Penny watched as first Leonard and then Sheldon barreled through the door and into her apartment. It was clear with one look at them that Leonard had told Sheldon that he would be moving into her apartment by the weekend. She bit her lip, worrying for them both. She knew this was hard on both of them. They had been a surrogate family for a long time, and even though Leonard wanted to move in with her, she knew it was hard for him to hurt Sheldon. It was hard for her to hurt Sheldon, too. She did care about him, and he was always so vulnerable, like a little boy. A mean little boy, sometimes, but a little boy, none the less. Leonard turned, exasperated, to face Sheldon.
"What is your problem, Sheldon? You have an IQ 187! You can't be surprised by the fact that now that Penny and I are engaged we will be living together! And you can't be shocked we'd want to live together without you."
"Leonard, you don't understand! I can't live with Amy! She's my girlfriend. You can't just be roommates with your girlfriend. What if it ruins everything?! And fine! if you want to live with Penny, just fine. I wish you would have been honest with me sooner than this! 8 weeks! The agreement stipulates 8 weeks notification. There are reasons for that Leonard!"
Penny watched Sheldon. Something about him was different this morning- even in his agitated state- and she couldn't quite put her finger on it. There was something in his eyes that just looked… different, more mature maybe? She continued studying him as the two men stared at one another in frustration.
Ignoring Sheldon's outburst, Leonard continued, his voice still raised. "I know you don't like change! And this is a big one for both of us, Sheldon. it isn't easy for me either. But you have to accept that we are not going to live together anymore. We're grown men for crying out loud! We are both in serious relationships. You have to grow up, Sheldon. Amy wants to live with you, has wanted to live with you for years. If you don't want to live with her, fine, but you need to grow a pair and be honest. Though why you wouldn't want to live with her, I can't fathom. You have to start treating Amy right! She deserves more than these little crumbs of affection you drop her. If you're not ready, will you ever be? Do you even really love her?! Maybe you should just let her go, Sheldon. It might be more humane than stringing her along!" Frustrated, Leonard walked over to the refrigerator to get bottled water.
Penny couldn't take her eyes off Sheldon. As Leonard had gone through his monologue, she had watched Sheldon's face contort. He looked to the corner of the room, where the giant painting of her and Amy hung, and his cheeks reddened as his eyes focused on Amy's face. Penny had said it a long while ago, but Amy had gotten underneath Sheldon's thick armor, and nestled her way right into his heart. Sheldon loved Amy, of that Penny was sure. And even the way he was gazing at her picture, with that slight heat in his eyes screamed "love". Or… was it more?… And watching him, Penny suddenly had an epiphany.
Gasping, she dropped her mug. It banged against the ground, pouring the little coffee that was left in the mug onto the floor. Startled Sheldon looked up just in time to see her cover her mouth with shock and point wildly at him.
"You had sex! You and Amy! You had sex, didn't you?! Don't try to hide it. None of this is about Leonard moving in with me. This is about you and Amy! You had sex and now you're freaking out! Admit it!"
Sheldon's eyes widened to the size of saucers, and to cover his reaction, he dropped his gaze to the floor, but there was no hiding the deep, scarlet blush that spread swiftly over his neck and cheeks. He shook his head vehemently, trying to deny her words. He found he was so embarrassed that he was at a complete loss for words. Leonard stared at them both, his gaze flicking from his fiancée to his best friend in astonishment.
"Penny, don't be ridiculous. Of course, Sheldon and Amy didn't have sex," Leonard said this aloud, but there was doubt in his tone. Was it even possible?
"Yes, Leonard, they did. Didn't you, Sheldon? Bernadette and I both noticed those glances and touches you and Amy were exchanging yesterday, all throughout the party. We wondered what was going on! Oh MY GOD! You had sex just before me and Leonard came to tell you about the engagement! Holy crap on a cracker! That's why you didn't answer and why you didn't come out into the living room! That's why you rushed us out of the room and paid for the party! OH MY GOD. Leonard! We walked in on them post-coitus!"
"NO!" Sheldon looked right at her, shaking his head and moving his hands wildly. "No, you did NOT walk in on us post-coitus. You interrupted us, that's what you did! We didn't…." Sheldon's voice dropped suddenly and he bashfully looked at his shoes again, "make-love…. until last night!" Realizing that he had outed himself, Sheldon suddenly turned to the door, afraid to see their reactions.
