Best BakuDeku Slow Burn Fanfics
The best slow burn BakuDeku (Bakugou Katsuki/Midoriya Izuku) fanfiction on AO3, curated by popularity. Readers love the anticipation, the meaningful character development, and the eventual payoff of a well-earned romance.
Top BakuDeku Slow Burn Fic Recs
3 slow burn BakuDeku fics matched, followed by other top-rated BakuDeku stories.
The Way You Used To Do
Slow Burnby edema_ruh
"We're really sorry," his father says, in a teary-eyed, wobbly way. "But your friend, Izuku, he's... He's gone, son."Katsuki can do nothing but blink up at them for moments that feel like an eternity, eyes darting between both his parents in obvious confusion, disbelief, and, more than anything, ind
landscape after cruelty
Slow Burnby ohwickedsoul
“Bakugo, you need to update your costume.” Kirishima said, “There’s this one dude in the support class- he’s got a literal waiting list, that’s how good he is- but he did my new upgrade."“Yeah,” Bakugo sighs and leans back on his hands, staring at the bracer. “I know. I’ll go,” his mouth twists a li
Quiet Rapture
Slow Burnby lalazee
That A/B/O fic where cocky Alpha Bakugou falls in mate-love at first scent, while Midoriya is just a poor bookstore-owning Omega who got his nose punched in is a kid and can't smell a damn thing. Also known as: That time an Alpha had to use his actual personality to woo his mate instead of relying o
From The Sidelines
by suffocatingspring
When long-time enemies, Bakugo Katsuki--the all-star athlete and rascal of Ise--and Izuku Midoriya, the town sweetheart, are paired together for a long-term project, the quiet beachside town of Ise suddenly gets a bit louder.In which, Katsuki is an asshole pole vaulter, Izuku is going to fail psycho
What The Fuck Did You Just Call Me?
by reading_raindrop
“A-ah B-Bakugou! You dropped some pencils!”Katsuki stiffened. Kirishima and Kaminari froze. Basically, everyone within earshot stopped what they were doing to look at Izuku like he sprouted a second head. What did he just call him? “What the fuck did you just say to me?”Katsuki whipped his head towa
Bluebird
by EtherealBeing
Dialing a wrong number was no unusual occurrence. Everyone did it once in a while, and Katsuki was well aware of that fact. However, possessing this knowledge made it no less aggravating for him to discover — a full two minutes into his rant about his day — that he’d been venting his frustrations to
Katsuki Bakugou has No Goddamn Chill (But It's For The Best That He Doesn't)
by Sif (Rosae)
Alternatively titled: The Entire Goddamn School Gives Up On Trying To Understand These Two & Aizawa is Really Tired. Izuku and Bakugou had a long and complicated history, but most of the school was pretty sure that they understood where the two currently stood as rivals. Then Izuku's dad showed up o
"what's your type?"
by sapphicflower
“Congratulations on getting nine out of ten questions correct! Without further ado, let’s move on to the last question..” Hanazawa paused for dramatic effect as the lights dimmed and the spotlights overhead honed in on their podiums.“What is … your hero partner’s type?”A brief silence.“‘Type?’” Izuk
A Demolition Boy & his Cryptid BF
by kewltie
Bakugou of the Demolition Squad is famous for running one of the most popular Youtube channels on the web that regularly blow shit up and jumped off a perfectly good building for shit and giggles. He's also famous for his Cryptid BF™, never appearing on camera except for a few bodyshots and all inf
Prodigal
by writerllofllworlds
After being convinced to give One for All to Mirio, Midoriya Izuku must rebuild his shattered dreams with bloody hands.
We Wear Chains on the Weekend
by surveycorpsjean
Well, in a day of revelations, it turns out that Izuku isn't as vanilla as Katsuki previously thought. Unfortunately, that fascinating discovery is overshadowed by Izuku's dumbassery, because he has zero concept of aftercare. "Don't go to anyone else," Katsuki says, because screw it. He can do a bet
Yes, They're All Safe
by teaandtumblr
Villains have entered UA grounds and are disposed of just as quickly, but that doesn't mean a headcount of the students doesn't need to be done. Toshinori would admit, he wasn't quite prepared for what he found in Bakugou Katsuki's room.
