Disclaimer: I don't own teen titans or the words to 'DJ' by H and Claire. I am sorry for the delay. It's my longest chapter to date and therefore would take a while longer. I was going to split it into two…but decided to leave it as it is. Thank you if you reviewed! I love you all, you're brilliant!

Hand in Hand

Chapter Thirty-Three: DJ

15th December

The titans looked at each other for a moment. It was Beast Boy, surprise, surprise, who broke the silence and practically leaped at the door. He grabbed the handle and yanked it back with all his strength, as if his very life depended upon it.

The door swung back to reveal three people he hadn't seen in a long tome, and much to his annoyance, they weren't HIS guests but he embraced the three girls before him anyway, with more vigour than was actually needed, "Karen! Kara! Donna!" after a few moments her released them and looked them all up and down, Karen's black hair was pulled back into a bun on top of her head, she was wearing a yellow sundress and a pair of gold lined shades, she lifted them up and grinned at the titans.

"Long time no see!" she said smiling as she entered the tower hugging all of the titans in turn, she paused when she came across Terra, "Hey, I haven't seen you before, my name's Karen Beecher but most know me as Bumblebee." She gestured to the girls over her shoulder, she pointed to the girl with long dark hair and bright blue eyes, "This is Donna, you'd probably know her as Wonder Girl and that's Kara, universally known as power Girl."

Kara snorted, "Universally known indeed. May we please come in, we're freezing out here." She added as an after thought, "So, where's this party happening?"

Robin grinned, "It's good to see you three, the party is taking place in the hall on floor three, these guys are going there now, just follow them."

"Whoa!" cried Beast Boy holding up his hands, "I wanna know who invited Donna, 'cause I sure didn't." he knew that Cyborg had invited Kara and Karen, because he had written out their cards that morning.

Donna smiled and slipped past him, tugging her long black cardy tighter around her, "Robin invited me." She tugged at her cardy again, "Come on guys lets go I'm cold."

The group began to move away from the door, leaving Robin standing there waiting for the other guests to arrive. He closed the door and sighed, "That's three guests down, twenty three to go."

He barely had time to blink before there was another knock at the door. He put a happy smile on his face and opened it again. "Aqualad, hi." He said with less enthusiasm that he should have had, "Are these you're friends?" he asked indicating the two tall teenage boys and the tall brunette stood just behind him.

Aqualad nodded his head, "This is Kai, Rei and Franchesca."

Robin stepped out of the way so that they could enter, "You know where the party is. I'll see you later." The four of them passed. Robin could have sworn that as they walked off down the corridor one of the other atlantians said 'So that's Robin? Interesting.' But it could just have been his imagination.

He turned back to the door, he was about to close it, but he saw another group of people coming up the path, so he held it open, despite how much the breeze chilled him.

##Another Friday night and the weekend's just begun,

Everyone's dressing up because it's time to have some fun##

Robin stared speculatively at the three teenage boys that were walking up the path. The one in front was laughing loudly, he was dressed all in black and a long chestnut coloured braid swung behind him as he walked. He seemed to be a very happy person. If Robin had to guess he would say that Beast Boy invited them. The second boy was laughing, although quietly, and he had short soft blond hair. He walked with an easy stride, he looked laid back enough, it was the third boy that worried him, the boy had light brown/sandy hair that fell completely over one of his eyes, he hadn't said a word on the walk up, and he walked as if he was stalking someone.

Robin hated to admit it, but the walk alone scared Robin slightly, he would not like to go up against that guy in a fight. The three of them reached the door.

"Hiya!" exclaimed the one with the braid, "We're here for the party, not late are we? There is food here isn't there?" his violet eyes were wide and friendly.

"No, you're not late," laughed Robin, "And yes there's food, I take it you're Beast Boy's friend?"

The blond boy laughed slightly, "Yeah, we've known Garfield a while now," he paused, "Oh, I'm so sorry, we haven't introduced ourselves! I'm Quatre Raberba Winner and this is Trowa Barton." He bowed slightly and smiled.

Robin nodded and turned his eyes to the braided boy.

"Hi, I'm Duo Maxwell, I may run and hide but I never tell a lie!" he grabbed Robin's hand and shook it vigorously.

