Before Brooklyn had a chance to response to his half-interested question, Nick appeared in his line of sight. Because Roman was still only peeking through the door, trying to let in as little light as possible, he couldn't see Nick completely, and opened the door just a smidge so that he could see him. Being that he was still half asleep, and trying to rush this interaction as quickly as possible so that he could get back in bed, it took him a second to register what all Nick had said. Roman hadn't heard Brooklyn's declaration of gifts when she first came inside since he was still asleep, and he couldn't smell it from the kitchen yet either, so he was still mostly out of the loop in terms of what was going on, but he still half nodded at Nick's quip. "I am," Roman said, knowing that Nick's sentence didn't need much clarification for Roman to readily agree with him. Of course, Roman and Nick (but probably mostly Roman) gave Brooke more crap than she was actually worth, and not in a harsh way. Everyone, including Brooklyn, was well aware of the vibe she put out. Since Roman did know her past that exterior, he knew she wasn't all coal and ice, and he knew he hyped up her aggressive bitchy qualities more than her more subliminal, kinder ones. This was also the smartest move too, though, for the both of them. Neither were into chummy feelings, and Roman knew Brooklyn well enough to understand that if he wanted to shut down her moments of kindness, all he had to do was linger on it. But still, it was all in good fun, and interactions like this weren't so abnormal anymore.
Seven months ago he would have reeled at having to interact with them both together, but that tension has since subsided, although not enough for Brooklyn to get back with Nick. From Roman's understanding, Nick was taking what he could get, and he seemed to be doing better because of it too. Although Roman has a nasty tendency to shift from friendly to cruel like Brooklyn, albeit perhaps on a lesser overall extreme, especially when its for the purpose of maintaining his own validation, he also tended to assume more of a role in Nick and Brooke's life than they actually require from him. Subconsciously, he believes he's essentially Switzerland since they're both his friends; there's really no picking side, which is really find with Roman who's not into conflict, as contrary as it is to his nighttime job. Always playing neutral can be problematic on its own, especially when no one asked him to involve himself, but it stemmed from the fact that he hasn't had as a deep a relationship in the past as he has now with Brooklyn and Nick. As a child, he really feared making a mistake on just about anything. It became severe enough to where even the simplest of questions was almost paralyzing. Of course, Brooklyn and Nick don't bring any amount of fear to him as his parents did when he was a kid, but that need to please is still ingrained in him, for validation and peace of mind. It speaks to why he believes himself to be more important than he actually is at it relates to the other two, not necessarily because he's being selfish and just doesn't want to get involved in their conflict, but quite the opposite. He'd rather not risk upsetting the two people who he actually genuinely cares about, which is something outside of himself on its own. Them being cordial is much easier on his mind, and also made it all the more easier for him to say, "Kay, well, if you don't mind, I'm going back to sleep. Don't wake me up unless the flat is burning down."
Seven months ago he would have reeled at having to interact with them both together, but that tension has since subsided, although not enough for Brooklyn to get back with Nick. From Roman's understanding, Nick was taking what he could get, and he seemed to be doing better because of it too. Although Roman has a nasty tendency to shift from friendly to cruel like Brooklyn, albeit perhaps on a lesser overall extreme, especially when its for the purpose of maintaining his own validation, he also tended to assume more of a role in Nick and Brooke's life than they actually require from him. Subconsciously, he believes he's essentially Switzerland since they're both his friends; there's really no picking side, which is really find with Roman who's not into conflict, as contrary as it is to his nighttime job. Always playing neutral can be problematic on its own, especially when no one asked him to involve himself, but it stemmed from the fact that he hasn't had as a deep a relationship in the past as he has now with Brooklyn and Nick. As a child, he really feared making a mistake on just about anything. It became severe enough to where even the simplest of questions was almost paralyzing. Of course, Brooklyn and Nick don't bring any amount of fear to him as his parents did when he was a kid, but that need to please is still ingrained in him, for validation and peace of mind. It speaks to why he believes himself to be more important than he actually is at it relates to the other two, not necessarily because he's being selfish and just doesn't want to get involved in their conflict, but quite the opposite. He'd rather not risk upsetting the two people who he actually genuinely cares about, which is something outside of himself on its own. Them being cordial is much easier on his mind, and also made it all the more easier for him to say, "Kay, well, if you don't mind, I'm going back to sleep. Don't wake me up unless the flat is burning down."