#also nace didn't need to do all of that and yet

[lovvecherrymotion]

jan + music (ft. a very happy and proud nace)

[jokeroutsubs]

[ENG SUB] Joker Out at Radio Antena (18.07.2024)

Jan, Kris, Nace and Jure were interviewed by a radio host Jaka Peterka for Radio Antena. They talked about who needs to retake their driver's license exam, Kiki, the PR genius and what it takes to cross the pond.

Transcription by a member of JokerOutSubs, translation by drumbeat and @chaosofsmarty, proofread by ‪@flowerlotus8‬, subtitles by a member of JokerOutSubs

Full Transcript below 👇

And in the studio, the boys who, in the last year, visited more countries through concerts, than I've ever been to on Google Maps. They hold the title for the most streamed song in Slovenia ever, Carpe Diem. They've sold out Stožice, this year we can see them all across Europe on their summer tour. Jan, Kris, Jure and Nace from Joker Out, Good morning!

All: Good morning!

Wait, is Bojan sick, or what's happened?

Kris: Bojan is missing, he wasn't feeling well. And we've got a concert this weekend and… So he had to…

He has to rest a bit.

Kris: Yes.

Have you brought anything?

Jure: A good mood.

Kris: A new song.

A new song, that's true, because we'll hear it later. And this time in Croatian.

A ja samo čekam i žudim

But I'm just waiting for and craving

Za trenutkom kad ćeš zvati

The moment when you'll call

Da ti kažem da za tobom plače.

To tell you that, because of you, my heart cries,

Kris: What?

tuguje i pati

grieves and suffers

We'll hear it later, we'll also find out where you'll be in the upcoming days, or on your summer European tour. And we'll also find out why and which of these boys, here in the studio, should attend a safe driving training.

We'll check. Hey I'll just start with the question, which one of you recently "enhanced their car a bit", in quotation marks, somewhere near here?

Nace: That was me.

That was you, Nace?

Nace: That was me, yes.

Really? What happened?

Nace: Someone bumped into me in a parking lot.

Really in a parking lot? Ah, okay.

Jure: No, it's understandable then.

Nace: I don't need to do a safe driving training here.

No, no, then you really don't.

Kris: Safe parking training.

Nace: Take that back.

Take it back? Alright, so be it. Hey, it's a minute past nine, Jaka Peterka with you on Antena. And the boys, who this year have concerts all over Europe, at all the biggest festivals. Joker Out, without Bojči here, because he got sick. We'll also hear your new single later, 'Šta bih ja', the boys have told me, isn't in Croatian, but in Serbian, right?

Nace: Correct.

Kris: Yes.

But first of all, a small thing, like we're used to at Antena, "Who's most likely to". Pay attention. Who's most likely to have to redo their driving licence courses?

Jure: Jan.

Jan?

Jan: I mean, Nace here has a scratch on his car, so I don't know.

Nace: I mean, yours has also undergone repairs.

Jure: Yours also isn't much better.

Who's most likely to be the most successful at their job, if Joker Out didn't exist?

Kris: Jure would be quite successful at his job as a cameraman. Of course.

What, as a cameraman?

Jure: Yeah, I was a cinematographer.

Really?

Jure: For RTV.

Ah, alright, so the rest of you…

Kris: I mean, I'd be successful, but I don't think I'd be happy.

Jan: The rest of us haven't even had jobs yet.

Okay, moving on. Who's most likely to get married first?

Jure: Bojan.

Bojan?

Jan: Bojan.

Okay. Who's most likely to arrive late to a concert or on stage?

All: Jan.

Jan? Jan!

Jan: Again, Kris was late today, almost.

They were quite on time, I've got to give them praise for that. Who's most likely to go to bed immediately after a concert?

Jure: Kris.

Jan: Kris and Nace.

Kris: Bojči.

Nace, your age is showing, right?

Nace: It would be Kris and I, we go to bed at a similar time.

Jan: Kris and Nace.

Jure: And watch a movie together, eh?

4 minutes past 9, joining me… Jan, stop turning the computer on, you won't be playing games.

Jan: We did the last time.

There's still a Slovenian band on the Antena radio, which, on the one hand, has long ceased to be just that, given that we can see them next to the biggest artists all over Europe. For example, at the recent Exit Festival they performed right before the Black Eyed Peas. Joker Out, good morning again. Now, despite the fact that you have a massive fanbase all over Europe, you still stick pretty much to the Slovene language and some Croatian or Serbian as well. How come?

Kris: Yes, we feel like working in the language that comes naturally. I mean, it just depends on how things turn out, it mostly depends on Bojči, and the language he can feel the lyrics in. At that moment, we felt like making a Serbian song on the upcoming album there will be a couple of those as well as Slovenian.

That's awesome.

Kris: So it comes naturally. In English, we've already done a few, and we will do some more.

Well, because five days ago you released a brand new single, 'Šta bih ja'.

A ja samo čekam i žudim

But I'm just waiting for and craving

Za trenutkom kad ćeš zvati

The moment when you'll call

Da ti kažem da za tobom plače.

To tell you that, because of you, my heart cries,

Yes, well, I have to say that I find it interesting that they have… Even before it was released, there were people singing it at your concerts. I mean, all over Europe, right. How come? What, you already had it on your setlist? Nace?

tuguje i pati

grieves and suffers

Nace: Probably because for the whole tour what, in March we've been playing it and that's how they would have picked it up.

Jure: And we have one great story about when…

Nace: Yeah, basically, on the first concert of this tour, right, Bojan didn't know the exact lyrics exactly yet and he gave our roadie, Kiki, the lyrics on A4 format paper, it was just…

Kris: The chorus.

Nace: The chorus, yes. And he's like, "Did you manage to hang it?" "I did, I did." And then, just like that, when Bojan comes on stage, we start the song, and the lyrics, he can't find them. "Kiki, where are the lyrics?" "What? On the monitor!" But he hung it for people to read. Not for him. And basically, the fans all thought that this was some kind of a PR stunt. That we'd done it on purpose.

That was good fun.

Nace: It turned out great. Yeah, awesome.

And then what, people have been posting it on YouTube probably.

Nace: They took pictures.

Kris: Yes, yes, yes.

Damn, that's nice. Now we can see you all over Europe until the middle of August, this Saturday in Germany, actually, at the Deichbrand festival, if I've got that right. But do you know what I was wondering about? At the moment, in fact, you're crushing it in Europe. Are you tempted to hop across the pond?

Kris: Yes.

Any plans, actually, well?

Kris: Yeah, there are no really definite plans, because it is very difficult to travel across the pond. Mostly because for one single concert you need to get a full visa for a whole year, so…

Is that so?

Kris: Yes, and it's very hard to justify the expenses. We have to give it some thought, on how to approach this, so it makes sense. But yes, we do, and we know we have some fans in New York and Toronto, so we could also play something there.

Cool. What about, let's say, our parts? Slovenia maybe? I mean, you've already been, I know, this year to Ptuj, right? But, are there more plans for this year or maybe…?

Jan: There are also plans to see you again on local stages, yes.

This year?

Jan: This year.

Jure: This year, after the release of the album.

After the release, nice. And the album's coming out…?

Jure: September, October, if all goes well.

Okay, fingers crossed. Anyway, you can hear Joker Out and 'Šta bih ja', on Antena right now. Guys, thank you for coming.

All: Thank you.

I believe we might see each other very quickly even in the prime time on Rock am Ring. Or somewhere similar. Fingers crossed, well, mostly so that… Thank you for coming, say hello to Bojči. And this is Joker Out with 'Šta bih ja'.

[flythesail]

Okay what if—

It all has to be connected somehow, right?

The black door/sin eater

The ghost

Nace

With the black door, 4x10 established a few things: The sin eater is reincarnated and Nancy has past lives too. Going off this, the assumption is Nancy is the other half of the sin eater.

With the ghost, we know she died. Obviously. We are meant to think there was fire involved since there is a body that's burned at the morgue. We also have heard lines from her such as: hair wrapping around my mouth, the sky was gone, I was so cold.

Hearing those lines, I don't think the body is hers. It's not a coincidence that she arrived at the same time as the burned body either. More on this later.

With nace, whatever happened the night of 4x08 impacted their feelings. Here's my thought: Nancy was not even at the scene of the event. This explains the small window of time. Instead, Ace calls her panicked. Nancy agrees to go to the door. She'd do anything for him, including using the black door. She does it because she loves him. Because her love is why she does it, the black door alters their love. This is why they've felt ooc since.

Back to what we do know about the event:

Ace and Thom go fishing

Their captain canceled

The EMT who brought the burned body to the morgue is out of town on vacation

His partner was out sick then

How do these things connect? Windows place the flash Nancy saw of her sin with Thom and Ace on the boat. See here:

The assumption then, is this is where the body was burned. So who is that in the flames? Let's say it's their captain.

Their captain is innocent in this. But where does the fire come from?

Ace brings the pickled curse onto the boat. Something could have gone wrong with that. Yet, the curse is linked to hearing the dead. Initially, it would seem that's how Ace is able to communicate with the ghost. Yet Nancy was able to as well.

What else did we learn in 4x11? Callie of the families for truth and history knows plenty about the supernatural. She's the sin eater's minder. Two things to note:

"Her family was tasked with protecting every generation of sin eater. Erasing history since 1805."

"If you ever try to break the sin eater's legacy the way the Glasses did tonight, I'll come for you without mercy."

Now, who sent someone to watch Bess throughout 4x08?

Callie.

With this, the pickled curse becomes significant not because of what it is - but for who was in the background of this whole ordeal.

Callie was having a guy watch Bess. At the historical society with the brothers, all the way to the claw. This means Callie is never more than a step away from anything supernatural going on in this town.

If she's the sin eater's minder, does she know there is another half to the sin eater? I would think she does as her family has been doing this since its creation.

So, Nancy is the other half of the sin eater. Is someone watching over her too?

From what we know so far, no one is. What if there is a reason?

The founders didn't want there to be a balance to the sin eater. All they cared about was erasing their sins.

Yet there's always going to be two halves. Like with the dolls used for curse breaking in 4x03. Or this in 4x11, a conversation between Nick and Ted:

"I was looking for the afikomen. It's the hidden piece of matzo.... Broken in two at the beginning of the night, put back together at the end."

What if the founders broke the sin eater from its half? They killed her. She drowned.

Who else might have drowned?

The ghost.

It's exactly the sort of death she is describing. Hair wrapping around her mouth, the sky gone as she can't tell water from sky. The water is cold.

The ghost is much much older than she seems.

After killing her, the founders turned her into the masthead now at the yacht club. This way, they could call to the sin eater whenever they needed while keeping her from fulfilling her purpose.

Although she was killed, her soul has still reincarnated. But whoever holds her soul, has not known their purpose for a very long time. It's not like with the sin eater, where Tristan has no choice to transform into it and eat the sins.

Truth is a choice. She is the angel of truth.

So if the angel of truth hasn't been around for generations, what brings her back? Nancy and the angel of truth come face to face that night at the yacht club.

This awakens her because Nancy is the current holder of her soul. Only, she doesn't remember much. She remembers her death. She remembers drowning.

But her spirit is free.

The way the ghost is dressed in white even reminds of me of an angel. An angel is the opposite of the sin eater. A representation of truth in opposition to lies.

How does the ghost find her way to Ace? Well, Ace was at the yacht club with Nancy when she woke up.

Who is Nancy very connected to? Ace.

Who did Nancy get her soul from? The angel of truth, aka the ghost.

So the ghost is drawn to Ace. She's just woken up after over a century too, so she's going to respond to this pull. She's not drawn to Nancy because she and Nancy are the same. This isn't the case with Nancy and Ace.

Just like two halves of matzo, or like the sin eater and the angel, Ace and Nancy make a whole.

Ace goes off on his fishing trip with Thom, with the ghost following. Callie knows something is wrong. Her family has been watching the sin eater for as long as its existed. She's alerted, like how Hannah knew Temperance was back in Horseshoe Bay at the end of 2x18. Or like how they can track the sin eater with the roundel.

Rememeber: "If you ever try to break the sin eater's legacy the way the Glasses did tonight, I'll come for you without mercy."

So Callie says no way am I letting the angel of truth return and heads out to solve this problem. Her actions set their boat on fire.

This is where the burned body comes from. It's their captain.

Ace and Thom are able to get away. In the chaos during the confrontation with Callie, however, the ghost's presence is revealed and more is explained.

Ace learns who the ghost is, realizes what this suggests about Nancy with the timing, and realizes he needs to make a phone call.

Ace calls Nancy in an exteme panic, telling her to go to the black door and confess what they did earlier that night: breaking into the yacht club. It's the only way to ensure Callie doesn't go after Nancy next.

Nancy doesn't question him because she trusts him and she loves him.

