Author's Note: If you're reading this then that means you've gone through the 63 chapters of Loki and Jamie craziness. If you didn't and simply skipped to the ending to see how things turn out, I urge you to READ THE FIC FROM THE START. No, I'm not saying that to rack up on the number of hits for each chapter, but because you'll understand the fanfic better if you read about Loki and Jamie's adventures from the beginning. :)

Now that we've come to the end of this immensely fun-to-write - and long - fan fic, I would like to take the time to thank EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU. Without your support, I would never have gotten this far. A special shout-out goes to INGENIOUS MACABRE, whom I spent loads of coffee breaks with simply discussing the possible angles to the latter half of this story. Thank you for believing in me and for further fueling my creative bursts. :")

I bid you all adieu, and I hope to see you in the sequel to "Stark Contrast," which I decided to call "A Touch of Frost." If you're expecting fluffy Loki-Jamie moments in the sequel, it isn't the case. I'll be putting up a PDF file of this fanfic (it'll be in my Hiddles gif blog; the link can be found in my profile) once I'm finished proofreading it. In the meantime, enjoy the last chapter to "Stark Contrast." It's been great. :)

Seven years later…

The lights flickered on and off, but the seven-year old girl was completely enraptured. She stared at these for a long time, breaking off only to shout a reply back to her father, who was doing something in the kitchen.

"Alessia!" her father called, and Alessia sighed and stood, glancing at the Christmas lights on the tree one last time.

She saw the small feast that her father had prepared, which included a huge ham, mashed potatoes and gravy, a tall pitcher of chilled green iced tea, and a tub of ice cream.

"Daddy, you made all of these yourself?" Alessia asked, as her father pulled a chair out for her. "Or did you use your magic again?"

"Guess," her father asked her with a sly smile.

"Magic!" Alessia exclaimed, laughing. "Daddy, have you ever tried cooking?"

"Look, the last time I tried that I ended up…"

"Burning the bacon. I know, Daddy, but it wouldn't hurt to try." Alessia watched as her father walked over to the head of the table and sat down.

Seven years of living in Midgard with his daughter did nothing to change Loki Laufeyson's appearance. He was still the tall, dark-haired, green-eyed God of Mischief who had tried to take over the realm all those years ago. He still pulled pranks, mostly on random people whom he met on the street. Sometimes he even caused a little chaos and conflict now and then.

To most people, Loki was still the same arrogant, sarcastic former Avenger.

But Alessia knew better.

She had seen her father wipe away tears when he thought she wasn't looking, had noticed that a shadow passed over his eyes whenever they visited her Uncle Tony (Loki only accompanied her to the lobby, where Happy Hogan picked her up), and had heard him crying only to see him emerge from his room looking calm, cool, and collected – with rather moist eyes.

It seemed inconceivable that Loki Laufeyson would cry, but he did. Alessia knew why: he missed her mother. From the stories she had heard from him and from her Uncle Tony and Aunt Pepper, Jamie Stark was a fun and vibrant woman who had managed to break through Loki's cold streak.

Her absence was visibly felt by both men, but Tony and Loki had forced themselves to go on with their lives.

They had no choice.

Alessia missed her mother as well; she had many memories – vague ones – of being carried by a dark-haired woman who usually smelled strongly of jasmine.

"She used to use jasmine perfumes and bath oils," her uncle had told her when she had asked him if her mother used any jasmine scented products when she was still alive. "I still have…some of them."

These bottles were now with Alessia, who had kept them on her desk. Every so often she opened one and imagined that her mother was there with her. Whenever she did, Alessia could just feelthe softness of her mother's arms around her, feel the loving kiss that Alessia knew once pressed against her forehead, and hear the soothing voice that promised to keep her safe from the world.

There were times when Alessia felt envious of her two cousins, who both had their mothers with them. But most of the time she had was either spent in the company of her father and her uncle.

If there was one thing that Alessia had inherited from Jamie Stark – besides their obvious physical similarities – it was Jamie's intelligence. Alessia was another Stark genius, aside from Tony and Pepper's son, Edward Howard Stark.

