A/N: Surprise! Today is my day off, and, to my surprise, I had the urge to write. I say 'to my surprise' because recently I've had a heck of a time with Writer's Block (that feisty demon who loves to torment us writers) on this story, so I didn't expect to be able to churn out a chapter! But seriously, starting tomorrow, I have no idea how quickly updates will come. Since this A/N is already forever long, I want to say a million thank yous to those who have chosen to review. 400! You guys are amazing and thank you so very much for reading! Also, my sincere apologies at the number of spelling/punctuation mistakes in the previous chapter. I had to upload it quickly because I had to be out the door, and then didn't get a chance to re-read it again until about 24 hours later. I was apalled. I've attempted to be extra vigilant with this chapter, so here's hoping I succeeded. And now that this A/N is a short novel, I'll let you get to reading and say" See Ya when I See ya!" :)

Chapter 25

Sheldon walked through the door of his and Leonard's apartment, still deep in thought. After closing the door behind himself, he stood there for several moments, confused about how he had gotten into the apartment without remembering the journey from Amy's car to the place he was currently standing.

"Sheldon? Are you alright?"

Sheldon looked over at Leonard, who was currently sitting at his desk in front of his computer.

Clearing his throat, Sheldon responded with, "Yes. Of course."

He started walking towards the bathroom in order to pour his used mouthwash into the sink and throw away the paper cup.

After pouring it into the sink, Sheldon stared at the mouthwash as it swirled away, leaving a thin film that slowly worked its way down the drain, as well. Sheldon couldn't help but relate to the mouthwash. Much like the mouthwash's fight to remain out of the drain was futile, so it would appear that Sheldon's fight against physical contact was futile. He had kissed Amy Farrah Fowler…without the aid of alcohol induced inhibition impairment and with his full knowledge of what had been about to transpire.

Sheldon shook his head, attempting to shake away his current state of shock.

This is ridiculous. It was merely a kiss. And it was not even the first kiss between you and Amy. As she said, you merely re-established the status quo, Sheldon thought to himself.

He looked up at his image in the mirror. It wasn't as if he looked any different. There were no external indications that anything had changed. Therefore, the reasonable conclusion was that nothing had changed.

Sheldon stood up straighter, looking down his nose at his mirrored self. "You are Sheldon Cooper, Man of Science, Boyfriend of Amy Farrah Fowler. You solve the mysteries of the universe. You are not cowed by something as mundane as a kiss." He pointed to himself. "You are still brighter than everyone else on this planet. You are still superior to everyone on this planet…" He looked away and frowned as he recalled his recent encounters with his girlfriend, and her frustrating ability to win every debate.

Sheldon looked back at himself in the mirror, and scowled. "She did not win…because you are Sheldon Cooper. You do not lose. You always win. And you are still superior to all but one person on this planet…and her superiority merely matches yours." He again pointed to himself, looking severe. "You get out there and you act like nothing has changed, because nothing has." He put down his hand and blinked at his image.

After a moment he shrugged and said, "When you're right, you're right."

Sheldon tossed the paper cup into the trash can and walked back out into the living room to sit in front of his computer. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Leonard watching him.

Pressing the power button on his computer, Sheldon said, without looking over, "Is there something you wish to say Leonard? If so, please do so and then desist with your unnecessary staring. If not, then please desist with your unnecessary staring."

Leonard paused for a beat before saying, "How was your first date with Amy?"

Sheldon opened his internet browser, again responding without looking over at Leonard. "It was quite satisfactory."

Sheldon opened his email, pleased to see that he had three. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Leonard open his mouth, and then shake his head, muttering "Oh, never mind."

Sheldon thought briefly about asking Leonard to clarify his statement, but decided he didn't care enough to interrupt the checking of his email.

The first two emails turned out to be from graduate students praising his work and requesting a meal time together. Sheldon smirked. As a rule, he felt graduate students were beneath him (one of the many reasons he continually declined offers to become a professor), but he didn't blame them for wanting to fraternize with the great Dr. Sheldon Cooper, and if he was going to get free meals out of the deal, then who was he to crush their dreams?

He sent a brief reply to each of them, setting up free lunches for the following day and Monday, complete with detailed instructions on how to arrange the items on his plate and along with his myriad of other details about sanitation, etc.

Sheldon then opened the third email, noting, with happy surprise, that it was from Dr. Beverly Hofstadter. It had been several weeks since he had sent his last email to her regarding his thoughts on her last book, which he had found highly interesting, and which had served to help him better understand just why Leonard was so desperate for the love of a woman.

