*A/n Hey guys! Happy new year :D have risen from my hiatus and to start 2016 I wrote a Shamy oneshot about time travel, I hope you enjoy! Fic next Monday for you all :)
When it comes to professions, Sheldon is a Physicist, not a rocket scientist like his sister believes. He comes up with answers to the questions created by the universe, while rocket scientists toy with silly things like time travel. Sheldon's smart, he knows it is impossible to achieve time travel. Not once in his life has he ever tried.
There was one day though that Sheldon stumbled upon something, and, as expected, he remained completely skeptical it was in any way useful to him. This being said, he still couldn't help saying something about it when his next date with Amy came rolling around.
Amy doesn't believe in time travel either, but she supported him with everything she had, smiling and taking his hand from across her counter. Her touch was warm and assuring, and Sheldon almost fainted because her stare was so soft and genuine.
While working on his time travel project for about a week, Sheldon soon discovered it meant he would be spending less and less time with Amy, and so brought up the issue on their next date night. They hadn't seen each other since their last one but Sheldon thought Amy looked particularly pretty that day with her snug red dress and hair done up in small, perfect curls.
"Sheldon, spending less time together happens when you work a lot," Amy responded, swaying slightly as she put together a snack for them at her counter. Sheldon briefly wondered if she did this because she had a song stuck in her head, then had to shake his own when he was reminded of how much he loved her. It almost distracted him to the point where he nearly missed her quietly tell him "If you have an opportunity to time travel, I want you to do it."
Amy, she's smart too, keeping her worries quiet.
Sheldon wasn't sure he wanted to go down the path of time travel at this point, but he nodded to himself anyway, and walked around the counter to dip his girlfriend. Neither of them would ever forget that long, loving kiss on the lips that Sheldon let go a little too far. Perhaps it was only to quell the anxiousness in his mind, but no matter the reason he still woke up in her bed the next morning.
When it came down to it and Sheldon buckled down, there were a lot more clues and helpful information than he originally thought. By Saturday afternoon the sunlight flitted softly into the room and was problematic because it kept making him yawn and feel sleepy. He perked up when Leonard came out of his room, looking quite funny with his hair sticking everywhere, emerging from darkness it seemed like, and he had two cans on monster in his hands which made them look even smaller to Sheldon. He smiled when his best friend came up to him and set a cold can on his desk.
Leonard plopped down on the couch almost immediately, opening the other can and throwing his head back. After a few gulps he turned to his roommate and suddenly his eyes sparkled.
"What do you say we pull an all nighter?" he eagerly asked, and Sheldon's face spun in confusion. Then Leonard walked over to Sheldon's board, set his empty can on its ledge and smirked. He crossed his legs confidently, but a moment later his balance broke, and when he recovered he was clutching his heart with his palm. He hurriedly said "I'm going to help you figure out time travel." and it sounded only slightly uncertain.
"I think you've had too many of those," Sheldon low-key scolded, adding an " but I suppose so," at the end while pushing himself out of his chair. He grabbed a drink sweater for beers since his hands were freezing, and he had the words 'thinking of Amy' written on his forehead by the way he was smiling as he walked back.
"We will probably need even more of these to stay awake you know," Leonard pointed out, tipping his can in the air and setting it back down. "That's why I've got a mini fridge full of them."
Sheldon clearly had no clue when Leonard got a mini fridge but disregarded the comment and sat back down in his computer chair, cracking his knuckles as if it were a chore.
"Alright..." he said, accepting it difficultly. "What are we waiting for?"
Hours passed by very slowly, similar to how the table became scattered with food to help the men stay awake. Sheldon deemed their extended work period a success at this point, thinking they had made significant progress when indeed, they had actually done the thing and he felt slightly stupid that Leonard had to be the one to explain it.
"Well I'll be..." he sounded so astonished and was looking frantically at everything they'd done on both their computer and white boards, and when he noticed Leonard was right he smiled tiredly and stood. He towered over Leonard when he stretched his back and the room was so quiet they could hear the low cracking of his bones.
"What are you doing?" Leonard asked as he finished yet another monster.
"I can't wait to see how these are going to effect our health." Sheldon answered in a distracted mumble, plucking another one of Leonard's empty cans from his hand and adding it to their pile on the table. "And I'm going over to Amy's."
It wasn't a surprise to either of them that he would want to share their accomplishment with her, but it was really late and if he wanted to go, Leonard was not going to be the one to drive him. He stood his ground quite firmly, thinking it's true one can only spend so many hours with him before they feel like they wanna go crazy.
"Guess I should hit the hay then," Leonard concluded, his words floating out in his exhale. He started slowly getting up and leaned in, rising almost triumphantly with his tired eyes and bad posture. As he did so he noticed Sheldon running his hands through his hair (which looked better than usual), and then listened as he said,
"Thank you for helping me." rather sincerely. It was a moment wished to be seen when Sheldon moved in closer and wrapped an arm around him in a "bro hug". "I couldn't have done it without you." he humbly admitted.
Leonard accepted the compliment graciously and puffed out his chest a bit, making Sheldon grin. After that the conversation died down gradually and left behind tired smiles swimming in the air, which then concluded their time spent together for the day.
Sheldon wandered around for a while in the openness of their living room, pacing nearly half the time and managing to get lost in his thoughts for nearly two hours. He did a full one eighty as soon as it crossed his mind and eagerly he bounded to the bathroom to get ready.
