Xander falters. “Mom misses me?”

Ace looks up, taking in his brother’s expression. His gaze slips briefly to mine, and I offer him a timid smile, hoping it reassures him.

In the face of it, Ace seems to deflate. He scrubs a hand over his face, a sigh escaping his lips. “All right.” He pushes back his chair. “I guess we’re doing this.”

Xander narrows his eyes, looking between us. “Doing what?”

“Talking to Mom and Dad.” Ace stands up, gathering his things before coming around the side of the table to crouch near me. “Hey.”

I carefully brush a strand of dark hair from his eyes. I don’t know what to do with the fight I just witnessed, but I know I want to be there for Ace. “Hey.”

He catches my hand to press his lips against my wrist. “I have to go deal with this. Can we get a rain check?”

“It’s not raining,” I say, trying to lighten the mood.

It works because a real smile touches Ace’s lips. “A sun check?”

I smile back, glad to see his face brighten. I still have the urge to stab Xander with a pencil, but that’s neither here nor there. “Yeah. We can get a sun check. Call me tonight?”

“Of course,” he says before hesitating. “I hope you know I wouldn’t be brave enough to even consider doing this without you, lionheart. Wish me luck?”

Even now, in the middle of such a tense situation, he manages to make my stomach do cartwheels. “Always.” I lean forward to kiss his cheek. “Good luck.”

Ace’s face flushes as he pulls away. To Xander, he nods shortly. “Let’s go.”

Xander’s expression is a mix of distrust and bewilderment. When Ace walks away, he has no choice but to follow, leaving me alone.

Ace is going to face his family, and he says it’s partly because of me. I don’t know about that. Sometimes I wonder who the real lionheart is in this relationship. During moments like these, I’m almost certain it’s him.

When Ace calls me, I fall off my bed in an attempt to answer and nearly knock over the candle on my dresser.

“Are you okay, Myra?” Dadu calls from the next room over.

“I’m great!” I say and slide my thumb across my screen. Ace shows up a moment later. There’s a smile on his face that makes me want to smile, too. “Hi.”

“Hey. Are you busy?”

“Not at all,” I say, turning my phone so he can see the episode of Avatar: The Last Airbender paused on my laptop. “So what happened?”

Ace chews on his bottom lip and I stay silent, not wanting to rush him. “I talked to my mom and dad. About everything.”

“Everything...?” I wait for him to elaborate, settling more comfortably in my bed and holding him up on my pillow.