a/n: Oi! What a month!
a/n: The wide range of opinions on the last chapter was pretty astounding. No one seemed too unhappy about it, though. I admit, it was pretty sudden. So sudden that it surprised even me. There was so much more that could be done with these two before that point, but honestly, the chapter had already half-written itself.
a/n: So thanks to every last one of you for your reviews. And even though some of you disagreed with the timing (I'm including myself here), I'm happy to have your support. The last few chapters have been high-octane, but now, it's time to slow down and see where all of this takes our favorite couple. Spoiler alert: Arguments, now more than ever.
Concession
Chapter 44: A Mad Debriefing
Amy was changing the bedding while Sheldon was showering. It was the second set of sheets they'd been through that night.
She was seriously considering calling her friends to tell them the good news. Unfortunately, Bernadette and Penny probably wouldn't appreciate getting phone calls before dawn no matter how good the news. She would simply have to wait to tell them what happened.
She'd heard so many nightmare stories about losing one's virginity, but she supposed that since she was older and since she'd had plenty of time to "practice" that it wasn't as bad as some of those stories. Or maybe in hind sight it just didn't seem so bad. Sure, it had been a little painful, and yes, she was waddling around in an uncomfortable fashion, but it had been so worth it.
And it wasn't really the intercourse itself that made it worthwhile. It was what the act represented for their relationship. It was a new piece properly placed in the puzzle of love. The only problem was that even though he initiated it, he didn't have much to say about it.
Then again, he rarely had much to say about any of their intimacy experiments.
And if he thought he'd violated her the first time he used his fingers, he probably considered this rape. She had to talk to him and make sure that he was aware that this whole thing was mutual. Even when she allowed him to touch her that way before, he was so devastated at his own behavior that he had a hard time speaking to her afterwards.
Once Amy finished making the bed, she carefully waddled her way toward the living room to see if her boyfriend had decided to sleep on the couch. He'd admitted to thinking about doing that last night, so she planned to stop him before he could even think about choosing the couch over her bed.
As she was coming out of the bedroom, however, Sheldon was coming out of the bathroom. He watched her for a moment, looking confused, but then he gasped. "Are you alright?"
He must have been referring to the way she was walking. (It's a little late for that question,) she thought. "I'm fine," she said out loud. "Just a little sore."
"Are you sure?" He quickly made his way to her and helped support her as she walked.
Well, if he wanted to help her, she wasn't about to stop him. She did, however, have to reassure him that she was okay or he would never want to touch her in any intimate way again. "Thank you, but I'm fine."
"I knew it. I knew we never should have—" Sheldon began.
"Don't you dare say what I think you're about to say," she said as calmly as she could.
Sheldon paused and looked at her for a moment. She could see that he was deciding whether he wanted to continue with his comment or not. "You should take a nice hot bath. You have bath salts, yes? Of course you do. I'll help you. Stay right there," he rambled as he dashed to the bathroom to prepare her bathwater.
Amy was glad to see that he'd decided against his "never should have" speech. If she didn't know any better, she'd say that he was actually becoming more considerate about the things he said to her.
As he was heading past her toward her bedroom, he said, "Don't move. I'll find something comfortable for you to wear."
Just how far was he willing to go to help her? She did as she was told, however, and stayed put until he returned with one of her usual long nightgowns.
"Now, come along," her boyfriend said as he took her arm in his and helped her to the bathroom. "I'll help you bathe and get dressed and then we can get a little more sleep before we finish off season six."
He was going to help her bathe like when she was sick? Maybe this little situation was better than she thought. She nodded and let him do as he pleased.
As Sheldon assisted in pulling off her lingerie, Amy noticed that he wouldn't look at her. This confused her since not only had he seen her naked before, but they'd made love less than half an hour ago. Why wasn't he looking at her now?
"Sheldon?" Amy asked as he helped her step into the tub.
"Yes?" her boyfriend asked, still trying not to look at her.
