Hi, lovely readers! Thank you as always for reading and reviewing!
Just something I'd like to mention since some of you are a little worried about Amy: Yes, she hasn't got her girlfriends yet, but in this next chapter I'd like to show how she grows closer to the guys so she isn't all alone. And remember from 'Mighty Little Woman' how close Amy is to Missy? I'm sure in this universe they have long, joyful conversations on the phone about all kinds of things. You just don't get to hear it because the story is from Leonard's pov. But Amy still has her loyal childhood friend, don't worry. :)
Happy reading...
Chapter 4:
Leonard Hofstadter was truly happy with the way things panned out.
A few months ago he was saddened by his solitary lifestyle, convinced that it will never change. That he would lead a lonely life as an accomplished academic, maybe win some prizes along the way and publish his findings regularly in prestigious magazines. Which isn't bad at all… but Leonard wasn't sure he would have been happy.
Now, things looked a little different. Sure, he was still not romantically involved with anyone – although that nice Korean researcher inexplicably seemed to like him – but at least he had friends now.
Good friends.
Sheldon, Howard and Raj met up with him at his apartment a few more times to play video games, but it wasn't until an especially victorious quest of Dungeons and Dragons that the guys really started to bond and appreciate each other. Despite the diverse quirks they all had.
Trips to the comic book store after work were now a regular occurrence for the four guys. They spent hours discussing superheros, Klingon board games or the plot for TV shows they all followed before they even knew each other. One Saturday was spent watching all the Star Wars movies together and Leonard could honestly say that he never had so much fun in his life.
At Caltech they often sat together to eat lunch, except for the days Sheldon joined Amy in her lab to eat with her. As Leonard was thinking about her, he noticed just how little he saw of Amy during the last weeks. Sheldon obviously made it his mission – just as he promised – to keep her away from Howard and seeing how the latter shamelessly and unsuccessfully flirted with every girl that crossed his way, made Leonard definitely understand Sheldon's reasoning.
Still, he felt bad that Amy got so left out of everything. Superheros and science-fiction weren't her cup of tea, but she still tolerated it with a smile when Leonard and Sheldon were sitting down in Sheldon's backroom, discussing all kinds of fantastical things.
Today, the guys were up at his apartment and Leonard wondered if Amy resented him for keeping her fiancé away from her all the time. He made a note to himself that he would ask Sheldon about Amy when the other guys weren't listening or even better, he should make some time to bring dinner for the couple next Sunday so they could eat and talk together like they did in the beginning.
"Leonard? Hey, it's your turn." Howard said, shaking him out of his reverie.
"Sorry. I spaced out for a bit." Leonard said and played his card. The four guys were playing Mystic Warlords of Ka'a, another game that Howard introduced them to. There was a tournament at the comic book store next weekend and the guys spent hours practicing so they would be good enough to win the contest.
"Eyes on the prize, Leonard. Eyes on the prize." Sheldon berated him.
"Alright, alright. I'm fully concentrated, okay?"
"Not so much." grinned Raj who played his card next and won the round. He high-fived with Howard while Sheldon threw Leonard a glowering look. He mumbled his apologies and the cards were dealt anew.
Just before they could start the next round, however, there was a timid knock on the door. The guys simultaneously raised their heads in puzzlement and then looked at Leonard. "More strange friends of yours?" Sheldon questioned haughtily.
Leonard frowned. "Not that I know of. Come in." he then called out.
The door opened and a dark-brown head of hair appeared, eyebrows scrunched together a little unsure over the red-rimmed glasses, but a shy smile on the lips as always. The person to Leonard's right jumped up immediately.
"Amy?" Sheldon exclaimed and quickly started to walk over to her. "What are you doing here?" And then with a glance to his watch. "Is it late? Oh dear, I must have forgotten the time. I'm sorry."
Amy giggled bemused. They had a time schedule. Sheldon excused himself from whatever they were doing upstairs at exactly nine p.m. the latest, so he could spent time with Amy before they went to bed. But now it was already 9:30 and Amy was obviously a little worried. "It's okay. I just wanted to check on you." she said, reaching automatically for his hands. "At least now I get the chance to finally meet your friends. I began to think you feel embarrassed for me."
