Nose buried in Little Women for the hundredth time, Annalise perched with her legs crossed on her beloved "Dragons" chair. The wooden piece, upholstered in a rich brown leather and adorned with symmetrical lacquered dragons, had been a gift from France; an armchair owned by Saint Laurent himself that last auctioned for $27.8 million. The price wasn't of importance; she was interested in the height. It was one of the few pieces of furniture in the entirety of the Waldorf close enough to the floor to allow her dainty feet, often hindered by the shortness of her legs, to touch the ground when properly seated. It was love at first sight.

Mid page-flip the temperature fell several degrees, causing her skin to break out in goosebumps. She glanced up from her book to see Loki standing in the doorway, flanked by several Chitauri. His eyes flicked over her body before speaking.

"Your presence is required in the Operations Room, Annalise."

Tactical planning? She fought the urge to make a face. "But, I'm useless there, I don't have an iota of battle or interrogation experience, the Avengers just annoy me and I can't understand the aliens' chittering anyway—."

Loki's mouth neglected to curve into a smile as she prattled on, as it normally did. He strode forward, walking to her side and gently cupping her face so she looked up at him.

"You need to be there, little dove."

His soft tone was more unsettling than if he'd snapped at her. Whatever was happening, he was completely focused on it and for whatever reason her attendance was important enough to request it diplomatically. She squinted at him for a moment before setting her book down and nodding.

"Okay."

Loki offered her a hand up. She smoothed the skirt of her lace peplum dress and took it, slid hers into the crook of his arm and accompanied Loki and his entourage down to the basement.

As they shuffled into the Operations Room, Annalise's eyes widened in surprise. She'd never had reason to enter it before and clearly it was a technological masterpiece. Illuminated, blinking maps of all nine realms were spread across the surface of the monstrous table in the center of the room, as state of the art computers, radars and sonars hummed in the background. Chitauri and blue-eyed SHIELD agents murmured amongst themselves, hard at work analyzing incoming data. An agent stepped forward.

"The North Korea threat has been neutralized, Your Majesty. We've been in direct communication with their UN envoy and sent several troops to confiscate any remaining paraphernalia."

"Good. Humans and their inability to handle radioactive elements confound me," he grumbled.

Annalise opened her mouth to defend her species, but couldn't come up with a valid argument. Humans and their inability to handle radioactive elements, indeed.

He guided her to the head of the table and pulled out the chair next to him. She had absolutely no idea what was going on, but as he motioned to the chair impatiently, she sat and watched her husband as he conducted what seemed like the daily grind.

"You've located him?" he asked one of the Chitauri.

His second in command nodded and rambled on in its language and Annalise fought the urge to tune the noise out. Instead, she watched as Loki's face morphed into something between a grimace and a sneer.

"Of course he's close. He's just waiting for the most opportune moment. Quadruple the guard on duty at the palace and double forces patrolling the Bifrost. He may be coming, but we won't be caught off-guard."

Annalise frowned as she watched her husband pace back and forth between consoles humming with electronics. He had dark smudges under his eyes and a light sweat shown along his hairline. She chewed her lip nervously.

"Loki, who's coming?" she asked softly.

He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, as if centering himself before answering. "The Titan, Thanos."

Annalise nodded, watching him with the expectation that he elaborate. When he didn't, she cleared her throat. "Why is he a threat, my King?"

She watched her husband grow ashen and shudder, and she fought the urge to so do herself. If Loki was horrified by this entity, and he seemed to be, then she was petrified tenfold. Nothing scared him, save for Astrid not meeting her milestones. Loki remained silent, staring blankly ahead into nothing as his wife gently squeezed his hand. He jerked and borderline-crushed her fingers with his grip.

"Thanos had possession of me, for a time. For a long time. And after he was… finished with me, he procured the Chitauri for my use. He wanted the Tesseract in exchange for them. The Other, the beast we killed in Brazil, served him... As a liaison between Thanos and myself. When I didn't turn over the Tesseract after the Battle of New York, he vowed to hunt me down and make me suffer again. And darling," he said sadly, brushing Annalise's hair from her face, "he knows torture better than any other being in the nine realms." He looked away from her, back into nothingness. "Murdering his crony was likely unhelpful. He seeks revenge and retribution. And pain. So much pain."

