Ace wears his lucky blue pullover to finally ask Nancy out on a date. Nancy thinks he must be wearing it for someone else. Let the confused romantic confession commence.
Nancy is leaning against the hood of her car when Ace pulls into the empty parking lot of The Claw, the wind tousling her hair in front of her face. She brushes it quickly behind her ear as Ace parks directly opposite her, headlights turning off along with the ignition.
Ace had texted Nancy only an hour or so ago, claiming there was something important he needed to ask her. Nancy’s mind had begun to race, about previous cases, about the current case they were working on – but she couldn’t quite figure out what he had brought her out here for.
When Ace finally steps out of his car, the first thing Nancy notices is his shirt. His lucky blue pullover, to be exact. He normally layers it under one of his hundreds of button-up t-shirts but today it’s worn alone, with only Ace’s brown corduroy jacket to provide extra warmth. Nancy’s stomach drops a little before she plasters on a teasing grin, ready to let her voice betray her heart.
“You brought me all the way out here for dating advice?” Nancy calls as he strides toward her.
His expression is unreadable. He stops just a few feet shy of Nancy, arms fidgeting at his sides. “What gave me away?” Ace responds finally.
Nancy points, “Your famous lucky pullover. Not very subtle.”
“Maybe I wasn’t trying to be,” he says with a shrug and a smile.
Nancy ponders this for a second and looks to the sky, slouching a little bit further against the hood. “Who’s the lucky girl? Do I know her?”
Ace opens his mouth to speak but Nancy raises a hand to stop him. “No, wait. Let me guess.”
“I doubt you’ll be able to.”
She glares. Challenge accepted. Even if her body does cringe at the thought of him with another girl. “Was it the one who came in to eat the other day when we were working? Dark hair, long legs, only ordered a salad?”
Ace snorts and takes a few steps towards her, shaking his head. “No. Not even close. Vegetarians terrify me.”
Nancy quirks an eyebrow at that but moves on. “What about Amanda? You two trying to rekindle things?” she says, even though it hurts.
This stops Ace in his tracks. He pins her with a stare that could melt her bones if she let it. “Nope. Burned that bridge and there’s no going back.”
Well, Nancy’s stumped. Which doesn’t happen very often, she admits smugly to herself.
“Okay, Ace. Why don’t you just tell me who it is?” she says, crossing her arms. The wind picks up a little bit and she shivers. “It’s too cold to be playing detective right now.”
A small smile plays across Ace’s lips and he meanders forward again, so much so that he’s literally toe to toe with Nancy. Her heart begins to stammer in her chest, beating a rhythm she’s almost positive Ace can hear.
Calm down, she chides herself.
“C’mon, Nance. Do I really have to spell it out for you?”
This is when Nancy freezes, paralyzed with what Ace is insinuating.
“Why would I be wearing my lucky blue pullover after telling you to meet me here?” he prods.
“Because it’s…cold outside?” Nancy is stubborn on purpose because the alternative is much too out of reach to consider.
Ace lets out a huff of a laugh before gesturing to the pretty knit shirt that fits him so perfectly. “You think I’d wear this for just anybody?” he pauses. “I’m wearing it for you."
If it weren’t for the hood of her car, Nancy’s knees would’ve buckled underneath her. She plays it cool as always, though. “For me? I don’t particularly need the luck right now.”
That earns her an incredulous look from Ace, but she can’t help herself. She starts to ramble. “And how would that even work, anyway? Shouldn’t it be whoever wears the pullover gets the luck? So wearing it for me isn’t even a logical –”
“Nancy.”
She shuts up, both at the tone in his voice and the look on his face – like even if the Claw were exploding behind her, he wouldn’t be able to take his eyes off her.
“I’m wearing the pullover for you. Because I’m asking you out. Or trying to, anyway.”
Nancy can’t speak, no matter how hard she tries. Her astronomical crush on Ace had taken the back burner lately because she’d put it there. Mostly because she’d been convinced he’d never feel the same way and that it was for the best. She’d had to be realistic to retain their friendship, after all. Now, Ace is standing in front of her, confessing his reciprocated feelings for her and she can do nothing but gape.
