Sheldon sat in the living room, his hands clasped together on his lap, going over and over in his head about what he was going to say when Leonard gets home. He just had no idea when he will get home.
He heard the sound of the locks twisting and unlocking, and in entered Leonard with a tired look.
His eyes immediately spotted Sheldon sitting in his designated spot and his eyes locking with his. Leonard sighed, hanging his work bag. He felt this heaviness on his chest the minute he walked in. Sheldon might be the most annoying, arrogant roommate in the world, but he was his best friend and Leonard felt like he had almost lost him. That feeling of being close to a loss like that stuck with him.
"Leonard," Sheldon greeted. "How was your day?"
Leonard was taken aback immediately. His eyebrows furrowed as he made his way to the kitchen to get a snack, "It was fine. Why?"
Sheldon scoffed, shaking his head, "I'm simply asking."
Then there was silence between them. Sheldon decided to start, "Leonard, I wanted to speak to you about yesterday."
Leonard, with his back facing Sheldon, stopped with what he was doing. Perhaps this was an apology. Yesterday had to be one of the worst fights they ever had, to the point where Leonard had an asthma attack.
He turned around and went to the lone couch to sit. He sat and looked at Sheldon, "Let's talk."
Sheldon cleared his throat, "I know I have caused unnecessary pain to you yesterday...and I am sorry. You and everyone else have tried to be there for me during this difficult time that, again, I have caused. I have taken you for granted. You don't deserve to be."
Leonard half-smiled, nodding as he listened.
"I feel as if I do not have enough words to describe my gratitude, but all I can say is I appreciate you. I hope you can forgive me."
Leonard cleared his throat and looked over at Sheldon, "I forgive you. But, I need you to know something."
Sheldon nodded.
"You are not a burden. You were never a burden. Yes, you attempted and..." Leonard's voice cracked. "And you're currently going through more challenges. Especially going to counseling which I am very proud of you for. That day...that day I thought I lost you. I have never felt so scared in my life, Sheldon. It felt like my life was falling apart. I need you to know that I truly care for you, I do. Please, don't ever do that again. I will be here for you until we are very old and I can't get up from this couch anymore. Do you understand?"
Sheldon's eyes were glossy, touched by Leonard's words. That man truly was his best friend, and he scared him that frightful day. The thought of losing him scared him.
The tall man got up from his seat and went over to Leonard and gave him a hug as he was still sitting. Leonard's eyes widened. But, he returned the awkward hug.
He'll accept this hug as if it would be the last.
_________
"God, the food here is so good," Eric gleamed as he stuffed his face with mashed potatoes.
Angela and her siblings were at a buffet eating dinner before they were to begin the night of festivities. It was unusual for the siblings alone to go on a trip together, but after their father passed away they figured they would begin a new tradition amongst them.
As Angela ate, Sandy looked over at her since she noticed that she had been very quiet since they've gotten there. Specifically, the beginning of the trip.
"How are you holding up, little sister?"
Angela sighed, "I'm fine."
Eric glanced at Sandy as he stuffed his face with food, "She's not."
Angela rolled her eyes and dropped her fork beside her plate, "I am. I am just eating and enjoying my time with you two."
Sandy nodded, taking a bite of her food, "It's about Sheldon, isn't it? He'll be fine, he's got his friends and you've been with him at his side since what happened."
Sandy was right. Angela worried about Sheldon and hoped he was taking care of himself as she went on this trip. Every single day she was taking care of him and making sure he was fine and this weekend is the first weekend separate from each other.
"You're right. I can't help it," Angela confirmed. "I worry about him."
Sandy's eyes softened at her little sister. She can tell Angela was deeply in love with Sheldon and couldn't imagine what would've happened if Sheldon didn't make it. She put her hand over Angela's, "He'll be okay."
Angela smiled in response, but slithered her hand away from under Sandy's touch.
"I have to know though, Angie," Sandy began. "Since he broke up with you before the...y'know, did y'all ever talk about that?"
Angela felt her chest drop at that topic. She wondered that every day but never once did they ever discuss it. They never even discussed that night. It's as if they were dancing around the elephant in the room.
Eric stared at Angela hoping for a response.
Angela cleared her throat, "We never talk about it."
Both the siblings groaned in annoyance with both of them rolling their eyes.
"What do you mean y'all never talk about it?!" Sandy exclaimed.
"Yeah! What the hell do y'all talk about?" Eric added in.
"We talk about everything but that night."
"This is outrageous. I know you love the man but there's still gotta be some clearness about where this is heading for you two! You're doing everything for this man, surely he knows where this is headed," Sandy said.
Angela felt fire rise into her chest, "Sandy! The last thing the man needs right now is for me to pester him about our relationship! He has been through a lot, I don't need to add more pressure than he already feels. And do you truly think I don't think about that? I think about it all the time. But it is not a priority right now. Do you understand?"
