Outside MCA, Saturday Afternoon

[hatesmostthings]

April might have hated most things, but there were some simple pleasures that she always enjoyed, and sleeping on the couch was at the top of the list.

The good news was that when she woke up today, she no longer felt antsy and inclined to bang random breakfast-making guys or vampires or whatever or tell random British chicks they were hot. The bad news was that she was, you know, awake.

Begrudgingly, April groaned, got out of bed, affixed Cliff's leash to his collar and took him outside, looking not unlike a zombie. A zombie who wore pajamas.

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[caringtimesten.livejournal.com]

And suddenly: child.

Said child was blonde and big-eyed and wearing a sweater vest. If April had been a little older, those might have been sufficient warning signs for her to be wary. Not today, though.

"Mom!"

[hatesmoststuff.livejournal.com]

April blearily rubbed at her eyes. "No."

No, she wasn't your mom, tiny stranger. She was a slacker who rarely had sex. There was a difference.

[caringtimesten.livejournal.com]

"No what?" Hillary wanted to know, tilting her head all the way so her ear touched her shoulder and smiling at her mother. "Where's Mama?" Then, looking down at Cliff: "Are we getting a dog?"

[hatesmoststuff.livejournal.com]

Look, April's brain didn't work this early. It just didn't.

She rubbed at her face once more and tried to wake up whatever part of her brain contained her patience. "Do I know you?" she asked, sounding at least a little more awake than she had before.

[caringtimesten.livejournal.com]

"Yeparoo," Hillary chirped. "If you count being my mom knowing me. One of my moms. Do you know where Mama is? I want waffles."

And if there was one thing about the balance of the universe that Hillary knew beyond a shadow of a doubt, it was that Mama was the one who handled breakfast, and Mom was the one who slept.

[hatesmoststuff.livejournal.com]

April pressed her palm to her face for a moment and held it there.

She'd heard about this weekend. Heard about it recently, even.

"I'm not your normal mom, okay?" she sighed when she moved her hand away from her face. "I'm nineteen. Did you go through a portal thing? You're like back in time or whatever."

[caringtimesten.livejournal.com]

"Yuh-huh," Hillary replied. "So where's Mama when you're nineteen and back in time? Her name's Leslie Knope. I think you met when she was your boss."

[hatesmoststuff.livejournal.com]

"Well, she's not my boss now," April said, sounding frustrated. This was really weird. Seriously, in what universe would she sign up to have a kid? The fact that it was with a woman was only a tiny bit weirder than if it had been a dude: knowing that the kid was with a chick meant that she definitely hadn't been an accident or whatever. Future-April had actually wanted this kid. What? "Never heard of her. Does it matter or whatever?"

[caringtimesten.livejournal.com]

"I guess not," Hillary said with a shrug. "Can you be in charge of waffles today, then? I know you'd rather sleep, but you're up anyway and I'm hungry."

[hatesmoststuff.livejournal.com]

April rubbed her face one more time, then looked down at Cliff, who was peaceably relieving himself against a fire hydrant. "Yeah, whatever," she sighed. Looked like she didn't have any other choice, did she? "Just... come with me to take him upstairs first and we'll go to the diner."

[caringtimesten.livejournal.com]

"Okay!" Hillary said, skipping after April. She stopped briefly to give Cliff a friendly pat on the head before continuing. "Is it as good as JJ's?"

[hatesmoststuff.livejournal.com]

So this kid was from Pawnee, then.

April thought about Priestly. "It's a lot better than JJ's," she said truthfully.

[caringtimesten.livejournal.com]

"No way!" Hillary gasped, her eyes going even wider. "This I have to see."