Chapter 2


The koala stared balefully at them, lazily munching on its eucalyptus leaf.

"Did you know," Sheldon asked, "that koalas are hind gut fermenters, which means they can retain food in their digestive tracts for up to 100 hours in the wild and 200 hours in captivity? It's because their ceacum in the largest proportionally of any animal. They consciously select which food particles to retain and which to pass through. Also, they have a very low metabolic rate, so they don't need as much energy to be obtained from the fermentation of food."

Amy looked over at him. He was, of course, wearing his koala face and engrossed in watching the adorable creature that had perched so very close to them. If there hadn't been mesh fencing, they could have stroked its fur. He looks so relaxed and happy. Sheldon, not the koala. Well, it does, too.

As a test, she reached over and took Sheldon's hand. He turned to look at her, his features shifting. She met his gaze and lifted her chin a bit. He didn't say anything, holding her eyes before turning his face back to watch the marsupial. But, but! but!, he didn't drop her hand. Instead, his fingers curled gently around her palm.

Amy's heart flopped about in her chest. At that moment, a woman and two young children walked behind them, and Amy gave them a smug smile. Yep, that's right, I'm here on a non-scheduled date, with my boyfriend, who is both a genius and sex on a stick, and he's holding my hand! Amy squeezed his hand with joy, and, without looking away from the koala, he squeezed it back. She had to grip the fencing with her free hand.

"Be careful. Just because koalas tend to avoid wasting energy on aggression, it doesn't mean they can't bite," Sheldon warned. He didn't let go.

Amy dropped her hand from the fencing just as the family left the enclosure, leaving a hush in their wake. She quickly scanned the area and ascertained they were alone. Should I tell him now? He loves it here, he would probably think it's romantic. It's quiet and peaceful.

"Sheldon?" she ventured.

"Yes?" he was still watching the creature.

"I thought I should . . ." in her nervousness she had tugged slightly on his hand, and he turned his entire body toward her, looking down at her. He didn't let go.

"Yes?" he asked again, and something in the way he said it made her catch her breath.

"I - I -" Losing her nerve to speak, she stood on her tiptoes to give him a kiss, just a small peck.

"We're in public, Amy." But it wasn't the same warning voice he had just used. It was softer. And he didn't let go.

"But we're alone," she said. Brazenly, she stood on her tiptoes again, but didn't bring her face to his. She waited, her breath shallow.

This time, it was Sheldon who closed the gap, using his free arm to pull her waist close, and he kissed her, tiny kisses over and over and over before settling into one long kiss, angling his head, bringing their hands up, bending their elbows, rotating his palm, and then interlacing their fingers. Then, with such a slender margin she might have missed it if she hadn't been concentrating so hard on feeling this, this!, he parted his lips over hers -

"Hey, I think there is one really close to the fence over there, let's go!"

Sheldon and Amy snapped apart and toward the koala again, both of them crossing their arms and resting their chins on their thumbs. They didn't even realize they were standing in the same position.

"Sheldon? Amy? Is that you?"

They both turned around in unison, very slowly, to see Stuart.

"Hi, guys," he said. "Didn't think I'd see anyone here I knew."

"Hello," they said in unison, both monotone.

"Okaaay. Guess you guys are really into koalas," he shrugged. "Anyway, I won't bother you. But this is my nephew, Jack."

For the first time, Amy noticed the presence of a boy at Stuart's side.

"Hello, Jack, nice to meet you," Amy said. That sounded fake and unfriendly. Get it together, Amy!

"Yea, so, I guess I'll leave you two to it, them," Stuart shrugged again and walked away.


" . . . So, that is my opinion of the first three episodes of The Flash. Tea? We still have plenty of time before the movie." Sheldon got up out of his spot and walked toward the kitchen.

"Wow, that was thorough," Amy replied.

"You disagree with my summation?" Sheldon turned to Amy, walking behind him. "You asked."

"A half-hour ago."

Sheldon filled the kettle. Is that sarcasm? I think it might be. Well, why did she ask, then?

"Sheldon, I was thinking about Date Night," Amy said, and he noticed that she was tracing the edge of the island with her index finger.

"What about it?"

"I, um, well, I was thinking maybe we could move it to, uh, well, every week."

"Sure."

"Sure?"

Why does Amy sound so surprised? She is being difficult tonight. "Is that not the answer you wanted?"

"Sheldon. I want you to want it, too." She said in that way he had noticed her saying things occasionally since he had returned, with more force and resolve in her voice.

He took the missing step between them, so close he could feel the heat from her body. "I do want it. I actually was going to propose a change to the Relationship Agreement on our next Date Night. It seems like it was already happening, organically. This is the fifth week in a row you've been here, like this."

"Like this?" Amy asked.

"Yes," he leaned down. "Alone."

"Alone," she whispered.

He kissed her, gently, a mere brush against her lips.

"Kissing," he whispered.

"Kissing," she mouthed back, mutely.

He looked at her a moment, staring into her eyes. Odd, I've always known they were green, but I never noticed how they glow. He kissed her, one petite kiss, followed by another. He had noticed last week, at the zoo, how she seemed to like that. He angled his face more. He had noticed, three weeks ago on the sofa, that he liked that more. He separated his lips slightly, and Amy's arms were on his waist this time, pulling him closer. Okay, she liked that. Quivering at the strangeness of it all, he barely touched her bottom lip with his tongue. She moaned - moaned! no denying what the sound was now - and opened her mouth. He pulled away.

Amy kept her arms around and just looked at him, her face shining. Should I tell her now? She looks very happy.