She goes right to the black door and confesses what needs to be confessed.

This puts everything back in place:

Ace and Thom believe their boat captain canceled. (No one is around to prove otherwise. The EMT is on vacation and believes the same.)

Ace believes he had a nice fishing trip with Thom and shares this with Nancy.

The ghost is once again struggling to remember who she is. But she's still drawn to Ace, in the way Nancy is.

Only, something is wrong now.

Nancy went to the black door not because of her sin, but because she loves Ace.

It doesn't matter that the confession was only about breaking into the yacht club. The black door alters their love.

While Ace remembers a nice fishing trip, Nancy and Ace forget the love they have for each other. What they're left with is some semblance of a relationship. They're exes, it was complicated, they didn't communicate well. In summary, it didn't end well.

So Nancy and Ace are forced apart, and drift closer to someone new.

Nancy becomes closer to Tristan. She's the angel of truth in this lifetime, so she is feeling that two hundred year connection.

Ace becomes closer to the ghost. She is the first reincarnation of Nancy's soul, so he is feeling that connection the black door altered but is still impossible to destroy.

Where do we go from here? Now that Nancy and Ace know their memories are altered, they're going to solve this mystery. Nancy had already seen a flash of the fire and of the truth her confession erased.

They will get their memories back, feel their love for each other again, share a moment of the most intense eye contact you've ever seen, and be left with a Big Problem.

They've figured out who the ghost is. They know who Nancy is.

In knowing who she is and the purpose she serves, Nancy is in danger again because of Callie.

So their options are this: she risks her life to save the town from what the founders set in motion or she forgets all over again.

Nancy is going to make the choice to risk her life. To save her town and her friends and every person she loves. That is who Nancy is and has been all her life, even before she knew who she is.

Of course, she succeeds and Tristan will play a role in this too - being the other half to this. Lies and truth, evil and good, dark and light. Might I add: the finale is called the Light Between Lives? Lives is significant in a season with reincarnation.

When balance is restored to Horseshoe Bay, Nancy and Tristan's roles will no longer be needed. The black door is gone and Callie is exposed for who she is. They can live normal lives. Tristan can live a healthy, long life.

Nancy and Ace are still cursed though, so Nancy can't live the life she wants. (Yet.)

With balance restored, truth will prevail. The truth is that Nancy and Ace love each other. Nancy and Ace's love is stronger than this curse Temperance created. That's how they break it. Nancy Drew has always been about love.

Two halves are put back together, and Nancy and Ace get to live their lives as a whole.

[hazzybat]

Can you explain why you chose each monster/power to go with each band member? For example why Kris is a vampire etc?

Yeah sure!

Bojan- the other option for him was a siren (cause duh singing voice being enchanting) with a full mermaid tail but I just didn't want to deal with those logistics and it felt like it restricted him.

I went with incubus cause it gave a good reason for lots of smut and cause of the Demoni scream which i adore. Also let's be real Bojan is just kinda slutty and seductive on stage so cranking that up all the way made sense.

Having bojan be the frontman who obviously likes attention to then expand on that to have him literally feed on and need attention and love to live is just icing on top.

Kris- the man looks like a vampire. His cheekbones can cut glass. Legit that was the main reason. He just photographs very elegantly and seems older than he actually is which I feel fits with a vampire. I imagine a quite old school, charming vampire with a hint of marceline from adventure time. He has a variety of powers partially to make up for him physically only having pointy teeth and a bite mark on his neck.

Nace- his stompy dance he does one stage and the fact he wears blazers a lot with very big/thick boots. I also liked the idea of him being really strong but in a human way, and being literally made to be helpful (oooh backstory) Also if I was a monster I would be a Frankenstein monster so I had to make one of them that. Soft spot in my heart.

The idea of Nace wanting to fit in to the band and do it so well it was like he was made to fit the role to go alongside him literally being a made man rather than born is also a fun parallel.

(Tell me you don't see it)

Jan - he's a really hairy guy and his big fur coats look amazing on him so naturally he had to have the hairiest monster. Along with that I feel he's kinda monotone but once you understand him he's actually really expressive which I then used by having his tail express his emotions. And the angst of a wolf transformation was just too good to not play with.

Jure- i had the most trouble with Jure. I tried to think of maybe a sphinx to play into the whole cat thing. There's also some fanart out there which depicts him as a mummy which I also really liked but then didn't want to deal with the whole ancient Egypt mummy in Slovenia kinda deal because as you might have guessed I like everyone to have logical backstories.

A show i really like is BBC's Ghosts so I thought about how a poltergeist actually works well. They can be cheeky and chaotic and it just ended up suiting him really, really well. Along with that the idea of him being seen less (him being stuck abd the back of the stage and being translucent) was a fun theme i could explore. Maybe he wants to be seen more than he is.

Bonus two i haven't introduced yet!

Martin: he's a vampire. Yes it's also cause he's tall and elegant with good bone structure and wanted there to be at least one double up to make the world feel more real.

Jere: he's a pixie! Cause he's very cheeky and mischievous and cause of that one show somone gave him fairy wings.

[theraggedygirl11]

Tant que notre amour est fou, il défiera toutes les lois

SUMMARY: Jan is a sorcerer. Nace is a human. An "accident" makes them meet and since then they are in each other's mind.

PAIRING: Nace Jordan/Jan Peteh

WARNINGS: swearing, and nothing else in particular, maybe some tears lmao

WORDS COUNT: 2.844

LINK: AO3

NOTES: First of all, I'd like to thank @mrsebastianmoran that created this amazing moodboard and @paperphilia who wrote this short fic inspired by that same moodboard. You two made me write my own version of dark sorcerer!Jan. Please, check both works, they are amazing!

I also thank @anxious-witch, my partner in crime (and in fangirling too) and beta reader.

I might come back to this au, maybe with a sequel. Who knows.

* * *

Oh, mon amour (oh, my love)   Tu es ma chance (you are my chance)   Si je renonce (if I give up)   Plus rien n'a de sens (nothing makes sense anymore)   Oh, mon amour (oh, my love)   La robe blanche (this white dress)   Est la réponse à leurs offenses (is the reply to their offenses)  

On se moque - Molière l’Opéra Urbain  

It all happened so fast that Nace wasn't able to realise what was really occurring. It still felt like a vivid dream.  

He was walking home in the city centre of Ljubljana. It was late at night, he had just finished playing with his band at an event in a local cafe when he noticed a shadow moving fast in the corner of his eye.  

He stopped and looked back. He saw nothing, he was alone in that street. He gulped, then decided to walk faster, marching towards his house, that wasn't even that far away.  

But as soon as he turned, in front of him there was a huge shadow figure, with red flaming eyes and an enormous, open mouth in which he could clearly see fangs as sharp as knives and as white as the Moon itself.  

He was petrified. His first thought was "this must be a nightmare". He needed to wake up, yet he couldn't do it. No, that was reality. A monster made of pure darkness was about to kill him and he couldn't do anything about it.  

He closed his eyes, praying to whatever deity he had in mind in that moment, not ready to die. He waited and waited but nothing happened.  

He heard a noise made by metal links, banging against one another.  

"How many times have I told you that you are not allowed to go around and scare people?"  

Who was talking? Nace opened his eyes and that shadow creature now looked more like a dog that was getting scolded by his owner. Around his neck there was a metal collar connected to a metal chain. A man was near the creature, holding its chain, and he was talking to it like it was his own-he was the owner of that monster?!  

"You are grounded. No more freedom to roam around the city until you learn to behave, ok?"  

The creature whimpered while looking at its owner.  

"No. Shut up. I won't change my mind. You could have killed innocent people! You must learn to behave, or I will send you back to Hell."  

The strange man sighed, then turned to Nace. "Sorry. My hellhound is learning to behave in the hum-"  

Nace was pale and still petrified. The weird man dressed in black kept looking at him.  

"You are human." He murmured.  

Nace saw him trying to get closer. At the same moment he felt his own body go numb, his vision blurred and then black surrounded him.  

"Oh, fuck-" were the last words he heard before fainting.  

* * *

Jan obviously didn't mention what happened the night before with that (handsome) human to Kris.   

He didn't want to be scolded like a child. He was one of the strongest dark sorcerers of the Balkan covenant, but he struggled to control his hellhound. It was a bit shameful for him, to be honest.  

That day Kris and he were at the local market in the suburbs of Ljubljana because they needed to buy stuff for their group of sorcerers.  

"Go to Marija, I need these herbs and ingredients for my potions and magic cures." Kris handed him a piece of paper with a list of stuff in it. He was a healer, his dominant element was water.  

Jan took the list and nodded. He needed stuff from Marija too for some of his spells.   

"I'll go to Primož, Bojan needs his animal blood for his damn blood magic."  

"He's always so lazy, he never goes to buy it himself." Jan shook his head.  

Kris sighed. "I know and I hate him for that."   

They then split to do their chores. It was at Marija's stall that Jan felt observed by familiar eyes. He turned and right behind him there was the human he had met the night before.  

"It's you," he said, his eyes widening in shock.   

"I think you mistook me for someone else." Jan immediately replied. He turned again to the stall to get his bags full of herbs and other stuff, then paid Marija and tried to go away quickly.  

The human had other plans however, he followed him and grabbed his arm.  

"I knew that it was all true, it couldn’t be a dream."  

Jan turned again to look at him. Their faces were so close.  

"I don't know what you are talking about."  

"You know. That...that shadow monster. You called it a hellhound. And you controlled him."  

"It was probably a dream, as you mentioned before."  

"I'm not crazy, I know what I saw!" His voice got louder. Some people around them turned to look at them.  

Jan's heart sank in his chest. The look in that human’s eyes was begging for answers, begging him to confirm what he saw that night.  

“What did you do to me then? I woke up in my room, in my house!”  

"It's better if you forget everything, man. Trust me.” He whispered.  

"Jan, is everything ok?" That was Kris. Jan felt his presence behind him.  

"Yeah, don't worry. This man thought I was someone else he knew." And he cast a quick spell in his voice to force that stranger to free his arm.  

He went away with Kris, leaving that human in the middle of the market. He turned to look at him with a guilty glance. He could almost touch his confusion with his hands. “I’m sorry”, he thought.

  

* * *

In the next few days Jan kept thinking about that human, about his eyes and his hand around his arm. He still felt his touch against his skin like a fire mark. In the end he decided to look for him, he deserved answers, even if it was against every law that ruled sorcerers around the world: humans mustn’t know about magic. He didn’t care, he felt so guilty.  

After a quick location spell, he found the stranger in a park in the suburb of the city. It was getting dark outside, so it was easier for him to use shadows to travel to his destination. He appeared in front of him. The human was holding his head between his hands and he was staring at the ground while sitting on a bench.  

“I think I owe you some explanations.”   

The stranger lifted his head and looked at Jan. His eyes opened wide, but the initial shock became anger. “Did you come here to make me look like a fool again? Wasn’t enough what you did today at the market?”  

His rage hit him like a dagger in the heart. “N-no.” He replied. “I want to talk to you.” He raised his hands, a gesture of surrender. “May I?” He asked then, pointing to the empty space near him on that bench.  

The stranger nodded, but his look was still angry.   

Jan took a couple of deep breaths before starting to talk. “What you saw yesterday was real. It was a hellhound.” He stopped for a second. “My hellhound. And I have problems with controlling it.” He sighed. “I’m a sorcerer. My specialty is dark magic.” He turned to look at the human. He felt judged by his eyes.  

“A sorcerer that practises magic.” The human repeated. “Like...Harry Potter?”  

“Hm...kind of, yeah. We are completely different from that...hm, representation. That it’s just completely wrong, to be honest. We don’t need a piece of wood to cast spells.” And to make him understand better, he raised his hand and called a small dark flame on his palm.  

The man startled and jumped a bit backwards. Jan made the flame disappear. “I shouldn’t tell you all this, but I felt guilty for how I treated you,” he explained. “Usually, when one of us ends up revealing magic to humans, we cancel their memories. I hate playing with people’s minds.”  

“A dark sorcerer who’s worried about a stranger? Shouldn’t dark sorcerers be evil?”  

“That’s kinda biased. Just because we bond with darkness and shadows, it doesn’t mean that we are evil.” Jan crossed his arms. “I fought against evil water and air sorcerers.” He even raised an eyebrow.  

The stranger giggled. Jan smiled, seeing the anger disappearing from his face and his eyes. The human kept asking Jan questions and he tried to answer, without giving away too much information about his world. He explained that sorcerers were born with a dominant element that guided their magic, that they all studied how to control and use their magic according to this element and also specialised in different roles based on the nature of their magic.  

Jan was a dark sorcerer, so his magic was mainly offensive, focused on curses and powerful destructive spells. He was also able to control people, summon creatures from Hell, like demons or hellhounds, control shadows and travel through them, bond with animals that lived at night and cast protection spells that could harm if activated.   

