There they were on March 8, 2024 standing in line to meet Steve Blume at AwesomeCon in DC. James and his brother, Daniel, were behind Nikita in line. Steve had decided to step away from his booth for other engagements at the con and the trio were left there for a few hours to just chat.

After Steve Blume returned to the table, the line continued and Nikita got her Spike Spiegel photo signed. She then got out of line and went to meet back up with her father, showed him the image, and said she wanted to wait for James to see what quote he got signed.

James got out of line and went over to Nikita and her father to show the photo and then promptly said "I have a three day pass, will you also be here the next two days?" Nikita said yes and James said "That's awesome, let's meet up then." They swapped numbers and continued to hang out throughout that day and then instantly met up the next two days.

Throughout the weekend, they were laughing, learning more about each other, sharing Wild Bill's Cherry Colas, and holding hands.

Sunday quickly came around and it was time to say goodbye. They parted ways outside of the Walter E. Washington Convention Center and continued to text and call every single day.

Even though they had some bumps and cold feet along the way, they managed to survive long distance by traveling between VA and MD every other weekend. It was a journey, but Nikita quickly decided that James was unlike any other and made the leap to move up to Maryland a few months later. And the rest was history!

James and Nikita currently live together along with their dog, Lupin. They have continued their story of attending Comic Cons. They have returned to AwesomeCon, but also attended some new cons, both big and small. Some of these include: New York Comic Con, ToonFusion, Big Lick Comic Con, and San Diego Comic Con.

Not only have they continued their love of attending Comic Cons, but they have also attended various sporting events, concerts, festivals, and started traveling around the world together! They can truly not wait to continue this life journey together!

See below for some of our fun adventures together!