Author's Note:

Hello to you and happy (early) Valentine's Day!

I have a lot of mixed feelings about The Change Constant and Amy's makeover, the main feeling being that they shouldn't have done that. But this fic isn't about me and my feelings, this is just about making Sheldon apologize and then coitus. If you remember in The Shamy Coital Count, I mentioned that I think it's likely they had sex after the events of this episode; this is how I think it could have gone. And I know this isn't usually how I title my fics, but I gave it this working title as a joke and then I couldn't imagine calling it anything else.

Thank you to my beta reader Stark and also thank you to the person who commented on Uncommon Examples asking for something from this episode. I'd had this idea for a while but your comment finally propelled me into action. I think maybe this might not be exactly what you had in mind, but I hope you'll still like it.

I'm still working on other Shamy fic projects that I hope I'll be able to share with you all soon. In the meantime please enjoy this one shot!

Lucky Number Thirteen

Sheldon hesitated for a second outside of his apartment before slowly opening the door, a little scared of what he might find inside. He'd left so abruptly before—and Leonard was right, he had been rude to Amy—there was no telling what had happened in the time he was gone. Would she be sitting in the living room crying right now because of him? Would she be standing at the ready with a harsh lecture? Or would she decide not to spend the night in their apartment with him at all? His heart clenched at the thought.

For a moment it seemed that she had picked the last option. The inside of 4B was dark and quiet. But then he saw a light coming from the bedroom.

"Amy?" he called for his wife as he flipped on the overhead lights in the living room.

A second later, there she was, standing in the bedroom doorway. She had changed out of the dress she'd had on earlier and removed her makeup and was now wearing one of her usual nightgowns. Apparently the wardrobe update did not extend to her sleepwear, and Sheldon felt a little bad about the rush of relief that gave him. Her hair and glasses were still different, but she looked more like the Amy he remembered.

"Hello," he said after she didn't say anything.

"Hey."

Her eyes were dull and downcast, and normally Sheldon was terrible at reading facial expressions, but even he knew this was bad. Thanks to his friends, he already he knew he had screwed up, but seeing the confirmation on Amy's face hit him hard.

"Amy, I'm sorry," he said. "I was overwhelmed by all the changes taking place in my life and I reacted poorly. I shouldn't have said that to you."

"Did you mean it?" she asked.

"What?"

"Did you mean what you said? That you liked me better the way I was?"

Sheldon sighed. This was going to be tricky.

"Yes, but only because that's what I'm used to," he explained. "You know I don't like change. But I will get used to this too."

Her shoulders slumped and she leaned against the doorframe.

"These aren't just changes that are happening in your life, Sheldon. Did you ever think maybe it's been hard on me too?"

Sheldon blinked. Honestly, no, he hadn't. He'd been so focused on how their Nobel win was wreaking havoc on his routine, he hadn't thought about how she was dealing with it. She had seemed okay that morning, happily chatting with the reporters and accepting the cheers of their colleagues in the cafeteria, but maybe it was more complicated for her than that. He should have known better. She'd told him before about how sometimes she sets aside her own feelings to be strong for him.

"Is that why you let Raj do this to you?" he asked.

"I didn't let him do this. I wanted to do it, and he helped me because he was there."

Unlike you, the unsaid words filled the space between them.

"You haven't seen the things people have been saying about me online . . ." she continued.

"What have they said?" He felt a surge of anger, hot and dark, and his hands formed fists at his sides. Amy should have come to him, he knew how to deal with online trolls, he'd done it before. She didn't have to do all this with Raj.

"It's not important now," Amy said. "Look, I know I shouldn't care. It never bothered me before. But now the scrutiny is on an international scale and I just, I don't know, I guess I caved under the pressure."

Sheldon didn't comment on that. He couldn't. He had caved under the pressure too.

"But I'm happy with the changes I made," she said. "And I'm sorry if you don't like it, but I'm not changing back for you."

Sheldon nodded.

"And I'm done tiptoeing around you on stuff like this. It's my body. I should be able to dress it however I want, change whatever I want about it, without worrying about you throwing a tantrum."

"Okay."

It was all he could say. She was right. It made him feel a little like he did that night when Amy was going to turn down the guest spot on Professor Proton because of him. He didn't want her to miss out on things because she was too worried about how he would react, or to give up on what she wanted because of him.

"And quite frankly, it's really concerning that you reacted like this over a haircut and a new outfit," she said. "You know if we have kids, my body is going to change. How are you going to deal with that? Or even just natural human aging? Are you going to throw a fit over every gray hair?"