She shook her head in confusion.

"But we can beat him, right?" Annalise tightened her hand around his. Loki didn't seem to notice.

When he neglected to look at her, her stomach rolled.

"Not with the ease in which we fought the Other, my dear. Thanos is infinitely more powerful. Even if I cloned myself ten times… We would still be outmatched. He's kept tabs on me since I arrived in this realm. It's only a matter of time until he attacks, destroying everything I've built on Midgard."

Annalise's stomach bottomed out. Loki was the most powerful being on Earth, which meant he was at least among the contenders for most powerful entity in the universe, right? There was nothing he couldn't do.

"But… In the end, we'll win?"

The sympathy with which Loki looked at her made her stomach drop. He stroked her cheek and shook his head. "No, darling. I will do everything I can do protect you and Astrid, but in the end, he will victorious. Even with the Tesseract, I am no match for a Titan."

She could hear her blood pumping in her hears. What did he mean, he couldn't win? He was Loki, King of Midgard. He could do anything.

"I don't understand."

"He has powers I cannot even begin to comprehend. His might is unmatched. The Tesseract would be a formidable tool in potentially defeating him, but I haven't had time to study it, and without the knowledge of how to wield it, it's useless."

Annalise stared at him in horror. He had to be able to protect his newly acquired realm, to protect their daughter. He just had to. He was a god, wasn't he? She searched his eyes desperately, hoping that he was playing a cruel trick of deception. When she found nothing but sincerity, she almost vomited.

"Loki-I don't—."

"Shhhh," he soothed, stroking her hair behind her hear.

"I will not allow him to lay a hand upon you or the baby. I will die first. I'll send you and Astrid to Asgard. You will be under the protection of Thor and Odin. Odin and I may… have our differences, but he wouldn't turn away his grandchild and her mother. That I know."

No. She didn't find that reassuring. There had to be some other way. Some power to harness that they weren't yet thinking about. She glanced through the doorway at the mostly empty cells of the dungeon, and caught sight of Captain America looking off into the empty space while resting his chin on his hand. There were the Avengers, she supposed. But utilizing their power meant freeing them to an extent. She nodded her head at the remaining members. "What if you allied with them? If you had an angry green beast, a super soldier and an assassin fighting with you?"

Loki scoffed. "Those miscreants would never fight for me. They violently oppose my rule. Additionally, they've, er, been subjected to less than admirable treatment during their time in our home."

Annalise rubbed her thumb against the smooth, cool surface of the back of his hand.

"What if I talked to them? Explained the situation?"

"You will not subject yourself to their lesser presence."

"Loki," she groaned, "What if they're our only chance?

He adamantly shook his head with a sigh, "We will not plead for their assistance. Perishing for my family is a worthy cause. I am at peace with my fate."

Annalise' eyes widened as she realized he'd already resigned himself to dying in the fight with the Titan. Her eyes grew cold and narrowed into slits. How dare he give up so easily.

"Leave."

At the sharp crack of her voice, the agents and aliens all looked up from their work and glanced at her. The Queen's cheeks were red with anger and her hand shook as she pointed to the door. "Get out. All of you."

"You will stay where you are," Loki countered, looking his wife in the eye.

Annalise didn't break his stare, her lip curling. "Get out, now," she snarled.

Without giving their King or Queen a second glance, all personnel filed from the room at record speed, leaving a furious Loki and an even furious-er Anna. The last Chitauri to exit the room closed the door behind it.

"How dare you undermine me," he growled.

"I gave the command. You undermined me."

"I am your King!"

"I'm your Queen." Annalise raised her chin. "And I do what I want, Loki."

He tilted his head, looking completely baffled. Loki inhaled to interrupt her, but she held up a hand.

"You are not dying. I forbid it. You took over this planet. You can't just abandon it. And, you have a family to look after." She leaned forward and grasped his wrist, guiding his palm against her temporarily-flat belly. The thought of leaving his unborn child caused his chest to ache with pain. He pushed her away from her and cupped her jaw.

"Annalise, truly. This is the reality of the situation."

With a growl she slapped his hand away and pushed her hands forcefully against his chest, "You are not going to die!"

