A/N: Thanks so much for the time off. It was nice to catch up on life. And thanks to illness I ended up with more time to write...so boo for my health but yay for you readers. ;) Also thanks to those who reviewed. Always appreciated. :) Oh and can I just take this moment to say "Who else melted when Amy said she thought Sheldon was the best boyfriend in this past episode?" :love: Thanks for reading and enjoy!
Sheldon
Sheldon bolted upright. Amy? What was she doing here? He looked around his room trying to decide what to do.
"Sheldon?"
He felt a moment of panic. What if she were here to break their Relationship Agreement? She hadn't responded to any of his communications for 5 days and now she was here in person? What had driven her here? What was she going to say?
Keep it together man, he thought to himself. Amy can't see you in such a state. Have some dignity.
He decided then that he would talk to her. "Enter."
Amy opened the door slowly and stood in the doorway, looking everywhere but at him. Sheldon was still sitting upright in the middle of his bed. He looked at her, wondering if she was going to enter his room. He wasn't sure how he felt about that. As a rule no one was allowed in his room. But then again this was Amy. If anyone would be allowed in, it would be her.
He swung his feet over so that he was sitting on the edge of his bed. He waited for her to speak, unsure what he himself could say to break the silence.
As she continued to hover in the doorway he found himself saying "You didn't answer any of my communications."
She looked at him, nodded, but didn't respond. He frowned. Why didn't she respond? Was she still angry? Was she trying not to yell at him? He rubbed the tender spot on his chest where she had poked him the last time they spoke.
After a few more moments of silence, she finally took a deep breath and looked at him. "Sheldon I think we had best have a discussion regarding the events of five days ago."
Drat.
He nodded. "Please. Come in…may I offer you a beverage? Hot or otherwise?"
She shook her head. "I'm fine thank you." She took a step inside but shuffled, looking around. He looked around as well and realized there was no place for her to sit. Hmm. He didn't want to have the conversation in the common area, where Leonard could listen. What to do?
Amy cleared her throat. "Is it alright if I sit on your bed? There seems to be no other accommodation."
Sit on his bed? The thought made him uncomfortable. He looked around again, trying to think of an alternative. There appeared to be none. He nodded and gestured to Amy, "Please, have a seat."
Amy closed the door and came to sit next to him. She was looking at her hands on her lap. Sheldon didn't know what to do. She had said they should talk. Was she waiting for him to say something? He was pondering what to say when she abruptly turned to look at him.
"Sheldon, I find myself in unfamiliar territory."
He blinked at her. He wasn't sure what response was required. "Ok."
"I…" Amy paused. She appeared to be considering something. "Do you know why I was angry at your proposal?"
Sheldon thought back to her response. "I believe you implied that it wasn't romantic."
Amy looked at him. She had a frown on her face. She looked…worried? Why was she worried? He yet again pondered the workings of the female mind. Someone should write a research based paper on the inner workings of the female brain. He detested not knowing what to do. It had become a familiar feeling and he didn't like that. He took a deep breath.
"I'm afraid I'm baffled by your assertion that it wasn't romantic. We were at an anniversary dinner. I told you you were the best alternative."
She still had the worried expression on her face. "You said I was the best alternative as a replacement for Leonard."
He was confused. Isn't she just repeating what he just said? "I'm afraid I don't understand the implication of your statement."
She cocked her head. "The implication is that you view me as nothing more than a potential roommate, rather than a more important part of your social paradigm."
Hmm. Interesting. "And that made you…angry?"
She paused. "It was a little insulting."
Interesting indeed. She found his assertion that she was the best alternative to replace Leonard as an insult because it implied that she was no more important to him than Leonard. He sighed. Well if Leonard had said that instead of going on about romance then Sheldon would have understood better.
But how to respond? He thought for a moment about the implications. The niggling voice decided to speak up again.
Just tell her she is more important to you than Leonard.
He really hated that voice…but in this case, it might be right. Perhaps he should tell Amy that she was a very important part of his life. The thought made him feel very uncomfortable. He didn't like discussing his feelings. It made him feel exposed.
This is Amy. When has she ever mocked your feelings?
Hmm…true…what was going on here? Was he actually agreeing with this voice? Be quiet! He thought. But still…what should he do?
"Sheldon?"
Sheldon looked over at Amy. She still had the worried expression on her face. He didn't like seeing her upset. He made a decision then, since it was just the two of them.
"Amy…you are more important to me than Leonard."
