Work Text:
Nancy had been going through the motions for weeks now. Almost as if in a trance. She would arrive at work her usual 10 minutes late, wait tables, smile vaguely to customers and speak only when directly spoken to using very few words. Today was no different.
The questions were starting to die down. Which was fine with Nancy. She would rather not talk about it. Finding out that her biological parents were the ghost that had been haunting her for months and a rich socialite from a family she desperately wished she had no connection to was proving hard to process.
Walking into the kitchen, she felt Ace's eyes like a weight on her back, but when she looked up he had returned to his dishes. Probably checking to make sure she seemed okay. The thing about Ace was he never pushed, never tried to force her to talk but she could sense how much he cared. She was coming to know his heart and it was good.
Words spoken by Ace in a quiet moment spent setting ghost traps in Owen’s apartment shortly after his death echoed in her head "I know lately you've been pummeled by life. Everything you've learned about your parents, and now...if you ever want to talk about anything, I'm here". They had felt like a warm hug washing over her. She of course had ended the moment with a lame joke. Why was she so uncomfortable with feeling things?
***
At the end of the night they all walked out to their cars together. George and Nick said goodbye as they left together in Nick's truck and Bess waved as she headed over to a dark car in which Lisbeth sat waiting for her.
Nancy and Ace both stopped next to Nancy's car. He swung his arms awkwardly for a moment before leaning against the drivers side door clasping his hands together in front of him.
"You got any new cases comin up?"
Nancy slowly walked over and leaned against the car next to him.
"Uh yeah actually. My d- I mean Carson said there was one they needed help with"
"Nancy. It's okay to call him your dad. He did raise you", Ace's soft voice responded.
"I know, I just-" she stopped because she didn't know what she was feeling. Emotions were welling up inside her. Something about his steady silence made her feel comfortable, and with that comfort came the thoughts and feelings she usually tried to sweep away. Why did he have this effect on her? Tears welled up in her eyes as she looked up at Ace. He gave her a comforting look as she fell into him. Everything Nancy had bottled up came out at once in giant tears and shaking shoulders. She could hear herself sobbing into Ace’s shoulder as if the ugly noises were coming from someone else, barely registering the strong arms wrapping around her. Neither of them knew how long they stood like this in the dim light, but both seemed to know that it was exactly what Nancy needed.