This is a combination/reworking of two requests: one from Niendil from ages ago, and one from Lucindh recently. I hope you both enjoy!

Loki seldom felt exhaustion, though his mental faculties often suffered from the over-exertion of constant self-editing. He refrained from constant snipes, complaints and biting remarks when in the presence of any mortals. Thor repeatedly insisted that mortals were more mentally durable than Loki was willing to admit, but the trickster had his doubts. He also saw no reason to test capacity for insult against certain mortals. Specifically, those whom Lynn held affection for.

She had explained the activity to the best of her ability, with words which meant little when strewn together: talent and show, middle school and moral support. As always, Loki said nothing as she explained the entire concept to him, and she had left the conversation thinking that he understood her meanings from beginning to end.

He understood the basic gist. A series of activities put on by young, untalented children to the delight of their adoring parents who pretended as though the entire endeavor was not painful. Perhaps there was a talented child among the lot who would show them all that this was not a worthless waste of time. Loki hoped at least one child would not be a massive disappointment to their entire species.

He hoped that child would also be Lynn's foster sister.

Lynn had spent a painful evening explaining the foster system to Loki – painful because the trickster fundamentally misunderstood the intention of the entire program. That such a program had to exist, at such a large scale, confused the Asgardian prince. He had never heard of such systems in the other realms, and found Lynn's explanations more and more confusing until she gave up and handed him a set of books borrowed from the library.

He'd found himself completely taken in, navigating a complex legal web which claimed to serve the children within the system but ultimately seemed too confused to serve the majority of those trapped in its snare. Lynn had told him of some of the foster homes she'd been forced to inhabit, providing deeper context to her attachment to the kind and relatively accepting Turners. She willingly maintained a relationship with them, even speaking to Mrs. Turner every week or so. Mrs. Turner's original illness had driven Lynn from their household the first time, and its return now ate away at her until her stress showed in the dark circles coating her lower eyelids.

She never indicated her distress outside of an occasional need for total solitude, often interrupted by Stark and his never-ending insistence on daily contact. Eventually Loki approached Thor about the added strain this brought to Lynn's life, and it was Thor who spoke with Stark directly and made an arrangement to use the digital creature in Lynn's walls to provide silent, non-invasive updates during the times when Lynn refused all company. He had not mentioned this to Lynn, but she commented after one such time-frame on Tony's absence. Loki surmised that perhaps Stark had learned a modicum of respect for personal space, which turned out to be the incorrect lie – Lynn had immediately contacted her benefactor and insisted on an explanation, and when she heard it, said nothing further on the matter.

Loki liked to think he was above sensitivity and other emotional needs, but he found himself wishing for even a moment of expressed gratitude. The silent acceptance stung, and he worried that Lynn had taken offence, thinking another choice stolen from her by those she tried to trust.

The circles under her eyes lessened regardless. He said nothing to remind her.

Now he stood quietly at the roadside outside of a squat, depressingly rectangular building which would supposedly house the large mass of humans wandering inside in both comfort and safety. He felt affirmed when Thor, standing just beside him, made a quiet sound of disapproval at the sight of an older human woman tugging at one of the few entryways, only to find the barrier locked from the inside. She joined the line at the door next to it, and Loki glanced at Thor just in time to see the thunder god grimace.

"It is completely safe, I'm sure," Loki said. He slanted his eyes in Thor's direction and was rewarded with an aggrieved and somewhat frustrated expression.

"I'm sure," the thunderer said. "Where is Lynn?"

"She instructed me to stand in this spot, specifically. With no deviation. Those were her words, verbatim."

Thor sighed. "And so we wait, cloaked and unseen." Loki scoffed.

"We are not cloaked."

"No?" Thor watched the thinning crowd with more interest. "We are visible to these mortals?"

"I am not repeating myself," Loki said.

Thor had perked up, now content to watch those spectators who milled and hung back. Loki watched him for several moments, curious about his abrupt interest in the crowd. As more attendees walked past without a single comment in Thor's direction, Loki considered how rarely the thunderer appeared in public and was not recognized by at least a dozen excitable humans.

"Admiring your works, brother?" Loki chuckled at Thor's beaming look. Lately, the Æsir seemed impervious to earnest teasing, and Loki had lost his taste for outright bitterness centuries ago. Loki left Thor to his musings and turned, seeking out the small mortal who'd asked him to come in the first place. He spotted her before she saw him, distracted as she was by the younger woman bounding around her waist.

