Hello there! Okay, so this is my first TBBT-story and what else? Oh right, I love Shamy! And Sheldon's proposal has been on my mind ever since the taping. September can't come soon enough!

Enjoy!

The Wedding Inconvenience

It had been a rough day causing the omnipresent smile he'd found himself wearing constantly since that one eventful night last summer when he flew to New York fading - all planning, calculating and thinking pushed aside, with no toothbrush or his bus pants (in default of flight pants). For the first time…ever…he had emotions allowed to take the lead and he'd never been happier.

"Knock, knock, knock ,Amy

"Knock, knock, knock, Amy"

"Knock, knock, knock, Amy"

He hadn't planned much that night. Scratch that. Nothing of this craziness had been planned when he got up this morning at 7:10 am sharp, his usual urination time. He'd read a few romance novels for the sake of his girlfriend – not that she needed to know that. It had been an itch of scientific relevance in need of scratching. He found himself intrigued by the emotions Amy was making him feel, more so by the deeper meaning behind these longings and butterflies; nothing too fancy though. He tried one of those medieval novels Amy was hung up over but hardly anything he read there quenched his curiosity, so he had settled for something even more cheesy and trivial: Nicholas Sparks. Even though it was quite the unorthodox way of drawing results, the possibility of Nicholas Sparks' having stimulated his sub conscience and activated his autopilot mode wasn't one to be dismissed light-heartedly. It was what it was. He, Sheldon Lee Cooper was in New Jersey, at his girl's apartment door, down on a dusty and contaminated carpet, and one knee.

Up until this very day. One says it's unlikely to pinpoint the exact moment a person's heart breaks, shatters into a million little pieces; the one moment that leaves you hanging unable to breathe because the shattered fragments invade your body like burning knives and a simultaneously strange feeling of ice-cold bitterness grounding your feet to the floor that immobilizes you. You're too scared to run and too hurt to stay.

"Two hours, 31 minutes, 28 seconds." Sheldon mumbled not knowing why he did what he did. What on earth had him thinking that counting the passing minutes would make him feel better? He could tell it didn't. He was sweating cold and for the first time ever he wished he was coming down with something – a cold or an exotic new illness created by germs no one had ever heard of, but he knew the reason for his cold sweat and trembling hands wasn't of any scientific interest.

"Damn you, Nicholas Sparks, damn you!" he screamed hitting the steering wheel over and over. It didn't matter what people thought of him, it never had. The stern voice if his mother invaded his mind telling him to watch his mouth and temper; he didn't care. After all the progress he made and happiness he achieved, he had earned the right to let his emotions run freely, even though they weren't positive and once again he cursed Nicholas Sparks under his breath causing a middle aged lady on the sidewalk to tap her forehead at him. Sheldon didn't even bother to inform her that he wasn't crazy.

"You're irritatingly quiet tonight."

Drat. He had wished she wouldn't notice but as obvious as Stephan Hawking's unquestionable superiority, Amy could read Sheldon as though he was one of her scary (and even on his death bed he'd still neglect that this had ever crossed his mind) stimulating fictional characters she loved to write about; granted, he was one of them, if not the most important character: He was Cooper, wasn't he? The brilliant physicist who travelled in time and fell in love with a farmer's girl called Amelia. Despite everything he ever had to say about Amy's fictional adventures, she had succeeded in keeping Cooper close to his real life model. Cooper had had no interest in love or physical activities but he wasn't conflicted per se and had not to deal with all those quirks that made Sheldon, well…Sheldon.

Maybe that simple fact should have let him know all along.

"Hey, are you alright?" The soft hand of the woman on the other side of the small table pulled him back into the present. It was so soft and warm with a distinct sheen of clamminess etched onto her skin. Every cell in Sheldon's body screamed at him to let go and get a wet tissue and even though he was familiar with this feeling it felt inappropriate and unpleasant – dull, put of this cosmos as though it didn't belong to him, even in its familiarity. Familiar…as though it didn't belong to him? That didn't make any sense. He wasn't making any sense!

