* You never could have convinced me that a "little" old story featuring Leonardo and Raphael in the prominent positions would ever have turned out to be another of my favorite projects yet. Here at the end of it I do feel like I've partially made up for certain portrayals in earlier fics of mine, as well as some of the absurdities I've put Raphael through.

The song I've included in this chapter is called "Adored", and it's by Collective Soul. I heartily recommend looking it up on Youtube so that you can get the entire effect from it. Yes, I know there are those of you out there thinking with rational minds, who could easily point out how difficult it would be for the guys to play something as small as a guitar string. My reasoning goes that if they've figured out a way to dial a cellphone, type on a keyboard, or any of the other minute work Donatello has to do with his hands, by jove they could play an instrument too. ;)

Night had long fallen now, and nearly everyone else was either outside, or already downstairs at least. Raphael had been stealing a couple more private minutes alone in the loft, and was only just glancing at his watch for the time again when he heard footsteps on the spiral-staircase.

"It's cool!" He called over his shoulder to whoever it happened to be, "I'm on my way right now."

"Take your time Raph, nobody's going anywhere." An unexpected voice told him.

The red-masked turtle spun around instantly. "Karina, you're not supposed to...be.."

When Raphael caught sight of her, words escaped him entirely. She was already dressed, and had been for some time. Her burnished hair was pulled back tightly at her neck, with hibiscus blossoms ranging from dark blue to purple posed in the partial up-do. Her dress was a light antique gold that nipped in at her waist, only to fall back in subtle layers around her sandaled feet.

"You look..."

"Different?" She suggested with a smile.

"Beautiful. I was looking for a better word, but I don't think it exists."

She was moved by the slight awe in his tone, and it made her duck her head a little shyly. "It was my Mom's. She did this trade exchange with another working Venezuelan professional, gave away a years' worth of dance lessons to the woman's daughter to get it."

"I think it was worth it Kari, but what are you doing? We're not supposed to be together yet, are we?"

"I'm sorry for ruining it, but I had to see you." She said evenly. "We hadn't so much as crossed paths today, and then you were gone for a pretty long time. I wanted to make sure that you were okay. I'm feeling kind of guilty for how I pushed you into this. It wasn't really fair of me to put you on the spot at a time like that."

"Kari, you didn't push me into anything that I didn't already want. I needed to get the 'Sensei' talk from Donny....minus Sensei of course."

"Raph, if you're not sure--"

"I couldn't be more sure of how I feel about you. I just needed to hear from someone who's been in the same place that I'm in now."

She reached out to stroke the turtle's jawline, searching his amber eyes for any uncertainty that belied his words. "I'm not going to change my mind you know." She said softly. "I hope that you believe that."

He nodded at her. "You wouldn't have asked if you didn't want it." He replied with a characteristic half grin. "How'd you sneak away from the others?"

"It wasn't as hard as it sounds, they're busy with other things. But they'll probably notice that they can't find either of us any minute here."

"Still, they can't start without us, right?" He pointed out impishly, right before she cocked her head to kiss him.

They lingered in it for a couple of seconds, before she took a step backwards. "We'd better not keep them waiting and wondering."

He paused to take in the full sight of her again, exhaling quietly out of his own amazement.

"Do you think you could completely forget what I look like before coming back downstairs?" She asked jokingly.

"I doubt it, but I could try to give myself another concussion."

"No, don't you dare! It was hard enough getting you to fall for me twice, I don't want to risk a third time."

He had to laugh at that. "Woman, I think I'd fall for you any day of the week."

The red-masked turtle let her go downstairs ahead of him, and Karina escaped the notice of everyone with the exception of an exasperated Katherine who'd been looking for her.

"Seriously Karina? What were the two of you doing that couldn't have waited until later?" Her sister demanded.

"Our consciences are clear." She stated lightly. "Now, where do you want me?"

"Apparently you don't need to hide from Raph anymore, but it would still be nice for you to stay out of the way until he goes outside." Katherine answered, drawing her back down the hall by her arm.

Raphael came downstairs after that, and headed for the back lot behind the Lodge where everyone was supposed to be gathering. He walked out the door to be greeted by torchlight, and cracked both knuckles somewhat self-consciously in front of him as he moved to join his brothers who were already waiting in a specific spot.

"Everything okay?" Leonardo murmured under his breath.

"Yup, it's all good." He replied.

It wasn't a complete surprise to see Karina a couple of minutes later, but the way the firelight played off of her dress and hair did add another element into the mix, making her feel like even more a vision than when he'd first laid eyes on her that night. The red-masked turtle swallowed deeply as he fought to contain the emotion that leaped up inside of him, a mixture of awe and joy, mingled with a hint of sadness that his father couldn't be there.

Leonardo was officiating just like Donatello's own ceremony years ago, but Raphael wasn't listening well at first. He knew his brothers were still standing there, and that everyone else was gathered nearby, but in that instant Karina was the only other one that existed in his mind.

