Chapter Text
Nancy put her entire heart into it. She sat on her couch listening to songs for hours upon hours, wanting everything to be just right.
She got the idea the other day while watching one of her favorite shows. A young girl was able to resist dark forces just by listening to music. Could Nancy tell Ace about the curse, or at least her feelings, through song lyrics? She asked Bess if it was possible for music to be a loophole in magic, since it was a universal language, and powerful to the mind and all that.
Bess had told her that music was actually very powerful, as cheesy as it sounds. In fact, it could help repel dark magic in some circumstances. Nancy recalled their case with the Aglaeca, when it was a song that held the key to the mystery of her.
This was her chance. Nancy had always loved music, but she knew she couldn’t just put a bunch of random love songs into a playlist and hand it over to Ace, no, she had to be precise with the lyrics of the songs. She hoped he would understand the main things she wanted him to know, but Ace was smart, she knew that. If anyone could interpret this, it was Ace.
She mucked up all of her courage, and somehow made it to his door, her phone in hand. She swallowed nervously, and shakily raised her fist to knock. This was it, what seemed to be her only way of communicating her feelings.
As Ace opened his door, Nancy took a deep breath to brace herself, but it didn’t help. He still managed to make her heart clench painfully. Ace gave her a soft smile, which was way more than she ever deserved.
“Nancy, hi.” He said, his eyes full of relief. “It’s good to see you.”
Nancy smiled. Somehow he could still make her do that.
“Hi, Ace.” Nancy fiddled nervously with her phone case. She might as well get right to the point. “I’m sorry I’m here unannounced. I- I made you something.”
“Don’t worry about it, Nance. You made me something?” Ace gestured for her to come in. “What’s the occasion?”
Nancy stepped inside his apartment, trying desperately not to look at his barometer. She was already tense, just waiting for more glass to break from only talking to him. “I just- I need to tell you something, ummm, a lot of somethings.”
“A lot of somethings,” Ace nodded. “Okay, what is it?”
“I sent it to your phone. It’s a playlist.” Nancy said, “What I made you, I mean.”
“You made me a playlist?” Ace picked up his phone, confused. “Of songs?”
“Yes.” Nancy tugged on her coat, her eyes to the floor. “I- I can’t really say a lot of things to you right now. Please, just listen to it, the whole thing, okay? That’s all I ask. I know I haven’t been-”
“Nancy, it’s okay.” Ace stepped closer to her, and Nancy automatically stepped back. “I’ll listen to it, I promise.”
Nancy didn’t think she could take another moment of him being so understanding, his soft eyes looking at her with concern. She wrapped her arms around herself and beelined for the door.
“Nancy!” Ace called after her. She didn’t turn around, but she stopped for him. “Hey, thanks for the playlist.”
She knew what he really meant. She could practically hear his voice in her head. Thank you for letting me in. I’ll always be here to listen.
And listen he did, for two hours and thirty minutes.
The moment Nancy left his apartment, Ace grabbed a notebook and pen, ready to decipher whatever Nancy had hidden in her songs. He just knew that’s why she gave it to him. She was trying to tell him something, he could tell.
He sat down at his table, ready to decipher clues within the songs, but what he heard was not what he expected.
“ I have died everyday waiting for you, darling don’t be afraid, I have loved you for a thousand years.”
“I’ll leave my heart right on your floor, it used to be mine, but now it’s yours.”
“Don’t have to be anything to be worthy of love, the steady beat of your heart that you keep is more than enough.”
“Up until now I had sworn to myself that I’m content with loneliness, because none of it was ever worth the risk. Well, you are the only exception.”
Was he just hearing what he wanted to hear? What else was he supposed to hear but the unwavering love that poured from the songs Nancy had chosen?
“The world is coming down on me and I can’t find a reason to be loved. I never wanna leave you, but I can’t make you bleed if I’m alone.”