Sheldon was in the midst of reading the email when Penny suddenly burst through the door.

"Sheldon, oh my god! You kissed Amy?"

Sheldon looked over at Penny with a frown, as Leonard did a double take and said, "Wait…You kissed Amy? And you didn't say anything?"

Sheldon gave Leonard a look. Leonard nodded. "Right. Sometimes I forget you're a robot."

Sheldon raised his eyebrows. "While your sentiment is, unfortunately, untrue, I thank you just the same."

Leonard frowned. "That wasn't a compliment…oh forget it."

Penny looked between the two. "Seriously? That's it? Did you hear what I just said? Sheldon kissed Amy."

Sheldon sighed. Penny's fixation on the mundane continued to baffle him. "Penny, I fail to see why Amy and I's shared kiss is worthy of you bursting into our apartment unannounced and yelling."

Penny snorted. "Oh please. I burst into your apartment all the time."

Sheldon gave Penny a look. "I know."

Penny waved her hand, walking over to Sheldon. "Who cares about that? What's important is that you kissed Amy!"

Sheldon frowned, confused. "I would like to point out that I did not kiss Amy. We agreed to meet in the middle, therefore the kiss was not from either one of us to the other. Furthermore, why would my kissing Amy even be considered important? It's not as if this is the first time we have kissed. If you'll recall, I kissed Amy after my night of drunken carousing with Raj, and in turn, she kissed me the following day."

"Well…yeah, but…This time you both agreed to it before you did it."

Sheldon looked at Penny curiously, as a thought occurred to him. "How did you know that Amy and I shared a kiss?"

Leonard held up his hand. "Hang on a minute. You kissed Amy? Seriously?"

Sheldon and Penny both looked over at Leonard. Penny spoke up first. "Leonard, Sweetie, you've been right here the whole time. What's with the sudden realization?"

Leonard shrugged. "I'm just having a hard time wrapping my brain around the idea that Sheldon willingly kissed a girl."

Penny nodded. "Yeah. I had a hard time with the idea, too."

Leonard raised an eyebrow. "Really? Because it kind of seems like you just ran in here the moment you heard the news…"

"Well, yeah…because I couldn't believe it…"

Sheldon rolled his eyes, tiring of the conversation. He turned back around to continue reading Beverly's email.

"Hang on, Sheldon," Penny said, "You still haven't told me the details."

Sheldon looked over at Penny in confusion.

"Details? What details? Amy Farrah Fowler and I shared a good night kiss. Those are all the details…I'm not sure what you're expecting to hear."

"Well…all of it. Who initiated? How'd it even come up? Was it any good?"

Sheldon frowned. "Why should I answer any of those questions? You never answered my question regarding how you came about this information."

Penny shrugged. "I got a text."

Sheldon raised his eyebrows. "From who?"

"Amy."

"In that case, perhaps you should discuss these supposed details with the person from whom you received the information. I have told you everything I intend to. Now if you'll excuse me, I really must return to reading my email from Leonard's mother."

Leonard frowned. "You have an email from my mother? Why are you talking to her? She hasn't emailed me back in two months. Did she say anything about why?"

Sheldon looked over at Leonard. "Why on earth would we talk about you?" Sheldon turned back around to continue reading.

Sheldon heard Penny say, "Ugh. Whatever. I'm texting Amy," and then the sound of their door shutting. He could see Leonard still looking at him out of the corner of his eye. Sheldon ignored him, and eventually Leonard looked back at his own computer.

Sheldon typed out a reply to Beverly's email and then hit send. When he got back to his inbox, Sheldon saw that he had received an email from Amy. He smiled as he opened it.

Dear Sheldon,

I would like to thank you, once again, for a very pleasant evening. Of the many dates which I have been on, this is the first which has been pleasant from start to finish. I always enjoy our discussions and debates, and I look forward to the many more we shall have in the future.

I would also like to put your mind at ease regarding a certain event which transpired this evening. As you know, per the Relationship Agreement, section four, kissing is now to be considered "game" during all future encounters. I would like to reassure you that I shall not turn into a crazed hormone, and/or pheromone, ruled girlfriend hell bent on kissing you at every chance that I get. While I certainly make no promises regarding the frequency with which we kiss, you can rest assured that I understand your hesitancy in regards to the exchange of saliva, and will respect your opinion in this area. You can also rest assured that I will not demand a kiss from you every time we meet. While I found the experience very satisfying and cannot deny my wish for further progress in the future, I am willing to go at a pace with which you are comfortable. This, of course, is under the implied assumption that you will not demand a cessation of the eventual moving forward of our relationship, nor attempt to define "eventual" as many months and/or years down the road. That said, I do realize that things have been moving relatively quickly, and I am willing to simply enjoy the fact that I am now dating my dearest childhood friend, and that we have kissed thrice.

