Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans obviously.
Haly's Circus had been shut down a long time ago. Dick Grayson was only twelve when it happened, but from what his parents told him, Haly had been too far in debt to continue running the circus. The Flying Graysons were no more.
His father struggled to find a job. Nobody was keen on employing a former circus performer with little education to speak of. The hopelessness of their situation sent John Grayson into a deep depression. It was not long before he started coming home late at night, the smell of alcohol lingering on his breath, his gait unsteady and his speech slurred. Mary Grayson noticed of course, and the late night arguments became worse. The ruthlessness of her tongue created even more unseen scars. The rift between them grew wider. Dick could only watch helplessly as his family fell apart.
He missed the trapeze. Sometimes he would close his eyes and pretend he was back in the circus. He imagined the feeling of the drop when he stepped off the platform and the feeling of cutting through air, the cool wind on his face, before the trapeze would bring him up again. He would let go of the trapeze then, and he would fly for just a brief moment. But that moment would be enough, that one second of freedom when he let go of everything and just soared through the air, no troubles or worries weighing him down. He knew one of his parents would always be there to catch him and bring him to the safety of the platform on the opposite side.
But it had been a long time since he had performed on the trapeze.
"My little Robin," his mother used to call him.
It was time for this Robin to fly again.
Dick grayson extended his foot over the edge of the building and stepped onto thin air.
The Robin flew.
But there was nobody there to catch him.
I'm sorryyyyyyyy! I am a horrible horrible person for killing Robin off and I am ashamed of myself! _