Hi, lovely readers! :)

I didn't think this day would come, but, finally, here it is: The sequel story to 'Mighty Little Woman'. I never meant to write it, but you guys persuaded me, haha. Sorry, it took such a long time.

I think it will be a little different than expected (also much shorter), but I hope you'll enjoy it anyway. This will be solely in Leonard's POV... haven't done that before, either, haha.

Little reminder: At the end of Mighty Little Woman, Sheldon proposed to Amy. She accepted and they were planning their future in Pasadena. Sheldon told her he got into a fight over apartment 4A at Los Robles Avenue with another physicist, but in the end he won. ;) Happy reading!

Chapter 1:

Leonard Hofstadter was completely okay with the way things panned out.

He liked his new apartment. The upmost fifth floor apartments were smaller than the rest, but that worked just well for him. Had he gotten the apartment one floor down, he most likely would've had to take a roommate to cover the rent.

Leonard wasn't particularly good with people so he should be lucky to have his home to himself now.

He was rummaging in his bag for the keys to the building after he just returned from a stroll through town. He had tried – unsuccessfully – to chat up women at some bars, but ended up only staring at them from afar and never even got past the stage of planning out his pick-up line in his head.

They probably thought I'm just some creep… or rather, they didn't even notice me in the first place, Leonard thought, sighing dejectedly.

He had only been in Pasadena for a few months – he moved here from New Jersey – but he was already feeling lonely in this new town.

Once more, Leonard tried to convince himself that it was a good thing that he didn't get the fourth floor apartment. Solitude suits me better. I wouldn't have found a roommate that would want to stay with me anyway. I'm just too boring. Leonard turned the key to unlock the entrance door. It's fine. I came here to work in peace, away from mother. Well… that's what I'm going to do. I'm a lone wolf-

"Curses!"

Startled, Leonard stood still as he heard someone swear… or rather pretend to swear, upon entering the lobby of 2311 Los Robles Avenue.

A tall, lean man with dark hair struggled under the weight of two moving boxes while simultaneously trying to reach the button to call the elevator.

After Leonard recovered from the shock that his thoughts got disrupted he quickly stepped towards the man to lend a hand. "Here, let me help you." he said and pressed the button for him.

"Thank you." the man wheezed. His arms were trembling so he supported the boxes against the door of the elevator. His face was turned away from Leonard and even now that he had approached him, he didn't bother turning around. Leonard arched an eyebrow and pushed his glasses up his nose.

The elevator dinged and the door opened, predictably causing the man to lose balance as the weight of the boxes solely depended on his own strength again. He stumbled forward and Leonard quickly followed to make sure that the man didn't hurt himself. "Which floor?" Leonard asked.

"Fourth." the man answered, breathing harshly.

Leonard raised his eyebrows. Oh… can it be that… no, what are the odds? "Why don't you set the boxes on the ground for a moment?" Leonard wondered aloud instead.

"Because then… I w-would need much more… strength to… to pick them back up again. It's basic physics." the man said, managing to sound condescending even in his breathless state.

Leonard thought back to the email war he had on CalTech's intranet where he found the ad for this apartment complex. It was conveniently close to the university and comparably cheap, so Leonard figured he would end up fighting for it. The other interested person was a physicist just like him and he seemed ruthless in his arguments.

Leonard was instantly annoyed by him and swore to himself that he wouldn't back down. But then the other physicist mentioned how he had planned all this for his girlfriend and, suddenly, Leonard noticed that he was getting weak.

Well, what could he say, he was a romantic at heart. A hopeless romantic.

So he gave the place up.

Could that be him? Leonard wasn't sure what to think of this situation he suddenly found himself in. If it really was him, should he be angry or resentful towards that man? No, Leonard decided stubbornly; like most of the times his good will was winning. He just told himself that he was completely fine with his apartment. There was no need to be angry.

To prove to himself what a good person he was, he spoke to the mysterious man again, "At least let me take one of the boxes. I will set it down at your door."