She was getting worked up now, and it made him want to shrink inside himself. This was his fault, he made her feel this way. He had vowed to spend his life showing her how much he loved her, and tonight he had failed. They had just won a Nobel Prize, they were supposed to be happy, and instead they were arguing. There had to be a way for him to fix this.

"You know, years ago, when Wolowitz and Koothrappali dragged me to that coffee shop and told me I was meeting a woman from a dating site, I was bracing myself for someone like Penny. Some sexed-up, desperate woman in a short skirt and a shirt that barely held back her bosom."

Amy huffed, clearly not sure where this train of thought was headed, but her mouth broke into a smile anyway, which encouraged him to keep going.

"But then you stepped up to me, with your multiple layers and your sensible shoes. A fellow scientist also coerced into the dating scene. I was wholly unprepared to meet you."

"Is that why this upset you so much?" she asked. "My old outfits were the first thing you liked about me?"

Sheldon tilted his head, unsure if he should nod or shake. The answer was more complicated than that.

"It was one of the first things I noticed about you, yes, but you know I don't care about fashion. I would just like the record to show that I've always found you quite fetching."

Amy blushed and turned her eyes down in a way that he found very becoming.

"I didn't fall in love with your fashion sense. I fell in love with you. With your mind, with how sweet and patient you are with me. I know now that those things haven't changed."

Amy nodded.

"When I was out earlier, Penny helped me understand that the only constant thing in life is change, but how I feel about you goes beyond that. I can handle any other changes that come our way as long as I remember that I love you."

"I love you too," Amy said.

Over the course of their conversation, he had made his way from the front door to the space between the dining table and the loveseat, and now he stepped closer to her, so he was standing right in front of her in the bedroom doorway. She looked up at him with softened eyes, no longer dull and lifeless. He felt a swelling inside his chest.

"I'm sorry for how I acted, Amy," he told her again. "Everything we accomplished to get the Nobel, we did together. We should have stuck together to navigate the aftermath too, but instead I freaked out and ran off without talking to you."

"I probably should have talked to you first too," she said. Her eyes never left his, and he knew exactly what he needed to do.

"Let me make it up to you now," he said, bringing one hand up to cup the side of her face. "Let me take you to bed."

Her eyes widened a little.

"O-okay."

Slowly, he started walking forward, backing her up into their bedroom while his lips descended on hers. The kiss started soft but soon grew in intensity, and they only broke apart once they reached the bed. Amy laid back obediently and he took just a split second to admire her sprawled across the covers before he followed her down and helped her lift her nightgown over her head. Her panties came off right after and he quickly folded both into a neat pile on the floor.

"Sheldon," she called for him, her voice low, one hand outstretched to bring him back to her. He willingly heeded her call, crawling on hands and knees to move over her. When they were face-to-face again, he carefully removed her glasses and placed them on her nightstand, then leaned back in close enough for her to see him clearly.

"You should stop looking at me like that, or this will be over far too quickly," she said.

"Like what?"

"Like you're starving."

In lieu of answering, he claimed her mouth again, and gone were the soft kisses from earlier. This was hard and hot, his tongue dipping into her, sliding along her own.

She was right, he was starving for her. There had been some tentative amorous overtures the previous night, after they had shared the good news with Howard, Bernadette, and Raj and left Leonard and Penny's apartment for their own bed. They had after all just won the Nobel, and surely they deserved their own private celebration. But it had been so, so late, after some minutes of kissing and cuddling they had ended up asleep instead, and then there wasn't enough time before work to finish what they'd started.

Until just a few moments ago, Sheldon had been too overwhelmed to dwell any of that, but it was back in the forefront of his mind now and oh how he hated unfinished business. They'd put it off long enough.

Amy was moaning freely into his mouth and her hands were pulling at his shirts in an obvious attempt to disrobe him, but he resisted. He knew once they were both naked all that skin-on-skin contact would make him lose his mind, and he wanted to keep his wits about him for at least a little while. Plus, there was something about this position they were in right now, Amy completely nude and vulnerable beneath him while he remained fully clothed. They had never done it like this before, and he felt incredibly powerful.

Sheldon broke the kiss but stayed close, his forehead resting on hers. She whined his name and squirmed against him, and he would have smirked if his wasn't so busy panting for breath.

"Relax, darlin', relax," he told her.

When she stopped pressing and rubbing up against him and her hands went still on his back, he pressed a small kiss against her temple. Then her cheek. Then the corner of her mouth. Then her jaw. All the while whispering soft praises against her skin.

Then he reached her neck.

At first he just nuzzled her there, breathing deeply, the familiar scent of her both comforting and arousing. This was still his Amy, still the same soft, warm skin he was used to. Why had he been so upset before?