It was too late to continue talking, so they decided to meet again. Both enjoyed the time they spent together that evening. It wasn’t against the covenant rules to have friends among humans, in the end.  

“Oh, what’s your name, by the way?” The sorcerer asked.  

“Nace.” The human smiled. “Yours?”  

“Jan.” He replied with a shy smile.  

“Nice to meet you, sorcerer Jan, then.” Nace giggled. “Till the next time.”  

“Till the next time, human Nace.” And he vanished in the shadow, just like he appeared there a few hours before.  

* * *

Weeks passed. Jan and Nace kept hanging out together. They talked about everything outside of magic and sorcery. They met in various places, sometimes the sorcerer used his magic to travel with his human friend.   

Jan started feeling something weird inside of him while he was with Nace. His heart beat faster, he took every excuse to initiate physical touch between them. When they weren’t together, he missed him so much and he felt like there was an emptiness in his chest.  

“Kris, may I ask you something?” He entered his friend’s lair.  

He raised his head from the table where he was working on some potions. “Yeah, sure. Tell me.”  

“How did you realise you fell in love with Bojan?”  

“Well, we spent a lot of time together. I missed him when I wasn’t with him. The world gained colours when the feelings started blooming. And the deep and wild waters inside of me calmed the moment I felt his presence, a stormy ocean becoming a placid sea. And this happens also today, nothing changed.” Kris answered, then looked at his friend. “Why did you ask this?”  

“I...think I’m in love with a person.” He admitted.   

“Really?” Kris smiled. “Who is this person?”  

“It’s a human.”  

That smile on Kris’s face disappeared instantly. “You know that’s forbidden by our laws.”  

“I know, but I don’t care. This person soothes the shadows in me.” He looked Kris in the eyes. “There's been a light in me since I started hanging out with them.”  

“The Council won’t allow you to date this person, Jan.” He stood up and went closer to his friend. “It’s a human.”  

“I hate these rules! Just because they want to keep our damn power from mixing with humans, we are not allowed to date who we love!” He shouted.   

“These rules exist to protect us and our community. What if the wrong people discover that we exist? We already have sorcerers that turn evil, we don’t need humans to meddle with us too.”  

Kris was right. As much as Jan wanted to reply, his friend was right. They already had their problems to deal with.  

Jan felt tears invading his eyes. “...I love him, Kris.” He whispered, voice trembling. “I’ve never felt this way for anyone else. I-I can’t leave him.”  

Kris hugged his friend and gently caressed his back. Jan hid his face against his neck. He felt the shadows agitating in him, reeling like whirlpools. He grabbed his friend’s shirts while starting to cry silently, his shaking shoulders were the only sign that he was crying.   

“I’m sorry, Janči.” Kris whispered.   

But Jan wasn’t surrendering so easily. He was taught how to fight, how to resist, and how to persevere to reach his goal. And he didn’t want to lose Nace. If he wasn’t allowed to stay with a human without going against those laws, the only solution was to defy them.  

Some days after his decision, Jan met with Nace in the park where he revealed he was a sorcerer. His human was on the same bench too. He smiled when he saw his dear friend.  

“Hi, Janči.”   

“Hi, Nace.” He sat next to him, smiling. For a couple of seconds his eyes stopped on Nace’s lips.   

“Is everything ok? It’s early for you.”  

“I needed to meet you because I wanted to say something to you.” He explained while looking him in the eyes. He grabbed one of his hands and intertwined their fingers.   

“Yeah, sure, tell me.” He nodded.  

“Remember when I told you about our covenants?”  

“Yes, I remember that covenants are exclusives for sorcerers and humans are not allowed in.”  

Jan sighed and lowered his eyes on their hands. “There’s more about it. We are allowed to have human friends, but not relationships with humans. The elders say that it’s a matter of mixed blood not strong enough to carry magic and other stuff.”  

“Ok, but why are you tell-oh.”  

Their eyes met again. There was only silence between them. Nace freed Jan’s hand, then cupped his face and kissed him, slowly. Their foreheads touched when their lips parted.  

“I was afraid you didn’t love me back.” Confessed Nace with a delicate voice, almost inaudible. “Just because I’m a mere human and you are an amazing sorcerer.”  

“Don’t ever think about it, my love. You are as important as I am.” Jan cupped Nace’s face and caressed his cheeks.   

They stayed in that position for seconds, maybe minutes. The first to interrupt that intimate moment was Jan.   

“We need to go far away from here.” Said Jan.  

“It’s because of what you told me before?” Nace asked while caressing his cheek.  

“Yes, unfortunately.” He nodded. “I don’t want to give you up. No one can force me to do it. I don’t care if I need to become a fugitive or a traitor of my own kind. I just know that you calm the chaos created by the shadows in me.”  

“I calm the shadows in you?”  

“Yes, Nace.” Jan nodded. He grabbed his hand and put it on his heart. “Magic is this raw power inside of us. We learn to harness it, but there’s always a possibility that we lose control. Love can help us find a balance. You are the lighthouse that shines my way through this stormy darkness.”  

“I help you this much?”  

Jan nodded, then kissed him again. “Run away with me, my love. We can start over somewhere else where people don’t know us. And I can protect us with my magic. I won’t allow anyone to touch you. I’m strong, they fear me.”   

* * *

Nace hesitated at the beginning, but the next day he accepted the offer. In those past months he learned to love Jan and his true nature. He wasn’t scared of him, he was a lovely and kind person, maybe his only flaw was his ability to get lost so deep into his mind and in his thoughts. But Nace loved him so much even when he dove into his mind and he stared at him with heart eyes for hours.  

They ran away in northern Europe a few days later. They found a small house in a village not so far from the capital of the country they chose, so they could live in a quiet place but were also close to a bigger city in case they needed anything.   

It was hard to get used to the new habits, but they managed to in the end. Jan kept practising his magic, learning new stuff and new spells while Nace began working in the capital as a professional musician and then even as a bass guitar teacher in music schools.   

That night when they met neither of them could imagine what would have happened. Maybe Jan’s hellhound knew something they didn’t and escaped from his owner so he could meet the love of his life. Or perhaps it was just a coincidence of events that led them to living together as runaways.   

They only knew one thing, that they were luckier than Romeo and Juliet, because they got the chance to live their prohibited love, even if they had to abandon their previous life behind. Neither of them regretted that decision.  

[snazzynacho]

Behind Closed Doors:

Bojan Cvjetićanin x fem!reader

Chapter Three:

Masterlist

No murderer was knocking on innocent women's doors, unfortunately. Only a guilty Bojan. So, at least you got one thing correct?

"I'm trying!" You grunted as Jere's boot slipped from your grip, hitting the ground with a thud.

And you certainly felt innocent - a target even - in all this as you had to help with this mess.

The mess in question is an unconscious Jere.

After the worrying yet annoying texts from him, you found a puffed-out Bojan and a passed-out Jere outside your hotel room. Bojan was equally as tipsy as you were but insisted that you helped carry - or more like drag - Jere to bed. You both had decided on taking him to Bojan's hotel room, which he shared with Kris and Nace, hoping that way if he woke up sick or just very hungover, Kris would be there for him, instead of leaving him alone in his own hotel room. (poor Kris) And also because Jere didn't have his key on him. You only hoped it was misplaced back at the bar so he could retrieve it tomorrow but for now, you were struggling to carry him, and regretting ever leaving him on his own with Joker Out. God knows what happened.

"Well, try more!" Bojan grunted as all of Jere's body weight shifted to his hands, his legs staggering to keep himself steady.

"No shit Sherlock, THAT'S WHAT I'M DOING!" Your voice raised out of frustration as you glared at him while bending down to pick up Jere's legs again, accidentally revealing your cleavage in the dress you still had on from earlier, and grabbing onto his ankles. "My eyes are up here." You spoke flatly as you felt Bojan's eyes on you.

"I mean, it's not like I haven't seen it before," Bojan admitted nonchalantly as he smirked, provoking another glare out of you. You had been doing that a lot today.

You kept a firm grip on Jere's legs as you carefully carried him again and asked, "So, you remembered what happened then?"

"Hmm, I think you need to clarify." Sarcasm oozed off his tongue as he smirked again, making you groan, either because you were using all your strength to carry Jere or because you were fed up with Bojan. Probably both.

All Bojan could do was laugh at your reaction, "I remember us having some fun. Much more fun than well...what this is," He gestured to the passed-out Jere who was flopping about as you both hauled him.

Your eyebrows knitted together, "You say 'having some fun' as if implying we did...something..." You knew the pictures were well, suggestive, to say the least, but you knew for sure you never had sex with him...or either of them!

Bojan laughed, his eyes crinkling as a grin formed on his face as well as his dimples which were faint but still showed themselves to you, only making you want to stare at him for longer than you should. "No, we didn't. Only a little kiss...unless we did and we can't remember," He joked yet this didn't really amuse you. "I know for sure this guy is not gonna remember anything in the morning." He glanced down at Jere and chuckled to himself again, reminiscing on the partying they just enjoyed. A little too much, it seems.

"Good. I mean, I would want to remember that..." You awkwardly cleared your throat. Oh God, you were really talking about this. Changing the subject you asked, "What did you do to him anyway?!"

"Don't blame me! You are Finnish. Aren't you known for this?"

"I guess," you sighed, faintly laughing at your blacked-out best friend and his predicament.

Bojan didn't say anything other than muttering expletives under his breath as you worked up a sweat lugging Jere to the lifts. As soon as you reached them, both of you dropped him to the floor as you stood in front of the lifts. "Oops," While you caught your breath, you chuckled and eyed Jere on the floor but Bojan stayed silent. For a second you thought he was catching his breath like you were, but there was no sound of that. So, you wondered if what you had said about wanting to remember if you did it caught him off guard and made him uncomfortable and/or because the whole sauna situation had made him uneasy - even though he seemed to be making jokes about it just a moment ago and the day before. 

However, the moment you looked up from the still passed-out Jere and onto a shocked Bojan, you observed him staring unexpectedly at the lifts. Your confused self continued to watch him for a second before your eyes finally followed his gaze, immediately scanning an OUT OF ORDER sign that was stuck on the doors of the lift, almost mocking you. Not to mention additional caution tape that was stuck around for safety, as if you needed to be rubbed in the face more at the fact you'd have to carry Jere upstairs.

Your expression was just as equally shocked as Bojan's, but at this point it increasingly became irritated. "Of course." Your voice exuded sarcasm before scoffing, shaking your head as you turned back to face Bojan, expecting him to have disappeared, having given up on this whole journey.

But that was far from what would come out of his stupid mouth next.

"Well, we have a mission to complete. You know what they say, seize the day!" Trying not to act absolutely annoyed at the broken lift he cheered his signature line, almost making you automatically roll your eyes. Yet deep inside you wanted to laugh.

Well, this was one way to completely sober up.

____________________

Having almost tripped and fallen down the stairs while hauling Jere you were thankful when you saw Bojan's hotel room in sight. You thought carrying him was hard, until you tried carrying him while walking up stairs...

"Finally!" Exhausted, you flopped on the floor outside the hotel room next to where you rested Jere on the floor. Your head pounded. You and Bojan had successfully made it to the hotel room. Now you just hoped Bojan had the key.

"The key..." his voice sounded uncertain.

You hoped Bojan had the key-

"Uhh-" Looking up at him from the floor, you hoped to see the key in his hand but you couldn't.

"I don't have the key."

A long and tense pause lingered in the stuffy air. You stared at him with an almost blank stare, needing a moment to figure out how you were going to react.

"You what?" You laughed in disbelief.

"I, uh, may have lost the key..."

You were going to react angrily. "YOU WHAT?!" After all that hard work carrying Jere across the hallway along the hotel carpet - which you regret laying on now as the scratchy carpet digger into your skin - and up those steep stairs to the next floor, since the lifts conveniently happened to not be working so you could take Jere to bed, he hadn't thought to care more about keeping the room key safe... "What do we do now?!" Standing up before him, you half asked yourself and the guilty culprit in front of you.

Bojan shifted uncomfortably, "Umm...it must have fallen out of my pocket as we were carrying him!"

"Ugh. Well, you have Jere's key right? We can just go back and put him in his room, it's fine. Not what the plan was but-"

"Nu-uh! Do you know the leading cause of death from being hungover is puking while lying down!"

"Wh-"

"HE'LL CHOKE AND I'LL GET THE BLAME."

"Damn, okay, but you got us into this mess! One hundred percent I'll blame you. So what do you suggest?!" Your hungover headache is creeping its way back, harder this time, as this situation escalates. Although part of you thinks it's not just the hangover causing it.

