Just a little something haphazardly thrown together to brighten your day-after-Christmas blues. I hope everyone's having a great holiday season! Good luck in your new year!
Amy :)
Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize. I do own a new set of luggage tags and an I-Ching.
Day-After-Christmas Blues
"Though it's been said many times many ways, Merry Christmas…"
Nancy hummed quietly along with the soft strains coming out of the nearby CD player as she wrestled with the stacks of dishes. It was an unfortunate time for the dishwasher to break, but she didn't mind the time that doing them gave her to reflect to herself. The day after Christmas always left her feeling a little empty.
"Don't you know that Christmas is over?" A young man's voice said softly into her ear, his warm breath tickling her face.
So much for a quiet chance to reflect, she thought, even as the smile spread across her face. Turning to find the face behind the voice, the wet plate in her hand slipped, sending it crashing to the floor.
Except it didn't. A large, tanned hand saved the fine china at the last second before impact. Nancy let out a breath of relief.
"Nice save, Hardy. Both Hannah and I thank you."
She didn't want to know what would have happened if the plate had actually been broken. They were one of Hannah's family heirlooms, priceless to the older woman. Nancy supposed it was nice to use fancy things for fancy holidays, but she couldn't help wonder if it was worth using something that they all had to be so careful about. Give her Correlle and Oneida any day.
Frank grinned down at her and handed back the plate. "My cat-like reflexes are at your disposal any time you need them."
Nancy rolled her eyes, but inwardly she felt a flash of surprise. Was the old-man-trapped-in-a-teenage-body actually flirting with her? "Stealing a page from Joe's book?"
Frank had the decency to blush. "Oh, you know, just trying to be more easygoing, and all that." Feeling embarrassed by his attempt at being smooth, he changed the subject. "But seriously, could you use my help?"
"Sure. Gloves are under the sink."
Nancy could crawl around in sewers and run through burning buildings in jeans and a tank top, but doing dishes required gloves. It wasn't really the gross-factor but that weird pruny feeling of fingers being in water too long that got to her.
Frank ducked down to pull out his own pair and then quietly got to work rinsing the dishes that Nancy finished scrubbing. Neither felt the need to fill the space, choosing instead to listen to the soothing music.
"And so I'm offering a simple phrase…"
After a while, Frank stripped off his gloves and grabbed a towel to begin drying what was sitting in the sink.
"Did you have a good Christmas?" Frank's voice broke into Nancy's thoughts again.
She smiled brightly in an attempt to force out the melancholy feelings and glanced up at him, then quickly away. "Definitely."
Keeping her eyes on the dishes (lest she drop one again, of course), she could feel Frank's eyes on her face, studying her expression.
"I'm glad," he said carefully.
"You're right though. It isn't Christmas anymore, so I should probably put in a different CD." She couldn't stop the sadness from creeping into her voice and instantly regretted saying anything.
"Ah," as all Frank said. The knowing tone annoyed Nancy, and she looked up at him quickly.
"What do you mean, 'ah'? Think you've got me all figured out, Hardy?" She said, trying to keep her voice light and annoyance free. She hated it when people assumed things or placed her in a neat, labeled box.
"No, Drew, I think that would take five years. And then I could spend another fifty trying to decide if anything I thought I knew was even right."
She ducked her head as he smirked at her. So much for assuming things. She hated being a hypocrite even more than she hated being labeled.
Frank continued, "I just meant, ah, now I think I understand what's creating that little frown line on your forehead you get when you're thinking about something that bothers you."
He touched her with his now-gloveless hand. Two fingers gently smoothed across the skin of her forehead, leaving a trail of tingles as they went. Nancy's eyes closed on their own at the contact, her face relaxing under his touch. Then they were gone. She looked up to find him several feet away, furiously scrubbing at a plate with his towel.
She let out a sigh. Just because the Hardys had come to River Heights and Ned's family had decided to do the holidays with relatives across the country didn't mean that she could forget he existed. One touch from a certain member of the Hardy family and she was practically as gooey as the cranberries she was currently washing down the drain.
"I think you won, Frank. The plate surrenders."
He let out a short laugh and stopped rubbing the dish. "Yeah, but it put up a good fight first." Setting it aside, he grabbed another and went at it with noticeably less vigor than the first.
"You never finished your psychoanalysis. I'm dying to hear what you've discovered about me on this trip." She actually wasn't, but it was the first thing she thought of to change the subject. She figured that getting him talking might be the safest way to stop the more dangerous thoughts of him that were presently traipsing through her brain.
"Well, I just realized that you're like my mom."
Nancy frowned. She loved Laura, but it wasn't exactly every girl's dream to hear that she reminded an attractive boy of his mother. "Thanks, I guess."
He swatted her arm playfully with the towel. "You didn't let me finish. See, she gets all excited about Christmas. Decorations go up just as soon as the turkey leaves the table after Thanksgiving. Holiday songs fill the house 24/7. But on December 26th, she gets sadder than anyone I know. And I don't think it's because she's unhappy with how Christmas day went. It's because after all that buildup, it's over, just like that."
