Asta was nervous. She had never been on a mission before. But this was a huge one, and one with the possibility of a lot of injuries. It made sense to bring their resident healer with them.

Loki, of course, was completely against it and made his feelings known just a few hours before.

"Absolutely not!" he bellowed at the meeting. "She's not experienced in combat!"

"And if we need her?" Tony argued.

"Then we just don't need her. Be more careful out there!"

Tony's face grew even more serious. "You think I like the idea of putting her in danger? But I trust her, Elsa. Do you?"

Loki slammed his hands on the table as he stood. "Don't you dare question my faith in my wife!"

Asta had enough at this point. "Will the both of you shut up? You do realize that I'm sitting right here? Look, am I thrilled about being on the battlefield? No. But am I willing to do so to keep my friends, my family, my husband as safe as I can? Of course! Now, I appreciate your concern, both of you, but I am a grown woman who is completely capable of speaking for myself!"

Both Loki and Tony looked sheepish.

Loki sat back down and grabbed her hand. "I'm so sorry, darling. Of course, you're right. I just worry about you."

Asta rolled her eyes. "I was already aware. Both of you are idiots, you know that, right?"

Tony ran a hand through his hair. "Ok, well, now that Doctor Who has made her feelings quite clear, let's finish this up and get ready to go."

She rested a hand on Loki's rapidly bouncing knee. It slowed, but did not stop for the rest of the meeting.

Finally, the team went to their rooms to change. Loki's battle armor appeared as soon as he walked through the door, horned helmet under his arm.

Asta grinned. "Well, there's one upside to going on a mission." She added a slow whistle and a wink.

"Flattery will get you nowhere, darling," he muttered.

"Now, that's rarely true." Asta went to the closet and pulled out her new battle suit. She began to undress very deliberately to catch his attention. "And I see no reason to not compliment my husband and the way he looks in… mmmm, leather and metal."

Loki raised an eyebrow.

Asta half shrugged and finished removing the last of her clothes. "That's how we like it on Asgard. Is it not?"

He rolled his eyes as he placed the helmet on the bed. "I know what you're doing."

"I'm not doing anything but appreciating the way my husband's armor fits him. And highlights his… assets."

"You're trying to distract me."

"Am I?" she asked, batting her eyes. "I thought I was just getting ready for the mission." She began to pull on the suit that Tony designed for her.

Loki huffed. "Come here, darling."

She walked over and he grabbed the zipper of her suit. He pulled it up and looked at her with a serious gaze. Grabbing her chin, he spoke very deliberately. "Asta, I need you to listen to me."

The gravity that he called her Asta and not a nickname did not escape her.

"I care only about your safety today. Please, please use caution."

She took a deep breath. "Loki, don't forget, I can heal myself as well as others. We're all going to be fine and then we'll come back here, alien ass effectively kicked, and pretend like this mess never happened."

He released her chin. "Fine. But remember, you can heal, not resurrect. And that goes for any of us."

"I understand, my prince. Now, let's get moving, Major Laufeyson."

"Did you call me that just to outrank Rogers and Barnes?"

"Maaaaybe."

"Gods, I love you so much."

"And I love you as well."

He pulled her head towards him and rested his forehead to hers. "Also, I loathe admitting it, but this suit is amazing. It compliments you in many ways."

Asta blushed a bit. "Well, you know it's loaded with safety features, but yeah, I think I look damn good in it as well."

"I'm inclined to agree. The color looks good on you. Though, I would have preferred to see you in green."

"Well, beggars cannot be choosers. Pink matches my powers, apparently."

"At least Tony favors safety slightly above aesthetics. Slightly."

"Well, for me, Mom and Morgan he does. Now, do you think you can behave yourself out there? Let us both do our jobs and then get out?"

"I shall try to do my best with all of this."

"Do, or do not. There is no try."

"Quoting Yoda will get you nowhere as well, love."

"Fine." She went onto her tiptoes and kissed him, pulling him down a bit as she deepened the kiss. Finally, when they broke apart, she winked. "See? I'll be careful. I've got this to come home to."

Asta slid back down his body and watched his eyes darken.

Loki licked his lips. "Mmmm, I absolutely cannot wait to get home and peel this suit off of you. Inch…" Kiss. "By…" Kiss. "Inch."

"Nicely done with the motivation, my love. And if I just happen to use those horns to guide you around?"

His smirk matched the naughtiness in his eyes. "Then that will be the greatest purpose they could ever serve."

Asta took a calming breath. "Ok, we should probably turn down the banter. Otherwise, we won't leave."

"I can't say that I care much anymore, darling."

"Oh, come on. Let's go save the world, come back here, and celebrate the best way we know how."

"I'm already planning on how many different ways I intend on taking you once we return."

"And I'm already planning on enjoying it." Asta picked up the helmet, placed it on his head, and smiled. She took one horn in her hand and tugged. "Might as well practice a little. Let's go, your highness."

Loki growled his approval as he allowed her to lead him. "As my princess wishes."

The flight to the fortress was quiet. And the silence made Asta's nerves all the worse. But as they neared, the plane was suddenly under attack.

Clint sat up. "I guess there's no need to knock; they apparently already know we're here."

Natasha yelled from the cockpit. "Everyone hold on tight! This definitely won't be a comfortable landing."

Once the plane hit the ground hard, everyone piled out the back. It was then that Asta noticed just who they were fighting.

"The Chitauri?!" she and Loki screeched together.

"Do you know them?" Steve asked.

"They're a hell of a lot more powerful than you let on," Asta growled.

Even Thor looked nervous. "This race has no fear of death and they are incredibly dangerous!"

Tony took off and spoke through his comm. "So what you're saying is that the intel was a little off?"

Asta sighed. "What I'm saying is that we're exceedingly under prepared for this." She turned to her husband. "Loki, what do you know of the Chitauri? Do you have any dealings with them that could help?"

He looked pale. "Not personally, but I have heard of them. This is going to be immensely more difficult than we originally thought. The Chitauri are ruthless at best."

"And at worst?" Clint asked as he shot to his left without looking.

Loki took a small turn and looked above them. "Let's not dwell on worst."

Tony landed by the team. "Ok, cats and kittens, all that smoke over there is where the majority seems to be. They really liked firing at me. There's a fortress to the east and I scanned about 20 in there. They didn't exactly put out the welcome mat either."

"Nor will they," Loki said. Asta had never seen him this concerned. "Barton, any arrows with explosives?"

"It's almost exclusively all I brought."

"Good. You'll need them. Stark, the bigger the charge you send, the better. Thor, you know what we're up against. Use everything at your disposal. Rogers, Barnes, and Banner? I suggest smashing anything in your path. Romanoff, headshots only. Wanda and Vision, concentrate any magic. Nothing dispersed, or you'll only aggravate them more than they already are. This will need to be entirely a shoot to kill mission. The Chitauri will show no mercy at all."

Tony stood a little straighter. "Ok, folks, you heard Snape. We're in this to win this. Failure is not an option. Doctor?"

Asta shook herself a bit. "Hmmm?"

"This is baptism by fire and I really apologize for that. This isn't how I wanted your first mission to look. Stay as far from the fray as you can and only come in if we need you. If you do have to come close, keep your bubble up. Got it?"

She nodded. "Please be careful, all of you."

Steve put his shield on his arm. "Avengers, let's go."

End note: Gold star to anyone who found the Tom Hiddleston quote!