Mary Cooper rolled down the driver's side window of her rusty 1964 Buick and peered around for any sort of sign. Her sixteen year old son sat beside her, periodically rolling his eyes and crossing his skinny arms over his chest. She knew that he was disappointed, but it would be nice if he could at least try to fake it. She turned onto another dirt path and finally found the parking lot she'd been looking for. As she put the car in park, she caught her son subtly rubbing his hands under his eyes and wiping them on his jeans. Despite her son's sadness, she was secretly glad he was showing any emotion other than resentment and contempt.

"Oh, Shelly," she comforted, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Who's to say that this won't be a good experience for you?"

He shook off her hand and raised his misty blue eyes to meet hers. "Mother, there is no logical reason for me to become a summer camp counselor at this point in time. I'd like to go home now."

Mary sighed and looked down at her lap. "Sweetie, teaching some little kids about science is not gonna kill ya," she said in her Texan drawl. "Besides, all you do is sit around the house and read all day."

"Sit around and read?" Sheldon exclaimed, practically jumping out of his seat. "Mother, I was earning my PhD!"

"Yeah, well, now you have your PhD," she countered bitterly, exhausted from the long drive.

"And I should be putting it to good use!" cried Sheldon. "I should be accepting a position at a university and beginning my research!"

"You're too young, baby. I want you to try to have fun," she encouraged, rubbing her hand on his knee.

Sheldon inhaled a shaky breath in lieu of a response.

Mary recognized the emotion right away and racked her brain for anything that would soothe his anxiety. "Shelly, picture it like this. You are the smartest person at this entire summer camp. Everybody here, camper and counselor alike, will be subjected to your genius. They need a leader like you, Shelly."

Sheldon looked out the window and peered around for the first time since arriving. "I suppose you're right," he whispered, not fully convinced.

Mary smiled softly at her child. "Do you want me to go in with you?"

Sheldon found it in him to smile for the sake of his worried mother, but only for a brief moment. "No, mom, I'm sure I can manage."

Mary couldn't help but feel sad. She'd never spent a single day away from her son, not one. Even when he locked himself up in his bedroom and refused to come out, he'd always let her in. She broke down in tears as all of the memories with her baby boy suddenly came to mind. Did she really want him to go? Oh, of course she did, he needed to do something normal. Oh, but she'd miss him so.

"It's alright, mama," Sheldon said with the southern twang he so desperately tried to ween himself off of.

Mary wrapped her arms around him and he eventually returned her embrace, uncomfortably patting her on the back.

"I love you, Shelly," she said as she pulled away and wiped her tears.

"I love you, too," he replied quietly and grabbed his bag from the back seat.

Mary watched as her son exited the car and gently closed the door. She would miss his gentleness most of all. Lord knows she wouldn't be getting any gently closed doors from her other children. "Promise you'll write me at least once a week."

"I will," he assured her through the open window. "Drive safely."

"Okay," she sighed and put the car in drive. "Goodbye, Shelly," she said before turning into the winding dirt roads she'd just conquered.

Sheldon looked up at the blazing Dallas sun and wiped a bead of sweat from his brow. "Mom was right," he muttered to himself. "Hell is real."

He rolled up the sleeves of his long-sleeved undershirt and headed towards a cabin with a sign that read 'information'. An elderly woman sat at the front desk, but she was too enthralled by her knitting needles to notice him enter.

"Excuse me?" Sheldon called to her, taking note of the hearing aid in her left ear.

The woman dropped the needles in surprise and clutched a hand to her chest. "Oh, I'm sorry, dear! I didn't see you there."

"I know you didn't," he replied coolly. "Otherwise you would have greeted me immediately," he explained, jutting out his neck in confusion. Was it customary to state the obvious all around the world?

The woman rolled her eyes. "Can I help you with something, young man?"

Sheldon straightened his back professionally. "Why, yes! Yes, you can," he answered. "I'm here because I was recruited to be a counselor at a science camp for diaper babies. Can you please point me in the right direction?"