“You look…” he frowns, “…confused. Or in shock. I can’t tell if it’s good or bad.”
“Good!” she finally spits out; complete sentences be damned. “Good, Ace. I – ”
Something propels Nancy forward before she can say anything else – whether it’s the lust scorching through her veins or her long-buried feelings finally breaking free, she’ll never know. But suddenly, her arms are around Ace’s neck, his are around her waist and they’re kissing the way they did only in her dreams. It’s tentative at first, the pair getting used to the way their lips fit together but it’s perfect, Nancy thinks. So perfect she hesitates to pull away.
When they finally do, the wind messes with Nancy’s hair again and this time, Ace is there to brush it behind her ear.
“I can’t believe I managed to stump the super sleuth of Horseshoe Bay,” he teases.
“Only briefly. I got there in the end.”
Ace gives her a smile, one where his nose scrunches and his eyes crinkle. Her heart swells with affection and love for him, all the things she buried for so long.
“Can we call this one the Case of the Lucky Blue Pullover?”
“Alright, that’s enough,” Nancy rolls her eyes before pulling Ace down for another kiss.
NANCY DREW HAS BEEN RENEWED I'M SCREAMING AND IT'S EARLY RENEWAL WITH THE HEAVY HITTER SHOWS LIKE SUPERMAN AND LOIS AND ALL AMERICAN I'm so shocked???? Like they're not doing the numbers for this but I am so happy we're going to get our nace S4 babyyyyyy
OHHH MY GODDD FINALLY!!!
I actually found out because of you anon THANK YOU!!!
What if I told you that in order to save the town I gave up control of my fate? And I lied to the man that I love to save his life? And now I have to spend the rest of mine paying this terrible price?
All is said and done and Park wasn’t the least bit sus or evil… it really read like he was another “potential soulmate” for Nancy going into season 4 😡 he didn’t do anything in that finale except for flirt with Nancy some more… what is the reason?
honestly, nark-nace was the in the race (haha that rhymed) for best 💘🔺?
bull.shit.
you know they were settling for a weaker end to an unnecessary triangle when they don't develop a story that is RIGHT THERE IN FRONT OF THEIR EYES
And Nancy saying that "Boston isn't that far away" NO IT ISN'T NANCY ACE IS RIGHT THERE AND PARK IS WAY OLDER THAN YOU
We writers (no matter fanfic/fiction/non fiction/script/play writers) always recommend to do an exercise:
If you take away a certain character, does the story change and how? If it changes, then keep them in the frame and plots, if it doesn't change at all, don't keep them in the frame.
Park's character falls into the latter category because essentially, even if Nancy didn't sleep with him, the story would have gone largely the same ("Park speaks seven languages" would have become "She's the hero of Horseshoe Bay" and Ace would have waited till 3x13 and beyond to get together).
Instead, we had Nancy sleep with Park which is a bad example of a fresh major having an intimate relationship with an older and more mature official dealing with the same crimes as her.
The only way to sum these additions into a presentable puzzle is to make Park evil/possessed/manipulated by Tempy so that his closeness with Nancy and by association, the Crew, would stand to reasonable doubt.
The way the writers promoted the Nark-Nace triangle and the entire character of Park was not only disappointing but script-wise USELESS and I mean that in a literal point of view. I love JHK and his chin could solve most of my life's problems. I also am a fan of a woman's agency when considering Nancy's sexual activity.
When will we eventually know if it gets renewed?? It’s been a season every year so for winter 2022 if it gets renewed we should have season 4 right?? thanks have a good day
honestly, i'm not sure. i was under the impression we would find out more this past week bc the cw did a panel...but they revealed nothing about renewals.
if i had to give my best guess, i'd say we'll know sometime in february. but could be as late as march...no later than that though.
Nace was supposed to be my comfort ship after Bughead died but ugh what are the writers doing? Riverdale is trash but at least my ship was together for 4 seasons to make it palatable