Nancy was unprepared for the wall of emotion that hit her. Frank put into words exactly what she'd been trying to figure out for several years.
"You're right," she said quietly.
"I thought so," he responded, voice equally soft. He gently brushed a lock of hair away from her face, tucking it behind her ear. "But you know, it's okay to feel a little let down. Christmas wouldn't be nearly as fun if every day were just like it."
She smiled a little sadly. "I know. It's just hard to accept that it's over each year."
"Well, it doesn't have to be over quite yet, right?" He reached over and turned up the volume on the CD player.
"You made fun of me earlier."
He winked at her and grinned. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone you're a sap at heart."
Indignation flared up, temporarily burning away the sadness. "I am not a sap!"
Frank pointed silently at the CD player and gave her a skeptical look. In response, she chucked her glove at him, hitting him square in the face with a satisfying wet smack. He blinked in surprise as the glove peeled itself off of his face and flopped onto the counter. Pausing for a second, Frank picked up the glove and looked between it and Nancy a couple times. She eyed him warily as he weighed his options, figuring he'd just throw it back at her.
He did throw it, but not at her. Instead, it hit the sink full of dirty water, the impact sending a spray of liquid up the front of Nancy's shirt and onto her face.
Nancy spluttered a little from the water around her mouth. She knew when she'd been had. "Well played, Hardy. Well played."
Frank turned instantly penitent, seemingly not expecting her quick acquiescence. "Nan, I'm sorry! I didn't think it would spray that much." He stepped closer with the towel in his hand. Bringing it up to her face, he carefully patted her cheeks dry, an embarrassed grin spreading across his face.
Nancy temporarily forgot that her shirt was soaking wet as she let her mind drown in his gentle actions. She couldn't help but notice how close he was standing, both hands cradling her face behind the layer of towel. She breathed in the clean scent of him for a second.
But just for a second. Because in the next second she dumped a measuring cup full of water on top of Frank's dark head. As she had been savoring having him so close, she also had been plotting her next move. No one could accuse Nancy Drew of being unable to multitask.
"Hey!" Frank protested as he jerked his hands away from her cheeks. Though Nancy regretted that her action made him move away, it was well worth the look of wary respect plastered all over his surprised face. She couldn't hold back the giant laugh that poured out of her at the sight of his sopping wet hair, the water dripping off of his straight nose.
He came up close to her again, only inches separating them. Nancy's breath caught as his dark eyes held hers, flashing with some sharp emotion, though she wasn't sure if it was irritation or something more… dangerous.
Then the moment shattered as he shook his head, sending the dirty water spraying over her again as she shrieked.
"That wasn't nice!" She gasped in between laughs.
"You know you deserved it," he said as he rested his large hands on her shoulders.
Her chin rose in defiance and she took a step closer. "No more than you."
They noticed at the same time how close they were again standing, chests brushing together with each deep breath. A quick glance downward and he saw her hand resting on the sink. His hand slid down her shoulder and caught hers, stopping any nervous movement.
"No way am I letting you get your hand in that sink again." His hand tightened, lacing their fingers together.
"Okay." It was all Nancy could think to say. She hated that her voice sounded a little breathless. Maybe he would think it was because she had been laughing so hard.
"Because that would be dangerous." His voice seemed to have dropped an octave. He moved so that her back was now against the sink counter, removing any breath of air between their bodies.
"Definitely."
His face loomed larger in her view as his head got closer to hers. She could feel his heart beating through her chest, keeping time with her own. She watched him lick his lips.
Frank is going to kiss me Frank is going to kiss me what about Ned what about Ned who cares who cares who cares Frank is going to kiss me –
"Hey guys, nobody's dead or anything, right?" Joe's voice from the other room pierced through her jumbled thoughts. Frank sprang away from her, running his hand through his hair darkened by the water, as Nancy whirled back around to face the sink.
Joe strolled into the kitchen to find Nancy scrubbing at a pot while his brother stacked a few dried plates. "Anyone hear me? You both still breathing?"
Nancy looked up at the younger Hardy. "Yep, still breathing." How well, though, might be a more appropriate question.
He glanced between the two of them. "Just making sure, after all that noise you were making."
"Frank was just helping me snap out of the day-after-Christmas blues," Nancy said, grinning up at him.
"Sure, whatever. Just keep it down. You're keeping me from my very important plans of watching the game." Grabbing a bottle of Martinellis, he popped the top and chugged straight from the bottle as he sauntered out of the room.
Nancy chuckled to herself as he left. "Same old Joe." She paused, then continued, "But really, thanks for understanding."
Frank's smile deepened. "Sure thing, Nan." He reached over and turned up the CD player's volume one more time.
"…Merry Christmas, to you…"
Merry Christmas! I know this was a little ragged and disjointed, but I'd still really love your review :)