It was one of those nights.

Richard Grayson –leader of the Teen Titans and hero under the name "Robin"- crept out of his room, down the hallway, and towards the training room.

He couldn't sleep- Batsomnia. Insomnia that only someone who had worked with Bruce could understand. When you weren't tired- you wanted to be out doing something. When no amount of sheep could get you to close your eyes. When it got dark, and all you wanted to do was go outside, or roam the city.

While Robin might have used the time to hunt down Slade, or beat up a punching bag, it wasn't Robin that the night had woken. It was Richard. And Dick Grayson was not in the mood to stare at a wall of meaningless newspaper clippings, and give himself a headache.

Creeping past a window, Richard made no noise. He didn't want to be caught.

It was dark- too dark for the other's to be awake. Starfire would be sleeping, Cyborg would have powered down, Beastboy snores could be heard from every hallway in the house and Raven would be meditating or sleeping, and they were basically the same thing.

Richard was in a flying mood.

Not the way Starfire could fly using her superpowers or Raven could levitate herself. Certainly not the way Beast Boy could turn himself into something with wings, or the way Cyborg used technology to.

His type of flying was the kind only a Grayson could truly understand.

It was why he didn't dress in his Robin uniform –except his mask, the mask had to stay- on one of these nights. It was why he used the clothes behind the hollow wooden panel in his cupboard- Richard Grayson's clothes. The type he could wear to work out, go out or go undercover in. He kept them hidden of course; making it look like the only things he had in there were Robin uniforms, or spare masks and boots- and the utility belts of course. As far as he knew, no one but him was aware that the secret wardrobe existed.

Somehow, even though his blue eyes were still covered, Richard felt more like himself. Robin was who he was now, but Richard, the boy from the circus, still lived on if you looked for it. In a smirk, a glint in his eyes- sometimes even in a cackle that should have been a laugh.

Robi- Richard walked into the training room, grinning. He was rarely in this good a mood, and part of him noted (as it always did) that there would be hell to pay if he was disturbed by any alerts. He locked the door behind him, and Richard's gaze was drawn to the ceiling.

It was a wonder that the others never noticed the trapeze, but Dick knew they weren't trained to notice things the way he had been. He'd put it up weeks after first moving into the tower, but designed the training room to have it. The high ceiling, the dark corners, it was all to keep it out of the way of the others and right where he wanted it.

The way up would have been difficult if he hadn't been raised in a circus and trained by Batman. There were no footholds, or ladder rungs or anything. Robin would have told himself that using a grapple gun to get up could draw attention, and that using his own skill would be smarter and make less noise. Richard knew for a fact that he enjoyed the challenge, and that it was a warm up for what was to come.

Richard lowered himself into a crouch and then sprinted at the punching bag- conveniently enough; Cyborg had moved it to the middle of the room that afternoon, saving him the trouble. He leapt, circled his foot around the chain at the top and used the momentum to carry himself forwards.

Richard let go of the bag.

He was airborne for a few moments, before he tightened himself into a ball and span forwards. His foot connected with the wall. In the same second, he was pushing himself off of the wall and towards the one across from him. When his hands touched that, he pushed up and was sent himself up towards the first wall again. He flipped from wall to wall, gaining altitude with each jump. It was easy to establish a rhythm and soon he had flung himself up onto the hidden trapeze platform.

There were two platforms, both hidden behind pillars. The pillars looked solid all the way through, but here at the top of the roof, they had been practically hollowed out for the trapeze platforms, but you could only see it from up there. There was a net below, between the pillars, but it was under a cloaking device. With this set-up, Richard ran the risk of having his friends see him doing his stunts at one end before disappearing behind a wall.

Winding out from under the net, Richard wiped sweat from his brow. It took a bit of energy to scale a wall in manner he had, but then again, he wasn't called "the Teen (formerly Boy) Wonder" for no reason. Taking a moment to regain his composure, Richard sat down. His dark, messy hair fell in front of his masked eyes. He hadn't bothered to spike up his hair- that was a Robin thing. Dick Grayson liked his hair down- only ever slicking it back for the paparazzi or for school.

He stood up, stretched and then his hands found their own way around the trapeze bar, with no conscious direction. Stepping forwards, Dick let go of a breath he realized he'd been holding. Then, he jumped.

Air brushed against his face, which had lit up with delight. Richard closed his eyes and released the bar, flipped and caught the bar on the other side. His feet hit the platform. Dick stared back at the still-swinging trapeze adjacent to him, smile threatening to split his face in half.

The closest Robin had gotten to this was on his grappling line a few weeks ago. That had been battle- that had been serious. So while part of him was still mildly concerned about the fact that he could be seen by his teammates, or Slade (and his Goddamn cameras), even Robin had to appreciate the rush of air and feeling of freedom that came with this.

He abandoned caution.

Richard swung his bar out in front of him, jumped and rolled through the air freehand. There were no ropes, nothing to hold onto as he tucked himself tighter. This could have ended disastrously, even with the safety net below. But he had the timing perfect. When he unfurled, Richard swung his legs up, the back of his heels catching the bar. He was swinging upside down. Dick laughed and pushed his body up, swinging so that his head was parallel with his feet, before throwing his arms up and catching the next bar.

Now he only held on by his hands, having unhooked his feet.

