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This hadn't been a bad week and still here he was pouring at least two shots of whatever liquor available into a mug of hot chocolate at ungodly hours in the morning. He couldn't imagine what any of his friends say about this or any of his teachers really, he knew drinking was bad after all he had seen the PSA´s but it was the only way he could sleep. The next day he would feel like shit but for now he would have a dreamless slumber
It was a cold Friday night and his mother was still at work because being a single mother meant she was their only breadwinner, his mother would be mad if she found out about this not because he was drinking but rather because he was drinking her booze in any case she drank enough that she wouldn't notice the missing alcohol.
Izuku couldn't remember when he had drank for the first time but he could remember his mother drinking since he was in kindergarten and she had never stopped but the amount she drank would always fluctuate. When her job was stressful she would drink more but if money was tight she would drink less, it had always been a constant.
Before UA he would drink a lot more than now, he would mindlessly pour vodka into a glass and then mix it with any other beverage they had at home. That had been part of his daily routine for almost three months when his mother started getting antsy and locked the cabinet in which she stored her drinks.
Since he had gotten into UA he hadn't felt the need to drink, unless his week had been entirely horrendous but having friends and a good environment made even the worst of days completely bearable. When the dormitories were built and implemented he had had even a lower chance to have any liquor since no teacher would bring any with them so he had to wait until the weekend.
Despite his efforts to stay away from it today he had given in. Izuku liked to drink because he looked happier and life was easier when he was tipsy, there were no worries in his mind because he couldn't think clearly. And while he had never been blacked.out drunk he had been drunk enough to forget whatever he had done the night before which was slightly bothersome but worth it.
He had nothing to do so he would drink and then go to sleep. Izuku was sitting with his back to his bed, sitting on the floor with his headphones on the highest volume, he felt relaxed and free. He loved the idea of being a hero but sometimes he wasn't sure if he would be able to cope with the stress that came with the job and all the social situation in which he would be involved because of it, like the constant TV appearances or just random people trying to get a photo with him on the street.
Izuku had always wanted to be a social person but at his old school no one wanted to be his friend obviously out of not wanting to be in the crossfire of insults that were thrown his way daily. Now he could say he had friends that liked to hang out with him, and some that even looked up to him for different reasons. Like Shouto who was fascinated by his ability to be so happy most of the time and wanted to help no matter what.
And he was also proud of him because he had just approved his provisional license exam, today was his first patrol.
Today was his first patrol and he was patrolling near Izuku´s apartment with Hitoshi, but it was late enough for them to just head home after they wouldn't bother to come all the way to his apartment.
Right?
If they did, how would he answer the door? He wasn't nearly as drunk as he had been last week but still he probably reeked of alcohol, and he would be speaking way too fast or about stupid stuff so he wouldn't be able to blame it on just being extremely tired or caffeinated.
But no he wasn't important enough for anyone to…
Ding
Doorbell or notification. His phone was in silence mode.
Fuck
“Who is it?”
Why did he do that? He could have just waited it out perhaps they would have left after just a few minutes but now the damage was done. Now that he had confirmed that he was home and awake he would have to actually open the door to at least greet them and then just send them on their way.
“Your friends”
“Not helpful”
“Its us Hitoshi and Todoroki, we just wanted to know if you'd be willing to chat for a while”
He drank some water and ate some mints in hopes of getting rid of the smell before opening the door and inviting them into his home and while thinking straight wasn't an option at the moment he had actually hidden the bottle and his mug. For now Izuku was only feeling lightheaded and a bit too happy for it to be later than midnight.
He opened the door. Both of them were just standing there holding convenience store bags, so they had planned this or at least prepared for it. He let them in and went to the kitchen to retrieve some glasses and water because he was no good at making tea.
His guests were now seated in the living room couch so he brought the glasses over and sat on the floor. None of them said anything for a while and he wasn't sure if it had been an uncomfortable silence or not. They were looking at him but he couldn't tell what they were thinking.
“I'll cut to the chase. We were both worried after you left school today” Hitoshi as always seemed unbothered by the world but he could see in his eyes the worry and now he felt bad for making them feel like that.
Shouto seemed ready to speak after a while of just simmering in his own thoughts “Yes you didn't seem quite like yourself”
“M´fine” He really couldn't believe the amount of luck required to get such good friends, Izuku would never admit it out loud but he didn't deserve such kindness especially from people who were so much better people than he was.
“You okay?”
“Mhm why´d you ask?”
“Izuku you are crying” Hitoshi was trying to look calm but he was failing miserably while Shouto just stared at them from the sidelines as if trying to figure the mystery out without actively involving himself in the conversation.
Izuku had always been a crybaby but even then he had always been able to tell if he was crying or not, in any case that explained his blurred vision and why everything felt so overwhelming. Even he could tell how slurred his speech was.