She smiled despite his attitude. It was in her job description. "Of course I can," she said. She paused and dug out of map from behind her desk before handing it her visitor. "This is where we are," she said, pointing to the map. "Science camp counselors are having an orientation over here," she continued, pointing to another area on the map.

"Thank you!" Sheldon exclaimed, grateful to have found someone who knew what they were doing.

As he exited the building, he started to think to himself that maybe this wouldn't be so bad. That train of thought came to an abrupt halt when he arrived at where he was supposed to be. There was a whole circle of people already assembled. He began to panic. Was he late? Sheldon Cooper was never late. His Meemaw had always told him that if you're early, you're on time, and if you're on time, you're late. He'd never disappointed his Meemaw and he wasn't about to start now. He was tempted to just run away, but before he could execute his plan, he felt a rough hand clutch his elbow.

"Hello there!" the hoary man said. "You must be Sheldon Cooper! Mary told me about you on the phone."

Sheldon stiffened. Everything about this man was dirty. His white hair, his wire-rimmed glasses, his white t-shirt covering his beer belly. It made Sheldon shiver. "Did she also tell you about my aversion to the unsanitized touch?"

The man immediately let go of the young boy and awkwardly returned his hand to his side. "Well, why don't you come join the group? We're just getting acquainted before the campers show up."

Sheldon resisted his biting comments and responded in what he considered a polite tone. "I'm sure that would be alright."

He let the man lead him towards the conglomeration of people. He felt like he was going to pass out. What if all of these people were already acquainted with each other and he was just the outsider coming in late? His heart began to race like a horse. Why in the world would his mother think this was a good place to send him?

"Alright, group," the man by his side boomed. "This is Sheldon. He's another one of our counselors-in-training," the man introduced.

Sheldon internally screamed. Counselor-in-training? What in the world kind of title was counselor-in-training? If anything, he should be above a title! He was an overlord. He bit his tongue and managed to take it with a grim smile. He was doing this for his mother, whom he loved. He could do it. He could do it. He could do it.

"Sheldon, why don't you have a seat over on that log next to that young lady?" the man continued, pointing to the stump.

Because it's not a chair, Sheldon thought to himself. He bit his tongue for the tenth time that minute and made his way to the spot.

"Hi," the girl greeted, extending her hand to him. "My name is Amy Farrah Fowler," she said with a smile.

Sheldon wanted to reach for the hand sanitizer in his bag, but he fought his urges once more and hesitantly shook the potentially germ-ridden hand.

When he didn't respond after a minute, she asked, "What's your name?"

Sheldon inhaled deeply. He was not here for idle chitchat. He was here to rule. "My name is Sheldon Lee Cooper," he squeaked. Darn this voice change.

Amy smiled, knowing that he at least had the ability to talk. "Nice to meet you," she responded.

"Please don't feel like you have to make small talk," Sheldon said quickly, staring at the ground.

Amy scrunched up her nose. "I wasn't really making small talk... I just asked what your name was."

"Yes, but I've been alive for 16 years and I know what comes after an exchanging of names." Sheldon took a deep breath. "I'm sure that the next thing you were going to say was something like 'So where are you from?' and you would expect me to ask you in return where you're from. And I'm sorry to inform you that I simply do not care," he said, raising his eyes to meet hers.

Amy crossed her arms over her chest and gasped in disgust. "What makes you think I'd want to know anything about you?" she spat.

"Well, for starters, I'm very interesting," Sheldon replied with a hint of a smile as he thought about all of his accomplishments. "I'm a very intelligent and all-around delightful individual."

Amy scoffed. "You think you're smart?"

"I know I'm smart," he said condescendingly. "I'm the smartest one here, in fact."

"Oh yeah?" Amy challenged. "Well I'm the same age as you and I'm attending Harvard in the fall to do my baccalaureate work in neurobiology," she said with a smug smile.

Amy thought that this would shut him up, but his smile only grew.

"That's impressive, Amy Farrah Fowler," Sheldon said. "Almost as impressive as the PhD in theoretical physics I just earned from the California Institute of Technology."

