„You are too early" Sheldon welcomed his friends. Howard rolled his eyes and shoved himself past his friend, putting the four white bags with the takeouts on the couchtable.

„They had the food ready faster than we thought" Bernadette apologized and went over to the sofa to hug Amy.

As Leonard, Penny and Raj had entered the apartment, too, they went to the kitchen to prepare the food and put it into plates. When everyone had their food they finally came to relax.

„It was crazy at work today, Sheldon" Leonard turned to Raj and Howard for an approving nod.

„Yeah, we told them you took some time off because you're caring about your girlfriend and they all just laughed at us" Howard shrugged and put some rice onto his fork. „90% of them still don't believe you have a girlfriend and the others, additionally, didn't believe you have a life outside of Caltech."

Sheldon just shook his head, while Penny and Leonard grinned down at their plate.

„Oh, and Alex was there"

„Alex?" Amy echoed. „The Alex Sheldon fired a few weeks ago?"

„Yes" Raj nodded. „She asked for him."

Amy's look darkened and Penny realized that. It was nothing new that Alex had tried to get back but she had always done that through other people. Now it seemed like she had wanted to speak to Sheldon personally and Amy disliked that. She disliked that person. Everyone disliked that person. Amy had no idea how to deal with potential drama. But there was this stinging, hurting feeling inside of her and from what others had told her, it must have been jealousy. She didn't want Alex to touch Sheldon, she didn't want Alex to see Sheldon eight hours a day. She didn't even want Alex to look at him anymore.

Amy had been caught up in her thoughts so much, that she had overheard the ongoing conversation between Raj, Howard and Sheldon.

„Well, I'll think about it" Sheldon sighed and proceeded to poke around in his food. „But I can't promise anything!"

„I don't want you to work with her" Amy suddenly hissed and all eyes flipped to her.

Sheldon's wided. „Excuse me?"

„That skank has been near you for the longest time" Amy had no idea where all these feelings were coming from, she just knew it was almost impossible to control them.

„What's gotten into you?" The lanky physicist still stared at her in disbelief and shock.

„Sounds like a little jealousy" Howard grinned.

Amy glanced at him and his grin fell off immediately before he coughed.

„Jealousy? Why on Earth would you be jealous of Alex?" Sheldon turned his body more towards her and eyed her so confused, that Leonard chuckled.

„Well" Amy began and took a deep breath. „She's a woman, she's young, she's beautiful, she works with you eight hours a day, she's always near you, she schedules your days…"

„That is what assistants do"

„No, Sheldon, you don't get this…"

„Excuse me, Amy, is there a single thing I wouldn't get?"

Penny rolled her eyes and sunk her head back on her plate.

„I don't want her to be near you." Amy pulled her eyebrows down and stared into the distance like a pouty kid.

„Amy" Sheldon put his plate away. „You really have no reason to be jealous. You are the one I have a Relationship Agreement with."

Bernadette's Awwwwww let them all look up again. She shrugged. „What? In Sheldonese that equals an I Love You!"

Leonard thought about it for a second and nodded then. Howard just sighed and kept eating his food. And Raj quietly wiped a little tear out of the corner of his eye.

The evening had continued as usual. Then the boys had had the idea to play a videogame and the girls decided they would leave them to it. Instead of everyone going their own way though, Penny, Bernadette and Amy sat next to their men and cheered for them. There would have been other things to spend their time with but after Leonard had made a pouty face when Penny said she would head to her apartment, they had decided they would stay with their men.

And Sheldon had approved of this – due to the Relationship Agreement Amy was not released from his caring yet.

„There! There, this guy! SHOOT HIM!" Penny almost choked on the popcorn she had put in her mouth. She pointed nervously at the screen.

„That's me" Howard looked at her annoyed. „Penny, the guy in the most awesome armor is me. Leonard can't shoot me. We're in the same team."

„Whatever" Penny shrugged and threw an arm over Leonard's shoulder.

„HOWARD! Stop stealing my stuff!" Raj suddenly blurted and the guys laughed.

Penny, Bernadette and Amy just looked around quizzically.

„I'm gonna get something to drink" Amy mumbled towards Sheldon. „Want something, too?"

„I'm gonna get it myself, thank you" He was highly concentrated on playing.

„Alright" Amy got up and limped over to the kitchen.

She grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and then stopped for a second to look over at her friends. She was so happy to have them, they were like a family to her.

No matter how many quirks they all had, she wanted to grow old with every single one of them. With a happy smile, she concentrated back on the bottle and struggled a little opening it. When it was finally open and she raised her look again, she realized Sheldon had left his spot.

She turned aside just to find him fishing for a water bottle in the fridge, too.

„How's it going so far?" She smiled at him as he walked past her to the cupboard to get a glass.

„Well. You only missed a few seconds." He seemed confused.

Amy sighed. He hadn't quite grasped the concept of smalltalk yet but she would teach him. She had taught him a lot of things already.

She turned around again and leaned forward onto the counter when she suddenly felt a smack on her bottom, followed by one little quick squeeze.

Her mouth hung open as she saw Sheldon walking past her with a cheeky smile on his face.

„Nine" He whispered, before he proceeded to walk back to his spot and get back into the game.

„So, Comic Book Store tomorrow afternoon, you're all in?" Howard looked into the round and found Sheldon, Leonard and Raj nodding. „Good. So, see you tomorrow then!"

Penny, Bernadette and Raj pulled Amy into a quick hugging session, before they all left the apartment.