Loki, slightly dumbfounded that she'd gotten physical, quickly recovered from his surprise. He stormed forward, herding her back against the operations table. She grunted when his fingers dug into her the soft flesh of her waist as he hoisted her up, sending her sprawling over the surface of a map of Svartalfheim.

"You will accept my sacrifice," he hissed as he crawled on top of her.

Annalise swiped at him, which he easily blocked. Curling his fingers around her wrists, he pinned them on either side of her head as he straddled her. She continued to fight and bucked her hips, trying to unseat him. He chuckled, which further enraged her. A few attempted kicks later, he shook his head while staring down at his wife. "Enough, my little hellcat."

A tear trickled down her face from the corner of her eye. Her glare refused to soften.

"No. Tell me you're going to live," she panted.

He sighed, his lips set in a grim line as he peered down at Annalise.

"I'll try. I-I cannot guarantee I'll survive."

Another tear dribbled down her cheek and she nodded.

"You better."

Both of them used the moment of quiet to catch their breath, then Loki raised a brow. "If I were dead," Annalise flinched at the word, "you would be free, my little peach. Free to lead your own life, free of my control."

She stared at him, her lips parted in dismay. Wrists still firmly in his grasp, she resumed her frantic struggle to free them so she could smack him. "I don't want to be free of you, you bonehead," she hissed, leaning upwards as best she could. Annalise growled and tilted her chin up until their mouths met, biting his lower lip hard enough to draw blood. He inhaled sharply and pulled away, shooting her a threatening look as he towered over her.

"What's this?" Suspicion gleamed in his eyes as he studied his wife.

"I love you," she spat between gritted teeth.

Loki's eyes narrowed as he surveyed her, once again out of breath from her useless struggling.

"You do?"

Moisture leaked from her eyes as she nodded. "Yes."

A feral noise came from the back of Loki's throat as he transferred her wrists to one hand, using the other to roughly grip her chin. Completely free of self-control, he kissed her urgently with a low groan. Annalise squirmed beneath him, eager to hold him against her and, uttering an irritated sigh against her lips, he released her. Her arms wrapped around his neck, pulling him even closer as she tried to arch beneath him. Sensing that her need mirrored his, he made quick work of his trousers while bunching her skirt up around her middle. Her panties tore in his haste to get them off, but neither noticed, despite the angry red mark now marring the skin of Annalise's hip. Loki's lips eventually deviated from hers, trailing against her cheek and neck as he buried his face against her, his mouth against her ear.

"No one else defies my command like you do. You're infuriating," he rumbled. The sound of his voice made her shiver and she clutched him tighter, eagerly spreading her legs in invitation. No further prompting was required for Loki to thrust home with several rough pumps of his hips.

"You like it," she gasped as he bottomed out, making her cunt pulse with desperation. She felt his smile against her skin and he snickered.

"I do, little one."

After that, he made it clear that their discussion of war was over by sealing his lips over hers once more. Their coupling didn't take long, both were strung so tightly from their argument that they were both on edge and ready to snap. Loki's hips pounded against hers, the sound of skin on skin echoing in the Operations Room as they moved together. Annalise cried out as he began rubbing against the textured spot inside her, causing her to see stars as her legs wrapped around his waist.

Loki grunted and nipped at her lip, pressing his own against hers fiercely as he kissed her. The pinch of his teeth against her skin and the intolerably wonderful feeling of her husband plowing inside of her proved to be too much for the little queen, and with a shriek she came apart beneath him. She held onto him like her life depended on it, her hips thrusting wildly as she rode out her orgasm. With a snarl Loki came as well, pumping her throbbing cunt full of his hot seed.

Both lay still while they caught their breath. Once he could think again, Loki pushed up onto his elbows and stared down at Annalise. He brushed her hair from her face, then traced a knuckle along her lips.

"I believe I love you as well."

Annalise was not a crier, but between her husband's seemingly imminent demise and his proclamation, she gave a soft sob and stroked his face. Leaning into her tiny palm, Loki sighed quietly. Once the tightness of emotion left her throat and she could speak again, Annalise gazed up at him.

"We're going to figure this out. We're going to get through this, Loki."

He smirked down at his bossy conquest.

"Yes, darling."