Written for: Nancy Drew Yuletide 2014!
Prompt: While out Christmas shopping, Nancy meets Ned, who is in the middle of his own unsuccessful shopping. When he finds out she's a detective he jokingly asks if she'll help him figure out the perfect gift, and to his surprise, she agrees. (I tweaked the prompt slightly.)

The department store was full of people. Some of them were even pushing undersized shopping carts, which had to be convenient; Ned had no idea where those carts came from or how to find one himself. His mother was elbow-deep in cookie batter back at home and had asked him to do her a favor, and had sent him to the store with a detailed list. Every cousin, aunt and uncle was listed, along with clothing sizes and suggested items. Ned was juggling four sweaters, two sweatshirts, a card bearing two dangling, jingling earrings, an electronic basketball game, and a perfume box that Ned had felt supremely silly while picking up. It wouldn't have been so bad if he had been buying the perfume for someone special, but he had no one to buy presents for himself this year.

But, he reminded himself, it wasn't so bad. He would be seeing his extended family on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. His friend Rick had invited him and a few of their friends to go to his family's cabin on Fox Lake for New Year's, along with his family, and at least that would be something different. But when Ned looked around he saw couples everywhere: teenagers holding hands, two or three women standing together, elderly men and women commenting on decorations and displays. He felt like the odd man out.

Well. Stephanie had made it very clear that she would love to date him, and she was a great girl, but Ned just didn't know. Dating her just because he was lonely didn't seem fair to either of them. It hadn't even been that long since his last girlfriend, but something about being alone at the holidays seemed worse than usual.

"Are you all right?"

Ned had to tilt his head to see the speaker, the stack of sweaters in his arms was so tall. "Um," he began, as he saw first the top of the red-and-green felt hat, then a peach-colored forehead and dancing blue eyes. She wore a store name badge, and she was holding an oversized mesh bag open and out in front of her.

"I thought this might help," she said with a smile.

"Oh... oh, you're a lifesaver," Ned said gratefully, and relaxed his arms. The earrings didn't quite make it into the bag, and he bent down to retrieve them. "I was looking for a cart—"

"I think those are the hardest thing to find in here," she told him with a smile. He took the bag out of her hands, but noticed with some curiosity that her gaze had drifted to someone who was apparently behind him. He waited a moment, but she didn't make any excuses and drift away, and that made him even more curious.

"Well, thanks for the bag."

Her gaze narrowed. Then she looked up at him and gave him another one of those wide, sunny smiles. "You're welcome. My name's Nancy; please let me know if you need help with anything else."

He nodded, but he didn't have time to speak before she was briskly moving past a cluster of elderly ladies and into the next department. He shrugged and turned his attention back to the list in his hands, though his ears could still pick out the faint jingling of the bell at the end of her cap under the hushed murmur of conversation and foot traffic around him.

Forty-five minutes later, Ned was feeling exhausted and discouraged. He had checked out once the bag had become too overstuffed to carry, and his previous purchases were safe in the trunk of his car. He had one last present left to buy, though, and he didn't want to wait until the last possible second to find it.

Several of the store's clerks and staff were dressed like elves, and he pursued a few fruitlessly before he caught a glimpse of red hair. He couldn't have said exactly why he was bothering to find her again. He knew that she would probably appreciate the commission on his sale, but it would have been much more convenient to settle for someone else. She was standing at the store's entrance to the mall, partially hidden behind a mannequin, gazing at someone browsing in the next department.

"Hey. Nancy?"

She brought her head up at the sound of his voice, her lips pursed, the expression on her face one of intense concentration. Almost immediately she seemed to reset, her features softening, a smile turning up her lips.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt. Are you—can you help me?"

"I can try," she said immediately, and then she winced. "Sorry. Um, I'd be happy to help you. What are you looking for?"

"That's kind of the problem. I don't know," he admitted. "I—you looked like you were in the middle of something, though. I can wait," he added.

She chuckled and shook her head, then adjusted the felt hat. "No, no. You're fine. I'm just..." She took a breath, searching his face. "I'm actually kind of new here."

"I hope I'm not getting you in trouble."

She cast one more glance across the aisle, then turned her attention back to his face. "Can I tell you a secret?" she said quietly.