"No, Amy, of course not." Sheldon protested softly. "If anything I would be more embarrassed for them."
"Thanks, buddy." Leonard called out loudly to break their conversation. They could talk for hours, forgetting that someone else was even in the room.
Amy's smile brightened as Sheldon stepped aside to gave her the view into the room. One hand still held on to hers. "Hi, Leonard. Long time no see." she said.
"Hi, Amy." Leonard smiled. Funny that she showed up just when he was thinking about her. He looked to his right where Howard and Raj were sitting on the sofa. The latter was suddenly crumbling in on himself, his head ducked low between his shoulders and nervously wringing his hands in his lap. Howard, on the other hand, has seemed to grow an inch or two as he was straightening himself to get a good glimpse at the female intruder.
Amy shyly waved at both of them and then looked up at her fiancé who was already throwing Howard a death glare. "Sheldon?" she said, making him flinch and look at her. "Aren't you going to introduce me?"
"Of course." Sheldon said. Keeping hold of her hand he stepped a bit more into the room. "Amy, this is astrophysicist Rajesh Koothrappali…" Raj nodded just slightly without even looking up. "And this is… Howard Wolowitz." Sheldon said after a slight pause that was used to sent another warning look. "He's an engineer at Caltech."
"Enchanté, Mademoiselle." Howard said with a grin and saluted.
"Oh, etes vous Francais?" Amy asked curiously.
Obviously amazed that she could speak French, Howard breathed in, but Sheldon cut him off and answered for him. "No, he's not French. He's the one I warned you about."
"Oh." said Amy reluctantly, but Howard still smiled.
"Gentlemen…" Sheldon spoke up again, fixing Howard with his stare. "This is my fiancée, Amy Farrah Fowler… well, soon-to-be Fowler-Cooper, I guess." he added and Amy grinned at him.
"Hello." she said again.
"Come in, Amy." Leonard said, waving her over. "Why don't you sit with us for a bit?"
"Oh, thanks, but I don't want to interrupt anything."
"Don't worry, you're not interrupting." Sheldon assured her. "You're here now. I knew I couldn't hide you away from these guys forever." They smiled at each other, then Sheldon abruptly turned to Howard. "Go sit on the floor. Amy will sit next to me."
"What? Why can't Raj sit on the floor?" he complained.
"You know exactly why." Sheldon raised his eyebrows.
Howard huffed and mumbled something as he was taking a pillow and shuffled towards the ground. "I wasn't doing anything. Just being nice."
Amy sat down close to Sheldon, holding onto his hand like a lifeline. She nervously stroked some loose strands of hair behind her ear and didn't raise her eyes to anyone's face. "I-I didn't mean to cause any trouble."
"Really, Amy, it's fine." Leonard spoke up conciliatory. "I don't know what exaggerated stories Sheldon has told you, but Howard's fine. He can be a pig, but mostly he's okay."
"Hey!" Howard argued, but the little jest already brought back some of Amy's confidence and she smiled at Leonard.
"Thanks." she said.
"You're welcome." Leonard replied, glad that she felt comfortable again. He knew how awkward it could be to get introduced to an already formed group and he still wanted her to feel welcome in his apartment. And how nice would it be if everyone would like each other? They would be a strong group of five and Amy deserved to have some friends, too.
Leonard saw how she and Sheldon exchanged a look and a smile, then his normally arrogant, straight-faced friend briefly stroked his thumb over the back of her hand. They let go of each other and Amy looked up to meet the other's faces for the first time… well, one of the faces at least since Raj was still not making eye-contact. But Leonard still took it as a very good sign.
"What are you guys playing?" Amy asked, making an effort to sound really interested.
"It's called Mystic Warlords of Ka'a." Howard explained swiftly while Sheldon could only open his mouth and breathe in. He earned a sideway glare for that, but Howard didn't notice. He was fully concentrated on Amy. "There's a tournament in the Comic book store next Saturday and we plan to win it."
"Oh. Yes, Sheldon told me about some kind of game you all want to play. It even bumped down laundry night from its usual time slot." Amy told the guys with an amused little grin."
