This is just a little drabble I had bouncing around after that lovely Shamy scene in The Locomotive Manipulation. :D
I'm going to keep it as a one shot, but, depending on the response I get, I may add some other chapters later.
"I deserve romance and I didn't know how else to make it happen," Amy said, obviously frustrated with the way the conversation had been going.
"Well, if you want romance, let's have romance!" Sheldon exclaimed, sparking the tantrum that would change the course of his relationship with Amy in ways that he did not even realize at the time.
"Oh look, there's wine. Mmm," Sheldon said as he picked up Amy's glass and took a big drink from it. "Grape juice that burns," he added as he chocked back the unfamiliar aftertaste of the beverage.
"Let's gaze into each other's eyes! Hmm..." Sheldon added condescendingly. His frustration with Amy was clearly getting the better of him. He was offended that his girlfriend, the person he was supposed to be able to trust the most, had betrayed and tricked him. She was getting upset over the fact that he was enjoying the train ride and had made a new friend. He didn't understand what her problem was. She had, after all, told him that this would be a weekend they both could enjoy.
"You blinked. I win!" Sheldon said, the frustration apparent in his voice.
"Sheldon..." Amy pleaded. That was the last thing Sheldon remembered clearly before things started to get a little fuzzy.
"Oh, kissing's romantic," Sheldon said without hesitation.
Without a second thought, Sheldon did something that no one, not even himself, thought he would do. He leaned in and went for it. In a split second, his lips were on Amy's, tasting the brownie that they had for dessert. It was unfamiliar territory for Sheldon and he wasn't quite sure what was happening. He felt his heart in his throat, pounding harder than he had ever imagined possible. His brain was becoming more cloudy and he felt the room starting to spin.
1 Mississippi... 2 Mississippi... 3 Mississippi... 4 Mississippi...
The next thing he knew, something else was taking over him. It was something that he didn't have statistics and data on. There were no facts or research on this feeling for him to analyze. The man who relied on logic and reason found himself without both. All he knew was that he didn't want this feeling to stop. He had to get closer to Amy and he had to do it one swift move, Sheldon stepped closer, closing the gap between them.
5 Mississippi... 6 Mississippi... 7 Mississippi... 8 Mississippi...
Still, it wasn't close enough for him. In the absence of his brain, his body took over and without realizing it, his right hand found it's way to Amy's hip. To most, this wouldn't seem like a big deal, but for Sheldon, this was something that he had never before experienced.
9 Mississippi... 10 Mississippi... 11 Mississippi...
Sheldon began to feel Amy shaking next to him. Then, he realized that he was shaking, snapping him back from the trance that had taken over him. Sheldon pulled away from Amy, not leaving much room between them. In those 11 seconds, he was out of his head and his heart was calling the shots. When he first boarded the train, all he cared about was the train itself. Now, the only thing he could think was how he didn't want to be away from Amy.
There was a moment of silence and stillness between them before Amy finally spoke.
"That was nice," she said, shocked at what had just happened.
"Good," was all that Sheldon could think of.
There was another moment of silence and stillness between them as the looked at each other, still in disbelief of the events that had just occurred. Neither of them wanted it to end, but in a fleeting second, they felt the Earth start to move again and Sheldon finally spoke.
"Umm... the conductor said if I came back to the boiler room, he'd show me how to bring the train through a crossing," he said.
"Okay, have fun," Amy said, disappointed that he was leaving her after that kiss.
"Do you want to come with me?" Sheldon asked.
"Really? I do," Amy replied.
With that, they both walked off towards the boiler room, completely wrapped up in their thoughts. To them, it was as if no one else was around. They couldn't even hear Sheldon's new friend calling after them, wanting to go with them to the boiler room. The feeling continued once in the boiler room.
As the conductor spoke, Sheldon's head was still cloudy. He barely heard a word that the conductor said, though he still acted like he was involved. Sheldon wanted to be there, in the boiler room. He wanted to see what the conductor was doing and learn more about trains. He wanted to be involved with the environment around him, but he couldn't seem to get his head together. As hard as he tried to be in that room, he felt like he was somewhere else.
"This must be cloud nine," Sheldon thought to himself.
Once at the bed and breakfast, Howard and Bernadette noticed that something was different about Sheldon and Amy. When they left them on the train, Amy was upset and Sheldon was throwing a tantrum. But, now, everything about them was different. Sheldon's entire demeanor had changed. It was almost like someone had replaced the Sheldon that they had always known with an impostor.
"What happened after we left?" Howard mumbled to Amy as Sheldon and Bernadette walked ahead to the check-in desk.
"He kissed me," was all Amy could muster, with a huge grin on her face.
"Whaaa?!" Howard said, clearly shocked. He wasn't sure what he was expecting, but he knew that it wasn't that.
"We were arguing and the next thing I know, he leaned in and kissed me," Amy replied.
"Who knew that he had it in him," Howard said.
"Please don't tell Bernadette. At least not right now. I just want to have this night for myself," Amy asked of him.
"You got it," Howard promised with a grin on his face.
Once in their rooms, Sheldon laid on his bed, his thoughts swirling around his brain. For most of the night, he stayed up, replaying what happened on the train in his head. He could still feel Amy's lips on his and could still taste the brownie. He remembered the way Amy's body fit perfectly next to his. He remembered feeling her nerves getting the best of her and how his knees felt like they would give out at any second. He tried to rationalize what happened, but no matter how hard he tried, he did not succeed. All he could think about was kissing her again.
The rest of the weekend felt surreal to Sheldon. Part of him felt like he was living a very vivid dream and that he would wake up at any moment. The other part of him never wanted to wake up if this was a dream. He tried to avoid questions from Howard and only gave vague answers if he was cornered. He still didn't understand what happened, how was he supposed to answer Howard's questions?
"I'm just happy for you," Howard said as he patted Sheldon on the back. Sheldon smiled and said thank you. He was never particularly close with Howard, but hearing him say that somehow solidified what had happened for Sheldon.
The rest of the weekend was a quiet one. The conductor had stopped by the play his banjo as promised. The gang went sight-seeing during the days and had dinner at night. Sheldon sneaked in small, quick glances at Amy and felt rather successful when he wasn't caught. When they walked together, Sheldon would reach out and grab Amy's hand to feel closer to her. He wanted to kiss her again, but he never felt as though it was the right moment. As disappointing as it was for him, he knew that there would be time for that when they got home.
Before this trip, Sheldon never thought that 11 seconds could change someone's life. He never realized that a decision made in half of a second, a decision made out of anger, could effect him this much. He knew he cared about Amy before, but after those 11 seconds, he knew he loved her.