A/N: This is set in an AU where Tony lived and no one forgot who Peter Parker was because Tony gave him and his friends letters of recommendations to MIT. Enjoy!

"Dad!" 

"Mr. Stark!" You and Peter ran to Tony and gave him a big hug. He wrapped an arm around each of you and kissed the top of your head.

"There are my two favorite kids. How was school?" Peter grinned.

"Great! I have some really cool news," he said, bouncing lightly on his toes.

"I do, too!" you chirped. Tony grinned at both of you.

"Shoot." You turned to Peter.

"You first." He took a deep breath.

"I got into M.I.T," he said. "So did MJ and Ned!" Tony gasped.

"Kid, that's amazing! We've gotta tell everyone! Oh, I'm so proud of you! Call your aunt, she's coming up here for dinner, like everyone else. Well, maybe not Barton. But he'll be so proud of you! What do you want to eat? Oh, this is great! C'mon, let's go find Pepper. She's going to be so excited!"

"Um, Mr. Stark--" Tony began to drag Peter upstairs.

"Dad, I--" you tried to tell him your news, but he didn't hear. Peter turned around and mouthed, 'I'm sorry' before Tony pulled him away. You sighed and went to your room, texting Loki to let him know you had news. You shut the door, then turned on your reading lamp. You began to draw light from it and, holding your hands up to your letter, made a quick frame for it out of the light. That was your superpower. It was surprisingly useful. You set the frame up on your desk and pulled up Spotify on your phone. You pulled up the Encanto soundtrack and clicked on the second song.

https://youtu.be/jKKrfr4To14

You took a deep breath as the first chord sounded. "Don't be upset, or mad at all," you sang softly. "Don't feel regret, or sad at all. Hey, I'm still a part of the family, Madrigal, and I'm fine. I am totally fine. I will stand on the side as you shine."

You'd gotten your acceptance letter from Harvard yesterday. You weren't an inventor like Peter or your dad. But, you were an Avenger, the same as them, and you knew what this line of work did to you. You'd applied to Harvard's psychology degree, hoping to eventually get your doctorate from them so you could be a clinical psychologist, also known as a therapist. Your friend group opened their letters at the same time and had all cried when you'd gotten in. You'd been so excited to tell your dad the news. But he didn't seem to care when he heard that Peter, your best friend, who he'd only known for a few months, got into his alma mater.

"I'm not fine, I'm not fine!" Tears began to slide down your cheeks. "I can't move the mountains. I can't make the flowers bloom. I can't take another night up in my room, waiting on a miracle. I can't heal what's broken. Can't control the morning rain or a hurricane. Can't keep down the unspoken, invisible pain, always waiting on a miracle, a miracle." You knew your powers weren't as impressive as Peter's. He was Spiderman. But you'd trained for longer and worked just as hard as he had with what you were given. You were an Avenger, too. But sometimes, it seemed like Peter was the son your father never had, and you were just the kid who'd been shoved into his arms nine months after an unlucky one-night stand. It hurt more than you could ever put into words.

"Always walking alone. Always wanting for more. Like I'm still at that door longing to shine like all of you shine." You had never met your mother, but you'd lived with your father your entire life and you knew he loved you, and the amazing family you'd gotten with him loved you, too. But sometimes, you wondered what it would've been like if your parents had stayed together, if you'd inherited better powers, if you were super strong and fast like Steve and Bucky or you could control thunder and lightning like Thor.

"All I need is a change. All I need is a chance. All I know is I can't stand on the stay on the side, open your eyes, open your eyes, open your eyes! I would move the mountains! Make new trees and flowers grow! Someone please just let me know, where do I go? I am waiting on a miracle, a miracle." You began to dance, collecting the light from your room and transforming it into mountains and flowers and fireworks as you spun around.

"I would heal what's broken! Show this family something new. Who I am inside, so what can I do? I'm sick of waiting on a miracle, so here I go!" You knew that if Tony could just see what you could do, he'd be just as proud of you as he was of Peter. You just didn't know how to show him. "I am ready, come on, I'm ready! I've been patient and steadfast and steady! Bless me now as you blessed us all those years ago when you gave us a miracle!" You gasped softly after you hit that high note. The tears began to fill your eyes again, and you let out a small sob. "Am I too late for a miracle?" You settled on the floor and let yourself cry.

***

Loki slowly lifted his hand off his mouth as he finished crying. Norns, that was... that was too much for his poor heart to handle. Listening to them sing that song just brought back too many childhood memories. He could still see Odin endlessly praising Thor and ignoring him, could still feel that desperate ache to prove to his father that he was worth something, that he was just as amazing as Thor.

(Y/N) had a very beautiful voice, a beautiful everything, and they were crying. That needed to be fixed.

Suddenly he was worried. Was this about Harvard? Did they reject them? If they did, they were going to have to face his wrath. There was only one way to find out the truth, though. Loki dried his eyes, took a deep breath, and knocked softly on the door. (Y/N) gasped.

