What neither Nick, nor Peggy could have anticipated was that the paperwork on the house would be held up while his things arrived a day earlier than expected resulting in both of them moving in on the same day.

He was beginning to feel like this little adventure was not meant to be as he watched the large moving truck with all of his belongings fight for space with the small U-Haul truck that Peggy had rented. He hadn't had a chance to meet Peggy’s family yet but knew they would be helping her unload her things off the truck and he was nervous to say the least.

It seemed odd to have been dating someone for a year and never met their parents, especially considering they were moving in together. What was stranger was that she was moving out of her parent’s home into the home they were sharing so there was a subplot there that increased his anxiousness.

There was only so much daylight to go around so it was going to be a scramble to get everything out of the trucks and into the house without getting in each other’s way. He watched out the front door as Peggy hopped out of the cab of the U-Haul and jogged up the path leading to the front door.

“Good morning,” she smiled and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck for a hug.

“Hi baby,” Nick chuckled while rubbing her back. “You act like you haven’t seen me in weeks. Oh wait... you haven’t.”

“I missed you,” she said, pulling back to get a look at his face. It had been a few days since he’d last shaved and she rubbed her thumb over the beard that had grown in on his jaw. “You accidentally packed your razor didn't you?”

He could have lied but she knew him too well, “Yup! I could have gotten rid of it but I thought it would make me look more manly for when I meet your dad and brothers. I pumped some iron, grew a beard, started drinking whiskey straight out of the bottle in the hopes I might get another chest hair...”

Peggy couldn't hold back her laughter at his words and she pulled him back in for another hug. If there was anything Nick knew he could do it was make this woman laugh and he loved the sound of her giggle.

“Come on,” he encouraged, giving her a quick peck on the lips. “Let’s start bringing stuff into our house,” he gave her a goofy smile then playfully slapped her behind with a resounding smack. Once he pulled his hand away he realized they were still standing in front of the house where everyone could see them and he blushed crimson red.

“You know my parents just saw you do that, right?” Peggy teased and Nick nodded quickly. “I should have known you’d embarrass yourself eventually.”

“It’s what I do best,” he replied honestly, letting her take him by the hand and lead him down to the truck where her family was patiently waiting to start unloading her things.

Nick had always thought that his father was a bit intimidating. He was definitely a man’s man and was known to be both physically and mentally threatening when he wanted to be. Even though Nick was the same height and build as his father he still felt small when he was in trouble for something.

Nothing could have prepared him though for how small he would feel meeting Peggy’s family. He should have expected it given that he was just over six feet tall and she was only a few inches shorter than him, that her family would be on the tall side.

Her father practically unfolded himself from behind the wheel of the U-Haul and if Nick had to guess the man was easily over six and a half feet tall. Peggy’s brothers, Troy and Chad, were as tall as their father and both built like football players. At the opposite end of the spectrum her mother was about average height, making her appear to be petite in comparison to the rest of her family.

Peggy had a sister, Marilyn, but she had been sick with cancer for many years and rarely had an opportunity to leave her home. Nick had been assured he would get a chance to meet her in a more casual setting. Feeling as though he had more sway with women he immediately brought his attention to the older woman, sending her his trademark smile.

“Peggy didn't mention she had two sisters,” he charmed while sticking out his hand to shake hers. Although he knew it was a corny line he hadn't expected the eye roll he got in return. “I’m Nick.”

“Is that a nickname?” the woman, who he would later find out was named Patricia, asked and he raised an eyebrow curiously.

He wasn't sure what kind of question that was considering that he had a fairly common nickname but he answered regardless, “Yeah, it’s a nickname. Why do you ask?”

“I don’t know if Margaret told you but I’m not much of a nickname person.”

“Who’s Margaret?” Nick asked, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion. He heard a voice clear behind him and he turned to see Peggy pointing at herself. His eyes went wide and he mentally kicked himself for how badly this first meeting with her parents was already going.

Here he was trying to show them how great it was that their daughter was moving out of their family home to move in with a man nearly a decade her senior and he didn't even know her real first name. They hadn't been in the same place when they'd signed the paperwork for the house so he'd never seen her actually sign her legal name before.

“Mom,” Peggy tried to intervene, “his name is Nick, you can call him that. I know you hate nicknames but just pretend that’s his full first name.”

“No, it’s okay,” Nick waved her off with a smile. In reality he was thinking how weird it would be to be called his full name considering his mother was the only one who ever did and only when he did stupid things but if it would make Peggy’s mother happy he would endure it. “You can call me Nickolas, it’s fine.”

That seemed to satiate the woman and he breathed a sigh of relief before moving to where Peggy’s father was leaned up against the truck. Again, he stuck out his hand, hoping for a better result than the last time. Wordlessly the bigger man returned the handshake, squeezing just a touch harder than Nick had been prepared for.

“Nice to meet you, Sir. I've heard a lot about you.”

“Call me Steven. I didn't hear squat about you so I looked you up on Google.”

“Oh. How’d that go?”

How’d that go? he repeated to himself silently, wondering what the hell was going through his head. He had never experienced this kind of discomfort meeting new people. He was usually great with new people, they always found him funny, charming and delightful and now he felt like he was about to be taken out to a shed and slaughtered.

“You spend an awful lot of time having your picture taken,” the older man replied, letting go of Nick’s hand so he could stick it back in his pocket. “Especially in police stations.”

“Signs of a misspent youth!” he laughed, awkwardly shifting from one foot to the other. He had never really had to deal with this kind of experience in the past. The majority of his past girlfriends had been in the entertainment business or at least within arm’s reach of it. This was really the first time he had dated a so-called ‘normal’ girl, with parents that likely didn't understand the kind of background he had come from.

He knew it was pointless to assure the other man that he had changed, that he wasn't that person anymore, because regardless of how he was acting now he had still done those things in his past. His history of drinking and drugs would always follow him, it was just a matter of letting people know that he used his mistakes as opportunities to learn how to be a better man.

“When did you get arrested?” Peggy asked, her eyebrows coming together in curiosity.

Nick rubbed his nose with the back of his hand, a nervous habit he had never quite been able to rid himself of, and stared at her wide eyed, “Sweetie, I’m sure I told you about that.”

“I think I would have remembered that,” she challenged, putting her hands on her hips, “What could you have possibly been arrested for?”

“The amount of love I have for you is criminal,” he smiled cheekily, leaning over to kiss her forehead quickly, “It’s gonna be dark before we get the stuff off these trucks if we don’t get moving.”

“You’re avoiding the subject; I asked you a question.”

“And I don’t want to have this discussion in front of your whole family.”

They stared each other down, each with a smile on their face as to not show any annoyance on their faces. Nick was fairly certain he heard one of Peggy’s brothers sarcastically comment on how promising their relationship and moving in together seemed to be but he choose to ignore it. He had no intentions of backing down but an insistent throat clearing at his left finally made him turn towards the driver of the moving van that had been patiently waiting on the side of the road.

“Mr. Carter, I wanted to remind you that we charge by the hour. Would you like us to start unloading the truck?”

“Yeah, let’s do that!” Nick agreed, watching as the driver headed back to the van, calling out to the other men to start unloading his stuff. He turned back to his girlfriend and dropped another quick kiss to her forehead, not wanting to be too forward given her parents already seemed to hate him. “Let’s unload now, talk later.”