“Another day without your smile, another day just passes by. But now I know how much it means for you to stay right here with me. The time we spent apart will make our love grow stronger, but it hurts so bad I can’t take it any longer. I wanna grow old with you.”
“You could be the one that I love. I could be the one that you dream of. Message in a bottle is all I can do, standing here hoping it gets to you.”
“I risk it all just to be with you. And I risk it all for this life we choose.”
It was as though she was speaking to him through the lyrics, he could practically hear them in her voice.
“Wise men say, only fools rush in. But I can’t help falling in love with you.”
“I’ve heard of a love that comes once in a lifetime, and I’m pretty sure that you are that love of mine.”
“Come just as you are to me, don’t need apologies. Know that you are worthy. I’ll take your bad days with your good, walk through the storm I would, I’d do it all because I love you.”
She loves him. Ace had to break for just a moment, taking in the words. It was almost too much, his heart beating out of his chest.
“I fell from the pedestal right down the rabbit hole, long story short it was a bad time. Pushed from the precipice, clung to the nearest lips, long story short it was the wrong guy. Now I’m all about you.”
“Put your lips close to mine, as long as they don’t touch.”
“You took the time to memorize me, my fears, my hopes and dreams. I just like hanging out with you all the time. All those times that you didn’t leave, it’s been occurring to me, I’d like to hang out with you for my whole life.”
“You’re the only thing I know like the back of my hand, and I can’t breathe without you, but I have to.”
“You gave me roses and I left them there to die, so this is me swallowing my pride standing in front of you saying I’m sorry for that night.”
Tears streamed down his face. He was happy, relieved, and so sad all at the same time, happy that Nancy loved him back, relieved that he hadn’t driven her away, and sad that she was in pain.
“You're so gorgeous, I can’t say anything to your face, ‘cause look at your face. And I’m so furious at you for making me feel this way.”
“When I felt like I was an old cardigan under someone’s bed, you put me on and said I was your favorite.”
“Would it be enough, if I could never give you peace?”
Ace laughed out loud, wiping his tears and his nose. Nancy was still Nancy despite everything. He loved her just as she was.
“How you gonna love, how you gonna feel? How you gonna live your life, like the dream you have is real? If you lost your way, I will keep you safe.”
“There goes my hands shaking, and you are the reason. My heart keeps bleeding, and I need you now. And if I could turn back the clock, I’d make sure the light defeated the dark, I’d spend every hour of every day, keeping you safe. And I’d climb every mountain, and swim every ocean, just to be with you, and fix what I’ve broken.”
“Will I tremble again, to my dear one’s gorgeous refrain? Will you now forever remain, out of reach of my arms? All those days in the sun, what I’d give to relive just one, undo what’s done, and bring back the light. Oh, I could sing of the pain these dark days bring, the spell we’re under.”
Ace paused with a gasp. A spell?
“I’m afraid of all I am, my mind feels like a foreign land.”
“Time moves slow, when half of your heart has yet to come home. Every minute’s adding up, and leaving a mark on us. I can’t get you out of my mind.”
When the playlist ended, Ace sat in shock. It was everything all at once, he could hardly process it all. There were so many things to unpack, so many deep, deep feelings. Nancy had poured her whole heart out to him. But one thing rang in his ears over everything else.
Nancy Drew loves him.
Ace picked up his phone, and instantly opened his own music applications. She gave him her heart in the only way she could. Now, he’d give her his.
A few hours later
Ace called Nancy’s phone, his finger trembling over the call button.
“Y-yes?” Nancy picked up, sounding really nervous. “Ace?”
Her voice had never sounded so beautiful. For a moment, he could only listen to it.
“Ace?” Her voice shook.
“I’m here,” he said.
Nancy cleared her throat. “Do you understand?”
“I do.” Ace felt as though he could melt through the phone. “I hear you.”
He could swear he heard a whimper on the other end.
“I- I don’t know what to say.” Nancy croaked.
“That’s okay,” Ace said. “I made you something.”