A/N: My problems are still here, but I also just want to relax with some writing. Can't sleep. I'm not going to pretend like I'll stick to a schedule, because I don't know right now, but if I feel like writing I'm not going to ignore it. Technically you guys didn't miss anything, but I can't guarantee anything other than writing when I really, really want to right now.

Requested anonymously as a pre-relationship bit. Their friendship is as important to me as their love, because ideally you should marry your best friend in the world.

On a mild day, just as a little bit of warmth from the sun was falling over Pawnee, two figures run atop a hill just a few minutes from City Hall. If anyone saw them, the much taller figure was running frantically behind the other, smaller figure with its arms raised high. The shorter one threw something at the tall one, and its own arms went into the air.

April's voice clipped through the slight breeze, lowering her arms as Andy caught the football and yelled with her. Leaving City Hall early, with Andy in tow, was just an excuse to get out of work early. Sneaking out on work wasn't usually her favorite thing to do, though if she ever told Leslie that April's certain she'd cry and Ron would give her a look of absolute disappointment, but Andy was tossing a football and catching it himself over and over again at the shoeshine stand. He looked bored out of his mind and when April sat down next to him he immediately asked her if she wanted to skip on their usual lunch break whatever-it-was for a bit of fresh air.

Normally she would've laughed at him for suggesting that. Normally she would have thought that going outside at all, instead of just sitting at her desk and ignoring everybody, was stupid. Normally, April hated anything to do with football. It reminded her of high school more than anything, and that wasn't something she spent a whole lot of time thinking about anymore. Normally, April would've declined.

Abnormal was always fun, though.

"That wasn't terrible," Andy threw the ball in the air and caught it in both his hands, staring at April the whole time.

She ignored the flush in her cheeks easily. "Yeah?" she said, squinting through the sunlight.

"I mean, you still kinda..." he made a motion with his hand, showing his elbow straight the whole time, "you kinda could mess up your arm if you don't bend your elbow right."

April laughed. She was amazed he knew much about anything, and yet it also made the most sense that he knew how to properly throw a football. Or maybe he didn't, and he was just spouting random crap at her. Either way, April was smiling and found that she didn't hate it that much.

"Like this," he walked forward a bit and made a show of cocking his arm back, elbow bent, and loosing the ball with a small hook of his shoulder downward at an angle. April caught the ball with the tips of her fingers, making a net-like shape with her hands cupped at her stomach.

"So... grip the laces," she repeated, remembering what he told her. She put her fingers between the large white square shapes and looked up at Andy. "Like that?"

"Sure," he nodded, smiling. He was getting closer and April wondered how she was supposed to get the full arc of everything Andy showed her when he was that close.

That wasn't even mentioning that she had to remember to breathe. Andy's hair was sitting still in the wind, but April's was picking up with its speed and she couldn't really tell much of what was happening. Putting the football on the ground between her feet, she reached around and pulled her hair back. While she was messing with a tie, she looked up and caught Andy staring. This happened so often, and it was starting to happen in closer spaces like this, that April constantly asked herself why they were being so stupid. Him more than her, obviously. April thought she was making things pretty clear for him, and with all the pensive stares that Andy gave her and immediately retreated from she worried that maybe he didn't want to make anything clear.

Standing back up straight, now a little agitated, she took the ball and tried her best to mimic his motion from before. Catching him by surprise, Andy didn't react fast enough and the ball smashed into his shoulder and made him stumble.

"Ow," he laughed and bent down to pick it up. "You've got an arm on you, Ludgate."

"Mhm," she mumbled with disinterest, waiting to catch the throw he took another second to toss.

His face before the throw shifted to a frown before a blankness went over it that made April angry at herself. When she caught the ball, Andy's shoulder slumped a bit and he put his hands in his pockets. Tapping the side with her off-hand, April turned and looked down the hill at a small picnic table that a group of kids were slowly abandoning. As they parted from the table, she turned back to Andy and gave him a nod of her head towards it.

Walking down the hill, April tried not to focus on how easily she spilled into anger. All it took was half a second of doubt, and a little annoyance directed towards him, and now she was getting mad at everything and anything. Sitting down at the picnic table, Andy stood and took the ball when she tossed it to him. Settling onto her elbows, April dropped her head onto her hands and looked towards the direction of City Hall.

"D'you wanna go back?" he asked, flipping the ball between his hands.

"Not really," she answered evenly. April turned her head to look at him. "Did... how'd I do? Like, if you had to score out of ten how good was my throw?"

Andy smiled and she felt her cheeks warm up a little bit more. "I dunno, like a six or something?"

"Wow, that bad?" she cracked a small smile and Andy's face nearly split in half. That felt much, much better than being pissed off at nothing.

"Eh, you just need a little practice," he shrugged and ran backwards, beckoning her with his hand. "C'mon, I bet you can do better."

