Charlie still had no idea who Luke was; he had only heard stories of the Battle of Manhattan, the thing with the Titans, and he was glad it was something he missed. "Yeah, I didn't think he would show up. I thought he might be too busy with the sun, but I'm really, really glad he came."

It was the highlight of his birthday, really. Charlie wanted nothing more than to get to know his other dad and getting the chance to have him there for such an important day had warmed his heart.

Charlie trailed off into silence. That pretty much covered the small talk. The only thing he could think to mention was the weather, but he knew that was dumb too.

So he did the only thing he could thing he could think of.

He took a deep breath, removing his hands from his pockets, and walked up to Eponine. His wide brown eyes looked up into her face, scrutinizing her.

Then he reached out and hugged her. No hitting, just hugging. "I love you, Ep. I'm glad you're still here."