Bright sunlight hit Anja's face. She barely opened her eyes, squinting in the light for a moment before she rolled over, trying to go back to sleep. She expected to turn into Loki's chest, but instead was met with an empty space. She blinked groggily a few times in a confusion. She had fallen asleep in his arms after a night of passion, perfectly content. It had been the break from reality she had so desperately needed.

She sat up slightly to glance around the room. The vast bed the two of them shared was empty. Anja could see where he had been sleeping, and the blanket had been thrown back towards her, as if he had gotten up for some reason. She turned away from the bed and looked at the rest of the room. It was just as empty as the bed, so she laid back down and got comfortable once again. Loki was probably just using the bathroom or something.

Anja closed her eyes, willing herself to go back to sleep. She was surprised she had slept so well for it being her first night in the palace. She attributed that to having Loki with her, as normally she slept horribly in new places. Hell, even places familiar with her often caused her to toss and turn the first night. More importantly, even though the sun was up, she wasn't ready to start her day. As far as she was concerned, it was too early to be awake, even if she didn't have a clock to determine what time it was. If someone needed her to be up, they could wake her.

Just as she started to doze back off, she heard the room's door open and close again. Looked like she wasn't going to be getting any extra sleep after all. Anja sat up, stretching her arms as she turned to see who may have entered the room unannounced.

Her eyes fell on the person in question, and was relieved to see it was just Loki. He was walking towards her, already fully dressed in his armor. Anja was a little disappointed about that, but said nothing as she got out of bed to meet him. A few paces later, she greeted him with a tight hug.

"I didn't mean to wake you," Loki started, hugging her back.

"You didn't. The sun did," Anja assured. "I'm used to those fancy blackout curtains keeping out all offensive light."

"I'll look into getting some for you," he said. "I apologize for leaving you this morning. There was something I needed to go pick up."

That confused Anja a bit. They had only been home for less than a day; what could he possibly have to pick up? "Oh? What was it?"

Loki nodded, and released her from the embrace. "Well, I have some important news to share with you first," he started, a smile on his face. "Before I came to bed last night, I had a talk with Thor."

She was a little surprised he hadn't mentioned this chat last night, but in all fairness, she had distracted him with her body. That was a good enough reason to not bring anything of importance up then. It would've ruined the moment and all that.

Anja raised an eyebrow curiously. "Alright. What about?"

"I told him about our plans to bring in the rest of the Avengers, and he is all for it," Loki started. "We are to break the news to Stark at breakfast."

Anja nodded. That was some good news, not that she thought Thor would be against it. Thor generally was open to discussing allegiances and setting aside differences if it meant something for the greater good. She was admittedly a bit nervous about dealing with the rest of the team again, but she too was willing to put that aside if it meant Thanos could be defeated once and for all. Hopefully Tony felt the same way. "Anything else?" she asked.

A smirk slowly formed on Loki's face. "Well, there was one other thing," he started. "Something far more life-altering than working with the old team."

That piqued her interest. "And what is that?"

"I'd tell you to kneel before your king, but that wouldn't be very polite, now would it?" Loki replied slyly.

There was a dirty joke in there, but that wasn't what got Anja's attention. "King? I thought Thor was king?" she asked.

Loki continued to smirk. "He will be. We have come to an agreement in which we will rule together. He seems to think that we balance out each other's weaknesses and that dual leadership will be beneficial to everyone."

That was a good point. Loki and Thor were two sides of the same coin, and the more time Anja spent around them, the more she saw it. Having both of them in a position of power could definitely work out. It put the men on a level playing field for once in their lives, and Anja hoped it was the start of them getting along once again.

Anja looked up at Loki and smiled before hugging him tightly once again. "Congrats, Loki," she replied. "I'm so happy for you. You're going to be an amazing king."
   
"Thank you, love," he answered. "This brings me to what I had to go pick up."
   
Loki pulled away from her slightly, and Anja nearly protested the loss of his frame against her. She watched him carefully as he raised his right hand off to their side. A few agonizing seconds passed before a small, intricately braided gold and emerald circlet materialized in his palm, something that both confused and concerned Anja.
   
"Uh... Loki? What is that?" she questioned, her voice betraying how nervous she actually was as she stared at the piece of jewelry.
   
"Oh, this? It's a circlet, a tiara," he answered, holding it up for her to get a better look at it. "As the future queen of New Asgard, I thought it was only fair you got to wear something to show your status."
   
Anja blinked a few times, not sure how she should react to that statement. "Wait... future queen? You mean-"
   
"-yes, min kjære," Loki interrupted her. He took a deep breath, and for a brief moment, Anja swore she saw some nervousness cross his features. It was unusual, as more often than not, he exuded confidence. To see even a glimpse of anything else, even after these past few months, shocked her. "I... I don't want to think of not having you in my life. Taking the position of king will present its own challenges," he smirked slightly, "and, well, I want you by my side through it all."
   
