#c: kitemanxhellyeah

Ever since getting the definitive news about Bruce, Steph had found it difficult to stop crying. Something small would remind her of him, something seemingly insignificant, and she’d find herself tearing up all over again. 

In all of the confusion and subsequent fallout, there hadn’t been any opportunity for her to reach out to Chuck until now. She’d agreed to meet for breakfast, a meal Steph was definitely not inclined to turn down, and showed up with her hair neatly braided to one side. She had a class to teach later. Finally she was getting back to a normal schedule, in spite of her vigilante life being (in a way, quite literally) up in the air. 

But she wanted to see him. By now, she knew he had to have heard about what happened to Bruce. Everyone knew. Bruce wasn’t her adopted father, she wasn’t part of the family in the way that Tim was, but she was still Batgirl. She was still one of them. “Hey,” she said softly, smiling faintly a she sat across from him and let her bag drop on the floor. “Sorry I’m a little late.”

“What are you doing out here, Chuck?” Rick’s voice was stern even though he knew they were the same age. “Staying out of trouble, I hope.” Chuck’s antics might be laughed at by the majority of people at ARGUS, but they didn’t really know what he was about. After working with plenty of so-called villains, Rick was more aware of what even the lesser known figures were capable of. 

Of course he knew all about Charlie. That was all in his file. He found it unfortunate, but it had also been a reason to discourage Waller from ever considering Chuck for Task Force X. No one on the Suicide Squad could be called stable, but Chuck’s issues went beyond anything Rick knew how to deal with. He could reason with most people, that was his job, but handling trauma went beyond his pay grade. It wouldn’t do anyone any good.

Seeing Chuck at the riots made Steph’s heart sink for two reasons. She hadn’t worked up the courage to talk him yet. There was the very real possibility that he wouldn’t take the news well, or might be dismissive of it entirely, and she’d learned a long time ago that family couldn’t be counted on. She wasn’t prepared to be disappointed again.

The second reason was pure concern. As soon as she caught sight of him, Steph weaved her way through the crowd and caught up at the next block. Out of breath, she fell into step beside him with an awkward grimace. “Hey! Uh. It’s Stephanie. Stephanie Brown. Remember me? We flew the kites, uh... a while ago. It was a while ago. It’s cool if you don’t remember. I figured you might not.” She gestured to the cowl awkwardly. “I’m Batgirl, by the way.” That was public knowledge now. It was still a weird concept to get used to. “I’m not here to cause a fight or anything, I just... do you have, like, five minutes?”

Harley was one of the few people who not only acknowledged Charlie, but had full blown conversations with him. Chuck was a little off his rocker, but it was impossible not to feel bad about what happened to his kid. A little guilty, even. Making faces at thin air would look psycho to anyone walking by, but she didn't care. 

Scrunching up her nose, she ruffled imaginary hair and then stuck a bag against Chuck's chest. "I got 'im a happy meal!" The toys were superheroes. Go figure. "Told 'im that they gotta get my best bud Charlie the best toy they got in stock."