Both Sandy and Eric glanced at each other and back at Angela who sighed afterwards. She meant every word, but for it to be shined light upon this weekend is not what she wanted. She just wanted to tag along with her siblings and leave all baggage at home. Obviously, it was not turning out that way.
Sandy nodded, "Angie, sweetie, we care for you. Not only has Sheldon been through a lot, you have too. Just take the weekend to think about it. Just know that the both of you deserve to be happy. That's all I'm gonna say."
"Same here," Eric added.
Angela sighed and nodded in agreement. She remained silent, looking down at her food. She lost her appetite.
________
Angela was climbing up the stairs of Sheldon's apartment complex with her luggage following behind her. She was very excited to see Sheldon instead of talking to him over the phone and constantly asking how he was doing. The other part of her had decided to bring up a slightly difficult topic that she was nervous to bring up.
She finally got to the fourth floor and tiredly knocked on the apartment door. 0.5 seconds only passed when the door swung open and it was Sheldon, who immediately engulfed Angela into a tight hug.
Angela's heart bursted at the sudden hug and the excitement she felt when she felt his tall body against her's. Her arms barely wrapped around him but it was enough.
"Don't ever leave for too long again," Sheldon said, his arms squeezing her tightly.
Angela giggled and nodded, "I will never leave again. Let's get inside?"
Sheldon released Angela and helped her with her luggage. As Sheldon neatly put her luggage aside, Angela sat herself on the couch. She felt as if something was different about Sheldon. His demeanor seemed more uplifted and more energy compared to when she left him. She wondered what could have happened to change this about him.
Sheldon sat in his spot next to Angela, grabbing her hands into his. He smiled and looked into Angela's eyes, "How are you? How was your trip?"
Angela smiled and was slightly shocked at his question. She began telling Sheldon about her trip and began complaining about everything that went wrong. Mid sentence about how Sandy and Eric woke up late one of the days, Sheldon cupped Angela's face and began kissing her.
Her eyes widened and observed Sheldon's features and saw that his eyes were closed and relaxed, therefore she as well fluttered her eyes shut and returned her kiss. She felt as if she longed for his touch for such a long time, and she knew she should enjoy this moment.
Her hands caressed his face as their lips slowly moved. Her heart leapt with joy, and her cheeks began to flush red.
Sheldon then used his other hand to pull Angela closer to him and Angela pulled back away from him, "Wait."
Sheldon stopped and was confused by Angela's sudden stop.
"We...we need to talk, Sheldon."
Sheldon's eyebrows furrowed, but nodded, "Okay. What do you want to talk about?"
"You," Angela began. "You and I...before everything happened, you ended our relationship. Then, I began staying here with you to take care of you and being here with you, but we never talked about that night."
"Angela, I was not in the right headspace when I made that decision. I...I am terribly sorry."
"I don't want you to be sorry. I'm sorry for you to be in such a dark place, alone. Every day since that day, I have hated myself that I didn't question you further. That I didn't immediately come to your apartment. I could have lost you."
Angela's voice cracked, and she covered her lips in attempt to block her sob that wanted to escape her.
"I love you, Sheldon. The only reason I am bringing this up now, is to finally talk about what happened...and to see where our future lies."
Sheldon looked away for a second at the mention of their future. His mind immediately jumped to if Angela wanted to leave him, but he knew what he needed to do.
"That night was planned. Ending our relationship was a last minute decision," Sheldon began. "I knew if I ended our relationship prior to—doing what I was planning to do—there would be no ties from you to me. I believed that my death would be easier on you if the relationship ended. I then sat in the bathtub for an hour before I finally used Leonard's sleeping pills as my exit plan."
He paused, afraid to look Angela in her eyes, "All I could think about was you as I waited for the pills to kick in. I saw your eyes before I woke up in the hospital, only to find you by my side. I didn't mean to hurt you, Angela." His voice broke, causing Angela to break and engulf Sheldon into a tight hug.
Together, they cried and held each other. Angela's hands rubbed his back as he cried into her neck.
For half an hour, they remained in each other's arms. The two who were once dancing around the elephant in the room were now closed than ever as they finally released what they were feeling.
Their eyes were puffy from all the crying and they finally pulled back to see each other face to face again.
"Thank you, Angela. For everything you have done for me," Sheldon managed to say, as he wiped his own tears.
Angela weakly smiled, "Thank you for letting me in."
Sheldon smiled back, putting his hand on top of her's, "I would like to ask you a question."
Angela nodded, "Yes, I would love to be your girlfriend again."
Sheldon shook his head, "That is not what I was going to ask."
Angela's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "Oh?"
Sheldon rolled his eyes, "Okay that is what I was going to ask but I didn't like that you answered before I asked."
"Okay, well ask your question and I apologize for answering before you asked."
"Will you be my girlfriend again?" Sheldon asked.
"Absolutely."