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“All right! So, we each know the plan and what we’re gonna do?” Nancy looked around at her friends that had been with her through so much this past year. As much of a relief to her that the curse was no longer a secret, it was still a little terrifying that they were actually trying to break the curse, putting Ace in danger to do it. While logically she knew that he had every right to make his own choices about this kind of thing, just like she would hope he would give her it didn’t stop the worry from gnawing away at her gut every minute.
Of course, Ace had noticed this fear hiding behind her eyes. He had relearned this look of hers after finding out about the curse and when Temperance pulled it off. He’d always been able to read Nancy as easily as breathing. According to Bess, this stopped as soon as Nancy thought or felt anything about Ace and had been blind to her feelings for him for “forever”.
Ace had sat across from Nancy, selfishly he wanted to be able to see her at all times after so long avoiding each other. But that’s not what he had said when asked about it as they filed into the Claw’s booth to discuss the latest possible cure (trial 15, so far), Ace claimed it was so that they wouldn’t be able to touch as easily and accidentally break any more cups and windows (which Nick and George had seemed to appreciate). Nick had sat down by Ace and Bess was next to Nancy to explain the plan as thoroughly as possible after finding the next cure possibility the night before, with George hovering over them agitated to be missing out on it to go to some more interviews for clerkships and starting the restaurant up for the afternoon.
Not thinking as he just nodded and they all got up to do their parts finding the ingredients for this latest attempt he stopped Nancy right before she could just walk off and get fixated on the task and bulldozing her way forward. Ace grabbed at her elbow bent so she could hold her bag strap, which had long been one of her signs of anxiety.
She stopped right away, knowing who had held her back just from the warmth and weight of his hand. Turning in halfway, almost like they’re back at the booth but so much closer now and Ace steps right up to her taking all the air from her lungs and bringing their magnetic connection to the humming peak, looking her right in the eyes.
“Nancy, it’s okay. I’m okay! We’re going to break this, we just need a little faith and the right supernatural key to get us out of this terrible situation.” Nodding to show his surety in the plan he smiled and once again said “We’re okay, we’re safe, I’m safe.” instinct running faster than his conscious mind can carry him he leans in and places a kiss on her cheek, pulling back and squeezing her hand to comfort her before they all leave. Then Ace registers the wide eyes and how Nancy isn’t really breathing normally and her cheek was now lobster red…
“ACE! What the hell dude? You sat on opposite sides for a reason here.”
George’s yelling cut through his complete focus to reassure Nancy that he was safe and wanted to take this risk. Ace looked around to see that the window by the corner booth they were just in was completely cracked with the curse’s mark. Again. He was having to pay The Claw almost as much now for broken glass as when Bess was learning to carry trays…
“But… I-I meant it as platonic!” Ace spluttered out and as he said it a couple of the cracks withdrew, repairing themselves as the curse had done the night he found out about it, and hugged Nancy. Though, apparently it was having a hard time believing him this time being a kiss rather than a hug and having known about it longer or something.
His mouth opened continuously like a fish trying to search for words before he looked around at his friends, their faces ranged from fear to agitation, to bemusement at the cracks going away. He walked up to his Platanchor first as the plan was formulating in his mind to convince the curse of the innocence of that kiss.
It seemed that Bess had come to a similar idea as Ace and proceeded to kiss his cheek as he kissed hers and smiled. He knew that Bess was comfortable with him but it always amazed him how supportive and understanding she was with physical affection towards him since everything about the curse came out. While she was still solidly a woman-loving-woman, she saw how much he craved holding Nancy and being held in return, so Bess filled some of the void. Looking back to the window a couple more of the cracks had filled in and it was now about halfway fixed.
Ace approached his former roommate (and current landlord) next, knowing that he was more chill with physical contact or comfort from himself than George [and totally not because she still freaked him out in spite of no longer being his boss… and also feeling weird about it because of Nick being in the room and knowing there’s still unresolved stuff between the exfiances]. Ace and Nick had hugged before but it was a little weird to go up to him and kiss him even if it was meant platonically, just from how The Captain had raised him. Not to mention that there was Jade in the picture now and Ace didn’t want it to be uncomfortable for Nick and his new partner…
Walking up his cheeks got warm with the nerves and he chuckled nervously before placing a fast peck on Nick’s cheek (nearly going to his ear to avoid his lips as much as possible). Ace looked back at the glass stating “See?! Totally platonic kiss on the cheek for a friend.” The window’s cracks were nearly completely fixed now, but there were still a few more that were in the middle which couldn’t really be left in this early March weather so Ace shuffled over to George, thankfully not much further away.
Taking a deep breath as he walked up to George, who still seemed pretty mad (though Ace wasn’t sure if that was just her normal expression, if it was because of the window, or if she was just really that uncomfortable with the fact he’d be touching her and she had to let him if she wanted The Claw’s window to be fixed). As he approached George she rolled her eyes at his obvious discomfort and turned her face towards the door so her cheek was presented to him and slightly jutted out so he wouldn’t be as much in her space. Ace did the quickest kiss on the center of her slightly puffed-out cheek, took a quick step back to be out of direct punching range, and muttered an apology about the window to George.
Ace glanced back, his face tomato red, and saw that the curse had actually believed him after kissing each of his friends and that it was merely a show of platonic comfort to Nancy that they’d be fine. The window was once again crack-free. Giving an uncomfortable smirk back he quickly jogged out of The Claw, practically skipping down the couple of steps that led to the parking lot, and headed towards Florence. Ace tried to calm down his breathing but the giant grin on his face made it a little difficult to get a full breath.
He wasn’t sure whether the smile was because he’d gotten the curse to reverse the warning, because he thought this attempt to break the curse might actually work, or because he’d actually gotten to (kind of) kiss Nancy finally rather than just having really tense close moments where he was close enough to be able to do it.