AN: Hi Guys. Here is a new story I just had to get out of my head. It will only be a few chapters long. The action takes place on Valentine's day 2015 and is all Shamy, except for the first chapter which takes place during Girls Night, but the action really starts in Chapter 2. Stay tuned, I might be able to post it this weekend as well.
And for the readers of my other story The Voyage Implications, don't worry, I'm still working on it, it is just a little hiatus, but I'll be back soon with new ideas.
As you all know, I do not own TBBT nor its wonderful characters.
Chapter 1: Girls Night Out
"Okay, ladies, I'd like to propose a toast to a wonderful girls' night out!" Penny raised her glass of white wine, smiling widely. "It's been such a long time since we've done that and I was starting to miss it!" All three other girls raised theirs in response. "And Emily, I'm glad you could join us tonight." Penny added sincerely. Emily, who was sitting on her left, opposite Amy, smiled back shyly. "Now, Let the party begin!" She finally said as they all clicked their glasses together.
In the past few months, things had been slightly better between Penny and Emily, though it was obvious they would never be BFFs. But they had tacitly agreed to bury the hatchet, for the sake of Rajesh and their little group of friends. And more and more often recently Emily had been joining the group for takeout dinners at the guys' apartment or for occasional get-togethers at the Cheesecake Factory, provided her busy schedule allowed her to; her joining them for a girls' night was a first though.
Amy was glad; she had appreciated Emily from the moment they started chatting online, when Rajesh had asked for her help with the Dating website. She also liked the idea that she somehow found a way to thank Rajesh back for setting her up with Sheldon in the first place. And last but not least she was happy that Rajesh did not have to feel like the third wheel anymore. Amy had been involved unwillingly in the "Lucy disaster" and it warmed her heart to see him with her fellow Harvard alum now, obviously happy.
Tonight was Saturday night, on the first weekend of February and as the guys had decided to gather at the guys' apartment and play some video game for the whole weekend, the girls had chosen to go to a restaurant together and then maybe to go dancing.
"So Penny, tell us, are you and Leonard ready for your trip to Switzerland next weekend?" Bernadette asked as they all placed their glasses back on the table.
"Not yet but I am so excited about it. Leonard is all set and has been pressuring me into packing, and so did his crazy roommate for that matter but, well, you know me, I'm more of a last minute person."
Amy smiled at the understatement. Sometimes, she wished she could be a little more like Penny about such things, her life might be a little easier. And then she thought of Sheldon; it was already hard enough on him that Penny was like that, and she was just his roommate's girlfriend and neighbor; what would it be like for him if his girlfriend were as sloppy as Penny? She shook the thought away immediately and drank another sip of her Cosmo.
"Anyways, it will be nice to think about something else than wedding stuff for a weekend at least." Penny added. That was one of the main reasons why girls night had been that rare in the past few weeks; Penny and Leonard had begun planning the wedding pretty seriously and it had made them stay home browsing wedding magazines or researching for venues more often than not.
Amy was experiencing mixed feelings; she was of course very happy for her friends, especially her bestie, as marriage was such a big step for a couple. But it also made her realize that she and Sheldon were still so far away from that; he had just confessed his love for her a few weeks ago, and that was a huge step for them, but she knew wedding bells were not about to ring yet for her, if ever. She smiled sadly remembering she had elaborated a five year plan once; since then, she had given up all hope for it to happen, at least in the intended timeframe.
"Will this be your first trip to Europe?" Emily asked their blonde friend, bringing Amy back to the here and now.
"Yes. I almost went once though; a few years ago, for our first Valentine's Day, Leonard already invited me to Switzerland but I got sick the day before and could not go. Neither could Sheldon. Raj was the only one available so he ended up going with Leonard actually."
"Oh yes, Raj told me about it. I did not know the first part though. All he said was that a few years ago he spent Valentine's Day with Leonard in a hotel in Switzerland and that the setting was very romantic. Somehow the whole story makes me feel better about it." Emily said, taking another sip of her drink. Both Amy and Bernadette smiled at that.
Penny frowned then smiled again, talking to Amy and Bernadette "Well, anyways, there is no way I will miss it this year; in exactly one week, I will be going down the skiing pistes in Saint-Moritz, Switzerland!"
"I'm so jealous Penny! I hope you guys have fun there." Bernadette added, with a smile.
Penny's grin grew even wider. "What about you ladies, what have you planned for next Saturday? Bernie, what are you and Howard planning to do?"
"Nothing very original I'm afraid, Howie and I are going to a restaurant. Actually, it is the same restaurant we went to with you a couple of years ago on Valentine's Day." Bernadette told Penny before explaining "We can't spend too much money for a trip this year as we are saving for a house. So a nice romantic evening at a restaurant downtown will be just fine."
Then to Emily "Emily, have you and Raj planned something special?"