However, Alessia kept her intelligence under wraps. To most people, Alessia was an ordinary girl – well, as far as "ordinary" went with the Starks and the Jotunns – who liked spending time with her cousins and playing games of make-believe. It was only when a person started talking to her did they realize the depths of her knowledge, which was slowly honed by both her father and uncle.

Now, as Alessia wriggled in her seat so that she was a few inches from the table, the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it!" she cried, immediately hopping off her chair and running towards the front door. Loki stood and followed his daughter at a dignified pace, hearing the front door open and Alessia squeal in delight. "Uncle Thor!"

The God of Thunder stepped over the threshold and scooped his niece in his arms. Behind him was Jane, who was now an Asgardian, and Haldor, who was looking as blonde and as muscular Thor had been when he was seven.

"What has your father been feeding you, eh? You're as heavy as a boar!" Thor chuckled and kissed Alessia on the cheek before setting her back down on the ground. "Brother!"

"Thor," Loki greeted, shaking his brother's hand firmly. Out of all the Avengers, Thor was the only one who bothered maintaining a civil and cordial relationship with Loki. Loki didn't care; he never really felt part of the group. Now that Jamie was gone, Loki felt like he could shed all his pretenses and leave the heroic company once and for all.

"Merry Christmas," Jane greeted, and Loki acknowledged her with half a smile. Alessia greeted her aunt as well before tugging Haldor to the living room, where they immediately stood transfixed at the Christmas lights. "The place looks festive."

"It's all Alessia's doing," Loki replied. "We were just about to start eating when you came."

Upon hearing the word "eat," Thor hurried into the kitchen and sat down. He was starting on the ham when Loki and Jane joined him, who both called for Alessia and Haldor. The two Asgardian kids rushed inside and sat down, Alessia beside Loki and Haldor beside Jane.

As they ate, Thor and Loki discussed some of the most recent attacks that had besieged New York, such as the arrival of Doctor Doom (Reed Richards' longtime foe). Loki had refused to help the Avengers or SHIELD, and they didn't force him to. Nick Fury knew that to force Tony and Loki to be in the same room together was a recipe for disaster.

Meanwhile Haldor and Alessia were enumerating the things that they wanted for Christmas, with Jane listening intently to the two. Halfway through the meal Alessia tugged at Loki's sleeve and whispered something in his ear.

"Are you sure?" he asked her, and she nodded her head fiercely. Loki caught the eye of his brother, who had both his eyebrows raised. "She wants to…"

"Go to the toy store!" Alessia cried, while Haldor whooped. "Please Daddy? Please?"

Loki looked at his daughter, who reminded him so much of Jamie. He nodded and a small smile formed on his mouth when Alessia and Haldor cheered.

"Brother," Thor whispered, leaning towards Loki, "I thought the two of you were going to visit Jamie."

"I know. But I can't refuse her anything. Just look at her." Loki turned his head towards Alessia, who was now telling Jane about the time she and Loki won a stuffed penguin from an arcade in downtown New York. "I see Jamie in her. In a way, it's as if she never left."

Thor almost placed a comforting hand on his brother's shoulder, but thought better of it. Loki hardly had any expression on his face – he seldom did nowadays – and Thor knew Loki wouldn't appreciate the gesture. Instead he grunted and went back to eating.

Once the dishes had been cleaned and put away, Loki went inside his bedroom to put on his coat. He heard the door open and close and he turned around.

Alessia was standing a few feet behind him, her icy blue eyes fixed on his green ones.

"Merry Christmas, Daddy," she said, holding out a rather battered and wrinkly package. "I couldn't think of anything else to give you."

"It's alright, darling. I'm sure this is the best…" Loki faltered as the familiar scent of Jamie's perfume reached his nose.

"It's Mom's perfume," Alessia explained as Loki silently pulled away the wrappings. "Uncle helped me find it."

Loki didn't know if Alessia was referring to Tony or to Thor, but right now he didn't care. He placed the perfume bottle on the side table and for a moment, a genuine smile spread across his face.

"Daddy, did I do something wrong?" Alessia asked in a small voice. "I just wanted to give you something that reminded you of Mom."

"And you did. You did, Alessia. Come here." Loki crouched down and Alessia walked into his arms, where he enveloped her in a tight hug. "I love you, Alessia. Don't you ever forget that."

"I love you too, Daddy. So much."

