A/N: Hello, it's been a while! I've got a word for you: synesthesia. Go figure.

"So you're all set?" Amy asked the person in her passenger seat.

"Explain to me again why can't I just move in with you?" Sam replied.

She sighed and just ignored the question. She's about to pull up in her parent's place. When the car was parked perfectly she turned back to him again, "Are you ready to see my parents?"

"I miss Larry and Mrs. Fowler. I can't believe I still call her Mrs. Fowler. At least Doe let me call her by her first name, the lady even let me call her Aunt Doe, but Mrs. Fowl-"

Sam shut up when he saw the look on Amy's face. She started to reach for the flowers and fruit baskets from the backseat.

"Come on, your father practically wants to adopt me."

"Then maybe you should call Mrs. Fowler 'Mom'," Amy retorted.

Sam stilled for a moment, then said, "No, that's taking it too far. Fine, I'll stick with Mrs. Fowler. But I'll call Larry, Larry. Or Dad. Whatever."

She opened her car door and smiled automatically at the sight of her parents. Sam quickly came around and stood beside her, taking her hand.

She kinda hated how all this makes her feel because she really missed it - home.

A broad stroke of magenta - that's the color of Mrs. Fowler's voice. And Larry, his has always been the clear skies, a smear of sky blue.

"Sam," Amy tapped his hand. "Mom's asking about your CalTech move." Amy's canary yellow, bleeding from top to bottom. Like a waterfall.

"I'm sorry," he said, wiping an imaginary stain on his mouth with his napkin. He closed his eyes for a moment, carefully putting the napkin back on his lap. He then proceeded to explain the work that he'll be doing with their daughter.

"The study has to do with memories - checking to see if we can manipulate memories using Optogenetics. This research will help us further understand the brain and hopefully treat brain disorders."

Mrs. Fowler's verbal nods leave blots in front of his eyes. Blots of magenta mixed with orange, like the skies during sunrise, warming him up. That's his voice interacting with her.

Just then a splash of sky blue, "That's very interesting. But what I'm happier about is that I get to have both of you again back here. Welcome back, Sam. I'm so happy to have my Princess and my Knight back again."

"Thank you, Larry."

And just like that, Sam's endless summer came around once more.

"I thought you quit."

Sam responded with a noncommittal shrug.

Amy watched him as he puffed a thick cloud of smoke. When he took another drag, she immediately moved away. This quick trip to the supermarket to buy everything her mother 'forgot' is just so reminiscent of their younger days.

"You know how she is," she started to reason with him.

Sam didn't say anything. He's about to light another stick when she grabbed his hand.

"Sam, please. It's going to be okay. Maybe she's still in shock. It's been years and years, and for you to come back now… She's still trying to wrap her head around it."

"We're no longer kids, Amy. Why can't we be around for anything she has to say, it's about me…about us, anyway."

Amy gripped the shopping cart's handle once again. She's reminded why she didn't want to come home for a long time, why she ran away so long ago. Harvard was just really a convenient excuse.

"We're not kids anymore," Sam repeated before taking the shopping cart away from her. He started to roll it towards her car.

They rounded to get inside after loading everything in the trunk. When Sam took the driver's seat, Amy knew it's not going to be a silent drive home.

"Has he been here before?"

Amy immediately realized they're not talking about her family anymore, "No."

"Has he ever met them?"

Well, not entirely about her family anyway, "Just Mom."

When he didn't respond she knew he's waiting for her to tell him more.

"It was over Skype and we were just trying to perpetuate a ruse. It was years ago, I just met him and his friends."

She heard him snicker.

"What?"

He snuck a glance at her, "It was that bad, huh? Even then?"

She briefly met his eyes in the mirror and he started to laugh.

"Stop it," Amy said, starting to get annoyed.

He shook his head in disbelief, "Come on, you never cared about that agreement with your Mother.

For sure Larry never bothered you about it and he may even have offered to buy that same grill for you.