Amy's throat went dry and it took everything in her not to drop her jaw to the dirt ground. Who was this kid? "Um… That's, um. Uh… Wow," she stammered, hoping he wouldn't see the embarrassed blush creeping up to her cheeks.

Sheldon was no expert at facial cues, but he was accustomed to this particular case. People would assume he was just a snotty little kid, he would tell them about his PhD, and they would become all of a sudden very quiet and ashamed. He loved it. But not this time. This time he felt the urge to act as a southern gentleman to Amy Farrah Fowler. That's what his mom would want him to do.

He swallowed the lump in his throat. "You know… Amy," he began and she lifted her eyes from the ground. "I wasn't lying. Attending an ivy league at the age of sixteen truly is impressive," he stated. "In fact," he continued as a realization dawned upon him, "You're the closest thing to an academic equal that I've ever met."

"Well, that's very kind of you to say... Dr. Cooper," Amy said with a much less outgoing tone than before.

Sheldon smiled. He liked this girl. She called him Dr. Cooper. The only one who called him that was his Meemaw. "Perhaps I'll be calling you Dr. Fowler in the future?"

Amy let a small breathy laugh escape our lips. "I suppose that's the plan. PhD by 23," she rhymed, looking at her hands.

"Well, that's a humorous little mantra," Sheldon commented.

"A lot less of a punch than 'PhD by 16'," she said, grinding her white sneaker in the dirt.

"Well, yes," Sheldon conceded. "But impressive nonetheless."

Amy looked at him and smiled, but didn't respond.

"So are you from around here?" Sheldon asked after a moment of silence.

"I thought you didn't want any small talk," Amy retorted with a smirk.

"Well, that was before I knew you had the slightest bit of intelligence," he replied quickly. "I was just curious as to whether you were from around Harvard or if you were from around here."

Amy peered into his aegean eyes. "I'm from California. Orange County."

Sheldon squinted his eyes in confusion.

Amy took note of his expression and continued her story. "My mother is insistent that I won't be able to handle the stresses of moving across the country for school, so she decided that this would be a way to test my abilities."

"Oh," Sheldon said in drawn-out realization. "I empathize with your want to travel. Last year I was offered the opportunity to serve as a visiting professor in Germany. I snatched it up in a heartbeat."

Amy's eyes widened. "That sounds amazing!"

"It was," Sheldon said, nodding his head excitedly. "I'd love to tell you more about my trip in detail."

"I'd be happy to listen," she replied.

Sheldon was elated to have found a kindred spirit. Amy Farrah Fowler was intelligent, kind, and interested in what he had to say. He very rarely found anybody who held all three of these characteristics, let alone someone who was even close to his age group. Oh, his mother would be so proud. He'd have to write her about Amy Farrah Fowler as soon as he had the chance.

"Okay, counselors and counselors-in-training! Let's get started," the man who had grabbed Sheldon's elbow earlier yelled through a megaphone.

Sheldon jumped a little on his stump. Was the megaphone really necessary?

"First of all, my name is Glenn and welcome to the Little Beakers science camp 1996!" he roared, which was met by a round of cheers from everyone in the circle. Well, everyone except for Sheldon, who was beginning to feel more and more out-of-place as he became aware of his surroundings.

"We're a little behind schedule with our counselors arriving, so we're gonna have to skip over introductions and go right to our cabin assignments," Glenn said and picked up a clipboard from the ground.

"Oh, thank you, Jesus," Sheldon whispered to himself, earning a giggle and a shoulder nudge from Amy Farrah Fowler.

Sheldon was unfamiliar with what exactly a giggle and a shoulder nudge entailed, and he wasn't exactly sure what he did to merit them, but he kept to himself.

As Glenn muttered off assignments, the group of counselors became significantly smaller. Sheldon began to panic again. Was he even on the list? What if they didn't give him a cabin? They had to give him a cabin, right? Would they make him sleep on the ground? Was he the designated throw-up cleaner?

"This is kind of nerve-wracking," Amy whispered to him, pulling him from her anxious thoughts.

"I suppose," Sheldon replied, pretending like he wasn't scared out of his mind.

