Author's note: Yes, I updated twice in a two days. Blame Lost to the Hoping and the disgustingly cute Science Bros fanart on deviant art. Also as mentioned before, this was only meant to be a one-shot… now I'm looking at least three chapters… I think it's safe to say that my brain has been effectively hijacked. And, as always, reviews and suggestions are always welcome.

~~~xXx~~~

Atrapada:

Tony Stark was furious.

A week of Banner's absence was fine—Tony knew from experience that sometimes you had to take a break, to regroup when you've hit the proverbial wall. And if it was harder to concentrate on his own projects, if he caught himself turning to bounce an idea off of the doctor, Tony did his best not to think about it. Banner was still showing up for dinner, eating and chatting with the others (though he seemed to be content with fading into the background—and act which was helped with Thor's return.) Often he'd join Steve and Tony for their evening activities, proving to be one hell of an opponent of Texas Hold-em, a surprisingly avid fan of baseball, and an equally surprising flop at board games. ("I've never had luck on my side," was the offhanded excuse after his 10th consecutive loss at Sorry!.)

On Saturday, he was somehow talked into movies with Natasha and Clint, who'd just returned from some nonsense in Liberia. They sprawled on the plush couches, laughing at Charlie Chaplin with bags of popcorn and an alarming variety of beverages scattered between them. And when Tony passed by, noting how all three had passed out long before the credits rolled, he was certain Bruce would be back in the lab before the week was out.

But he wasn't.

The second week was worse. Bruce's workstation remained deserted, dust clinging to the abandoned parts like moss to a gravestone. Tony tried not to look back at it, to bury himself in the old familiar songs, in the routine that had dominated his life long before the physicist had stumbled in. Pepper was a frequent guest, usually accompanied with a lecture about being more responsible to the business and his shareholders. Or something like that; it never failed to amaze Tony that he still only knew the basic gist of the "Pepper rants" even after all of these years. Steve popped in occasionally, usually with some new gadget or program that had completely outfoxed him (Tony begged him to stay away from Apple products after the last fiasco), and subsequently got roped into doing some heavy lifting in return. Even Natasha sauntered in on a Friday afternoon, clearly jetlagged from her trip to Belarus, with some new data file relating to the dubiously named company, Gynacon.

But despite all the intrusions, all the activity, there was one thing missing, one absence that was distractingly, glaringly apparent. And Tony Stark had had enough.

"Banner still hasn't emerged from his room today," Thor cautioned, appearing out of nowhere with a bowl of jellybeans and a mug of coffee. Tony, who hadn't even really decided what he was doing just yet, gave the Asgardian an unimpressed look. This was far from the first time Tony had wondered whether Asgardians had some form of telepathy, but if he did, Thor hid it well.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Goldilocks," Tony replied, purposely veering away from the doctor's hallway with less than charitable thoughts in his head. "I was just going to find something to snack on."

"I see," Thor said lightly, with one of the most smug smiles Tony had ever seen on the demigod (he'd clearly been spending too much time with his dick brother.) Tony waited for the equally smug comment that was sure to follow, but Thor choose instead to stuff what Tony considered an entirely inappropriate level of jellybeans into his smug mouth.

"Alright, big guy, out with it," Tony snapped, veering into the kitchen. "What are you cheesing about?"

"You have gone to acquire food three times today."

Tony seriously regretted not setting Loki on fire when he had the chance. "You've been counting?"

Thor's smile widened and his eyes seemed to dance in response to the irritation in Tony's voice. "Steve told me that you never leave your lab for sustenance. He claims you have your own store of nourishment inside."

"I had time to kill," Tony replied, determined to keep the defensive tone out of his voice.

"Indeed," Thor agreed, shifting the bowl of jellybeans into his other arm, all in order to give Tony's shoulder a lusty pat. "Which is why you choose this kitchen, rather than the one located one floor up from your place of work."

And for once, Tony had no retort, no reasonable explanation for why he'd decided to go thirty floors for a sno ball. He threw up his hands in defeat. "What can I say? I would have gotten away with it, if it weren't for you meddling kids…" At Thor's blank look, Tony lowered his hands, sighing at the waste of a perfectly timed quote.

"You are worried about Banner?" Thor asked as they entered the, thankfully empty, kitchen. "Why? He seems to be most at ease here."

"I am not worried about him," Tony groused, rooting around the fridge for a Coke. "But if he's not going to come back to finish his research, I'd really like my lab bench back." He let the door shut and leaned against it, cracking open the can and waiting for the hiss to die down, the chill of the can seeping into his callused fingers.

"He has not returned to his studies?" Thor sat down his bowl, looking surprised. "That is odd… He hasn't seemed particularly unwell."

"I really don't care what he choses to do, but it's rude to just leave your shit laying around another guy's lab. Especially when you were squatting in the first place." Tony shot-gunned the rest of his Coke and tossed it into a recycling bin.

Thor paused, a strange look in his eyes as he gazed at Tony soberly. "Yes, then you should speak with him in earnest," he agreed, collecting his bowl. "Best of luck, Friend Tony," he said, finally. And before Tony could ask just what he was supposed to need luck for, Thor was off.

"False man! Where is Lady Natasha? We have much to discuss in the way of this 'automatic coffee maker!"

Tony grimaced, feeling a pang of sympathy for the Widow, before taking a deep breath.

It was time he got some answers.

~~~xXx~~~

After note: Today's lesson for today! Atrapada literally means trapped, and occurs when the leader catches a part of his partners body, such as a leg or a foot.

Why Thor, you may ask? I honestly can't tell you where this came from… he popped into my head like a damned ninja and refused to leave until he got his screen time… and they say Loki's the primadonna….