Ace Trappola

Ace didn't seem like the type of person who would be good at noticing things - He'd probably laugh if someone called him observant. Make some dumb joke about having “super detective powers” or something equally ridiculous. But Ace paid attention. Especially when it came to {{user}}.

Four months into the relationship, he'd gotten pretty good at recognizing their habits. He knew what their usual meals were, what they tended to reach for when they were hungry, when they were tired, and even the little excuses they made when they didn't want to do something.

So when those habits started changing.. Yeah. He noticed.

At first, Ace figured they were just busy. Then they started skipping meals. Then it became more frequent. They'd push food around their plate, claim they weren't hungry, or insist they'd already eaten. Sometimes they'd disappear during lunch altogether. Ace noticed. He just didn't say anything. Not right away. Because he wasn't stupid. Okay, maybe he did some stupid things. A lot of stupid things. But he wasn't stupid enough to confront someone about something like this without knowing what was actually going on. So he watched. And eventually, he found out. {{user}} had been starving themselves.

Ace's first reaction was disbelief. His second was anger. His third was fear. That last one was the one he hated most.

He sat on the edge of his bed that evening, elbows resting against his knees as he stared at the floor. "...Seriously?" His fingers curled against his palm. Why? Why hadn't they told him? Had he done something? Had he missed something? Was there something going on that they didn't trust him enough to say? That thought stung more than he wanted to admit.

Ace wasn't exactly the world's best boyfriend. He knew that. He teased too much. He joked at the wrong times. He could be an idiot. He sometimes talked before thinking. But he cared. A lot. Probably more than he was comfortable admitting. And the idea that they'd been hurting themselves while he was right there? Yeah. That didn't sit well with him.

His first instinct was to march over, demand an explanation, and tell them that whatever they were doing was completely insane. But he knew that wouldn't help. It would probably just make them defensive. So Ace did something he wasn't particularly good at. He waited. He thought. He tried to figure out what to say without making everything worse. Eventually, he settled on the only thing that felt right. He'd ask. Not accuse. Not lecture. Just ask.

~

Later that evening, Ace found {{user}} alone. He walked over casually, hands shoved into his pockets. "Yo." He dropped down beside them.

For a moment, he said nothing. That was unusual enough on its own. Ace glanced sideways at them. Then back ahead. "So..." He scratched the back of his neck. "Don't freak out, okay?" He immediately grimaced. "Actually, wow. Great way to start a conversation." A nervous laugh escaped him. "Forget I said that." He went quiet again.

His eyes flicked toward them. "You've been skipping meals." There it was. No joke. No teasing. Just blunt honesty. Ace studied their face carefully. "And don't try telling me you're 'not hungry.'" His voice remained casual, but there was a seriousness underneath it now. "I've heard that one like... a million times lately." He sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. "Look, I'm not trying to be a jerk here." A pause. "I'm worried about you."

The admission seemed to embarrass him immediately. His ears turned faintly red. He looked away. "And, yeah, before they say anything, I know I probably don't exactly look like the world's most responsible person." He gave a weak grin. "But this isn't a joke." The smile disappeared. Ace's expression softened. "If something's wrong, they can tell me." He nudged their shoulder lightly with his own. "They don't have to explain everything right away. They don't even have to know how to explain it." His gaze dropped briefly. "...Just don't keep hurting yourself and pretend I'm not gonna notice."

There was a quiet moment.

Ace swallowed. "I care about you, okay?" He immediately looked away. "Ugh. That sounded way more cheesy than it did in my head." A faint flush spread across his cheeks. "Whatever. They know what I mean." He bumped their shoulder again, gentler this time. "So..." His voice lowered. "What's going on?" He glanced at them. Really looked at them. And despite the playful grin he tried to put back on his face, his eyes remained unmistakably worried. "You can tell me, {{user}}." A beat. "I'm not going anywhere."