She sighed and reached up to run her fingers through his hair, her nails scratching his scalp just slightly, sending a pleasant tingle down his spine. That little jolt brought him out of the reverie. Right, he had a job to do. There would be plenty of time for him to nuzzle and cuddle her afterward.

His mouth started moving against her skin again, but now he brought his teeth into play, nibbling along the smooth column of her neck, down lower to nip and suck on her clavicle. She moaned and arched under him, which he took as an invitation for more, so he continued on his journey down her body.

He cupped both her breasts in his hands as his lips trailed south along her sternum. His thumbs each circled her nipples, working them into hardened points while he buried his nose into the cleavage he created and left open-mouthed kisses on the soft skin there.

"Ohhh, Sheldon . . ."

Her voice had turned breathy, the way he liked it, and the hand in his hair turned into a fist, tugging slightly on the short strands. The sensation sent another jolt through him, straight to his groin, and he hummed her name. It took a large amount of restraint not to start grinding his growing erection against her.

Instead, he kept lavishing attention on her breasts, squeezing and licking all around them until finally he took her right nipple into his mouth and sucked hard, making her gasp. Then he moved to the left and repeated the action.

"Sheldon, please," Amy begged. "Please, I need you."

She was pulling at his shirts again, trying to take them off or haul him back up to her face, he wasn't sure which. It was even easier to resist now that she was muddled and weak with arousal. He only looked up at her, making a tsk noise. She should know by now that he liked to take his time on these things, their twelve previous coital encounters should have prepared her.

Ignoring her pleas, Sheldon moved even lower down her body, kissing down from her breasts to her navel. His eyes met hers for a heated second before he moved lower still, leaving a single kiss on her pubic bone before gently opening her legs and focusing on that wet, aching part of her.

He had only done this once before, on their wedding night. He had wanted to do something special for her that night, an extra gift for her. He remembered feeling so nervous about it, not the act itself so much but whether or not he'd be able to follow through with it without succumbing to sensory overload. But he needn't have worried; as with everything else he did with Amy, it turned out fine and actually he found it quite enjoyable. It was amazing, how responsive she was to him, feeling her come completely undone under his mouth.

He needed to feel that again.

His eyes flicked back up to look at her once more. Her own eyes were half-lidded, her chest rising and falling quickly. She looked divine.

He kept his gaze locked on hers as he leaned forward and took his first lick of her.

Immediately, her head dropped back as she inhaled sharply. A second swipe of his tongue over her folds earned him a moan. Then, satisfied with her reaction, he stopped watching her face and started eating her out in earnest, lapping up the taste of her desire. She was so wet and slick for him, and his ministrations only made her more so. It was exactly as he remembered it. Once again, he was reassured. Her mind, her essence, her love, who she was at her core, none of these things has changed. None of the things that mattered had changed. She was still his Amy. He carved the letters M-I-N-E into her sex with the tip of his tongue and hoped she wouldn't notice.

He licked and teased her entrance for several seconds before his mouth lifted up and repositioned directly over her clit, which was swollen and begging for attention. Amy screamed and writhed helplessly as he suckled on it, his tongue tip flicking against it. Sheldon had to use one forearm to hold down her hips and maintain the contact. With his free hand, he found her entrance again and plunged two fingers inside her, earning him another pleasured cry.

"Ahhh, Sheldon, yes! Yes! More!"

Feeling her, tasting her, hearing her call his name, all of it was making his own arousal grow exponentially. As much as he wanted to draw this out, he knew he wouldn't be able to hold himself back for much longer. He wanted to be inside her so badly. He could feel her walls fluttering around his fingers and all he could think of was feeling that again around his cock. His pants were becoming uncomfortably tight and he subtly rubbed himself against the bed, trying to relieve some of the tension, trying to tide himself over for just a little longer.

And then he gave her what she wanted. He curled his fingers inside her, quickly locating her G-spot and stroking it directly while his mouth continued its attack on her clitoris, sucking and licking and very, very carefully closing his teeth down on it until she thrashed and wailed. Her hands clawed at the bedsheets and her thighs closed around his head as she rode out her orgasm.

One, he counted to himself.

When he felt her relax around him, he gave her one final kiss between her legs before pulling back, withdrawing his fingers from inside her and sitting back on his knees on the bed. It felt like waking up from a dream. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and then wiped his hands on the sheets, knowing they'd have to change them before they went to sleep anyway.

Amy was completely limp on the bed, her eyes closed and her chest heaving, her shorter hair a dark halo around her head. Sheldon stared at her unabashedly as he stood up and stripped off his clothes. Her eyes cracked open once he was fully naked, as if she could sense it, and he let her take him in. When her gaze fell on his erection, she licked her lips.