"Are you alright?" She hadn't really considered asking him if he was okay. It had been his first time as well and she wasn't sure if there may have been any physical discomfort for him. She was almost positive that there was some emotional or psychological discomfort, though.
She watched as he grabbed her loofah and her liquid soap. "What do you mean?" he asked.
"Well, it's just that you asked me if I was okay and I never asked if you were okay," Amy told him.
Sheldon stared at the loofah as he worked up a lather and nodded. "I'm fine."
With a nod, Amy grabbed the loofah from him to get his attention, yet he still wouldn't look at her. "I think we really need to talk about this."
"Now? Can't it wait? I'm sure we're both pretty tired."
"Sheldon!"
"Amy, you're a neurobiologist. Surely you understand that discussion of the activity so soon after said activity could result in inaccurate feedback."
" 'So soon after'? It's been almost half an hour. I doubt either of us is still suffering from the 'afterglow' of sex," she told him plainly. She started washing herself instead of letting him do it.
"As scientists, we have to be sure. I think we should wait before we discuss this any further."
Amy pointed her loofah at her boyfriend. " 'Any further,' you say? We haven't even begun to discuss it!"
"Good. That means that we can start from the beginning when we do begin to discuss it."
Right now really wasn't the time for him to be a smartass. Especially when it came to something like this. "Please leave," she said calmly.
Sheldon looked confused. "You want me to leave?"
"Yes." She was trying to keep her temper in check, but he wasn't making it easy.
"But I was helping you bathe. And how are you supposed to get dressed?"
"Get out." She was still able to keep her voice down even though she could feel her blood pressure creeping up. It wasn't like he was really helping her bathe. She had the loofah and had already started.
"What about—?"
Amy sighed in hopes of preserving her sanity. "I won't say it again." But she had to admit, she was doing a good job of keeping things quiet. As a matter of fact, each statement had gotten quieter.
He hadn't looked at her the entire time they were in the bathroom until that moment. He looked as though he wanted to say something, but instead he turned on his heels and marched out of the bathroom.
Her boyfriend almost seemed upset. What did he have to be mad about? She was the one on the receiving end of smarty-pants remarks... If he really was angry, would he want to share a bed with her? She was upset, but that didn't mean she didn't want him sleeping in the same bed.
She'd always heard that it's not a good idea to go to sleep angry, but he never wanted to talk about anything. What was she supposed to do now?
Amy ended up wishing that Sheldon had stuck around to at least help her out of the bathtub. She was feeling a little less sore, but her body now felt heavy and all she wanted to do was hop into bed and get a little more sleep. Unfortunately, she already knew that her mind wouldn't let her sleep after she'd kicked her boyfriend out of the bathroom.
Waddling her way out of the bathroom, she glanced toward the living room to see if Sheldon had decided to spend the night there. Oddly enough, she didn't see him on the couch. She hadn't expected to feel so overjoyed that he wasn't there, but she felt her heart skip a beat and a smile tugged at her lips.
Wait! He wouldn't leave the apartment altogether, would he? It was much too early in the morning for that, wasn't it? She supposed he could call a cab to take him back to his own apartment if he wanted.
She hurried to her bedroom and peeped inside. Yes, Sheldon was in bed, but he had the blankets pulled up over his head and she could tell that his back was to her side of the bed. It was possible that he was already asleep, she supposed. Nevertheless, she waddled her way over, slid under the covers behind him and slipped her arm around his waist.
"Thank you," she whispered to him.
It took a few seconds for him to ask, "For what?"
"For not sleeping on the couch."
"I had considered it. And then I considered the fact that you might be even angrier if I did."
Amy nodded and nuzzled her face against the back of her boyfriend's neck. "You're right," she chuckled. "Listen, it's unhealthy to go to sleep while you're angry, so I forgive you."
Sheldon was quiet for a moment before he turned to face her. "I don't think I ever apologized, but I suppose that now's as good a time as any. I'm sorry for hurting you when...you know."