“You do know you can tell us anything, and even if it's something bad we won't snitch”
He had never had people in his life that would rather see him happy than just see him suffer, some people in his secondary school had pretended to be his friends just to air out his secrets and hurt him even further so at first he had been convinced that people at UA wouldn't be any different. Heroes around the world had been accused of crimes or just had bad reputation because of their sour personality so it wasn't that far-fetched to think his classmates would actually care about him.
But he had helped, smiled and been a good person to them and had gotten the same in return. Even though it had been wrong and extremely dangerous, some of them had tried to lend a hand to Tenya after his brothers´ incident and murder attempt. Izuku had friends he could trust now and well it wasn't legal to drink if you were below the age of 20 but drinking as a whole wasn't socially unacceptable actually it was an essential pillar in socialization thanks to their strict social customs.
“M´drunk” Both of them were now staring at him, with their mouths comically opened and he couldn't help but laugh. Surely he now looked like a weird sad dude maniacally laughing. “Why´d you look so´surprised”
Shouto was the first to speak “Didn't expect that from you I thought you´d be more of an alcohol is bad for you person” Blunt as always.
Hitoshi on the other hand was already offering a glass of water which he hastily drank. Bad idea. He was now nauseous. What in hell had he drunk? He looked at the bottle that was still in the kitchen counter, had he actually forgotten to put it back? Everclear. That explained the horrible taste. Off to the bathroom he went stumbling a bit but he got there in the end and puked only hot chocolate because he hadn't eaten anything beforehand, another bad idea of his.
He could feel someone tracing soothing circles on his back, he was starting to regret this and his knees were starting to hurt from kneeling in front of the toilet bowl. Now he was supposed to feel ashamed but he couldn't really believe this was happening and instead of just being disgusted his friends were trying to make him feel better.
After a while he stopped heaving and Shouto was already offering him a glass of water to rinse his mouth with, and even after rinsing the aftertaste was strong but he was slightly more aware of everything which was a win. Izuku wasn't sure if he would get nauseous again so he sat on the bathroom counter. Someone had already flushed the toilet but he wasn't sure who, and he knew there was no way to excuse himself still he had to be grateful for Iida not being here.
“I'm sorry you had to see that, this was your first patrol and I really thought both of you would be tired enough to just head home instead of showing up and even then I should have been ready for it”
“We didn't announce ourselves either so dont worry” Hitoshi was trying to reassure him but he still felt bad about making their night about him.
He could feel Shouto´s glacier stare from across the room, as if to ask for permission to inquire about the pink elephant in the room. He looked back and this was taken as the best confirmation that could be expected out of Izuku.
“Why are you drunk?”.
He could tell how curious Hitoshi was just by the lack of sarcastic remarks about Shouto´s bluntness. Were there any good reasons to drink? and more specifically drink on your own? While parties were not that uncommon there was no way to justify it as such (unless pity parties were an option but that could be interpreted in a really sad way so not an option), he wasn't trying to forget about someone but maybe he could get away with his mothers reasoning: relieving stress.
“I was stressed”
“Were you really”
He wasn't that bad at lying was he? Judging by that instant call out he was. Not even Izuku was really sure as to why he liked being drunk, yes it made it easier to not think about anything but it was also something that made him either extremely happy or extremely ready to just give up on his dreams and start drinking even more. His life had taken a turn for the best after All for One was passed down to him but it had at the same time become even worse because he was supposed to be the next symbol of peace and he was already failing.
“No”
Izuku was proud of being a good and honest person or maybe just still drunk. He was now looking at the floor trying to avert their gazes.
“Then what is it?”
“It's ridiculous, I shouldn't worry about it but here I am being a crybaby that made you two worry and this is stupid just leave me alone”
“If it's making you this upset then its not ridiculous”
He stayed in silence because even if Shouto had a point it still felt wrong to tell them, it was his own problem to deal with and he wouldn't bring anyone down with him just because he didn't feel capable of being a good hero.
“Maybe but it still feels absurd especially if you compare it to what we deal with whenever we fight villains”
“Any problem would feel like that if you compare it to being killed by someone whose quirk is literally turning anything into a bunch of dust”
He explained himself the best he could, cried and overall if he hadn't been drunk and he was able to remember what had happened exactly Izuku would be very embarrassed but he just knew what his friends had told him the next day and their version made it seem more like a very much needed intervention so he was happy to know he had not embarrassed himself that much.
Every once in a while or when he seemed especially gaunt they would distract him and if the situation did escalate they wouldn't leave him alone. Izuku wasn't sure if he would prefer to still have that one secret but it was way nicer having people who cared enough about him to actually go out of their way to help him.