The Pledge

"Nobody comes between us; nobody comes before us."

"Equal in all things, the good and the bad."

"Total trust; complete respect."

"Aw, you guys took all the good ones," Mikey whined.

"Come on Mikey, focus here," Raph said.

"Fine." Mikey huffed and his forehead wrinkled in concentration.

The owners of the three sets of hands linked with his in the center of their small circle waiting patiently.

Finally, their youngest brother's eyes widened and he said, "To love, honor and cherish."

Raph groaned. Don said mildly, "This isn't a wedding, Michelangelo."

"It is a pledge though," Leo put in, "so maybe that vow is not such a bad idea."

Mikey grinned happily, but then a small frown creased the skin between his eyes.

"Do I have to say 'til death do us part'? 'Cause I really hate that line and I'd just like to get straight to the kissing," he said.

The other three laughed as they removed their hands. Raphael grabbed Mikey's shoulders and pulled him into a deep and satisfying kiss; leaning into Mikey and tipping him backwards.

When the kiss broke, Mikey was clutching at his brother's neck. "Whoa, dude," was all he could manage to breathe out.

"I think that actually made him speechless," Don said, a small smile curling his lips.

Raph released Mikey and turned to Don. "Let's see what I can do to ya'."

The kiss Leo lavished on Mikey was less physical, but equally as intense. Pulling back, Leo kept his arms around Mike's waist and asked, "Is this everything you wanted, Mikey?"

The flash of electric blue from Mikey's eyes dazzled Leo, making his breath catch.

"Yeah dude; this makes me feel much better," Mikey's smile was as bright as his eyes and Leo basked in the warmth.

Don came up behind Mikey and circled the orange banded brother's shoulders with strong arms.

Tipping his head forward to nip and kiss the side of Mikey's neck, Don asked, "You know you didn't really need a pledge to ensure we'd all stay together, right Mikey?"

Mikey blinked against the sudden moisture in his eyes, hiding his strong feelings so Raph wouldn't tease him.

"Yeah, I know. I guess. . .I guess I just needed to hear the words," Mikey said.

He knew they understood his need, even without his voicing the fear itself. Maybe if they all made this pledge to each other they would always come back after venturing outside of the lair. They would try that much harder to stay alive because now they had given their word.

Mikey felt like they didn't really need to add the 'forever and ever' part to the pledge; that was sort of a given.

"So okay, ya' got your sappy ceremony. What else do ya' need?" Raph asked.

Leo saw the mischievous twinkle in Mike's eye and braced himself.

"I say we all pile on Raph," Mikey said.

"Say what?" Raph managed to blurt just before his three brothers dove on him.

All four hit the ground. Raph's loud protests soon died, replaced by low moans and hoarse curses.

Then those sounds faded under the echo of deep rolling churrs; a symphony in four parts.