Even though she appreciated his apology, she said, "Believe me, it wasn't as painful as all that. Besides, that's not the offense to which I was referring."
Her boyfriend thought for a moment, a confused expression on his face. "Well, I would apologize for leaving you in the bathroom to fend for yourself, but you were the one who kicked me out."
Amy removed her arm from around his waist and scooted away from him. She could feel herself getting angry again.
"Surely you don't expect me to apologize for not wanting to talk about what happened right away," Sheldon said.
She narrowed her eyes at him and hoped that he could see it in the streetlamp light. "Bingo."
"Don't you want a clear perspective? Not just from me, but from yourself?"
"Sheldon, during experimentation, recording one's initial findings is very important. It builds a basis for comparisons between the initial findings and subsequent testing," Amy told him.
Again, Sheldon was quiet for a while and he shifted a bit. " 'Subsequent testing'?"
"Of course. You're a scientist. You know that another important part of experimentation is performing multiple tests."
Sheldon cleared his throat. "You mean engaging in coitus again? Why on Earth would you want to do something like that again if you experienced pain?"
"It wasn't as painful as it was uncomfortable. Besides, it was also enjoyable."
"Really? And that's all you have to say after you've been trying to get into my pants all these years? That it was 'enjoyable'?"
Amy felt confused. At first her boyfriend didn't want to talk about any of this. Now, he was practically demanding to know her opinion on the situation. "Well, I've also expressed an interest in following up on the experiment."
Her boyfriend shifted again. "I see..."
There was a long silence and she noticed that Sheldon was having a hard time lying still. She was hoping that since she gave her opinion about their first time together that he would do the same. "Well?" she asked.
"Well, what?"
"I told you what I thought. So, what did you think?" She felt nervous about asking him something like that, even though that had been her main goal the whole time. Did she really want his opinion? "You did initiate it, after all."
After another long silence, his answer was, "It wasn't supposed to happen."
Okay. So, he thought her statement that it was enjoyable was lacking. His sole assessment was that it wasn't supposed to happen? This was an outrage! Was he saying that when he awoke her in the wee small hours, he had no intention of making love to her? "Explain."
"I don't know how I can say it any simpler. It wasn't supposed to happen," he repeated. "I'm not sure what happened. It was supposed to be like all of our other experiments, but then I became...overwhelmed."
She wasn't really sure what else to say. He'd said in his sleep the other night that he wanted to enter her and then he actually did it. There was some truth to that little confession after all. Then again, his sole assessment was that it wasn't supposed to happen.
It took a lot not to get angry immediately. She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. Kolinahr was helpful when she remembered it.
But before she could say anything, Sheldon spoke again. "How did you say it in one of your fantasies? You became, and I quote, 'an assault on my senses, resulting in the loss of control regarding my faculties'."
It was obvious that he didn't enjoy saying that. Little did he know, though, saying that had just saved him from a world of hurt. It was a compliment and Amy couldn't help grinning from ear to ear. "Thank you, Sheldon."
As soon as she started scooting closer to him once again, she heard her boyfriend clear his throat again. "Wait. We really should try to get a little more sleep," he told her.
"That's what I plan to do. What did you think I was doing?"
"I don't know. You mentioned subsequent testing...," he began.
"Don't worry. I still need some time to adjust from our first time. I won't bother you about it again for a while," Amy assured him.
"Oh... I see," her boyfriend said. "Well, goodnight."
Amy frowned. "Wait. May I have a goodnight kiss?"
Sheldon thought for a moment and shifted yet again. "Um, that... What I mean to say is...it's ill-advised."
"What? Why?"
"It's just not a very good idea."
This was silly. She didn't have to ask him for a kiss. There were no restrictions as far as physical contact was concerned anymore. So, she scooted closer still and planted an innocent, but lingering kiss upon his lips. And even though he'd argued against it, he still allowed her to do as she pleased.
