I'm back! Finally! Sorry about the really long wait, crazy week. Everything's settling down now though.

To make up for it, I give you an extra long chapter! Yay!

Hopefully I'll update Wayne Manor today too.

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing.

Nightwing was standing on the narrow trapeze platform, looking down at the others. He was so close to the edge that his toes peeked of the side. The platform was pretty high up. Raven looked up at him, a little worried; if he fell, it would not be good. She leaned over and whispered to Kid Flash, "Is that safe, being so close to the edge? What if he falls? He doesn't have his grappling hook, and there's no net."

Wally just shook his head and smiled. "He was born in the air." He said softly. "Likes being up high more that on the ground. Being perched up high like that is more natural to him than standing steadily on a flat surface. Prefers it. There's only one or two places in the world where he can let go, be truly happy, and up in the air on the trapeze s one of them." He smiled turned wistful. "He was always up in the air, we had a hard time persuading him to come down from the rafters for meals or training." He shook his head, remembering the original question. "He'll be fine. I know everyone would be happier if he had a net or something, but the last time we suggested it he got insulted and refused to perform. Said that having a net ruined the feeling. He was trained without one, see."

Raven nodded, an image suddenly surfacing in her mind. "We mind-melded once." She said slowly. "It's a long story, but I had to go into his mind. I saw something, when that happened, and I didn't want to ask Nightwing about it."

Wally nodded, understanding what she meant immediately. "You saw that night, didn't you? Two people falling from a trapeze, circus uniforms, no net?"

Raven blinked, surprised that he knew exactly what she was asking about without her even mentioning the scene. "Yes. What-"

She paused when she saw the look on his face.

"That's personal, you should ask him. I wouldn't feel comfortable telling you everything, but yes, that's part of his history with the trapeze, why he doesn't perform so much anymore. I'm not telling you anything else. Don't bother asking the others, either, they don't know anything. It had to do with his ID, and they don't know it, so they don't know about that."

"But you do?"

"Yes, I do. He told me years ago."

Raven thought over what she had just learned. "To be honest, I forgot he had a secret ID, a life outside of the Titans." She murmured. "He never mentions it."

Kid Flash shrugged. "There's a lot of pain in his past. It's not surprising he didn't want to talk about it. He's been through more than anyone should."

Their conversation was interrupted by Nightwing. "If you ladies are done gossiping down there, I'd like to begin." The League and YJ went silent immediately. The Titans were excited and curious; what would they be seeing, that could produce that kind of reaction, to quiet a room full of chatter in a second?

Nightwing smiled, leaned forward- and leaped.

If asked to describe it later, Raven would have been hard pressed to find words that could adequately describe it. Nightwing moved with an infinite amount of grace, never missing a catch or mucking up a trick. It was obvious that this- flying on the trapeze- was as natural to him as breathing, maybe even more so. Watching him, Raven thought that it was a shame that he couldn't really fly.

Then again, maybe he could. This certainly seemed like flying to her.

Curious, Raven felt along their mental bond. What she found shocked her. Indescribably happiness, a lightheartedness that she had never felt coming from Nightwing before, a sense of belonging, a feeling of this is where I'm supposed to be, right here, this is who I really am and who I want to be, everything is right with the world. She had never felt anything like it.

Nightwing ended his routine, and suddenly his mind came alive with voices.

Great job!

Amazing!

Nice going, man!

You have to teach me to do that!

Please, like you could ever manage that, Artie.

We really, really missed your flying, Robin, and we really missed you too!

All the other voices chimed in to agree with that.

Raven found it slightly disconcerting. She could tell that each voice was different, but she couldn't figure out who's voice was who's. The voices were also slightly muted, like they talking in another room. It was odd, too, hearing Nightwing's usually quiet mind alive with chatter. She supposed that she'd have to get used to it.

Suddenly, the others seemed to notice her presence in the link.

Who's that?

That's Raven. Now, that was Nightwing; his was the only clear voice. We have this sort of mental bond- not like the link- it's a long story. I wondered if she could use it to piggyback on the link. Hey, Rae!

Don't call me Rae. She thought crossly. Nightwing had no trouble hearing her, but it seemed like the team had as much trouble hearing her as she did with hearing them. Megan decided to just make it easier on everyone and properly add her to the link. Raven blinked as the voices suddenly became clear.

What just happened? She asked wildly.

I added you to the link, so we could hear better. Miss Martian reassured her.

The conversation reached an abrupt end when Nightwing finally made his way back down to the ground and everyone swarmed to congratulate him. Nightwing grinned; he had heard it all before.

After the performance, the group returned to the main Tower. The Team, the Titans, and the League gathered in the main room while Nightwing disappeared into the kitchen to see if they had anything that could serve as dinner for them all. He came back out, informed them that there was nothing, and left in civilian guise to buy some food.

Almost as soon as he left, Wonder Woman turned towards the Titans.

"Thank you."

The Titans exchanged confused looks. "What for?" Cyborg asked.

"For looking after Ro-Nightwing."

Beast Boy snickered. "Us? Look after him? Yeah, right. Without him, we'd all be dead by now- actually, without him, there'd be no Titans. I'd probably still be on the streets after leaving the Doom Patrol, Cyborg would be fighting in some back alley somewhere, still thinking he was a monster, Star would've been recaptured by the Gordonians, and Raven-"

"Would have been used as a portal and ended the world." Raven said quietly. She ignored the looks. "Nightwing saved us, takes care of us, not the other way around."

Wonder Woman smiled. "Think what you may, but he does need you. He isn't a solitary person, he needs people around him, friends. I think you may have helped him more than you know."

"Thank you, Woman of Wonder." Star said happily.

Wonder Woman blinked at her. "Just Wonder Woman, dear, not Woman of Wonder."

The conversation moved on, and soon Nightwing returned from the market and made a BBQ dinner for them all. To Beast Boy's delight, both Miss M and Aqualad tried some of his tofu, while the Titans still refused to touch it.

Everyone talked and laughed and exchanged stories. Nightwing and Batman talked quietly, catching up after so many years.

Conversation was dwindling when Nightwing stood up and announced,

"I'm going to be leaving Jump."

And yet another cliffie! You can imagine the reaction to that statement.

Yeah, I kinda cheated with the trapeze. Oh well. I already went through that in Circus Again. This was about the Titans *cough Raven cough* getting a deeper understanding of Nightwing, not the trapeze.

Review!