Everything's Fine (Marvel Fanfic)

Interlude: Thor

They'd decided not to properly celebrate Thanksgiving, since Loki and Peter were "travelling." Neither did they buy the excuse, but what could they do? Thor had talked to Fury, but Fury was a dead end.

"I gave my word to let him be unless I had good reason to look him up. He doesn't want to be found," Fury had said. And that was that. A dead end.

So instead of making a turkey and all the fixings just for the two of them, they'd decided to tackle a new project: the baby's room. Yes, despite long odds and old age, May was finally pregnant. The two were elated, and more in love with each other than ever. The promise of a new baby helped to soothe the rift from Peter leaving so abruptly, so... angrily.

Their house was on the small side. Technically there were three bedrooms, but the third bedroom was down on the first floor and held Thor's gym equipment. They'd held off on moving Peter's things on the off chance he might come back, but when he refused to even come to Thanksgiving, they'd made up their mind. The nursery would be put in his room.

The cleaning wasn't bad, at first. They'd started with the wall decorations, pulling down old posters. Then they'd started clearing away his clothes from the closet. Like any young adult, his closet was a mess of things shoved everywhere. They bagged his shirts and suits to be sent to Loki's penthouse before digging into the mess on the floor.

It was Thor who found the first half-empty bottle of Southern Comfort hidden underneath an old baseball uniform. He held it up, laughing. "I always knew he had a fake ID. Good for him," he commented, getting up to put it on the bed.

That mentality soon faded as they found more bottles. Vodka, spiced rum, Jack Daniels, Southern Comfort. They found mini bottles of gin in his dresser and more whiskey stuffed into his sock drawer. By the time they got to the underbed storage and saw the empty containers, May was pale with the knowledge that this had all happened right under her nose. She stepped back to stare at the bed, which was basically covered in alcohol bottles.

"You don't look so good," Thor pointed out.

"I want you to call Fury again," she whispered. "Better yet, let's go find him. Right now. I know he always works holidays."

Thor knew better than to argue with May by now. He drove them to Shield and followed behind her as she marched directly into her nephew's former boss's office and took a seat.

"Can I help you, Mrs. Parker?" Fury put down his coffee mug on the desk.

"I need to find my nephew. Now."

"I've told you--"

"Did you know he was drinking?" Her question was met with unfazed silence. She fumed. "I have every reason to believe that Peter is not OK, that he's probably passed out in a gutter somewhere or being harmed by Loki. I want him tracked down, and I want his location."

Fury's eye slid from May to Thor and back again. "I have his word he's in rehab."

"Would explain why he can't ever come to the phone," Thor agreed. May elbowed him.

"Which. Rehab."

"He didn't tell me that. Look, I'll do a search of rehab centers. See where he's at, and if I can get an update on his status. But that's it. He's no longer with Shield. I have to treat him like a regular civilian-- I can't justify breaching HIPAA."

May took a deep breath, nodded, and stood. It was all she could ask for. "Of course. Thanks, Fury."

"Take it easy, Mrs. Parker."

Fury watched as Thor and May headed back down the hall. He sipped his coffee and opened a new tab on his browser. "Now, then. Let's see where that knuckle-head put you, Parker..."