Cold.
Of all the ways her life had changed, it was the omnipresent chill that April never quite got used to. What weak splashes of sunlight that made it through the sewer grates did nothing to warm the concrete down below; though she never complained, the lair reminded April of a giant tomb more than anything: Cavernous, shadowy. And damn cold.
The subway station benches that served as a couch weren't exactly plush, and seemed to pull even more chill out of the ground. Though fully clothed, April shivered slightly. It was particularly cold down here at night, meaning that her bedtime usually took care of itself. Everyone else had hit the hay hours ago, other than Mikey, who genuinely felt that watching her do her physics homework was more interesting than sleep. He'd asked dozens of questions, clearly not grasping more than a few threads of her primer on subatomic particles, but you couldn't fault him for lack of interest. Even Mikey was sacked out now, though. He lay sprawled out only a couple of feet away, one of her notebooks shielding his eyes from the sole overhead light trained on their study session.
Watching his snores ruffle the pages, April couldn't resist a tired smile. Mikey's ebullience was tiring just to watch, and yet somehow invigorated everyone around him. She started to push herself up off the bench, feeling her knees and hips creak a little. She'd been getting carried away in her training with Master Splinter, perhaps out of cabin fever.
"Mmmmeh."
April looked down with a start. Mikey was fully stretched out now, the notebook fluttering away from his face and hitting the floor with a sharp rattle that didn't disturb him in the least. Despite being rather short, he somehow managed to take up most of that section of the couch now. Groping around, he had latched onto April's jeans pockets and was now holding her hostage. She let out a sigh quieter than she really felt, not wanting to wake him despite her annoyance. He was truly the annoying little brother she'd never had.
Mikey's head, she noticed, was wedged uncomfortably beneath her hip. Vaguely wondering what he'd say if he woke up now, April scooped his head up onto her knee, straightening his neck. He gave a little sigh, almost as if in gratitude. She wanted to disentangle his hands from her clothing, but there was something peaceful in his expression that stopped her. While he was nearly always the most relaxed of the four brothers, his sleeping face was so utterly serene that it gave April a little pang. Of what? She was too tired to know herself. Maybe pity.
The play of light and shadow that melded and shifted with Mikey's freckles betrayed a sudden small smile, a little mischievous even in slumber. April was reminded of a statue of the Buddha, only green and snoring. She couldn't help smiling too. Whatever she did feel, it wasn't pity.
Mikey snuggled more deeply into her lap, pulling at the hem of her shirt as though trying to cover himself. Shaking her head slightly, April gently pried it from his fingers. Was he cold, too? She had never thought about whether the guys were comfortable in their own home, what they yearned for in their dreams and most private thoughts...
That pang hit her again, and April was all but jolted fully awake. Mikey, at least, suffered as much as she did from being trapped down below. He fed off the energy of others, giving it back transformed into love and humor. Now she realized how it must hurt him to be isolated from the world above, undoubtedly big and sunny and full of people to be friends with in his mind. Though his sensei and brothers loved him, his form of love was rebuffed or ignored by everyone, including her, and for his big and exuberant soul, the sewer lair was ultimately a prison.
April snapped back into the present at one of his louder snores. He was all but entirely curled up in her lap now, looking for all the world like a very large, oddly reptilian kitten. In his shifting around, Mikey's mask had come partially off, trailing a long tail of vivid orange fabric down the side of his face and down her leg and tickling her. April carefully wound the fabric around her fingers, easily loosening the carelessly-tied knot, and set the mask aside. He looked even more beatific without it.
And suddenly, April realized, she was warm.