Moving back onto the bed, he cozied up to her again. She'd hardly moved at all from where he'd left her, but she turned her body a little towards his as he pressed in close. He brought one hand up to the side of her head, holding her in place while he dipped in for a kiss. Her tongue did not hesitate to slip past his lips and explore his mouth, and he knew she had to be tasting herself on him.

"Brilliant as always," she complimented him when they broke apart, still sounding breathless. He couldn't help feeling a little smug.

"Do you need more time?" he asked, even though he wasn't sure how much longer he could wait. His length pressed into her thigh, hard and throbbing.

Amy shook her head quickly before fusing her mouth to his in another fierce kiss. She grabbed at his shoulders and this time he allowed her to haul him back on top of her.

It didn't take long for him to settle between her open legs, his erection slipping against the wetness accumulated there. He moaned at the sensation and every instinct inside him screamed for him to hold her down, thrust in hard, and claim her.

So he did.

She gasped at the sudden intrusion, but the sound soon turned into a hum of pleasure, which he echoed. Her walls caressed him, so hot and tight, he had to pause for a moment to keep from losing it completely. He had to make this good for her first.

It was Amy who ended up making the first move by wrapping her legs around him and using her heels to push on the small of his back. Sheldon took the hint and started moving his hips, thrusting in and out of her at a slow, steady pace.

"You really are beautiful," he told her, his face close to hers.

She didn't reply with words, but she looked into his eyes so deeply and intensely he was sure she was looking right through them, straight into his brain to see which neurons were firing in response to her. The thought reminded him of those old drug PSAs he used to see.

This is your brain on Amy.

He smiled and she smiled back while they rocked together. Her hands were running all over him, up his arms and down his back and sides, everywhere she could reach. It all felt so good. That familiar, tingling heat was building up inside him, coiling up, prompting him to thrust into her deeper and faster.

"A-ahh, Sheldon!"

He shifted on top of her, adjusting his angle of penetration.

"Are you close?" he asked.

She only panted and moaned in response, his actions having turned her incoherent. Her nails dug into his shoulders, and that was all the answer he needed.

Sheldon reached down to where they were joined, seeking and finding her sensitive nub and circling it while he continued his thrusting. It only took a couple more seconds to get her there.

He felt her inner walls contracting around him rhythmically, practically milking him, while she cried out unintelligibly, and it took every ounce of willpower he had not to let go himself. Instead, he kept thrusting shallowly, waiting her out.

Two, he counted once he felt her start to relax.

He paused for only a moment before pulling back his hips and thrusting hard and fast into her again. Amy mewled beneath him, his actions bringing on an aftershock that made her start pulsing around him once more.

Three.

Finally, finally, Sheldon let himself go. He buried his face into her neck and groaned as he released deep inside her. The rush of relief was overwhelming, making him collapse on top of her, his arms unable to hold his weight anymore. But Amy didn't seem to mind; she stroked along his back and ran her fingers through his hair again while their chests heaved together.

After an indeterminate amount of time, Sheldon came back to his senses and rolled off her. As soon as he was settled back on his side of their bed, he pulled her back into his arms. They were both sticky with sweat and their combined fluids, but for the moment he didn't care. He was happy to just cuddle with her, basking in post-coital bliss. He'd never admit it out loud—he liked to pretend he was above all this—but this really was the only time he ever felt this high level of satisfaction. Balancing difficult equations at work only came marginally close.

"So how does it feel to sleep with a Nobel Prize winner?" she asked once she'd caught her breath.

"You tell me."

Her head was resting on his chest and he could feel her smile against his skin. He pressed a small kiss into her hair.

"You already were, but in case you need the extra closure, you are now completely, one hundred percent forgiven," she told him.

"It's redundant to say 'completely' and 'one hundred percent,' but thank you."

"A testament to your superior lovemaking skills. My brain is still too flooded with endorphins to think clearly."

"Good."

They laid quietly together for another second.

"You know, maybe this would be a good time for you to try out a new look too." She turned her head to look up at him, eyebrows raised in a question.

"I must have given it to you too well, you're still talking nonsense."

Rather than respond verbally, she settled back down against him, tucking her head under his chin. Her fingers danced along his ribs for a moment before coming back up to trace M-I-N-E right above his heart. Realizing what that meant, that she hadn't been quite as addled as he hoped, made his cheeks burn.

Out loud, he said, "I think the only other change I can handle right now is a change of bedsheets."

Inwardly, he thought, Vixen . . .