April stood up and found herself running toward him a little faster than before, and then Andy made a running pass just a little too far to the right. April moved to make for the throw, but she got her foot caught at a strange angle when she made to swivel for the ball and stepped down, hard. Instead of landing on her foot like she intended to, April put most of her weight down on her ankle, forcefully. A weird, crunchy noise came out, followed by her shriek and she fell to the ground. The football landed softly with a light thud in front of her, but April could only feel the blinding pain shooting up her left leg.

Rolling over to her back, the motion made her cry out again and look down at her foot. It wasn't obviously broken or anything, but she couldn't shift it at all without a jolt of pain. Andy was sprinting towards her now, just as April hiked her good leg up to get a better look at the other one. Lifting her foot gently, she tried to set it down and put some weight on it but only got a few pounds down before she had to flop back down and wince through it.

"Holy crap, are you okay?" Andy shouted, sliding next to her and looking down at her foot. "Are you hurt?"

"No Andy, I'm just totally unable to stand up for no reason," she got up to her elbows and grimaced, breathing hard.

"I'm so sorry," he said genuinely, his eyes wide and concerned. His voice was shaking a little, and April didn't understand any of that whatsoever. "I'm so sorry, April."

"It's not your fault-"

"You're in your sneakers and I threw like that, and you slid and broke your foot or something, and I screwed up," he put his hand on her shin and thankfully didn't move any farther down her leg. "Does that hurt?"

"No, and it's..." she took another deep breath when Andy's hand went under both of her knees and his arm found her back. "It's fine. What're you doing?"

"I think you gotta get that checked out," he lifted her up easily, the angle of her foot not so much dangling but straight ahead with Andy's arm as support. "You can't walk, so..."

"This is weird," she looked up at him and smiled.

If he couldn't tell she was blushing, April would be convinced Andy was simply blind or didn't have eyes. He did though, big warm ones that looked back at her and then to him cradling her almost bridal style while her foot ached every few seconds. Laughing he set her down slowly, sitting on the picnic table, and crouched in front of her. April tried her best to hold her leg onto his side, but it was uncomfortable and she couldn't handle it for more than a few seconds.

Without thinking about it, April's leg hooked around his stomach while the useless ankle dangled.

"You good?" he asked, looking over his shoulder at her.

April hesitated. Concerned was definitely the word she'd use to describe him at the moment, and that was at least something more than assuming he ignored everything she plainly shoved in his face. "Yeah, but go slow. I don't want my ankle to bounce around," she nodded.

With her arms around his neck and given a piggyback ride, Andy walked her a few blocks to the Pawnee Medical Center. People stared at them the whole time, and if they got the impression that they were together then April wasn't going to stop any of them from thinking it. Setting her down in a chair in the lobby, someone walked over. Someone that April wished she didn't have to see right now.

"Oh, hey Ann!" Andy had a jubilant lilt in his voice when he said that, making April grimace.

"So what happened here?" Ann asked, holding a small clipboard out to April. She clearly ignored Andy, and that was nice to see. Then again that usually meant he'd try even harder to get her to notice him, so she wasn't sure where she stood on that.

"I think Ludgate here broke her whole foot or something," he shrugged.

"I think I just sprained my ankle," she filled out the document with nonsense, fake names like 'Marie,' and handed it half-completed back to Ann.

"Well, I'll have someone take a look at it," Ann said evenly, not looking at Andy. "You'll just have to wait a moment-"

Ann made to help April up, but she stood on her good foot and Andy immediately took her arm and lifted her up so that she was putting most of her weight on him. Ann gave her a curious look before walking away and returning with a wheelchair. Scrunching her nose up at it, she only sat down when Andy gave her a look that had that same small bit of compassion and concern in it. There was something really scary about that, but April wouldn't deny how eerily good being helped into the seat by Andy felt. She could have hobbled and hopped her way over to it, but Andy helped her.

He steered her, following Ann. He made noises like a car engine and swerved a little, bumping into Ann's legs every once and a while. It made April laugh, her face broken into a stupid smile that made her laugh even more. Ann noticed and gave her another look, but April just stuck her tongue out and put her hands out, thumbs pointing down in disapproval at her. Andy followed her example, and when she looked up he still had his tongue out at her.

When she propped her foot up, Andy stayed at her bedside and they had a thumb war. Ann returned and they continued, Andy apparently ignoring the nurse now. That might have the best thing ever, even when she found out that it was just a sprain and would take only a little while to heal.

"I can drive you back to your place," Andy suggested immediately, scratching the back of his neck. "If you need to go somewhere, or you need something, or whatever... you can just call me and, uh-"

"That sounds awesome," April nodded, and Andy grinned.

Andy any time she wanted him to be around? Andy at her beck and call? Andy acting nice to her and not to Ann? Yeah, all of that sounded pretty great.