"It's not just a game, Amy." said Leonard. "It's a tournament. There will be contestants from all of Pasadena, maybe even Glendale or Burbank, competing in teams against each other until only one team proves its superiority."
"That'll be us, my men." Howard called out and Leonard and Sheldon cheered in agreement.
Amy seemed slightly confused but pleased by Sheldon's enthusiasm. "What's the prize for the superior team?" she then asked.
The guys looked at her stupefied. "The glory." they simultaneously answered in all seriousness.
Amy, evidently, tried to keep herself from laughing as the corners of her mouth twitched uncontrollably. "Ah." she said dryly and Leonard caught her grinning as she leaned back and watched Howard dealing the cards.
As they started the new round, Howard took it upon himself to explain the rules of the game to a less than impressed Amy. But no matter how hard he tried, he didn't manage to make Ka'a seem cool. A few rounds in, Amy grew bored of watching and instead decided to start a conversation with the one guy who didn't try to impress her yet.
"You're very quiet. I guess you're not as taken by the game, either, are you… uhm, Rajesh, was it?"
The person, who's been spoken to, rose his head and froze. Nervous panic in his eyes. He looked very much like a meerkat who just spotted a predator. After a barely-there sideway glance at a friendly smiling Amy, Raj just sunk his head again, seemingly hoping to turn invisible.
"Oh, do you only speak Hindi?" Amy asked and looked at the boys, hoping for an explanation.
"No, no, Raj can understand you just fine." Howard spoke first again. "It's just that he can't talk to women."
"Really?" Amy turned to Sheldon who nodded his head affirmatively. "Wow, that sounds like a fascinating, neurological problem."
She continued to look at Raj as if she was x-raying through his skull with only her eyes, which obviously increased Raj's uneasiness. Quickly, he leaned down to where Howard was sitting on the floor and whispered something in his ear.
Howard rolled his eyes. "Sheldon told us you're a Neurobiologist at CalTech?" he said then.
Amy blinked herself back and smiled proudly. "Yes. I am. Why?"
"It's making Raj nervous." he grinned maliciously.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to eye you like a piece of brain matter." Amy said to Raj and Leonard scrunched up his nose. Sometimes the sweet Amy managed to sound just as cold and detached as Sheldon. One more thing they apparently have in common, he noticed.
"As a scientist I can't help but find this condition intriguing. Selective mutism is extremely rare." Amy continued. However, Raj still looked unhappy. "I guess it's rather stressful for you, though." she added softly and Raj dared to nod his head timidly. "How do you communicate then?"
Raj made a move to lean down again but Howard quickly evaded him. "Mostly by molesting my ear." he said, throwing Raj an annoyed look which he answered by helplessly shrugging his shoulders.
"Interesting." Amy murmured. "Is it all women?"
"Well, especially pretty ones." Howard gloated before Raj could whisper something again. Instead he now blushed brightly and Sheldon sent Howard another death glare.
"Stop that!" he hissed.
"Sheldon, don't be so jealous all the time." Amy calmed him, nudging his side softly with her elbow. "I'm sure Howard meant nothing by it."
"Oh, believe me, he's ruthless." Leonard remarked with a grin while Sheldon scoffed dismissively.
Howard puffed his chest. "What can I say? I'm a ladies' man." But before Sheldon could actually move to strangle him, he quickly added. "I-I know where to draw the line though… obviously." he laughed nervously.
Amy furrowed her brows. "Anyway…" she said, looking at Raj again. "I would love to help you with your condition. It's really harmless and completely voluntary, I promise. Just a few tests and maybe a hot needle, that's all."
Raj seemed to consider her offer up until the part with the needle, where an actual squeak made it past his lips. Leonard regarded the quirky couple with a bemused, raised eyebrow. Amy didn't seem fazed by Raj's fear while Sheldon suppressed a haughty grin.
They're really just a little bit odder than all of us combined.
"Hey, how come she can make dates that involve an awful lot of prodding with Raj and I can't even talk to her without getting a look from that maniac." Howard complained with a pout and everyone simultaneously rolled their eyes.
Or maybe not, Leonard thought. Maybe we're all just the same.
Oh, it's hard to write early Howard, but fun to write early Raj, haha. ;)
Please review dear readers!