Epilogue

The sun glowed, the day glowed, the world glowed, she glowed.

Dala wiped her sweat slicked hair from her forehead with a damp towel and he tried not to wince at the unexpected strength she used to squeeze his fingers.

Sparks of reiki skittered over her skin and her breathing came harsh and labored,

But Loki had never found her more beautiful.

He kissed the side of her face and she leaned into him, borrowing his strength, taking shelter in his taller frame, and then the time she'd been laboring for arrived.

Dala, who'd trained to be a healer for the new Asgardian hospital in New Asgard, moved into place, and Loki helped Kagome to sit up so he could slide in more behind her, offering more solid support.

In a breathtaking display of strength and will, one that still amazed him even if he had seen her do it before, their new child came screaming into existence, and when the babe was placed her chest and she sobbed her love and relief, the air left his lungs at first sight of her.

She was beautiful to be sure, black hair like her brothers' stuck out in messy tufts from her head and there was certainly nothing wrong with her voice.

But it was her skin that gave him pause at first.

Blue.

She was blue.

"Is she alright?!" Kagome cried, worried that her new child was lacking air or struggling to breath.

He stared, unmoving and wide eyed as Dala scooped the baby up, cleaned her off, examined and poked and prodded before wrapping her up and handing her over to her father who still stared blankly, trying not to feel the worst of his feelings in what was supposed to be one of the happiest days of his life.

"She's perfect My Lady. She looks just like her father. Congratulations."

Loki took her gingerly from Dala's hands and she smiled warmly at him.

It said everything she hadn't voiced out loud, and with no judgement at all.

His daughter was like him.

His daughter was a frost giant.

"Oh thank heavens. Let me see her!"

Silently he passed the baby over, and Kagome sagged in relief when she saw with her own eyes that she was breathing just fine. She cradled and cooed over her, tears of joy and exhaustion dripping from her cheeks, and Loki tried desperately not to feel like his deepest, darkest fears had come to life.

When his sons had been born, twin boys who'd arrived in a flurry of mayhem and chaos that had followed them every day of their lives, he'd nearly cried in relief when they'd been born with the skin tone he wore on a daily basis, one like their mother's, normal for an Asgardian or a human.

And decidedly not blue.

It had been years and he still had trouble shaking his tension at being a Frost Giant. Too many years being told too many stories painting then as monstrosities were hard to shake, though he'd come a very long way from believing himself a monster.

He had the woman on the bed to thank for most of his progress.

Watching her already doting on their new child who wore the undeniable mark of his secret heritage, he felt a lot of his current horror melt away.

She didn't blame him. She hadn't even addressed the situation except to ensure that something hadn't gone wrong.

She hadn't missed a beat.

"Loki come here, come see her!"

He did so immediately.

Kagome passed the baby to him and he took her with no hesitation, looking her over and finally feeling those embers of love stirring in place of the scorching fear he'd felt before.

Beyond the blue of her skin she'd inherited from him, she looked just like Kagome.

'Beautiful.'

Her little faced stretched in a sleepy yawn and Loki grinned with pride.

A lot of pride.

He had no doubt she would teach him to be proud. There was no longer any room for any self loathing for something he was certain to adore his child for.

He would probably be spending a lot more time in his own blue skin.

"You're going to have to shake your Asgardian disguise sometimes for her, you know. Nebula is going to love having a little blue niece. Oh I wonder if she'll have your eyes, and if she does if they'll be red or green. Of course her hair would be black since we both have black hair. And we haven't even thought of a name!"

He sat back and tucked his baby under his chin, rubbing her back and counting her breaths as he indulgently listened to Kagome's excited chattering.

He passed the baby back over - she was right, they really needed to figure out a name- when she began fussing for food, and then answered the knock at the hospital door.

Mama Higurashi entered and ushered the twins inside.

Narfi and Váli were absolute replicas of their father from the tops of their heads to the tips of their toes, save for their luminous blue eyes inherited from their mother. They were five now, and always up to some mischief.

Even now, shuffling in to come meet their sister, their eyes shifted and their smiles were sly.

"Boys." They flinched and looked up into the face of their father, towering over them with arms crossed and face stern.

