A/N: Hi everyone. This is the first chapter based on a prompt I received from cas3975 (FoxyTeaKettle77 on ff dot net). I hope you enjoy!

The day Stuart's comic book store burned down was one of the worst days of Sheldon Cooper's life. Every Wednesday since he had lived in Pasadena, Sheldon traveled to Comic Central to check out the new releases. In a way, the comic book store was his home away from home. It was the perfect environment to immerse himself in the world of superheroes, his refuge from the awkward social interactions that plagued him at work and among the general public.

Sheldon maintained a very small circle of friends who shared his interests, including his passion for comic books. While they too mourned the loss of their Wednesday gathering place, they were more receptive to finding an alternate location until it reopened, whenever that may be.

Leonard thoroughly researched the area's best comic book stores, creating a chart with travel time from their apartment, store hours, selection, and Yelp star ratings. It was a nice gesture, and had it been under different circumstances, Sheldon would have been grateful. Unfortunately, the kind act only added to Sheldon's aggravation, for it wasn't just the store that he lost. Soon he would be losing his roommate and best friend.

Leonard dropped a bombshell on him earlier in the day. He informed him that he and Penny got engaged the night before and that he would move out when they married. The guys had shared an apartment for 11 years, and now Leonard would throw that all away for a woman.

Since his revelation, the experimental physicist was being extra kind to him, but Sheldon refused to let that sway his stance. He begged Leonard to reconsider but was met with resistance. Sheldon even suggested the three of them share the apartment to keep some semblance of homeostasis. It would be another change to get used to if Penny moved in, but it was better than living alone. Strangely, though he wasn't a fan of human contact, he couldn't help but feel abandoned.

As if those two issues weren't enough, the university refused to allow him to change his focus from string theory to inflationary cosmology. He pleaded his case to Human Resources and President Siebert but to no avail. How could they continue to fund a dead end field of study when they could bestow their money on something worthwhile? Had the whole universe descended into madness?

Everything had become too much to handle, so Sheldon snuck off to the train station with the intention of running away. To where, it didn't matter. If only Leonard hadn't tracked his phone's GPS. He could have been on his way to Albuquerque, or even New York, by now. In the end, the couple convinced him that running away would just add to his growing list of problems, and he reluctantly went home with them.

Leonard let him sulk and complain, but after two days, he'd had enough of Sheldon's moping and finally managed to persuade the brooding man to accompany him to an undisclosed location, under the guise of needing his expertise with some electronics. He pulled into a modest parking lot in a Glendale stripmall and cut the engine then waited patiently as his friend scrutinized the building.

Sheldon looked up at the signs on the building and frowned. "None of these shops deal with any type of electronics."

"Yeah, about that... We're actually here for another reason."

Sheldon narrowed his eyes when they locked in on one of the store names. "Comics Haven? You tricked me, Leonard."

"Sorry, Buddy. It was the only way to get you here."

Crossing his arms over his chest, he huffed. "It's not even Wednesday."

"That's why we came today. I thought we could scope out the place. Who knows? Maybe it will become our new Wednesday hangout."

"Stuart's place is my Wednesday hangout," he grumbled.

Leonard reached out to touch his friend's arm, but before he made contact, he quickly retracted it. "I miss Comic Central as much as you do and feel awful for Stuart, but he may not reopen for months. We either need to find a new place or buy our comics online."

The thought of buying online briefly crossed Sheldon's mind, but he quickly abandoned it. He loved the smell of new comic books being pulled straight from box and the thrill of discovering new collectibles he could hold in his hands before purchasing. There was no satisfaction in clicking images on a screen.

"Fine. I'll look at this place, but if it's too flashy or smells funny, I expect you to take me home immediately."

Leonard rolled his eyes. "That's the spirit!"

A bell jingled above the door as they stepped inside, and Sheldon cringed. Strike one. Two more strikes and he was done. He wove through the aisles, assessing each aspect of this unfamiliar establishment. New releases and older issues were clearly marked with signs above in a pleasing font. That was very reassuring. Also reassuring was the fact that the store held a very mild scent of ammonia, a good indication it was clean. There were no dust bunnies hiding in corners or stains on the floor, which further proved his hypothesis. After his initial assessment, he parked himself in front of a bin of mint in box discounted figurines.

"I'm Cody. Welcome to Comics Haven. How may I help you?" A young male voice sounded behind the guys.

Sheldon jumped, hand on heart. "Appearing out of nowhere is no way to greet potential customers. Didn't your mother teach you any manners? Perhaps your manager needs to be made aware of this situation."

"Sheldon!" Leonard hissed. To the employee he apologized. "Don't mind him; he's been more insufferable than usual the last couple of days."

The young man looked skeptical. "I can get her."

"Her who?" Sheldon asked suspiciously, but his words didn't reach his intended listener. The young man disappeared as quickly as he had arrived. "Leonard, I think I've had enough of this."

"Seriously? We just got here."

"Employees should be more mindful of their clientele. One doesn't go around sneaking up on..." Sheldon trailed off when a dark-haired, bespectacled woman about his age approached him.

