Disclaimer: Frank Hardy and Ned Nickerson are not mine. Sadly. Neither is Nancy Drew.
A/N: When I was about eight, I started reading the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boy books. I must admit, despite the fact that I'm female, I preferred the Hardy Boys. I also identified with Nancy, and had a crush on Frank, so I shipped them way before I read the Super Sleuths. However, I always liked Ned. This is kind of a way of reconciling my views.
Frank Hardy gets up from reviewing the case files on his computer to answer the knock at his door. He runs a hand through his dark hair, puzzled as to who would visit at 10 pm without calling first. The obvious suspect would be his younger brother, Joe, but he has a key, and would barge in happily. Anyway, he's pretty sure Joe's on a date. He opens the door, and to his surprise, sees Ned Nickerson, boyfriend of his friend Nancy Drew.
"Ned? What are you doing here? Is Nancy okay? Do you have a problem?"
"No, no, Nancy's fine," he pauses, just for a second. "At least for now."
"What do you mean?"
Ned exhales, and it borders on a sigh. "What I mean, I guess, is how do you do it?"
Frank thinks for a moment. It's an interesting question, with many interpretations. Suddenly, he realizes that the hallway of his apartment building might not be the ideal place for what is clearly shaping up to be an emotionally heavy conversation.
"Why don't you come in," Frank offers, so that the neighbors don't gossip about the conversation those two attractive twenty something men were having.
"Thanks," Ned said as he entered.
"Would you like something? Beer, water, orange juice?"
"I guess a beer would be nice."
Frank leaves to get a beer from the refrigerator, but knows he must return to the loaded question. He returns with an opened bottle in each hand, and passes one to Ned. "What do you mean, 'how do I put up with it?'" he asks as he sits down in a chair opposite Ned.
"I'm not entirely sure. I guess I mean partly how do you put up with the constant rush of mysteries? But I really mean how do you put up with Nancy always putting herself in danger?"
"Well, Nancy loves mysteries the same way I do. They find her, and she's drawn to them. And I can't really fault her for that, can I, since I feel the same way. And I love my brother, but let him put himself in danger all the time. It's part of who we are."
"But you don't love Nancy the same way you love Joe," Ned states, and Frank gets the feeling they've arrived at the heart of the matter.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean you love her. That you're in love with her."
"That's preposterous. She loves you," Frank hopes that he said that convincingly. He knows he's attracted to her. He knows that if Ned were out of the picture, he might make a real move. Sometimes, he lays awake all night wondering about his feelings towards her, and hers toward him. Every now and then, he allows himself to admit that he's fallen in love with her. This was not supposed to be one of those nights.
"That's irrelevant. And you avoided the question. How do you deal with the girl you love constantly coming near to death?"
He takes a long drink from his beer before replying, "Because I know what it's like for her. I know that I'd be denying what her heart wants and who she is if I tried to stop her. Because I couldn't stop her if I tried, and she'd hate me and I'd lose any semblance of her if I did."
Ned seems a little started by his honesty, and then considers her response. When he doesn't say anything for a few moments, Frank asks, "well?"
"I can deal with it for now," he finally admits, "but not forever. Not for much longer than a few months. A year if we're lucky."
"Just try as hard as you can," Frank says, afraid of what the split might do to Nancy.
Ned gets up and turns to leave. "Thanks for the beer and conversation, Frank, "he says as he reaches the door.
"No problem."
As he reaches for the doorknob, Ned turns back to Frank and tells him, "Oh, and when Nancy and I do break up, I'll just have to console myself with the fact that you'll take better care of her than I ever could." Then he goes through the door, into the night.
Frank collapses into a chair, dumbfounded. He's pretty sure that he's gotten the blessing to date Nancy in the future from her boyfriend, and an assurance that it would happen. Soon.
Frank can't go back to his case files. He knows he won't sleep that night, and he will once again be consumed by that strawberry-blonde he longs for.