#ace nancy drew fic

[bethanyactually]

Feels Just Like A Beat Up Truck // The Sign Up Ahead // (But the Engine Doesn’t Turn) // ibid. // ibid. // I Turn the Engine // ibid. // Listened Through the Cemetery Trees // ibid. // “oh god I had a really big epiphany about love and personhood but I’m too drunk for words”, mixed media on paper by tumblr user billypotts // Listened Through the Cemetery Trees // all fic from the One Headlight series by @pressdbtwnpages

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Kelsey!!! 💛💜 (1/2)

[scarletslippers]

You know what I just realized? One day Nancy and Ace are going to tell their story, and laugh. In that way that couples do, when people ask how they met or got together. They’ll talk over each other and interject and laugh. And it will be lovely.

“So I’m standing there, just having worked up the courage to tell the girl I’ve loved forever that I have feelings for her, and she does nothing. Just stands there, staring at me.”

“I was in shock! I couldn’t process!”

“That is not true, you always process. Anyway, then her dad walks in—”

“The worst timing, let me tell you—”

“So then I just left. I had no idea what to do. I thought maybe I had just ruined the best thing I ever had.”

Nancy leans closer, entwining their fingers together. “You didn’t ruin anything.”

[honey-tea-and-lemon-trees]

fifteen seconds to maine

on AO3

Ace is the bass player of up-and-coming band 'Fifteen Seconds to Maine' (formerly known as Gil Bobbsey and Band). He hates it. When the band are offered the chance to tour with rising popstar Laci McAllister, Ace reluctantly agrees to come along, if only to please Laci and the band's manager, Nick.

It's all going pretty well until the band arrives at the Claw, a bar owned and operated by a very pissed off George. She cancels their gig last minute, leaving Nick in a tailspin and petulant Gil in a mood to stir up trouble. George has called up experts, Bess and Nancy to sort things out but they have no idea what they're headed into.

Yeah... it's all a bit more than Ace signed up for.

-- or... I like writing ace in sexy professions xoxo

a joke I had a long time ago and a band name from an online generator that made me laugh for hours... many months and months and months later!!!

chapter 1 of 2.

love to everyone who's here 💛

[unattainablesillygoose]

I have a headcanon that Nancy eventually became fluent in ASL because Ace taught her (so she could communicate with Thom without having to have a translator), and after they're married and have kids, they use it to talk secretly. Like, their kids know some, but when they're young, they just know the basics. So, kind of like how a parent would spell something out to the other parent if the kid can't spell, Nancy and Ace sign to each other.

Nancy and Ace: *signing about putting them down for bed early because it's a holiday or special occasion, and they need to set up a surprise*

Kid: Stop it. I know you're talking about bedtime.

They'll do it in public, too. Why would Nancy shout across the aisle in a grocery store when she can just tell him to grab something while he gets the milk?

Nancy: *while you're over there, we need cheese.*

Ace: 👍

Or they'll be somewhere, like one of those parent-teacher things, but with activities and bingo? (My school used to do it, I think once a year, and I have no idea what it was called.) And they go because their kid/kids have a lot of friends, so it's another way for them to hang out. But Nancy and Ace don't necessarily like the other parents.

Nancy, fake laughing at something: *I'm so close to pretending kid is sick or something so we can leave.*

Ace, politely nodding along: *if this thing goes on any longer, I might help you.

The kids who are a little ways away: what are your parents doing?

Kid, who knows damn well what they're saying: idk, probably talking smack or something

I also like to think that sometimes Thom and Rebecca go to these school events, and Rebecca finds it hilarious that kid will mess with their friends about what Nancy and Ace are talking about, but Thom is just exasperated, because of course their kid would be as much trouble as they were.

Nancy, signing to Ace who's across the room: *did you remember to close that window we had open?*

Ace: *what, the one in the kitchen or the one upstairs?*

Kids friend: what are they saying?

Kid: they're debating whether to do their monthly sacrifice tonight or tomorrow.