The man was silent for a moment but exhaustion was obviously helping his decision. "Alright." he said and bent down a little so Leonard could reach the upper moving box. "Easy… careful…"

"Uff!" made Leonard as the weight dragged his shoulders down. "What do you got in there? Rocks?"

"Books, mostly… not that it's any of your business. But you offered to help, so I guess this grants you the knowledge of what it is that you're carrying."

Leonard recovered from the struggle of keeping himself upright and managed to look straight again. Now with the second moving box out of the way, he was finally able to look into the stranger's face.

He had striking blue eyes that gleamed with intelligence, but the neutral, indifferent look gave absolutely nothing of his nature away. Or was that his nature? Indifference?

The stranger also sized up Leonard; he could tell by the way his eyes cast quickly up and down. He didn't seem impressed. Well, if Leonard was honest with himself, he wouldn't be, either. But then the man surprised him:

"Thank you for offering your help despite your less than imposing physique. You seem to be a polite, young man."

Leonard's bushy eyebrows flew up once more. Was that a compliment or an insult? Also, who is he calling a young man? He doesn't seem to be much older than me. "Uh, no problem." said Leonard.

The two men stood side by side, wondering how a ride four floors up could possibly take so long. Nervously, Leonard tried to fill the awkward silence. "So… Superman, huh?"

The taller man scrunched up his brows in confusion, but then briefly looked down to his blue shirt with the superhero's emblem peaking out behind the moving box in his hands. "Oh, yeah… well, unfortunately it didn't help me to achieve super-strength."

Leonard nodded in understanding and offered a slight smile upon the man's little joke. Then, finally, the doors opened and they stepped out onto the fourth floor landing.

They had barely made a turn for the apartment door – the moment Leonard was waiting for to find out if the man really was who Leonard thought he was – when a female voice called out:

"Sheldon?"

The man turned towards his left, but maybe that was only because the voice was coming from this side of the stairs.

A woman with equally dark-brown hair was hurrying back up the stairs when she obviously heard the elevator doors open. She frowned in concern behind her red-rimmed spectacles as she saw the man adjusting the moving box in his arms.

"I told you to wait for me. These books are heavy; we could've carried them together." she said.

"Don't worry, Amy, it was no big deal." the man, Sheldon, boasted. But then Leonard stepped out from behind him.

The woman's green eyes sparkled delightfully and she crossed her arms in jest. "Ah, I see you got help."

"I was perfectly capable of carrying both boxes myself, but he insisted." Sheldon claimed and then nodded dismissively at Leonard who frowned.

The woman smiled brilliantly at Leonard and offered to take the box from his arms. "What my fiancé has been meaning to say is 'thank you for your help, Mr…'"

"Leonard." he said quickly. "My name is Leonard and it's no problem." he assured, keeping hold of the heavy box so the petite woman didn't have to.

"I did say thank you." Sheldon argued childishly.

She ignored him with a good-natured roll of her eyes and motioned to the floor in front of apartment 4A. "You can just set the box down here."

So, it is him, Leonard realized.

Both men were relieving themselves from their heavy load, straightening up and Sheldon then fished for the keys in his pocket.

Leonard and the woman's eyes met once more. He couldn't help but notice how unobtrusively pretty she was. Maybe it was just because he felt so alone and was jealous of the man's luck to have someone by his side. Maybe it was also the fact that she had that unmistakable glow around her of someone who was utterly happy and content.

He remembered the exchange with the then unknown physicist again. He was going to propose and then move here with his girlfriend to start their new life. Well, obviously she had accepted his proposal and was now going around, sporting that ridiculous newly-engaged grin.

"I'm Amy and this is my fiancé, Sheldon." she introduced happily and Sheldon gave a curt, polite nod upon opening the door to their apartment.

It could've been my apartment, Leonard caught himself thinking. But he swallowed that small portion of pride and smiled back. "Hi. I, uhm… I just moved here myself a few months ago. In fact, I think we actually talked anonymously before. I wanted to rent this particular apartment, too."

