A/N: Breaking schedule because I'm in a writing kinda mood at this late hour :)
Requested anonymously on tumblr as even more expansion on April and Andy's roadtrip to the Grand Canyon.
Both of them agree to stop just a few hours outside of Pawnee, Andy complaining that his stomach hurts and the diner they just passed saying something about milkshakes and April's honestly tired of being cramped up in the small car. Things had fallen silent in the previous half hour, after Andy started playing a Boston playlist from her phone way too loudly and she woke up in a hazy anger. He was screaming out the lyrics to "More Than a Feeling" but she just wanted him to shut up.
When they park at the diner Andy walks in ahead of her, and she has to remind herself that she's doing this because of and for him. They sit at one of the only booths and they get a double order of fries and two of the monster milkshakes they were advertising.
"Hey," April says to him quietly from across the booth, taking the paper straw packaging out of his hand. "You're supposed to be happy, Andy. Being mad's my job."
"You still wanna do this, right?" he asks suddenly, ignoring the fries in front of him.
"Just because you woke me up and I was groggy doesn't mean I wanna stop this trip-"
"That's not what I mean," Andy looks up and April's playful smile drops instantly.
What he's saying is the dumbest thing she's ever heard come out of his mouth, and that was impressive. It might be the worst thought that he'll ever have to think about, given how strangely easy their life is, and she wants it gone. Being mad or depressed is her job, not Andy's. He's not allowed to be sad, especially when it comes to them - he's never supposed to think like that. He shouldn't have to ever worry about that.
"I don't wanna talk about that," April says hoarsely, picking up a handful of fries and shoving them in his partially open mouth. "Ever."
"Does pffat-" he speaks through the food but April shuts him up with another glare.
So they sit like that in an uncomfortable silence, finishing what they've ordered before leaving to continue their drive. April lets him drive because if she takes over she's sure he won't stop thinking about what she actually meant.
It's some other unfathomable stretch of highway and endless flat plains when April takes over finally. They stop at the side of the road to do the switch, and when April walks out to the front of the car Andy meets her there with a sad look on his face.
"I love you," she says out of the blue, smiling just to get him to remember what they're doing. "This trip's gonna be awesome, and I love you."
"Yeah," he mutters half-heartedly, walking past her.
Trying to suppress the urge to shout at him, April grumbles her way to the driver's side and pulls out onto the road again. Again they quiet and April hates it. It's not like the other times when they just sit around in pajamas at four in the afternoon and cuddle on the couch, unmoving and saying little. Andy's almost pouting, his eyes staring away in that swerving train of thought he has, but April doesn't know what she's supposed to do.
"You can play that album you wanted to," she blurts out. "The Pearl Jam one, and you can sing as loud as you want."
"Sure," Andy mumbles.
He does play it though. April makes sure to give him a smile and point out all of the signs and billboards they pass, especially when she sees a fast food chain and desperately wants a bucket of grease to stave off the hunger for a little while. And then again when they pass a motel and wonder if they should just sleep in the car, but the shifts plan just isn't working with Andy's sense of direction and April's unwillingness to break a nap.
At the front desk of the motel, the guy behind the counter leers strangely at the two of them before passing them a key. When they get inside one of the dingy rooms April's thankful she doesn't still have that little black-light on her keyring.
"God, I'm tired," Andy groans when he slumps onto the bed and quickly falls asleep.
April jumps onto the bed, her weight barely making Andy shift in his sleep, before she gives up trying to wake him and buries her body into his back. With that heat, curled up on the flea-ridden mattress and sheets, she falls to sleep with a hopeful contentment.
When she wakes up, Andy's gone. Checking the bathroom and, for some reason, under the bed he's nowhere to be found. Blinking away tired eyes, April pulls back the curtains of the sole window that leads out to the motel parking lot. It's nighttime and there's very little luminescence coming from the motel's vacancy sign but she can make out the absence of her dad's car.
Opening the door in a hurry, a note slips out from a wedge in the door. Picking it up, there's Andy's crinkly handwriting:
Went to pick up food, be back in a few. Love you lots -Andy
Taking another deep breath, April goes back inside and turns on the dusty TV in an effort to forget that Andy didn't bother to wake her up.
April stirs when the door opens, the sounds of The Price is Right reruns being overwhelmed by the movement of Andy. He has three big brown grocery bags in his hands, his face alight with familiar excitement that makes April more comfortable than his dour demeanor. He sits down and kisses her quickly before launching a bag of pork rinds her way along with a box of donuts. Popping open the bag, she nestles back onto the headboard of the small bed while Andy digs out food and bottles of water.
Other than the noise from their loud snacks and Bob Barker, they don't say much. Eventually April pulls her legs up to keep a little warmer, still refusing to use the sheets, and Andy throws an arm around her and pulls her closer to him. Smiling to herself, she rests her head on his shoulder and welcomes the heat.
Again they fall asleep, this time facing each other. April bumps their noses together playfully several times, making a noise that she would adamantly refuse sounds at all like a giggle, and kisses Andy more times than she can count.
In the morning, April stretches away some of the kinks from falling asleep, waking up in the middle of the night to an insistent Andy, and falling asleep again for a while in a strange contortion of their bodies. She lets him snore for a few minutes longer before shaking him awake. They get back on the road after inspecting the shower and deciding that the tub is just barely big enough for the both of them.
Andy drives and April kicks her feet up on the dashboard, tapping her feet idly to the music.
"Hey," April calls to him when she feels a need to say something.
"What's up?" Andy returns, looking over briefly and giving her a grin.
"It's okay to think like that sometimes, it's normal, just don't... don't believe it, okay?" she squints through the sunlight that's breaking past the windows. "Let's just go see the Grand Canyon."
Andy doesn't say anything to her, instead turning his head and blotting out the sun with his movement. He smiles at her again, a mile-wide ear-to-ear kind of grin that makes her chest vibrate in a thousand amazing ways, and she returns it as best she can. Andy laughs and reaches out one hand to hold hers for a few minutes before it's so sweaty she has to shake him off. Thankfully he just laughs at that and wipes his palm on his jeans, not holding her hand again but kissing her and saying that he loves her adamantly when they switch off an hour later.