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Taika Williams is not a stupid man. Being the brawn does not exclude one from having a brain, or a working set of social skills. So it was when Emi told him not to tell anyone about Jason's upcoming birthday that he realised two things. Firstly, that the surprise party he wanted to plan was a no-go; secondly, that Jason absolutely needed someone who wasn't immediate family, or someone trying to kill him. Eventually, him and Farrah hatched a plan. She would keep the rest of the family (mostly Emi, in all honesty) out of Jason's hair, while Taika executed the rest of the plot.
The hardest part was sneaking into the pantry. He crept into the kitchen as quietly as he could, but not even an aura as strong as Jason's could sneak by a mother who knows that someone is getting into something they shouldn't. Behind him, Erika cleared her throat.
“What are you doing?” She asked. Taika flinched, recognising the tone.
“Hey, Erika! Uh- I didn't know you were still here.” He looked between her and the boxes in his hands, panicked.
“I had to get some things done here. I hope you aren't doing anything with those.” She raised an intimidating eyebrow at him and he knew he had to say something fast.
“It's for Jason!” He shoved the words out of his mouth, in an attempt to curb her wrath. It worked. She sighed, a conflicted expression settling on her face.
“You heard about his birthday, then?” She reached for the boxes, and Taika handed them to her and nodded.
“Emi told me. You should probably tell her to leave the ‘leave Jason alone’ stuff to everyone else though? I didn't even know that was coming up until she told me not to tell anyone. She thought I already knew.” He shrugged. Erika nodded and chewed at her lip.
“Yeah… Emi means well, she does, she just…” She was talking with her hands, waving the boxes around and almost smoking Taika a few times. “Sometimes, she says or does things without really knowing all the information.”
“Like her uncle?”
“Like her uncle.” Erika laughed. Tucking the boxes into her arm, she reached into them and took out a packet from each. “Here, take this one for Jason. It's his favourite” She said, handing one of them to Taika. “And this one is for you.” An odd look crossed her face, somehow both glad and worried. He took them both gratefully and scurried to the kitchen proper to prepare them.
“Actually…” She rubbed her chin thoughtfully.
“Bro, you aren't about to tell me I can't have these, right?” If she had been planning on it, the pleading look was enough to dissuade her.
“No. Even if it wasn't for my brother, I wouldn't be able to. I wouldn't have the heart. You've been good to Uncle Hiro, to us.” Erika walked to the freezer, while Taika stood in silent contemplation.
“He was good to me first, you know? I mean, I don't even want to think about where I’d be without him.” He laughed, the sound only a little forced. He saw her shoulders slump. She reached into the concerningly bare freezer and pulled out a cardboard bowl. It stuck to his warm fingers as she placed it in the hand without the packets, and put a hand on his forearm in much the same way she would to her brothers.
“If you need anything, please let me know. You're family, just as much as anyone else.” She dropped her hand and, after a quick glance back, left him to prepare Jason's birthday treats. It took him a few minutes to get his head back under control.
Tap, tap, tap. Taika knocked on the door to Jason's room, which vanished to let him in. He stepped inside, and the door re-materialised behind him. Staring at the ceiling sprawled across a comfortable looking loveseat was a Jason who was looking the worse for wear.
“You good, bro? You're looking rough.” Taika sat on the cloud chair, closer to Jason's head than his feet. He tucked his bagged cargo on the floor beside the seat, out of Jason's sight.
“Ah, yeah. Y'know. There's a handful of government entities who want my head, as well as several otherworldly ones. Both of my worlds are in danger of being destroyed. No idea if my friends are even still alive. And on top of all that-” He spun around so he was sitting up and facing Taika “I can't help enough people. There's always someone who dies, someone I couldn't save, and all anyone who can help them is concerned with is stupid power plays.” He lapsed back into sullen silence and sank back down, now laying fully on his back. Taika shifted in his seat, trying to figure what to say to the man before him so on edge.
“You're only one man, bro. You can't fix everything by yourself, and trying that is only going to make things worse.” He leaned forward, elbows on his knees, to look Jason directly in his alien eyes. “You can't solve something like this on your own. Trust me, I've tried. Well, not on this scale obviously, but-” He jumped backwards in his seat as Jason shot up.
“What's that smell?”
“You can cancel the whole ‘I don't need to breathe’ thing?”
“I can do a lot of things, Taika. Being left in suspense is not one of them.” Taika thought he looked like a concentrated puppy, clearly doing a job, but looking oddly adorable while doing so. The look made him laugh, even if there was something dark hidden behind it.
“Happy birthday! Early birthday, I guess.” He said while reaching to his stash. A plain vanilla mug cake, with a fork sticking out of it. Jason's eyes widened when he saw it. He reached out tentatively, as if it would disappear at his touch. Taika crossed the distance and wrapped Jason's hands around the mug.
“Where did you…” He let the question hang as he stared down at it. It was still warm, having only been prepared a few minutes previous.
“The kitchen. It's a good thing your sister isn't a ‘shoot first, ask questions later’ type, though. She scares me.” They both shuddered, thinking about the potential of an angry Erika. Jason looked down again, this time clearly conflicted.
“I shouldn't- I don't need this. I can eat spirit coins. We're in a food shortage, this should be saved for someone who can't-” The rambling was stopped by a giant hand placed over his mouth. This thoroughly shocked Jason. Despite his supernatural instincts, he hadn't expected that.
“Bro, I think the guy who's trying to save the world deserves a birthday cake.” He removed his hand and, upon seeing that Jason's protests had ended, clasped his own mug with both hands. “Do you want me to sing the birthday song? Because I can totally-”
“No, it's fine.” Jason gave a breath of a laugh. “Vanilla. The finest of the flavours.”
“I prefer chocolate, myself.”
“Isn't that cannibalism?”
“Wha- oh.” Taika was confused until Jason gestured him up and down, indicating his skin. The bowl was last to leave the bag, the wax lined cardboard feeling uncomfortably soft.
“What's that?”
“One more thing, Erika said you'd appreciate it.” The frozen dumpling soup was now warm. Jason froze. For a second, Taika was worried that he'd messed up and upset his friend. His fears were assuaged when Jason took the spoon with a barely trembling hand.
“I- a good friend of mine and I would eat this a lot, back in the other world. I miss him.” A few bites. “I miss all of them.” Taika had elected to not say anything, filling his mouth with microwaved mug cake instead of words. They continued eating in silence, with only the occasional appreciative hum and sad sigh breaking the silence. Several minutes passed as such. Eventually, after both of them had finished, Taika stood up.
“Guess I should let you brood in peace.”
“I was not brooding.”
“Sure, bro. Whatever you say.”
“I wasn't!” Jason huffed. Taika moved to take the dishes from him, and he cooperated.
“Taika?”
“Yeah?”
“Thank you. I didn't think anyone would do anything.” He was laying across his seat again, this time facing Taika while talking to him.
“When is your actual birthday anyways? Emi just told me that it was coming up soon, and not to tell anyone.” A real laugh came from Jason at that.
“April first. I know what you're going to say- no April Fool's jokes. I happen to be a very serious person, and not a fool at all.”