Shh Shh, Birthday Surprises

[manofmanylegends]

WHO: Open to Residents of Heropa #035
WHERE: Heropa #035
WHEN: December 21
WHAT: It's Mighty Max's birthday. Norman and Duncan team up to surprise him.
WARNINGS: To be updated as necessary.

Prompts in comments below.

Comments

For Duncan and Max

[manofmanylegends]

[On the morning of Mighty Max's birthday, Norman is up fairly early and standing in the kitchen as if he's got some kind of battle plan. He might not yet have spoken to Duncan about the surprise he wants to make, but Max still isn't up and about. So there's still time to work out some plans right now; it doesn't need to be large, it could just be the three of them.

That in mind, Norman's expression is serious and determined, but his eyes seem to gleam with a kind of excitement. He then whips out his communicator and decides to call Max—having another set of hands can't hurt. It'll still be a small shindig anyway.]

[inchesofevil]

[Duncan is not yet aware of the meaning behind today's date. So when he walks into the kitchen to get his morning coffee started, and sees Norman standing there with an air about him like someone ready to ride off into battle, he is mildly surprised by this. He stops short, blinks, stares at Norman.]

...You're up early.

[not exactly the thing he wants to call out, but it's the least presumptuous way to prompt an explanation. Duncan himself is only up this early because of work, so in his opinion anybody being awake at this time voluntarily must have something going on.]

[manofmanylegends]

I am. [A very pleased confirmation. Yes, he iiiiiiis up early.] Gonna get started working on a little somethi—

[He interrupts himself to greet Max on the communicator. Here, his conversation includes the following words: Mighty One, birthday, and surprise. After he gets Max's support, he hangs up and turns to Duncan.]

Oops. Sorry about that; I was saying, it's the Mighty One's birthday. Doesn't seem like he's looking forward to it, so I think it'd be nice to work on a little surprise. It could just be you, me, the other Max, and the Mighty One; pretty small get-together. [Norman seems pretty pumped about this.] Whaddya say, care to help me out?

[inchesofevil]

[Duncan's not rude enough to demand Norman's attention while he's on the phone. He puts the conversation on pause to go get coffee started while he waits for the call to wrap up. But those key words catch his attention, and once he's done with the coffee, he turns expectantly to Norman, a little less patient about having to wait now that he has some idea what this is about.

The confirmation and following request get a look of Determination.]. Abso-fucking-lutely.

[He's got a sister around Max's age, so he fell very easily into the role of big brother and part of that is making sure birthdays are good ones. Norman's got his full cooperation.]

What's the plan?

[manofmanylegends]

Holding a little shindig here, just us and the other Max. Casual dinner things, a cake, some decorations... [The Mighty One hasn't outgrown balloons, right?] Nothing over the top, you know.

[Considering some of the more recent things that have happened, like the power swap...] Besides, I was thinking he might need a little pick-me-up.

[inchesofevil]

Yeah, no kidding. [hell, he could use a pick-me-up, being stuck in this place away from everything he knows. He's sure that goes double for a kid, even one as smart and mature as Max.]

[he leans a hand on the counter as he starts talking, mostly thinking through the planning out loud.]

Well, I can cook, but for a birthday shindig you're probably going to want to order a pizza. I can handle the cake, though, as long as cake mix is still a thing here.

Maybe download a couple movies. [he means it in the same vein as renting movies, but physical media movie rental hasn't been a thing since he was a baby.] See if any of his favourites exist here, and if not get some recs for things he might like.

1/2

[manofmanylegends]

[Looking beside himself with excitement, Norman puts this all down on a mental checklist.]

Sure. [He glances around before plucking up a pad of paper and pen that were sitting beside the kitchen land line.] We'll get down stuff we need, I'll head out to grab things and see what other ideas Max has in mind.

[Hm, there have to be other ways to distinguish the two Maxes from each other, but it's probably obvious who Norman is talking about with the way he normally addresses the Mighty One.]

[manofmanylegends]

[Once they've got most of the other things they need—Norman doesn't want to call for pizza too early—and Max has shown up, it's simply a matter of decking the place out.]

Later on, for Duncan and Max; time to surprise Mighty Max

[manofmanylegends]

[At long last, everything's nicely set up. Mighty Max might not be so keen on celebrating his birthday, but maybe this little surprise will change his mind.

Turning to Duncan and Max after looking over their hard work,]

So, I think we're good. You?

[timecapture]

We're good!

[There Max's present was, neatly wrapped. She didn't care that Christmas was just around the corner; what mattered was that the other Max had his birthday, and like hell was she going to miss this. She just hoped he liked what she got him.]

[inchesofevil]

[Duncan pretty much skipped out on work to help get this thing together. The perks of being your own boss! (He'll probably make that time up over the weekend anyway.)

He's got his own gift for Max wrapped and sitting on the table, along with a simple but passable cake with the appropriate number of candles. Unlit at the moment, of course.]

Yup, we're good.

[he takes a seat, half-perched on the arm of the couch.] Hopefully he's not the type who hates surprises. I'm trusting you on that, big guy. [pointed look toward Norman. it's good-natured, though.]

[manofmanylegends]

[With a laugh,] Depends on the surprise. Nah, I'm sure he'll like this one.

[Arms crossed over his chest, he surveys everything once again and nods. There's a small smile on his face, and it's just a matter of time before the Mighty One shows up.]

[timecapture]

I sure hope he does!

[Name-twin sounds like he's had a hard time, and Max really wants this day to be happy. He hella deserves a break.]

[inchesofevil]

[he nods to Max, turning his attention toward her]

So how do you know him, anyway?

[this is his first time meeting her, and she seems cool so far, but you know he's gotta take an interest in his not-little-bro's friends to make sure they're a good crowd.]