Stark Towers

The rooftop suite looked festive, and the occupants were feeling festive as well.

Save for one.

Tony Stark, billionaire, genius, and philanthropist, was sitting on his armchair with a glass of bourbon in one hand and a framed photo of him and Jamie on his other. Before him was a home video of Jamie's first Christmas.

Jamie was still a baby then, and Tony was a fresh twenty-one year old who was forced to take up the mantle his father had left behind. But that didn't mar the fact that the two siblings were having the time of their lives. In the video, Jamie was crawling towards Tony who was in the process of unwrapping a gift. Just as she placed her hand on top of the gift, Tony tore the wrapper, startling the baby. Jamie fell backwards on her bottom, emitting a sharp wail.

A small smile formed on the corner of Tony's mouth as he watched his twenty-one year old self suddenly panic and ask Jarvis to dial 911, only to be saved by Pepper, who picked Jamie up and rocked the baby to sleep.

Ever since Jamie's death, Tony had coped with it the only way he could. He completely threw himself into the business of being Iron Man and the remaining CEO of Stark Industries. He spent time finishing the projects that Jamie had left, mostly with the help of Bruce Banner, and made sure that his family was safe and happy.

But there was one thing that haunted Tony seven years later: the fact that he and Jamie had never fully resolved their fight. She had died before either of them had the chance to apologize, and that was the one thing that Tony found hard to accept, besides the fact that he would never see his sister again.

"Dad?"

Edward Howard Stark, Tony's seven-year old son, sat down on the couch beside him. His blue eyes were visible even behind the black-rimmed glasses that he wore, which were now trained on the video that was playing.

"What is it, kiddo?" Tony asked, glancing at his son.

"Mom says it's time to eat." Edward looked back at his father, who still looked like the heartthrob he was seven years ago. "Dad?"

"I'll be there." Tony sat still for a few more moments before telling Jarvis to stop the video. He stood slowly, as if steeling himself for the event ahead. "What did she prepare?"

"Oh you know Mom, Dad. The usual," Edward answered, falling into step beside his father.

"I see." Tony walked into the dining room, which he had installed inside the suite a few years ago. "Ah. That looks divine. Pepper, you certainly outdid yourself this year."

Pepper chuckled and walked towards him. "Flattery will get you nowhere, you know."

"Worth a shot," Tony said, shrugging and smiling at his wife.

Pepper kissed him on the cheek and together they sat down. Edward immediately picked up the book he had been reading, hastily sliding it back under the seat of the chair beside him when Tony clicked his tongue in disapproval.

Unlike the rest of the Starks, Edward seemed to prefer literature over science, which was becoming a sore spot for Tony. He had hoped that his son would be the one to take over the company one day, but at the rate they were going, it seemed as if Alessia would be the one Tony would pass over the company to.

He wouldn't have minded, if it weren't for the simple fact that he loathed Alessia's dad, Loki. Sometimes he hoped that Loki would simply vanish, leaving Alessia under his care. But no; the God of Mischief was determined to stick around and give Alessia as normal a life as possible, which was what Jamie would undoubtedly have wanted.

Tony remembered the first press conference he had attended – sans Loki, of course – after Jamie's death. The public was blaming the Avengers for all the attacks that they experienced for the past year.

"First we had the leader of the army that attacked us more than a year ago, and then we were besieged by an army of the undead," Senator Stern had enumerated, a smirk on his pinched face. "After that, we had this crazy organism that was built not to protect, but to kill!"

"We have done all that we could to protect the citizens of this great nation," Nick Fury had began, but Stern interrupted him, showing the public various images of the effects of these different attacks.

"Billions of dollars were spent, and for what?" Stern had asked the crowd, some of whom were nodding their heads.

"For rebuilding a society that is full of ungrateful fools," Tony had said, walking inside the conference room.

Almost immediately camera lights flashed in his direction and reporters clamored for his take on the current topic. Tony ignored these and sat down on the place that had been reserved for him (even though Fury and the Avengers were unsure that he would arrive).

"If you are saying that we are the cause of the problems that have occurred for the past year, I can tell you now, Senator, that that is complete bullshit," Tony had said into the microphone. Several reporters tittered and Stern turned red. "The only blame you can pin on us is that most of us are only human. There is only so much we can do for the people; and believe me, we have certainly done a god damn lot. Even more than you, Senator."