When Sheldon had closed the door behind them, he turned around and sighed. „Wow, that had been a wild ride. I must say, Amy, game night with you girls is much more fun than I thought. It's good to get a little cheering from you!"

Amy shrugged and smiled at the lanky phycisist. „We can do this more often, if you want."

„Well, wouldn't that ruin girls night?"

„There are other nights for girls night…"

„You don't have it scheduled?"

„No, we just meet up when we all have time"

„You're really crazy" Sheldon shook his head and went over to the kitchen to cook tea for the two of them; a little ritual they had started since Amy was here. A cup of tea before getting ready for bed.

It stayed quiet till Sheldon was finished making the tea. Both of them recalled the evening and both of them came to the conclusion that they really wanted to do this more often. But – as opposed to Amy – there was another topic that occupied Sheldon a lot.

When he had set down the teacups, he sat down and eyed his girlfriend. „Amy… what's the deal with Alex?"

Amy forced the sip of tea she had just taken down her throat and coughed a little. Then she bit her lip and didn't dare to look at Sheldon anymore. „Well, as the others said… I was kind of jealous."

„Yes, but your reasons were silly"

„Well, Sheldon, you're a man. And Alex is a woman. And she is sexy."

Sheldon took a deep breath and gave his girlfriend his typical Are You Kidding Me look. Amy felt her self-esteem crumble at the thought of Alex. She was a tall, thin woman with long hair and a pretty face. She was sexy, as Amy had said. And that was annoying.

„Amy. You are right."

She suddenly had to fight back the tears.

„I am a man. And Alex is a woman…"

Don't cry, Fowler, come on. Get yourself together.

„But, as you see, beauty and sexiness is in the eye of the beholder. And, as others might describe her as very attractive, I must say… she's not quite my type."

„Come on, Sheldon. She is sexy."

„Even if! So what? So are you!"

Amy already had her mouth muscles ready to shoot back a reply but it was like Sheldon's words had turned her brain off. She sat there and stared at him with an open mouth. Her boyfriend just looked into her eyes, down to her lips, and back into her eyes.

„You find me sexy?" She whispered in disbelief.

Sheldon just shrugged and nodded like it wasn't a big deal at all.

Amy's look drifted down to the couchtable, mouth still hanging open. She had never expected that. Yes, he had said he was „fond of her" but she had never thought that Sheldon even could find anyone sexy.

„I don't quite understand what's upsetting you so much" Sheldon said, guessing, and tried to catch Amy's look again.

He managed it.

„Oh, I am not upset!" She reassured him immediately. „I was just surprised."

„But why?"

„I didn't think you'd find me sexy."

„Well, you're my girlfriend. You probably wouldn't be if I wouldn't find you sexy."

Amy blushed and quickly looked away. She didn't want him to see that her skin color got the tone of a well-ripened tomato.

Sheldon leaned back and took a sip of his tea, quietly thinking about what a great afternoon they had spent together. He liked having his friends around, even though he usually was more into social media, but they all felt like home. He wouldn't have known what he would have done if they had decided to suddenly move somewhere else. But he'd rather not think about that.

Meanwhile Amy had managed to close her mouth again and empty her cup of tea to clear her thoughts a little.

„How about we go to bed?" She quietly suggested, trying not to brutally rip her boyfriend out of his thoughts.

He looked at her, smiled and nodded. „That's a good idea."

Amy snuggled under the blanket. She hadn't felt that well in a long time. Might have been because that uncomfortable huge cast had finally gotten off her leg… or the fact that she slowly got used to having Sheldon's incredibly warm body next to her every night. She was looking forward to going to bed and not just for the sake of sleeping. Being so close to him 8 hours long, even if most of it unconciously, gave her chills. She felt incredibly safe next to him, so safe that a huge tornado could have invaded Pasadena and she wouldn't have been half as afraid as she would have been on her own.

Sheldon sat down on his side of the bed and turned halfway to eye Amy. „Do you need anything more or can I turn the light off?"

Amy took her glasses off and carefully placed them on the nightstand, before turning back and giving Sheldon one last loving look out of her green eyes. „I'm okay, thank you."

„Alright" He turned back and turned the light off.

Then she felt him scrabble underneath the blanket. He sighed. Then silence turned in.

„For the record, I find you sexy, too" Amy blushed while saying that and was more than happy the lights were off. She hated it to blush in front of him.

„That's not a surprise", was his blank answer.

The young neurobiologist rolled her eyes. Of course he would say that. She was tempted to ask him why but she was too tired to listen to one of his long explanations and she didn't want him being upset in case she'd fall asleep.

So she just agreed with him and then listened to his steady breath. She slowly felt his warmth crawl up towards here and she loved it. Unintentionally she moved closer to him but he didn't seem to realize or mind. His breath stayed steady.

Just when Amy was about to fall asleep she heard his stomach grumble so loudly that she couldn't help but laugh.

„Ow..." Sheldon mumbled. „I am sure it's the lemonade. My stomach doesn't like it at all in opposit to my taste buds."

„Sometimes we sacrifice a lot just to keep what we like" Amy sighed and wasn't sure if she was really still talking about lemonade.

„How true" Sheldon replied quietly before adjusting himself a bit. „I hope my stomach won't make noises all night."

„It's gonna be fine" And with that, Amy took all of her courage and moved her warm hand under his pajama shirt, to rest it on his stomach.

It was a weird sensation. His warm skin, all the little fuzzy tickling hair under her fingers and the little vibrations when his stomach grumbled again.

But the biggest sensation was, that Sheldon hadn't cringed, complained or tensed up. His mouth was closed. His breath was steady.