When Nick Fury had told him to check on a captured Loki at midnight, Tony Stark had to make sure he wasn't dreaming.

Nope, definitely not dreaming, that one-eyed pirate boss had been thoughtful enough to leave about a hundred texts on his smartphone, ranging from

' Tony, check on Loki now,' to ' TONY STARK GET YOUR BUT DOWN TO THE HOLDING CELLS IMMEDIATELY!'

Yeah, what a great way to wake up from a scotch induced sleep.

Why he was sent to check on that crazy, green-clad psychopath was unknown at that point.

" I swear that if this is all for nothing, I'll steal that stupid eye-patch and throw it off the helicarrier," Tony seethed under his breath as he stumbled clumsily down the hallway, brain still muddled from the rude awakening.

He hadn't been expecting much when he walked through those ridiculously shiny doors, but what he saw made him rethink his current state of awareness.

Loki was in his cell (thank the high heavens!) but he wasn't alone.

There was a teenager in there with him, whose white hair looked entirely out of place in the flying military base.

And…damn…was he hugging Loki?!

Yep, Tony was definitely dreaming now, no question about it, until those poisonous green eyes he'd come to dread focused on his disheveled form.

" Stark," came the greeting, as even and casual as always, despite his current predicament.

The child, because really, he barely passed for a teen, curled tightly in Loki's arms, his white haired head resting snugly on Loki's leather clad shoulder. Bright blue, intelligent eyes stared adoringly in to the angled face of his hugger, and a content smile was on his thin lips. With his ratted blue hoodie, and strangely old-fashioned pants, he came across looking like a street kid.

" If I'd known it was this easy to shut you up, I'd have done so sooner," Loki's snarky, sarcastic voice quipped.

Shutting his mouth from where it had fallen open in surprise, Tony blinked at his enemy with the child cradled in his scrawny arms.

" Why the heck to you have a minion in your lap?" Tony blurted out unintelligibly.

Loki rolled his eyes and let out a derogatory snort, all while shifting the attention-seeking child closer.

" He's not a minion, he's my son, and if your eyes widen any further they'll fall out," Loki sassed, while sending a comforting smile to the jittery child he held.

That threw Tony in to a loop. He wasn't even aware that Loki was married!

The child was getting more nervous now, if his twitching hands were any evidence, and he cuddled closer to his…..father.

Oh that sounded weird in his head.

He reached in to the pocket of his jeans for his communicator, prepared to call Fury and be done with this crazy nightmare. How did the kid even get in that cell?!

" Is he….like you?" Tony asked cautiously, still reaching for his communicator.

Loki smirked as he nuzzled the child's white locks with his nose affectionately.

" Like father like son, Stark," Loki chuckled.

That was all Tony heard before his vision of the cell was blocked by a wall of ice.

Grappling for his communicator, and tapping it to life, he sent a message out to all the avengers.

" Guys, Loki and his son are busting out of the helicarrier!"