The Prince and the Sol

EPILOGUE

"Ned, seriously?" Peter asks. "I'm a superhero."

"I think I could still take you."

"There's no way."

"Dude, remember that time at homecoming? I saved your life!"

"Yeah, and then I helped save the world!"

"You wouldn't have been there to save it if I hadn't saved you!" The two boys begin to bicker, and I quietly sneak to the hallway.

"Night, you guys!"

There's a chorus of, "Night, Eliza!" before they both begin to argue again. I shake my head, smiling, before heading up to the bedrooms. Outside of Claire's bedroom, I can hear the two of them talking.

"Tell me a story!"

"What should it be about, darling?"

"You and Mommy! Something good! You always have good stories."

"Okay. Something good," he says. I can practically hear his smile. "Have I ever told you about the first time I met your mother?"

"No. Tell me please!"

"Well, I was with your Uncle Thor and the rest of our friends. I- I had done some bad things, and was very confused about myself. Your mother came to visit and help Uncle Bruce, because he couldn't figure something out by himself. Back then, I had none of the friends I have now."

"Really?"

"Yes. Even Uncle Thor was wary of me. It was a very lonely time. People didn't like me very much. I'll tell you why when you are older. But your mother. The first time I really saw her, she was in the sunset. She left everyone just to see it. The breeze blew her hair away from her face, and her smile was brighter than a thousand Asgardian suns. She was the first one to be kind to me. And I quickly fell in love with her."

"And then you got married and lived happily ever after?"

"It took a little longer than that." I open the door and sit on Claire's bed next to Loki.

"Did you like the story, pumpkin?" She nods eagerly. Claire is a spitting image of Loki, with her black curls and impish green eyes. I love her so much. "So did I." I give her a kiss on the forehead. "Good night."

"I love you," she murmurs sleepily.

"Sweet dreams, my littlest sol." Loki also gives her a kiss before we leave and shut off the lights.

"Ready for bed?" I ask him as I push open our bedroom door. He holds out a hand.

"Not yet. I desire a dance with my sol."

"I can give you that." We sway in each others' arms, me softly humming slow Christmas songs.

"Liza, you make me happy," Loki murmurs. I put my head on his chest, listen to his heartbeat. I never would have imagined that life would work out like this, but I'm so glad it did.

"Me too." My eyes fall on a picture of Claire as a baby, and I feel butterflies. I really need to tell him.

"I want another one," Loki says, also staring at the picture.

"Can you wait eight months?" I whisper. He looks down at me.

"What?"

"Merry Christmas, love," I whisper, smiling. I grab an ultrasound picture from my pocket.

"You're really-?"

"Yes!" I squeal, jumping up and down a bit. He pulls me into a big hug, both of our emotions running high. I've been keeping this secret for two weeks. It was even harder than waiting to tell him about Claire. Absolutely no one knew this time around.

"You're too good at presents." His green eyes light up as he takes the picture from me.

"You know, this time, we might actually get to be the ones to tell our friends," I say. Not like last time. That wasn't exactly ideal.

"I assume this is our secret for a little while?"

"Yeah. I'd like that." I get on my tiptoes and give Loki a kiss on the nose. "I know I'm getting ahead of myself, but I want Peter to be the godfather."

"That sounds perfect. Thor will be annoyed, which makes it even better."

"Lokes," I reprimand, but I'm grinning.

"I'm kidding," he says. I raise my eyebrows. "Okay, not completely. But I definitely agree about Peter. And I'm definitely happier than ever."

"Good." I snuggle into him. "Love you, Lokes."

"And I love you, my little sol."