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Snow in New York was always at least a little disruptive. Snow plows trucked through the streets, pushing piles wherever they could manage. The only people that willingly went outside were those employed to deal with things, those employed by jobs that seemed to think they’d get business in the weather, and kids that sought to find joy in the frigid air. For April, she was infinitely grateful for the snow day, and that meant she wouldn’t be going outside at all if she had a choice in the matter. Her family had stocked up on groceries before the storm rolled in, knowing full well how annoying it would be if they hadn’t. The snow was still slowly falling, the last set of flurries finding themselves on every exposed surface they could.
April’s mother was, unfortunately, one of those poor employed folk that needed to be out in the storm. That just meant April got the house to herself, which she didn’t mind. After a while of relaxing and watching various things on TV, she had decided to put her free time to good use and sort through the various sweaters and sweatshirts that she had. Her wardrobe was far too full, and a lot of it was stuff she was never gonna wear again. But, just as she was laying everything out on her bed to make it easier to handle, she heard her phone begin to ring from the living room. Rolling her eyes slightly, April hurried over to pick it up and see who was calling. She was a little taken aback to see Leo’s caller ID. At this time of day, in this weather?
“Hey Leo,” she greeted once she picked up, leaning her hip against the sofa. “What’s up, bro?”
“Heyyy, hey April,” Leo lilted. “How you doing?”
April squinted at her phone, pulling it away from her face a bit. “What’s going on, Leo? Did you do something? Do I need to tell Raph?”
“What- no! Why would- when have I ever?”
“Yuh-huh.” April sighed. “Get to the point.”
“Ugh, fine,” Leo groaned, and she could almost hear the dramaticism through the phone. “But I actually didn’t do anything- this is Donnie’s fault, if anything.”
“Suuure.”
“You know how we've got the whole heating system in the lair?”
“Yeah, course I do. Donnie wouldn't stop bragging about it the year he made it.”
“Well it sorta… broke.”
April sat on the couch’s armrest, sighing a little. “Is Donnie refusing to fix it? I can try to talk some sense into him.”
“No, yeah, that's the thing. He's sick.”
“...that's never stopped him before.”
“No, like, sick sick. Like, wake up with your eyes crusted shut and full mouth breathing sick.”
“Ohh…” April cringed. She knew Donnie must have been losing his mind over that. Being bedridden was never voluntary for him. “Well, what are you callin’ me for? Need me to bring him meds or something?”
She could hear Leo inhale on the end of the line. “Well, see, the lair’s sort of way too cold for us to be there right now, and it won’t be fixed until Donnie’s better.” She swore for a second someone groaned, muttering a complaint. “So we’re coming to your apartment. If that’s okay.”
“Oh, uh.” April glanced around at the mild disarray of her living space, with blankets strewn about and a space heater in the corner. “Yeah, sure, that’s alright. I’ll get my room ready for a sleepover.”
“Great! One more question. Can you come outside?”
April’s brow furrowed. “Why?”
“Cause the manhole cover outside your apartment is iced over. Or snowed over. Whatever it is, Raph can’t open it.”
With a sigh and a roll of her eyes, April hung up and slipped her jacket over her shoulders. When she reached the alley, she easily shoveled off the load of snow on the manhole to grant the boys passage. Just before she could lean down and knock, the manhole cover went flying into the air as Raph’s fist punched through. April stepped to the side and watched it spin out until it settled. She turned to scowl at Raph, who looked apologetic as ever.
“Hey, Apes,” he cringed, an innocent look on his face.
“Hey, Raphie. Thanks for not killing me,” she snarked, pointing at the cover on the ground.
“You’re welcome.”
“Can we get inside already?!” Donnie’s whiny, congested voice resonated from below. “This frigid air is horrible for my sinuses!”
“Alright, alright.”
Getting the boys (and Splinter, who would never pass up a chance to be comfortable) upstairs was easy enough. They had snuck up to April’s at least a hundred times over the years, since far before they actually should have been. They knew exactly which steps would creak if you stepped on them wrong, or if Raph stepped on them at all, really. Donnie was slung over Leo’s shoulders, with Mikey gently rubbing at his shoulder. He looked… bad, to say the least. His snout was clearly irritated from blowing it, and he had to keep his mouth open to breathe. Definitely not in the shape to be doing major HVAC work.
Once they reached the apartment, Leo practically tossed Donnie onto the couch, before shoving his legs out of the way to get on the couch himself. Mikey plopped right down on the floor next to Donnie’s face, and Raph settled on the other side with his father under his arm. Being a good host, April shifted the space heater a little and started tossing blankets on the boys.
“Thank you, April,” Splinter said, wrapping a blanket around himself with a grin. “This is greatly appreciated. I thought I would be a rat-cicle by the end of the night!”
