*a/n For day five of my oneshot project, fangirl308 requested a lovely prompt the other day, thank you so much for that, and here's the story for you. Sorry it took so long to answer the request, I have had quite a few prompts but loving them all, so don't hesitate to drop one by me (:
And as a side note, my other fics I intend to update over the course of this weekend.
"Ah, Tai food." Sheldon sighed contentedly as he brought his eyes back over to Amy. She was sitting next to him, like always, except they had both agreed to try something different on Tai food night. Whenever he or she felt a need to, hand holding was permitted in front of their friends without having talked about it prior. So far the agreement had not been acted upon.
"I've missed this." Amy commented with a warm smile his way. Even though he had been back for quite a few Tai Food nights, she still seemed to be living in the past around the time he was gone on his trip. He hoped one day she would be okay with his decision, but until then, all he could do was enjoy these special nights he had with his friends and hope his bond with Amy only grew stronger.
Not surprisingly, it seemed that Sheldon and Amy both had been living in their own little worlds on that night, with all the thinking they were doing. Howard was the first person to notice the two's quietness and didn't hesitate in the slightest on his chance at comedy.
"Hey guys, I have a question for you. Who goes through all the trouble of setting up a holiday prank on one of their colleagues… only to have it backfire like everybody knew would happen anyway?" Howard sneered, attempting to break the ice. From his spot on the floor Raj chuckled and quickly got into the conversation while Sheldon and Amy watched on with silent words flying out of their mouths in protest.
"That was the most hilarious thing I have ever seen. I can't believe he messed that up, was he even trying?!" by the time he finished his sentence he had tears streaming down his cheeks and even Leonard began to laugh lightly at his friend's misfortune, for the sake of conversation. "It was just so easy!"
"I bet you twenty bucks a monkey could've done it better." Howard remarked with a grin and continued eating his food. "Maybe even done it right." He, too, was on the brink of crying from laughter as he doubled over and squeezed his eyes shut abruptly.
Penny and Bernadette sat beside their men, clueless as to what they were talking about but slightly uncomfortable about the jokes being made about Sheldon. They both knew the guys liked to play around, but somehow this didn't seem like playing anymore. Sheldon looked grim as he stared into his lap. Amy was done just sitting and watching.
"Guys, I think that's enough." Amy was furious. "It wasn't his fault." The tension on her face shown brightly through as her voice gained power. "You think it's FUNNY to laugh and make fun of something that was AN ACCIDENT?!" She was sure she had never been angrier in her life. Sheldon's head immediately snapped up and he looked to her in astonishment. None of his friends had ever stood up for him like that.
"A FAILED PRANK does NOT DEFINE how AMAZING Sheldon is FOR AT LEAST TRYING. It's more than I can say for any of you! At least he knows how to have FUN!" her voice was low and rumbling with energy that sent the whole room into shock. Sheldon was in disbelief, Howard, Leonard, and Raj in guilt and affected by her speech in more ways than just one. Penny and Bernadette were bewildered at their friend's inner voice, but nobody said a word as the brunette kept fuming.
"Sheldon is the most fun person I know," she continued, her voice fading a bit in volume but still steady. She hoped she hadn't been too harsh. "…He's beyond wonderful in my eyes. I just wish you all could see it." And she finished in such a miniscule yet emotionally over loaded voice that she couldn't bring herself to meet anyone's eye.
In the remains of all Sheldon's thoughts, one particularly stood out to him. If Amy saw that he needed support in that moment, that he needed nothing more than to be saved, why hadn't she taken advantage of their agreement and held his hand? She hadn't, but he still could.
And in the stillness of the room around him, Sheldon slowly inched his hand until it was clasped with Amy's, and he could practically feel Penny's eyes on him as he did so. He didn't care. Amy was his stable rock, everything he needed to hold onto when he needed a saving place to go. She was his everything, he was stronger with her.
He squeezed her hand in a silent show of gratitude. She looked to him with a sad smile before laying her head against his shoulder. The group avoided their eyes as best they could to give the Shamy a moment together, but it was almost impossible. Everything that happened to them was more significant than anything else going on in their lives anyway.
"I'm sorry," Amy whispered before craning her neck up to look at him. He swiped a lose strand of hair out of her face and kissed her forehead lovingly before giving her a small smile in return.
"Don't be," his voice was barely audible as well. "It's just what I needed. I'm stronger with you, Amy. You make me a better person. Never apologize for doing something good."