How can any of this even be real? How does somebody like her even lay down their whole life by choice?

Raphael was familiar with the need to trust someone else, to count on them to have his back. He'd relied on his brothers for his whole life to be there for him, and not to give him up for the wild no matter how bad his attitude got. This was a different kind of trust, more difficult to achieve maybe, but at least equally as powerful. As the woman reached for his hand and captured him in a meaningful glance, he realized he didn't need to force the issue of faith. Though he couldn't explain in words how he knew, he recognized in her eyes that it was all just as real for her as it was for him.

The fact that he hadn't really been listening to Leonardo this whole time suddenly came back to bite him, as silence lapsed over the ceremony.

"Raph?" The blue-banded turtle said questioningly. "Do you want to do your part?"

"My what?" Raphael asked, and then caught Donatello's gesture toward the acoustic guitar out of the corner of his eye. "Oh, my part." He said understandingly.

Raphael took a step back from Karina to retrieve the guitar from his younger brother, shooting him a grateful look for having the presence of mind to remember to have it tuned for him. "There's a lot of things I could say right now Kari." He said a little thoughtfully, as he lightly stroked a couple of the strings. "But I don't think any of it could be summed up better than the way this song does."

With another exhaled, he started strumming the instrument a little more seriously.

"I can say this life is

Much better today.

Everything turns right if

Wrong gets in the way.

Yeah I've got this feeling

It's something I find hard to explain

See I wasn't looking

But girl, I'm glad I fell in your way.

xxxx

Then she says "Oh boy, oh boy

Count your lucky stars

Count what you've been wishing for.

Oh boy, oh boy

Count the life you lead

Count how you are now...adored."

xxxx

I can say the sun burns

Much brighter today.

I can see my path though

Clouds darken my way.

Yeah I've got this feeling

It's something I find hard to explain.

See I wasn't looking

But girl, I'm glad I fell in your way.

xxxx

Then she says "Oh boy, oh boy

Count your lucky stars

Count what you've been wishing for.

Oh boy, oh boy

Count the life you lead

Count how you are now...adored."

When he stopped, it was as if the surrounding world went still with him, while the red-masked turtle put the guitar down and tried to gather coherent thoughts. "I never thought anybody could look at me the way that you do. In my wildest dreams I might have wondered what it would be like, but not in the sense that it could happen. Enough has been said about this last year to last me my whole life. But I won't ever be able to escape it completely, because it would take away from where you came in Karina. I don't know how it happened, and I'm past the point of trying to figure it out. Instead I'm just counting my lucky stars that you're here, and putting all the faith I've got into the crazy belief that this is meant to be, and that it will last."

Karina tried desperately to steady her own voice, so that she could perform some semblance of the speech that had been running through her mind for days. In the end, it went out the window completely.

"What can I say right now? I feel so full inside, to the point that joy is going to come bursting out of me because there's no more room for it. I had no idea it was possible to really be this happy. You know my story, that I used to spend most of my time worrying about keeping everyone else satisfied around me. That was all that mattered. In my backward thinking, I thought that conforming to whatever I thought they wanted from me was the only way that I could be accepted.

I've never felt more free in any relationship until I met you. I'd never hit anyone until I met you." She couldn't help adding with a chuckle. "It's been the most incredible ride of ups, and some downs. And while others could look at it from the outside and say that emotions can be fickle, I know that what we have is deeper than that. It's deeper than attraction (although I feel that), and more meaningful than common interests. Some people think that's enough, and they get by with it just fine. But what I hold inside for you is what I think is the closest human equivalent of unfailing love.

I love you, exactly the way you are. I wouldn't change you. You've given me more than you even understand that you have. And losing you, would be like losing my own life in a way. I do adore you, and I promise to continue loving you, imperfections and all. We both have them, but it doesn't change who we are. I also promise not to step in between the bond you have with your brothers, which is something that should never be broken."

When it was clear that she was finished, Leonardo nodded at both of them. "And our hope is that yours would never be broken either. None of us believe in accidents or coincidences. Though we don't understand how, we recognize that there's a pattern, and see that there's a plan somewhere behind all the craziness of our world. A world that won't be able to recognize or acknowledge how powerful of a thing that the two of you have. But that doesn't change how real it is.

While no ceremony we perform can be legally binding, we believe it's actually bigger than that. The piece of paper isn't what blesses a marriage, or keeps it strong. Your commitment to each other will do that. It'll take both of you working to make it last, to make it permanent. But I can speak for all of us when I say, I know you have it in you."

There were other words, but they too melded into the surrounding darkness, interrupted only by the flickering flames of the torches. Karina was in his arms again, and when she kissed him, every trial of the last year seemed no louder than a whisper, compared to how he felt in that most poignant moment.