You went to those once-a-year dates because it's one of the things that guarantees Mrs. Fowler's disappointments and that somehow fuels the little rebel in you."

She remained silent while he went on.

"God, Sheldon must have been scared out of his mind, you asking him to do that for you that early on."

"Well, he did it."

"As you expected he'd do. What you didn't expect was the way you fell for him," Sam declared, catching her eyes in the mirror.

"I didn't fall for him," she said defiantly.

"What, you just loved him too soon?"

Amy really hated the fact that he knows her better than she knows herself. She didn't even have to reply.

"OH. MY. GOD. Our princess, you loved him too soon!" He faked distress and then started laughing again.

"Stop, or I swear I'll swerve us both to our early deaths."

"And here you are, looking at me, making me feel like I'm the one who's wrecked ever since you saw me again."

"That's not true."

"That's how I feel."

"I'm sorry," she said, unable to look at him.

He took a moment to check the road before asking her again, "So are you ready to forget him?"

To that, Amy replied, "I don't think I can."

They drove in silence all the way home after that.

Amy moved deeper into his space, placing her left hand on the upper back of his right shoulder. She then took his left hand in hers and extended them sideways. The dance coach gave the signal and each couple on the floor began to move. Sheldon made them miss the first step though.

"You gotta put your right arm around my back so we can take the step together, you start on your left foot," Amy whispered as near as she could to his ears. Their height difference is so glaring she had to tiptoe making them miss the next step, too. But it could just be his distracting smell of baby powder.

"I know that," Sheldon answered, as he placed his right arm in position on her back. They started to move and follow the steps and soon just became part of the group waltzing around the room.

To anyone else watching, Sheldon has the grace of an oak tree. But in Amy's eyes, he moves like a Japanese cherry tree in a breezy springtime.

She can't help but be affected every time he takes her hand and has to pull her close. She seriously doubted that he couldn't hear her heart flutter in her chest when she twirls and he watches her like she's all and everything there is. That perfect dip was just a delightful bonus.

She swore it was when she heard the faint voice of the Dance Coach say 'Switch!' that her bubble shattered. Sheldon broke away from the circle to stand at the sidelines leaving a bewildered young woman without a partner and utterly embarrassed to approach the next man. She quickly apologized before leaving the floor herself.

"I'm sure their hands are clean Sheldon," she said in resignation. "And I did tell you to wear gloves."

"Well, I don't want to dance anymore," he said dismissively.

"Fine", she said, starting to head out.

"I thought we danced ChaCha when we went out with Penny and Bernadette," he said following behind her.

"You know we're lucky this place is still here. And we can't control what's on their program. Also, I don't remember much from that night."

"Hm, you were so drunk you kept on kissing people," he mumbled.

"What?"

"My journal says you kissed Penny. And when I brought you home, you kissed me, too."

"Oh… yeah… that."

"Yes, that."

"As I've said, I don't remember."

"What a convenient excuse."

She couldn't understand the petulance in his voice so she turned around and said, "Look you may not be having the best day, but it's not fair to take whatever it is out on me. Either you tell me what's wrong or deal with it on your own, silently."

He only took a moment to respond, "I'm not the dancing type."

Amy nodded her head in agreement.

"I avoid any kind of physical contact."

"You made that clear," she confirmed.

"Hugging, hand holding... kissing - I'm not for any of those."

"I know, you've repeatedly told me."

"Then why?"

"Why what?"

"My journal said," he paused to look away for a moment before setting his eyes on her, "I record everything that happens to me in my journal. Everything - what I did, all my thoughts, and how I felt about them.

When I read the entries to when you and I first met, to when we're doing these things together for the very first time, I thought somebody must've stolen my body and then wrote all those things down because there's no way I could've done them or felt them. And now I don't understand," he trailed brokenly.

What followed is an interlude of silence because neither knew what to say.

