Disclaimer: I don't own teen titans or the words to 'Clean' By Incubus

Hand in Hand

Chapter Thirty-Five: Clean

16th December

The next morning had dawned bright and early for the titans. All of the guests had gone, albeit some more willingly than others. There had been a few nice surprises such as when they had finally wiped the sleep from their eyes and after Beast Boy had explained to Starfire why her head ached so much they discovered that presents off some of the guests had been left underneath the tree.

This had cheered them all up, that was until they saw first hand the damage left by last night's escapades. Robin being leader was the sensible one and had told everyone what they already knew but didn't want to voice, "Guys, we have to clean."

There had been a lot of grumbling and general complaining before they had all got stuck in.

That was where they were all now. Cyborg and Terra had taken on the party hall and were vacuuming the wooden floor and taken down all the fairy light. Beast Boy had decided on the hall thinking it was the easiest place to do and in his pig form he was trotting back and forth picking up the bits of pizza and turkey off the plates that had been discarded when the fight had broken out.

Starfire was currently whizzing up and down the kitchen with a mop and bucket wiping away all the water that had been spilled by the sprinklers post Blaze's little pyromaniac episode.

Robin had of course taken it on himself to wash and dry all the dishes that were in the kitchen and put everything away. And that's what he was doing now, standing before the sink with soap suds up to his elbows absently wiping down the white dishes with a cloth.

##Today everything was fine,

Until roundabout quarter to nine,

I suddenly found myself in a bind##

Robin's mind was far from the task of making sure all the cutlery was clean and sparkling however. No his thoughts were all centred on Raven, who still hadn't emerged from her room. He had convinced the others that she need to be left alone but that meant that he couldn't go up and see her either, he couldn't give them one rule and then take another for himself. What was he? A communist? And plus everyone except Starfire was treating him suspiciously after the fight last night. They seemed to believe that he hadn't been doing anything, but they couldn't understand why Aqualad would think he was.

He placed a clean plate on the draining board and pursed his lips. The news of the death of Azarath did not bode well. So near to Christmas it was a tragedy. He didn't know whether Raven was going to be able to cope. She had been acting out of sorts recently anyway, at least now he had something, or not, he frowned, to point the finger of blame at.

He couldn't imagine what a blow it must be to lose your home planet. He didn't know what he would do if the world was destroyed, of course he wasn't exactly Raven's position. He'd lived on Earth for his entire life; he had never resided on another planet. He just didn't know what to say to comfort her.

And that outburst from last night had not done anything to ease his nerves. He wanted to give her space, but he wanted to keep an eye on her. It was no wonder that Alexial was worried. He wondered briefly about Raven's history with her.

He placed another plate on the draining board. What could he do to help? He was beginning to wonder if his 'help' was actually making things harder than they already were. He scowled to himself.

##was it something I said?

Something I read?

And manifested that's getting you down##

He thought back to the time at the coffee shop. She had completely zoned out, was that because she somehow knew what was happening at her home, even though she didn't know the detail? Was she somehow linked to Azarath? He shuddered, that was kind of creepy.

But…did that mean that now Azarath was dead, a part of Raven was dead too? He felt the blood drain from his face, oh good lord, what was going to happen. Alexial had said something about the majority of surviving Azarathians going insane or killing themselves, he really didn't want that to happen to Raven.

Then Robin remembered something else, 'You're half and half Raven, half demon and half human.' That was what the silver haired girl had said. He swallowed. Raven was half demon. Strangely though he wasn't as disgusted as he expected himself to be. It explained a lot, her powers for one and her cruel sense of humour as another…but then he had met many humans with a cruel disposition.

He shook his head, what did it matter about Raven's family. She was still part of the team; she was still one of his best friend's. She was still Raven. Nothing could change that.

His eyes widened behind his mask, "She's still Raven." It dawned on him that he didn't care about her past or background. She could be a full demon, an angel, an alien. He didn't care. He still felt the same about her.

But that was half the problem.

He wasn't quite sure what he felt about her.

