When Sheldon wakes up his tongue feels thick and fuzzy. His head is pounding and he can barely gather the energy to open his eyes. When he does the bright sunlight makes him shut them again.
"Morning sleepy head," Amy tells him when he sits up she hands him two advil and a cup of tea.
"Where am I?" He asks confused.
"My dorm, Bernadette is staying with Howard so I brought you back here," She says sitting on the edge of the bed next to him.
"What happened?" He croaks after swallowing down the pills.
"How much do you remember?" Amy asks gently.
"Well, we were at the party," Sheldon starts.
"Yes and then…" Amy asks sipping her tea.
"You were holding court with your gigantic groupies," Sheldon tells her and Amy rolls her eyes and gives him a playful slap.
"I was having a conversation with two of my friends, yes," Amy tells him.
"Kripke gave me a cup of funny tasting punch," He says then he looks up at Amy with surprise. "The punch! Amy there must have been something in the punch!" Amy just nods her head.
"Kripke tried to spike the drinks of a few girls. When that didn't work he decided it might be funny to get you drunk," Amy huffs.
"Kripke gave me alcohol! I don't drink alcohol," Sheldon says outraged.
"You did last night. I must say, I see why you don't partake often," Amy says giggling and patting his leg consolingly.
"What did I do?" He groans hanging his head.
"Not much… You just attempted to perform a very public strip tease. Then when I drove you home you hung out the window. Yelling 'honk if you're IQ is above 170' at the other car's," Amy tells him while trying not to laugh.
"I didn't!" Sheldon gasps but Amy shakes her head yes.
"Everyone has an embarrassing story about drinking too much," Amy tells him. "Remember me serenading you in a risqué bathing suit last summer? In front of Missy and George! So try not to worry about it Sheldon."
"Sheldon Cooper does not get drunk," He says crossly setting his teacup on the nightstand. "Don't tell Mom," He adds lamely. "I promised her when I moved out here."
"Don't worry, this is just between us. And all the guests at the party. But hey! It's a new year! Let's start fresh," She tells him kissing his forehead.
"Alright," He agrees with a small smile.
"So in the spirit of new beginnings. How about today we make a list of what we're looking for in our new apartment!" Amy asks excited.
"Oh Amy, you know how I feel about lists," He says his voice deep and excited.
"I do… I even bought a brand new notebook for our apartment hunting!" Amy says pulling out a fresh black notebook from her side table. Amy opens it up and sniffs it's pages. "New stationery is one of my favorite smells," She tells him as she tucks herself under his arm.
"Mine too, that and you," He tells her nuzzling her hair. "Your hair especially always has the most tantalizing scent," He says his mouth brushing against her ear making her shiver. Then he trails kisses down from her ear to her neck. "Then when you are so prepared and want to talk lists. I just can't control myself."
"Be careful what you start," Amy warns.
"I always intend to finish what I start," He tells her as his hands begin to roam her body.
"I don't know… Last night you got me all hot and bothered doing your best Chippendales impression to the song 'Pony.' Then I finally got you home and you fell asleep on me," Amy tells him as he climbs on top of her and starts kissing her.
"Why was I pretending to be a cartoon chipmunk?" He asks amused his blue eyes twinkling.
"Not Chip and Dale! Chippendale, the all male burlesque review," Amy laughs.
"How do you even know about these Chippendales?" He asks suspiciously. Amy grins at him and starts to explain. "Wait! I don't want to know. This corruption has Missy written all over it," He huffs, making Amy giggle. "So you enjoyed my strip tease? I thought you were upset by it?" Sheldon asks and Amy shakes her head.
"I loved it! I just didn't want all the other girls to be all over you," She tells him flipping him over so she's now on top of him. Knocking her notebook and pen to the floor.
"Then perhaps, I'll have to perform a private one for you again?" He teases her.
"Right now, I'm going to rip your clothes off for you," Amy tells him pulling off her nightgown.
"Alright, just be careful. These are my favorite pair of pajamas," He tells her as she pulls at his buttons.
"I'll be very careful," Amy assures him as she tugs off the rest of his under clothes and they make love. A couple hours later Amy lays on his bare chest blissfully for a few minutes before popping up again.
"Back to business!" Amy says as she bends over to grab her notebook now abandoned on the floor. She hears Sheldon groan and snaps back up worried Sheldon wasn't feeling well. "What's wrong?" She asks concerned.
"You do realize you're naked and bending over right in front of me right?" He says in a deep voice. She looks down and blushes. Amy is so comfortable with Sheldon she had indeed forgotten she was completely bare.
"Oh, my," She laughs. Amy quickly joins Sheldon back under the covers and both sit up against the headboard as Amy writes on one page "Things to look for" and on the other "Things to avoid."
"You don't waste any time," He tells her smiling and she beams at him.
"I just can't wait to finally live with you full time. I want to wake up beside you every morning. Fall asleep next to you every night. I know it's silly, but I miss you every day I don't get to see you," Amy tells him kissing him again softly.