Kids friend, who fully believes their Aunty Bess is a witch: haha *nervously sweats*

Thom: *Rebecca, they're doing it again.*

Rebecca: *cackling*

Nancy and/or Ace probably communicate with Nick like this around the holidays, too. I think it drives George crazy. (Bc damn right they find a way back together.)

Nick and Ace: *signing to each other*

Nick and George's kid: mommy, what are they talking about?

George, miffed: I don't freaking know.

Idk i just think this is a funny little hc about what their lives would be like.

[largedenominationsplease]

"Growing up, I expected to fall in love during my first year at school and the rest is history. It feels awfully fast now that I’m staring it down. And I’m already a year behind.”

“Hey, Nancy, you’re not behind anything. You’ve got time.”

AKA the marriage pact au no one asked for

HAPPIEST OF BIRTHDAYS TO MY FAVORITE 🩵 @homebody-nobody You’re an angel and deserve all the good things. Thanks for pulling me deeper into Nace brainrot and for a million other reasons you already know.

(Sorry the moodboard is a day late)

[conceptualkaleb]

The Nancy Drew fandom is so talented. There are so many intelligent theorists, amazing writers, creative artists, and soulful people. I figured I would show some of my favorite fic works, I had to limit it to one per author because Tumblr only allows 10 links per post.

@likestosolvethepuzzle wrote this. I feel like that's all I need to say tbh. Not enough adjectives to describe it!

A Nace Summer Camp AU that will blow your socks off. When you're done praising it in the comments you can help me convince @hucklebucket to unretire.

A sequel to The Space Between that you can read by itself, one of the tags is "Did I mention Ace wears a tux." Which is all you need to know.

This is how I wish Season 3 would've gone. @stuckonaglacierwithmacgyver is basically the opposite of Steve Harrington in Stranger Things 3. She's 3/3 Popeye!

Nancy gets blackmailed by a Hilltopper and Ace gets possessive (in an endearing way, not a douchebag way). LavenderDandelionCrown doesn't miss.

Nancy and Ace haven't seen each other in 10 years, and then get snowed in. The tension is peak. Excellent stuff from Server Mother

My favorite person in the world wrote this for me for Secret Sleuth. Beautiful is the word I would use to describe it. @timandlucy does not miss. Period

An amazing immaculate sweet season 4 alternative from the fiend known as @reviewdiaries

Two very different but equally amazing memory fics from two amazing and talented writers.

I'm also throwing out an honorable mention to an upcoming Selkie fic that I know is gonna be a masterpiece. 👀👀👀👀👀👀

[hepaidattention]

that one where Nancy says Ace's full name

Ace looks at Nancy, exhaling a big puff of breath from his lungs, and the smallest of smiles creeping up the corners of his mouth. "Feels kinda weird, doesn't it? Being free from the supernatural drama for once?"

Nancy, eyes wide, mind racing, turned her head slowly as she looked up at her smiling Ace. Free from supernatural drama. Free. They were free. They had been free for months and they didn't even know, and now here they were, side by side, free, and neither of them had done anything about that. "Yeah, it uh... kinda makes you wanna do something crazy, you know? Something uncharacteristic, something..."

"Spontaneous?" He wiggled his brows at her and Nancy couldn't help but give a splitting face grin back. Then he added, "What're you thinkin'? Paris?"

She nodded thoughtfully, then turned to face him completely. "I was thinking something a little more spontaneous than that,"

"Yeah?" Ace laughed, his hand running through his hair just to place it back in the perfect spot. "What could be more spontaneous than Paris? Getting married?"

He was joking, it was obvious. He was laughing and expecting Nancy to be laughing with him, but his smile deflated when he met her serious, bright blue eyes and said, "Yeah," then she shrugged, then said, "Honeymoon in Paris would make it even better."

His mouth opened, then closed. Then it opened again, then it closed again. His hands were on his hips in a very confused and serious stance, and finally he said, "Nance, are you saying what I think you're saying?"

Nancy shrugged, "I'm saying I love you, and not being able to say that I love you has been torture for the past few months. Now that I can, I don't intend of ever not saying it again."

