A/N: It's fun in the sun today, no strings attached to this one. Requested anonymously on tumblr as a "3x08 extension."
Enjoy, or don't. Whatever!
Outside of the wayward little bed and breakfast, sitting somewhere along a road outside of the local forests, was a haphazardly built tent. There were what at least looked like rose petals strewn in front of the entrance of the tent, obviously meant to spell something before someone had kicked them around into an illegible mess, and beside the tent was a singular, lonely looking balloon covered in mud and dirt. Except for the sounds of a few animals and low hanging branches scraping along the ground with each passing breeze, the night was silent.
April had already fallen asleep and Andy was on the verge of letting his eyelids droop closed, but something had been keeping him up. He was laying down on the hard ground with only the blanket he'd taken between the dirt and them, elbow propping his head up while he took in the image. He knew it was pretty creepy to stare at people, especially when they were sleeping and doubly especially when they were naked and sleeping, but if anyone appreciated people being creepy it was April so he figured there wasn't anything wrong.
He liked her a whole lot, and Andy wasn't even really sure why other than she was way cooler than anyone else Andy had ever met. No one else was as into the dumb things he was, especially when she could inflict some kind of emotional or bodily harm on somebody else – it was awesome. If that wasn't enough, that look she had on her face when Andy had found them was definitely a damn good reason; it was that mixture of dumb astonishment and excitement brought together by her smile that she hadn't even bothered hiding when it was just them.
Breaking through the quiet night, the wind picked up and a howling whistle traced the air outside. April stirred for a moment, blinked her eyes open, and turned to face Andy who was still in his prone, staring creeper pose.
"I should probably be worried about this," she said, stifling a yawn.
"I know, right?" he laughed and nodded.
Andy pulled up the cover April was under and sidled up next to her so that they were still facing each other, just a little more intimate. They grinned, chuckling under their breaths and moving their bodies closer together.
"You're sure you're not gonna, like, take me back to some weird sex dungeon in your basement," April had hooked her arms around his neck and was pushing herself closer until they were practically stuck together.
Andy usually hated all the stupid sappy stuff that Ann had subjected him to, but he liked the way that April tried to keep a straight face when they kissed but couldn't help herself and let a grin find its way onto her face. He loved when she took one of her legs and started to glide one foot across his, moving up and down while they locked eyes. Andy couldn't really remember much when that happened.
"No…" Andy trailed off, pulling his head back from her. "I thought we could do it in here again, that was pretty cool."
"Yeah, but this is the part where you say you're the kidnapper and I'm your accomplice," she was kissing the sides of his neck and Andy was starting to lose focus of most of what was going on around him. "Or something, I don't really know anymore."
"I still don't know," Andy admitted.
In the morning people had started to file out of the bed and breakfast, each of them looking more bleary-eyed than the last and several of them sporting claw marks and scratches. Silently Andy held a competition, and found that he definitely had more nail marks and bites on his body than anyone else. He was packing everything back into his crude knapsack when April emerged from the tent, eyes still almost entirely closed and walking on wobbly, tired legs.
"Ugh, why does the sun have to be up?" she asked, massaging a knot out of her hair and looking around their makeshift campsite. "And where'd everyone go?"
"Oh, they all left I guess," Andy slung his guitar over his shoulder and turned to face her with his ramshackle backpack, "so I figured… we'd, like, leave."
"Cool, where's your car?" April asked, stretching out in the cool morning air.
"Uhh, oh," Andy pointed behind his back into the woods and muttering something before finishing with a straight face, "I don't have a car."
"Andy, I didn't drive here," she complained, giving him a glare. "Who else is here, we can get a ride from them."
"Well, I think Ben and Jerry are still-"
April didn't give time to finish his sentence, already donning her jacket and turning around to start walking down the path leading away from the woods. Leaving the tent standing, the balloon having flown off and caught in a branch somewhere, Andy shuffled to walk beside her. They walked without saying anything for a while, Andy still smiling and curious why she was so quiet. Despite an otherwise sour atmosphere, when he put his hand next to hers April immediately took it and pushed her fingers in between his. Andy tried his best smile and she returned it with a shy grin.
"Hey, this could be fun," he said.
"Why don't we just call Leslie or someone and have them pick us up?" April suggested, swinging Andy's head and slouching while she walked. "I hate the sun."
"You're gonna have to call, because I'm pretty sure I lost my phone… uh, somewhere last night," Andy shrugged and laughed.
"Of course you did," she chuckled and pulled her phone out but hesitated. "I hate all these trees and stuff, but maybe we could walk a bit more before I call."
They exchanged looks and Andy relaxed his grip on her hand, feeling a lighter step in his feet as they kept walking down the barely constructed road. Andy was pretty sure it didn't even count as a road, since the only material it was made of was basically dirt. The heat from the early morning sun was starting to warm the ground and the air, and before long the sporadic breezes were more comfortable than obnoxious. Every once and a while April would point out a squirrel or some other little woodland animal crawling around, stopping to stare at the two of them, and returning to their daily schedule. At least an hour had passed and April had never bothered to pull her phone back out, now walking with Andy's arm slung over her shoulder and huddled up next to him.