Sheldon narrowed his eyes. "You?" he asked.

Leonard swallowed nervously. "Yeah."

"Oh." Amy's face fell genuinely shocked. "I'm sorry. Now I feel somewhat bad that we…"

Leonard made a motion with his hand. "There's no need to feel bad." he assured and then stuffed his empty fists into the pockets of his cargo-pants. "The place would've been too big for me anyway. It suits you two better." Sheepishly, Leonard looked towards the ground, kicking a non-existent pebble away. "I got the apartment above you. 5A. It's smaller."

After a beat of uncomfortable silence, Amy spoke up again. She had stepped a bit closer to Leonard and looked at him with that brilliant, disarming smile. "Then the least we can do is invite you over once we're settled in."

"What?" Sheldon exclaimed in shock.

"Oh, you really don't have to-" Leonard started quickly.

"We insist."

"Do we?" Sheldon piped up again but got dismissed.

"Yes." Amy said. "You did help us move. It is what people do, right? Invite the helpers over for dinner?"

She seemed unsure. Leonard was, too. "I carried one box." he said, smiling slightly.

"I know…" Amy said pensively while fiddling with her hands. Leonard did that, too, when he was nervous. He was beginning to like her. "Well, I guess, it's just a desperate attempt to get to know a few people here." she said. "We moved here from Texas and don't know anyone."

"I don't need to know anyone but you." Sheldon chimed in once again, nudging Amy a bit to get her to retreat into the apartment with him. But she was having none of it.

"I-I'm originally from New Jersey, so… I don't know many people here, either." Leonard admitted shyly. "No one, to be honest."

Amy smiled. "Well, then that settles it, right? We're neighbors now. We can get to know each other."

A little nervous, Leonard's eyes flickered over to Sheldon who stood in the doorway with his arms crossed, not pleased at all. "I mean… if, if it's really no problem for you guys? I don't want to intrude."

Amy glanced up at her fiancé. She wasn't talking. He wasn't, either, but still Leonard could see that they were having a conversation. They seemed young – early twenties maybe, like him – but they must've known each other for a long time already. High school sweethearts maybe?

Finally, Sheldon rolled his eyes. "Fine." he relented and shook his head at her while a never before seen smile played around the edges of his mouth. "The things I do for you, woman." he told her playfully and she grinned.

Leonard blushed in embarrassment and stroked the back of his neck. Even though he only knew him since today, Leonard had a feeling that being arrogant and indifferent came way more natural to Sheldon than being open and welcoming. I bet he can be a very difficult person to be around, he mused. Well, I'm used to that.

"Okay… so… welcome to the building." Leonard said.

"Thank you." answered Amy. "We'll let you know when we're ready to invite guests."

"I'm looking forward to it." Leonard smiled.

Everyone said their goodbyes and the couple pushed the moving boxes into their apartment and closed the door. Leonard turned and decided to walk the rest up to his floor, reflecting on this turn of events. Those two were the first people he met in this building that weren't old, unable to speak the English language or somewhat intimidating, cross-dressing policemen.

I guess they're nice, thought Leonard. Maybe I could befriend them, be the third wheel to their happiness. At least it's better than being alone.

A week later Leonard was nervously clenching his hands together as he stood in front of apartment 4A again. He winced as he noticed that his fist obviously didn't do much good for the poor flowers in his hand. He just wanted to show himself thankful for the invite so he brought a small bouquet for Amy.

Leonard hadn't seen the couple again over the week. Even the invitation for dinner was only slipped in under his door, although he was home. As Leonard had regarded the card in his hands and noticed the formal greeting and the meticulous handwriting, he guessed that this must've been Sheldon's doing. That was probably also why he didn't knock.

What is his problem with me, Leonard wondered. I didn't do anything except help him carry a box.

