talk to me,” Izuku stepped forward and laid a hand on Katsuki’s bicep.
Immediately, Katsuki let go of his impending embarrassment and pulled the other into a tight hug. Izuku startled briefly before wrapping his arms around Katsuki in return.
“You’re right, I’m sorry Izuku,” Katsuki whispered. The two didn’t hug often, usually only for bigger emotional moments like hospital releases or reuniting after time apart. Katsuki was rethinking all of that now as he nuzzled into soft green waves.
“Look, I have been spacey. We can talk about it soon, okay?” Katsuki reluctantly pulled away.
“Okay, thanks Kacchan,” Izuku smiled, accepting Katsuki at his word. “I’m going to bed then. You should too, it's even past my bedtime.” Izuku teased before heading to his own room for the night.
Katsuki glanced at the kitchen clock and read the time as 11:39pm. He hadn’t stayed up this late in months. Excluding the all-nighter a few days ago.
He finished putting away the groceries and got himself ready for bed. As he brushed his teeth he saw faint dark circles under his eyes despite his earlier nap. He knew they’d only get worse. Once he was in bed he pulled out his phone and got back to reading.
Angst and smut pulled Katsuki right back in. His own reality and Izuku and feelings were pushed out of his mind and he got lost in the fiction.
All was going well until he got to chapter 9: The Lighthouse.
Katsuki was pacing around his room at 1am as he read. Fragile by Sting quietly played from his phone speaker on repeat. Tears were shamelessly streaking down his cheeks. His chest was tight as he was whispering to himself.
“No, no, don’t ask why, idiot!”
His hands were trembling.
“Because I don’t love you.” Katsuki tells him.
Katsuki threw his phone across the room. It landed with a thud and Katsuki kept pacing as the song repeated. He was so lost in the plot that he didn’t notice Izuku coming into his room. When he turned around to keep pacing, he stopped. In front of him he watched Izuku stand up from picking up his phone. Izuku looked at the screen and then at Katsuki.
“You got to the lighthouse scene, huh?” Izuku asked with a sympathetic smile.
Katsuki couldn’t move. The tears stopped, thankfully, but the heat in his chest remained. Words were trapped as his reality collided with fiction.
“I remember reacting about the same when I read it. It’s a rough chapter,” Izuku now stood in front of Katsuki and set the phone on the bed, music still faintly playing.
Before Katsuki could process he was engulfed in a comforting hug from Izuku. His defenses were already completely down so he let himself lean into the embrace and held Izuku just as tightly.
“When did you start reading it?”
“Monday night,” Katsuki mumbled.
“That explains this week then,” Izuku commented.
“Yeah, I’m sorry. It was just fucking embarrassing.”
“You and our whole class knows I wrote All Might fanfiction in middle school, you could’ve told me,” Izuku chuckles.
“Well I’m not used to being such a fucking nerd okay,” Katsuki grumbles back.
Izuku finally pulls away from the hug and looks Katsuki in the eyes.
“I mean it, it’s a rough chapter. I cried for a few nights after. It’s worth it to get to the end, I promise!”
“Just… why did that fucker have to ask that idiot WHY for fucks sake? And why does that piece of shit have to be so blind to his own feelings. Fuck.” Katsuki sits on the edge of his bed and pulls Izuku down with him.
“They are based on us, so I kinda get it,” Izuku shrugs.
“I’m not blind to my feelings for you like that fuckface is,” Katsuki scoffs.
“Wh-what, wait— Kacchan what do you mean?” Izuku stammers and stares at Katsuki with wide eyes.
“Damn, I guess they captured you pretty well. I mean that I do love you, idiot,” Katsuki locks red eyes with green.
“I guess I did kind of know that... I just didn’t think I’d hear you say it ever,” Izuku admits, averting his gaze.
Katsuki grabs his jaw and gently makes him keep eye contact.
“Hey, I said I love you. What do you say back, Izuku?”
“I love Kacchan too,” Izuku huffs a laugh and tackles the other with another hug. They break into giggles as their confession sinks in. Katsuki was nearly certain that Izuku felt the same as him, but hearing it, seeing it in his eyes, felt like coming back from the dead. And Katsuki would know.
“Now turn that fucking song off,” Katsuki breaks away to reach for his phone once he realizes it’s still going.
“Wait, one more thing!” Izuku grabs Katsuki’s face this time.
The song enters the final instrumental portion as Izuku leans in and kisses Katsuki. He’s gentle, but demanding. Katsuki easily returns the kiss. For the last few measures of the song, Katsuki revels in the softness of Izuku’s lips against his. He’d spend the rest of his life regretting that he didn’t let this happen sooner.
Once the song ends, Izuku pulls away and pauses the music on Katsuki’s phone before it can play again.
“Now we have a song,” Izuku smirks.
“You idiot,” Katsuki can’t help but smirk back as he nudges Izuku.
“So you gonna finish reading tonight?” Izuku asks.
“Spend my first night having a boyfriend reading fanfiction about us making out when I could do that in real life? You are an idiot,” Katsuki rolls his eyes.
“They do more than just make out Kacchan,” Izuku teases.
“Damn, Izuku, we’ll get to that. Have some patience.”
“I can be patient. But they have the wrong person topping... We’ll talk about it tomorrow,” Izuku grins and pats Katsuki’s leg.
A blush spreads across the blonde's face and he pointedly doesn’t argue about it.
“Just go get your pillow so we can have a sleepover in here,” Katsuki shoves the other off his bed. He lays down under the covers as he waits for his boyfriend to come back.
Once Izuku returned, the two cuddled together. Katsuki on his back and Izuku resting his head on Katsuki’s chest. Legs tangled together, hands combing through hair. Katsuki was just about to drift off when a nagging thought popped into his head.
“Hey, Izuku,” Katsuki whispered.
“Hmm?”
“How did you find that fic anyway?”
“Oh, Kaminari sent it to me a few months ago,” Izuku answered casually.
That bastard.
“I’ll kill him.”
“Kacchan!”