Henrik took a deep breath, trying to convince himself that he was not nervous in the slightest at the thought of meeting Roxanna's father. As the train slowed to a stop at the train station, he rose to his feet and straightened his tie, trying to act like he was in control of everything, even though he knew that was the furthest thing from the truth. Slipping his satchel over his shoulder, he followed a group of people off the train and onto the platform.

"Henrik! You're here!"

Turning his head towards the sound of her voice, he allowed an easy smile to break across face as he waved to her, bracing himself for the running hug he was almost certain to be enveloped in shortly. He couldn't help but laugh at the fact that she had dyed her hair pink once more and then she was in his arms, peppering his face with a quick flurry of kisses as she hugged him tightly. "It's only been two weeks since you saw me last. Did you miss my face that much?" he teased as they broke apart.

Roxanna blushed a little as she shrugged. "I did." He nodded as he wrapped his arm around her waist, allowing her to lead him out into the street. "I thought that we could walk to my favourite café? Dad's planning for us to be there around one, so we have four hours all to ourselves. After we get a bit of brekkie, since the day is so nice, I thought we could head to my favourite park, too, and walk and sit and talk."

"We haven't talked enough?" Roxanna let out a little huff of irritation before lightly smacking his stomach with her hand. "I know, there's still so much that we haven't shared with each other yet." He bent his head a little, breathing in the delicate scent of her perfume. "This is a new scent."

"Yeah, I thought it was time to choose something a little more adult. And a little more sentimental."

"Oh?"

There was a slight pause before she let her head knock against his upper arm. "It was a bit lush, and Dad almost had a fit when he saw the price, but I had to go with it. I found a perfume that has twinflower as one of the major notes, and knew that it would be perfect, since it would remind me of you, too." He wracked his brain, trying to figure out the significance of that flower, and she once more scoffed and tapped his stomach softly. "It's the national flower of Sweden, Henrik!"

"Oh, right," he replied as they strolled down the sidewalk. "You know, John would call you saccharine for doing something like that." Henrik didn't know why he had brought up their friend, but the words had left his mouth before he could stop them.

"You're right, he probably would. Have you heard from him at all? I know that he was transferring for next year, but I naively hoped that he would write to at least one of us."

Henrik shook his head a little. "I was hoping that he would write or call one of us, too, but there's been nothing on my end yet. I'm not even certain where we could get in touch with him, other than to send something to Columbia. And then, who knows if he'd get it. But I do miss him, especially when I have questions that I know he can answer. That's why I loved it when we added your brain to the trust. With three of us available, one of us would be certain to come up with an answer."

"So, do you think we should recruit someone else for our group when we get to Boston?" she asked as she opened the door to her café. "I know there aren't many of us girls, but I'd like to add another one, if possible."

"Of course we can see about that," he replied as they got in line. He looked over the menu and decided on getting a large earl grey tea and an egg and cheese croissant. When it was their turn, Roxanna ordered first, and then he smoothly added on to her, paying for their order before she could get her purse out. "Why don't you get us a seat while I wait for our drinks?" She nodded before heading into the café further, and he watched to see where she would sit.

"Here you go, sir," the café worker said as she handed over a tray with their drinks and a number on it. He gave her a small nod as he took hold of it, heading over to Roxanna's side and taking a seat on the opposite side of the table so that he could watch her.

"Did you remember to bring my jumper?" she asked before taking a sip of her coffee.

He smiled and nodded. "I'll give it to you when we get to your place. It's a little too warm out to wear right now." She nodded before reaching across the table and patting his hand softly. "Are you all set to head back to Boston?"

"I suppose? I mean, I know it will help, going over a week early, since that will allow me to get everything set up for us, but I'm still a little anxious? I know, it's ridiculous, but our dynamic also changed over the course of the year, so things will be different. And I trust you, completely, there's still this flutter of butterflies in my stomach that keep attacking me at the most inopportune of times."

He turned his hand over so that he could take hold of hers just as their sandwiches arrived. Roxanna gave him a sweet smile as she squeezed his hand before bowing her head and saying a quick prayer. While Henrik didn't really understand her deep and abiding faith, he knew that it was as much a part of her as her love for science, and he would never ask her to change that part of her. "I understand the nervousness. I've never lived with a partner before, either, so this will be new to me as well. But I know that we can get through anything as long as we promise to talk things out. Communication will be key, I feel."

She nodded as she let go of his hand to start eating her breakfast, and he smiled before tucking into his own sandwich. They ate quickly, and then they were heading back outside, Roxanna taking hold of his hand and threading their fingers together as she guided them through the city centre until they had reached a small, secluded, park entrance. She pushed open the gate and led him inside, and he felt transported to another world, since the noise of the city seemed to melt away as they ventured further inside. "Here, my spot should still be open," she murmured as she fairly dragged him over to a wide willow tree. "I would sit beneath here with my mother for hours on end on nice days, just staring up into the branches and dreaming. I promised her, well, that will be for later, I think."

She plopped down onto the ground and looked up at him, shading her eyes with her hand. "I am pleased to be brought here, then, Roxanna, knowing how special it is to you."

"Yes, well, I want it to be special to us both, now." He nodded as he sank down next to her, leaning against the trunk. Roxanna shifted how she was seated on the ground, scooting closer to him before stretching out and resting her head on his lap, seeming comfortable with the intimacy as he began to run his fingers through her hair, relaxing at the easy way they were able to communicate without words, and he closed his eyes as he allowed his head to rest against the tree trunk, wishing moments like this never had to end.