Sheldon was good at keeping the fact that he and Amy were intimate a secret, almost too good.

When he was around his friends he acted like the Sheldon who absolutely despised physical contact so much that Amy had almost started to believe him at some points. He would complain, make faces, scowl and practically embarrass her when they were in public. In private he more than made up for it, but it was so hard for Amy to witness him switch back and forth so drastically. She felt like she was in love with two different people.

They were at the movies with the gang one night when Amy held out her hand to Sheldon. He scoffed and rolled his eyes at this.

"I suppose this notion of you wanting to hold my hand will never get old to you?" he whispered as he took her hand firmly in his.

"Absolutely not" Amy whispered giving his hand a gentle squeeze. Sheldon smiled at her and squeezed her hand back. He was in the process of bringing it up to his mouth to kiss it when he noticed Penny watching him and he placed it back down quickly. He turned to stare at the screen and didn't move. Penny glared at him because she knew better. Sure, Sheldon was good at acting. Hell, maybe he could even give her a few pointers now and then, but she still knew.

After the movie the gang all went back to apartment 4a and ordered pizza. Amy and Sheldon were sitting by each other on the couch and when Amy thought nobody was looking she put her hand on Sheldon's thigh and gave it a gentle squeeze. Sheldon quickly grew paranoid and jumped away from her stating

"There is no need for that sort of physical contact, Amy"

Amy got angry, very angry. All she did was touch his leg! It wasn't like she pinned him to the couch and started making out with him. She knew what he was trying to do but she was getting impatient. She wanted to be able to at least touch him a little bit in public without him freaking out anymore. She wanted her friends to accept this and understand without making Sheldon nervous about telling them. I mean, what's the worst that could happen? He already said that no matter what they wouldn't stop what they were doing. So why should they hide it anymore? Amy got up from the couch and walked into her bedroom and slammed the door. Leonard, looking concerned turned to Sheldon.

"What's that about? You two fighting?" Sheldon shrugged and said

"You know how women are, Leonard. Unreasonable creatures that always take things the wrong way or overanalyze them until they are turned into something they weren't. It's all in that X chromosome"

Leonard rolled his eyes and continued eating without questioning it further but Penny was upset. Sheldon was going to hide this up until the point that it made Amy crazy. She turned to Sheldon and said

"Go talk to her"

Sheldon was about to protest but Penny stated it again.

"Go talk to her, Sheldon. Really"

A look on Penny's face convinced Sheldon that he should, so he made his way to the bedroom. He slowly opened the door and saw Amy pacing back and forth looking very aggravated. He shut the door behind him and walked over to her.

"Amy-"

"I'm tired of this, Sheldon!" She screamed. "I feel like I'm with two different people! One who loves me and one who can't stand me! Please, can't we just let all of this out in the open? What's the worst that can happen?" The worst that can happen? How about the constant jokes waiting for them? A comment made every time they showed the slightest hint of affection. Being accused of no longer caring about science and giving into his baser urges. He wanted none of it, but he also didn't want Amy to be upset. He walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her.

"Amy, you know what we have is special-"

"Then take the risk, Sheldon. Let the world know that we are happy. Let them know that we can finally be one with each other. And when they start to make you mad, just think back to us and how much we make each other happy. Don't let them ruin what we have, you're stronger than that"

Sheldon swallowed and looked down at his feet. He was such a coward for not facing the wrath of his friends. He knew Amy was the best thing that had ever happened to him and he was still hiding her. He had to give it up; he had to be the man she deserved.

She didn't wait for him to say anything. She just walked back into the living room as the pizza man arrived with their food and Sheldon joined her on the couch. They ate in silence as the rest of the gang talked and laughed throughout the evening. Sheldon was somewhat at peace until Howard began the funny business.

"You know Sheldon; it baffles me that you could live with a woman for months now and still resist the urge to engage in any sort of sexual activity. Are you sure that your genitals are fully functional? Or is there something you're not telling us"

Sheldon's face grew hot with anger and he gripped the glass he was holding in his hand. Why did this always have to happen? Why was sex just a joke to everybody? He ignored Howard and tried to take a sip of his water and then Raj cut in.

"Yeah dude, I'm with Howard on this one. I only dated Emily for like 3 weeks before her and I jumped in bed. I can only imagine living with a woman, yet you've done nothing. It's crazy"

Sheldon just shook his head. These were the times that he hated his friends. They would never understand him and he knew that no matter how hard he tried to explain the way he was to them, it would only make things worse.

"Yeah Ames" Howard began. "I think you should start looking at making this just a roommate agreement and less of a relationship agreement. I think you sho-"

"I think you need to shut the hell up!"

Sheldon was stunned when he realized those words came out of Amy's mouth. He watched her get up and stomp over to Howard.

"You have NO idea what my relationship is like with Sheldon. None! Yet you feel the need to interject and make comments about something that doesn't even concern you! Sheldon is the greatest thing that has ever happened to me and despite what you guys or what anyone else tells me, I plan on staying with him as long as he will allow me. He means the world to me and just because you and Raj and everyone else in the world have an opinion about it doesn't mean it's going to change my opinion about him"

Howard and Raj sat there frozen. Penny glared at both of them and watched Amy waiting for her next move. Leonard and Bernadette kept their eyes on Sheldon and saw him get up and make his way over to Amy. She looked up at him and he cupped her face in his hands and leaned down and pressed his lips to hers in front of everybody. He kissed her with the intensity of the first time they made love. He moved his hands down to her waist and pulled her as close as she could get to him. He kept kissing her until he felt like he was out of breath. When he pulled away, nobody moved. They all just watched him with wide eyes and shocked expressions. Sheldon looked down at Amy and grabbed both of her hands so he could pull her into a hug whispering

"I love you, Amy. More than anything in the world"

Bernadette gasped, Leonard's eyes went wide and he looked at Penny who was just sitting there with a small smile on her face. Howard and Raj just looked at each other in disbelief until Sheldon turned to all of them.

"For the record, Amy and I have been intimate for quite some time now. We just didn't feel the need to brag about it, but since you're all so concerned for our sex life here it is: I'm about to make love to her right now. So unless you want to see a show, get out. All of you."