Amy's mouth popped open and she started blinking rapidly. Did he just upset her more?
"Leonard is my best friend…but…you're my girlfriend. This is why I came to the conclusion that you would be the best alternative to replace him. I'm sure this will come as no surprise to you, but I have done much research on the various social paradigms of different cultures. In most all of them friendships came in second behind the object of one's affection."
Amy turned away from him. He frowned. What was going on? Was she still upset? He thought about grabbing her hand, but was unsure if it would upset her still further.
She turned back again. "Why did you propose?"
He frowned. He thought he had stated that during his proposal. "It makes me uncomfortable to think of living with my girlfriend."
She thought for a moment. "Why?"
He paused. Living with a girlfriend was the sort of progressive thing that Leonard and Penny did. He had been raised to believe a man married a woman before he lived with her. It was the proper social convention. He can't count the number of times his mother said to him "Shelly, a proper man purchases the cow before he drinks the milk." Although admittedly he didn't fully understand the phrase, he at least understood the basic principle.
"I assumed it would be insulting to ask you to live with your boyfriend, rather than live with the more socially accepted paradigm; which would be living with your spouse."
Amy blinked at him. "But…" She paused and again looked worried.
He cocked his head to the side. What was she going to say? And why did she look worried again?
Amy took a deep breath. "But you didn't mention anything about your feelings for me. Is it not also part of social convention to marry for…love?"
Sheldon looked away. Drat. Why did she have to bring up love? It made him uncomfortable. This entire conversation made him uncomfortable. Hadn't he just said she was more important to him than Leonard? He didn't know how to respond. He didn't want to anger Amy further and he suspected if he tried to ignore the question that Amy would only become more upset. Experience thus far had at least taught him that. He looked at his hands.
"Yes…I suppose it is." He was very uncomfortable. This conversation was getting too emotional. He didn't like it.
"So…can you at least admit that your proposal was spoken in haste?"
Sheldon sighed. He had suspected it would come to this, but it didn't make him any less uncomfortable with it. "Yes. I suppose I should have given the matter more thought."
He frowned. He could feel the niggling voice telling him that now was the time for an apology, but apologies always made him feel exposed. He didn't like the feeling. But perhaps this was the only way to make Amy feel better…
He turned to her. "Amy…I'm sorry."
Her face lost its worried frown and gained a small smile as she said "You're forgiven."
He frowned again. "But what am I going to do about a roommate? Leonard is leaving in fourteen days and I haven't even begun to search for a replacement." Now that his problem with Amy was resolved, he found his second problem looming up at him.
Amy cleared her throat. "Well…I could still live with you."
Sheldon was shocked. Amy was willing to live with him even if it was against the social convention? He wasn't sure how he felt about that.
"You're willing to live with me? Even if it means you're shunned as a floozy by society?"
"Sheldon, I don't think I'll be shunned by society for living with you…" she looked at her hands "but yes…I am willing to live with you."
Things were finally going his way. "Splendid…" he paused. "You realize that this will paint you in an unsavory light where my mother is concerned."
Amy shrugged. "That's ok. I believe it is also part of the social norm to be considered less than worthy by the mother of the male you are pair bonded with."
Sheldon smiled. "I'll draft up the new amendments we'll need to add to the relationship agreement. I can have them to you in a few days."
Amy frowned. "How about we discuss the amendments together…"
"Together? Don't you trust me to cover everything?"
"Yes. Of course. You will no doubt cover everything that you foresee as a problem. That's exactly why I'd like to have a voice in the drafting process."
Hmm…this was interesting. He wasn't sure what she was getting at, but he supposed it couldn't hurt.
He shrugged. "Ok. We can meet tomorrow to talk about it." He smiled at her. She smiled back. He liked it when she smiled at him.
"Great." She looked at her watch. "I should probably get going." She stood up to leave.
"Amy?"
She turned around to look at him. Sheldon stood, unsure of what he was doing. He walked over to her, still unsure why he had stopped her from leaving. Before he quite realized what he was doing, he had wrapped both of his arms around her in a hug. She didn't move at first, but then put her hands around him to return the hug.
When he let go of her, she looked up at him, with a blank expression. "You realize you just broke the Relationship Agreement don't you?"
He frowned. Drat. She was right. He hadn't asked her before hugging her. What was going on? He would blame it on the lack of sleep coupled with the release of tension at his two foremost problems having been solved.
She smiled at him and walked out the door.
A/N: I really wanted to get this right. Let me know what you think. Please review. Many Thanks. :)