"Welcome to titan's tower." Robin said as way of introduction, "I'm Robin, the leader of this motley crew." He pointed down the hall, "Follow the sound of the music, it's the third door on the right on the third floor."

"Thank you." Said Quatre bowing again and walking into the tower behind Duo who had took off at a run, most probably because there was food.

Robin gave Trowa a searching look as the silent boy came in and followed Quatre, Robin jumped slightly when the boy spoke, "Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt anyone here."

Yes, that made Robin feel more comfortable.

##Tonight, live all your fantasies,

Tonight, play it on and on and on and on,

DJ! Show us what you've got,

Keep our bodies moving, turn the music up,

Don't you ever stop; you know what to play,

To make this party rock all night##

It was another five minutes before any more guests arrived, Robin opened the door only to find himself roughly pushed aside by a blond that said his name was Vash and he was here only because Terra asked him to be. He didn't even ask for directions he just went. Robin supposed that with that attitude he could find his own way.

He checked to see if anyone else was coming and then closed the door shaking his head. It was at that moment that he noticed the floor was glowing. Intrigued he moved a few spaces forward and stared at the glowing light, it was a circle.

There was a flash and a rush of wind. Robin stumbled backwards in surprise; he covered his eyes, to avoid going blind. He heard a thump and some shuffling and then…

"Chris! Your foot is in my face!" cried a feminine voice.

"Sorry!" came the hasty reply.

Robin lifted his hands from his eyes and threw a cautious glance in the direction of the voices. He blinked. There on the floor was a red headed girl wearing what seemed to be some type of uniform, underneath her was a boy with black hair and dark eyes looking very miffed about the position he found himself him. Standing over them was a lanky blond boy with green eyes, he looked innocent and clueless. "Uh…hello?"

The blond looked at him, "Is this titan's tower?"

"Yes."

The blond's face broke into a wide grin, the other two were busy helping each other and dusting off their clothes, "That's great, this is my third attempt at trying to teleport us to the tower." He closed his eyes and smiled a sparkly smile.

"Yeah," grumbled the boy shrugging off his black jacket and tying it loosely round his waist, "Starfire's directions were lousy."

The girl smacked him on the back of the head, "Leave Kory alone!"

Robin smiled in spite of himself, it was a long time since he had heard anyone use Starfire's alias. "Well Star'll be happy that you've made it. Uh, who are you?"

The girl shoved her hand in his and shook it, "I'm Erutis, this is Chris and the great and powerful Demon Lord Raenef." She grinned gesturing to the blond, "He may not look like much, but this kid blows up mountains and breaks enchanted swords with his head."

Robin raised an eyebrow, "Breaks enchanted swords?"

Raenef groaned, "I said I was sorry Erutis, and it broke when it hit my head, it was not intentional!"

"She'll carry it to her grave you know." Put in Chris helpfully.

Robin shook his head, "The party's in the hall on the third floor, if you want to make your way there."

Raenef suddenly grabbed onto Erutis and Chris, "Thanks, GO!" and with that the three of them vanished in a slash of light and a burst of wind.

##Everyone's feeling good,

Smiling faces everywhere,

So if you're in the mood,

Put your hands up in the air! ##

Over the next half hour or so Robin opened the door to another half a dozen people, including his other two guests Bobby and Rogue, part of the famous X-Men team, a girl called Heather Avalon who Cyborg invited, a bubbly girl with blue hair and pale blue skin who introduced herself as 'Bluefire' Starfire's cousin.

It was Raven's friends that startled him the most though, they were the last ones to arrive, which he had kind of expected, but he had also expected them to be all gothic and silent. He was surprised however when a tall brown haired teenager turned up with an impish redhead on his arm, claiming to be one of Raven's friends. They went by the names of Gavin and Keira, he didn't question them straight away though, that could wait until he was down in the hall with everyone else, and after all there were only three people left to arrive.

The first of the last three to arrive was a tall deathly pale girl with black hair. She was quite a bit taller than Robin and when he opened the door to her, she stared down at him with a cold almost ruthless look in her eyes. "I'm Rukia Kuchika." She stated as if that explained everything, "I'm here for the party."

Robin nodded politely and gave her directions; he watched as she walked off, her movements like liquid, she held a certain grace about her. He wondered if she had been a big influence on Raven in the past.

He started to close the door.

