A/N: I wasn't even gonna post this but a friend made me reconsider.
For her, it was the wine, at least that's what she initially thought. In truth, she was attracted to him. Long ago she had convinced herself that the attraction was just one of a friendly nature. At times she would wonder what it would be like to be with him in an intimate relationship, but would quickly dismiss the notion.
If she had only known that he was just as morbidly afraid of ruining a perfectly good friendship as much as she was.
The wine, however, would be the one to blame when she said to hell with her inhibitions and kissed him. Before she had the chance to snap to her senses, to regret anything, he kissed her back. As his hands pulled her closer to him, she realized it wasn't the wine's fault at all. And when his tongue snaked in to her mouth, she knew the truth.
She loved him.
For him, it was her. Her personality was kind and honest. She could light up any room, which blew his mind. To crouch near rotting flesh and still look as good as she did was one of many gifts she possessed and he often wondered what the rest were. The ones she didn't show at work. The ones that she probably didn't even think were a gift at all. He resigned himself to finding those out, all the while admiring her from afar, loving her from a distance.
He never expected for his feelings to be reciprocated. So when she kissed him, his mind ran rapid.
'What's going on' was the first question he thought of but that was stupid even to him. So the next question was why? But as she started to pull away he realized he really didn't care why. His lips chased hers briefly before they met again and he pulled her closer. He tasted the wine on her tongue and he stopped himself. She had only had a glass, not enough for her to be even a little tipsy. But he still needed to know.
"Stella." He whispered hoarsely.
She knew what he was thinking. "Sheldon," she smiled reassuringly and stoked his cheek, "I'm sure."