He scratched his head and avoided your glaring eye contact. "We trace our steps and go back-"

"ARE YOU SERIOUS--"

A noise from beside you pulled your attention from Bojan. You looked over and saw it was Nace who had slammed the door open. "Shut up already! You woke me up and I'm very hungover. And what are all these texts about-" his eyes landed on the wiped-out Jere on the floor. "Oh."

"Thank god you're awake, I lost our room key-"

"Yeah, no thanks to you," Nace grumpily interrupted.

"Please just take him," You sighed and began handing Jere's legs for him to hold, Bojan following your lead. Nace sighed and accepted his fate. It's not like he had a choice anyway, and he just really wanted to go back to sleep, which you could relate to.

After putting Jere to bed, with a glass of water next to him for when he wakes and with the help of Bojan making sure to position him lying on his side to avoid any vomit-choking death, the two of you were ushered out by Nace, who now portrayed a snide smirk plastered across his face. "You're lucky Jan isn't here. He'd have a field day with this," he stifled a laugh, not wanting to make any more noise and wake Kris up, who was still sleeping blissfully unaware of the chaos that just occurred. Nace shut the door in both of your faces, not even bothering to ask where Bojan would sleep, which would be your room. He'd probably find that out from the Queen of Gossip, Jan, in the morning.

Together, you released a sigh of relief and Bojan high-fived you which you grudgingly reciprocated, nonetheless still annoyed at the whole situation.

When you made it back to your own hotel room with Bojan, you sank down on the bed with another sigh. Noticing your tiredness, Bojan handed you some water and stroked your stray hair away from your face, which you weren't expecting him to do though you didn't push his hand away. "Thanks for helping," he spoke lowly, but lightly.

Once his fingertips finished pulling the last strand, tucking it behind your ear gently, your skin burned, yearning for more. But you knew it was wrong, right? That sauna situation embarrassed you and those pictures, even worse. And you still hadn't talked to Bojan about it. Not properly anyway.

You were supposed to be colleagues. But it seems a lot can happen behind closed doors.

Realising you hadn't replied to him you uttered, "It's fine,"

God, of all the things you could say, that was all that came out?

You should shout at him for letting Jere get that drunk - even though everyone knows no one can stop him. You should tell him how embarrassed you are about whatever happened in the sauna. The kiss...The photos...

"I know what you're thinking about," Bojan whispered, almost sing-song-like. As if this was a game. Whatever this was.

"Go on then,"

His eyes squinted as if he was trying to mind-read, and you wondered if he did somehow get more drunk being near a blacked-out Jere for too long because he was staring at you longer than needed, with that piercing glare.

Tauntingly, his eyes quickly lowered to your cleavage again and back up to your eyes. Oh, how you wish you could roll your eyes right now but you were stuck. Frozen. Yet still burning from his touch.  You kicked yourself over how fast you seemed to swoon over the singer from Slovenia. That was all he should be to you.

"The kiss." he finally declared.

You took a deep breath, drinking him in, as he seemed closer than he was before. The strands of his fluffy hair fell perfectly on his forehead. Your fingers instantly brushed them away, just as he did yours. entangling with the rest of his dark blond hair. His eyes never left you. They couldn't.

"Is that why you've been ignoring me?"

"I haven't-"

He quirked an eyebrow at you, not believing you for one second.

You sighed again, softly this time. "Okay, maybe I have. So you do also remember taking those photos? Don't you think I'm some kind of slut?"

"What? No way. We were joking around."

"Oh, good. I'm glad they didn't get accidentally posted online or something. That wouldn't be good. Especially for our managers."

He chuckled, "No, it wouldn't,"

"Was this some sort of plan you two came up with?"

He hummed in question, eyebrows furrowing.

"The whole passed-out-Jere-I-need-somewhere-to-sleep fiasco."

"You said we should take him to mine,"

"Yeah because you screamed about how if he dies you'll get blamed, which is still what's gonna happen if he does. For now, Kris and Nace can deal with...that." Your mind wanders to the texts and for a second you imagine it all unravelling. God knows you've seen it happen before, being friends with Jere for so long.

"Did you want it to be? Did you want it so I planned to get in your bed," Bojan's voice was hot, you could suddenly feel it. He was moving closer and closer to you by the minute. And you didn't move away or tell him to do so. You didn't want to. "Because it seems like it. Not to mention" - he leans down, fingertips caressing your leg down to your heels - "your naughty trick."

Naughty, he says.

You blushed intensely, feeling goosebumps rise across your skin at his touch, and at remembering your caressing his leg with your heel. You didn't know what possessed you then in that moment but, boy, you did not regret it. Especially if it meant Bojan would be this close to you right now, making you feel light-headed in an excited way.

His fingertips glide back up, tingling. He leans in and you do too. Tingling now on your lips, just as the photo of him kissing your cheek made you feel. Just as he made you feel in the sauna. Just as he made you feel whenever he looked at you. Kissing never felt this good. A wave of almost relief washed over you. If he thought you were 'weird' or 'a slut' then he wouldn't be kissing you now, would he?

Seeing you were more comfortable, he spoke softly, yet with a hint of something else. Desire.

"Let me make it up to you.

[anxious-witch]

Inertia 4

Summary: Newton's first law expresses the principle of inertia: the natural behavior of a body is to move in a straight line at constant speed. In the absence of outside influences, a body's motion preserves the status quo.

Jan choose a direction of his life the moment he walked out of his parents house and cut all contact with them. He didn't want anything to do with them, or God anymore. Even his soulmark he wished he could leave behind. But when Nace Jordan joins the band, with a mark matching his own, can Jan keep going the same way he did? Or will the force make him change a direction?

Pairings: Jan Peteh/Nace Jordan

Warnings: TW for a character taking sleeping pills and slight descriptions of dissociation, character implied to have an eating disorder, mentions of Nace's pictures of before he lost weight, mentions of past abusive parents

If I forgot something please feel free to let me know

Notes: AO3 link

Alright, so. Jan is being gently nudged in the right direction here, but not quite ready to take a leap yet. Also we get a glimpse of some of Nace's own insecurities, so if you have any triggers regarding eating disorders, I recommend checking additional warnings

God said:

GOD MADE YOU. GOD DOES NOT CARE IF YOU ARE "GUILTY" OR NOT.

I said:

I CARE IF I AM GUILTY!

I CARE IF I AM GUILTY!

God was silent.

Everything was SILENT.

I lay back down in the snow.

Frank Bidart, Half-light: Collected Poems 1965-2016

There was a low music playing from the speakers. It sounded vaguely familiar, but Jan was too tired to listen closely enough to identify from where. For once, he was the one that arrived early. Warm cup of coffee warmed his hands from a cold November weather, as he waited for Matej.

It all felt surreal. Jan cheated slightly the previous day and took a sleeping pill. He didn't take them often, partially due to the fact he didn't want to have to rely on them to sleep every night and partially because they made him feel drowsy the next day.

Like it did now. He felt like he was still dreaming, moving through molasses to get anywhere in a dream. He blinked and suddenly, his brother was sitting across from him.

"Hey," he greeted quietly, trying to stifle a yawn.

"Hey."

They sat in silence until Matej ordered coffee. He sighed when the waiter left. Jan traced the handle of his cup with his finger. His nail polish chipped slightly on the thumb. He really needed to fix that.

"Jan...please talk to me? I can't just give you contact information for something like this without knowing anything."

Jan felt very slow today. Not in the same way as he did when he was sleep deprived, no. He wasn't annoyed or irritable, more like...he was under a thick blanket that was see through. He could see the world behind it, but it felt far away.

"Why not?"

"Because you are asking me to help you arrange a very dangerous procedure! Do you even know what this could do to you if anything goes even a bit wrong?!"

He looked up, meeting his brother's furious eyes and felt nothing at all. The pain felt glazed over now. Buried under a thick blanket of indifference.

Matej's eyes scanned over his face and then his anger melted into worry.

"Jan...have you been taking sleeping pills again?"

Jan rubbed at his eyes. They just refused to stay open for long, despite the coffee. Matej knew his habits, both good and bad. Some things didn’t change, despite his best efforts.

"Only yesterday, after we talked. I didn't sleep very well in...well. Weeks. Otherwise I wouldn't have taken them."

Matej went silent. Jan could see him mulling things over. Considering him.

"And you not sleeping...is it because of the soulmate guy?"

He started peeling off the nail polish from his thumb more. He didn't want to talk about Nace.

"Kind of. Not really solely his fault, but he isn't making it better, either."

Matej reached out and grasp his hands, putting a stop to his nervous tic. Jan looked up again. Matej always made him feel small, in one way or another.

Not because of their actual sizes, but because he always held such a mature presence Jan could only hope to imitate to a degree. He could never quite measure up.

"Does he...is he hurting you in any way? Is he treating you badly? Tell me what's going on."

Jan stared at him in confusion then began shaking his head.

"It's not-it's not about him. I mean, it kind of is but-" he took a deep breath, trying to arrange his thoughts in a way that made sense, "I don't want the cursed soul bond. I never did. You know that."

Matej pursed his lips. He always did it when he was unhappy with something Jan did. Like that time he attempted to climb a three at age five and fell off, breaking his arm.

"I know that you said that to mom and dad, but I didn't think you were serious! This isn't a religious thing Jan, for fuck's sake! I can understand rebelling against everything else they said but this-this is insane!"

Jan pulled his hands from Matej's grasp and crossed them over his chest. His hair was up today, and the slight breeze caressed his burning soulmark.

"That's not your decision to make. I am not a child."

"Then don't act like one!"

In that moment, everything stopped. Jan felt like he stopped breathing even.

"When you stop acting like a child, we'll stop treating you like one. Why can't you be more like your brother and sister?"

Jan felt very, very cold all of a sudden. Like the chill overtook him from inside out. Matej's words echoed in tandem with his father's.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that. Just-please think this through. Give it six months. If you still want to do it after, I'll give you the contact you need."

"Six months? Are you insane?"

He scowled? Six months? It had barely been a month since Nace joined them and it had already been torture. He had to endure it for six more months? No.

Matej didn't shrink under his sharp gaze.

"It's half a year. I am not letting you ruin your life because you were sleep deprived. You can think it through properly. And besides, if you win-and I do think you will-you will have Eurovision to go to anyway."

Jan had an urge to scream, to yell at him. That it wasn't fair and that he was prolonging his misery the same way mom and dad did. But he was scared if he said that, Matej might withdraw the offer completely.

"Fine. But you will give me the contact of the doctor who does it if I still want this in six months?"

Matej's jaw was clenched, but he didn't look away.

"Yes."

He took his coffee and drain it in two gulps. Matej really hated when he did that. Then he put the money on the table and got up.

"Right. Thanks, for that I guess. See you around."

Matej's hand shot out and he grabbed his wrist before Jan could escape. He looked like he was bracing himself for something.

"I love you, you know that, right? I don't think I say it enough. I know we aren't that close and that mom and dad only made it worse but...you are my brother and I love you no matter what. Alright?"

There was a lump in Jan's throat. He tried to swallow past it but he just couldn't.

"I-“ he paused, those two following words stuck in his throat, choking him, “you too."

Why couldn't he say it? If Matej got out of that house and learned how to say it, why couldn't Jan?

Matej smiled at him and squeezed his wrist gently before letting go.

"Alright then. Go make some trouble. But also get some sleep, please."

Jan nodded numbly before he turned and finally left. He drove on autopilot and only halfway through realized he wasn't driving to his apartment. He drove to Kris'.

He sat in the car for awhile, simply parked in front of it. There was no way he'll tell Kris about getting rid of the soulmark. But maybe...he could still talk to him?

He did his best to go up two flights if stairs without overthinking it and turning right back around. He and Kris knew each other for years. Kris was there to pick up the pieces after Jan cut contact with his family. He wouldn't turn him away over him being irritable.

Jan rang the doorbell and waited. He thought he heard two voices before the doors opened, and once they did, his suspicion was confirmed. Both Kris and Bojan stood at the door.

"Jan?"

Shit. This was a bad decision.

"Um. Sorry, I didn't realize you'd be busy. I'll just go."

"Don't be ridiculous. You drove all the way to here, come in."

But the cold was still wrapped around him like a cloak. With his hair up, he felt too exposed to risk anyone but Kris’ company. Conversation with Matej left him raw and vulnerable. He didn’t want to risk anyone else seeing that. Even if it was just Bojan.

He shook his head sadly and watched as Bojan’s face fell and Kris grew worried.

“Sorry. We can-I’ll talk to you guys soon, yeah?

He stepped back, putting more distance between them. Alone was safer. And while Jan knew he couldn’t solve his issues alone, he wasn’t ready to ask for help. Not just zet.

At first, Jan went right back to ignoring Nace as much as he could. Interacted with him only in a group and never directly unless he asked him a question.

