I saw this story a week ago and it inspired me to write this story. I think it will be a two shot.

Pepper doesn't exist in this.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the avengers

"Has anyone seen Tony?" Steve asked

"Last I heard of him was two days ago at 6 am in the morning having a shower." Natasha replied

Steve sighed.

"Jarvis, where is Tony?" Clint asked the AI

"Sir is in his room right now, but has told me not to disturb unless someone is dead or dying."

All the avengers were in the kitchen and had realised that they hadn't seen Tony in almost two days and him being holed up for days on end, wasn't an odd occurrence, but it was very odd not o see him getting food every once in a while.

"Jarvis open the door to Tony's room." Bruce persisted

"I'm afraid Sir has forbidden me to do so."

"Let's just break the door down and get it over with" Thor yelled

"While I cannot physically stop you, I should warn you. Sir is intoxicated."

Everyone sighed and began walking down the corridor to Tony's room.

"Thor, care to do the honours?"

Summoning his hammer, Thor hit the door twice before it gave way and broke open. And then there was Tony.

He was sitting in his bed and was surrounded by at least 7 scotch bottles, a half finfished one still in his blood-stained hand. The mirror was cracked with blood stains on the cracks. Well, that explained his hand. His eyes had huge bags under them and his cheeks had barely visible tear tracks, but still, tear tracks.

"Tony..." Bruce said, heavily sighing

"What do you want?" He spoke, heavily slurring his words, acting as if he hadn't even noticed the others until Bruce spoke.

"What the hell are you doing?" Clint asked

"I am celebrating a birthday." He said.

"Who's birthday?" Natasha asked, curiosity and confusement plain in her voice.

"My son's" He plainly replied.

"Son? I am confused I thought he had no children?" Thor asked, wondering if this was yet another weird midgardian custom.

"He doesn't" Steve replied

"Oh, but I did, I would have had a son Steve, I would've had a son if it wasn't for your favourite guy in the world. God, you go on about him all the time." Tony said his words seemingly growing more slurred with each word.

"What is he going on about Steve?" Clint asked

"Hell if I kn- Hey! Tony! No!" Steve began, but was cut off by Tony who he noticed had begun to steadily chug some of the half-drunk bottle in his hand.

At Steve's words Tony jumped and pulled the bottle from his mouth.

"Hey, Tony, what did you mean, you would have had a son, had it not been for Steve's favourite guy in the world. Who are you talking about?" Natasha softly asked.'

"It's not that hard to guess, Steve goes on about him all the time. 'He was.a great man' or 'he always tried to help others' or 'Why can't you be more like him Tony?' Yadda, yadda, yadda..." He managed to slur out, before taking another long swig from his bottle.

"Steve, who the hell is he talking about?"

Steve just shrugged, still not having the faintest idea who on earth Tony was talking about.

"Tony, just say the name."

"I mean the greatest man Steve had ever met, Howard Stark"

Everyone just kind of looked around a little awkwardly, they knew Tony and his father didn't exactly get along but he never told them why and they never asked.

"OK and what did you mean you would have had a son if it wasn't for your father." Clint questioned.

"Howard." Tony corrected

"Why can't you ever just call him your father? I mean, I would be proud to call him my father." Steve asked

"What do you mean would have been proud to call him your father." Tony slurred.

"Oh, and what's supposed to mean?" Steve shot back.

"I mean, come on Steve, he wasn't my father, he was yours." Tony said before polishing off his bottle.

Before anyone could say anything Tony got up, stumbled to his liquor cabinet, got another two bottles of scotch, stumbled back to his bed, and started on the first bottle, amazingly doing all of that without falling over once.

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Steve questioned yet again.

"I mean that my own father preferred you, a man he literally met twice to his own son, so much so that he spent most of my life, holed up in his lab, looking for you, aa man who was as good as dead."

Awkward.

"Right, but what did you mean that you would have had a son had it not been for him." Natasha gently persisted, wanting to know what this whole birthday fiasco was all about as much as anyone else in the room.

"Well even though I barely saw him, I did always have enough money behind me. Yet he just coudn't handle it when I spent it for someone other than myself."

"Again, what's that supposed to mean?" Clint asks again, getting slightly tired at all the riddles Tony kept answering with.

"Well it was three days before my 21st and he asked me why I had just spent 150 grand for something, something that he didn't know about. I told him that it was for an engagement for my fiancé, my four months pregnant fiancée at that. Her name was Claire. He went ballistic after I told him that and smashed me over the head with his scotch bottle and I woke up in hospital two hours later with a mild concussion." Tony said, more slurred than before, if that was possible.

"I doubt that's true, I'm sure he was exaggerating." Steve furiously whispered.

Natasha glared at Steve "We'll see" she said "Tony you said that you would have had a son, did Howard pay off your fiancé?"

Tony laughed, a hard emotional laugh. "I wish"

"So what did happen?" Thor persisted.

"Well, I was dischargered from hospital and me and Claire left to start our life together. We were driving, on the motorway, and a giant van flipped over and rammed into our car. A stark industries van. Neither the baby or Claire made it." Tony said, his voice starting to break.

"Tony, are you sure, how do you know it was him?"

"He was there when I woke up in the hospital, apologising for what he had done, saying he had only done it because he didn't want to lose me" Tony said, unable to stop the tears which were now falling freely from his eyes.

The avengers all looked around, entirely shocked, no one had ever seen Tony cry before.

They had all assumed about his relationship with his Dad, never once realised or asked quite how bad it was.

"I'm going to stay with him, try to calm him down, make sure he gets sleep. I think it will be better if everyone else just leaves." Natasha said, making it sound like a definite order, rather than a suggestion.

So the others left. Still extremely shocked. Natasha just stayed there, waited for them to leave, before turning to Tony.