Sheldon wasn't sure how he and Amy had gone this long without him meeting her parents, but he should have expected it to happen sooner or later. He wasn't sure if he was ready yet, but Leonard kept on telling him that he'd be fine… as long as he didn't talk too much. He wasn't sure what talking had to do with her parents liking him or not, but what did Leonard know anyway?
Amy was due to arrive any time, and Sheldon was starting to get nervous. He kept on pacing in hopes that maybe it would help calm him down, but it didn't. Eventually Amy was at his door, and when he opened it, she took his breath away.
He didn't like the fact that she looked so self conscious about herself. She shouldn't be, she was always so beautiful. He wondered if she knew this or not, and debated on telling her, but before he could, she assured him out of his apartment and down to her car. There was no going back now.
The ride there seemed forever long. Sheldon was trying to hard not to squirm in his chair, to no avail. Eventually, he took a chance and grabbed Amy's hand for support. She didn't say anything but he saw her smile a little out of the corner of his eye, and it made his stomach feel a little lighter.
"We're here…" Amy said quietly before turning to look at him. He could see just how nervous she was, and wondered why, just as he had wondered why she felt so self conscious about herself. It was his job to be nervous about these things, he hated seeing her this tense.
He hoped that by squeezing her hand, she would relax a little, and to his delight, he watched as all the tension practically melted off her shoulders. He gave her an encouraging smile before getting out of her car and opening her door for her.
Amy's father was standing in the doorway watching Sheldon's interaction with his daughter with a small smile on his face. Amy's mother appeared beside him a few moments after that and watched beside him; her expression blank.
"Amy!" Her father exclaimed when the two approached him. He engulfed Amy in a big hug and once he let her go, he turned to Sheldon. The two shared eye contact for a moment and without a word Amy's father pulled Sheldon into an embrace like he had with Amy, except it was a little more lose. Sheldon accepted it with grace on the outside, and was only slightly uncomfortable on the inside.
Amy's mother kept eyeing him curiously, and Sheldon knew she was thinking about their first Skype call. He wanted to make things right between them all, but he didn't know how. Again, he searched for Amy's support, but she was busy by her father's side so he remained quiet standing by the doorway.
Eventually, Amy's parents invited them inside and they all sat down for a light dinner that evening. Sheldon did his best to sound interested in what her parent's planned to cook, but it was hard to be enthusiastic about anything except spaghetti with little hot dogs cut up in it.
It was comforting that Amy sat next to him, with her parents across from them. She seemed to have no trouble talking to her father, but her mother just would not stop looking at Sheldon in that funny way.
Clearing his throat, Sheldon dabbed his mouth with his napkin after having taken a bite from the pasta he was eating. "Ms. Fowler, this meal really is excellent." And he meant it, even if it wasn't his favorite pasta, it was at least decent. Amy seemed to appreciate his compliment to her mother and gave him a warm smile which made his heart flutter.
Ms. Fowler looked a little taken back by Sheldon's compliment, but eventually nodded awkwardly and mumbled a "thank you," before going back to her meal in silence. Mr. Fowler picked up the conversation again rather smoothly and shot a big grin Amy's way.
"So Sheldon, Amy's told me a lot about you! From what I can tell, you're quite the fine young man." Sheldon wasn't used to all this formal conversation, his family was the complete opposite of this. Still, he thought out a careful reply in his head before sending Mr. Fowler a smile of his own and gazing at Amy for a quick moment.
"Thank you, sir. It means a lot to me." Again, Amy shot him a warm smile and Sheldon could feel the heat rise in his cheeks. Mr. Fowler's grin grew even wider then and even Amy's mother turned her attention from her meal to the two of them. He wanted to squirm under their gazes, but suppressed it the best he could.
"And Sheldon," Amy's mother spoke after a moment of silence. "Thank you for loving my daughter."
It was almost immediately that Sheldon's face turned even hotter than it was as yet another blush crept its way onto his face. Sure, he had been thinking about the concept of love for a while, but he didn't think it was all that easy to see, coming from him. Apparently, he was mistaken.
"You're welcome." He stuttered before looking down at his plate. Moments later, he felt Amy grasp his hand under the table, and in that moment, he was sure that loving someone wasn't so bad after all. Especially if it was Amy.