Hello, people! Nightlingbolt here! Welcome to my first Young Justice story, "That Old Circus Magic!"

Eh, not my best work. I just wanted to write something post-Performance, as well as something to do with Robin and Artemis in some capacity, so this fic was born. I dunno, I just love the dynamic between these two. They work both as a couple and as friends, so it's not the worst thing ever if they don't get together.

You may wonder why this story takes place at Christmas. Well, if you pay any attention to the time stamps at the start of each scene, you'd know that Performance ended on Christmas Eve, so I wanted to work that into the story. You know, FYI.

Anyway, I got nothing else to say, so enjoy the story!

I do not own Young Justice or its characters, Greg Weisman and Brandon Vietti do. Feels weird to do a disclaimer for something other than Fairy Tail.

It was Christmas Day in Happy Harbor. The Team had gathered at Mount Justice to spend a few hours with each other. The atmosphere was bright and cheery all around: The Arrows were talking animatedly, Wally was stuffing his face, and Conner and M'gann were sneaking kisses from each other under the mistletoe, all while Aquaman educated Kaldur in surface Christmas traditions as he understood them (which included the chugging of eggnog). In fact, Nabu had even allowed Zatara to remove the Helmet of Fate for the day so he could be with Zatanna.

Meanwhile, Artemis and Robin watched everyone making merry with smiles on their faces. Batman was stuck in Gotham foiling a plot by the Penguin, but he had insisted Robin attend the Christmas party. As for Artemis, she was reluctant to leave her mother alone on Christmas, but with some convincing from her and Green Arrow, she had agreed to spend time with the Team. Of course, it probably helped that she was still riding the high that performing in the circus brought her.

"Roy's said more to GA today than I've heard since the summer," said Robin.

"Yup," agreed Artemis. "It's nice to know that we can put all that mole BS behind us."

"For now, anyway," said Robin. "Probably my Bat-taught paranoia talking, but even if there's no mole on the Team, there's always the chance of them being in the League."

"That's true," agreed Artemis. She didn't like to think that the mole had power in the Justice League, but it was worth considering.

"Wally and I are on speaking terms again," said Artemis, changing the subject.

"Great!" said Robin. "I missed your petty arguments." Artemis shot Robin a glare, but the Boy Wonder didn't seem to notice. Probably because he'd been on the business end of the Bat-glare numerous times before.

"So how did you like being a circus performer?" Robin asked. It probably sounded like a random question to Artemis, but he was excited to be able to share the thrill of the circus with his team and genuinely wanted to know how they liked it.

Artemis smiled. "Honestly, that would have to be the high point of my hero career," she said.

"Really? And you weren't even an acrobat," said Robin with a chuckle.

"I'm serious!" said Artemis. "Every kid dreams of running away to join the circus some time in their lives! I mean, sure, all I really did was shoot arrows like I normally do, but still, it was everything – and I mean EVERYTHING – every kid ever dreamed of!" She sighed. "I just wish..."

"Wish what?" asked Robin.

"I just wish I could share this with Dick..." she said sadly.

"Dick?" repeated Robin.

Artemis flinched, remembering that she was supposed to be Green Arrow's niece who lived in Star City, and should have no way of knowing Dick Grayson. She mentally admonished herself for her lapse in judgment.

"Well? Who's Dick?" asked Robin a little too interestedly.

"Dick Thompson," said Artemis. "His father was a trapeze artist who was pretty famous in Star City a few years back. He died in a routine gone wrong. His hand slipped, and he lost his grip on the trapeze and..."

"Don't say it, Artemis!" said Robin harshly. "Just... don't." Artemis gave a slow nod in reply.

Of course, Robin knew that "Dick Thompson" was supposed to be him. It was pretty obvious that she was rewriting the tragedy of the Flying Graysons to suit her cover as Green Arrow's niece. But like Batman had said, she was entitled to a secret identity, and he respected that.

"I want to tell him... about performing in the circus, I mean..." said Artemis. "I think it would brighten up his life to know I could share in his joy, if only for a few scant performances... the joy that comes from just... being a part of everything, you know?" Artemis sighed. "And I would, too, but that would come with exposing the fact that I'm a costumed vigilante fighting crime alongside the Green Arrow."

"It's hard keeping up a secret identity," agreed Robin. He took a sip of the soda he was carrying, and Artemis did the same.

Little did Artemis know that Dick was in practically the same situation. He wanted to tell Artemis that he knew about her family, that he didn't judge her for her blood, that she didn't have to hide anything from him. But Batman's orders were, of course, absolute, so he had to remain oblivious. Not that he didn't enjoy trolling her for it.

"I should probably say goodbye to everyone," said Artemis.

"Why? You're leaving with GA, aren't you?" asked Robin.

"Believe it or not, I have a life aside from my uncle, Bird Boy," said Artemis dryly.

"Fair enough," said Robin. "And Artemis? You and Dick will laugh about it all someday."

Suddenly, something clicked inside Artemis's mind. Dick Grayson had said something similar to her on her first day at Gotham Academy, and now that she thought about it, she had seen Robin's eyes while posing as the Daring Dangers, and they were the exact same shade of blue as Dick's. Robin and Dick Grayson were one and the same, and she, like the rest of the world, had been completely oblivious to that fact. Obviously, Batman had ordered him not to tell anyone, including her. But that didn't mean Artemis couldn't figure it out for herself.

Before she could give herself the chance to thank her father for his training, Artemis wrapped Robin up in a hug. "I had fun, Dick," she whispered. "We all did."

Robin wanted to ask how she knew, but he figured as an archer, she had a greater eye for detail than most, and he recalled the mask he wore having eyeholes. "I'm glad, Arty," he whispered back as he returned the hug, crying softly into her chest

Dick knew he'd have to do some damage control with Bruce later, but for now, he was glad that he could add another dimension to his friendship with Artemis.

Haly's Circus was indeed a magical place.

Aaaaaaand... scene!

I can't be the only one who noticed those masks had eyeholes!

For those of you still confused as to how Artemis figured out Robin was Dick, I already mentioned that as an archer, she's more prone to noticing the little details. The color of his eyes, the shape of his face, the sound of his voice... you know, little things. All I needed was something to make Artemis put the pieces together. I doubt Robin would tell Artemis something Dick told her, but... I dunno, maybe he secretly wants her to know who he is? All I know is, I will openly admit to not thinking that one through.

It did seem better when I was writing it, though...

Anyway, I know I'd been talking about a Roy/Jade story, but there've been spoilers for the last episodes of Season 1 going around, and from what I've seen... I really don't know how well that's going to work. See, the original plot was that Jade talks Roy into protecting her, since the Shadows ordered her to kill a certain someone, and she wouldn't go through with it, so now she's a traitor in their eyes. Sad, because I had come up with a hero persona for Jade and everything. Speaking of Roy, good to see he's stopped being a total asshat.

Anyway, I should get back to writing my Fairy Tail stuff now, so until next time, peace and love from Nightlingbolt.