She's stared down criminals with murder in their eyes, braved the psychotic look of thugs who had wanted to strangle her, but she can't quite bring herself to look at the man she loves. Not now. Not when there are tears coming hot and fast.
They're standing in the middle of her father's study with the door slightly ajar. The drone of the evening news can be heard from where Carson is watching in the living room. Pots and pans clang under running water from the kitchen sink where Hannah Gruen cleans the last of the dishes. They'd had lemon meringue pie for dessert, a special treat as their resident housekeeper had expected Ned to be over. She'd even bought decorative plastic wrap for him to take the leftovers back in.
"Ned," Nancy starts, nearly choking on his name. The case file strewn across the attorney's desk is all but forgotten. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I had no idea."
Running a hand through his slicked back hair, he can't keep his distress from showing. "Dammit," he curses under his breath as he paces in front of her. "Nancy, don't cry."
Reaching out to grip the front of his sweater, Ned is forced to stop when Nancy buries her face in the thickly knitted material over his chest. With the way she's shuddering, he doesn't hesitate to bring his arms around her and hold her snug against him. Nevermind that he's pissed off.
When her gasping settles down to messy, snot-nosed sniffles, she can't bring herself to pull away. His warmth is so inviting, enveloping her with his strong arms. There's a distinctive scent to him, too, that she never quite catches unless she's nuzzling into him.
How long had it been since they last held each other like this?
He's running his fingers through her strawberry-blonde hair, fumbling with the curls she had pinned for their dinner, and it feels like bliss. "You know how I am when it comes to cases," she murmurs while letting her head rest to the rise and fall of his heartbeat. He hums in acknowledgment, the sound buzzing in her ear. "My hunches almost never fail me. I'm pretty good at pegging everyone's character, even if they think they have everyone else fooled. But when it comes to you…"
Chuckling lightly, he rests his hands on her shoulders and gently nudges her back until he's able to catch her gaze. It's hard to miss the smudged mascara. "You have such a knack for solving cases-which I love about you, by the way," he grins. "Trust me, I do. But sometimes I expect you to just know how I feel, which isn't completely fair."
"No, it's not," she frowns, trying to distract herself by skimming her fingers along the neckline of his sweater, getting lost along the contours of his collarbone. Sighing, she looks back up at him. "I'm sorry I don't always get it right with us, but if you just tell me when something is bothering you, I won't feel so oblivious all the time."
"Of course," he smiles softly down at her. "I'll be better about that, Nan, I promise."
When they eventually emerge from the study, their expressions turn sheepish when Carson asks about their progress with the case file.
"Thanks for letting us use the study, dad," Nancy tells him while wringing the makeup smudged tissues Ned had given her between her hands. No pockets to stuff them into on her slip of a dress.
"Maybe we'll catch a break tomorrow," Ned tells them after thanking Hannah for the thoughtfully wrapped leftovers. Meeting Nancy at the front door, he gives her a quick peck on the cheek after she helps him shrug on his letterman jacket. "Over a picnic with pie?"
"Sounds like a date," she grins. "Pick me up at noon?"
"You bet," he tells her after pulling out his car keys.
"Congrats, again, Ned!" Carson calls over the back of the couch.
After Ned says his goodbyes, Nancy sees him off, waiting for his taillights to fade down the street before drawing the blinds closed.
"I appreciate your enthusiasm over this case, Nancy," Carson tells her as he stands up to stretch. "But I hope you got to spend some quality time with Ned. I like him."
"Yeah," she smiles, a sudden rush of blood darkening her cheeks with a blush. "I do, too."
A/N: I've always been a bit bitter toward how the books portray the problems Nancy and Ned run into in their relationship. Rather than have them break up over communication issues, I'd rather see these sweethearts talk things out, endure the tension, and heal together. (': Hope you enjoyed my take.
For those of you who follow my writing, you know my titles and summaries are usually inspired by music. I was listening to "Eight Arms to Hold You" by Veruca Salt when writing this. The mood just went.
As always, a review is worth a thousand faves!