A/N: Thank you for the reviews! Thanks for reading too, and hope you enjoy this chapter!
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Leonard approached Sheldon and Amy's suite and knocked on the door.
Sheldon's voice inside call out "go away."
"Sheldon it's me. Let me in…Please?" Leonard called back.
"I know who it is; I recognize your knock." Was Sheldon's reply.
"I just want to talk to you." Leonard said.
Sheldon sighed and rolled off the bed reluctantly, and opened the door.
Leonard frowned when he saw Sheldon's eyes were a bit puffy.
"Have you been crying?"
"No."
Leonard pushed past Sheldon and sat at the couch. "The girls are down at the pool. Amy looked pretty upset."
Sheldon said nothing as he joined Leonard on the couch and stared out of the balcony doors.
"What happened, Sheldon?" Leonard coaxed gently.
"I…" Sheldon closed his mouth again and shook his head, sighing.
He tried again. "I'm not cut out for all this romance stuff."
"Why not?"
"I keep getting it wrong. I've pushed Amy away twice. Maybe we should have stayed broken up; she would be better off without me."
"Are you kidding me? Sheldon, that woman has not stopped smiling since Friday! It's only been less than a week, and I've never seen her so happy!" Leonard protested.
Sheldon frowned. "You just said she looked upset."
"She did, but only because you guys had a fight." Leonard replied.
"We didn't have a fight exactly…" Sheldon explained. "Just a difference of opinion."
"Regarding what?"
Sheldon looked at Leonard, whose expression was a mask of concern.
The tall physicist sighed. "Do you promise not to tell anyone?"
"Of course…Oh God is Amy pregnant?!" Leonard looked shocked.
"No! No, nothing like that…" Sheldon got to his feet and pulled open his bedside drawer and rummaged around until he found the little box that he had hidden at the back and opened it up, revealing a white gold ring with a single diamond on it; simple and elegant.
"Well I'm very flattered Sheldon, but I am only interested in my beautiful girlfriend who is way out of my league." Leonard joked.
Sheldon gave his friend a withering look.
"It's for Amy! Or at least it was!" Sheldon snapped the box shut and hid it at the back of the drawer again, seating himself on the bed, moodily.
Leonard sat next to him. "You were going to propose?" He asked softly.
Sheldon was silent for a while. "What difference does it make if I was? She made it clear that it's too soon."
"That doesn't mean that she never will marry you!" Leonard replied, "And what does she mean 'too soon'? You guys have been together for three years!"
Sheldon looked at his friend. "Have we, Leonard?" He shook his head, "I was never really in the relationship was I? We didn't act like a couple…I never gave her any affection or attention. Technically we've only been together for five days…Now I finally know how she felt. For a so-called genius, I'm pretty stupid."
Leonard swore that he saw a tear run down his friend's cheek and gingerly patted him on the back, expecting Sheldon to shrug him off or swat him away, but he didn't.
Sheldon sat still, accepting the consolation.
"You're not stupid." Leonard said, "People develop at different speeds in their lives. Unfortunately you were just a little slower than Amy, but that doesn't mean she won't marry you if that's what you really want."
Sheldon snorted.
"No, don't snort Sheldon; it's true. Look, Amy is very happy with you now and things are going so well. You're together; you love each other…Isn't that enough?" Leonard asked.
Sheldon just nodded, wordlessly.
"She will say yes one day Sheldon. She's wanted this for like ever!"
"You think so?"
"I know so! Now come on, let's go down to the pool. We have four hours until it closes." Leonard said.
Sighing, Sheldon got up and changed in the bathroom, grabbing a bottle of water, sunscreen and his phone and card key before following his friend out of the door.
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"Hey you! I was wondering if you'd make it down!" Penny grinned from the water, shielding her eyes from the sun as she watched Leonard approach the pool area with Sheldon in tow. "Hey Sheldon!"
At that moment, Amy looked up and spotted her boyfriend, who smiled weakly at her.
Amy returned the smile briefly, before submerging under the water to get away from his gaze.
She felt guilty, and didn't want him to see her.
On the poolside, Sheldon took a deep breath and pulled off his shirt and shorts.
"Whoa, whoa! It's not that kind of place!" Penny protested. "Put your clothes back on!"
"I'm going in the pool." Sheldon frowned.
"Oh…Wait, what? You hate swimming pools! All the germs and bacteria and whatever." Penny protested.
"Are you trying to put me off?" Sheldon asked.
"Well, no but…"
Before Penny could finish her sentence, Sheldon had made his way down the steps and into the water.
He shivered at how cool the water was, compared to the boiling hot sun.
Sheldon waded over in Amy's direction, breaking into a swim as the water deepened, surprised at how naturally he had taken to the water.
Amy had re-surfaced now and was doing everything she could to avoid eye contact.
Please don't shout at me, please don't shout at me…
Her mind was racing as Sheldon gripped hold of the edge of the pool where Amy was floating.
She finally looked up into his eyes and was immediately lost in the piercing blue color.
She swallowed.
"Sheldon, I'm sorry that I upset you. I just…"
"You're mine and that's all that matters." He interrupted, silencing her with a passionate kiss.
Penny and Leonard stared, wide-eyed.
Sheldon Cooper had made his first ever public display of affection.
In a pool…
A public pool at that…And without a care in the world!
Penny and Leonard both wolf-whistled.
"Get a room!" Leonard laughed.
"We have one." Was Sheldon's reply, mid-kiss.
"Then use it." Penny called.
"Believe me Penny, that room will be used later!"
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