He wasn't all that surprised that Amy was the one to voice his fears. She was a kindred spirit, indeed.

"Amy Fowler and Sheldon Cooper!" Glenn boomed.

The two teens scrambled to their feet and ambled towards him with their bags slung over their shoulders.

"You two will be in charge of seven- and eight-year-olds. Girls are in Cabin 71 and boys in Cabin 72," he said, marking something down on his sheet.

Before Sheldon could ask him his slew of questions, he had already moved on to the next pair of counselors.

"Come on," Amy said, heading in the direction of their cabins.

Sheldon tripped over his large feet as he followed her, a bead of sweat already dripping down his face. "This is ridiculous. He didn't even explain to us the specific amenities of each cabin!"

Amy looked over her shoulder at him and continued walking. "You like to complain a lot, don't you?"

Sheldon sighed as he caught up to her. "Amy, if I don't complain, no one will."

"Maybe that's a good thing," she replied, quickening her step.

"No it's not!" Sheldon said, matching her pace. "If no one complains, nothing gets fixed."

"Sheldon, relax, nothing needs to be fixed. We'll determine the cabin amenities when we get there," Amy said, rolling her eyes.

"Ugh," Sheldon groaned, wiping the sweat from his brow. "You sound just like my mother."

"Your mother must be a very patient woman," Amy said as she watched Sheldon struggle to carry his bag.

"She is," he replied simply.

Amy shook her head and smiled to herself. "That doctoral education didn't come with very many social skills, did it, Sheldon?"

Sheldon stopped walking and peered at her until she came to a stop as well. "I'm sorry, I'm not following."

Amy smirked and grabbed onto his arm. "Come on, let's go."

As the two resumed their path, Sheldon looked down at her hand. "Why are you holding my arm?"

"Oh, sorry," she apologized, removing her hand. "You're one of those germaphobes, aren't you?"

"That's a preposterous question," Sheldon sneered. "I think that people should spend less time trying to cure me of my aversion to germs and start to think about why they're not averted to germs."

"Because we'd all go crazy," Amy replied.

"Defend."

"Sheldon, don't you ever get exhausted from worrying about what might happen to you because of germs?" she asked, steeling herself for a lively debate.

"No, I don't, because it's human nature for one to protect themselves from things that are trying to kill them," Sheldon rebutted.

"You shook hands with me just a few minutes ago!" she exclaimed.

"Yes, and I've been thinking about it ever since!" he replied at an equal volume.

After a minute of quiet, Amy began to laugh.

"I'm sorry, is something humorous?" Sheldon asked.

"It's nothing, it's just… How are you ever gonna kiss someone?" she asked.

Sheldon would be lying if he said he'd never considered this. George Jr. and Missy bothered him about it all the time. And so he gave her the same answer he gave his siblings: "It's simple. I'm not going to."

"Oh, I don't believe that for a second," Amy replied with a snort.

"What exactly is hard to believe here?" Sheldon asked sincerely.

Amy slowed down her speed as they approached the cabins. "You're the one with the PhD, are you really gonna make me spell it out for you?"

Sheldon looked down at his feet as he walked, uncomfortable with the idea of Amy knowing something about him that he didn't.

Amy sighed. "Sheldon, you're smart and tall and handsome, some girl is gonna fall head over heels for you and you're gonna kiss her eventually."

"You know, Amy Farrah Fowler, I resent the fact that you see me as someone who has to succumb to his baser urges. I don't," he said finally as they stood between the two cabins.

Amy smirked at him. "You're not even the slightest bit curious as to what it's like?"

"No," he replied immediately. "I know everything there is to know about kissing. It requires 34 facial muscles and 112 postural muscles."

"Yeah, well, I'm a neurobiologist in the works," she retorted, crossing her arms. "And since you're so smart, I figured you would know that our lips are packed with sensitive nerve endings that respond to even the slightest brushing, which makes kissing feel very good. Also, during a kiss, cortisol levels drop, which reduces feelings of uneasiness. And lastly - and you might want to pay close attention to this - you're more likely to get sick from hand-shaking than lip-locking."