"Nancy..." He was searching her eyes, panic in his, clearly terrified she wasn't real right now, or she was messing with him, or this was all another part of Temperance's ploy to ruin their happiness all over again.

So, Nancy took it upon herself to make it very real. "I am asking you in the middle of the sidewalk of Horseshoe Bay, in the purest spirit of spontaneity and love, that you, Joseph 'Ace' Hardy, will marry me."

"Resurected and proposed to all in the same day," he chuckled, his grin growing bigger and bigger by the minute. "Most definitely will be telling our grandkids about this one."

At this point, Nancy was wrapped securely in Ace's arms. She rolled her eyes teasingly as she said, "So... is that a yes?"

"Can I think about it?" Nancy would have said yes if he wasn't obviously joking. Before she could even answer he said, "I thought about it. I think Greece might be a better honeymoon destination."

Nancy rolled her eyes at him again, said, "Hell no," and pulled him from the collar of his shirt, bringing their lips together in a messy but sweet kiss. It was a kiss to make up for all of their lost ones, every opportunity stolen from Temperance, now being taken back and reclaimed as their own.

"Hey, get a room," they heard in a deep voice, a little too deep. They both pulled apart to see Bess walking up behind the two of them with a wide and beaming smile on her face, the obvious culprit of the fake deep voice. She gave a little wave and said, "Sorry to interrupt, but Nancy your dad's are looking for you."

"Oh perfect -" Nancy looked back up at Ace, knowing Bess was about to lose her mind. "Do you think they both can walk me down the aisle? Or what are we thinking, court house?"

Bess turned the color of a ghost - which would be white. She clenched both of their arms with a tight grip and said, "I'm sorry, is there something I'm missing?"

"Nothing much, just planning a wedding is all-" Ace pretended not to seem effected by Bess' squeals, "do you think Bess could be a best man - best woman?"

"Hmm, I don't know, I think Nick would be offended by that," Nancy was just being cruel at this point.

"Oh, to hell with Nickerson!" Bess exclaimed, both Ace and Nancy no longer able to hide their laughter, "If anyone is going to be Ace Hardy's best man it is going to be me." She crossed her arms over her chest and firmly said, "Now, what's this nonsense about a courthouse?"

Nancy smiled at her friend. She intertwined her fingers with Ace's and they walked hand in hand as they listened to Bess plan the most extravagant last minute wedding in Nancy's houses backyard. They walked their way up the sidewalk, up into the apartment, and with grins on their faces, shared the news with a roaring of applause.

Because after all they'd had been through together, no one could think of a better happy ending.

[reviewdiaries]

We've Got To Stop Kissing Like This

Four times Nancy and Ace had to kiss for reasons and one time they kissed because... well... you know.

#1 Supernatural Entity

#2 Hexed Object

#3 For a Case

#4 A Play

#5 And One

And we're done! Thanks so much for joining me this week for lots of Nace kisses! And thank you to @nacediscord for the awesome event!

[leslie057]

it’s a good thing we don’t know this boy’s real name. because if we did it would most definitely be joe hardy and then my top two ships would both be called jancy. and that is highly confusing

[pluckysidekick]

The Drewd PSSD (Post Show Stress Disorder) continues! I’m ready to revisit Season 4 again — first up is a missing scene from 4x07.

GIF courtesy of @nancy-drew

What if Ace came back for something, only to find Nancy crying on the floor? This is a missing scene we needed, that frankly they really needed. That’s what my new fic (Ain’t no) crying in The Claw aims to show us.

I've missed doing Ace's POV, and this idea seemed like the perfect opportunity. It came together in just a few days after thinking about it for a bit. Thank you to @likestosolvethepuzzle for the amazing beta as always - they said it’s "wistful but hopeful."

Here’s a taste:

“We can’t do this, Ace. It’s not safe.” Nancy hiccuped, visibly forcing herself to stop crying.

“I think we have to, actually. We haven’t been honest with each other. Neither of us.” He left that hanging. Nancy had accused him of lying by not telling her about Chunky. But she’d been lying too. Was she really not ready to move on?

