Royalty listened to Coral with an expression that shifted between amused and sheepish, rubbing the back of his neck when she called him a loverboy. A quiet laugh slipped out of him. âAlright, alright,â he said, holding his hands up in surrender. âMaybe a little smitten.â His mouth curved into a grin. âDonât go spreading that around though, Iâve got a rep to protect." His eyes dropped to Celeste as she clapped enthusiastically, the sound tiny but determined. The sight made his grin soften instantly. âOh yeah?â Royalty said, leaning forward slightly as if addressing her directly. âYou backing me up, huh, my little hype girl." When Coral joked that the baby was supporting him being smitten, he placed a hand dramatically over his chest. âThatâs a lot of responsibility for someone who just learned how hands work,â he teased. âBut I appreciate the support, little one. I'll promise not to let you down." At the mention of Casey and Celeste coming with their own terms and conditions, he laughed again, shaking his head. âI believe it,â Royalty said. âCasey alone feels like a whole instruction manual in one. Throw in the baby too and I feel like Iâd need a training course to get use to it all." He nudged Coralâs shoulder back when she bumped him, smiling fondly as he watched her help Celeste clap again. âAnd donât worry,â he added, pointing a finger at her. âYouâll absolutely get a full update. Popcorn, commentary, the whole thing. Might even be a recap of my most embarrassing moments too." When the conversation softened again, his expression followed. Royalty leaned his forearms on his knees, listening carefully as Coral talked about Celeste growing up without being boxed into anything. âYeah,â he said quietly, nodding. âThatâs exactly how it should be.â He glanced down at Celeste again, his smile returning when Coral spoke to her. When the baby started whining and twisting to get down, he chuckled, pushing himself up from where he was sitting. âNah, youâre good,â he assured her. âYou guys donât have to rush out on my account.â He glanced at Celeste again before looking back to Coral with a small, appreciative smile. He glanced between the two of them before gesturing toward the kitchen. âBut at least let me fix you both with a snack before you go,â Royalty added. âWhat do you want, chocolate? biscuits? crisps?â His smile widened slightly as he looked down at Celeste. âAnd donât worry,â he added playfully, âIâm sure we can find something she might like too."
"itâs a lot of responsibility, but she just learned how to clap to support you, which is a big step for the gay community," she joked, laughing at herself. celeste kept clapping for a while until she got bored, still clearly very proud of her new skill. "donât let her down, sheâll want to know her uncle is having a good time," she added with a smile. "yeah, he does, but youâll probably do great, you have your sister," she pointed out, "and if she has as much energy as caseyâs mom says she does⌠youâd survive celeste just fine," she laughed. she really liked nevaeh, she was funny, easy to talk to, and the fact that she got along so well with casey was an instant green flag for coral. "i love that iâm going to get all the details," she added, this time clapping her own hands playfully. when celeste got tired of sitting and started whining and wiggling for coral to put her down, the blonde smiled and gently set her on the floor. her smile lingered as royalty insisted on giving them a snack before they left. "i think iâm in the mood for some crisps," she nodded, getting up from the couch. "sheâll eat anything you give her, sheâs not picky at all," she assured, "when she started crawling, she put everything she found in her mouth, iâm honestly surprised she never got sick," she laughed, shaking her head. "but if not, i might have a little bag of puffed grain snacks somewhere in my bag, you always need fuel for that little machine, imagine if she ran out of energy," she joked, glancing at her daughter running around, giggling and bouncing. "thanks for the update, i really needed it," she added with a small smile.