“It’s no problem, Splints,” she waved him off, watching Leo and Donnie quietly fight for control over a blanket, even though they both had their own. “Just don’t make the place a mess, if you can manage it.”
Raph squeezed Splinter against his side a little tighter, an uncomfortable expression on his face. “Are you sure, April? Do you need help with anything? Raph feels bad just coming in unannounced.”
“Donnie doesn’t,” the softshell helpfully contributed, with a tissue box somehow in his grubby clutches, probably snatched from the sidetable.
April hummed, hands on her hips, and looked around at the apartment. The laundry was folded, leftovers were in the fridge for dinner (though, with the new additions, takeout was much more likely), there wasn’t even a messy countertop to clean. Though, her eyes drifted over to her slightly ajar bedroom door…
“Maybe you can help me with a fashion show?”
“Oh, immediately yes,” Mikey whispered, leaning forward with anticipation.
“Fashion show?” Leo questioned, using his own flexibility for evil and silently kicking Donnie’s side. “Fashion week is next month, I suppose…”
“I got a ton of old clothes, and need to pick a few to get rid of.” April shrugged. “Maybe I’ll get it done faster with a second, third, fourth, and… a half opinion,” she added, gesturing to Donnie and Splinter. “No offense.”
“None taken,” Splinter said with a shrug.
“MUCH offense taken,” Donnie groaned. “I’ll have you know, I am v-uh-” He cut himself off with a frankly powerful sneeze, nearly lifting the couch off the ground. Leo yelped as he got a heel to the side.
“...yeah no, I don’t trust that you can even see straight right now, boy.” April recoiled a little. “For the rest of you, feel up to the challenge?”
“Uh, of course,” Mikey scoffed, hand against his plastron. “We will not let you down, girl.”
April rolled her eyes lovingly. “I’d expect no less.”
Over the next two hours, April went in and out of her bedroom, showing off all her various sweaters and hoodies. While she was at it, she decided to go through some stuff for warmer weather she was meaning to go through, too. She got plenty of rounds of applause, and deserved hesitant hums and squints when whatever she put on was clearly too small or completely out of style. Anytime she’d encounter a sweater too baggy or too tight, she’d give it to one of the boys to warm up with. By the end of the afternoon, all of them had appropriately ugly and worn clothes to keep warm, and April’s “donate” box was near overflowing.
They occupied the afternoon with meaningless chatter, sharing recent events in the lair that April had missed due to the snow, and becoming deeply invested in the new tea April had from school. Leo had new movies to recommend. Mikey had some funny videos to share. Donnie surely would have had more to contribute, but he took some Tylenol and passed out in a matter of minutes, mouth hanging open like a yawning dog. Fortunately, Leo stopped bothering him after that. The sun was far past the skyline when they decided to turn in for the night.
Despite April’s insistence, the boys (those that were conscious, at least) helped straighten up her room a little. Not entirely, no, none of them had the energy for that. But just enough for everyone to be comfortable, bundled up with blankets and pillows. April only had a twin size bed, so a proper turtle pile there was near impossible, but she didn’t mind crashing on the floor for one night. If her boys needed it, she’d do it. No matter how many pillows, blankets, and uncomfortable shuffles it took.
Raph, as always, acted as the base for the rest, all flopped over each other in a mess of limbs and shells. Just as she was finally settling in, adjusting her bonnet on her head, April felt a tap on her shoulder and looked back at Raph behind her. “What’s up, big guy?”
“Just… wanted to say thanks, again.” He rubbed at the back of his arm carefully, trying not to disturb anyone. “I know you said it was no problem, but I want you to know it matters a lot anyway. You coulda said no.”
“Nah,” April dismissed, leaning back against the snapper’s plastron and holding his arm to her chest. “You’re my brothers. I’m not gonna leave you guys to freeze in the sewers just cause Donnie caught a cold.”
“We wouldn’t have frozen…”
April didn’t dignify that with a response, just with a look.
“...okay, yeah, we probably would’ve.”
April wiggled into Raph’s hold a little more. “Besides, I like having you guys here. Lets me know you’re okay. With all your dumb ‘ninja’ shenanigans, you worry me sometimes.”
Raph paused, and for a moment, April wondered if he had fallen asleep. Then, she felt his head tilt to rest on hers. “Love you, April.”
She giggled a little, and turned to give him a kiss on the cheek. “Love you too, Raph.”
Outside, the snow began to pick up again. In the morning, there would surely be a few more inches covering the ground, making those who had already shoveled their sidewalks groan and dejectedly put on their gloves once more. Donnie would be a little better, or a little worse, colds never stayed the same for long. However it was, the weather or the wellness, April would be fine with it all.