Read more on Ao3

[ghostmaggie]

tapped on your window on your darkest night

Words: 30,548

Rating: Mature

Relationships: Nancy Drew/Ace

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Season/Series 01

Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1kD2SbOEvx5Dr11dzMZM6E?si=56a176a0b3bb49a0

Read on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/47819497

Summary:

She’s sitting behind the Bayside Claw, Horseshoe Bay’s number-one ramshackle tourist-trap seafood joint, wearing a wrinkled blue uniform and trying to stretch out every second of her hard-won ten-minute break, talking idly about nothing to a strange, inscrutable boy whose last name she hasn’t even bothered to learn. And, well. Maybe doing a little more than talking. - Or: What if instead of hooking up with Nick pre-canon, Nancy hooked up with Ace?

—

A year ago, Nancy never would have pictured herself here.  

That’s in both a metaphorical and a physical sense.  

On the one hand, she’s washed up and burnt out, barely treading water and generally one wrong move away from an emotional breakdown, desperately missing her mother and spending most of her waking hours pretending she doesn’t care that she’s not at college like she’s supposed to be, that her life has gone completely off the rails.  

Meanwhile, she’s also sitting behind the Bayside Claw, Horseshoe Bay’s number-one ramshackle tourist-trap seafood joint, wearing a wrinkled blue uniform and trying to stretch out every second of her hard-won ten-minute break, talking idly about nothing to a strange, inscrutable boy whose last name she hasn’t even bothered to learn.  

She’s kind of made a habit of it, since that day her first week when she’d stumbled across him back here, sitting on an overturned bucket.  

It had been a particularly bad day. She had woken up in a worse mood than usual, and everything just seemed to remind her of her mom, and her mom’s absence. And then George had snapped at her even more than usual, and Bess had spilled something cold and sticky all over her, and when her ten finally hit, she just wanted to find a place to be alone and cry.  

But then: Ace.  

read more on ao3

[bethanyactually]

Nancy Drew + text posts (28/?)

4.04 || The Return of the Killer's Hook (2/2)

feat. @andsjuliet (amycurtismarchs) & @sesamestreep (birdhapley)

[scarletslippers]

Literally procrastinated brushing my teeth to write this. I'll get it up on ao3 later because I have to go to work 😂

Dedicated to @flythesail because you know why, Ash. You're the reason this dialogue spark happened.

“And then we, uh, you know.”

“Oh.” Ace sounds surprised. “We did? Here? Like, in this bed?”

Nancy huffs a quiet laugh, forehead creasing as she considers his question. “Sort of? It was your apartment but it looked different than this. You know, like how things in a dream are not quite right but they feel familiar? The bed was in front of a window.”

“I don’t even have a window big enough to put a bed in front of.”

Nancy laughs again. “Maybe interior design wasn’t Temperance’s specialty.”

“Hmm.”

Silence falls between them, the comfortable kind they always used to share, and Nancy closes her eyes, soaking it in. Ace made that comment about losing a friend and she hadn’t realized just how much she had missed this. That loving him was getting to love all the parts of him. 

“Was it good?” Ace asks so suddenly that it startles another loud, watery laugh out of Nancy.

“That’s your question?” she asks incredulously. 

“Well, yeah.”

“Ace,” she begins in almost exasperation. “It was great.”

“Hmm,” Ace hums again.

“Oh no, that’s your jealous ‘hmm’.”

“I am not jealous.” He protests, but his voice says otherwise. 

“Nice try.” Nancy looks over at him with a fond smile. “But I know you.”

“He—that version of me got to be with you. Of course I’m jealous of that guy.”

“Well, that guy also died,” Nancy quips, the laughter rapidly draining from her voice as she realizes the weight of her words, having been caught in their banter. 

She looks over at Ace, finding similar tears brewing in his eyes. But he just looks concerned, worried for her, not upset about his death. She’s not sure why she expected anything else. 

Instead, Ace smiles, pulling her back to right now, making real memories, here, in his bed. “That guy is definitely missing out. He didn’t get personally delivered bagels and pickles.”

Nancy smiles too. “A winning combination, really.”