A few times the wind picked up and leaves battered their faces, one time causing Andy to sputter because a wayward leaf had flown into his face with his mouth open. April laughed and in retaliation he picked up a pile of dead leaves strewn across the ground and threw them at her. It didn't take long for their leaf fight to die down, and they were still pulling a few of the things out of their hair and clothes for another ten minutes, but the mood stayed.
"You sure you wanna keep walking," Andy asked, partially honestly and mostly because carrying everything was getting tiring, "'cause I'm sure someone could get us."
"Nah, I kinda like this," April said, shoving him playfully with her shoulder, digging herself deeper into his side. "I mean, it's kinda dumb that everything's quiet but it's fun, right?"
"Yeah," Andy immediately responded.
Again they fell into a mostly quiet march, and Andy did like it. Something about the quiet Indiana morning, woods, and the sounds of real life just far enough away that it felt like they had escaped it was oddly relaxing. Listening to April explain something about one of the birds they saw flying away, and she was weirdly into its beak or something, Andy figured out why he liked the walk so much. With that thought he gave April a quick kiss on the lips and continued walking, his smile now a permanent fixture on his face.
It took them another hour before April finally gave in, quietly complaining about how annoying the ground was being and that Andy's feet had to be getting sore. Admitting that, and wondering how long the blisters would be bothering him, they sat down by the side of one of the paths they had taken. The sun was in full swing by that time, cutting through the trees and between branches and trying to find anywhere its rays could sit for a while. Little flecks of sunlight were scattered across the ground like light sifted through a colander, creating a miniature natural lightshow. Andy was still sitting down, plucking at a few strings on his guitar and trying to find a chord while April paced in front of him, talking to Leslie on the phone and trying to explain where they were.
He was playing the same three chord progression that always came naturally to him, trying to pass the time and hoping a song idea would spring to mind. April had finished her phone call but was still pacing in the middle of the path, arms crossed and looking agitated. Still, Andy couldn't help but think about how pretty she looked when she walked over one of the little streaks of light pushing through the otherwise separated treetop. Little panes of light rolled over her nose and reflected off of her lips, and a few times Andy thought the word he wanted to use to describe it was beautiful but that sounded dorky and corny so he pushed that to the back of his mind.
"Y'know, it was cute when you stared at me because I was naked," she interrupted him, "but now it's weird."
"Sorry," Andy looked down and fumbled with the pick in his hand.
April was still walking in circles and he couldn't help himself, going back to looking at her. Andy was a gross, scruffy guy who barely kept himself clean and oftentimes didn't shower. He liked to roll around in the mud and play with food, covering himself in it half of the time, and he wondered what the thing was that kept her interested in him. It was true that he now rolled around in mud with April, and most of the time she was the one initiating it – and usually introducing something cool and new like food fights – but it still had him a little confused. Again she caught him looking but instead of saying anything she just gave him a confused look before returning to her routine.
"All right, what's up?" she asked a little too loudly, stopping and turning to face him. A bright shaft of sunlight was crossing her face, making her usually wide eyes shine a little strangely. "You're being really weird, man."
"You just look… like, really beautiful right now," Andy strummed in between his words, letting the quiet music ring a little before he spoke again, "I dunno, I mean I always thought that and stuff but I, uhh, just sorta thought of it now."
There was a beat between what he had said and when the words processed through April's head. Andy was still playing softly, wondering if he had been too sappy for her – he wasn't even sure how he was supposed to compliment her anyways. She smiled shyly and sat down next to him, looking at his guitar.
"Think of any songs?" April leaned back on her arms for support, looking back and forth along the road impatiently. "I mean, besides whatever you sang last night."
"I forgot that already," he admitted, muting the strings and keeping a thick, warm undercurrent of playing going, "but I got a new song I think."
"Yeah, what's it called?" she squinted through the sun's glare.
"I, uhh…" he wasn't even really writing anything, just playing and thinking a few stray thoughts, "I guess it's called, um, 'April Ludgate's the Best.'"
He finished the sentence by moving his palm off of the strings, allowing the improvised progression to sound a little louder in the woods. He'd figure out the lyrics later, but he let the image of April with that little bit of light running over her fuel most of the music. April's lips quivered and soon she was giving him another reluctant grin. Her head dropped onto his shoulder as he played, mumbling along random lyrics strung together that sounded vaguely like a song. He didn't have much time to finish his work before a red sedan styled car stopped in front of them and Ron stepped out of the car.
They piled Andy's things into the backseat and took the passenger seat over, April sitting on his lap while he hummed the progression of his new song to her throughout the ride. It wasn't long before Ron told him to shut up and enjoy the silence, but it was fun while it lasted he thought. However, April wasn't done and soon she was humming it back to Andy who joined in over the sounds of a grumbling, distressed Ron.