"There. That was nice, right?" she whispered to him.
She watched as his lips disappeared into his mouth and he nodded slowly.
"Goodnight," she said.
"Goodnight," he replied quietly.
As she was drifting off to sleep she could feel Sheldon squirming a bit.
When Amy awoke, the first thing she noticed was that Sheldon wasn't in bed. Upon looking at the clock, she realized that it was after seven in the morning. Well, no wonder he wasn't in bed.
Those extra three hours of sleep had been the best sleep of her life. And since Sheldon wasn't in the room, she could grab her phone and start sending texts to her friends about what happened last night—or rather, earlier this morning. Her boyfriend had made her a woman and she'd made him a man. They weren't going to believe this. Sure, it was a breach of privacy in their relationship, but what did she care?
The only message she sent them was, [Guess who's not a virgin anymore!]
Before she could even put her phone down, she received replies from both of them at just about the same time. She was a little surprised to have a reply from Penny, considering she didn't like to be bothered before eleven in the morning. Yet when she looked at the replies, she'd received one from each of her friends.
[What?! Srsly?!] Bernadette texted.
[Details!] was all Penny sent.
[We'll have to talk later. Sheldon might get suspicious,] she sent to them. And before they had a chance to reply, she tossed her phone into her purse and took a deep breath. She had a feeling that she'd regret telling them so soon, but what was done was done. She had more pressing matters to deal with right now.
Like finding out if her boyfriend was still around. He was a proven flight risk, after all.
Amy peeped around the corner and spotted Sheldon standing in the kitchen drinking tea. (Thank goodness he's here,) she said to herself, then went about brushing her teeth. When she was done, she casually strolled into the kitchen, her waddle less apparent than early that morning.
Her boyfriend was leaning against the counter, sipping his tea and watching her. Something was amiss.
"Are you okay?" Amy asked.
Sheldon nodded slowly and stared at his mug.
"You look tired," she told him.
"I couldn't sleep."
So, she'd been enjoying a peaceful rest while her boyfriend suffered sleeplessness? That didn't seem fair at all. She couldn't help being concerned.
But most likely he could tell that she was concerned because he spoke again. "Anyway, let's finish off Next Generation Madness for this weekend."
She watched him as he quickly went about making a bowl of cereal and headed toward the couch. The only thing left for her to do at the moment was follow suit.
Again, there was no holding hands and no cuddling during viewing. Amy had tried to initiate contact, but Sheldon didn't seem comfortable with it. She thought about forcing the issue, but that probably would've done more harm than good.
They watched two whole episodes before Amy decided she'd had enough. There was something going on with her boyfriend and she was determined to find out what it was.
She grabbed the remote and turned off the DVD player and the television, then turned to face Sheldon.
Sheldon cleared his throat. "Yes. Two-part episodes are a lot to take in. We should both take a moment to ponder each one."
"That's not why I stopped the show," Amy told him. "There's something you're not telling me. What is it?"
Sheldon folded his arms and stared at the blank TV screen.
"Sheldon, talk to me."
After a long silence, her boyfriend finally said, "We're out of condoms."
Amy did her best to stifle a laugh.
"We used the last one last night," Sheldon went on to say. "Actually, this morning."
"Is that why you're being all weird? Because we're out of condoms?" Amy asked. "Don't worry so much. I'll buy some after I take you back to your apartment."
Once again, her boyfriend was quiet for a long time before speaking. "Maybe...we should buy some now."
...to be continued...
a/n: Not only do I take forever to put out another chapter, but then I end it like that. I'm such a bastard.
a/n: Anyway, a late Happy New Year to everyone. I hope you enjoyed this not so action-packed chapter. And maybe now that the season of depression is over I'll have time to write more. I wouldn't count on it though. We see how long it took for this chapter to surface.
a/n: Thanks for reading and please take it easy on me. It's been a while.