Lynn had described her foster family often enough that he felt an immediate sense of recognition for them. She had also shown him several pictures, which he had studied in her sleeping hours, memorizing the faces of the people who held at least some portion of Lynn's heart. Her outright affection for this family never ceased to amaze the trickster, who struggled to even clasp his brother's hand. The thought of receiving a gesture of affection from his father caused Loki's inner hackles to rise, and his mother was the only family member who could touch him at all without sparking an immediate shift away from the offending hand.

He thought of all of this as he watched the younger woman grab at Lynn's hand, loop her arm around the older woman's, lean her head on Lynn's shoulder. The older sister was not present; she was away at college in another state, putting her too far away to attend the younger sister's talent show presentation. The middle child was away at some sort of school-related activity. The same was not true for either parent. Mrs. Turner wore a paisley scarf around her thinned hair and Mr. Turner wore a hostile expression.

Lynn smiled when she saw both Asgardians, raising a hand in greeting. The younger girl shrank back slightly, her eyes widening when she saw Thor. Lynn tugged her hand from the girl's arm and offered both arms for a hug. Thor happily swept her up, making the small woman yelp in surprise and laugh.

"Put me down! We're behaving today," she said. Thor set her gently on her feet and offered an arm to Mr. Turner, who took only the hand in a traditional mortal gesture.

"A pleasure to meet you all," Thor boomed. "Lynn speaks highly of your family."

"Thank you," Mrs. Turner said. "She speaks highly of you to us." She almost managed to finish the statement without glancing at Loki, nearly finished without a slight stutter of hesitation. He admired her resolve.

"I guess I'm supposed to introduce you guys," Lynn said. She looked happy, amused. The younger girl had emerged from behind her to gawk at both of them. Loki raised both eyebrows and peered back at her until Lynn nudged her.

"Hello Loki," Mr. Turner said. He didn't quite scowl and he didn't quite smile. Loki felt Lynn's amusement growing by the second, until suddenly she laughed and tugged at Mr. Turner's sleeve.

"Stop that," she said, still laughing. "He's fine."

"Is he?" Mr. Turner did not sound convinced.

"I was told that only my best behavior would be permitted tonight," Loki said.

"I was very stern," Lynn said. Her eyes were bright with mirth, and Loki relaxed into a warm and welcoming smile.

Mr. Turner did not seem impressed, but the younger girl offered a hand, puffing up with aspirations of adult acceptance.

"Brianne," she said, while Lynn leaned over to mutter quietly into Mrs. Turner's ear. The older woman laughed outright, then gestured for her husband to lead the way into the building. He strolled past and opened the door, allowing the women to enter. The Asgardians trailed behind. Loki passed the man, waiting to be stopped and told various and sundry threats on his life which would lead to unimaginable horrors should he violate Lynn's body or trust. Neither happened, and to his surprise Mr. Turner even smiled at the trickster, waiting until he was fully through the door before stepping in behind him.

The evening was going better than planned. Perhaps Thor's presence had been an unnecessary precaution.

Brianne led her family, Lynn, Thor and Loki to a set of seats about halfway up the center aisle. The seats were sad, plastic little things which would certainly collapse under the weight of either Asgardian. Thor looked at Loki and raised his eyebrows; Loki reached into the ether, flicked his fingers, and fortified the chairs for at least the next few hours. Come closing time, whatever poor soul attempted to lift these two folding chairs would strain themselves terribly.

"I have to go back," Brianne said. She kissed her father and mother's cheeks, squeezed Lynn's hand, and left them to their devices. Lynn leaned back in her chair, trying to find a comfortable position, and Mrs. Turner scratched her head under her bandanna.

"Does it hurt?" Loki asked, keenly aware of the stench of mortality which clung to the woman's outer fabrics. Lynn was speaking with Mr. Turner, which conveniently distracted both of them from the current conversation. Thor seemed absorbed with their surroundings, but his head never turned far enough to truly lose the thread of Loki's conversation.

"Not today," Mrs. Turner said. Thor turned his head in response to her candor, favoring her with a sympathetic frown.

"Are you in pain often?" His concern bled out into the lines of his face. Mrs. Turner nodded. She tapped the side of her chest, just above her clavicle bone.

"The chemotherapy is hard on the body," she said. Loki recognized the tone of an educator, and remembered that Mrs. Turner had once been a children's teacher.