"Keep that door open please!" called a female voice desperately, he heard footsteps running up the path, "I'm dying in this cold!" seconds later a tall lithe girl with long silver hair stepped nimbly over the threshold.

She swept said hair over her shoulder and straightened.

Robin blinked at her, this must be one of Raven's friends, no question about it, the girl, although young looking practically exuded cynical vibes. "Welcome to titans tower."

She waved a dismissive hand, "Yeah, I know."

Robin scowled, "Hey, this is our party, we invited you so you could at least be a little more polite." He closed the door with a click and glared at the girl, who stared back with her own narrowed red eyes.

"Look." She said in a tired tone, "I can only afford to be nice to one person a day, today is not your day. Tomorrow isn't looking too good either, so unless you want to be set on fire, I suggest you move." With that she brushed past him and stormed off.

Robin growled in the back of his throat but then yelled the directions to her; she raised a hand to show that she had heard.

Robin had to admit that even Claire looked like a wonderful person compared to the last two people that had arrived, but then, he supposed you had to get to know them before you could appreciate them. He leaned against the door frame and waited for the last guest. He really was beginning to rethink his decision to be the man on the door. Oh well, too late for that now, he couldn't abandon his post with only one person left to arrive.

One brisk knock on the door jerked him from his reverie; he opened the door, for the last time and took in the young man on the door step.

"Are you Raven's friend?" he asked politely putting a smile on his face and beckoning for the tall blond to come in so he could shut the door.

The young man dusted down his black coat and looked up at Robin with a cold and calculating gaze, "Indeed." He muttered, "Are you serving alcohol at this party?" he enquired in a deep voice.

Robin wrinkled his nose in distaste; he really didn't care for this person's attitude. "No. We're not." He said in a tone that he hoped implied that there would be none at all, even if anyone did offer to go and get some.

"Pity."

Robin took a breath, "And you are?"

"Not, that it's any of your concern, my name is Sanzo. Genjo Sanzo." The blond gave him a mocking grin, "Now, lead me to this party."

## Tonight, live all your fantasies,

Tonight, play it on and on and on and on,

DJ! Show us what you've got,

Keep our bodies moving, turn the music up,

Don't you ever stop; you know what to play,

To make this party rock all night##

Robin stared about him at the mass of people that he could see milling about around the tables of food or dancing on the dance floor to the tune of various tunes that were belting out from the CD player. The lights were flashing and reflecting off everyone's heads.

At the moment though there was only on scene he was interested in watching, and that was Raven trying to fend off Starfire's cousin; Bluefire. Her attempts were in vain however and Claire seemed to be enjoying the blue skinned girl's banter immensely. After a few moments though his gaze drifted to the side where Cyborg was dancing with Bumblebee. He smiled slightly, it was good those two were getting back on track, if he understood the two of them had dated a while back, but it had ended due to some unknown circumstances.

Power Girl, Wonder Girl and the girl named Erutis were chatting away in one of the corners quite happily, each with glass of punch in their hands. He smiled, it was nice to see people interacting with each other and having a good time.

He looked over to the dance floor and took in the couples. Rogue and Bobby were dancing a slow dance, it didn't exactly go with the music but they seemed to go along with the tune quite well. Next to them Raenef was dancing with Starfire, it was, to say the least, a mixture of every dance style he had ever seen. If he had been in a cartoon he would have sweat dropped. Next to them was the dark haired boy called Chris, it looked as if he was trying to sweet talk Heather, who looked more interested in reading over the plans to the T-Car.

A little further off, almost in the shadows was another dancing pair, Robin raised his eyebrows at them but otherwise he didn't react, Kai and Rei, he had no idea which was which, were dancing slowly, the two atlantians were practically hanging off each other and their faces were very close together.

Feeling as if he was intruding on their privacy his eyes slid over to the next two couples. Gavin and Keira were dancing together quite happily; they were grinning and moving their bodies perfectly in time with the current song which just happened to be 'Slide' by the Goo Goo Dolls. His gaze drifted over to that conceited blond that had arrived last, he had his arms wrapped possessively around Blaze's waist. He shook his head, from what he had seen so far they deserved each other.

There wasn't anyone else dancing, he smiled and began walking over to Beast Boy who was chatting away to the three boys that he had invited. After all, he was still wary of that Trowa, but the others seemed like decent people.