"I-" Stern began, but Tony raised his hand.

"What did you do when we were attacked by these enemies, Senator Stern? Were you out there in the fray? Did you lift a finger to help the citizens?" Tony faced the Senator now, hating him with such intensity that he could almost feel the heat radiate from his body. "If you did, please, tell us, because while I was out there with those sitting at this table, I didn't see neither a hair nor hide of your body."

"The losses…"

"Were great. Now don't tell me that we haven't lost anything, that we didn't grieve as much as you and the rest of the country. We grieved. We lost loved ones. I lost my sister while I was part of the team, Senator Stern. But do you see me berating those who have done so much and asked for so little? No. In fact, I applaud them. Now, that may be partly because I am part of them, but that's not the point."

Tony's last statement was met by dispersed laughter. Stern was no longer looking smug, but uncomfortable.

"The point is, ladies and gentlemen, the Avengers are the only ones standing between this realm and the inhabitants of those mysterious worlds out there. If they won't fight the battles for us, then who would?" Tony finished his statement and leaned back, throwing Stern a scathing look. He did not say another word the entire meeting, not even when Christine Everhart tried asking him questions about his feelings over Jamie's death. The rest of the world, save for his family, were dead to him.

He was done.

After dinner, Tony, Pepper, and Edward went out into the balcony, bundled in their winter coats and jackets. Tony had set up a small fireworks display, which he set off just before the clock struck midnight. Tony knew it was a ritual reserved for New Year's Eve, but he had started it the Christmas after Jamie's death.

The first firework that exploded into the night sky seemed to send hundreds of gold coins raining down, only to disappear in a shimmery light. These were followed by colorful bursts of light, each representing the signature colors of every member of the Avengers.

When the last firework exploded, Tony raised his eyes to the sky.

"Merry Christmas kiddo," he whispered, a lone tear sliding down his scruffy cheek.

The toy store was bustling with activity. Children screamed with delight as their parents grudgingly handed them the toys that they'd wanted for so long, while other parents tried to emulate their inner ninjas as they tried to buy gifts for their kids without being seen.

This was the scene that met Thor, Loki, Jane, and the two kids when they arrived. With a pang, Loki remembered the time when he and Jamie had gone here to buy Alessia a dollhouse and an action figure of him and Tony.

Even as he entered the store, Alessia tugging on his arm impatiently, he could almost see Jamie's dark hair whip out of sight and hear her sweet laughter ringing in his ears.

"Daddy, Daddy look! They still have your doll!" Alessia pulled him towards the action figures of the Avengers. Loki noticed that the ones for Iron Man and Captain America were practically flying off the shelves and that his were almost untouched.

This didn't deter Alessia however; she went towards the Loki action figures and took two, holding them up to him with a huge grin on her face.

"Why do you need to have action figures when you have the actual Loki in your living room?" Loki teased her, and Alessia rolled her eyes as if it were obvious.

"Because my Barbies need a Ken, and I don't want some short haired blonde guy," she answered.

"Point taken, sweetheart." Loki took the action figures from Alessia, who giggled and joined Haldor, who was looking at some water guns. She wrinkled her nose and went to the Lego section, where she promptly sat down on one of the tables that had bins of Lego blocks.

Loki sat on one of the nearby benches, beside a woman with curly brown hair. She shifted slightly when he approached, but he ignored it. He was used to it by now and there were times where he didn't even notice the dark looks he received from people who passed him by on the street.

No matter what other people think, Laufeyson, your child will see you as the most important god in the universe.

In a way, Jamie had been right about that.

She had been right about many things – about him, about Tony, about Alessia, and about their life together – and for that, Loki was grateful.

The snow swirled outside the toy store, blanketing the city in a white layer. But the cold didn't bother her; it never did.

What held her attention now was the sight of the tall man; he was looking completely out of place in such a colorful location. His dark hair and brooding expression was more appropriate for a funeral than a children's toy store, and yet there he was. Her icy blue eyes studied him carefully through the frosted glass, her heart beating painfully.

The chilly breeze blew several locks of her dark hair from her neck, revealing the heart-shaped locket that rested snugly on the space between her breasts.