"What seems to be the problem, gentlemen?"

"We... um... Who are you?" His eyes scanned her body, from the Superman t-shirt, down to her denim skirt, and finally to her sensible shoes before sliding up to her torso.

She suddenly crossed her arms over her chest. "My eyes are up here."

Sheldon furrowed his brow. "What? Oh!" He exclaimed, realizing her implication. "I wasn't trying to... that is, I was... trying to... umm... look at your name tag to determine your connection to the store."

The woman pursed her lips. "I'm the owner and manager. My employee informed me you wished to speak with me."

Sheldon looked at her incredulously. "You're the manager?! But you're... you're a..."

Her emerald eyes blazed, "A woman?"

"I didn't say that."

"But you were thinking it. I know your type, the type of guy who thinks women know nothing about comic books. Let me assure you, I am well versed in every major superhero universe. Go on. Ask me something."

"You may think you are well versed, but I highly doubt your knowledge supersedes the wealth of knowledge that resides in here." He tapped his head with his fingers.

She placed her hands on her hips. "Oh really?"

Leonard reddened. "You'll have to excuse him. He's been a little out of sorts since the comic book store we frequent burned down."

"Comics Central. I read about it in the Pasadena Star-News." She shook her head sadly.

"The owner is our friend, and he's already been down on his luck." Leonard paused. "Sorry. That's probably more than you want to know. We're scoping out another shop to appoint as our new hangout until Stuart..."

Sheldon glared at his friend. "Leonard," he murmured. To the young woman he said, "excuse us a moment."

The taller man took a few steps away and waited impatiently as Leonard exchanged a few words with the manager before joining him.

"What's wrong now, Sheldon?"

"Why are you telling her we're looking for a new comic book shop?"

"Because we are?"

Sheldon sighed in exasperation. "Leonard, by giving her that information, she will expect to receive our business. This is the first out of, Lord knows how many, comic book shops in the LA area that we have looked into."

"I thought you weren't interested in checking out any stores."

"That was before I thought about the implications of buying online." Sheldon looked over his friend's head to see the brunette eyeing them curiously. "She's making eye contact. Oh, dear Lord! Now we're going to have to make a purchase."

"Well, it is customary to make a small purchase," Leonard mocked him.

Sheldon glared at him as he thought back to the night he had used almost those same words when Leonard had apparently used the restroom at a gas station without making a purchase. "I see what you're trying to do, and it's working." He stomped off to the new comic book rack and perused the selections. As it wasn't a Wednesday, there were no issues he didn't already have that he was interested in. Maybe there was a figure or game he didn't already possess. While Leonard was content looking over back issues of Superman and Green Lantern, Sheldon walked through the game aisle. Got it. Got it. Got it.

Out of the corner of his eye he noticed the woman had discreetly moved behind the counter. Some shop owners followed the customers around, which he found annoying and insulting. It was like they expected every customer to steal. Instead, she didn't even appear to be paying attention to him, her head ducked down as she counted change in the cash register. The young man who scared the bejesus out of him suddenly appeared next to her. He and his boss exchanged a few words before she gathered some bills, looked up and held Sheldon's gaze for a moment, then slipped through a door to what he assumed was to her office.

Sheldon stared at the unassuming, slightly scuffed closed door. He imagined her seated in a worn swivel chair, hunched over a scratched desk, sorting the bills by monetary value into a deposit envelope.

"Buddy, you okay?" Leonard asked, tapping him on the shoulder.

Sheldon jumped. "Don't do that!"

"Sorry, you looked like you were in a trance."

"Leonard, I have my wits about me at all times. Never have I been in a hallucinational state of mind, or trance as you call it."

"Okay, Buddy. Whatever you say. I'm going to pay for this." He held up an older issue of Superman, #79 'Reign of the Supermen'. "Are you getting anything?"

Sheldon scanned the shelves. He felt obligated to make a small purchase, and if he was being honest with himself, he wanted to help out the owner, who it seemed received just as little business as Stuart had. Not a single customer arrived since he and Leonard came in, which was mildly disturbing. He'd thought it was only Stuart's store that suffered after the introduction of online shopping. The thought of brick and mortar stores becoming obsolete was distressing. He didn't really need another Mystic Warlords of Ka'a card pack, but at least there was a small chance he might get lucky and score a rare goblin king card. He sorted through the box and plucked one out. Noting the slightly messy state of the items on the shelf, he rearranged the ones out of place until everything was perfectly parallel to the shelf edges. Much better.

Cody rung them up at the counter, their previous awkward encounter apparently forgotten, as he jibber-jabbered about a Ka'a tournament he attended in San Diego two years earlier. Ugh. The guy was so cheery and wouldn't shut up. Sheldon missed Stuart's gloomy disposition already. He decided the best way to deal with the incessant chatter was to tune this kid out.

As soon as he was able to get away, he raced to the door, but not before glancing over his shoulder to take one last look at the door the woman entered through, though he couldn't fathom why he was even mildly interested in what she might be doing behind that door.