Fire Lily
by EtherealBeing
There he was: sitting splay-legged on the altar, one muddy combat boot propped up on the edge, with a self-satisfied grin on his face and a relaxed aura, in spite of the war raging outside. Izuku wasn’t sure what he’d expected to see his first day evacuating humans from the Rapture zone, but it sure
Deku Enchanted
by s_the_queen
Just like every other day, Izuku mumbled up a storm and about fifteen minutes later (a drastic increase from the measly three minutes he would have gotten in their first year), Katsuki turned to him and snapped. "Shut the fuck up nerd! I can barely hear myself think!"And Izuku's jaw practically seal
drop dead, gorgeous
by thewunderkind
It's been eight years since Izuku last logged in. When he gets the chance to do so, he discovers that he's married to a user named Ground Zero. Apparently, the husband he's had eight years ago 「 King Explosion Murder 」 patiently waited and has somehow not divorced him. Also, for some reason said hus
hiding in plain sight
by saturnsorbit
denki: IM THE FIRST ONE OF THE BAKUSQUAD TO BE IN A RELATIONSHIP?????????katsuki: try a-fucking-gaini’ve been in a relationship for two fuckin years dumbassi’m always number 1 motherfuckershanta: IM SORRY WHAT DID U JUST SAY (a.k.a. katsuki and izuku are dating, they thought everyone knew. apparentl
In A Sky Of A Million Stars (Who Cares If One More Light Goes Out?)
by Stringlish
He could never forgive himself. It was his fault. He’d planted the idea like a seed he’d never known would grow. (Or: What if Izuku jumped?)(OR: The one where Izuku jumps and lives and Katsuki visits him every day and Class 1-A not-so-secretly finds it adorable that their designated angry pomerania
That Heather
by Anonymous
I see a lot of people out there falling head over heels for folks they’ve never even laid eyes on, let alone spoken a single word to. Me, at least, I’m lucky enough to like someone I not only see and talk to every day but also know really, really well. But there’s a problem. He’s my best friend. And
The Different Ways In Which I Can Call You Mine
by EquinoxSolstice
Apparently, Bakugou Katsuki is the kind of person that uses pet names when he's in a serious relationship. Who knew?Certainly not Izuku. But he would have sincerely appreciated the head's up.Because he's seriously dying right now.
Hidden Messages
by hashbrownpotatoes
For years Katsuki Bakugou has been Izuku Midoriya's bully, and just about everyone knew it. Except that wasn't actually the case at all. Through a secret language they were able to fool the world into thinking that they weren't actually best friends. So when midway through their first year at UA whe
Find More BakuDeku Slow Burn Stories on AO3
Browse the full AO3 archive for slow burn BakuDeku fanfiction, sorted by kudos. Then read offline with Fanfict Reader.
Why Slow Burn BakuDeku Fanfiction Works So Well
Bakugou Katsuki/Midoriya Izuku — Childhood friends turned rivals, both striving to be the number one hero.
Slow Burn — A romance that develops gradually over time, with tension building across chapters or the entire story.
The complex history, character development, and the journey from animosity to understanding. Readers love the anticipation, the meaningful character development, and the eventual payoff of a well-earned romance. That's why slow burn BakuDeku fanfiction is one of the most consistently popular combinations on AO3.
More BakuDeku Tropes
BakuDeku · Hurt/Comfort
One character is hurt (physically or emotionally) and another provides comfort and care.
Read hurt-comfort →
BakuDeku · Angst
Stories focused on emotional pain, drama, and intense feelings.
Read angst →
BakuDeku · Enemies to Friends to Lovers
The long road taken in full: open hostility softens into reluctant truce, truce grows into real friendship, and friendship finally tips into romance. The middle stage is the point — these fics insist the characters actually like each other before they love each other.
Read enemies-to-friends-to-lovers →
Slow Burn in Other Ships
Love slow burn? Explore the same trope in other popular pairings:
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