"No, I am working on Saturday night. I never really gave much importance to that day, but when I told Raj about it, he looked so sad. It made me feel bad for accepting the shift. Anyways it was too late. I promised him that I'd make it up to him in a way he would not regret, and it seemed to soothe his mood."
"Yes, Raj is the ultimate romantic. And he loves celebrations. So Valentine's day must indeed be his favorite day of the year." Amy added. She sometimes wished Sheldon was a little more romantic, like Rajesh; but she had to deal with the whole package when it came to her boyfriend. Sheldon was smart, good looking, charming but he was definitely not a romantic. For instance, his favorite so called 'holiday' was Star Wars day. Nothing romantic about it. At all.
"Yes, I guess I should have anticipated it." Emily said, taking another sip of her cocktail. "Now I know."
"Amy, what are you and Moonpie doing this year? Another train trip maybe?" Penny asked teasingly, leaning towards Amy and nudging her with her shoulder.
"I have no idea what we will be doing; Sheldon is in charge of organizing it this year and he won't tell me anything about it."
"Sheldon in charge for Valentine's day? Aww poor Amy." Bernadette said, patting her shoulder lightly.
"Why the Hell did you leave Professor Romance in charge for that evening?" Penny asked, sarcastically.
"Well, at our last Annual Relationship Summit, Sheldon brought up the topic and argued that I had been planning it for the past two years so this year was his turn. I did not know what to say; after all he made a valid point. So whatever we are doing is up to him."
"Relationship summit? What is that?" Emily asked, looking at the three other ladies quizzically.
"Oh, Sheldon and Amy, or the Shamy as we call them, have a very personal notion of how a relationship works; it includes a Relationship Agreement, Minutes of Meetings at each date night and a relationship summit every year." Penny replied. "But surprisingly that is working very well for them; they've been together for what, three years, and neither of them has ever looked happier than they do now. I never thought I would see Sheldon Cooper falling that hard for a woman. And the lucky one is our Amy here." Penny said, placing a hand on Amy's shoulder.
Amy was used to being teased by her friends, and she knew they did not mean to hurt her, but hearing her relationship with Sheldon summed up that way kind of stung.
"Oh. Okay." Emily said, smiling and frowning at the same time."Well, I've seen you together at Prom Night Amy, and let me tell you, the guy is crazy about you. That is so obvious."
"I know. Last year, we went on a train trip to the Napa Valley and spent the weekend there. It ended up being so romantic." Amy explained to Emily, smiling dreamily.
"Not from Sheldon's doing." Penny said in a low voice.
"I know. But things have changed a bit since then. Maybe he has something romantic planned for next week." Amy replied, trying to sound optimistic.
"Amy, you know what Sheldon's idea of the perfect date is: stay at home, order a pizza and watch one of his superheroes or space movies." Penny went on. "Things have changed alright, but I don't think that will ever change. Sorry girl."
"Penny is right, Amy, you are not dating the prince of romance, you are dating Sheldon Cooper." Bernadette said rather coldly.
It stung Amy once more "I know Sheldon is not romantic like Leonard, Howard or Raj. But I asked him to try to be at least a little romantic and he asked me to trust him. So I will."
"Amy, we are just telling you this so you don't have your hopes too high." Bernadette went on.
Amy had her eyes fixed on her hands that were still on her knees now. "I know, it's just sometimes…"
Witnessing her discomfort, Emily came to her rescue "Amy, I think you may be right. You never know with men." Then she said to the two other girls, looking at them "I haven't known Sheldon for a long time and Raj told me lots of stories that tend to show he is not the most caring man in the World. But he seems to be very much in love with Amy: so who knows? He might surprise her. And everyone." Emily looked at Penny quite intensely, as if to tell her to go soft on Amy.
"Emily, like you just said, you don't know Sheldon very well; As much as I'd love to think he can prepare the most romantic evening in the history of Valentine's days, well, this is Sheldon Cooper we are talking about. I love him, he is one of my best friends, but I doubt he has what it takes to romance a woman."
"Well, we'll see." Emily placed her hand on Amy's and squeezed it lightly, trying to comfort her.
Deep inside Amy knew Penny and Bernadette were right. But she could not help hoping. Well, actually about ten percent of her was hoping, ninety percent was resigned. It did not matter. After all, they were intellectually compatible, they enjoyed spending time together, they had confessed their love for each other, and Sheldon was making so much effort for her; she would never switch her boyfriend for anyone else, romance did not matter that much.
At least that's what she told herself while finishing her drink and ordering a second one.
AN: Ok, here we are; now the real action can begin. I hope I was not too hard on poor Amy, and that Penny and Bernadette did not sound too hard on her either here, but let's face it, Sheldon in charge for Valentine's day is a pretty scary thought. Now let's see what happens, he might surprise us all… Chapter 2 in progress.
