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“Couldnt sleep?” Russel asked
“Not a lick” ace gave a lopsided smile, more exhausted than his usual cocky smirk
After digging through the fridge russel had got half a wheel of brie and about 2 dozen crackers on a plate
Him and ace ate in silence for a while before russel spoke up, curiosity getting the better of him.
“Can i ask you something?”
“Me? I mean- sure-“ ace seemed taken aback someone was asking about him for once
“What are the meds for?” Russel had seen ace take a cocktail of pills every morning, he wasnt sure whether or not to be worried. “You dont have to tell me- but-“
“Oh! Well theres my antidepressants- and my medical stuff-“
“Can i ask what specifically?”
“HIV”
As soon as ace said that a silence settled over the room. Ace himself didnt seem too bothered though, getting more cheese.
“My aunt died from that back in 2005” Russel eventually spoke up, saddened
“Im so sorry, its an awful way to go” Ace offered a comforting hand on Russel’s
“Well- i mean, you’ll be ok, right?”
“So long as i have my meds ill be fine” ace shrugged “the doctors caught on early”
Russel looked over at ace, curious but not sure how to phrase things
Ace snickers. “If you wanna ask me about it you can, i really dont care”
“Oh!- no sorry i was just…..” russel sighed “well, howd you find out?”
“I was in prison for a month or two, wouldve been about a decade ago- and when you get in there they give you a medical once over, and basically thats when they told me”
Russel frowned “im so sorry-“
“Russ, i promise you its ok.” Ace smiled, a genuine one too. “I really don’t mind sharing this stuff. Besides, It’s nice to have someone to talk to. Especially someone as levelheaded as you”
Russ felt his breath stop for half a second before finding itself again. “well, if you want to talk about it Id be happy to listen”
Ace smiled “thanks. I mean, i dont really mind too much because I dont really sleep around but…” he thought for a moment “i mean, i used to, but then i realised I didn’t really get emotional fulfilment out of it like most people do, and since I cut back on drinking i haven’t really found myself in the mood as often so….” He drifted off a little
Russel smiled. “Yknow, for being a fuckin tv star, you’re really self aware”
Ace grinned “oh yeah? What else d’ya like about me?”
Russel rolled his eyes, playing along. “Well i think you’re a killer bassist”
“Everyone does” Ace smirked
“I think you’re really down to earth, and i think you have a lot of really good input musically- like, on the now now you were really good at describing the ‘vibe’ of a song better than stu ever could, it really helped me focus in on everything”
Ace offered a shaky smile, flattered but not sure how to respond. He blushed . And so did russel.
Eventually they both got tired and went to bed.