Vodka Coke

Epilogue

"Izuku! The letter is here!" Hizashi called from downstairs.

Izuku sat bolt upright in his bed and tossed his book carelessly onto the desk whilst he rushed from his room and practically flew down the stairs.

"Try not to kill yourself," Shota muttered off-handedly as he passed by, coffee in hand, eyes glued to the file in front of him.

"Lighten up, Shota, the Little Listener is about to find out whether he got into his dream school or not," Hizashi admonished cheerfully. With a large smile beaming across his face, Hizashi handed Izuku his letter. The UA emblem shone up at him like a beacon, Izuku could feel his heart racing, working its way up into his throat, threatening to choke him.

"What if I didn't get in?" Izuku whispered hoarsely, "This has been my dream for so long..."

"Even if you don't get in, you can still achieve so much, Izuku," Hizashi whispered soothingly, "You are an incredibly bright boy, and I can tell that you are going to go far in life. You are going to succeed at whatever you put your mind to, you have so much tenacity. Honestly, I might even be a bit jealous."

Izuku nodded and drew in a deep breath. There was no point in deliberating over this. No matter how long he waited to see what the letter said, it would always say the same thing. Breathe in. Breathe out. Izuku opened the envelope, shook out the letter, and rapidly scanned the ink printed on the soft paper in his hands.

Dear Mr Midoriya

Thank you for applying to UA. I am writing to inform you that after careful consideration we are happy to offer you a place at our institution. To accept this offer you are required to email the below email address before the 30th of October this year.

We look forward to meeting you, good luck with your studies.

Yours Sincerely,

Principle Nezu

(Doctor of Genetics)

Izuku's hands shook and tears welled up in his eyes. "I did it," the words were scarcely more than a hoarse whisper, yet even so, Hizashi heard him loud and clear.

"You did it?" Hizashi asked, when Izuku nodded numbly Hizashi let out a bellowing laugh that caught the attention of the house's other residents. "He did it! Our Izuku has gotten into UA High School!"

Cheers and congratulations cascade onto Izuku from his foster parents and Eri. Slowly, that heavy feeling in his chest, the one that screamed at him, denounced him and called him an idiot, went silent. He was alright. He'd completed the first step necessary to achieve his dream. That ball of darkness that had sat heavy in Izuku for years started to lighten, light shone through the darkness of his mind and Izuku was assured (once again) that everything would be alright.

After graciously accepting the congratulations heaped upon him, Izuku fled to the back garden and pulled out his phone. Katsuki hadn't messaged him yet despite the fact that they'd promised to message each other as soon as they found out their results. With minimal hesitation, Izuku called his friend. The dial tone had scarcely started before the call was answered and Katsuki's obnoxiously loud voice was berating Izuku's eardrums.

"Guess who got into UA? ME!" Katsuki crowed in place of any conventional greeting.

"Well done, Kacchan! I knew you could do it, there was never any doubt in my mind!" Izuku responded with the same level of excitement as his friend had displayed.

"Yeah, we all know that I'm amazing. What about you? Did you get in, you absolute nerd?"

"Well..." Izuku paused, a smirk playing across his lips. He liked teasing Katsuki, and there was no better way to tease him than to deny him the information he so desperately craved, "Of course, I got in!"

An uncharacteristic whoop echoed across the call. Both boys celebrated and spoke rapidly and at great length about how excited they were to be starting at the most revered and renowned educational institutes on this side of the country, its only competitor was Shiketsu.

"I can't tell you how happy I am, Kacchan. It's like I'm walking on a cloud."

"Yeah, I get what you mean... Have you told your mum yet? She'll be really proud of you. She was at my house yesterday, talking to the Hag, she seems to be getting a bit better."

Izuku could hear the hesitation in Katsuki's tone. Any mention of Inko could go one of two ways; either Izuku shut down and stopped responding as brightly as he had been, or he was unbothered and the conversation continued as normal. As it so happened, Izuku was too high on the joy of getting into UA to let the mention of his sick mother dampen his mood.

"No, I haven't told her yet. I'll message her now, I think she's in a counselling session at the moment."

Izuku and Katsuki said their goodbyes and Izuku was left alone in the garden with his phone in hand and a beaming smile on his face. Usually, a tight ball of anxiety would develop whenever Izuku attempted to message his mum, scared that he would be bombarded with her problems due to her unhealthy dependency on him for emotional support. However, this time, that coil of anxiety was notably absent, perhaps it was simply because he was too happy to let anything bother him, not even the bizarre and strained relationship with his mother.

Hi Mum. Just letting you know that I got into UA! I don't know when you'll see this message since I know you've got counselling today. Just letting you know.
Also, let me know when you have a date for rehab. It should be soon, right?

Love you x

Izuku stared down at the messages he'd sent to his mother and he smiled. Maybe he wasn't back with her yet, maybe he'd never be. But that was ok, at least to him. He had a loving family here, he had a place that truly felt like a home and he had a best friend that gruffly supported him through everything. Maybe his life wasn't perfect, but he was fine with that. He was finally on his way to making a better life. 

Thank you so much for reading this story. I started writing this to cope with personal events that have been going on in my life for the past year (to the day). This was a way for me to vent my emotions about my own mum and situation in a creative way that wasn't destructive. I think it's oddly symbolic that this story is coming to an end at the same time as I'm coming to accept and understand that there's very little I can do for my mum without impacting negatively myself. It was a hard journey for me, as it was for Izuku, but I'm at a point where I can handle everything better now.

Thank you so much for reading this story. As I said, this was deeply personal for me and I'm glad people have enjoyed it. I hope you have a wonderful day wherever you are.