Then, slowly, something started to shift. His brother's words chipped on him. Not that he was really going to give Nace a chance. That thought made all the alarm sounds in his head blare at maximum volume.

But he was going to cut the connection between them in a few months anyway. So surely, there was no harm in letting him get just a bit closer. Talking to him on occasion, for a start.

The first time it happened, it was just an ordinary Tuesday. They had a break during practice and Bojan had helpfully supplied them with chips, cookies and some other snacks Jan didn't care enough to check. He preferred salty snacks anyway.

Jan got to the table last, but instead of taking his usual position next to Jure, he sat next to Nace, at the end of the table. He saw Nace's eyes go wide for a second and he went very, very still.

Instead of addressing it and making everything feel more awkward, he nudged him.

"Can you pass me that chips?"

Nace stared at him for a moment, as if not comprehending his request.

"Sure."

"Not the tasteless salty ones! The paprika ones!"

Nace chuckled and handed him the correct bowl this time. Jan took a handful and stuffed his mouth. He saw Kris roll his eyes as he delicately took one chips at the time.

What a diva.

What he also noticed was that Nace didn't take any. He furrowed his brows, trying to remember if chips had gluten in them or not.

"Do chips have gluten?" He asked, after swallowing the chips.

The last thing he wanted was for Kris to snap at him to not talk with his mouth full. Nace once again, looked like a deer caught in the headlights.

"Some do, but not very often, I don't think."

"So why aren't you taking any?"

Nace chewed on his lip. Now he was the one avoiding Jan's gaze.

"Don't like them."

Oh, bullshit. Jan could see the way Nace eyed the chips before turning away. Was this some sort of diet thing? Or just Nace eating healthy in general?

"What about the rest? I am sure Bojan got some gluten free cookies too, he is usually careful-"

"I really don't want to eat anything right now," Nace snapped.

Well, alright then. He clearly struck a nerve there. Nace pursed his lips, and Jan saw the cogs in his brain turning.

For once, it wasn't Jan who was a rude one.

"Why are you suddenly talking to me, anyway?"

Jan raised his eyebrow and gave Nace a little smirk.

"What? I can't change my mind and want to befriend a bandmate?"

Nace eyed him suspiciously, but then Kris asked him a question and their conversation essentially ended.

It made Jan begin to pay more attention, though. How Nace was very careful about what he ate, and not just about gluten related things. How he was the only one that could keep up with Bojan's talk about going to the gym.

He might have went on a deep dive himself and found old pictures of Nace. Of when he was fat. Jan felt like he swallowed stones. This was something he deleted for a reason and Jan still went looking for it.

He closed all the tabs and leaned back in his chair, trying not to feel guilty.

For fuck's sake, he couldn't stand the man! And it wasn't like he didn't just dig around publicly available information!

Except, it felt icky. It wasn't that Nace looked bad before just-he clearly didn't want anyone else to see that. Was it also why he was so careful about what he ate?

Goddamn. Was this why he found Jan attractive in the first place? Because his self esteem was still so low he was content with someone being an asshole as long as they found him attractive?

Jan groaned and rubbed at his eyes. This wasn't healthy. He should just drop it. Get to know Nace like a normal person.

The issue was that he was never good at dropping the issue. Once he began digging, he needed to know. Most people would get frustrated when they couldn't solve an equation.

Jan, though? That only made him want to solve it more.

It was similar with people, although it didn't happen nearly as often. Jan usually wasn't very fond of people. The last time he research someone thoroughly was Kris.

Which was something Jan would never, in a million years admit to him. But sometimes, Jan simply wanted to rearrange something to see how it worked.

He wanted to rearrange Nace and understand what made him tick.

Matej did say to give him a chance. So, Jan would. Research was part of giving him a chance. He couldn't exactly give him a chance without finding stuff about him first though, could he?

So, he sent a simple text to Jure.

Me: Do you want to come over tomorrow after practice? I have sweets. And a cat

Jure: Why does it feel like I am getting bribed? 😸

Me: Is that a no?

He waited impatiently as Jure typed, drumming his fingers against his knee.

Jure: Obviously it's a yes. I am just wondering what I need to do to get those 😹

Nothing much. Just give him all the information he had on Nace. That wasn't asking too much, was it?

Me: I just have some questions about Nace. Nothing major

His message stayed on seen for an awfully long time. Jan started to think Jure would say no. But then finally, a message came forward.

Jure: Alright.

Jan put the phone down with a satisfied grin. Usually, finding enough stuff about things would get him to stop obsessing over it. Once he learned all he could, he could move on.

Which was how he ended up with Jure on his couch, chewing on the chocolate cookies he liked. Even Igor decided to cooperate for once and was contently purring while curled in Jure's lap.

"So," Jure said after swallowing the last bite, "what exactly did you want to ask me about Nace? I wasn't even aware you guys were close."

Jan had to play this carefully. Jure could be very perceptive if he put his mind to it. Thankfully for him, he often wasn't, his attention easily shifting from one thing to another. So as long as Jan kept him preoccupied with something else...it should be fine.

"We aren't. I just...felt bad about ignoring him. But I don't really know how to go around talking to him, so I figured it would be easier to already know things about him so I know which topics to go for and which to avoid."

Jure hummed thoughtfully, taking another cookie. Igor meow loudly, annoyed at sudden the lack of attention. He settled as Jure began petting him again.

"I'd avoid religion and food, for one. The two of you will definitely not have a fun time talking about that. You can ask him about his dog, Ollie, he loves talking about him. Music is also obvious answer. Oh! He also mentioned he is considering doing some pottery classes? Something about his sister taking them and him wanting to try? You can ask him about that."

He didn't notice the way Jan froze with a cup of tea halfway to his mouth. Religion? Food, he guessed why was a sensitive topic. But he found nothing about religious aspect from his research.

"Religion? I wasn't aware he was religious."

Jure dangled a piece of cloth in front of Igor, making him reach out and attempt to catch it with his pawns. Jan discreetly took a sip of his tea.

"Well, perhaps religious is generous. I don't think he goes to church, but he is...what's the word? Spiritual? He definitely believes in God."

Of course. Of course, Jan's cursed soulmate had to believe in God. Destiny had always been a noose tied around his neck. Why would it stop now?

"I see."

Jure huffed and gently put Igor to the ground.

"Don't be like that. Nace is really nice, okay? And he doesn't push his beliefs on others."

Jan did his best nit to roll his eyes. Maybe he didn't push it towards just anyone, but that didn't mean he wouldn't do it if he ever found out about their connection. Not that he could tell Jure that.

Igor hopped over to his lap, clearly annoyed by Jure's contact movement. Jan scratched him behind the ear, earning himself a satisfied purr.

"Noted,” Jan paused, considering a most neutral topic, “Anyway, anything new with you?”

Jure's eyes lit up, and even before he spoke, Jan knew he was going to mention his soulmate. Their connection was by far the strangest one Jan had witnessed.

He met her, of course. Nika often showed up to their concerts. She was a small redhead with bright blue eyes and a smile that matched Jure's sunshine energy.

When they were together, it was like seeing the purest connection. They had the ability to communicate without saying a word, but that wasn’t even the most fascinating part.

It was like they moved differently when they were around each other. Like magnets, pushing and pulling against an invisible field only the two of them could feel.

It scared Jan half to death when he thought about it for too long. Not being himself when he was around someone else to a point even the way he carried himself changed.

"Oh, I met up with Nika recently. She is doing good. A bit overwhelmed with all the exams at uni, but yeah. She is smart, she'll do great."

Ah, yes. University. Jan hadn't been to his in ages. Technically, he had an exemption and could just show up for exams in February, but still. That was something he should consider doing after things calm down a bit.

"That sounds good," Jan hesitated, biting his lip, "Actually, can I ask you something?"

Jure lazily stretched. Like a cat, without a care on the world. Jan's stomach was turning.

"Yeah, shoot."

"Do you ever wish she wasn't your soulmate?"

Jure opened his eyes abruptly, staring at him in shock. Jan winced at the way he blurted it out.

"I mean...do you ever wish she was just a friend and your soulmate was someone else? Or that you were like Kris and didn't have to worry about it at all?"

Jan turned his attention to Igor, suddenly very interested in the black and white patterns on his fur. He waited for Jure's answer patiently.

"I wouldn't say Kris doesn't worry about that at all. But to answer your question, no. Nika is special to me. She will always be special and there is probably no other person in the world that will understand me as much as she does. But that doesn't stop me from loving other people romantically."

Jure was fidgeting with his hands, as if searching for the right words to explain himself.

"I know our connection isn't conventional, but I don't need it to be, y'know? And I think that, in most cases our soulmates are exactly the people we need to help us grow."

He met Jan's eyes suddenly, blue eyes pinning him in place. Jan flayed open, as if Jure could see right into his soul, or what was left of it.

"You don't usually ask personal questions. You like that neither of us talk about our families or soulmates much. Something is different."

Jan swallowed. He opened his mouth and closed it several times, but no words came out. Then, finally:

"Can you ignore it? The connection, I mean. Can you...carry on, as if there is nothing."

Jure sighed.

"This is not a hypothetical discussion, is it?"

Jan went very, very still. Was he truly that obvious? How could have Jure even began to figure it out?

"Can we pretend it is?"

Jure stared at him silently for a moment. Then he popped another cookie and he chewed it almost aggressively while glaring at the wall.

"In short, no. I don't think you can ignore it. Maybe if you have an incredible amount of self control, which you do not by the way, then yeah, maybe. But I don't think it's healthy. Especially not when you are around them all the time."

Jure stood up suddenly and Igor, spooked by the sudden movement, jumped out of Jan's lap and hid behind the couch. Jan slowly rose from his seat, too.

"I appreciate the cookies and Igor. But if you'll excuse me, I will now go on a walk and try and forget we had this conversation. For the record, though, as much as I love you I think you are being incredibly unfair."

Jan flinched at that. That stung, especially from Jure. Jure was mostly carefree and rarely judged anyone. So for him to throw something like this in his face was unusual to say the least.

He walked to the hallway and began putting on his shoes. Jan walked after him, his heart heavy.

"I thought at least you'd understand," Jan said desperately, trying to get him to understand his side, "With the dynamic you and Nika have..."

"We talked about it. Multiple times over the years. You don't-you can't build anything by keeping it to yourself."

Jure rubbed his hand over his face. Then he grabbed his coat. He hesitated at the door, though.

"I won't tell Nace, but I think you should. There is a lot more to him than you think."

"Like what?"

Jure stared back, his eyes narrowing.

"That's something you'll need to find out for yourself. Until then, I'd prefer to pretend we didn't have this conversation."

Before Jan could even begin to think on how to respond to that, Jure was out of the door and rushed down the flight of stairs. Jan stared at the empty space that he occupied only moments before for a moment and then gently closed the door.

Something about the manner Jure spoke rattled him much more than any of the other interactions. Kris, Matej,...they all had reasons to oppose him. Kris, because he wanted what Jan had, Matej, because he was afraid of Jan regretting his choices.

But Jure? Other than having sympathy for Nace's position as a newest addition to the band, what reason did he have to oppose him?

Was there something more he was missing? Or was he truly in the wrong here?

As he thought about it, he went to run his hand through his hair and he froze. His hair was still up in a bun from earlier. And with the way Jure was sitting, he’d have a good view of his soulmark from the side. Since Nace’ was always on display, and with Jan’s unsubtle question, it wouldn’t take Jure much to come to the right realization. Fuck.

Jan flopped down on the couch and buried his face in it. He'd consider talking to Nace. Tomorrow.

[moreofthatdrowse]

JO Survey: What's a favorite JO moment of yours? Could be very small or something big

There were too many good answers in the questions with open answers in my Joker Out Survey, so below the cut are the answers to Question no. 14: What's a favorite JO moment of yours? Could be very small or something big

When bojan exists but also when they sung the boys are back from HSM in an interview in all the languages

Nace & Bojan completing my heart hands thing at a concert :) (& Nace showing the heart on his bass in my direction )

sparklative, the turtle interview, every interaction between jan and nace (it's hard to pick a favourite)

It's so hard to choose! Aside from repeating what I said before, I'll say I love them doing stuff with pride flags during concerts, and them hanging out together during Novi Val. Also them just wearing each others clothes. And the whole thing with Because of You during Eurovision. And Bojan singing Cha Cha Cha. And Tavastia. And Kris during the Katrina video whirling around his jacket. Ok I can't choose and I can go on forever.