Before he could speak, Amy had pulled him back, and this time, he didn't pull away when she opened her mouth. He let her use her tongue to trace the contour of his bottom lip, and he tasted the unmistakable lingering mintiness of mouthwash. I can do this! It's Amy, her oral hygiene is just as good as mine- and then, without warning, her tongue was in his mouth. Oh boy! oh boy! Working with an instinct he didn't know he had, he started grazing her tongue with his. This isn't so bad at all! He heard the kettle start whistling, but he didn't want to stop. I don't have to stop! The water droplets will evaporate into the air. Physics! Their tongues were tentatively mingling, first slowly, unevenly, but then he found something like a rhythm, a stroking motion of sorts that Amy seemed to follow effortlessly. He didn't know which was louder, the tea kettle or the rushing in his ears.

A knock at the door severed them. Like The Flash he had just been discussing, Sheldon ran to grab the kettle and sit on the island, on top of the waiting trivet, and grabbed a tea bag from the open caddy.

"Hey," Raj's face appeared around the door, "is everything okay in here? I could hear the kettle on the stairs."

"We're fine, thank you," Sheldon said. Why is he here? "I'm . . . uh . . . just showing Amy how to make the perfect cup of tea." He could hear her breathing heavily next to him, but he refused to look at her."You have to be careful when you lift the flap because of the perforations. You want to tear it along the perforations because that will make the tag -"

"Sheldon, I'm pretty sure Amy knows how to open a tea bag," Raj said. "Are you guys okay? You both look hot or something."

"It's the tea," Amy said. "It's very hot. That's all."

"But you haven't poured any tea yet," Raj said.

"We have superior minds, Raj. We're imagining," Sheldon said.


"Amy? What brings you over?" Sheldon looked up from his desk after she knocked on his office door.

She walked toward his desk. "I think we should talk about something and I thought it would be . . . safer if we did it here."

"This is highly irregular, but go on," Sheldon answered. "Do we need to shut the door?"

Is it my imagination or did he just swallow? Is he nervous? Amy shook her head. "No, let's leave it open. It seems . . . wiser."

Sheldon got up from his chair and came to stand in front of his whiteboard, crossing his arms. He's preparing himself to defend his position on something. Oh, I've started this all wrong. "Sheldon, I'm not angry at you. This isn't even really a disagreement, I think. It's about Raj."

"Raj?"

"Um, yes. Well, it's about what happened last week, when we were making tea and Raj . . ." she let the sentence die.

"Oh, yes." Sheldon blushed. "Tonight's Date Night. We can talk about this tonight."

"No, again, I think it's safer to do it here," Amy said. Because every time I see you now, I only want to kiss you. Or tell you something important, which usually leads to me kissing you instead. "I'm concerned about what he thinks."

Sheldon shrugged. "I'm not."

"You're not?"

"No. Why do I care what Raj thinks of what you and I may or may not being doing when we're alone? You are my girlfriend, after all. And he showed up unannounced. Just because we don't walk into the living room and announce every new physical step in our relationship to everyone - wait!" Sheldon's brow furrowed. "Do you want everyone to know? Or at least those chatterboxes you call your friends?"

"No. I mean, maybe. No yet, I think. That's not it. Really. I came over here because I thought you were upset about it."

"No, not at all. Why?"

"Because you haven't texted me all day. I thought you were getting cold feet before our Date Night tonight."

"I did text you. I sent you our contractually obligated I'm-awake-and-not-ill text this morning."

"But you haven't texted me on just contractually obligated times since, since, since . . ."

"The first Date Night after I returned," Sheldon said. Then he sighed. "Yes, you're right. I've just been very busy today. Kripke is driving me crazy, I've got this new equation that doesn't seem right, and class this morning was awful. But it doesn't mean I wasn't thinking about you."

The tension in Amy's heart melted away.

"Amy, I . . ." he didn't finish his sentence, he just kept looking down at her, practically boring into her eyes.

I should tell him. It's not romantic here, really, but the way he's looking at me. And maybe it's good here, like a controlled environment, he wouldn't get too crazy here, in his office, would he, just in case he reacts poorly?

"Sheldon, I -" Then she took a step, and, before she stopped herself, her hands were on his biceps and she was pushing him backwards, kissing him. He put his hands on her waist, and, Jesus, I think he's really good at this. It wasn't slow and tentative this time, it was full of force and - passion! yes, that's it!

"Hey, Cooper, did you -"

Amy snapped away, practically falling backwards, knocking something over on the corner of his desk. Sheldon wiped around, studying his white board.

"-get that email I sent you yesterday? Oh, hey, Amy, I didn't know you were here," Barry Kripke said. "Time for a little afternoon delight?"

Amy dropped the markers she had just picked up, certain that her face was the same shade as a fire engine.

Kripke laughed. "Whoa there, I was just joking. You don't have to be so up tight. So, the email Cooper? You still haven't replied."

"It takes a long time to compose an email using only one syllable words. I'll get it to you," Sheldon answered without turning around, his shoulders hunched. Why is he hiding from Kripke? Why won't he turn around? Oh, oh!, maybe I'm the one who is really good at this!

"Well, if you're missing the rest of that equation, it appears to be on the back of your shirt," Kripke chuckled on the way out. "Later, lovers."


AN: I tried, repeatedly, to write Kripke's dialogue phonetically, but it was extremely difficult and almost certainly incorrect. Given my concern that it may just sound offensive, I decided to not include it here. Sorry.

Thank you for your reviews!