Natalie smiled as well. It wasn't a wide smile but he knew she wasn't much of a smiler to begin with, and maybe she was a little nervous too. And maybe, just maybe, it was weird to be in a situation where he could see him in front of her, and the former Ingram house out of the corner of her eye.

"Hey," she said. "Made it."

Natalie wouldn't have minded a kiss. She was fairly sure her parents weren't peeking out through windows.

Though if he wasn't going for it, then neither would she. You could never be too sure.

"Are you ready for this?"

"Well, one out of two isn't bad," Natalie teased, reaching for one of his hands. "And no, I won't tell you which one it is."

"You're not," Natalie replied, giving him a tug towards the house. "And even if you were, and were still feeling like that later, I would just take you on a relaxing walk around my neighbourhood."

"Then we might do that," she promised, quietly. "Now breathe."

Before she'd reach for the door handle.

"Okay."

So, she opened the door, and led him into the house. It looked orderly, but lived in. There were sounds coming from further in the house, but no one was waiting by the door, ready to pounce.

"Nothing to fear yet," she said quietly, mostly to further soothe his nerves. Or her own.

"Thank you," Natalie murmured. "You should tell my mother that too."

And he was going to get a chance to, in just a moment. Natalie led him into a roomy kitchen, pleasantly lit by natural light through a large window. But he probably wasn't paying that much attention to the decor, because Natalie's parents were there too. They were in their late thirties, and they were both dressed in a way that was probably best described as business casual. She had an eerily familiar unreadable expression on her face; he looked just slightly friendlier.

"Sam," Natalie said, "I'd like you to meet my parents, Abigail and Dominic Adams. Mom, Dad, this is Sam LaCroix. My boyfriend."

They politely ignored any nervousness there, though Natalie have his hand a squeeze.

"Thank you," her mother said, holding out her hand. "It's nice to meet you as well. We've heard a lot about you."

Well, some things.

"Of course," said Abigail. "Natalie does tend to put her words to good use," added Natalie's father with a brief smile, extending his own hand for a shake now. "It's still good to get to actually meet you, sam."

Natalie stayed quiet, but watching them all.

Natalie tried not to look too amused at his lack of slouching. "As it usually is," she chimed in. Her parents did not look surprised by this.

Her father nodded back towards the table, where some pastries and cookied and things had been laid out. They'd thought this meeting would go less awkwardly if people's hands had something to do.

(And by that they meant Sam's hands. Natalie's parents weren't nervous.)

"Would you like some coffee, Sam?"

"Well, we're prepared," Dominic replied, gesturing towards the table. "Grab a seat."

As Abigail moved to take a seat, Natalie gave Sam a small nudge towards the table too. "You can sit next to me."

And let the parents sit on the other side.

He so, so was. Natalie was really considering holding his hand under the table as she sat down next to him. She didn't, though. He'd just dump coffee in his lap.

While her father got the coffee pot, her mother fixed Sam with a look of mild interest. "So, Natalie tells us you graduated," she remarked. "What is it that you're doing now?"