A/N: Um. Wow. I have no idea how the last few months slipped away from me. I am so sorry y'all! *cowers*
Hours had turned into days, and the days had turned into a week. Then nearly two weeks. Thor could tell Steve was getting increasingly anxious.
Steve busied himself with settling the e-mail that was assumed to be the cause of Tony's disappearance. He had explained to Director Fury – with as little detail as possible – where they lost Tony, that Clint had gone after Tony, and that who ever sent the e-mail was a security threat.
"Well no shit it's a security threat," Fury had replied, at the start of losing his temper.
"With all respect, sir, anger will solve nothing," Thor had spoken only once during that meeting, having previously agreed that Steve would do the talking.
At the end, Fury had a team of his own working on finding whoever sent the e-mail. Three days later, they returned with their results: a former Stark Industries employee who was still disgruntled over the termination of his job was out to ruin his former employee's life.
There had been an immediate trial, and the man had attempted to plead insanity. When that failed, he was found guilty.
Steve didn't listen to the charges or the sentence, and Thor had decided finding out for himself risked upsetting Steve.
"What good does knowing do if we don't know where Tony is?" Steve had explained.
On day twelve since Clint's departure, Thor had gone from simply worrying about Steve as if it was something on the back burner to actively worrying about Steve.
They had just finished lunch and clean-up when Thor decided enough silent concern was enough.
"Steven, you concern me," he said, breaking the silence that had all but consumed the room. He realized that his choice of words was, in all likelihood, not the greatest, but he decided to press on.
"What do you mean?" Steve asked, a large part of him knowing exactly why, but the rest of him still unwilling to bring it to the surface.
"Ever since it has just been us here in the tower, you have been...in need of more of an outlet than you have been allowing yourself," Thor explained, attempting to pick his words carefully without losing time or meaning.
"Don't we all," Steve grimaced, turning away.
Thor watched Steve walk towards the elevator in silence. As Steve disappeared from sight, all Thor said was, "Perhaps."
When the phone rang at two in the morning, Steve bolted awake. The first feeling he registered was surprise. Panic followed closely on its heels, however.
That's my personal phone! Steve picked the lone thought over a jumble of others.
"Hello?" he managed after hitting the 'accept' button.
"Steve?" the voice on the other end asked.
"Clint!" Steve shouted. He knew he should be saying more, but words were failing him.
"I found Tony."
"Where?" was the first word out of Steve's mouth, "Is he alright?"
"He's in a civilian hospital, Steve." Clint's voice was harried. He waited for Steve to say something. After several seconds of silence, Clint continued, "We're in California. He pretty much wrapped a rental car around a tree. Apparently drunk. He was registered as John Doe. I called Pepper first, and she's going to be on the next flight out to give the doctors a positive identification, and then transfer him back to New York."
"Is he…?" Steve couldn't finish with going to be okay.
"He has some damage, but nothing lasting from what I can tell. The people at the hospital didn't tell me much because I wasn't family. But, uhm, I did some of my own digging and it seems he had some sort of break-down about a week ago. He's been in the hospital for three days. He's responsive but quiet."
"Tony? Quiet?" Steve had to stop himself from laughing.
"Yeah. I think that's what I'm the most worried about," Clint said, shaking his head.
"I. Clint. Well. Go take care of whatever it is you need to and come back soon," Steve managed.
"Thanks, Steve." Clint's words were followed by the sound of the line being disconnected.
Steve sat in the darkness with his phone in his hands for what felt like a piece of the eternity men spent their lives searching for. Between the early hour and Clint's words, he could feel himself struggling to grasp onto the real world.
I'm going to go tell Thor, he told himself.
He walked out of his room barefoot and didn't even notice.
"So he is alive, then," Thor said after Steve finished telling him the news.
"It would seem so," Steve replied, not even looking at Thor.
Thor guided Steve towards a chair in the corner of his room. Steve sat down almost on instinct. Thor knelt down in front of the supersoldier, keeping his eyes on him as he did so. He could tell Steve was in mild shock.
"There is something you are not saying," Thor said after he settled. Or at the least not telling me.
Steve locked eyes with Thor for a moment or few, a heavy sigh breaking the lock.
"S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn't have much of a reputation for finding heroes, do they?" Steve asked, a sad smile invading his otherwise blank face.
It took Thor a moment to recall how long Steve had been under the ice, but he replied, "I suppose not."
Silence became the primary mode of conversation for several moments before threatening to take over the room. Thor took note of the tension in Steve's jaw and shoulders. If Thor had to be honest with himself, it had become more defined since the night on the couch.
"I don't know where to go from here," Steve finally spoke. His tone was strained, as if the words did not want to become free from his mind.
Thor looked at Steve again, this time with a little more caution. The surpersoldier had just shown what he believed to be weakness, Thor knew. He knew humans required care and gentleness when it came to what they believed to be weakness. This kind of weakness was new to him, though.
"Perhaps that is best for now," Thor suggested. Steve looked at him curiously, but said nothing. Thor continued, "We at least know where we are now, and where Tony is. Which is more than we have had for nearly two weeks. And until everyone gets back, all we have is knowledge."
Steve seemed to be milling Thor's words over in his mind. Thor remained silent, unsure if more words would help or hurt.
"You're right, Thor," Steve sighed, "I just wish there was more, I guess."
"Don't we all?" Thor mirrored Steve's words from the previous evening. Steve laughed a little, his eyes becoming visibly brighter.
"Thank you," Steve said as he stood up. Thor stood up as well, waiting to see what Steve would do.
"It's no thought," Thor replied. Steve restrained himself from showing confusion over Thor's choice of words, deciding it was a sort-of 'thank you.'
"So now we wait?" Steve's statement had the inflection of a question to it.
"Now we wait," Thor repeated as a statement. And perhaps get you to let go of some of the weight you've been carrying.
A/N: So. Uh. Don't hate me.
I'm going to attempt to get more chapters up with more regularity. Life's been crazy, but I know that's little excuse to not write.