Remembering Sheldon's arrogant glance in the elevator only caused Leonard to get more nervous. He shook his head, pushing all of his thoughts aside and quickly knocked on the door before he could make up his mind and flee.

"Oh. Sheldon, could you open the door, please? I'm kinda busy right now." Leonard heard Amy's voice calling from the inside.

His nervousness spiked and he gulped just as the door opened and Sheldon's full six feet frame filled the doorway. He stared down at him with a condemnatory glare before he breathed through and reluctantly stepped aside to open the door wider. "Come in." he said.

"T-Thank you." Leonard couldn't help but stutter.

As he stepped forward he took in his surroundings. Sheldon and Amy were obviously not fully settled in yet, so the living room seemed a little sparse. In the center stood a brown leather couch – not unlike the one Leonard owned himself – and a glass coffee table, facing the TV at the wall. There was also a gaming system, a giant harp on one side of the TV and a desk and laptop on the other side.

The opposite wall was filled with half-empty book shelves, still waiting to be filled and one step above ground-level there was a wooden dining table by the windows, already set for three people.

There also was a hallway, probably leading to the bath- and bedroom next to the small kitchenette where Leonard spotted Amy, wiping her hands on a towel. But before he could greet her, he flinched as his gaze met Sheldon's again who had crossed his arms tightly and threw a questioning look at his bouquet of flowers.

"What are these for?" he asked.

"O-Oh, they're for Amy." Leonard rambled quickly.

Said woman finally came out of the kitchen with a smile. "Really? Oh, Leonard, you didn't have to."

Blushing, Leonard handed over the flowers. "It's okay. I'm your guest and I'm happy to be here." he said, head bowed down shyly.

"Well, thank you. And welcome, I guess." Amy said, motioning around. "It's not as neat yet as Sheldon likes it to be to greet guests, but I assured him that you don't mind, do you?"

"Oh, no. No, it's fine. It's… it's very lovely what you've done with the place."

"Jealous?" Sheldon quipped with raised eyebrows which had Leonard flustered and at a loss for words for a moment. But Amy saved him.

"Sheldon, that's one of those things we've talked about." she said quietly to her fiancé, stepping closer to lay one hand upon his arm. "Be nice."

Leonard watched how Sheldon's folded arms loosened a bit and finally, with a gaze still watchful and challenging, he uncrossed his arms and nodded at her.

"I'm sorry. I forgot my good manners." he said to Leonard and motioned for the dining table in the corner of the room while Amy went into the kitchen again to find a vase for the flowers. "I was raised to be accommodating when one invites guests into their home even though I'm not a fan of large gatherings." Sheldon continued.

"We're three people, Sheldon. This can hardly be qualified as a gathering at all. Relax!" Amy called from the kitchen, making her fiancé grumble something under his breath.

Leonard sat down. Sheldon remained standing as he focused intently on making sure that all forks and knives were placed exactly straight and at the same distance from each other and from the plate. "Uhm, you… you mentioned that you guys were born in Texas, am I right?" Leonard asked, awkwardly picking up the loose thread of conversation.

Sheldon abandoned his fork-straightening and looked at him. "Wrong. Amy mentioned that we moved here from Texas and whereas I was indeed born and raised in the Lone Star State, Amy had only moved there in her childhood. She was actually born in California."

"Mhm." Amy agreed, carrying a casserole of Lasagna over. "Not so far from here in fact." Sheldon was helping her setting the hot dish to the center of the table and they all moved to sit down. "Funny how life pans out sometimes." she said. "I'd never thought that I would ever return to the state where I was born. It never felt like home to me before."

At that Amy sent a smile to her right where Sheldon was sitting and he responded with an expression so tender and warm that Leonard had to avert his eyes, feeling like he was spying on an intimate moment. "S-So…" he distracted them quickly as they were digging into their food. "That means you must've known each other for a long time already?"