He looked over his shoulder and watched Starfire singing happily to herself as she scrubbed vigorously at the floor, he wouldn't be surprised if she could see her reflection in it. Starfire was a vivacious girl with a loving demeanour and a pretty face, but how could she compare to Raven's Exotic ice cold beauty and mysteriousness?

Simply put, she couldn't.

##Don't you dare come to bed,

With that ambiguous look in your eye,

I'd sooner sleep by an open fire,

And wake up fried##

Robin felt like screaming. But he couldn't. Not without getting himself committed to an insane asylum anyway. The media would have a glorified field day.

This was so unfair. And it was right near Christmas as well. Dammit.

There went his Christmas spirit. Right out the window with whatever he had had planned for the twenty first. In her semi-tipsy mood Starfire had invited Claire to a cooking fair at a place about three hours drive away. Claire of course had agreed and in a gesture of good will had invited him. This of course left him no option but to agree. Who knows how dangerous a tipsy Starfire was.

He cursed his easy going attitude. He really had to earn to say no more often. Two letters N and O. It wasn't really that hard.

He placed the last plate on the draining board and pulled the lug. He stood there and watched the warm but dirty water turn into a mini tornado and vanish down the drain, gargling like a gargoyle choking on a toothpick. Not, that he knew what that sounded like mind you.

The water disappeared and he turned the tap on again to wash the soap suds of his arms. He turned the tap off and then shook some excess water off his hands before he reached for the towel. Instead of drying his hand though he moved to the end of the draining board and picked up a dish, methodically drying it without even noticing.

He went through a checklist in his head, 1) He had bought and wrapped all of his presents. 2) He had hidden said presents far away from Beast Boy. 3) It was a week and one day until Christmas. 4) He had planned out what to say to Aqualad next time they came into contact with each other. 5) He had sent thank you and I'm sorry notes to all the guests of the party. 6) He had checked up on the local news to see if Slade had made his move. He hadn't.

Perhaps Slade was waiting until the holiday season was over.

Not bloody likely.

##Say what you will,

Say what you mean,

You could never offend,

Your dirty words come out clean##

He began piling the dry plates as he worked his way through them. He had finished drying the dishes and the glasses and he wasn't too sure but he could have sworn that they didn't have this many plates before. He shrugged. The world could never have enough plates. Or socks for that matter.

He finished drying all the kitchen ware and dried his own hands on the towel. He put said towel back on the rack and picked up the dishes. He walked over to the cupboards, opened them and placed them in. He closed the cupboard with a click and then went back and retrieved the glasses and repeated the same action with them, only with a different cupboard.

He started to put the plates away. And they came across an unforeseen problem. True, the world could never have enough plates, but apparently titan's tower could. He put his fist on his hip and glared around the kitchen.

"Where oh where can I put you then?" he asked the left over plates as he glanced around at the cupboards he knew to be full.

The plates of course didn't answer. Let's face it, he would have fainted and been comatose if they had stood up and answered.

He shook his head at himself, "I'm going mad. I'm talking to plates!" he exclaimed to no one in particular as he moved forward and began opening all the cupboards. Suddenly he straightened, a light bulb having flickered on in his head. He snapped his fingers, "Of course. The cupboard under the sink. There's space behind the bug spray!"

He grabbed the pile carried them back over to the sink; he set them down carefully and dropped to his knees. Yep, sure enough he could see his reflection in the shiny surface. He should do something special to thank them all. He'd figure it out later. He opened the cupboard and began removing the sprays taking a keen interest in the odd names splashed brightly on the front of the canisters.

"Hmm, let's see. Phil's Do It All Bug Spray. What else would you need a bug spray to do? Except kill bugs?" he wondered out loud, "All terrain ant killer. Should come in useful up the mountains." He chuckled to himself, his mood improving already, "Firehouse Spray. Kills all bugs dead. I wouldn't expect it to kill them alive." He placed them in a neat row on the floor, he looked up and spotted the white plastic bag, "What's this then?"