"Yes papa?" They gulped in unison.

"Best. Behavior."

They grinned, still looking just short of innocent despite being so young. They really had taken after him in the most exhausting ways.

He lifted them up into the hospital bed and they cuddled in next to Kagome who held up their sister so they could get a good look at her.

"Look my darlings, your new sister. Isn't she beautiful?"

Narfi grimaced at her scrunched face still swollen from delivery, but Váli leaned closer in curiosity.

"She's blue! Cool."

"Yes, she has blue skin like papa."

"But papa isn't always blue."

"No he's not, Narfi, but sister may be."

"Okay. Can we go with Obaachan to get a cookie now?"

"Not so fast you little menace, I want to meet her too!"

The boys rolled their eyes, simply unimpressed with someone still far too young to play tricks on. They vacated the bed and skipped over to sit next to their father. Loki listened intently as they chattered on about new tricks and magic they'd figured out, and watched in awe as they manipulated the reiki they'd inherited from Kagome into little images of animals, making tiny, sparkling illusions in a perfect, balanced blend of both their parents' abilities.

So far they'd shown no evidence of possessing Frost Giant powers themselves, and they thanked their lucky stars for that. They were already more than a handful.

"She's lovely Kagome. Well done and congratulations. I'll leave you two to rest and take the boys for their promised treat."

"Yay!" They cried, hopping up and racing to the door.

Mama Higurashi stopped and kissed the top of Loki's head.

"Congratulations son-in-law. She's beautiful."

She left quietly with identical streaks of mischief following behind, and Loki returned to his wife's side, gazing fondly at the now sleeping face of his newest child.

He and Kagome whispered about potential names, their hopes for her future, how cute she looked when she sighed in her sleep. They welcomed in Inuyasha who ran his finger through the black curls on her head and told her softly that she was far from alone as a "half-breed" in this family. A few more members of their expanded family full of strange beings filtered in and the more love she was showered with, the less Loki feared as the sun went down on their first day together.

The stars twinkled high in the sky and Kagome was asleep against his shoulder while their daughter snoozed in a bassinet nearby when Thor finally arrived.

He tip toed quietly through the room and leaned over the tiny hospital bassinet holding his new niece. He'd rushed desperately to get home when he'd received his message from Loki that Kagome was in labor and he couldn't contain his happiness to finally be seeing her. He gently scooped her up and cradled her close, sitting on the little couch near the bed.

He didn't miss the azure hue of her skin and knew immediately what it meant.

It would be interesting to see what she could do as she grew, and he loved her already.

"She's magnificent."

"Her name is Thora."

Thor met Loki's eyes shocked and searched his face for any sign of a lie.

But his brother simply smiled softly and tears fell down Thor's face so fast he could never hope to stop them. There were many great legacies attached to his name, but this one was the most precious.

"Thank you brother. Thank you."

Loki nodded, and turned the conversation to something a little lighter and easier to process after such a long, emotional day.

"How was your trip?"

The prince brothers of Asgard spoke peacefully together while two of their most precious family members slept safe in their protection.

Outside their sanctuary the stars spun through the heavens, the moon trekked across its path through the night sky, the world turned, and time marched ever on around them.

A.N.: I can't believe we made it here. I can't believe it's the end. I've been writing this for so long, almost a whole year before I even started posting it, and it has been so, so incredibly special to me. I want to thank each and every one of you who followed along and left me your comments. Some of you I've come to recognize your usernames and I get a little thrill every time I see them. I cannot possibly convey what all of you, all of this has meant to me. Thank you thank you. Just a couple of tidbits before I leave you, the twins, Narfi and Váli, are named after two of mythological Loki's sons he had with his wife Sigyn. Next, come follow me on Tumblr if you have one! My name is mrfeenysmustache and I reblog all kinds of fandom stuff and would love to chat! Lastly, I'll be taking a small break from posting because I'll be working on some new stories. Ive got some fairytale AUs planned, a couple canon one shots and... another LokiXKagome fic! Keep your eyes peeled open for that one, it's going to be another ride on the drama train and I am so excited about it! Until next time, sayonara my friends!