"Are you all set for our camping trip tomorrow afternoon?" Sheldon asked Amy over Skype as he was sitting alone in his bed. For a moment he watched as a small smile crept onto her lips, and then she nodded firmly as if smiling just wasn't enough.
"Of course, Sheldon, it's going to be fun. I still can't believe you suggested it though…" she trailed off, and Sheldon thought about this for a moment. Why had he suggested it? Was it because he had a need to be outdoors for a little while? Of course not, if that were the case, he would have gone for a walk and called it good. He asked Leonard this same question earlier, and he said maybe it was because he missed Amy and wanted to spend extra time alone with her, doing something they never did before. Maybe his friend wasn't that far off.
"Yes, well, I did, and I'd rather not discuss the topic anymore." Sheldon felt bad for cutting Amy off like that, but what he said was true, he didn't want to talk about it anymore. If they did, she would assume the same thing Leonard did, and he didn't want that. At least… not yet.
"Alright Sheldon… I guess I'll be over to pick you up after work tomorrow. Have a goodnight." Once Amy bid farewell with another one of her smiles that made Sheldon's stomach flip, her screen went dark and Sheldon was left alone in his room once again. Although he never really liked the outdoors, he couldn't wait for the morning to come.
The next afternoon, Sheldon was surprised when he opened his apartment door to find Amy in sweatpants and her hair in a bun. The shirt she was wearing was somewhat baggy and she wore a big sloppy grin on her face. He couldn't remember ever seeing her so happy, or dressed in such a way. He didn't mind though, but all he could focus on was a curl of her hair that fell gently on her shoulder. Her hair looked so soft and clean, and it looked absolutely stunning in that bun. He wondered briefly why she did that, but she dragged him out of his apartment before he got the chance to ask.
Surprisingly, Amy had already brought both of them lunch and was allowing him to eat it in the car while they drove to their camp sight. On the way there, he happily bit into the sandwiches she made and nibbled on the cookies she baked while they played Counterfactuals and other fun car games. She was the only one who ever liked playing them with him, and it helped make the whole camping experience all the more pleasurable. Before they knew it, they were both at the camp sight and ready to set up.
"Sheldon, I'm going to go gather some wood so we can make a fire, if that's okay with you…." Amy suggested not long after they arrived. Sheldon really didn't want to set up the tent without her help, but agreed on the conditions that she be back before sunset. The woods got scary at night, and he wasn't sure he would feel comfortable if she were to leave him alone for too long.
So while he was setting up their tent, Amy set out to gather the wood and did so as quickly as she could. The sticks underneath her feet snapped and cracked with each step she took, and there was a musty smell in the air since it had just rained the previous day. Amy loved when the outdoors was like this, but she just hoped everything would be dry enough to even make a fire.
What would have been nice was if Amy had some sort of wheel barrel, and since she didn't the wood her arms could carry was how much they'd be using to get their fire started. She was grinning from ear to ear when she had her arms filled; proud that she could carry so much. Camping like this reminded her of the times when she was a boy scout before any of the boys found out she was a girl.
Unfortunately, while Amy was walking back to their sight, she tripped over a tree stump and tumbled to the ground while the wood in her arms flew every which way. With a grunt, she picked herself back up, dusted off her sweatpants, and gathered the wood back into her arms with determination that the trip would not be ruined so easily, and with that she was right.
By the time she got back to the sight, the tent was all up and everything was in its place. While Amy stood aside and watched Sheldon start the fire, she couldn't help but continually scratch on her arm in a way that didn't go unnoticed by Sheldon. After around five minutes of nonstop scratching, he finally stopped what he was doing and turned to her.
Without a word, Sheldon stepped closer to Amy and examined her arm without touching it. It didn't take long for him to gasp, and she looked up at him with a confused expression on her face.
"Amy, are you okay?! It looks like you have poison ivy…" Well that would explain the itching. Sheldon sounded so concerned and had Amy not been so focused on relieving the irritation on her skin, she would have smiled at his concern for her health.
"Oh…" Was all Amy could get out before she watched Sheldon run back in the tent. She assumed he was running so he wouldn't catch what she had, and she really couldn't blame him. That's why she was surprised when he emerged from the tent a few seconds later with a tube of cream in his hands. He looked to her with a sympathetic expression before stepping inches in front of her.
"You're lucky I'm not allergic to poison ivy, now stop scratching and give me your arm." His tone didn't sound demanding really, more soft and caring. She complied without argue and held her arm out to him, and he took it in his hands to hold it steady. His grip on her was firm, his body so near. She could smell the talc almost radiating off his body, she could see the focused look in his eye. Holding her breath, Amy waited.
Opening the cream, Sheldon gobbed a little onto two of his fingers and pressed them to Amy's arm. Although the cream was cold against her skin, Amy could only feel the jolt of electricity Sheldon seemingly sent through her body with his touch. Oh how she wished he would touch her more, but right now he was taking care of her, and that in itself was sweet indeed.
It didn't take long for Sheldon to finish applying the cream to Amy's arm, and she resisted the urge to scratch immediately after he pulled away from her. She could see the small smile on his face when she sighed of relief seconds later, and instead of finishing putting their fire together, he didn't move from the spot he was standing in.
Amy looked from Sheldon to the fire to her arm in a continuous cycle, trying to decipher what on Earth he was doing. When she came up answerless, she looked to Sheldon with the question sketched all over her face, although she was sure he wouldn't understand. To her surprise, he took a few strides towards her and her heart instantly skipped a beat.
"Amy… please, try to be more careful, okay?" He pleaded to her in a soft, quiet voice while looking deep into her eyes, and Amy nodded wordlessly at his request. She subconsciously bit her lip in response as she tried to keep her eyes from trailing down to his lips. She knew he was just trying to make sure she was safe, not everything had to be about kissing him.
The thing was, he apparently had no trouble moving even closer to her and holding her to him in an embrace that knocked the breath right out of her lungs. Just when she was about to bring her arms up and reciprocate the hug, he lifted his own arm up and pushed her chin up gently with his finger.
Silently, Sheldon leaned down close enough to her face that Amy could feel his breath against her lips. It smelled of the cookies she had made earlier, and her mind drifted back to when they had eaten brownies together and he had kissed her for the first time on that train. The memory brought a smile to her lips, and while the smile was still evident, Sheldon pressed his lips to hers in a kiss that had her eyes fluttering shut on their own accord and her stomach churning with butterflies.
What made the kiss so perfect wasn't the chirping of birds in the background, nor was it the setting, but it was just the fact that it was with Sheldon, it was another special moment they shared together, and another story she would get to tell her friends back home when she got the chance. But for now, she and Sheldon had some more work to do to make the story all the more perfect.