They walked out and reached her car. When they're safely inside, Amy asked him to look at her. But Sheldon just kept looking away.

"We could stop doing this, you know?" She didn't know what else to do, so she just started talking. "Forcing your memories to come back may not be helpful. Even doing things over again might not help juggle your mind and make you remember. By the way, things are going, I'd say these things are just causing you distress. Don't you think it's only logical for us to st-"

"No!"

She was surprised by his impassioned response, but he had to hear what she had to say, "Sheldon, you didn't even let me finish."

"So that you can repeat your horrible suggestion?"

Sheldon couldn't believe what he's hearing. What kind of scientist quits in the middle of an experiment? Granted he called this in via favor but just the same, Amy couldn't be serious.

Now he sees her tap the steering wheel while taking a deep breath. And he felt himself bracing for what she would say next.

"All I'm saying is maybe you got to let this go."

"I never let go of anything!" He could hear himself almost shouting now. If she only knows - well she couldn't have known because he's not told anybody about it - but if she only knows how extremely difficult it is for him to let anything go! Somewhere in Southern California is a 10ftx15ft storage room that proves it. Oh, he was tempted, so tempted to show her. But he tried to hold on to what little reason was left in him.

Just then he felt her taking his hands, which made him look at her, "Well maybe you can start now, with this. With me."

The throbbing in his head turned full force. He never had to rack his brain as hard as he did at that moment. He realized it's so hard to think when your mind is just full of three words - 'No', 'Can't', 'Never'.

He got to think of something, anything because what she's suggesting is just unbearable.

'That's it!'

He can't believe he hadn't thought of it before! He grabbed her hands and said, "We just got to do these things more often!"

Amy looked at him, slack-jawed. Didn't he understand anything she said at all?

His eyes are wide, his joy palpable, "Right now, we only get to be together once a week. I rarely see you at the University. Maybe if I can meet you every Thursday, and then you come visit me every weekend, and we have lunch on weekdays, we'll have different results!"

He let go of her hands and fished his iPad out of his messenger bag. She saw him launch his Calendar.

"Sheldon, wait!" she had to find a way to stop his plans fast. "I can't. I can't do that with you."

"But why?" His face is that of an aeronaut who's been told his balloon will never rise.

It was Amy's turn to pause. Spending more time with him is counterintuitive because she's trying to stay away. She thought that the frustration of not getting his desired result will make him stop, but it only seems to fuel his drive.

Also, seeing a man of science in his dogged pursuit of regaining his lost memories is turning her on. Amy nearly slapped herself when she caught herself with that thought, 'Fowler, focus!'

She cleared her throat and started, "Hasn't it occurred to you that I may have other plans?"

"Oh I'm sorry," he looked genuinely sorry. "Do you have any other plans?"

Amy began to list all the things that are keeping her busy, while Sheldon relentlessly fend them off one by one-

"In fact, yes. As you know, we're both busy at work, I got my collaborative neurobiological research-"

"Goofing off-"

"I'm getting back to quilting-"

"We could do parallel play-"

"And Sam's sorta, kinda living with me."

"What?"

"Well he's around all the time, I wonder why he ever got his apartment."

"But Amy, that's not right. You're a single woman, and he's a single man. Aren't you afraid that your neighbors might talk?"

It's funny that he thinks that when he broke into her apartment and slept on her bed just a few weeks ago.

"Sam's practically family-"

"Well, that settles it."

"Yes, that settles it... Wait, what do you mean that settles it?"

"I'll send you the revised schedule tonight."

Amy couldn't figure out how that conversation had gone so wrong. Oh, brother.

A/N: Thank you for making it here. I appreciate your time and I ask for your patience as I slowly update this story. I hope y'all stay around 'til the end. ShAmy forever! Tell me how this chapter made you feel!

P.s. To all our Filipino mutuals: September na, kantahin ko na ba? (Queue Jose Mari Chan's Christmas in our Hearts) (jk) Maraming salamat po.