Beast Boy seen him approach and threw his arm wide, "Rob! Man, I think we under estimated how much food we'd need tonight."

Robin raised an eyebrow behind his mask, "Why's that?"

"Ifsh nosht mef aulk!" exclaimed Duo around the food he was chewing.

"What did he say?" asked Robin bewildered looking at the other three for help.

"I think it was 'it's not my fault.' But if it was he isn't exactly telling the whole truth. BB challenged him to an eating contest. Duo won, but then his stomach is bottomless." Stated Quatre smiling slightly, "If it's a problem, I'll foot the bill."

Robin looked at Beast Boy and then at Duo. He took in their guilty faces and laughed, "No, that's alright." He patted Beast Boy on the back, "Though I never thought I'd see the day when you'd be beaten in an eating contest."

Beast Boy rubbed the back of his neck, "Yeah, I've gotten rusty."

Throughout this conversation Trowa didn't say a word.

## DJ! Show us what you've got,

Keep our bodies moving, turn the music up,

Don't you ever stop; you know what to play,

To make this party rock all night##

Raven finally managed to shake off Bluefire and Claire who seemed to find great entertainment in making her head spin with random facts about girly magazines. Really, it was all unnecessary.

"Having fun?" asked a familiar voice off to her right.

She turned her head and smiled emptily, "Rukia. As a matter of fact, I'm having an average time."

"I see." Replied the pale girl quietly, "Well I have something that may make this evening a little better seeing as your…" she trailed off searching for the appropriate word, "Partner is otherwise engaged." She gestured towards where Vash, Aqualad and Terra were talking together. "I found him lurking around the corners of the hall trying to hide from the other guests."

Raven leaned to the side and peered to the person that had suddenly appeared at the side of Rukia.

"Hiei. I haven't seen you in a while." Her eyes sparkled as she took in the boy's dark hair and white bandana. He was dressed in a black tunic type shirt and his arms were wrapped in standard white cloth up to just above his elbow. His dark trousers dragged slightly on the floor over his boots.

He brought his red eyes up and smirked slightly, "I heard the titans were having a get together, besides, I had a feeling you might want to talk." He leaned against the wall, "And as for the notion that I was hiding," he threw a dirty look at Rukia who smiled innocently, "It's untrue."

Raven smiled hollowly, "I understand. You like your privacy. It's alright. I had my doubts that you wouldn't come, but seeing as you're here…"

Hiei held up a hand stopping her, "I've heard rumours that you're dating now Raven. What happened to the cold hearted girl that I knew?" Rukia pointed to the corner, and his eyes shot to the place where Terra, Aqualad and Vash were talking. "You've changed." He muttered, "Which one is it?"

"The atlantian." Sighed Raven wearily, she didn't really want to be explaining herself right now. She was beginning to think that maybe a party wasn't the best idea in the world, at least so far she had managed to avoid any meaningful conversation with Gavin and Keira. She could be thankful for that. But she trusted Gavin not to say anything about their history together. "Don't ask it's a long story."

Hiei pursed his lips, "He doesn't look like much. I think I'll go and introduce myself."

Raven blinked and Hiei was gone, she watched as he reappeared next to Aqualad and started up a conversation. She hated how he managed to slip away so easily and quickly, she bit her lip. Hiei's conversations always left something to be desired.

She turned back to Rukia who was staring in distaste at the dancing that was going on, mostly by Starfire and Raenef…it seemed Bluefire and Claire had joined in as well. Raven shook her head.

"So how long are you in town for?" asked Raven politely pulling her cloak around her shoulders a bit tighter.

Rukia sighed, "Not long. I'm in high demand around Christmas. Personally I think it's because to many people watch 'A Christmas Carol' but duty calls I'm afraid, I'll be on my way as soon as the party is over."

Raven nodded, "That's okay, and it's likely to be hectic around here just before Christmas. You should have seen the chaos we had here this morning." She pressed a finger to her temple. "It's enough to try the patience of a saint."

Rukia laughed quietly, "Indeed, well I think I better go and pry Blaze away from that insufferable Sanzo. He's a bad influence." She strode off with a determined look on her face.

Raven nodded absently, she knew the penalty for getting in Rukia's bad books. It was not pretty. Not that she'd been there herself, but because many of Rukia's acquaintances seemed to owe her something.