As she explained the horrors of what ravaged her body to Thor's increasing distress, Loki watched Lynn carry a conversation with Mr. Turner. The two could clearly hear what his wife was discussing, but neither participated or otherwise commented. This was a part of mortal life, unchangeable and inevitable. They had discussed this topic already, and were able to continue life without the knowledge of what was happening to Mrs. Turner haunting every waking moment.

At least, Lynn did not appear haunted, save for the circles which never fully dissipated beneath her eyes. Mr. Turner looked somewhat gaunt, now that Loki had a moment to observe him without also having to perform, and for that matter, even young Brianne had seemed distracted by some distant thought as she pestered Lynn.

The signs were forever present. There was no reprieve from this nightmare by waking. Lynn gripped Mr. Turner's shoulder at one point, when their conversation reached a lull, and his sad smile in return reminded Loki of Odin's occasional glances at Frigga when the queen was otherwise concerned. A knowledge that he would outlive her, a moment's weakness in the face of an unstoppable future.

Loki turned his eyes to the stage when the first act started, and set his expression into one of relative boredom.

Both conversations proceeded without him on either side. On the left, Thor asked gentle but piercing questions of a patient Mrs. Turner; on his right, Lynn and Mr. Turner discussed her ongoing job with Stark Industries, and her plans on continuing with the "eccentric troublemaker," as Mr. Turner described him. Every so often, Loki caught the man eyeing him, and the urge to ask a question nearly overwhelmed both of them. Lynn always stepped into those moments with a shake of her head at whichever man needed the quiet reminder that now was not the time.

When Brianne stepped on stage in a brilliant, glittering blue dress, Loki felt Lynn tense beside him. He leaned to the side and raised his eyebrows at her, a quiet inquiry about her sudden nervousness on behalf of the younger girl.

"It's the song," she explained quietly.

"It's a bad song?" he asked. Lynn shook her head, although her expression was uncertain.

"It's…been overdone." Loki shook his head. "Overplayed? It's too popular."

"It has worn out its welcome," Loki said. Lynn laughed under her breath and nodded.

"That's exactly right," she said, as a gentle piano rift began. Dozens of audience members shifted, exchanged skeptical glances, or outright rolled their eyes. Younger children perked up.

Brianne began to sing.

The song sounded pleasant enough, inoffensive and featuring blatant allusions to snow, ice and cold winter winds. Loki considered the audience around them, Lynn's jittering leg, Brianne's earnest performance. The music swelled and rose in predictable patterns. There was a crescendo coming, and as the building began, Loki flickered his fingers against his knee.

Snowflakes, wispy and delicate, began falling throughout the auditorium. Lynn's leg froze when the first few flittered past her eyes; she looked up, then at Loki, who only smiled.

The snow strengthened along with the music, becoming a rising storm, a torrent which would be unleashed when cued. Loki watched Brianne's movements. The girl hadn't yet noticed that she had accompaniments outside of the music, but the audience had. Some children raised their hands and tried to catch the snowflakes.

The winter storm grew, gusts of wind driving the snow into patterns. Brianne had noticed by now, and used larger gestures as she danced across the stage, declaring her desire to let go of her inhibitions and unleash the full extent of her inner strength.

Loki reached into a memory and pulled forth a blast of ice which coated the stage, the floor, the windows. At such a scale, he did not bother with touch, but sound and sight carried easily and took little effort. A swirling vortex of snow gusts engulfed Brianne's figure as the young girl gave in to the might of her voice, the high note echoing off the walls and reverberating throughout the room.

The illusions collapsed a moment later as the music fell, a punctuated, abrupt end to what Loki liked to think was the highlight of most of these mortals' pitiful lives.

The applause were thunderous, Brianne glowing with baffled excitement as she bowed before leaving the stage to field questions she could not possibly answer. Mr. and Mrs. Turner sat in stunned, proud silence, and Thor snorted in amusement.

Lynn stretched from her seat to kiss his cheek, chaste and unassuming. He looked at her, her eyes shining with gratitude and wonder, and resisted the impulse to gloat. Such an action would spoil this moment, where she sat impressed, lacking fear, content.

Happy.

"Well done, brother," Thor said. Loki felt the compliment settle within him, through him, burrow deep into his core where he could not deny that hearing his brother's approval meant at least a little.

Lynn laid her head upon his shoulder, laced her fingers into his against his knee, and the trickster was content.