Disclaimer - I own nothing.

A Thousand Words

Prologue

It had been nearly a year.

It seemed like a lot longer.

Robin slipped some bread into the toaster and pushed down the button. Starfire and Beastboy were eating tofu. Cyborg had a bacon sandwich. None of them spoke.

Robin sat down at the table, waiting for his toast. Still silence. It seemed to last forever. And then,

"Starfire, don't drink the mustard!"  Robin cried. Starfire looked up, the straw sticking out of the mustard pot.

"But it's so delicious!"

The silence shattered as they started to laugh.  She smiled innocently and drank a little bit more. Robin snatched it away and sighed.

"Honestly, Star. You're going to make yourself sick." Starfire looked sad. Beastboy chortled and took his plate to the sink.

They sat down again and Robin decided to go for it and mention the unmentionable.

"It's been a year." They all looked at him and Starfire nodded.

"Yes. It has been exactly 365 days."

"Yeah… seems longer, doesn't it?" Cyborg said. Beastboy didn't speak. But watched them all. Starfire said,

"Should we… I mean… her room…"

Robin looked at the others and Cyborg nodded.

"We can't keep it forever. She's not coming back." Beastboy still didn't speak. Starfire touched his shoulder.

"Beastboy, we must not dwell on it."

"It's just… if we clear out her room… it means that she's really gone."

"She is." Robin said. Beastboy looked away and then nodded.

"OK. But… we can't forget her."

"No. To be forgotten… that is the worst thing of all." Starfire said, uncharacteristically philosophical. Cyborg suggested,

"Why don't we each keep something? So we don't forget? And put the rest in the basement."

They nodded and Robin took the piece of toast from the toaster.

"Let's do it now."

The room was dark. It always had been. They stood in the doorway. It seemed like intruding. Starfire took the first step. The others followed tentatively. Starfire went to the dressing table and picked up a book of poetry by Edgar Allen Poe.

"I shall keep this." Cyborg looked around and saw a small pile of CD's. He flicked through them and pulled one out.

"Who knew she liked Bif Naked?" He joked. Robin hesitated but went to the wall where and ornate sword hung.

"This… I'll keep this." He said quietly, running his hands over it.

They all looked at Beastboy. He had his hands in his pockets and was looking awkward. After a few seconds he joined Starfire at the dressing table and picked up the mirror.

Before it would have slight flashes darting across its surface, like electricity. But now its silver surface was dull and coated with a thin layer of dust, like everything else in the room.

Beastboy turned to the others.

"I'll keep this."

Several hours later the room was empty. Abandoned belongings stood in marked boxes, down in the basement. The four Teen Titans turned. First Starfire left, with Robin. Cyborg looked around the room, sighed and left.

Beastboy went to the door and turned to look back at the room. It was clean, but bare. It was just a room. Not her room.

He flicked the light switch off and held the mirror in one hand. With the other he took the handle to the door. Before he closed it he said,

"Goodbye Raven."

The door closed.