He didn't want to feel like this, especially not in regards to Amy.

If he had known that confidence could make a man feel as calm as a new born baby, he would have tried getting behind his quirks sooner but he hadn't and maybe, just maybe that was a good thing because who could tell if the way things had happened ever since the coffee shop would have gone down this particular road? He wouldn't go as far as to say he believed in fate (which he did) but he knew deep down in his heart that the Sheldon who had walked into the coffee shop or the one who agreed on labelling their friendship a relationship wouldn't be asking for Amy's hand. In some way, Sheldon felt sorry for them; according to a theory that claims the existence of alternate timelines, those versions of himself would never know – what it felt to kiss her, that her smile was unlike every other smile he had ever seen. Those Sheldons would never know the difference between childish jealously and heartbreak and in consequence never be granted the realization of unconditional love.

"You're not wearing your bus pants." Straightforward and so Amy that he couldn't help but smile.

"Correct, Amy" he replied, his thick Texan accent prominent on every syllable. Maybe he was a tad more nervous than he thought but who would blame him. In fact, he enjoyed having her caught off guard.

Knowing she cared that much about him and his habits to remember what his bus pants looked like, made his heart skip a beat. If he hadn't been sure that he wanted to be with her forever, he was now. "I don't need them anymore." Even Sheldon himself was surprised by how steady his voice sounded and was it deeper…? Yes, a deep male voice with a thick Texan accent.

"Why not?" Amy sounded bewildered, surprised, scared and amazed – all at the same time. And Sheldon could tell, he knew without having an emotion detector sending him emoji's. He knew because it was Amy who carried these emotions.

"Because I love you."

"Sheldon, if you need a wet tissue, I won't be mad. I'm thrilled about the way things have been turning out between us but that does not mean that I'm going to be mad if you feel the need to go back to old habits. I love you quirks and all, remember?"

Of course he did. He had an eidetic memory. He couldn't forget a thing even if he wanted to. Except for this one Beach Boys song but as he had learned to accept had had deeper and more reasons physics would never unravel. He didn't like this fact but he was fine with it. "I know, "he sighed seemingly defeated, "but if the last seven years have taught me anything it's that it's never been about germs…"

If asked Sheldon had said he'd imagined Amy to be very vocal about his proposal. He'd imagined her to behave as she had when he gave her the tiara (and made her his princess) and now as he was bending on one knee in godforsaken New Jersey, about to make her his queen, she wouldn't stop pointing at irrelevancies.

"I love you, too" Amy, his beautiful and unique Amy was smiling at him. He couldn't recall if his mind had ever been so calm. Was this what normal people felt like? If so, he'd never doubt that love could conquer all ever again. Because he himself was living proof that this utterly inaccurate and unscientific saying of sentiment was true.

Within the blink of an eye, he felt Amy's small hands grazing his cheek tenderly. "I didn't mean to make you cry, darlin'." The warmth of her hand seeped into his skin tempting him to kiss her pulse point with equal tenderness.

"It's alright, those are happy tears, she sniffled and if she had to use the sleeve of her bathrobe to clean her face, Sheldon wouldn't mind. "You shouldn't be the one kneeling, Amy."

Her face was coming closer, leaving her tempting red lips within reach. Every word she spoke sent a shiver down his spine, her breath so minty and warm that he felt the need to close his eyes for a second.

"Yes…"

Those three letters had never been voiced more beautifully.

It was about relationships, about emotions and all changing experiences. It was about the fact that he wasn't a homo novus, which meant, no matter what tonight had in store for them, Sheldon Cooper would never be able to turn back time and get beck to who he used to be. Did he even want that, he wondered, still as mute as a grave as he locked Amy in the eyes – big green, loving eyes?

"I think it's time to discuss the termination of our engagement."

AN: Honestly? When I decided to split this little story in two, I didn't expect Sheldon would want to terminate the engagement and I am pretty sure that he doesn't actually want to. So, what happened? Maybe Amy will bring light into this darkness.

Thanks for reading and I'd love to hear what you think ~ setthingsinmotion