A short time later and it was six am, the sky outside still dark and being a problematic contrast to their bright apartment. Sheldon wore his best shirt and laptop bag over his shoulder while hardly being able to see it at all it was utter blackness, but still rested a hand on it very dearly thinking how time travel is so similar to a round flight. In this case he could make it there and back if he did so as sparingly as he could, so protecting it seemed appealing enough. Around eight am he finally reached Amy's apartment in a relieved, exhausted mess, but he was feeling electrified where it counted.
He didn't have to wait for her to answer since she had given him a key the first time they "did the do" so when he walked into her apartment, it had a slightly more comforting feeling to it. First thing he quietly strode over to the couch and took off his load, pausing when he heard Amy's soft snoring traveling between rooms.
When he lay down beside her after slipping in the bed Sheldon felt antsy, slightly hot under the blanket he chose to use. He desperately wanted to sleep and at the same time struggled against wanting to wake Amy to tell her the news, so he spent a good amount of time turned to her on his side, observing her eyelids twitch in her deep sleep and tracing every line of her face to memory as if he hadn't done so before. She woke up this way, with Sheldon watching her with his heart on his sleeve. She enjoyed mornings like this so welcomed him in, sitting up and flicking a lamp on. Her hair was messy but she couldn't stop smiling when she yawned, and the light bouncing off her made her glow stunningly.
Sheldon could barely contain his news long enough to give Amy the morning kiss of her dreams. His enthusiasm hit them both mid kiss and Amy pulled away with the biggest smile. "You seem really excited today," she said breathlessly. "What's up?"
He couldn't resist pulling her into his lap as they laid underneath the blanket and he had his arms around her when he answered. Amy seemed far more than pleased as well, happy and dishing out gentle kisses on his neck and jawline. Sheldon definitely felt stimulated a few minutes later when things had escalated from there but soon enough Amy pulled away. Turned out she wanted to hear all about their discovery, so Sheldon decided he would leave the next day and save this day for just the two of them to talk.
Their discussion revealed to be full of inquiries to Sheldon's delight, since this was how he knew she cared. One of her questions in particular made him think, however, and it was one of those missed details that's actually very important in a plan like this. What would he do on his adventure?
At the beginning of their research Sheldon thought maybe the best use for it would be to find Amy sooner. He could tell his past self all about his future and persuade him with whatever it took to be with Amy sooner so maybe at this point they'd be farther along together. He thought the idea was nice enough but didn't tell her even though she asked. She didn't force him to speak his mind so the question vanished, but Sheldon's optimism never faltered.
Back and forth they went between conversations and breakfast was had all before ten, so together they watched a movie and cuddled the day away. By the end Sheldon almost hated to go, but lifted his spirits with reoccurring thoughts of his upcoming trip to several years back. Lucky for him the time came soon enough.
When he prepared to go he crossed his fingers and did his thing, and when it worked found out he was completely speechless. Here he stood in the city of Pasadena looking at the way everything used to look all those years ago. He had somehow gotten to his apartment building at the same time Amy was entering it, her familiar outfit causing him to remember exactly which night it was. He only caught a glimpse, however, since he had to stay hidden in the bushes.
Sneaky trailing ensued then and Sheldon watched his past self making memories with Amy Farrah Fowler like how they used to. He had no trouble seeing the enjoyment in the room but couldn't disregard some of his comments to her; because he now realized how much of a dick he used to be to her and that she deserved better. That's why he was here, he was simply implementing change.
It took almost too long for past Sheldon to be alone to talk to. When that window opened up Sheldon came out from hiding and his past self stared back at him. All the sudden he started grinning and exclaiming he knew he'd do it one day, figure out time travel. Sheldon didn't have time to celebrate again so just nodded and cleared his throat, saying he didn't have time. He needed his past self to do something urgently.
"In the future Leonard and I do figure out time travel," he paused to lick his lips. "but I came here because you need to get your life together with Amy." he might as well have been pointing an accusing finger at the other.
"I do not love Amy, she's just a girl who is my friend." Past Sheldon said, sounding like a broken record.
Though irritated Sheldon smiled fondly and shook his head. "You are but you just don't realize it. Amy is such an important part of your life, and you don't treat her very well."
"I try to," past Sheldon said innocently, and the other took in a breath.
"You'll see a fortune teller lady in the future that will tell you to give everything you have to her, if you haven't already by that time ." Sheldon explained, frowning when his past self scoffed and said, not surprisingly, how absurd that idea was.
"You're smart though you have to figure this out," Sheldon gently reminded. "You almost lose her in the future, and I know how happy it would make her if you just tried to do things for her. Treat her well because she deserves everything in the world."
Past Sheldon sat in his spot in silence before throwing a hand in the air and saying he'll probably get it in time. The last time they ever spoke Sheldon smiled and replied he hoped so, and then he was gone.
Pasadena present day felt like it had before Sheldon left in the morning. Right away he rushed to Amy's apartment and took the stairs in pairs, reaching her door in record time and knocking curiously. What he found: Amy had changed addresses.
Slightly more concerned Sheldon called her and when she answered he cold tell she was chipper. She asked how his day was going and when he was going to be home, and that's hen Sheldon paused. He hadn't paid much attention to himself yet since returning from the future so he never saw the ring around his finger, but when he did he smiled, congratulating himself on a job well done.