There was another of those reminiscing looks, then Amy started talking. "Yes. Sheldon and I met when we were about ten years old and became friends almost instantly. Well, after a phase of bickering and competing with each other." she added, upon Sheldon's single raised eyebrow. "But after that we were inseparable and years later in college we slowly noticed… that there were... stronger feelings involved than just friendship."

They both blushed. Leonard really couldn't decide if he should throw up from all this sickening sweetness or swoon over a love story that he wished to have for himself. He took another bite of the tasty lasagna and focused on sounding humorously and not disheartened. "So, you were like those typical teenage lovers that were together through all of high school and college?"

Sheldon snorted dryly and Amy chuckled. "Typical? Not really, no." she said and continued to explain how she was actually friends with Sheldon's twin sister, Missy, first and only met Sheldon through a play-date, because at that time he already was in high school. Amy told Leonard how, even though she was soon placed in an advanced class and went to high school much earlier than most teenagers, she was still always one step behind Sheldon, who eventually moved to Germany for his graduate college studies and returned home with two doctorates by the age of sixteen and a teaching job at Harvard where Amy was still studying at that time.

Leonard's jaw dropped further and further as he listened; the lasagna was getting cold. Those two are some real, freaking geniuses, he thought equally impressed and intimidated.

"Wow, that's amazing." he said to them. "CalTech must be glad to have you."

"Oh, they are." said Sheldon haughtily without really looking at Leonard. "The president of the university begged me to work for them for years."

Amy just smiled sheepishly and Leonard realized what an oddly perfect couple they made. They both seemed brilliant, but in contrast to Sheldon's confidence and cold arrogance, Amy was warm and welcoming, yet a little shy.

The flatware was scraping against the plates as the room fell silent. Leonard and Amy shifted uncomfortably while Sheldon didn't seem to mind the quietness. "Uhm, so… did you already plan your wedding?" Leonard asked with a nod to Amy's beautiful engagement ring."Sorry, if I'm prying…" he added.

"No, it's okay." Amy said quickly. She exchanged a look with Sheldon, who indicated with a tiny nod of his head that he didn't mind her continuing. "Uhm, we decided that we don't want to rush into marriage. We're still young and we wanted to settle in here first, maybe… find some friends." she bowed her head at that. "And then we could decide where we want to hold the wedding."

"Our families are both in Texas, so we'll probably have the wedding there. We're usually not that quick or easy with making friends." Sheldon added unconcerned.

Amy looked as if she was embarrassed. "Right. Yes… so probably back home in Texas." she mumbled.

Leonard felt some tension there or at least some private business that he had no right to get into now. He tilted his head downwards and concentrated on cleaning the last bits of lasagna from his plate. It was quiet again. "The lasagna is delicious, Amy." he said after clearing his throat.

She smiled quickly. "Thanks. It's his Meemaw's recipe." Amy nodded at Sheldon.

"I'm still baffled that she gave you access to her cooking secrets. Dad never got the ingredients for her famous brisket." said Sheldon.

"That's because when we left, she told me that 'the way to a man's heart is through his stomach.'" Amy recited, giving an impression of what Leonard assumed must be an old lady with a thick Texan accent. Probably Sheldon's grandmother.

Leonard smiled, but his voice couldn't hide his sadness. "It's nice that you guys are so close to each other's families. My family was never one to welcome strangers. Especially not my mother. Even I felt like a stranger to her my whole life." Leonard bit his tongue as he realized that he had shared way more than he intended to.

Oh, nice going, Hofstadter, he scolded himself. Talking about your disappointing mother on the first day you're invited over. Now they'll realize how pathetic you are.

Dreading, Leonard dared to look up, finding that Sheldon was still disinterested and that Amy looked at him with compassion but not a hint of pity; a look that he was normally very familiar with.

"Oh, you have no idea. My mother was horrible to Sheldon when we first met." Amy said and suddenly the two of them found themselves in a lengthy, passionate conversation about overbearing/cold-hearted mothers and how they could ruin young children's lives.

They were still talking while Sheldon put away the plates and leftovers, cleaned in the kitchen and sat back down with a bored frown and crossed arms.

