Sheldon jumped when she turned on the light of her bedroom. "Good god, woman!" he snapped. "In this condition I am as lethal as Ricky without his Marlborough Lights!"

Amy cleared her throat again. "Indeed…" she looked away awkwardly. They were both silent for a moment

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Sheldon asked, a tad unevenly. "Turn out the lights so that I don't have to see as well as feel the tsunami of germs that will envelope the both of us."

Amy nodded and turned off the light before gingerly climbing into bed next to Sheldon, stiff as a board. They were both still a second, and then Sheldon turned onto his side. "I have read that deep-kissing is the most efficient way to initiate physical intimacy."

Amy said nothing, but turned on her side to face him, as well. They began hesitantly scooting closer to each other, until Amy could feel the warmth radiating from his body. She awkwardly lifted her arm to touch the hair above Sheldon's ear, the tip of her nose even with the collar of his shirt. She felt him flinch away from her, but he held her hand in a vice grip whenever she attempted to pull it back.

When he let go, Amy's hand began shakily drifting up and down Sheldon's tense spine. She felt him lightly touch her shoulder in return. Amy began breathing faster and she felt him flinch only slightly this time when her hand drifted up to his cheek.

He gasped as she suddenly squirmed up his body until their noses and lips were even. The thought occurred to her that this was probably the closest Sheldon had ever been to another person.

He began to tremble.

"Sheldon," Amy whispered, taking her hand away for a moment, "do not engage in coitus with me if it is not something that you actually desire. I am confident that the meditation would aid you just as effectively."

"No," Sheldon said as his grip on her shoulder tightened slightly. His teeth were starting to chatter.

Amy hesitated for a second longer, then hesitantly leaned her face into his until their lips touched. Sheldon jumped slightly, but then pushed his mouth abruptly into hers. Amy's limbs melted against him.

She shifted and then opened her mouth against his, her tongue gently touching the inside of his bottom lip. At this invasion, he recoiled away from her harder than he had when she'd first kissed him.

Then her tongue touched his, and he stopped.

"Fascinating," he blurted out against her mouth. Amy barely restrained the ridiculous squeal that bubbled up in her throat, and continued her exploration. "Your field of study is worthy of your intelligence," he mumbled after a beat.

"As is yours," she replied, a little surprised.

"Well, of course-" he began, but she leaned in to kiss him again, and scooted closer until her body pressed fully against his.

She shifted her weight until she was leaning over him on her elbow, the ends of her hair touching his cheek and fingers tracing the side of his head lightly.

Her hand eventually left his scalp, clumsily making its way down his neck, then his chest, then his stomach. Her palm hesitated just over his intestines. Amy glanced up at his face then, and was shocked to realize he looked remarkably close to crying.

Crushed, she leaned her cheek against his chest. "Sheldon, listen," he cut her off by gripping her hand and shoving it roughly over his erection. Amy was the one to flinch this time, but he kept it there. Swallowing, she experimentally ran her finger over the tip of his penis through his pants, feeling his body go totally stiff, but not asking her to stop.

She unbuckled and unzipped him, and then her hand continued its unsteady journey downward. When her hands reached his pubic hair, his teeth began chattering again. She was honestly feeling panicky, as well. It wasn't too late to back out.

But what if this is your only chance.

She swallowed again and grabbed his penis with her bare hand. He stopped shaking and instead went dead still, completely silent. She peeked up, and saw that his mouth was slack and his eyes were wide. Instinctively she kissed him again, and began to move her hand gently up and down. His grip on her shoulders tightened.

She breathed faster into his mouth and sped up her stroking. The muscles in his calves were tensing and relaxing against the sheets.

"Sheldon, I am ready to engage in intercourse." Amy breathed. "Are you?"

Sheldon swallowed, but nodded.

Amy pulled her sweatshirt and t-shirt over her head, then her cami, then reached behind her back, hesitating a second before unfastening her bra. She reached behind herself again and there was a tiny muted sound of a zipper. She pulled it down her hips, naked now except for her tights.

Feeling intensely awkward, she flopped down onto her back with her knees in the air wrestled her tights and underwear ungracefully from her hips up to her foot. Then she put her legs down and turned to look at him, fully naked stretched out on top of her comforter. Sheldon was staring directly at her.

More self-conscious than ever now, she hoisted herself up on her elbows and then crawled over to him. He still didn't move away.

She grabbed the hem of his shirt, tugging it up, but gripped her hand and shook his head fearfully. She nodded and pulled the covers on the bed down so that they could both be underneath them.

Her hand, and then gradually her whole body, disappeared under the covers to work his pants and socks off.

Finally she was face to face (she supposed) with his boxers. She felt around his hips for the elastic, feeling her mouth go dry as she pulled them down his hips, taking special care to stretch it so that it reached over his erection. Then, suddenly, they were both naked. Sort of.

She quickly re-emerged from under the covers, the cotton of his shirt brushing against her breast. She felt the horrifying urge to squeal again.

Instead, she hesitantly grabbed his erection with her fingertips, positioning it straight up.

She saw him peek down his stomach under the covers for a moment, then looked away with his eyes shut tight and lips pursed.

At first Amy felt only intense pressure, then she whimpered in pain, squeezing her eyes shut when the head of his penis pushed through. Temporary, temporary, temoporary she repeated to herself. Her eyes flew open in surprise when she felt something clammy and hot cover her knuckles on the bed. She looked down, seeing his pale hand gripping hers. She gripped his hand back, squeezing it harder at each twinge of pain as she sank down on him.

Finally she was sitting fully on his lap, his entire penis completely inside of her. She took a deep breath, and let it out unevenly as the sharp pain began to recede.

After a moment, she placed her hands on either side of his head, lifting herself up and lowering herself back onto him experimentally.

Soon she settled into a rhythm, pushing herself on and off. It was the most marvelous feeling she'd ever experienced. His eyes remained squeezed shut, but hand began opening and closing against her thigh.

"Faster," he whispered, but barely.

She sucked in breath and doubled her pace, the covers falling down her back. She couldn't believe this was happening.

"Amy," he whimpered. Then suddenly, he grabbed her hips and slammed them against his. Amy's eyes widened, as she felt him grow inside of her, followed by a shuddering, almost desperate groan. She did not know he was capable of making such a noise.

After a few moments he let go of her and gently leaned back against the pillow, a glassy expression on his face. "Can I keep-" Amy asked breathlessly. His expression clouded.

"Yes," he answered uncertainly.

She resumed grinding against his pelvic bone, and he yelped in surprise. As her body began to tense, she felt the pads of his fingers hesitantly touch her waist. Her stomach dropped and she stopped dead, scrunching up her face and baring her teeth as wave after wave of intensity coiled out of her stomach. It felt much different than electrode stimulation.

When it faded completely, she collapsed on top of him, elated and overwhelmed but, frankly, terrified. As her mind raced, she felt his fingers run over the mole in the middle of her back.

"I love you, Amy," he blurted out.

Amy felt the air leave her lungs. "I love you," Amy answered, her voice breaking. "I love you so much, I have for a long time, I—" she babbled, then stopped abruptly. His hands had moved from her shoulders to his sides. Taking the hint, she rolled off him onto her back, staring up at the ceiling, completely at a loss of what to do next.