When Nace started talking about his turtles

kris being a hater 🫶

how dare you make me pick one smh i guess the performance of novi val in Glasgow with the pride flag i dotn get emotional about artists raising pride flags in general even tho im queer but that specific moment in a CHURCH with THAT song made me sob

I can't choose so I've got 3: 1. WHY THIS HAS BEEN SO HAS BIVEN SPARKLY?! SPARKLING?! SPARKLATIVE?!?!?! 2. the interview where they talk about Nace's turtles ("shiiiit, they don't like to be pet!") 3. every time Bojan and Kris banter with each other 😭 and I saw this irl too when I was at their concert in London and Kris wouldn't stop playing his guitar whilst Bojan was trying to tune his

I've really enjoyed watching the behind the scenes video series' from Eurovision and the tour.

It's a tie between (i) pretty much any interview they've ever done and (ii) the Cvetličarna concert (didn't attend but have watched the footage)

Them comforting Käärijä together after his loss

Bojan's thighs lol

I really like drunk Kris at Barcelona preparty screaming "OH, SSF!" and dancing like the tall tree he is 🤣❤️‍🔥

Their joy in eurovision

"Sparklative"

The moment that Jan signed my jacket

Jan and Nace interacting on stage

Idk i love all the behind the scenes videos?

Them all singing together (see carpe diem series ep 7 amsterdam :D)

The backstage series

The Electric Ballroom gig in London & their reaction when Slovenia entered the grand final at ESC

Jan and Nace playing kazoos in the UK tour ep 2

You expect me to chose?? /j

Every Novi val performance.

anything Jan and Nace get up to tbh

Every moment in that "joker out being bros for 5 min straight" video or wtv or was called. Need friendships like that fr

don't know if it's my favorite moment per se but i do love how they all immeadiately fell in love with jere (käärijä), especially bojan ofc <3

Why has been so sparkling? ✨

Bojan draped in a pride flag in an old church while singing novi val. Top 3 moments to cry about at 3am tbh

The performance of Novi Val in Križanke. Also, this is not a JO moment as such, but a clip where Bojan imitates a german kid telling his mom he wants to jump on the trampoline(?) I'm sorry, but man's funny as fuck, I think about that clip often.

I haven't seen them live yet, so all the best moments are yet to come :)

All of them cuddles

I don’t knoww Maček in a box

kris tilting his head back, eurovision in my city, SEEING THEIR TOUR BUS IN LIVERPOOL WJEN ME AND MY FRIEND WERE OUT IN THE CITY CENTER THE DAY AFTER WE SAW THEM @ MANCHESTER

I don't know yet - there's so many moments! So many smiles and like laying their heads on each others shoulders during concerts and looking out for each other. <3

I liked how promptly they got rid of gregor on a serious level and also on a happy level when they qualified to the Eurovision final

cvetličarna

Bojan and Kaarija’s bromance

I don't know to many options

Love how often TURTOL is brought up. Nace would be proud <3

QUESTIONS 1-11 I QUESTION 12 I QUESTION 13 I QUESTION 14

[we-pay-for-everything]

And to add to insult, it was already a bit surprised the show be renew, so the odds of getting yet another season were really low. So or the Nancy drew writes didn't even really wanted to go there but to please the fans went there the most superficial way just to get over or they thought not giving the fans a really nice last season of them together would maybe have the fans do a #savenancydrew, which it was a bet that they lost, because the show was never a super hit, also the state of cw and tv as a whole. Sucks when writes just don't care enough to end on a high because somehow most of them think angst, separations, other LI, will they won't they, will sell more that. As audience I think all that just water down what supposed to be great love history. Like you said does Nance even love him? They mess up the golden rule of televison, don't tell me something, show me

Yes, the last season should've been more impactful and a homage to the fans and to what the show did best. We love the show because of the characters and their relationships. We didn't need a last season that completely undermined some of these dynamics and was so heavy on new relationships and characters we don't care about. It's bad enough that we lost The Claw lmao.

Nancy and Ace absolutely had the chance to be an epic love story but their relationship is so underdeveloped that it will only ever be a very shippable ship with potential and outlines of greatness. The way Ace and Nancy's friendship developed in seasons 1 and 2, especially in late season 1 and early season 2, was beautiful, but even season 3 was a misstep imo. Park's introduction and the lack of good Nace content in some ways brought their relationship to a halt, especially after Nancy's big revelation in the season 2 finale. The writers also needed to develop their relationship in other fronts. Romance isn't just about jealousy, insecurity, and the revealing and confessing of feelings, and Nace's relationship should've deepened in other ways. More than Nancy relying on Ace, we should've seen Ace rely on Nancy - and Ace actually reaching out for help, or learning how to -, or Nancy being more in tune with Ace. But Ace's insecurities weren't really solved then and certainly won't be solved now, and Nancy was just as distracted by other stuff in season 3 as usual, and we even had an episode of Ace being in trouble and Nancy being clueless about it (because Ace didn't ask for help and she ignored his random request to solve a riddle that in the end took only two seconds to solve). Ace establishing a connection with Nancy by tapping on her shoulder in Morse code was not proof of the strength of their bond lmao. We needed their relationship, both romantic and otherwise, to be developed, so it was less unbalanced and limited to solving cases.

We also deserved an actual relationship between them, which now we won't ever get because the writers wasted the final season on bullshit love triangles and forbidden love stories. We deserved to see how badass Nace really are together, how they can manage their differences and make each other better (since we haven't seen much of that lately), and how Ace can overcome his insecurities and Nancy her fear of commitment and intimacy. A healthy, loving, supportive, equal romantic partnership between is what would elevate their relationship to legendary status - not this forbidden love, possible literal soulmates whatever, angle.

Nace could've been something so beautiful, but the writers are clearly stubborn and uninterested in maturing Nancy. She's forever the girl who can't see past her need to solve cases, or been on a real relationship where she has to compromise, let someone else in, and not just do everything her way. She's the cliché detective type... Usually shows care too much about romance, but in this case it's less about romance and more about how a real romantic relationship would be great for Nancy's growth and character development, but sadly that won't happen.

Nancy may love Ace but truly her immaturity and poor writing make it seem like she doesn't, or like Ace isn't really a priority most of the time - not unless he's in danger and especially not when she feels rejected. *Sigh*

Thanks for the ask!

[brokenbutnotquiting]

What did she call me?

Yea, my brain is fried after 3x09 so here you go. A little bit of Nace and Angst.

(Started it sometime after 3x06 but I have no concept of time or how to utilise it, so *shrug*)

(Also, fair warning, I don't know how well I wrote this, so constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated)

He was staring. He knew he was staring, and Bess knew he was staring. George and Nick knew he was staring. The entirety of The Claw knew he was staring.

It was a wonder Nancy didn't feel her back burning with the intensity of his gaze. But she rarely felt his gaze on her, if ever.

There was a girl, barely fifteen, talking to her. Nancy was frowning at something she said and then promptly shook her head. Was the girl being mean? Did she need an extraction? Ace inched closer to the two them out of his own violation, and that's when he heard it.

'...borrow your himbo hacker...'

Were they talking about him?

What. The. Hell?

'... he's not my-'

'Oh, please.' The girl rolled her eyes, and that's it, he decided— he wouldn't allow anyone to be rude to Nancy like that. Nope. Gil Bobbssey had been enough of a lesson. Enough for an entire lifetime.

He didn't like anything that was even remotely close to rude in terms of Nancy and he was just about to interrupt the conversation when he felt Nancy's eyes on himself and as he met her gaze, she smiled tentatively back.

An invitation to join in.

He walked over to them, close enough that he felt the fabric of Nancy's coat rubbing against his jacket.

Too close. He had stopped too close to her again, but he couldn't help himself.

It had started right after he had returned from his road trip. She had pulled away, and he had felt that absence rather loudly. His mind had gone on a trip of its own piecing together a rather long montage of every time Nancy hadn't paid any attention to his personal space and he hadn't minded. It was only when she had stopped that he did. He had felt the absence and a pull. Towards her. An incessant pull that Ace hadn't been able to stay away from. Everytime she had taken a step away, he had been compelled to take two steps towards her. The space between them kept feeling like a monstrous void that Ace had an unending need to exorcise. The need settling on the forefront of his consciousness when Amanda had walked away from him.

So he had stepped closer. And closer still. Until he was sure he was breaking all social protocol about personal space altogether—like she used to. Did he care? Not particularly.

"I just need to know if he is cheating on me, and if he is then with whom." The girl said, her pleading eyes on him as soon as he come into her vicinity. As if he would take up on her request if Nancy declined. As if he would ever take a stand against the woman standing beside him.

Nancy looked at him and he kept his thoughts to himself when she started speaking. "She thinks her boyfriend is cheating on her and wants you to hack into his phone to see if you can find out the truth."

"Do you not want me to?" Ace asked softly, knowing he wouldn't take this on if she ever hinted at it.

"I couldn't speak for you," Nancy said with a shrug. And, look, Ace knew it was a very decent thing to do, not speak in his steed but something about the way Nancy had stepped back yet again rubbed him the wrong way.

And step away she did. Literally.

She nodded her leave to the girl and before he could ask her to please stay, she was already walking into the kitchen.

Ace took a deep breath before looking back at the girl at hand. She stared at him, puppy dog eyes in full effect, but her eyes neither the rich brown of his platanchor's neither the clear cerulean of Nancy's. It didn't work on him.

"I have a few questions for you," he said, falling back on his stoner facade as easily as breathing. She nodded, relaxed— as if he was letting her off the hook. He wasn't.

"What was that about himbo hacker?" He asked, cutting to the chase so he could run after her like he wanted to. For some reason, Nancy was upset and Ace's Comfort Nancy radar was blaring a red hot warning. And he simply didn't want to waste more time than needed with some girl who was the reason behind the whole fiasco. For being the reason Nancy had run away from him. She had to be, Ace reasoned. He had seen Nancy in the morning, and she hadn't run away then.

"Sorry—" she winced, "that's just something the fandom calls you. The label sort of stuck." A casual shrug. A frown. "I just assumed you guys were together, but I guess not if she ran like that."

And just that casually she had said the very words that he was ignoring as if his life depended on it.

I just assumed you guys were together.

Did everyone assume that? Did this girl voice these words in front of Nancy? Was that why Nancy left like her tail was on fire?

When Ace didn't reply, far too shocked and internally freaking out, the girl launched into an explanation.

"You guys never read through the comments at The Nancy Drew's News do you? Most of the fans ship you both. The badass detective and her himbo hacker."

And still, Ace couldn't find the words for a proper reply, except to fall back on his humour. "Don't objectify me."

"Sorry," the girl cringed. "But will you help me? Please?" She asked a few moments later when the silence was just tipping over to the awkward side.

"On one condition," Ace said and when the girl nodded enthusiastically, he continued, "Ever be rude to Nancy again and you'll find out just how far I can hack up your life."

He let the warning seep through the girl and watched with a concealed glee as her eyes widened comically. Warning received and accepted.

____________________

It was closing time when Bess twirled over to him. "So did he do it? That girl's boyfriend? Cheat on her?"

"Yea," he said with a sigh, "people really don't appreciate what they have until they don't."

Her dainty hands found his shoulder, and when he looked at her, her usual fire was dim. Replaced by a soft smile. "You didn't lose her."

Ace shook his head. As much as he wanted that to be true, it wasn't. It really, really wasn't. "I am just the himbo hacker, Bess. She is the popular one, and I am still the nerd. She deserves someone like Agent Park. Successfull and charming. It's like highschool all over again. I don't know why I thought otherwise."

She had started shaking her head, denial clear in every line of her face as she said, "That's not true, and you know it."

"I saw them kissing, Bess. At the party." The words felt like poison on his tongue. The image still ripping his heart in half.

"That was the spell gone wrong and you know it." Bess huffed.

"There has to be something there for the spell to work on, Bess. You know how this works. You taught me the half of it."

"Exactly my point." Bess said. "Did you honestly forget everything that happened when she was under the spell of that lusty wedding dress?"

"Of course not," Ace sighed. How could he? He could still feel her fingers combing through his hair if he closed his eyes. But he didn't voice that particular information. Instead he said, "that dress catapulted Nancy directly into Gil's lap. Fat chance of me ever forgetting that."

"Not that," Bess sighed. "The part where she said, and I quote, 'intensifying feelings of attraction I already had but was repressing' while she looked directly at you. My dear platanchor, that girl has been pining for you for a long long time."

Ace stared at her, at loss for words again. Twice in a single day, he mentally chided himself.

"Go. Before the window closes forever. Don't let her be your Odette, Ace. Go." Bess shooed him away with another soft smile and kiss on the cheek.

He jogged back to Florence and as he drove towards that pull— towards the woman who held his beating heart within the palms of her delicate hands, he wondered if the second try would do the trick.

[lisbonsteresa]

do you have any nace fic recs????? there’s so many on ao3 i figured i’d ask the person who’s blog got me into the show before i started searching myself.

