Part One: Alcohol, my permanent accessory

[st_ormbreaker]

Thor has no idea where the impulse comes from. He hasn't really talked to any of the Avengers since they left to kill Thanos, and none of them had particularly gone out of their way to contact him. It didn't particularly bother him; in fact, very few things did these days under the guiding hand of alcohol.

It was perhaps that very hand that pushed him to pull up Tony's name on his list of contacts instead of something more sensible, like powering the phone off entirely.

"Stark, Stark," Thor nearly shouts into the receiver. "What are you -- What are you doing?"

It's 2:05 AM on the US east coast. It's breakfast in Norway, where Asgard (well, New Asgard is now). Thor has been up for 22 hours now, fueled only by a copious amount of alcohol, half-burnt waffles prepared by Korg, and the desire to unlock the final trophy in his video game of choice.

Comments

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

"You know who this is. I’m assuming you know what to do, but if not, wait for the beep." The unchanged voicemail message curtly replied to Thor's inquiry. There were a great many unspoken miracles in there, that Tony's number remained the same, and that Thor retained access to it after years of radio silence.

The Avengers, meager as they still existed, were famously disparate. While Thor had his affairs tied in New Asgard and Bruce Banner had become a roaming icon, Tony Stark was almost entirely off the public grid.

[st_ormbreaker]

"Stark! Come on, pick up! Pick up!" he continues jovially yelling into the receiver. "I'm going to hang up and call you again. Make sure to pick up this time!"

And Thor does exactly that.

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

"Why are you making a ruckus at the bird that transports the babies?" Korg picked at a bit of moss growing on his brow, mashing buttons with his right hand. Another miracle his controller hadn't so much as cracked.

Miek gurgled through a mouthful of wontons, gesturing at Thor with an air of suggestion with a claw. Korg was quick to cast a dubious glance his way. After the a moment of doubt passed, his rocky features softened with consideration. "He hasn't designated who announces the prince. Or princess. Actually, come to think of it, no one's so much as announced the queen."

[st_ormbreaker]

"No, no," Thor quickly chimes in just as the voicemail starts recording. "Stark, not Stork -- he's a friend of mine. We just haven't seen one another in a long time."

Not since they returned to Earth after killing Thanos. Not that Thor could particularly fault him; who would want to be around the person responsible for this whole mess to begin with?

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

Meik chittered in question, and Korg patiently set his controller aside to clarify. “No, no. His friend isn’t the Stork, but it’s possible he is a bird. Say, Thor, do you have a picture?”

[st_ormbreaker]

"I have the pez dispenser." Thor directs them towards the red-and-yellow armored face atop the dispenser; it stands right next to one of the Hulk, who the pair already know. Thor hangs up the phone.

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

“Oh!” Korg’s eyes lit up in recognition. “The small-ish metal one with the green smoothies and the formidably long eyelashes. You haven’t brought him up in years.”

[st_ormbreaker]

"Nope." Thor pushes some trash aside to make room for his cell phone, then reaches for his bottle and takes a long swig.

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

“Cheers, invite him over. I’ve never had a green smoothie, or a smoothie, period.” Korg returned for the game, imagining what one put in such a drink.

[st_ormbreaker]

Thor drains the bottle and sets it down. "I will," he says. He was going to. "If he decides to call me back."

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

“You know, it’s very relieving to see you take some initiative with your interpersonal relationships, booze-motivated or no.” A rocky hand clapped Thor’s shoulder, along with a greasy pat from Miek. “If this friend is anything like Banner, he may be just shy. Or engaging in pain-based avoidance of his loved ones. Either way, I’m sure you could both do with a nice cuppa.”

[st_ormbreaker]

"You think so?" Thor says, his words slurred. "Maybe I'll text him some other time." Maybe. It's not really something Thor can commit to committing to.

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

As they all settled, the kernels of uneaten popcorn, plates, and emptied cans rustled around them. The trash was like a shifting tide, and it suddenly rumbled like tectonic plates had shifted beneath it. "Right. Well now, it's my turn for a call." Korg reached into the depths of the couch without looking. "Hello, there. House of His Majesty Thor Odinson, Korg speaking. ... ...Oh, Metal Man! Speak of the devil."

[st_ormbreaker]

Thor immediately straightens, eyes sharp and wide and utterly focused on Korg.

"Stark?" he asks him.

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

Korg continued on, heedless. "I do apologize, but His Majesty only takes calls between the hours of 3PM and 5PM. May I take a message?"

[st_ormbreaker]

"No, no." Thor abruptly grabs the phone before Korg can get in another word edgewise. "Stark?"

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

A few beats passed after Thor's question.

"Over ten years and you finally get a damn receptionist."

[st_ormbreaker]

"Well, you could have answered the first two times," Thor quips, good-naturedly. "Ten years and you're still screening my calls."

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

"You say that like you ever used the phone I gave you in the first place. I know you can afford to time things by the century, but a whole decade before you dial my number?"

[st_ormbreaker]

Thor leans over and gropes blindly at the front of the couch for a still-full bottle. "Hard to give you a ring when I'm off-world."

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

Another beat. “Why now?”

[st_ormbreaker]

There's the slightest pause as Thor considers what Tony's question. He's not exactly sure why himself.

"Why not?"

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

“Heh. Just wanted to hear my voice that badly?”

[st_ormbreaker]

"Maybe," Thor says with a laugh. He did miss Tony's voice. He missed Tony, period. And even as he grins into the receiver, he can't help but feel sad about it. "You should come over, to New Asgard, see the place for yourself."

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

“Ahhhh, see, the cold doesn’t agree with me...”

[st_ormbreaker]

"You can afford a coat," Thor returns.

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

Be hospitable, Korg mouthed at him.

[st_ormbreaker]

"We also have nice warm coats," Thor quickly adds at Korg's encouragement.

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

“Warm, huh? How warm?”

[st_ormbreaker]

"You could come here and find out." Thor glances over at Korg for a reaction.

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

Korg shared a look with Miek who was halfway invested at this point and made an ‘OK’ gesture.

“Will there be anyone else?”

[st_ormbreaker]

"Korg and Miek, Val," Thor says vaguely. "Asgardians, obviously."

Thor pops open his discovered bottle and takes a swig.

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

“Gotcha.” Another beat. “Tomorrow evening. Which airport?”

[st_ormbreaker]

"Stavanger," he says. Thor lifts the bottle, swirling it by the neck. "It's going to be a few hours ride, but that's the closest."

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

“I’ll rent a car. Bring your coat.”

[st_ormbreaker]

"I'll make sure you have the warmest coat there is," Thor promises. He looks around the room; it looks awful. There's no way he'll be able to get it straightened in time for Tony's arrival. "You don't have anything to do?" he asks. "There's no need for you to drop everything."

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

“Nothing but watching the flowers bloom.”

Rent a hotel, Korg mouthed at Miek, who scooted away from the chili dip cup for his own phone.

[st_ormbreaker]

"There's a hotel in this city near New Asgard." It could hardly be called a city, but it was the closest they had to one. "I'll make you a reservation there."

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

“And leave me all by myself?”

[st_ormbreaker]

"I won't be far."

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

“If you say so.” Somewhere in the background, there was a sigh. “See you soon, Point Break.”

[st_ormbreaker]

Thor hangs up, then leans back into the couch, the back of his head pressed against the top of the back of the couch. He's spent 22 hours awake, and he's finally starting to feel the pull of sleep.