"LET'S BOOGIE!" Raven's eyes immediately snapped to Beast Boy who had put on 'Saturday Night Fever' and was currently dancing most enthusiastically along with Starfire, Raenef, Claire, Bluefire and a Duo. She cringed at the sight.

"It's scary isn't it?" asked Robin next to her.

Normally she would have jumped in surprise but recently due to her emotions fading her senses had been heightened through her powers. Part of her rejoiced in the fact that she was stronger than ever, but parts of her hated it because Nevermore was running riot.

She slanted a glance his way, "Yes." She replied crisply.

He smiled uncertainly back, "Look, I know now's not the time but I really would like to talk to you sometime about…"

"Raven!" He was interrupted from saying anything further by the arrival of one of Aqualad's atlantian friends. Robin still didn't know which was which.

Raven turned her gaze to the cat eyed boy who was positively beaming at her; she caught flashes of his fangs behind his lips, "Rei." She nodded, deciding that that was now her official greeting. A nod and their name. Very nice.

Rei grinned, "Having fun? I must say this is a lot nicer than I imagined. You must be Robin!" he said grasping the surprised boy's hand and shaking it once and the letting it drop. "I've met almost everyone here now." He smiled, "That Rukia is very knowledgeable on Chinese Mythology. I must talk with her at some length about it." He flicked his long bind over his shoulder.

Robin nodded, although Rei talked a lot he didn't seem to be as happy as everyone else, he seemed calm and just a little elated at being here. He decided that this atlantian was decent. "I've been working my way around people as well, although I've still got quite a few to meet. Yes I'm having fun."

Raven seemed to be looking for someone, "Where's Kai?" she asked lightly.

Rei smiled, "I think he's gone off to find that boy you were talking to before. He's been sneaking around the edges of the hall for a while now and Kai was getting annoyed." He looked around, "Kai's always hated being kept in the dark about something. I don't mind though."

Robin tried to catch sight of Kai and the mysterious creeping person. But he couldn't see a thing in the darkened corners.

Raven raised an eyebrow but otherwise remained silent.

Rei turned back to Robin, "You should also know that that man. Genjo Sanzo. He's been sneaking alcohol in somehow for the past ten minutes. He's managed to get that Chris quite drunk."

Robin's eye ticked in annoyance, "We'll see about that." He growled and put down his drink before storming across the dance floor.

As Robin left Aqualad suddenly appeared at Raven's elbow, "Are you okay? I saw you here on your own." He said in a strained voice, and Raven knew he wasn't exactly telling the truth.

Rei smiled at them both, "You make such a nice couple. I'll be off then. I can see Kai."

##Tonight live all your fantasies,

Tonight play it on and on and on##

Rei leaned back onto Kai's chest, "Possible disaster via Robin and Raven interaction averted successfully." He purred snaking his arms backwards around Kai's neck.

Kai wrapped his arms around his boyfriend's waist, "Well done koi."

## DJ! Show us what you've got,

Keep our bodies moving, turn the music up##

The rest of the evening passed in relative good will, the dancing continued, at one point there was a mini food fight between Erutis and a drunken Chris who later passed out on the floor. All alcohol had been confiscated, much to Genjo's utter disbelief and Starfire's disappointment who had managed to consume at least two glasses full before Robin found her. Bobby had ended up making ice sculptures for Raenef to look at it who was as giddy as a kid in a candy shop even though he hadn't been drinking. The girl's at one point had banded together and chased Cyborg down only to dress him in a tux one of them just happened to have.

The music had continued Aqualad had yet to tempt Raven into one dance, Kai and Rei had even tried to get her dance, although Kai was possibly less enthusiastic about it than the other two. The food had finally run out thanks to Duo and Beast Boy.

The music was still belting out at a deafening rate and people were still having fun. So yes the party was progressing nicely.

That is until…

BANG! BANG! BANG!

"Raven?! Are you in there! Let me in! It's important! I bring news of Azarath!" shouted a female voice before hammering commenced on the door once again, "Raven please! It's important!"

The music continued washing over the girl's voice and drowning it out. Raven however heard the ruckus and quickly teleported to the door in a flash of dark blue magic energy.

Only three people noticed her leave.

## Don't you ever stop; you know what to play,

To make this party rock all night##