Sincerely Yours,
Amy

Sheldon blinked at the screen in surprise, and then reread the email. By the time he finished reading a second time, Sheldon was smiling (and quite unaware of it). He hit the reply button and began typing.

Dear Amy,

I would like to thank you for your email. It was a most pleasant surprise.

I must admit to finding myself relieved to hear that you will not be expecting me to kiss you at every encounter. Your consideration is appreciated. I also find I must confess that, while the following realization has come as a complete shock to me, I did not find the experience of kissing you altogether unpleasant. And while I, too, can make no promises regarding the frequency with which I will allow you to kiss me, I find myself not entirely opposed to the thought of it occurring again sometime in the relatively distant future.

I thank you again for your consideration of my feelings on the matter. You are indeed correct that the relationship has been moving at a speed which some might classify as "warp", and I am relieved that you are amenable to slowing the pace to a speed which is more comfortable.

Fondest Regards,
Sheldon

Sheldon re-read his email, checking for grammatical errors. When he read the part regarding his feelings towards the kiss itself, he paused. Did he really wish to admit such a thing? In truth, until he was in the midst of typing, he had not even realized himself that those were his feelings.

Sheldon moved the mouse to highlight the sentence and then hovered his finger over the delete button. He paused, still considering. He was not necessarily opposed to Amy having this information, but was worried, what with her recent texting of all details to Penny, about the others of their social group (or worse…his sister) finding out such a sensitive piece of information.

He physically placed his finger on the delete button. Perhaps it would be best to alleviate such a concern by not having the sentence in there at all. A small voice in his head reminded him that Amy had already made a similar confession regarding the kiss. However, that had been of her own choosing. Obviously she had not considered the potential consequences of her actions.

Why was he even hesitating? That, in and of itself, was baffling. Sheldon willed himself to simply press the delete key, and was again surprised at his reluctance to do so. Eventually he moved the mouse to the last letter of his name and clicked. He pressed enter and started typing.

P.S. I would request that you keep my feelings regarding our previous kisses and all future kisses between the two of us.

Sheldon sat back, reading and re-reading the post script. He hesitantly moved the mouse over to the send button and then paused again. He started to reconsider the entire email, but before he could move his hand, his index finger twitched and the email was sent.

Sheldon let go of the mouse, put his hands in his lap, and sat back in his chair, stunned. He sat for several moments simply staring at the screen before he heard Leonard say, "Is something wrong Sheldon?"

Sheldon looked over, clearing his throat. "No. Nothing is the matter."

Leonard frowned. "Are you sure? You look a little…pale. Are you feeling ok?"

Sheldon raised his eyebrows. "Leonard, if I wasn't feeling well, don't you think I would have already made you aware of the situation?"

Leonard nodded once. "Fair enough…but seriously. Are you ok?"

Sheldon sighed. "I've already said that I am. Why do you insist on continuing to ask a question which I have already answered?"

Leonard raised his eyebrows, saying, "Alright," and then turned back towards his computer. He turned back once with his mouth open, but ended up closing it, shaking his head, and returning to his typing.

Sheldon shook his head at Leonard and then turned back to his own computer, surprised to see that he had a new email, and even more surprised to see that it was from Amy.

Sheldon felt his heart rate increase (completely baffled by this fact) as he opened the email.

Dear Sheldon,

You have my word that the particulars of your feelings will not be divulged…no matter how vigorous the texting demands of one flaxen haired beauty, or her homunculus sized friend.

Sincerely Yours,
Amy

Sheldon felt his heart rate begin to slow as a relieved smile spread across his face.

"Everything good, Sheldon?" Leonard asked.

Sheldon looked over at Leonard, exasperated.

Leonard held up a hand. "Right. Sorry." Leonard rolled his eyes as he turned back to his computer, yet again. "Sorry, I give a damn."

Sheldon rolled his own eyes in response and turned his head back to his computer, smiling again as he re-read Amy's response. Perhaps this relationship endeavor would end up being a good thing after all…

A/N: Thanks again for reading! Just so you know, this is a transitional chapter. Don't worry, you won't have to read another 10 chapters before the Shamy moves the relationship forward again. I needed a way to transition into a time jump and this is the result. :)