Anja stared at the trickster in astonishment, watching as Loki's face became more stoic. She could tell he was starting to close off to her, and she hurriedly spoke up, trying to get her thoughts together. "Oh, Loki. I... I don't know what to say."
   
"I see. My feelings must feel very rushed and insincere to you," Loki drawled, his face drawing into a sneer. "I apologize, Anja."
   
"Oh, shush you," Anja grumbled, making Loki look at her in shock. "If I was afraid of rushing things with you, we sure as hell wouldn't have had sex after Jotunheim. I just... I was surprised." She paused for a moment, trying to find the right words to say as to not hurt his feelings further. "I've had strong feelings for you for quite some time now, and I wasn't expecting you to feel the same. I'm mortal. Insignificant in the grand scheme of your life." She was frowning as she spoke up to the god, trying her hardest to not let any more tears swell in her eyes.
   
"Now it's you who should cease speaking," Loki growled, closing the distance between them again as he tilted her chin up to look into his emerald eyes. "You are in no way insignificant! I have every intention of keeping you, and I will find a way to extend your lifespan. I want you by my side."
   
Anja huffed and held back her happy tears. She reached up and rubbed her nose against his playfully and pecked a small kiss to his lips. "I look forward to a long life with you then, my king. Now, put that tiara on me and let's make this a party."
   
"As you wish, my queen," Loki purred, putting the circlet gently upon her head. "It suits you." He paused for a moment. "Officially you'll be a consort until we wed, but... technicalities."
   
Anja felt the weight of the metal on her head as it settled between strands of her hair. That weight was minuscule compared to the weight of ruling that would soon be on her shoulders. "I suppose this means I should actually take some care in my appearance now," she replied, smiling up at him. "No more jeggings and tank tops."
   
"I wouldn't go that far; I quite like those on you," he countered. Loki paused for a moment, pushing some of her hair behind her ear. "However, I have arranged for a couple pieces to be made for you."
   
"Pieces, huh? Like jewelry or clothing?" Anja inquired.
   
Loki shrugged. "Perhaps a bit of both. You'll just have to wait and see."
   
She smiled. "Hm, I suppose I can do that."
   
"You won't have to wait long," Loki assured. "But in the meantime, you should probably get ready for breakfast."
   
Anja nodded slowly, pulling away from him reluctantly. "I should," she sighed. "Guessing it's going to be more eventful than a usual breakfast. Tony is going to be less than thrilled about our planned meeting with Steve and the others."
   
Loki rolled his eyes. "Most of us aren't thrilled but realize it is for the best. Stark will have to get over himself," he answered.
   
Anja crossed the room to where her bags still sat. She hadn't bothered to unpack yet. Despite Loki insisting that someone would unpack for her if she wanted, Anja still felt incredibly weird about having someone else doing things for her. She supposed if she was to one day be queen, she would have to get used to the thought. Apparently the royal family had handmaidens and servants for a lot of things. But for now, she was just regular, old Anja, and she was going to unpack herself. Eventually.
   
She rummaged through her bag, trying to find anything that wouldn't clash with her new tiara. "Psh, you've met Tony," she replied. "You know that's going to be next to impossible."
   
Loki sighed. "True."
   
Anja pulled a black dress out of her bag, momentarily wondering why she had brought it to space. Then she remembered that she had just packed whatever she had brought to Tony's and whatever had been in her room's closet. Just in case. She stood up, holding the dress up to her. "Think this is okay?" she asked.
   
Her boyfriend nodded. "More than okay," he answered, a smirk forming on his face once again. "Now hurry up and get ready before I decide to skip breakfast for something much more enjoyable."
   
Anja shook her head and smiled. "Don't tempt me."
   
Loki said nothing to this, so Anja took it as her cue to get changed, a smile still tugging at her lips. Things were going to likely get a bit chaotic, but Anja felt strangely calm about all of it. The world was going to hell, but so long as she had Loki, Anja was more than comfortable watching the world burn. The old team, Thanos, all of the drama... while it stressed her out, she knew somehow she was going to be okay. They'd get through it.

As for being future queen? She didn't know a damn thing about ruling, but she'd learn. She knew Loki would show her all the ins and outs of what would be expected of her. Anja remembered all the years she spent with Layla and Spencer pretending to be their favorite Disney princesses as kids, and now she was going to skip right on over that and be queen. It was scary, but oh so exciting.

Big changes were on the horizon, but as long as she was with Loki, she was home.