With that, Amy turned on her heel and headed into her cabin, leaving Sheldon dazed and confused. If there was one thing Sheldon hated more than germs, it was not having the last word. He quickly stepped into his own cabin, set his bag on the nearest bed, and walked out the door. He walked next door to Cabin 71 and entered without knocking.

"You know, Amy- "

"I figured you'd be back," Amy interrupted as she pulled a sheet over her mattress.

"Yes, well, anyway. The point of my argument was not that kissing spreads more germs than handshaking. That was something you implied," he said, glad to have gotten the last word in.

"Then what exactly was your argument?" Amy asked as she fluffed her pillows.

"My argument was that I am above succumbing to baser urges. I don't need pressure on my lip nerves to decrease my cortisol levels. I am the master of my own body," he said, handing her a blanket from her bag.

"Thank you," she said as she took the blanket from her bag. "And no, you're not."

"And to think that you were even close to being an academic equal! You brain monkeys are all the same," he accused, shaking his head.

Amy stopped her motions of making the bed and turned to him. "You don't mean that."

Sheldon softened when he saw the hurt in her green eyes. "I suppose you're right. I haven't had this kind of intellectual conversation since I graduated."

The corners of Amy's lips twitched up, but settled in to a neutral expression as she sat down gently on her bottom bunk. "It's just… I'm a scientist. And the way our bodies react to certain stimuli is something that fascinates me a great deal. And as much as I can hypothesize about the way kissing would feel, I can't seem to find someone who would be willing to execute an experiment with me."

The wheels in Sheldon's mind began to turn as he sat down next to Amy. "You know, Amy… I'd be willing to experiment with you," he said, surprising himself just as much as he surprised her. "For science!" he added quickly.

"You're serious?" she asked, suddenly nervous.

"Well," Sheldon began, attempting to collect his thoughts, "I, admittedly, also have my own hypotheses on the matter. And I just figure that if you're also open to experimentation, you'd be the best match for me, given your intellect and attractiveness."

Amy straightened her back. "You think I'm attractive?"

"Well, yes," Sheldon said as if it were obvious. "Your face is symmetrical, although it may just be an illusion given by the manufactured symmetry of your glasses. You're very tiny, which society deems attractive. But most importantly, I believe my attraction to you is partly based on the fact that you called me handsome."

"You make many logical points," Amy said, grasping at the blanket beneath them.

"I always do," Sheldon replied with a smile.

Amy smiled back at him. "All right. Tonight. That way we'll both have clean teeth and fresh breath. We'll do it between our cabins. Just come out when you get all your campers asleep."

"I agree to those terms," Sheldon said.

Before either party had time to let their panic set in, Glenn's voice echoed throughout the campground. "All right, counselors, come collect your campers at the meeting spot! Little Beakers 1996 has officially begun!"

The walk back to the meeting spot was made lighter by the lack of luggage, but heavier by the fact that neither Sheldon nor Amy had a single thing to say to one another.

Amy was the one who dared to break the silence. "Do you think that what we're doing is weird?"

Sheldon shrugged his shoulders. "I don't. Do you?"

"A little."

"Defend."

"Isn't your first kiss supposed to be romantic?" she said, peering up at him.

"I don't think that there's any set definition for romance," Sheldon said after a moment of deep thought. "If we both believe that it's romantic, that's all that matters."

"I guess," Amy said, once again not being able to fault his logic.

"Is there any way that I could make it more conventionally romantic for you?" he asked, stealing a glance at her lips.

"Well…" she pondered, rubbing her palms on her jean skirt. "I suppose there's already something romantic about sneaking out to have your first kiss beneath the stars."

"Alright, seven- and eight-year-olds, here come your counselors! Boys, you go with Sheldon! Girls with Amy! Sheldon and Amy, can you raise your hands for us?" Glenn yelled through the megaphone.

The two teens raised their hands as told and were soon flocked with excited little fourth graders by their sides.

Sheldon was paralyzed with fear, so Amy gave the first direction. "Alright, are you guys ready to claim your bunks?"

