"I knew that was going to happen," Sheldon commented with finality the moment Amy was awakened by her forehead hitting the backrest of the seat in front of her with a thud.
"What? Huh? Why?" Amy asked, blindly looking around, her mind struggling from that limbo between sleep and consciousness.
The physicist shook his head haughtily, his actions silently reproaching. "You dozed off and hit your forehead there," he said, extended index finger specifying the exact spot where Amy's face smacked against the upholstery.
"Oh," was the only sound she could produce.
Sheldon frowned. "If I had known you would be sleeping all the way to San Francisco, I would've told Leonard to drive us there." Then he sighed, leaning back into his aisle seat in the bus. "You requested my company on this journey and now you're going to fall asleep on me. If I had known earlier, I would've demanded that we take the train instead of this bus. By then, I wouldn't have minded the fact that you'll sleep the entire trip and I'll have no one to talk to because I'll be riding the train."
The neurobiologist adjusted the glasses perched on her nose. "I'm sorry, Sheldon. I've just been busy cramming for this presentation and this mode of transportation was the easiest I could arrange given the ample time." She shuffled the sheets of paper in her hand and tapped them against her lap. "The invitation from UCSF came with a very short notice," she continued, slipping the papers into the manila envelope, "but the opportunity was just too good to turn down."
Sheldon sighed but nodded empathically. "I understand. UCSF does take pride and prestige as one of the best institutions in the health sciences." His eyes caught sight of his girlfriend unable to suppress a yawn. "Are you that sleepy?"
"I suppose I am," she replied shrugging as she placed the envelope into her satchel. She looked out the window and tried to hide another impending yawn before granting Sheldon her attention anew. "Normally, I don't snooze while traveling. But I've only had three hours of sleep."
"Well then, you should've bought yourself a neck pillow." As though to make his point, Sheldon readjusted the gray pillow cradling his head from around his long neck. "This ought to save you the embarrassment of hitting your face against the germ-infested crannies of this bus."
"I, in fact, do have one," Amy contrasted in her defense. "But I forgot mine as I had been hurrying to pack." With sleep-clouded eyes, her mouth pointed to his pillow. "That looks very comfortable though."
He regarded her in subtle alarm. "I'm not going to give mine to you."
"I wasn't expecting you to. And I wasn't going to ask either."
"Good."
She smiled. "Tell you what: the next time you see me dozing off, just pinch my arm so I'd wake up."
"Are you sure?" he asked, an eyebrow cocking in doubt. "We still have approximately six hours left of travel time before we reach San Francisco. You could use that time to rest before you present your paper."
"I'm sure, Sheldon." Amy clasped her hands together and allowed them to rest on her belly. "It's also a way for me to ensure that you have someone to talk to."
"Alright."
Sheldon looked up front to see an elderly man and woman feebly toddling down the bus aisle to a vacant seat. Then he heard the announcement about the bus leaving the depot in two minutes. The tall man rolled his eyes, thinking it was about time. This was only the second station among the numerous others they still had along the way after all.
He followed the old couple with his eyes as they found an empty space adjacent to where Sheldon and Amy were. With the way they held each other's hands as they guided each other into their spots, Sheldon assumed that they were a married couple, as though the aged, almost wafer-thin gold bands on each of their ring fingers weren't clues enough.
The bus finally left the depot as soon as everyone had settled in, including the elderly couple next to them. Sheldon noticed that the pair hadn't stopped holding hands since they boarded and even as they took their respective seats. Curiously, he realized he was smiling despite himself.
Feelings he characterized to be warm and tender crept up inside him. He remembered his Mee-Maw and his Pee-Paw. Theirs was the only kind of shared lives that he understood. He'd never been repulsed by it. In fact, Sheldon secretly hoped that should he fall in love—although he believed the occurrence was highly unlikely—it would be the same kind of consuming love that his Mee-Maw and Pee-paw gave each other. Maybe he'd even carve their names on a tree trunk, the same way his grandparents did. Or perhaps he'd find something more practical, like founding an educational facility to nurture exceptionally gifted minds like his and Amy's. As if there'd be anyone remotely close to our geniuses, he scoffed.
Still, the idea didn't seem as bad. He turned to his side to share the thought. "Amy, I have a sugges—"
He stopped short. Amy's head rested against the back of her seat, face toward Sheldon, eyes closed. The even rising and falling of her chest told him she had fallen asleep again.
The bus jerked for a bit yet it wasn't strong enough to jolt Amy out of her slumber. Her head dropped forward, swaying dangerously along with every movement of the vehicle. Any moment soon, Sheldon was convinced she was going to strike her head against the window.
Sheldon removed his neck pillow, squeezing it between his hip and the movable armrest at his left. His left hand reached out to Amy's right cheek, his fingers carefully guiding her head toward him, allowing it to rest on his shoulder.
Amy didn't wake up, nor gave any indication of awareness of the situation and Sheldon was glad for it, finally releasing the breath he didn't know he'd been holding. She really must be so tired, he thought.
A wave of sleepiness drifted over him as well. He lay his head on top of Amy's, her hair wafting of the scent of menthol. He inhaled deeply and closed his eyes, losing himself in sleep as a smile formed across his lips. It felt like the most natural thing in the world.
Author's Notes:
I had to take a bus ride just recently and this idea was born inside that bus. I'm not from the US and am not familiar with their transportation system. However, I always do my research before writing and I hope that the effort is good enough.
Standard disclaimers apply. I do not own the characters: they belong to Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady. Likewise, I do not own any trademarks I might've mentioned in the story. They belong to their respective owners. I do not earn anything out of writing this so please don't sue me. This is meant for entertainment purposes only. Thank you for reading.