DO I

(in no particular order)

- literally anything by @gernades this post-3.06 fic is most recent, and i believe(?) cj has a tag for her fics and i love all of them but omg i'd be remiss if i didn't also mention invisible string because it's so damn good (the reveal does in fact hit just as hard on read 27 as it does on read 1)

- and though I can't recall your face, I still got love for you by @scarletslippers

i've always told myself i didn't really like memory loss/amnesia fics but boy if this one hasn't changed my mind - the perfect mix of nace + nancy introspection + the rest of the crew/dads. i love it so much

- last great american dynasty by @naceydrew a nancy hudson bodyguard au that's just [clenches fist] perfect oh but also sparks fly because "but it's here? in portland?" "it is today." makes me a little crazy every time (and i have not read they took the crown (but it's alright) yet but i've heard GREAT things) ....anything by mattie as well, actually

- this is turning more into author recs than fic but 🤷‍♀️anything by @flythesail but i especially love If Only and The [Redacted] Brothers oh my god the latter is just so fun, think of what could have been - (ash also has some lovely george/nick fics, if you're interested)

- you fill my head with pieces by @honey-tea-and-lemon-trees

you say 'nace road trip' and i'm there with bells on but 'nace road trip for a case with fake dating'?? immaculate

- all's well that ends well to end up with you by @horseshoebae

they're babysitting. need i say more. (if i do; bess and leo are being sneaky and adorable. it all hits!)

- i love a java jive (and it loves me) by @acenancy

the nace in this would be insanely adorable on its own but the nick Knowing....mar wrote this for me specifically (even though she didn't)

[jokeroutsubs]

You won't impress Slovenians by singing in English

After two albums, Cvetličarna, Križanke, Exit, and Eurovision success, now a sold-out Stožice arena.

Jan Peteh, Kris Guštin and Nace Jordan are still amazed by their success abroad. Photo: Leon Vidic

The group Joker Out, consisting of singer Bojan Cvjetićanin, drummer Jure Maček, guitarists Kris Guštin and Jan Peteh, and bassist Nace Jordan, is riding the wave of their Eurovision success and reaping their first international successes. We talked to the band's string players about international breakthrough and tonight's concert in Stožice Arena, which has been sold out for a while.

I first saw you live years ago at the Ljubljana Castle lapidarium. What's your view on gaining concert mileage?

Kris Guštin: Without smaller gigs, you never make it to big ones. Each gig adds something to your experience. The more unusual it is, the more you learn from it. We've had quite a few unusual gigs.

Which place that you performed at did you find the most unusual?

Jan Peteh: Postojna cave was probably the least typical concert venue we've performed at. I think I didn't need additional reverb for the hall, but I had it because of the radio broadcast. It was a really unusual concert for us because it was for a seated audience, which we're not used to. We're also not used to stalactites hanging above us. (Laughter.) Kris Guštin: Eurovision was also a very special performance. Completely different from anything we were used to up until that point.

Were you scared at all?

Kris Guštin: It's quite an imposing feeling when you step onto that empty stage during rehearsals. Luckily, you have eight performances in front of an audience before the live broadcast. So there's no big panic, but it is weird because you have to look at the cameras. It doesn't matter what your hands are doing, because everything, other than singing, is playback. You have to be focused on how you're moving, not what you're playing.

That wasn't very natural for you.

Kris Guštin: No, but on the other hand, I think we happily accepted the challenge of Eurovision. Nace Jordan: I'm the freshest member of the band, so I haven't performed in unusual places with them yet, because we were already performing on bigger stages by then. However, before that, I played in many weird places with other bands. Kris Guštin: For example, Nace played at my prom. (Laughter.) I didn't know that at the time, but I remember dancing to Silvija. It was the best.

Our last interview was before your double sould out concert in Ljubljana's Cvetličarna. At that time, I gave my article the visionary title of The hottest young band. That was followed by, among other things, Križanke, Exit, Eurovision, and now the sold-out Stožice arena. It's almost like it was all self-evident.

Jan Peteh: Should we expect the title 'the hottest old band' now? (Everyone laughs.) Kris Guštin: It's not that self-evident. I'm actually torn about this. On the one hand, it seems like everything happened naturally, step by step. On the other hand, we sold out Stožice arena months ago already. Maybe the sold-out Stožice arena isn't even that important, what's more important is that we brought the Slovenian language abroad with our music. That's even more unusual to me. I think that we were physically and mentally well-prepared for every new step we reached, and that we reached it at the right time, when we were mature enough. Nace Jordan: A lot has been happening to us recently, so we haven't even really had the time to truly reflect on our past achievements. When you're taking these steps, you don't think about how many you've already taken, but rather, how many you still have to take. So we're focusing more on the steps still in front of us. Jan Peteh: Oh, that was a nice way of putting it.

Relatively quickly, you achieved something that is out of reach for most Slovenian musicians: serious tours abroad. This current one should almost be called "The Sold-Out Tour".

Jan Peteh: We wish we had more time to get to know the cities we perform in, and not just their hotel rooms, concert halls and clubs. You can travel the whole world and not actually see anything. (Laughter.) Kris Guštin: But you do remember the concert halls very well. It kind of scares me that I've gotten used to living in hotel rooms. They're very cold, not homely, empty, and they have nothing you can get attached to. Except having to sleep there so that you'll be fine the next day. It's simply a necessary evil, and it's a lot nicer to come back home, to your own bed.

It's clear that many people abroad have accepted you as their own, regardless of the fact that you're singing in a language they don't understand.

Jan Peteh: That's true. Even in Slovenia, we were already under the impression that you can't know if you will make it by singing in Slovenian. Let alone making it abroad. If you're really daring, you might wish for some success in former Yugoslavian countries. There's also this duality where in Slovenia, you might make it in Slovenian, because Slovenians won't be too eager to listen to you if you sing in English.

Quite a few Slovenian bands started out singing in English and only had actual success when they started singing in Slovenian. For example, Hamo & Tribute 2 Love, Koala Voice…

Jan Peteh: I think it's nice that in Slovenia, we prioritise musicians that make music in Slovenian. But it gets complicated in regards to reaching international audiences. Except with an exceptional opportunity like Eurovision.

Out of all the Slovenian Eurovision representatives until now, you have had the biggest reaction.

Kris Guštin: That is true, but I don't even know how it happened. I was convinced that we would be just another band there, singing in a language no one understands. I believe in our music one hundred percent, but I think that there are tens of thousands of bands in other countries who also one hundred percent believe in their music. Why would international audiences, who will have seen and heard us for about three minutes, accept us as their own? It's clear that we gave something more, but even we can't determine what it was. It's wonderful that a part of the audience received it that way. Now we get to meet them in real life too.

I have a feeling that your audience isn't a typical Eurovision audience.

Nace Jordan: Clearly these days it is. (Laughter.) But I think that the more we perform abroad, the fewer Eurovision fans there are in the audience. When I talked to the audience in Sweden and asked them if they had watched us at Eurovision, most of them laughed at me. Less than half of them said yes. I never would've thought that we would move so quickly from the Eurovision environment to a different sphere. We've probably lost some of our Eurovision audience on the way. Many people don't care about the previous Eurovision anymore and are already looking to the next one. Kris Guštin: I feel like, from the start, most performers aren't counting on having live concerts, but on having a music career on the internet and TV. Maybe a big plus for us was that immediately after Eurovision, we went on a tour, which is still ongoing. We made good on what we were selling before our Eurovision performance, that we want to perform abroad. We added a certain dimension, which reflected in the audience's reaction.

Original article by Delo.

Translation JokerOutSubs

Proofread by IG @ GBoleyn123

[naancypants]

I came across this post on the Nancy Drew reddit and I would love to hear your thoughts on it https://www.reddit.com/r/NancyDrewCW/comments/sgewsg/the_true_ending_for_nace_not_about_the_possible/

it's made me worried for for the future of Nace because (as much as it hurts to say) these points do make a lot of sense to me. Idk if the shortened season ruined the wholeness of Nace's relationship, but I agree that it feels like we missed majorly important moments with them and their feelings. And then we finally get their sex scene, but it's in a dream (kind of like a consolation prize), and then the whole multiple soulmate thing - why was that even brought up at all? Do you think this post makes good points? Should we be worried?

**Anxiety-prone Nace followers, be warned you may not want to read the linked post!

Anon: This is pretty much how I felt when I watched the finale for the first time, to be honest - bUT I don't necessarily think that's the case anymore. I feel better after hearing other fan interpretations and some of the writers' interviews.

Full thoughts under the cut

1. First of all, the episode descriptions are NOT always accurate - hence Nancy's feelings for Ace "resurfacing" in 3.04's description, despite still being clear and obvious in the episodes prior - or a "shocking reversal" at the end of 3.12, which I assume was about Ace being the last soul piece, but it's such an odd way to describe that reveal imo. What was reversed? The expectation that the soul piece would belong to a rando? "The turntables"?

2. Additionally, "A star-crossed choice that will change things forever" can be interpreted in many different ways. Nancy chose Ace over the town at first - and that star-crossed choice changed things forever, causing a massive shift in every single character's trajectory. Relatedly to the previous bullet point, the network also wants to make things sound as dramatic as possible. There's no need to take the wording literally.

3. @aceandnancy put it best: the writers know Nace is their golden goose. There's no way to avoid or deny that. I agree that it seems like Melinda loves the angst and longing, but ultimately, to take Nace off the table forever would be on a whole other level of buffoonery. Not that such buffoonery has never happened before on tv, but I'll call it what it is and I'll say it with my chest: to do this would be BUFFOONERY.

4. I'm not going to hold anyone to the exact specific wording they use in any interview ever. Conversational communication that's being done on the fly is far from ironclad. If Ace investigates and finds out about the curse - something the writers have said 100% he will - then the curse plot isn't going to be dropped. Nancy's willingness to risk his life to break the curse is very different than Ace deciding to risk it. The writers might drag out the storyline, but they would be souring 95% of their audience if they didn't resolve it. Also good to note that (I think it was) Noga said "Nancy is not one to sit idly by, and neither is Ace" in relation to breaking the curse.

All the other storytelling complaints I unfortunately chalk up to being too ambitious plot-wise with too little episodes to flesh everything out (especially the relationships). I still don't love the conversation with Carson, personally, lol - but @nancy-drews pointed out that it could have been to provide a tiny bit of closure just in case this was the series finale*, to at least end on a more hopeful note in Nancy's time of deep despair. Since there isn't a solution to the curse AS OF YET, she is very much in a headspace where she's trying to shut herself down as a way to cope with what she believes is her life now - so the conversation with Carson is promoting the message that there's always a sliver of light to be found when you think all is lost.

Idk. Just some thoughts. 🤷‍♀️

*it won't be the series finale. not manifesting that shit

[timandlucy]

Definitely agree with everything you just said about Nancy and her past "relationships."

We also need to remember all the shit she has gone through with these relationships

- Owen gets killed and Nancy blaming herself

- Nick falling for George nd getting engaged. She maybe has moved past Nick and kmows George/Nick are perfect for each other but it still hurts to see Nick moving on like that.

- Gil basically being attached to the wraith, causing more harm to herself.

- The one guy she actually has real feelings for is in a relationship right now and she doesnt want to ruin her connection with him. So poor girl is repressing these feelings.

Not to mention that Nick broke up with her because the walls she's put up to protect herself didn't come down fast enough. It made her feel inadequate. And when she opened up and got Owen involved in her next relationship, it got him killed (not really, but I'm sure there's a fair amount of guilt she feels like you've mentioned) .

People keep forgetting how much shit Nancy has been through in a very short span of time! It's only normal that she'd get pulled in to something that feels light and casual and a total opposite of the hard angst she feels with what she believes is unrequited love for Ace.

I assume you've sent the second part of this, but as I haven't seen the episode yet, I'll wait with my reply to that until I do 😉

But I will say this, I am not at all worried about Nace. These are some delicious rice krispy treats they're leaving us.

[thebeastofblackmoor]

Bess is so isolated, I hate it. Ace has a family, Nick has a family (and friends!), George has a family, and Nancy has a family. WHERE IS BESS’S FAMILY (by blood or by choice?!) shes so alone and it’s heartbreaking. She is so sidelined it hurts. Even her friendship with Ace has been turned into a prop for Nace when it used to be a two-way street of support and comfort. I actually really miss seeing Ace be there for her, being platanchors was really cute.

HONESTLY I really thought Temperance would prey on this more clearly and their relationship would be more interesting because Bess needs someone who prioritizes her and guides her and is like a family to her but this obviously didn't really happen. Yes, Bess has Addy, and right now they seem like a pretty healthy couple, but they also have so little substance. We know so little about Addy and her nonchalance over Bess's insane life not only feels unrealistic but also very... shallow?