She was met with a chorus of cheers and tiny fist pumping.

"Okay, well just follow me and Sheldon and we'll get ya there!" she yelled excitedly for the campers' sake and started on her second trek back to the cabins.

Sheldon almost made it back to the cabins without having to talk to any mouth-breathers until one suddenly tugged on his pant leg. "You're really tall," the little boy said with wonder.

"You're short," Sheldon replied without looking down.

"You're a lot taller than her," the boy continued, pointing to Amy.

"She's short, too," Sheldon said, trying not to engage.

"I'll have you know I stand at exactly 64 inches, which is the average height for a 16-year-old female," Amy interjected, elbowing him in the ribs. "You're the one who's of abnormal height."

"Well, that's no surprise," Sheldon replied. "I'm of higher intelligence than average, there's no reason for me not to be of higher stature."

"Are we almost there?" a girl asked as she weaved her way to the front.

"Yup!" Amy confirmed. "We're right here," she said, coming to a stop.

"Okay!" Sheldon yelled, finally grabbing hold of his natural alpha personality. "Boys are in 71, girls in 72! Whichever group sets up their beds first gets a grand prize of going to dinner first," he said as twenty pairs of eyes looked up at him. "Well, what are you waiting for? Go."

Ten minutes later, the girls were established as the winners and they made their way to the dining hall, followed shortly by the boys. The children's camp mess hall was something other-worldly, or at least it felt that way to Sheldon. As soon as the overwhelming scent of artificial chicken filled his nostrils and his shoes peeled off the sticky linoleum, he felt like he could quite possibly pass out.

"Hey, are you alright?" Amy asked him, placing a hand on his back.

"I will be once you take your hand off my back," he said, snapping back to his senses.

Amy removed her hand and sneered at him. "Really? You're gonna put your lips on mine, but I can't even touch you?"

Sheldon looked down at her and sighed. "I'm sorry. I didn't know it was you."

"It's fine," she said, placing her hands in her pockets. "Are you okay, though?"

"No…" he said quietly. "This place is disgusting. I knew it wasn't a good idea for me to come here. I need to go home."

"Oh, Sheldon, it's all right. Just come sit down with me," she said, grabbing his wrist and leading him towards a table labeled 'Little Beakers'. "Concentrate on your breathing," she said as they sat at the only two available chairs next to eight miniature scientists.

"That's ridiculous, breathing is an involuntary action, I have no need to focus on it," he said.

"Well, focus on something else, then," Amy replied. "Something that makes you feel like you're at home."

"Nothing about this place is like my home except for the yelling and the abundance of lesser minds," he whispered as the children picked at their breaded chicken patties.

"Well, that's something!" Amy encouraged, reaching to rub his arm, but quickly deciding against it. "Did you want to eat something?"

"Absolutely not," he answered firmly.

"Me neither," Amy agreed, looking at the meal of the little girl next to her. Apart from the chicken, she couldn't even tell what anything else was.

Sheldon spent the duration of his meal time telling Amy all about his semester as a visiting professor in Germany and the topic of his doctoral dissertation. She listened intently, but mostly watched his lips move. She found herself wondering why she had brought up the kissing thing to begin with. It probably wasn't too late to back out of it. Sheldon clearly wasn't the biggest fan of touching, so she was sure he wouldn't be opposed to her calling off the rendezvous.

Instead, she just let all of her worry bubble up inside her. And she continued to let it bubble while the campers played introduction games around a campfire. And it bubbled some more while she was patrolling the showers and making sure teeth were brushed. And then some more when all the seven- and eight-year-old girls went to bed without a fight (she was kind of hoping they would give her an excuse to avoid the experiment for a little while longer by refusing to sleep, but no such luck). And her bubbling beaker of nerves was just about to overflow as she snuck out of her cabin and saw Sheldon waiting for her by the glow of a flashlight.

"Hello, Amy Farrah Fowler," he greeted as she made her way towards him.

"Hi," she squeaked as she stood before him. That little boy was right - Sheldon really was tall. How was this even supposed to work? Was she supposed to be on her tiptoes? Was he leaning down? Wouldn't that put strain on his neck?