He reached into the cupboard and withdrew the bag, he pulled open the handles and peered inside.

"Candles?" he rummaged through the bag with one hand trying to see if there was anything else there. "Candles." He repeated, not even starting to wonder why they had about twelve pale blue and white candles stuffed behind the ant killer.

He placed a hand on his face and groaned.

"Candles. Of course." He muttered with grim finality.

He pushed the candles back into place, figuring that they must be there for a purpose and began to slot some of the plates into the space that was left.

##Tomorrow what price will I pay?

Could I make it all up to you?

By serving coffee for two in bed##

He got to his feet and dusted off his clothes, which at the moment happened to be a baggy black t-shirt and a pair of loose grey pants. They weren't particularly fancy and therefore quite perfect for cleaning up in.

He thought he'd take a break and have some coffee to catch his second wind. He'd have to go and let the others know of this particular decision.

He jogged out of the kitchen and told the news to Starfire who nodded happily and made a beeline back to the kitchen. He found Beast Boy lying belly up in a pile of sparkling clean take away boxes still in his pig form. He looked quite full.

Robin prodded the stuffed pig with his toe. It squealed and gave jerk as it came awake and transformed back into the little green elf. "Hey BB, break time go and tell the others okay?"

"Sure thing!" Beast Boy replied before belching loudly and rubbing his stomach, "Man I'm stuffed. I feel like a pig."

Robin stared at his friend incredulous, "Beast Boy, you were a pig."

"Oh. My bad."

##Would you then give me the time of day?

I need a map of your head translated to English,

So I can learn not to make you frown##

Robin sipped his hot coffee and stared meaningfully out of the window. He supposed he should go and see what Raven was up to. It was his duty as leader. And as a friend. He certainly didn't want her to kill herself. But he didn't want to intrude and make her feel as if everyone were crowding around her.

Strange things had been happening recently. He reflected on the events of the past month, Raven and Aqualad had starting dating; he and Starfire had started dating. He liked Raven more than Starfire. Raven's planet died. He scowled, and what was up with Beast Boy and Terra? They had been out of sorts for a few days now. Beast Boy was hiding it well, but it seemed as if everything was not going smoothly in their relationship. Terra seemed to be more moody than usual.

Cyborg had finally got back together with Bumblebee. Robin smiled into his coffee.

##You'd feel better if you'd vent,

Put your frustrations into four letter words,

And then let them out on mine,

The most weathered ears in town##

After putting his coffee mug in the sink he decided to go and see how Raven was and began jogging towards the stairs passing through the lounge as he did so.

His progress was halted however by what was on the wide television screen. He skidded to a stop on the clean and newly fragranced carpet and stared at the lit up screen.

A young woman was clutching a microphone to her chest and yelling against the wind, "That's right; this is the location where the escaped villain Slade was last seen." The camera zoomed into the building behind the reporter. It was a big square and looked more like a prison cell than anything, "Although Slade hasn't been up to anything yet he has been spotted by the night guard on several occasions. What he could be doing at the local mental hospital no one knows. But what we do know is nothing good can come of it."

There was a noise behind him and he whirled around. The couple of his previous thoughts were stood in the doorway about to leave. One looked tired and worn out, her pale eyes diverted from his face, while the other just looked smug. Aqualad gave him a filthy glare. Robin's gaze dropped to where the atlantian's hand was resting on Raven's waist. He looked back up and balled his fists behind his back. He really was beginning to despise his former friend.

"See you later Robin." Mumbled Raven as she allowed herself to be guided out of the tower. Her voice sounded emptier than he had ever heard it before. It was more than just monotone now, it was…hollow. He watched as the electronic door slid closed after the two of them.

Robin stood there stunned. He expelled the breath he knew that he had been holding and turned back to the television. The camera was moving past the perimeter of the hospital slowly. Robin narrowed his eyes as he saw someone moving in the shadows at the corner of the shot.

He recognised the person and stumbled backwards in surprise, "No. That's…"

##So say what you will,

Say what you mean,

You could never offend,

Your dirty words come out clean##