Tonight wasn't date night, it wasn't Tai Food Night, it wasn't any specific night that had already been engrained in Sheldon's schedule, and yet, Amy was here. He wasn't sure what possessed him to invite her over; it wasn't like he missed her… at least not too terribly…

But here she was, standing in his kitchen, mulling over her different tea options that sat on his counter; her back to him. It was interesting how he could be so caught up in just staring at her back, he supposed that wasn't anything too normal, but he liked it anyway. He liked it a little too much, in fact.

He didn't notice at first how his eyes kept wandering, and eventually they fell upon her hips and beautiful curves. He wondered how many other people noticed them before him, noticed her even, but relished in the fact that they were all his, she was all his, for the moment.

So he decided to try something. Her back was still to him, but now she was making a slight humming noise as she pondered. He knew he'd have to be quick, but he didn't want it to be over just as fast either.

Finally Sheldon decided to make his move, striding quietly over to her and wrapping his arms around her as gently as he thought appropriate. He felt her jump a little at his touch, but was too focused on smelling her hair to be too concerned at her surprise.

Amy had her head turned to Sheldon the best she could, wondering what on Earth he was doing, but decided not to question it and let out a happy sigh while continuing to kill time just standing there. She had picked out her tea a while ago, but was standing there solely because she could feel Sheldon looking at her back and wanted to see what he would do.

And she was not disappointed.

#

A few days later, Sheldon had incidentally invited himself over for lunch in her apartment that fateful Saturday afternoon. Amy had welcomed the surprise with a delighted smile, and found his company, as always, quite pleasurable.

Not uncommonly, the two decided to go to the zoo once more and spend time observing and commenting on their favorite animals they had to display. This time was different because not only did everyone there seem overly chatty, but a few people even tried to talk to them as well.

Sheldon knew that people could figure out he and Amy were a couple, she had requested an hour prior to be able to hold his hand there, to which he complied.

As they were walking through the exhibits, smiling at this, chuckling at that, they were abruptly stopped by a man in decent clothing, holding a camera whose size did not even begin to match the grin on his face. Accompanying him were two small children and a women of equal height to his with a sweet smile across her pale face.

And the man had asked if he could take a picture of Sheldon and Amy together. While Sheldon initially was a bit skeptical of the whole thing, beside him Amy eagerly nodded and quickly let his hand go.

The two stood side by side while the photo snapped, but before the picture was captured, Sheldon had taken it upon himself to try something he had been thinking of since that night with the tea.

Wrapping his arm around Amy's shoulder, Sheldon engulfed her in a half hug of sorts that enlarged her smile for the picture seemingly a hundred times more.

And his wasn't that bad either.

#

About a week later, the gang met up for yet another Tai Food Night before the girls were to go out and have their little night of fun across the hall. The smells in the apartment wafted through Sheldon's nose, the sound of his friends' chatter pleasant in his ear. Yet, something was missing…

He had Amy sitting next to him, as always. He had taken in upon himself to call the spot beside his "Amy's spot" and didn't regret it a single bit. After all, it was his couch.

Despite all this, Sheldon couldn't help but think that something was still missing. Amy was sitting rather close to him, their knees were touching even. Of course, Penny had no trouble seeing this immediately and kept eyeing the two as if she were waiting for something to happen. Sheldon felt the same way; he just didn't know what he was waiting for.

Thank God Amy was taking her sweet time consuming her food and chatting with the rest of the group. He didn't want her to leave, not now, not ever. He figured since he felt this way, the only way to move forward, as she would say, would be to ask her to move in, and perhaps he would start on that later that evening.

Until then, Sheldon basked in her presence and glanced at her through the corners of his eyes as if looking at her was a guilty pleasure he shouldn't be engaging in. He was ever so delighted each and every time she would look back at him and give him a small smile. Tai Food Night had never felt better.

That was… until the girls were getting ready to leave. Penny was the first to stand, followed by Bernadette, and then Amy. Sheldon felt like a helpless child, thinking about the speed at which he stood up and the exact way which he clung to her hand as if pleading her not to go.

"Wait, Amy." He had called out to her willingly, and she replied with her whole body turned and that adorable smile dancing across her lips.

"Yes, Sheldon." The way his name rolled off her tongue made his stomach flip. Everything about her made his head spin, she clouded his thoughts so much he wasn't even sure what he wanted anymore.

But he was sure that he wanted to feel her in that moment. More than just feel her presence, more than just feel her smile against his lips, but actually feel her in his arms, in his embrace, the closeness and perfection of her body against his…

So he did just that, moved forward without a word and pulled her in his arms. He didn't dare look over her shoulder at his friends, as they would probably make fun of him, but in that few seconds it was as if they didn't even exist. It was just him and Amy in the universe, her sweet smelling hair, the gentle rise and fall of her chest, the smile that seemingly plopped out of nowhere onto his lips when he felt her hug him back tightly.

Everything felt… right. Could he, should he tell her? Maybe, but he'd save that conversation for after he finished the new girlfriend/roommate agreement.