“Hmm,” Ace muses for a third time, only this time Nancy can tell it’s soft and sappy. “Just like us.”

She rolls her eyes but smiles wide. “Yeah, Ace. Just like us.”

[honey-tea-and-lemon-trees]

I know how your kiss would taste (even without touch)

gif credit @nacesource (x)

The bed thuds with the sound of two bodies hitting it. Side by side and not daring to touch.

When she turns her head, Ace is looking back at her. He hasn’t looked away.

‘I’ve always liked walks,’ he murmurs.

‘You told me…’ Nancy swallows thickly. ‘You reminded me that Horsehoe Bay needs me, that the people here care about me, at a time when I was really doubting myself.’

Ace blinks. ‘I’ve always liked doing that, too.’

— a 4x02 post ep.

READ ON AO3

[sesamestreep]

okay sorry one last one: 50, dealer's choice

50. rudely barging in on a white veil occasion (from this list) you say dealer’s choice, I say DREW CREW! 🔎✨ set several years in the future so all these characters can legally drink and technically not be child brides, basically 🥂💍

After breaking several traffic laws to get there in record time, Nick and Ace barge in to the fitting area of Delia’s Bridal Shop in Augusta to find burn marks on the plush beige carpet as well as the remnants of several broken champagne glasses scattered on the floor. Nancy is standing center stage, as it were, grasping George by the arms but they both turn in surprise when the boys enter.

“Nancy, don’t!” Nick calls, first to act as always.

“Whatever you’re feeling right now,” Ace tries to say while still catching his breath after the sprint from the parking lot, “it’s not you. It’s the—!”

“Earrings,” Nancy replies flatly. “The ones Ryan gave me to wear, from the Hudson estate.”

“Yeah,” Nick says, cautiously, throwing a baffled look in Ace’s direction. “It turns out they belonged to one of the Women in White, and she—”

“Went crazy at her own wedding and killed a bunch of the guests,” George finishes for him, with a grim smile. “So, now they’re infused with her rage.”

“Yeah,” Ace responds, feeling his heart rate hesitantly returning to normal, “and it looks like Temperance held onto them and they got passed down through the Hudsons because…”

“She’s a nightmare person from Hell,” Bess says, nodding from an overstuffed chaise nearby, somehow managing to look both exhausted and blasé at the same time.

“Wait,” Nick says, gesturing at Nancy and George, “if you’re not in the midst of some bridal meltdown, how did you know about the earrings? And what’s with this mess?”

George gives Nancy an arch look. “Someone decided it might be nice to let the salesgirl try on her spooky family heirloom jewelry because she’s just sooo friendly and accommodating.”

At Nick and Ace’s mutual confused looks, Bess gestures to the corner, where a disheveled salesgirl is tied up in dressing room curtains and snoring gently as she presumably sleeps off the side effects of the curse, then holds up what Ace recognizes as her kit of spell components that she keeps in her purse.

“Magical first aid kit,” she announces proudly before taking a swig out of the last intact champagne flute, “never leave home without it!”

“How was I supposed to know the earrings were cursed?” Nancy asks, helplessly.

“Well, they are from the Hudsons,” Nick offers, getting a universal murmur of agreement from everyone else.

“Yeah, no more gifts or relics from that side of the family, please,” Ace says, moving to put his arm around her shoulders soothingly.

“Nothing older than twenty years, I promise,” she replies, leaning into his side. “Though, Bess did break the curse on the earrings, so…”

“Nancy!” Bess yells.

“Absolutely not,” Nick puts in.

“Not happening,” Ace objects.

“Ryan is rich. He can buy you new earrings,” George says, shaking her head and going to stand with Nick.

“Fine,” Nancy grumbles. “I guess we don’t need the risk of any extra bad luck for our wedding anyway.”

“Extra bad luck?” Ace asks. “Without the earrings, what do we have to worry about?”

