“I can imagine,” sighed Hannah. 

Royce nodded, feeling somewhat awkward. “Look, I don’t - I don’t really want to talk about that.” He admitted, swallowing. “I just.... I don’t want you to think I hate you or.... or something. Because of her.”

Nova sighed and looked to Royce. “Can I help you, Wilkinson?”

@roycewilkinson

“Geez, who pissed in your cereal this morning?” He asked, taken aback. Had he really been staring that long? More like zoning out, if he were being honest, but apparently that wasn’t much better.

“Aw, that’s almost sweet,” Brooke laughed, trying to hide her blush as she leant her head against his collarbone. “Is Rae giving you lessons on what to say or something?”

He grinned ruefully, shaking his head with a laugh before answering. “Yes.” Royce admitted. “But they didn’t include that. That was just the god’s honest truth.”

“We all have our flaws, apparently mine is loving you,” she teased, throwing him a playful wink to make sure he knew she was joking. 

Royce opened his mouth to argue, but then she winked, and he all but melted, unable to do anything but grin at her. “That’s my girl.”

“You’re a child.” Matt laughed. He took a sip of his cocoa. “My son. You are my son now.” 

“Alright.” He agreed easily, trying to fight the smirk that tugged at the corner of his lips as he looked sideways over at him. “If you really want to be that guy that married his son.”

“You’re more of a berry guy,” Matt stated. “Of course you’re a little fruitier than the rest.”

“Sweeter, not fruitier.” Although he supposed he had no room to talk, being married to a man. “Man, fuck off.”

“Yeah. Still flying.” Hannah hesitated before saying quietly, “Brooke told me what happened.”

Nodding, he wasn’t sure quite what to do with that information. He figured she would have found out one way or another, but he had assumed it would have been Heather, not Brooke. When had she seen Brooke? “Yeah, uh.... I don’t -” He wasn’t sure what to say. “It just took me by surprise, I guess.”

“My roommate and best friend? How do I keep up with your life and you don’t know my best friend’s name?”

“Because I have like, one friend, dude. I’m boring now, there’s not that much to keep up with.” He laughed, reaching over to ruffle her hair playfully. “Alright, alright, Delaney. How attached is she to this brother of hers?”

“I got both,” Matt said as he used a spoon to scrape the marshmallows from his cocoa to Royce’s cup. “I thought I wanted them both but I forgot I’m an old man, now. I can’t drown my problems in sugar.”

“Speak for yourself.” Royce murmured, already more focused on the marshmallows than on what Matt was saying. He took a spoonful off the top of the glob of marshmallows, turning the spoon around in order to lick it off the inside. “You can do anything you set your mind to, Matty.”

“Maybe for your birthday,” she laughed easily, her laughter growing as he showed her the back of his jacket. “To be clear, you are definitely better looking than John Travolta, even as Danny.”

Royce lifted an eyebrow at her words, mind already reeling at just the thought. Smile growing wide, he nodded excitedly. “Wow, better than Travolta? You really do love me, don’t you?”

“Yeah, some apples are yellow.” Matt frowned. “I would know, one of my moms loves yellow apples. They’re like, golden or whatever.”

“That’s weird and I don’t like it.” He decided, shaking his head. “Although, honestly, I don’t love any apples that much. I’m more of a berry guy.”

“Babe, I say this with all the love in the world. I did not get all dressed up for you so you’d end up kissing someone else at midnight,” she smirked playfully at him, making it clear that she wasn’t about to have him off kissing his best friend, this year, at least.

Royce laughed, holding her closer and spinning them both around a little bit. “Oh, don’t worry. I wouldn’t dare.” He murmured in her ear, kissing the spot just underneath before letting her go, but keeping his arm around her shoulders. “Brooklyn Miller, I am far too in love with you to do something so obviously wrong.”