"I miss you too. Believe me I much rather fall asleep listening to you. Than to Leonard's snores. We'll find a place soon enough," He assures her.
"I want to find the perfect place. So let's outline exactly what we are looking for," She says.
"Well… Ground floor apartments are the most likely to be robbed. So I don't want one of those," Sheldon says and Amy adds it to the avoid list. "We want to be close enough to school that we can travel easily."
"Remember I'll be able to have my car with us when we move. So we don't have to be super close. However I agree it would be more convenient to live close by," Amy says adding it to the look for list. "I would prefer hardwood floors. Carpets trap allergens and with our allergies that is important."
"Not to mention you don't know who or what's been traipsing around on it before you," Sheldon agrees. So Amy adds it to the list.
"Should we get a one or two bedroom?" Amy muses.
"That really depends on cost. I would prefer a two bedroom, however those might be kind of spendy in this area," Amy nods in agreement.
"Penny's old apartments were reasonable," Amy says tapping her chin with her pen.
"Oh god, no! That turquoise and pink monstrosity? Also add no pools to the list. I hate the smell of chlorine and I don't want to watch scantily clad people day in and day out," He says adamantly.
"Agreed, add that people might try to visit just for the pool. Then we'd have to go to the pool," Amy says adding no pools to the list.
"It might be easier if we went and looked at places first. Or at least have an idea of what we were looking for," Sheldon says and Amy taps her notebook and pulls out a newspaper from her nightstand and hands it to him.
"I've circled the best sounding ones," Amy tells him eagerly and he shakes out the paper and shakes his head.
"Cozy one bedroom in Glendale. No thank you!" He snorts.
"Why not?" Amy asks curious.
"Cozy means small and Glendale is too far from school and much too close to your mother!" Sheldon tells her. Amy agrees and shows him the next option.
"Look at this one. Spacious apartment, downtown living, right on the bus route. Located in West Hollywood," Amy reads and Sheldon interrupts.
"Pass!" Sheldon says quickly.
"What's wrong this time?" Amy sighs.
"That's a terrible neighborhood we'll be mugged daily," He tells her.
"Fine! Maybe if you see them it'll be different. Tomorrow Leonard and Penny are going with us to apartment hunt," Amy tells him.
"I never agreed to that. Why are they coming?" Sheldon asks. He still hasn't spoken to Leonard about his plans.
"Because out of all of us Penny knows the most about real estate in Southern California," Amy tells him. Plus she wanted another female's opinion.
"Real estate! Please! Penny knows the most about finding the cheapest place," Sheldon tells her haughtily.
"Still a usable skill set," Amy tells him. "You'll see."
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxccccxxxxcxxxxxxxxxxxcccc
"What do you mean we're going apartment hunting with Sheldon and Amy?" Leonard asks Penny as they head to her car.
"Amy asked for my help since I've been through this before," Penny tells him shrugging.
"No, I mean why are they even looking for an apartment?" He asks confused.
"They want to find a place off campus where they can live together. I get it, I mean they're married. They are sick of living in separate dorms," She replies before getting into the car and unlocking the door for Leonard.
"How can they even afford it?" Leonard asks once he's inside.
"Some rich Aunt of Sheldon's gave them a shit ton of money for Christmas. Must be nice! One of my aunts lives in a trailer on my Grandparents farm and the other has seven kids," Penny sighs.
"It would have been nice of him to tell me this," Leonard grumps.
"Aww are you going to miss him?" Penny asks batting her eyelashes.
"No! But a heads up would have been nice," Leonard says crossly as they pull into an apartment complex. They see Sheldon and Amy standing beside their car. Penny walks up to Amy and gives her a hug.
"You ready?" Penny asks her.
"Yes!" Amy says excited as they go to the leasing office. The agent there lets them tour a very spacious clean apartment.
"Seems nice," Amy says looking around.
"Nice? I would kill for a place like this!" Penny tells her. "This is the one. I'm telling you," She says excitedly.
"I would like to be told when my roommate is moving out," Leonard says snarkily but Sheldon is not listening. Instead he is walking around the apartment making loud whooping noises.
"The acoustics in this place are off," He says concerned as he continues to walk around.
"Sheldon the sound in here is fine," Amy tells him exasperated.
"It could mean thin walls," He says looking above his head and as if on cue the above neighbors start making loud thumping noises and their muffled voices are heard laughing. Sheldon points upwards with an I told you so expression.
"Alright maybe the walls are thin. A little walking above isn't that big a …" Amy starts as a large bang issues from the apartment adjacent to them.
"That's it! I've seen enough!" Sheldon says storming out of the apartment.
"Thank you for your time," Amy says apologizing to the agent.
The next five apartments Sheldon dismisses in a similar fashion. One had a funny smell in the hallway, one was painted to aggressively, one was sure to get them robbed.