His eyebrows went up a little, and he nodded.

"I'm... well, the store has asked me to keep an eye on a few people. One of them is nearby. So maybe you could do me a favor? I'll show you a few things in that department just so I can find out what she's saying to the guy with her. Then I'll help you find whatever it is you're actually looking for, once we figure that out. Okay?"

He nodded slowly, studying her. She didn't look like she was even his age yet; he felt a little skeptical, but she had clear, intelligent eyes and a genuine smile. "So you're, like, a detective, kinda?"

She nodded, almost eagerly; her eyes had become wary, though, likely responding to his doubt. "I'll prove it," she said, a hint of a challenge in her voice. "I'll find exactly what you don't even know you're looking for."

He couldn't help grinning. "You're on, Elf Nancy."

She wrinkled her nose at him, then began to lead him over to the next department. She smoothly picked up the threads of a conversation they hadn't even been having. "If you're interested in some moderately-priced career wear, though, you'll find that over here," she said, her tone conversational and light, undemanding. "This button-down just came in. If you'll feel this..."

He obliged, running his fingertips down the sleeve of a blouse. "Very nice," he murmured, as she tilted her head and glanced away from him, clearly focusing on the conversation going on behind her. "Um... so I guess this one is... that you have more shirts like this."

She nodded slowly. "Mmm-hmm," she murmured. "And coordinating skirts. We also have... some scarves."

He smiled. "That's great," he said quietly, to keep from distracting her further. "And I wonder if that's what you're expecting from your boyfriend this Christmas, a nice scarf to keep you warm while the two of you go ice skating. Or maybe you have a girlfriend, no judgement."

Her lips turned up a little and he wondered if she had actually heard him. "Maybe some slacks?"

"Right," he said, as the man and woman she had been monitoring began to stroll toward the mall exit. Nancy began to casually move too. "Slacks are good. I thought—" He dropped his voice a little, almost under his breath. "Detectives—were supposed to be kind of nondescript, right? Blend into crowds and all. So there's no way you're one. Not with your pretty hair and your gorgeous eyes. No one would forget seeing you in a crowd."

The couple Ned had begun to mentally refer to as the "suspects" began to leave the store, and Nancy wasn't even putting up a pretense of conversation with him. She laced her fingers through his, walking beside him as though they were just a couple strolling through the mall. Quick as an eyeblink she had whipped off her felt cap and taken off her name badge; she released his hand to put her hair up in a high ponytail, and put on a pair of wire-rimmed glasses, perching them at the end of her nose. She didn't look like an entirely different person, but on a cursory glance she would.

"Wow."

She shot a glance at him. "Things might get kind of scary in a minute," she advised him. "You don't play football, by any chance?"

"Maybe." He grinned and caught her hand in his again. "You don't have someone you want tackled, by any chance, Nancy?"

"Maybe." Her eyes were dancing as she cast another glance at him.

As it happened, he actually did put his football practice to good use. Nancy approached the couple and pretended to just be a concerned shopper who thought the woman had overlooked taking two shirts out of the store. Her companion bolted as she shoved Nancy; Ned immediately rushed over to her, but she gestured for him to go after the companion. By the time Ned returned with the guy in tow, mall security had shown up, and they were listening to Nancy's explanation of the fracas. They also looked almost wearily bemused, like they didn't quite believe she was a detective either. It took the department store's assistant manager to straighten things out.

Then they returned to the store as a staffer came over the intercom. "We'll be observing extended holiday hours today, so the store will be closing in one hour," the soothing voice reported. "Thank you for shopping with us."

"An hour?" Ned glanced down at his watch just as his stomach began to growl. "I have wasted so much time today..."

"Well, let's see if we can't do something about that." She let down her ponytail and pulled her felt cap back on. "Who is the lucky recipient? Girlfriend, girl you want to be a girlfriend, family member?"

"Uh—two gifts," he improvised. "The first one is for my mom."

Nancy raised an eyebrow. "So what are her hobbies? What does she like?"

"Gardening and cooking. And just generally being awesome."

She smiled at that. "That gives me a good start. Does she like to entertain? Is there a particular perfume she likes? Is she more cashmere or canvas?"

