Chapter Text
It had been one of those Wednesdays—slow, dragging, endless.
School had drained him dry. All he wanted now was to get home, boot up his computer, grab something sugary, and lose himself in games or some dumb video. Just chill.
But before he could properly sink into that after-school haze, there was one last thing on his to-do list: join the chemistry group chat his friends had set up.
So he did. Or at least, he thought he did.
The code worked. The chat opened.
Only... none of the names looked familiar.
Greenling joined the server
Dabi: who tf is this?
SpinnyBoi: umm no idea? @Dust
Greenling: Uhh i think i may have joined the wrong server (T_T)
TogaTwist: OOOH a new person??
Dust: what study group has a name close to "Griefers United" ?
Greenling: In my defence...I did not check the server name..
Dabi: what kind of idiot does that LOL
Greenling: o(〒﹏〒)o
Greenling: I can just leave—sorry for the mix-up, I guess?
TogaTwist: NOOO he's so cute, can we keep him? Pleeeeease
SpinnyBoi: Yea im kinda curious now LOL
Dust: Fine, he can stay. for now.
Izuku stared at the screen, stunned. Well, that was… unexpected.
Still, no one seemed angry—if anything, they were weirdly welcoming. He figured, Why not stay? It’s not like he had anything better to do tonight. And if things got weird? He could just dip. Simple.
He pushed his chair back and wandered into the tiny kitchen, eventually finding a sad-looking cup of instant ramen. It would have to do. Note to self: grocery shopping tomorrow.
Minutes later, he was back at his desk with steaming noodles in one hand and his mouse in the other, booting up a ranked match like nothing ever happened.
Halfway through his game, the server pinged again.
TogaTwist: @Greeling what game u playin 👀
Izuku blinked. Was she watching him somehow? He typed back hesitantly, one hand still slurping noodles.
Greenling: just queued ranked. League of Legends.
SpinnyBoi: YO same, what’s your rank
Dust: We should play flex. Greeling, you in?
Suddenly, he wasn’t just playing to unwind anymore. He was making plans. With strangers. On a server called Griefers United.
Greenling: Sure, ill just finish up this game (´• ω •`)
Dabi: who tf uses emojis like that
TogaTwist: SO CUTEEE
Dust: Just join voice chat when ur ready
Izuku hovered over the voice channel icon.
His cursor trembled just a little. What was he even doing? These were complete strangers.
Still… he clicked.
A soft chime echoed in his headset as the channel connected. For a second, all he heard was background noise—keyboard clacks, someone breathing.
Then he heard a raspy voice, low and unimpressed:
“He joined.”
That had to be Dabi.
A second later, a bright, singsong voice cut through the silence:
“Hiiii Greenling~! Welcome!”
She sounded like someone who smiled while talking. Definitely TogaTwist.
Someone else let out a laugh—warm, a little goofy:
“Yo! He actually did it.”
That was SpinnyBoi, easygoing and clearly amused.
And then came a calm, measured voice. Quieter, but firm.
“You’re muted, by the way.”
That had to be Dust. He sounded like the one in charge, even without trying.
Izuku’s hand flew to his headset controls, and unmuted himself
“Uh—hi,” he managed, voice a little shaky. “Yeah, sorry, I , um, usually dont talk”
There was a pause.
Not tense, exactly. Just long enough to feel it.Someone coughed. A spoon clinked against a mug.
Then the raspy voice returned—dry, teasing:
“Damn. I thought you'd be a girl.”
Izuku froze.
“Dabi, you can’t just say that—”
SpinnyBoi: “Brooo.”
Dabi (unbothered): “What? The emojis. The voice. I had a vibe.”
Izuku wasn’t sure whether to laugh or log off. He settled for a nervous chuckle.
“Uh… sorry to disappoint?”
Dust: “Don’t mind him. He’s an idiot.”
TogaTwist: “You’re adorable either way”
SpinnyBoi: “Yo, let’s add each other. What’s your IGN?”
Greenling: HeroicTears
One by one friend requests popped up on his screen. He accepted them all, blinking at the sudden chaos.
Dust immediately invited him to the lobby and started a queue.It didn’t take long for the game to start—right alongside the brainless chatter.
Izuku stayed quiet—not because he had nothing to say, but because he kind of liked just listening. The voices overlapped, bouncing between new skins, patch notes, and whatever chaos the latest update had brought.
He was a little flustered, sure. Being the new guy in voice chat with total strangers was weird.
But after a few minutes, the noise stopped feeling overwhelming. It started to feel... comfortable.
He leaned back in his chair, letting their chatter fill the space while the game loaded in. It wasn’t much, but it felt nice. Like the start of something.
The loading screen faded, and the champion select screen popped up.
SpinnyBoi: “Alright, who’s going where? I swear if someone insta-locks top again—”
TogaTwist: “Jungle~! Dibs!”
Dabi: “Ugh, you never gank.”
TogaTwist: “I gank emotionally.”
Dust: “I’ll support. Greenling, you okay with ADC?”
Izuku blinked. “Uh—yeah, I can do that.”
Dabi: “Bold of you to trust him with damage output.”
SpinnyBoi: “He’s new, not useless. Chill.”
Izuku hovered over his champion. His hands were still a little clammy, but the sound of their voices—bickering, teasing, laughing—somehow made it easier to breathe.
As the game loaded in, he caught himself smiling.
Not because anything particularly good had happened yet.
Just... because it felt good to be here.
The countdown ended. The match began.