"So, I guess in a way I came here to impress her. Because CalTech is such a prestigious university, but I just know that nothing will ever be enough for her anyway, so at least now I'm far away from Beverly." Leonard exclaimed eventually and then slumped back in his chair, exhausted from talking.

"I understand that." said Amy. "My mother tried to mold me into someone I was not since I was little, but only when I met Sheldon I understood who I really wanted to be." She pointed at her chest, straightening up. The mention of her fiancé prompted her to look at him. "Oh, I'm sorry, Sheldon. We left you completely out of the conversation."

Leonard shrank into his chair as Sheldon's sharp gaze wandered over to him. "No, it's fine." he said dismissively, but clearly more than a little upset. "You both had controlling mothers. People naturally bond over things they have in common."

"We should… we should talk about something that concerns you, too." said Amy conciliatory, thinking for a moment. "Work, for example. Next Monday we're all going to start working at the same university." she looked at Leonard. "Any tips? What's it like there?"

"Uhh…" Leonard uncomfortably scratched his neck as he found himself at the center of attention. "It's pretty normal. Just like any other university, I guess. The dean of the physics department, Dr. Gabelhauser, is a rather stern man. I'd rather not mess with him if I were you." he said to Sheldon who just rolled his eyes.

"I have read about him. Less than impressive curriculum if you ask me. I bet he only got to his position because he had friends in even higher places." Sheldon scoffed disapprovingly. "And someone like that calls himself a theoretical physicist."

"You're a theoretical physicist, too, right?" asked Leonard. "That's cool. I come from the experimental side of physics." he said proudly.

"Oh, boy." Sheldon muttered.

Leonard frowned. "What is that supposed to mean?"

His opponent was breathing in to explain, but Amy quickly stopped him. "What else is there to know about CalTech, Leonard? Any colleagues we shouldn't bother in the hallways? Oh, what do you know about the biology department?"

Leonard was still pushing his eyebrows together upon Sheldon's remark, but decided to let it slide for the sake of peace and instead focused on the more approachable Amy. "Sorry, I don't know much about anyone in biology. As you've probably noticed by now, I'm not really the most social person."

"Indeed. More like a sad-sack." mumbled Sheldon and got Amy's elbow hit into his side for that. "Oww!" he complained, rubbing the sore spot.

"Don't worry. We're, neither." Amy said shyly, ignoring her fiancé's yammering. "At least now we have someone to sit with when we meet in the university's cafeteria, right?" As if she was sensing his next complaint, Amy took Sheldon's hand and squeezed it. He swallowed, looked at her but stayed quiet.

Leonard watched this exchange, again wondering what it must feel like to know and trust someone like this. "Yes… of course." he said haltingly. "The cafeteria actually has some decent food. I eat lunch there every day."

"Great." smiled Amy. "Maybe we'll run into each other from time to time."

"That would be nice." Leonard said sheepishly. He saw how Sheldon threw Amy a penetrating, confused glance. She looked back without a word, trying to maintain her encouraging smile, but Leonard could see that he wasn't convinced. "Well… I guess, I get going then." he said, sensing that the couple probably needed to talk without him now. "Thanks for inviting me. I had a really great time." he said.

"Oh, I'm glad." said Amy. "It was nice to get to know you better, Leonard."

"Likewise." Leonard nervously shifted his feet by the door before opening it and stepping outside. "Well, okay… so… see you around then."

"Yes. Maybe Monday at work."

"Yes, maybe."

"Bye, Leonard." said Amy.

"Bye." he said and the last thing Leonard saw before she closed the door was how Sheldon, standing behind her and fixing him with a frown, breathed in, undoubtedly to launch into some kind of hissy fit.

He swallowed, breathing a sigh of relief now that he stood in the hallway. Oh, boy. They will surely make some interesting neighbors and colleagues in the future.

I'm really curious to know what you think about the first chapter, so if you want to, please leave a review! :)