And yet Bess, who has gone through this gauntlet of abuse and loss and abandonment, gets to make this passionate speech about how Love Is Worth It... but only for the sake of developing Ace's feelings for Nancy. We have no understanding of how she got to this viewpoint from her experience, which for most people would point to the contrary. If I had gone through even a fraction of the things she has, I would be RIDDLED with mental illness.

What REALLY burns me up the most is that cutting the Marvins out of the show entirely was completely unnecessary for everything they've done so far. It seems to have not really impacted her character in the long run, and what has Bess been doing that she couldn't be doing while still in the Marvin house? While learning how to be loved and cared for?

I want more domestic relationships between all of the characters, and especially Bess, who has no one else! Right now, Bess being the new Historical Society caretaker serves to isolate her even further from the others, who are all moving in their own directions, too. So if we get season 4, they better pump the breaks and just show the gang having a sleepover and talking about their trauma over margaritas or something.

[brokenbutnotquiting]

Game Night: Part II

Summary: The second part to Game Night, where Bess decided that Nancy and Ace both needed some external push towards each other, and that game night with the Drew Crew was the correct time for it.

Note: I finally got around to finishing the second part. This one is completely Nace and no other Crew members make any appearances. The ending might be a tease, but I am not good at writing smut and I didn't want to do a shitty job of it. Not yet, at least.

The first part (incase anyone is wondering):

Anyways, Enjoy!!

She couldn't stop the tears from falling once the familiar walls of her bedroom surrounded her. Nancy couldn't remember when was the last time she cried for a man. She just wasn't that sort of woman, was she? She was the type to blaze through from one mystery to the other, breaking stereotypes and patriarchal misogynistic ideals at every turn. She wasn't the type to cry over her feelings for a man.

That had always been a problem with her– with every man to march into her life.

With Parker in high school.

With Nick.

With Owen.

With Gil.

All of them had disliked some or the other part of her. Maybe it was the singular focus in the face of mystery. Maybe it was the walls she kept around her that often hampered the idea of open sharing of information within a relationship. Maybe it the selfish need to solve a case without caring about anything else. Maybe it was the diving head-fast into danger without any thought but some half-cooked plan and improvisation on the go.

Each of those aspects about her had been questioned and used against her at every turn. Every single one of the men in the life, alive or dead, even her two fathers, had done so.

Every single one.

Even Ace, when they had been running out of time to find any worthwhile solutions for Aglaeca curse.

But he was also the only one who had wholeheartedly accepted those traits as an inherent part of her. And that was one of the major reasons why Nancy had been so besotted with him. He understood her, and accepted her, and that meant something to Nancy.

The love that she had been nursing for Ace, hadn't been a silly crush like the one she had harboured for Parker. Or, a way to mask the numbness with some form of feeling with Nick. Neither, the snap-and-go attraction that had been between her and Owen. And definitely not the thrill of willful abandon of common sense she had felt with Gil.

No. Her love for Ace was the forever type of thing. The feelings that won't go away even when they were both rotting in their graves. The type that left behind a legacy of love– if given the chance, and Nancy felt that in her bones.

So the crying over this desolate feeling sinking into her, seemed fitting. He hadn't even spend a single proper second thinking about the fact that he was her best friend and she had just confessed to being in love with him, but had instead accused her of having feelings for Det. Tamura.

Where in all hells, did Ace get the impression that she liked Abe in any way than beyond that of a friend or an acquaintance?

Was he really that disgusted with the idea of her having feelings for him that he could somehow imagine her anyone else? The pain felt acute.

She almost completely missed the knock on her door. Almost.

"I don't want to talk about it, Bess." She began un-lacing her shoes. Bess would have to wait till the morning because Nancy did not feel strong enough to deal with whatever the aftermath of her outburst was. She would handle it– whatever she would have to handle– like she always did. With her chin up, and her back straight, and her heart safe behind the walls she had foolishly let down for the night. But all of it, tomorrow.

She tugged at her socks, the cartoon bears on them reminding her of Ace– she would never publicly confess that that's the real reason, but something about the image in her head of a baby Ace holding onto a carved bear that McGinnis gifted him, made her heart melt.

She was absorbed enough in her own mind to miss the second round of knocking, but the soft "Nance," spearheaded her attention to the man Nancy didn't expect to be the one standing outside.

"Nancy, please." His voice was muffled, but she could detect the panic. She took a deep breath.

He wouldn't leave, would he? As much as she knew Ace, Nancy knew he wouldn't leave until she talked him. To let him know that she was ok, or at least, will be. So she gathered however much of her tattered strength she could, and answered the door.

__________

She looked like a beautiful wreck. Even with the tears, and the red nose, and the swollen blotchy face, Nancy Drew had a beauty about her that smacked Ace right in the face.

He had known that she was strong for as long as he had known of her– even at the verge of having her entire life uprooted– but it always surprised him to see her patch herself back up every time she felt broken. Even if this time was because of him.

She opened her mouth, no doubt to tell him that she was ok and that she would see him tomorrow, but he couldn't let her put those walls up again. Not between them. Not after he spent so much time to get past those and make her trust him.

He wanted her. And he had only been holding himself back because he had been sure she wanted nothing to do with him more than friendship.

Now that he knew the truth, or at least a bit more of it, he needed to let her know. Nancy needed to know, without a shadow of doubt that he loved her. And not like he loved Bess or George. He was in love with his best friend too– with her.

"I freaked out, because I thought I lost you," he blurted out, "even though you weren't mine to lose."

She stops, her mouth hanging open to whatever she was about to say, absorbing his words. She slowly closes her lips, giving him the space to speak. That was one of the best things about their friendship– they gave each other the space to sort themselves out. 

Ace took a deep breath, and Nancy moved from the door, allowing him to get in. She softly closed the door and sat on her bed. There was an exhaustion about her that pulled at his heartstrings.

"I thought you would never look at me as anything more than friends, and when you put up walls again, I had hoped you would come to me to talk about whatever it was that was bothering you. When I realised that everyone there knew something about you that I didn't– I was hurt. 

"And then I realised that you admitted to having feelings for someone and in my panicked haze, I didn't bother to look at the bigger picture."

Ace looked at Nancy then. He needed her to realise that he was telling her the truth– the only currency that Nancy Drew believed in. He had made that mistake once, breaking her trust. He would rather never hear those cursed words from her again. 

How can I trust anything you say!

There were times, even after she had started trusting him, when Ace would feel those words echoing in his head. Never again, he would tell himself. Never again would he give Nancy any reason to distrust him. The betrayal he had seen in her eyes when she had said those words– he would never let situations get to that point.

"I panicked," Ace said, his voice going soft like it always did with Nancy, as if his body just wouldn't handle her roughly, "because I have been trying to keep myself away from you for so long and– I can't lose you."

The words they kept telling each other. I can't lose you. It seemed like their version of 'always'.

Ace took another deep breath. It was now or never, he realised. He had to tell her.

"I can't pinpoint an exact moment when this happened," Ace said, gently taking her hands in his. So warm, her hands were always so warm. "But I have been running away from these feelings for far longer than I care to admit. Literally."

She shook her head, as if she just wouldn't believe him, and said in that broken voice of hers, "You don't have to embellish anything to make me feel better."

"I am not– Nancy, there is nothing that I want more than I want you to be with me." Ace wondered what that stubborn head of hers was dissecting in his words, but he had to keep trying. "I want you to know, without a doubt, that I have been in love with you for a long long time."

Nancy gave him a half-smile, the one that promised him that she was starting to believe him. He squeezed her hands, time to hammer the point home, he thought and said, "I love you, Nance."

"I realised it in the dreamscape, with the Wraith," she whispered, as if scared to admit it. "And then I opened my eyes, and there you were, holding on to me. I couldn't keep my eyes off of you."

"I tried," Nancy said with a sad smile, "to keep myself away. While you were away on your road trip, I kept telling myself that it was all a dream. That I could stop myself from having these feelings. That I would stop myself." She shrugged. "And then you came back home, you looked straight at me, and you smiled, and I realised that no matter the consequences, I was already a goner."

Happiness spread through Ace like thousands of butterflies. A grin pulled at his face. Nancy looked at him, and then she smiled unrestrained.

There were hardly anything as awe-inspiring as seeing Nancy Drew smile at you like you hung the moon. A sizzling fiery energy dissipates to everything and everyone around her, the disarming smile bringing everyone to their knees. Ace had seen it happen way too many times with Nick, Owen, Gil and even Tamura. He had seen her smile at them, and had consequently seen them melt on the spot. It sure seemed almost insultingly funny from the outside, but Ace finally learnt what it felt to be on the receiving end of that smile.

His heartbeat quickened, his body tingled, his mind scrambled. Ace wondered how easy it would be to just let her have whatever she wanted. He realised it would be very very easy. Barely an inconvenience.

And then her eyes made the drop to his lips. She looked back into his eyes quick enough, but the change in the energy was palpable. The grin faded off his face, and Ace wondered if Nancy could see the hunger peaking through the façade. Because there was hunger. An insatiable desire for her that burned in him, even if he never acted on it.

No. He needed Nancy to make that decision for them. He wouldn't push her to anything she wasn't comfortable with– no matter how much he yearned for her. Nancy would always have the wheel.

But Ace didn't have to wait long. He knew that if Nancy wanted something, there was usually nothing that could deter her from her path. Then her lips were on his, and he lost his train of thought.

It started out agonizingly slow. Her lips were soft, and dancing against his. She pulled back, her eyes opening to look into his, a quiet joy lighting up the cerulean blue of her irises.

And then, as she kept staring, her eyes darkened, mischief clouding the perfect blue– she dropped her lips back on his.

In retrospect, Ace should have realised that if anyone could kill him by simply kissing, it would undoubtedly be Nancy. But he was taken aback by the pleasant happiness on her face, still a surprise she looked at him like that. But she gently nipped on his bottom lip, and he decided to forgo any more thinking for the rest of the night.

He gripped her waist, carefully keeping his hands from moving to more interesting places, and opened his mouth to welcome her tongue. A shiver ran down his spine as soon as her tongue touched his, beckoning to a dance they both inherently knew of. He groaned and felt her smile.

This was everything he had imagined, and yet so much more. She was so very enticing, every move asking him to relinquish the control Ace had over his primal urges. To claim. To own.

Her hands moved, caressing their way up to his hair. They settled at the nape of his neck, combing through his scalp, twisting the ends of his hair through her fingers. Another groan ripped out of him.

It felt so so good, to have her touching his hair, something he never let anyone else do. To have her touching him. Unrestrained.

His hands moved of their own accord, in sync with her, and settled just below band of her bra– his thumbs lazily stroking the underside.

There was an unhurried air to every single movement, even with the electricity crackling through every touch.

She stopped to take a breath, and just when Ace thought that she would get back to kissing him– content to letting things be PG-13– she dropped her mouth to his neck and raked her teeth, as if poised to bite but not quite sure if she should.

Well, that certainly wouldn't do, Ace thought. He moved his head to the side– egging her to please, just claim him already.

The third groan he elicited which was absolutely obscene even to his ears, happened as soon as he felt her lick the spot she bit and Ace decided that he really didn't want to know how and where Nancy learnt that from, but he was grateful for it.

"That would leave a mark," he whispered breathlessly. She chuckled in response, "exactly the point I wanted to make."

She was sucking on the pulse point at his throat, when her hands moved again, traveling south. She tucked her hands under his sweatshirt, unabashedly feeling him up. She huffed, and pushed back, looking him in the eye, even though Ace could barely see straight, and said in a tone that dripped in amusement, "seriously, Ace? Abs, too? Face and hair weren't enough for you?"

Now, if anyone asks, Ace would tell them that he absolutely gave some smartass response to Nancy, but he could barely hold on to the tether of sanity at the feel of her fingers on his skin.

"Nancy," he almost choked out, when he realised that she was trying to undress him. Because he wouldn't rush this no matter how good it felt, Ace gritted out unwillingly, "We need to stop."

The effect of those words were instantaneous. Nancy froze as if he had slapped her.

Ace heaved out a breath and took her hands in his. She had gone stiff again.

"Nancy, I love you, and I want you," she thawed a little, "but we both had a little to drink," a little more of her thawed out, "and I want you to be completely sober when we take this"–Ace waved his hand between them–"there"–he gestured to the bed. And then he waited for his words to filter through her head.

Nancy nodded her head after a heartbeat, and then took a deep breath. He squeezed her hand once, silently communicating that he was with her on the frustration.

When she looked at him again, her eyes had cleared a little, and she smiled at him, "stay the night?"

He nodded his head, getting up, pure joy threatening to consume him as he watched Nancy get into bed and wait for him to join her. She snuggled up close to him, taking his hand in hers as soon as he lay down beside her. He draped the covers over them both, settling into the warmth and comfort with ease. 

Thank God for meddling friends and vodka shots, Ace thought as he drifted away, Nancy neatly tucked away in his arms.