Nancy bites her lip and looks uncomfortably at George and Bess. “Well, I know it’s old-fashioned, but it is considered bad luck to see the bride in her dress before the ceremony and…you’re, well…”

When she gestures down at her body, Ace notices her dress for the first time. It’s…big, with a lot of layers of tulle and…a lot more rhinestones around the neckline than he could have anticipated. The minute he spots the enormous bows down the back, he catches up and slaps a hand over his eyes.

“Oh, no! I’m sorry, I didn’t even think! I was so worried about the cursed earrings that I…”

“Goddammit,” George says.

Ace looks over at her, in case something else has suddenly gone wrong, only to find Nick trying desperately not to laugh while she glares at Nancy.

“Pay up, baby!” Nancy says, with a triumphant grin.

“What,” Ace says, not even bothering to make it a question.

“George bet me 20 bucks that I wouldn’t put this dress on and be able to convince you I was going to buy it,” Nancy says, patting his chest with her palm. “I was just going to text you a photo but you made it a lot easier by showing up. You should’ve seen your face.”

“That’s so mean,” Ace says, even as relief floods through him.

“As if I’d ever choose this dress of all things.”

“I’m still coming down from a panicked adrenaline high and I feel that I should be graded on a curve as a result.”

“Does that mean I don’t have to give Nancy twenty dollars?” George asks, as she fishes a bill out of her bra.

“Hell no,” Nancy replies, snatching it out of her hands. “Weddings are expensive.”

Ace nods at the damage around them. “Yeah, and I have a feeling these guys aren’t going to give us a discount.”

“Maybe there’s a matching wedding dress in the Hudson House of Horrors you could borrow,” Nick suggests.

“Don’t even joke about that,” Nancy says, darkly, curling even further into Ace’s side.

[burningblake]

ASH BEGINS TO FALL | A High School AU ↪ Ace and Nancy meet for the first time at Keen High, while he's still a senior and she a sophomore.

He doesn't notice her at first. Frankly, it looks like she'd rather not be noticed. Unless it is normal for sophomore girls to hide in the farthest corner of the library during class recess hours. He's arranging some of the students' returned books on shelf ZA when he finally catches a glimpse of her through a gap in the stacked tomes. And of course, he immediately recognizes her—The girl who made the volcano erupt.

Read on AO3

Excerpt:

He doesn't notice her at first. Frankly, it looks like she'd rather not be noticed. Unless it is normal for sophomore girls to hide in the farthest corner of the library during class recess hours. He's arranging some of the students' returned books on shelf ZA when he finally catches a glimpse of her through a gap in the stacked tomes. And of course, he immediately recognizes her—The girl who made the volcano erupt. 

Only now she's slumped against the wall, head buried between her elbows. And from the way her shoulders are trembling, he knows that she's crying. 

He hesitates at the adjacent aisle, his eyes rounding, as a surge of protectiveness waves through his chest. Ace doesn't understand it. Even though he does have a crush on her. But he's had many crushes in his seventeen years of life and he barely knows this girl for it to be any different. For the time being, though, he's willing to attribute it to the fact that he's a cop's son. Granted, former cop. But the protective instincts must be an inherited thing. 

He doesn't mean to check her out, the details rather register on their own. The way her jeans curve around her hips, and the green color of her top flatters her pale skin, and her unique shade of red hair curls around at the edges. 

For several seconds, he just stands there, arguing with the idea of going near her. It's obvious that she's chosen this setting for the chance to be alone. So the prudent thing to do is to grant her the space. 

He almost does that, tucking the books back into their gap, and turning away. But in his haste, he's done a lousy job of the placement. The volumes tumble back out. He barely has time to throw his hands out, as they cascade to the floor with noise—A thunderstorm would have probably been quieter. 

The girl raises her head with a soft gasp. 

"Who's there?" she demands, her voice clear and firm, despite its dampness. It almost sounds as though she expects something really scary to be there. 

Ace stumbles out to the start of her aisle, palms raised. "I'm sorry, didn't mean to disturb you."

Or maybe he did. Considering how his heart flutters at entering the radar of those sharp, perceptive eyes. She gapes at him quietly for a while, all red eyes and wet cheeks. And despite everything, he thinks that she looks adorable.