He flew up to the platform and let it pass- the bars were swinging and he had entered his own world.

Weightlessness, twisting, flipping, diving, falling, he was lost in it all. His grin was at full force, and every now and then (after pulling off a particularly dangerous stunt) he found himself laughing. Robin had missed the excitement. Richard had missed the circus. Dick had missed himself.

Feeling reckless as he swung backwards- Dick released the bar. The force carried him forwards. He flipped once, twice, a third time, a fourth time through the air and reached out for the next bar. If it had been any other time (probably in a battle) the bar would have miraculously disappeared or been swinging of in the wrong direction. As his hands wound around it, Dick let out a "Ha!" he'd been holding. He gave a little bow when he landed on the platform again.

'Once a circus brat,' he told himself, 'always a circus brat.'

'So it would seem.'

Richard squeaked and spun around.

Raven was standing behind him, still half concealed by the shadows in the corner.

'R-Raven?' he said faintly. Oh shit. I'm dead. I'm caught. There goes my reputation! Slade will know by the end of the week and Beast Boy will demand juggling lessons. I'M AN IDIOT!

'Robin,' she said, giving him a little smile. 'Or is it the other one tonight?'

She and Robin had had a D and M a while ago. They'd both been at their wits end with the others, but for different reasons. Raven had been losing control of her emotions- and not just the bad ones. Things had been shattering all over the place. Robin had gotten sick of being called Robin (for the first time ever). He'd wanted some time to be Richard Grayson. They had both ended up retreating to the rooftop.

Raven had confessed that she felt like an explosion waiting to happen- whether it would be an anger tantrum that would make Superman run for cover, or a laughing fit that would put the Joker out of a job.

Robin had confessed that sometimes, he just wanted five minutes as "the other one" (known to Robin as Richard, or Dick) and shove off the weight of the city. He loved his job, but even he needed some time to himself.

Since then, Robin had been mindful to watch Raven's mood and see if she needed some time alone, or someone to talk to. Raven had also taken to having conversations with him as "the other one" when he needed to pull off the metaphorical mask of "Robin" and relax for a change.

Richard blinked several times before absently rubbing at the back of his neck. 'Er- h-how much of that did you see?' Please say you just got here!

Raven's little smile got a little wider. Dick swallowed. 'Enough,' she said finally. 'You're very good.'

'Thanks,' Richard mumbled, feeling like an idiot. How had he been snuck up on? Did he need to run back to Gotham and Bruce and retake Ninja Stealth 101? 'And yeah,' he added, giving her a little smile, 'I'm in other one mode… or maybe was.'

She brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear, 'Was?'

He grinned, 'Well, maybe still am.' He certainly felt like Richard. Robin would have gotten defensive by now.

'Beast Boy said your flips came from training with Batman,' Raven said, dark eyes knowing, 'but Cyborg and I agreed that you must have been doing something before that.' She sat down, hood bouncing as she did. 'So, other one, what spurred the midnight acrobatics?'

'Couldn't sleep,' he said absently, sitting down beside her. 'And I wanted some time to stretch. What about you?'

'Dreams,' she said softly. 'And I couldn't meditate.' Her dark eyes caught his masked ones, though he had the fleeting feeling that she was staring right through his mask. 'And when I left my room to make myself tea, I heard someone laughing.'

'Definitely Beast Boy,' Dick said at once. 'I'm fairly sure I've heard him giggle in his sleep before.'

Raven gave him another little smile, 'Maybe- but his laugh is too high to be yours, and his is less of a cackle.'

'Ah, the cackle is my undoing,' he replied with joking contemplation. He looked back at her a little more seriously. Robin had to keep his identity safe. 'You –er- heard what I said before though?'

'About the-?'

'Yeah.' The circus- the thing that wrapped up his past with a bow.

'No,' she answered, watching his reaction. 'Not if you don't want me to.'

'I suppose I don't have to kill you then… As long as you don't ask me for juggling lessons,' Richard said, nudging her shoulder with his. He appreciated her silence on the topic. She undoubtedly knew more about his past than anyone else on the team, but it went both ways. He knew things about her the others didn't. Raven had dreams almost as awful as the kind he got. She liked sunrise more than sunset, because sunset led to darkness. He knew she was hiding something- wearing her own mask. But he didn't say anything on the matter. If it became urgent, he'd ask, but until then, he was happy to give her space. It was an unspoken understanding of an unspoken agreement.

She looked at him, 'You juggle?' Raven said blankly. Dick got the impression that she trying very hard to stop herself from laughing.

'Boy Wonder,' he replied, grinning. 'Even before I was Robin.'

Raven shook her head, 'I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised,' she admitted.

'It comes with the deal, I guess,' he told her. 'You pick things up when you live there- popcorn obsession, love of loud music and all the trick of the other acts.'

'Fire breathing too?' He said nothing, but a flush crept up his face. Raven's jaw dropped. 'Really?'

'I have the liquid they use in my utility belt,' Richard murmured. 'Back pocket.'

Raven bit her lip, shoulders shaking.

Richard scowled at her, but he allowed himself a self-depreciating grin.

Just one of those nights.

AUTHOR NOTE!

What doesn't he have in that belt?

Not sure what spurred the story, but I think it turned out okay.

Leave a review!

:)

-Tonks