Ned held up a palm. "She likes to invite people over," he said. "Dad likes to buy her perfume. She really likes yellow? And she makes things. I don't think I mentioned that."

"Makes things?"

"Blankets, scarves. Things like that."

Nancy took him through the store, once she asked about his price limit. She suggested a jewelry armoire if his mother had a lot of jewelry she needed to organize; she suggested a lovely pair of gloves made of butter-soft leather. Ned wasn't familiar enough with their kitchen to say which gadgets she already had and which ones she didn't, though. She asked if Ned's mother liked to read, and when Ned said she did, Nancy asked if she had a bed prop, or if a lamp might be appropriate.

"It all sounds good. And I still have no idea." Ned sighed and glanced down at his watch again. Thirty minutes had already gone by. "I don't know. She always tells me she doesn't need anything."

"Not new slippers or a new robe, or a programmable coffee maker? A piece of jewelry that she'll treasure because it's from you?"

"Are you saying that because your mom likes jewelry?"

She glanced down. "Uh... no. My mom... she passed away when I was little."

"Oh. Oh, I'm so sorry."

She shrugged, still not meeting his eyes. "It's okay. But from the way you talk about her, if she wears jewelry, I'm sure she'd love something from you. Maybe a brooch or a necklace. A nice warm sweater, or a vest she can wear when she's outside gardening. Something useful. Something she will see a lot and think of you."

Ned's hand brushed hers once, briefly. "I think I saw some really pretty sweaters while we were eavesdropping..."

She chuckled. "Speaking of eavesdropping, I think you really need a crash course in playing it cool."

He shrugged. "I thought I did okay, on such short notice."

"You did. And, to answer your question, no. No boyfriend, or girlfriend either. Just two really good best friends, and that's about it."

"Hmm. Good to know."

She helped him find a green cowl-necked sweater in his mother's size; the fabric was soft and luxurious under his fingertips. Then she escorted him toward the checkout, and when he saw how long the line was, he knew there was no way he would be able to pick out another gift.

"Sorry we ran out of time."

He glanced over at her, smiling a little. "Well, I think we were pretty successful anyway. I guess I'll just have to come back. When will you be here again?"

"Tomorrow afternoon."

"I'll be sure to come back then."

"And who is your second present for?"

Ned paused. "A girl I'd like to impress," he told her. "But she seems pretty difficult to impress."

"Hmm. Tell me more."

"She's very pretty, and smart, and I've never met anyone quite like her. I'd like to get to know her better."

Nancy nodded, but he caught the slight blush in her cheeks. "That sounds like a tricky thing to figure out," she said.

"So I'm depending on you to help." He paused. "If that girl happened to be... you. What would you suggest?"

She smiled. "Hmm. I know it's infuriating when someone says they really don't want anything... but most of the time, I'm one of those people. Something for the girl who has everything."

"Everything except a boyfriend." He kept his voice light.

"Who says she wants one?" Her voice was light too, as she glanced over at him, but she was smiling. "And that kind of thing, you can't buy at any store."

"But I could try to find something useful and pretty. Something that would make her think of me every time she looked at it."

He saw her smile broaden. "Well. What would you say if I said I needed to think about it?"

"Then I'd say that's a date." He took their joined hands up and bent over to brush a kiss against the back of her hand. "If you're interested, anyway."

She chuckled and released his hand. "I... think I am," she admitted.

She was just backing away, glancing up as the public address system clicked on; Ned waited until the silky voice was finished telling him to proceed to checkout. "Don't make me shoplift to get your attention," he called, just loud enough for her to hear, and she glanced up into his face, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

"Break the law and you lose your chance," she told him, but her eyes were dancing.

He gave her a little nod. "But maybe I want to be tackled by Elf Nancy."

She shook her head with a little chuckle, still backing away. Then she changed her mind and came toward him again, just before the clerk gestured him forward.

"No tackling on the first date. That's my rule."

"Second date?"

"We'll see."

He couldn't help watching her walk away, as the clerk rang up the sweater. Her hips swung a little, and she looked incredible.

Then she glanced back, her eyes dancing, and he gave her a grin in return.

He would be wrapping another gift to place under the tree this year, he told himself. That glance back had made him sure of it.

And his delighted grin stayed on his face all the way home.