"It's like you don't want to live together at all," Amy accuses him after the fifth rejected apartment.
"I do! I just don't want to be murdered in my sleep as I sleep next to you," Sheldon tells her seriously.
"Guys… I may have the perfect place," Penny tells them warily. "I found it the last time I was hunting for an apartment. I really wanted it but it was just out of my price range," Penny sighs.
"Do you think it's still available?" Amy asks eagerly.
"We can go check. It's on Los Robles Avenue," Penny grins.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
They pull into a spot on the street and Penny directs them to a large brick building. It is about five stories tall and is sandwiched between two store fronts. It is the nicest looking building they have seen all day. They walk in through the glass front doors into a wide lobby.
"Building looks clean, good neighborhood, close to school. I have a good feeling about this one," Amy says excited.
"The elevator's broken, that's not good," Sheldon says looking at it critically.
"Not for long," says a man in a plaid shirt. "I'm the landlord here, this won't be out of comission for long. I'd never make my tenants walk up five flights of stairs."
"Speaking of tenants are there any apartments available in the building?" Amy asks.
"As a matter of fact there is a two bedroom up on the fourth floor I have been trying to rent out. Come on, I'll show it to you," He says walking towards the staircase.
"You guys college students?" He asks and Amy nods her head.
"We go to Caltech," Amy says politely.
"All of you?" He asks impressed.
"My wife and I do, and my friend Leonard as well. Penny is just a waitress," He says and Penny glares at him.
"So all of you are married. Living together and splitting expenses is a good idea for a bunch of young people," He says.
"No no…" Penny says quickly. "We're not married," Leonard looks at her wounded, she almost seemed offended by the presumption that they were married.
"They're just having a baby together," Sheldon tells the man. "Don't worry though they won't be living with us so you needn't worry about children being underfoot."
"Even if there were children are welcome in the building. Although I don't think there are any right now. The building is full of retirees mostly. You would be our youngest tenants. It is pretty quiet place to live," He shares.
They follow him up four flights as he rounds the corner and takes his ring of keys off his hip. He opens the door and they follow him inside. Amy gasps with delight the place is perfect so far. Hardwood floors, a good sized kitchen, almost everything they had put on their list. They walk around the apartment and Sheldon inspects everything but says nothing, Amy keeps glancing at him nervously hoping that they have finally found their home. Sheldon gives nothing away his face remains impassive and stoic. In the bedroom she thinks she sees him nod while looking out the window. Finally he turns to the landlord and asks about the rent.
"How much is this per month?" He asks and Amy looks at Sheldon hopefully.
"The rent is 1500 a month it might be kind of steep for two college students," He warns but Sheldon just smiles and nods his head.
"We'd be willing to write you a check for a year's worth of rent," Sheldon tells him. Amy squeals with delight and hugs Sheldon tightly. He rolls his eyes at her antics but wraps an arm around her and gives her squeeze.
"Oh, well first there's the application and the credit check. However I'm sure we can work something out. Come with me to my office and we'll see what we can do," He says. Sheldon and Amy go down to the leasing office while Penny and Leonard stay behind in the lobby.
"How did you know about this place?" Leonard asks her curiously.
"I wanted to rent the one bedroom across the hall. It was just out of my price range. Then when I finally got enough money together it was already gone," Penny sighs.
"It is a nice place," Leonard says sighing.
"Yeah, if I can't have it. I guess I'm glad Amy can have it. She's so lucky, married to a guy whose Aunt is loaded," She says offhandedly.
"My Aunt isn't loaded but we could be married too," He reminds her.
"Leonard! I've told you before let me get this kid out first," Penny reminds.
"You know some people think we should get married before," Leonard tells her and she rolls her eyes.
"Stop rushing me!" Penny says stomping away leaving Leonard alone in the lobby. Leonard debates going after her when Sheldon and Amy appear again in the lobby.
"Guess who has a new apartment!" Sheldon says smiling and holding up the keys.
"Good for you!" Leonard snaps, suddenly very jealous of Sheldon at that moment. Leonard stomps away after Penny.
"What's his problem?" Amy asks Sheldon and Sheldon shrugs.
"Don't ask me. He's been so moody lately you'd think he was the one having the baby," Sheldon replies and quickly changes the subject. "I don't know about you, but I think we need to celebrate our new acquisition," He says suggestively.
"Great! I'm sure Penny and Leonard would love to join us," Amy says happily as she continues to look over the paperwork with both their signatures. In her daze she's clearly not catching on to Sheldon's subtle innuendo.
"I most certainly hope they do not join us! As I was attempting to seduce you into continuing what we started this morning," He says with a smirk.
"Really?" She says surprised but beaming.
"It's a good thing you're cute! Come on let's go," Sheldon teases as he takes Amy's hand and quickly leads her out the lobby door.
I'm going to be taking a small break after this chapter. Just through the holidays. I'll start fresh in the New Year.