"It's me," Loki called. "I got your text."

"O-oh. Come in, Loki," they called. He opened the door and smiled at them. They were still sniffling, but they wiped their eyes.

"Hello, darling," he said, hoping to make them smile. They didn't, and he shut the door and settled beside them. "What's wrong," he asked. (Y/N) shook their head.

"It's stupid," they said. "You wouldn't understand."

"You'd be surprised," Loki said softly. "How about you tell me your news." (Y/N) smiled a bit.

"I got my letter from Harvard," they said. Loki sat up a little straighter. "I'm in." He gasped, his face lighting up, and he scooped them into a hug.

"I knew you could do it!" he cheered. "Oh, (Y/N), I'm so proud of you. You are going to do great things." (Y/N) hugged him tighter.

"Thanks, Loki. You're the best."

"Where's your father? Why didn't I hear about this as soon as I walked in the door?" (Y/N) sniffled. Loki froze. "What happened?" he asked. "What did he do?"

"P-peter told him he got into M.I.T, and Dad's busy with him," they cried. "I feel like a bad friend. I'm happy for him, but I didn't even get a chance to tell Dad about Harvard. I-- I just wish Dad was proud of me."

"Oh, (Y/N)," Loki said. He hugged them a bit tighter, rubbing their back. "I'm sure he is. I know it doesn't feel like it right now, but it's baffling to think he isn't. You're amazing. You're smart and brave and determined, and you always listen. I've never met anyone like you. And if your father can't be proud of you, then several other people will be." (Y/N) smiled faintly.

"Thanks." He held them for a few more minutes before he pulled himself away from them.

"If you'll excuse me, darling, I have something to take care of." (Y/N) nodded.

"Okay." Loki got up to go. "Loki?" He turned back to them. "Thanks for being here." He smiled sadly.

"Oh, (Y/N)... For you, that's as easy as breathing." Then he stepped into the hallway and closed the door with a gentle click. As soon as he was on the lower floor, he roared, "STARK!" Tony Stark walked into the room, followed by Peter and Thor.

"What do you want, Reindeer Games? I'm a bit busy."

"I heard. Congratulations, Spiderboy." Peter smiled.

"Thank you, Mr. Loki!" Loki smiled at him before returning to Stark.

"Why the hell are you focusing on Peter and not your child? They had something they wanted to share with you, but instead, they're up in their room, crying, because you didn't give them the chance. I understand that Peter is like your son and that raising (Y/N) hasn't always been easy for you, but that doesn't give you the right to favor him over them. They need you just as much as he does, and--"

"Whoah, slow down. If (Y/N) needed to tell me something, they would. What's this about?" Loki laughed.

"This is exactly what it sounds like, Stark. They are upset because they tried to share something with you, but you decided to give all your time and attention to someone else. Now, I suggest you go speak with your child before they end up like me." Stark frowned. "They're worried you're not proud of them," Loki said softly. "They should never be made to feel like that." Thor stepped forward.

"Brother--" Loki held up his hand.

"Go see them," he told Stark. "They need you." Stark took a deep breath.

"Fine. If you care so much." He turned and walked away. Loki sighed.

"Are you alright, Loki?" Thor asked. He nodded.

"Fine, brother."

***

You had settled onto your bed when someone knocked on your door. Tony opened it, a slightly overstretched smile on his face. "Heyy, (Y/N)," he said softly. "How's my favorite child doing?" You gave him a little smile.

"'M fine, Dad. What's up?" He leaned on your door frame awkwardly.

"So, uh, a little birdie told me that you were upset." You sighed and leaned back on your pillow.

"Damnit, Loki," you muttered. "You cry in front of a god one time."

"Hey. Don't be like that. It's okay to be upset in front of people, kiddo. Sometimes, they can help."

"I know." Tony shut your door, walked over to your bed, and sat on the edge of it like he would when you were younger.

"I upset you," he said. "You had something to tell me, and I got carried away with Peter. I'm sorry." You shook your head.

"Don't worry about it--"

"I'm going to, (Y/N). You are my child, and you are worth worrying about. You're worth caring about. I should have paid more attention. I should've never made you feel like Peter was more important to me than you are because you are my world." You sniffled and wiped your eyes.

"Thanks, Dad." He smiled and patted your knee.

"Alright, kiddo. Tell me your big news." You smiled and grabbed the frame off your nightstand. You handed it to him.

"That's my acceptance letter. Into Harvard." Your dad's eyes grew almost comically big and he looked up at you.

"Harvard?" You nodded.

"For their psychology program." He gasped. "I'm going to be a clinical psychologist."

"You're going to be a therapist?!" You nodded. "I can see it! You'd be so good at it. Or, you're going to be, because you're going to freaking Harvard!!!" You laughed as he scooped you into a big hug and began to chatter excitedly about celebrating. You'd have to thank Loki later. Maybe crying in front of a god wasn't so bad.