"Now, if I'm not mistaken, your hypothesis is that kissing will feel good. I am under the impression that I will feel nervous and awkward," he spoke with professionalism, as if he were already writing a research paper.

"You're nervous, too?" she asked, catching his eyes.

He stared down at her and took a step closer. "Terrified."

"Should we do this?" she asked doubtfully, but took a step closer anyway.

Another step. "We've made it this far."

They were now standing almost chest-to-chest, and Amy could feel his warm breath on her face. "What do we do now?" she asked.

Sheldon put his hands on her hips and pulled her close. "Is this okay?" he asked nervously.

"Yeah," she answered. She snaked her arms around his neck. "Is this okay?"

Sheldon nodded. "Yes."

"Are we really going to do this?" Amy asked when neither of them made a move.

"I think it would be best if we stop talking first," Sheldon replied, logical as always.

"You're right," she said. "I'm just worried that if my hypothesis is correct, this will be my last chance to experience a kiss for a long time, maybe forever and-"

Sheldon leaned down and pressed his lips to Amy's, moving his hands up to her waist and pulling her flush against him. She melted into him and tightened her arms around his neck. Sheldon smiled against her lips as she relaxed for the first time since seeing him. They stayed in this position for ten seconds - shockingly still. Amy was the one to pull away after realizing that Sheldon wasn't going to anytime soon.

"So," Amy began, "Was your hypothesis proven?"

Sheldon circled his arms around her waist. "I can't answer that without collecting additional data," he said before pressing his lips against hers again.

This time was less still, with Sheldon parting his lips. He was somewhat hoping that Amy would do the same, but he wasn't all quite sure what exactly came after the parting of lips. Was there tongue involved? He wasn't sure if he could handle that. Then again, he didn't think he could ever handle what he was doing now, but here he was. He felt Amy's lips part with his after a few seconds, but he pulled away before it went any further.

He blushed upon seeing her blush. "Um…" he stuttered, racking his brain for something to say. Anything. "Did you know… that when you kiss someone for the first time, you get a peak in the neurotransmitter dopamine, making you crave more?"

"I did know that," she mumbled as she pulled his lips down to meet hers again.

Sheldon sighed into Amy's mouth when she ran her tongue along his bottom lip. She unwrapped one of her hands from his neck and placed it in his hair, gently tugging at the locks.

"That hurts," he mumbled against her lips.

"Sorry," she said before deciding to just rest her hand on the back of his head.

Sheldon was surprised by the way another person's tongue felt. It was only for a split second before the feeling vanished, but his eidetic memory wouldn't let him forget that. It was somewhat wet like he expected, but… not wet in a bad way. Or maybe it was a bad way and he was just too blind to see it.

Amy pulled her face away, and she couldn't help but notice that Sheldon had kept his eyes closed. "Thank you for experimenting with me."

His eyes fluttered open and he ran his right hand up and down her waist. "It's what any good scientist would do."

"Did you, um… Reach a conclusion?" she asked shyly, as fearful as when she started.

"I have," he said.

Amy looked up at him incredulously. "And?"

"I found the experience to be both extremely nerve-wracking… and immensely enjoyable," he said truthfully.

She smiled. "I agree."

"Good," he said with a nod.

"You know…" Amy said as she stood on her tiptoes. "The scientific method calls for the experiment to be conducted multiple times."

Sheldon pressed his lips to hers with no further questions. Before he even had the chance to deepen the kiss, he heard the distinct sound of a child's snicker. He pulled away and turned his head to see a little blonde boy peeking out the window. He ducked below the frame when he saw Sheldon turn, but not quick enough. Amy sighed and Sheldon unwrapped his arms from her waist.

"We'll finish this experiment later," he whispered.

"Alright," Amy said and planted one last kiss on his cheek.

Sheldon made a disgusted noise and wiped at his cheek with his hand.

Amy put her hands on her hips and glared at him.

He smiled and picked up his flashlight from the ground. "I'm just kidding."