Leonard stood there, staring at his friend's back. The silence in the room was intense. Penny and Leonard made eye contact and Leonard lifted his hands and mouthed "What do we do now?" to Penny. She shook her head, and turning toward Sheldon, she reached out and touched his shoulder.
"Sheldon, we think this is great. There's no reason to be embarrassed. Do you want to talk about it? I can't believe Amy didn't tell me!" Turning to his friends, Sheldon forced himself to look at them. Both seemed calm, and though he braced himself for their teasing, none came.
Wringing his hands, he shuffled his weight from leg to leg. "She, um, we… it just happened last night. We... fell asleep after. She wasn't awake yet when Leonard came home this morning. I had just gotten up to make tea for her. She likes tea in the morning." The last sentence was said matter-of-factly, as though every one ought to know this about Amy. Walking over to the couch, Sheldon sat down. He looked at his hands, as he pressed his palms together.
"Are you ok, buddy?" Leonard asked gently. "Was it…? Did everything…? Are you ok with it?"
"Yes, Leonard. It was… more than ok. It was.. wonderful. I.. We… both, and it was, and she was… Yes, I'm ok with it."
"That's great Sheldon!" Penny began. "So, if you were able to take it to the next level, per se, why wouldn't you want to live with Amy? I mean, she has no place to go right now, since her apartment was destroyed, and Leonard is going to move in here… Doesn't Amy make the logical choice?"
"Of course she does, Penny! But I don't want Amy to think that I'm only asking her to live with me because I have no other choice. I don't want her to think that since Leonard is leaving and she has no other place to go, that's it's just, hey… I guess I have a spare room. I don't want to be roommates with Amy. I don't want her to take Leonard's bed anymore. … I… want her to stay in mine. And, I want her to know I'm ready for more, not because I'm being forced, but because…. I want more."
"Oh Sheldon! That's the most romantic thing I've ever heard you say." Penny gushed.
"Yeah, buddy, that's really sweet. But why don't you just tell Amy that?"
"It's more complicated than that Leonard. My mother would kill me if I lived … in sin…. with Amy. She might never forgive me. And I, I want to do right by Amy. Do you both remember when my mother came to visit a couple of months ago?" Penny and Leonard looked at each, not understanding why Sheldon was suddenly bringing up his mother's last visit, but they returned their attention to Sheldon and nodded, Penny sitting on the chair, waiting for him to continue. Sheldon sat back further into the couch. He looked up, meeting each of their eyes. "I had asked her to bring something with her. So she did. She brought my Meemaw's engagement ring from Pop-Pop. I want to ask Amy to marry me."
Sheldon became silent, his gaze returning to his hands. That thought was hanging in the air around them for beat before Penny jumped up from her chair, screaming, "WHAT?! Leonard! Are you hearing this? Can you believe this!"
Penny was shaking Leonard in her glee. Leonard looked dazed and kept staring at Sheldon, with his mouth hanging open. "What? You're going to…what? Really? … What?!"
"Yes, I'm going to ask Amy to marry me." Sheldon stood, nodding, almost shocked at his own statement. This was the first time he had said the words aloud, and he was startled at how badly he wanted to run across the hall and take Amy into his arms and just blurt out his question and get her answer. A huge smile broke out over his face. "Yes, I'm going to ask Amy to be my wife. I'm going to ask her right now!" He moved to leave.
"Wait, buddy? Right now? Don't you want to plan something romantic or something?"
Sheldon stopped and turned back around to his friends. "I don't know. I thought of a few things, but I don't know. Amy and I aren't hippies, Leonard! We're scientists. We're practical people. We don't need romance, do we?"
"I don't know, Sheldon. We girls like romance. A plan with something romantic tells a good story. And I know Amy would like something romantic. You might not be romantic, Sheldon, but Amy is. And I know she'd appreciate it if you put some thought into something special, for both of you." Penny said.
"Oh. Well, I guess your hypothesis is logical. Well, I had better think it over then."
"Buddy, I'm so happy for you," Leonard said.
"Thank you, Leonard. I'm happy for both of you, too. I had better get back to Amy. I've been here a while." Sheldon left his friends with a smile on his face. As the door shut, Penny grabbed her phone and wasting no time, excitedly texted her two best friends. Sheldon was a changed man, and she couldn't imagine how happy Amy must be. Girl's night was suddenly at the top of her agenda.