A/N: Had this idea in my head for a while. Definitely April/Andy but mostly April and Leslie stuff.

Would take place around "Time Capsule."

To be honest, April hated him. He was quiet and soft spoken all the time, he always spoke in Spanish and April's was getting rusty and her accent sucked anymore, not to mention he smelled nice. That might have been the worst part of it all - he smelled like cologne, fresh clothes, and sometimes booze. She much preferred sweat, dirt, and constant alcohol smells.

Either way, it was almost worth watching Andy work for her like this. In some ways it was funny, and in others she hated herself for doing it, but she'd made the decision and for once April was going to stick to it. No one could say anything to her that would make her ditch Eduardo in a flash. No one had to know that she hated doing this to him - that first time watching his face fall took an intense will to keep her face even.

Good thing April's gotten good at hiding. Yeah, good she thinks. It's great.

But there was somebody that acted differently around April other than Andy. Obviously Ron wasn't going to get in her personal business after her threats of unleashing the Duke on the unsuspecting Parks department, Jerry too frightened to do anything other than wonder why there's suddenly an attractive Venezuelan man with her all the time, and Donna didn't give a shit.

Leslie, though, she was different. She always was, and April hated that more than anything. On top of Andy turning around from heartbroken to determined, there was Leslie who seemed to only talk to her when she really needed help. The occasional compliments in the morning, or the long schpiels about April's budding responsibilities, and all of that stuff that she would adamantly refuse that she loved - who doesn't love being told they look fantastic at 9AM by Leslie Knope, honestly - just stopped.

Unexpected lunches were gone. Sudden breakfast food meetings where April got a free muffin and coffee didn't happen anymore. Leslie didn't even say anything about the little necklace with a reproduction of the severed head of Bono on it. Bono's Head always got her attention, usually to tell April to take it off, and now – nothing. It was confusing, and half the time she anticipated Leslie telling her it was just a bad day or things were going slowly in getting the department up and running again.

But, there wasn't any of that. Instead, there was radio silence.

Except on one day before they set up the final plans for the Pawnee Time Capsule that basically was going to have a bunch of useless crap in it before Leslie had one of her brilliant ideas, and then that silence broke. April sat on her desk with Eduardo and was getting tired of being around him so she told him to go wait in the car. In reality she was going to leave him there all day, getting amused at how easily she could play two guys at the same time and enjoying herself until Leslie called her into her office.

"Close the door," she told April shortly, and she obliged. "Sit down, please."

"Leslie, can I go home early I think I might be pregnant," April said with a fake grin on. "With what's-his-name's baby, and they're gonna be-"

"April, I wanted to ask you something," Leslie interrupts her and stares dead ahead, without breaking.

"So… ask me," April deadpanned.

"What's your game plan here?" Leslie tilted her head and shrugged like she didn't understand something. "All of this… this Venezuelan hunk business. What's the end game here?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," April mimicked her movements and smiled blithely.

"Oh, okay. Sure," Leslie nodded and stood up, walking over to sit on the corner of her desk with her arms folded. "This coming from someone who actually came to me to talk about Andy just a few days before you left for Venezuela."

April closed her eyes like she was being smacked with that information. Oh, she remembered that day. It was just after coming back from Andy in the hospital, and it was the first time in years that she felt like such shit.

"Leslie," April was almost shaking with anger, nearly yelling into her phone. "Leslie, c'mon. C'mon! Leslie-"

And an hour later when April finally found her walking around Ramsett Park like a lost child, she sat next to her on a bench and squeezed her hands together hard. They sat in silence for a little while until Leslie turned and explained what was happening with the shutdown and that she couldn't help anyone.

That look in Leslie's eyes, like she couldn't do anything, made April scoot a bit closer and nearly hug the woman. Still, she had her own motives for finding Leslie and that didn't involve comfort for her.

"Hey," she said after Leslie lifted her head off of April's shoulder. "Y'know how you said I could come talk to you… about anything."

"Yeah, uh huh," Leslie wiped her face and nodded. "You still can. You're my friend April. A wonderful, amazing, brilliant assistant and friend-"

"Okay, okay, stop," April was still half smiling before she felt a heavy, black weight in her chest and it dropped, "and you remember you said I could talk to you about Andy?"

"Look, that was then," April crossed her arms as well and felt more like a pathetic kid than ever before, "and now I just want to see Andy feel like shit for making me feel like shit."

"You know that's never gonna happen, right?" Leslie nodded, poking her head forward aggressively like April was an idiot that needed something explained seven times over.

"What d'you know? You pined after freaking Mark forever, and that guy sucked," April spat and looked away still, annoyed that they were talking to each other like this but unwilling to give up her position. "So you don't know anything about guys, so just stop it."

"Andy's not gonna stop until you tell him to, which is fine. If you want him to leave you alone, tell him that," Leslie stood up and sighed, "but if you think he's gonna be pissed off at you then you're sadly mistaken."

"You act like you know him all of a sudden," April finally stared back and uncrossed her arms.

"You know what he told me the day you came back with your glorified escort?" Leslie blinked rapidly and smirked. "He told me he cared about you more than anything in the world, and that he'd do anything for you."

April stopped her interjection to let that sink in. She tried to tell herself that was gross and invasive and all kinds of things, but none of it stuck.

"That's creepy," April tried. "He's a stalker."

"And you know what I told him to do?"

"What?" April asked, almost eager.

"I told him to go big or go home, and he did," Leslie nodded and put her hands on her hips before softening momentarily. "April, he's still going big. If you actually hate him, that's okay. Just don't treat him like that."

"After he treated me like such a queen?" April bit back and felt more agitated than ever. "He basically played with my emotions every single day, and that sucked butts Leslie."

"I know, April," Leslie moved forward and put her hands on the young woman's arms, April trying to figure out why she didn't just leave. "I know it sucks, trust me. So why are you still here? Why are you still doing this to him if it's just to leave?"

"Because he deserves it," she said quietly, her eyes prickling and fighting that urge harder than ever.

"Do you, though?" Leslie asked softly and April's eyes shot up in response. "If it's just his problem, stop acting like a child and… I don't know, just don't keep doing this to yourself."

"I told you I'm not-"

"That's enough for now," Leslie broke away and turned around, her voice shaky as she looked out into the courtyard.

April stood there without saying another word, a few seconds going by, and she moved forward. Putting her arms around Leslie, she hugged her superior harder than she'd done just about anyone. It felt right, and since they didn't have to look at each other it made the tears April fought back way easier. Leslie didn't say a word or turn around and April liked it better that way. It felt real and like something that she didn't just dream when Leslie refused to say another word to her.

And when she left work that day she drove Eduardo to the airport, bought his ticket for him, and told him to leave her alone forever.