The sun comes up and the world still spins

Louise lay awake on the way too spacious bed. Why on earth a room furnished for one needed a king size bed, she would never know.

She could not sleep, the building felt so wrong, so empty. There should be people, the sounds of late night conversations, the sounds of life, but there was nothing. And while Stark did not live alone, he might as well, he building was missing a family. The family made through the Avengers.

Louise sat up and glanced around the near empty room. The window was covered by a blind, but light still came through, the moon was bright that night. A desk lay under the window, a pile of paper and a set of pens was the only things on it.

a chest of drawers and a wardrobe were the only other furnishings in the room, and even they lacked character.

Getting up with a sigh, Louise shook her head and left the room, descending the stairs. She entered the kitchen, to find Stark pouring himself a drink. A small flip phone sat on the counter.

"Hey Mr Stark." She greeted the man.

"What you doing up for kid?" He asked her. He looked emotionally... dead.

"I can't sleep. Mr Stark, are you okay?" She asked him in concern. He sighed and put the phone in his pocket.

"There's something we should talk about." He told her, not answering her question, nor giving anything away about how he was.

"Um... Okay?" She followed him into his lab, stopping and staring at the suits and other weapons stark had been working on.

Stark brought up a file onto a hologram-like screen. It was her birth certificate. "You know that man who... 'raised' you is not your father, right?" She frowned at once.

"But then, who is?" She asked him, he gestured to the name on her birth certificate, the one beside her mother's. "No that's not- why did you leave her?"

"I didn't. She threw me out, for her ex." He explained. "I wanted to be There, I wanted to be part of your life, but she wouldn't let me. Then I became iron man."

"But why now?" She asked him, she wasn't sure whether she should be angry at him for leaving her with an alcoholic, to live in a dump, or relieved that she now had a few answers.

"I saw you, with your... power. I guess I thought you would be safer here, we could help you with whatever you're fighting. You could learn how to fight properly. And... maybe we could get to know each other." This was a side of Stark she never thought existed, a side no one or hardly anyone had ever seen.

"I... I mean I'd like to try." She finally said. He gave a small smile.

"What I'm trying to say, is I've been working on a custody battle. I want full custody of you, is that what you want?" He asked her, she was stumped. She wasn't sure what she wanted. Yes she would be free in a way, but what about her mother. Yes the woman didn't care about her, but she still loved her.

"I, I don't know. What about mum?" She pondered aloud.

"You can visit her, I'd never stop that, but you can have a proper room, a proper bed. Decorate if however you like. You don't have to go back to that sad excuse for a school. Hi don't have to go to school, I can homeschool you. But it is up to you Louise." He explained.

"I think..." Louise began, it was a big step, but maybe it was what she needed to feel like a valued member of something. To feel what a real family is like. "I think it could work."

Stark's eyes lit up like a kids on Christmas day. "Really?"

"Yeah, why not?" She asked.

"Great, alright kid. You should get some sleep. You need anything?" He asked.

"No thanks Mr Stark." She shook her head and began to leave.

"You don't have to be so formal, call me whatever's comfortable." He told her, she turned to look at him.

"Goodnight Tony."

"Night kid."

^^^
"Louise? Louise wake up!" Peters voice was the first thing she heard the next morning. "And i thought I was hard to wake up."

She opened her eyes and sat up with a sigh. " Good morning to you too."

"Mr Stark's attempting to cook breakfast, come on." He told her, he was very optimistic, which she was beginning to like.

"By attempting you mean burning, right?" She asked, Peter laughed and nodded.

"Yeah."

"We'd better go stop him burning the place down." She told him, only for him to laugh again. She followed him downstairs to find Mr Stark with three plates of bacon sandwiches, the bacon surprisingly well cooked and the bread only slightly burned.

"And how many attempts was this?" Louise asked, Stark sighed.

"You got me, it was the fifth batch." He answered good naturedly.

"Thanks Mr Stark." Peter said as he bit into his sandwich.

"No problem kid." Stark seemed to be quickly adapting to having multiple people in the house, which made Louise wonder where his sort of girlfriend was, if that's even what they were. Then she remembered watching that they were having problems on the news, nd was glad she hadn't asked.

"You're now basically a professional at this." She said as she too ate her sandwich.

"Thanks kid." Stark nodded at her.

"Now before you two go, we need a chat." Stark told them.

"About?" Louise asked.

"You two need to make sure you don't get into trouble. I can't have you two fighting for your lives, not right now. I have a lot to do." He warned them.

"Why? What's going on?" Peter asked in concern.

"There's worry that a new threat is rising." Stark shrugged.

"And we shouldn't be worried?" Louise exchanged a look with Peter.

"Nope, focus on school and other teen stuff." Stark told them.

"Alright then." Peter and Louise frowned.

"Great, now get ready to go."