Part XIII

8x03 The First Pitch Insufficiency

Penny: Well, a relationship is more complicated than a French fry.

Sheldon: Not according to the work of Berscheid, Snyder and Omoto.

Penny: Oh, what did those rascals do now?

Amy: They developed the Relationship Closeness Inventory, which predicts the stability of a couple based on behaviour.

Sheldon: Yeah, not to be confused with the French Fry Goodness Inventory. That's pure Cooper.

Leonard: So, this is accurate?

Sheldon: It's been around for 25 years, and has been extensively corroborated by other researchers.

Penny: Well, kind of takes the romance out of relationships.

Sheldon: Kind of? It does it perfectly.

Amy: Sheldon and I got an eight-point-two out of ten.


Amy: It would make me so happy if you said things like that.

Sheldon: We got an eight-point-two. Trust me, you're happy.


Amy smiled to herself as she tossed the salad in the bowl. The lasagne was in the oven already and would be ready in around 20 minutes. Sheldon was scheduled to appear in 10 minutes, so that gave him some time to acclimatise to his surroundings.

Amy had to admit; when Sheldon had left without saying goodbye to travel the country by train she had felt more than just a bit hurt. It had broken her heart honestly, but she guessed she could see where it was coming from, his need to run away. Everything was changing and it was just too much for him.

But still. How much trouble would it have been to just send her a text or give her a five-minute phone call?

The more she thought about it, the more her happy mood disappeared, and she quickly brought her thoughts back around to the present: dinner.

It was their third date night in a week, and Amy could get used to this. The amount of time spent with Sheldon nowadays was due to his contractual obligation to make up for all the dates he missed while on his train-trip, but Amy liked to forget that titbit of information and pretended he was just spending all his time with her on date night because he wanted to.

He must have missed her too. Right?

A knock sounded on her door.

"Amy?"

He was early. More knocks.

"Amy?"

Amy quickly dried her hands and made her way over to the door. More knocks.

"Amy?"

She opened the door, beaming at him. "Hello Sheldon," she greeted, slightly out of breath.

"Hello," he smiled back. "I hope you don't mind my promptness, but I was able to take an earlier bus."

"No, not at all," Amy smiled. She moved aside to let him enter. "Dinner will take at least fifteen minutes, though."

"Oh, that's alright," Sheldon said, taking a seat on her couch after taking off his windbreaker and messenger bag. "That gives me enough time to go over your answers to the Relationship Closeness Inventory."

Amy stopped in her tracks. Her stomach dropped.

"W-Why?" she asked, hoping her voice didn't waver.

"Well, you're not going to believe this," Sheldon started, "but I challenged Wolowitz to take the test today – you know, to show Leonard that I was right with our earlier classification of the couples in our social circle – and it turns out he and Bernadette had already taken it."

"Oh?"

"Aaand," Sheldon said, dragging the word out and stopping for dramatic effect. "They got an eight point six. An 8.6! Can you believe they scored higher than we did?"

Yes.

Amy tried to look shocked. "Well, who'd have thought," she said. "Would you like something to drink? I have Strawberry Quik. The powder kind."

Sheldon looked at her, wide-eyed.

"Amy, I don't think you're listening," he said. "Wolowitz and Bernadette beat us at the Relationship test. I don't see how you can be so calm about this! Something must not add up. Now, I remember all the answers I gave, obviously. Could you give me your filled-out survey? I think something might be off with the algorithm on that website."

Amy knew there was nothing wrong with the algorithm. The odds that Bernadette and Howard 'beat them' at this weren't even that small.

Considering she gave what she thought were the desirable answers to most of the questions, instead of answering it truthfully.

Sheldon had already grabbed her iPad from the coffee table, and unlocked it easily.

"You should really think about using a different passcode than your birthday, Amy," Sheldon berated her. Amy could only hope he wouldn't open Google Chrome, where she had been looking at her FanFiction-statistics. She had published a new chapter to her Cooper/Amelia love story a few days ago, and it always felt great to see how many people read and re-read her works.

"Now," Sheldon said, tapping on the tablet in front of him. "Ah, here they are. It will just take me a couple minutes. I'll take that Strawberry Quik now, thank you."

Amy could only walk to the kitchen with a sense of dread. She wondered how long it would take Sheldon to find out she had basically lied on every question of the test.

If he would find out at all.

She ran some of the questions she had lied her butt off through her head again.

When it comes to initiating intimacy, which of the following options most applies to you?
1. Always initiated by partner
2. More often initiated by partner
3. Initiated by both partners equally
4. More often initiated by you
5. Always initiated by you

Since option 6 'Intimacy? What intimacy?' was not listed, Amy had decided to go with option 2, thinking Sheldon would pick option 4 on his test. Their answers would match up that way. Which would probably give them the highest score.

When it comes to the frequency of intimate encounters, which of the following options most applies to you?
1. Partner wants more intimate encounters
2. Partner wants less intimate encounters
3. Both partners want the same amount of intimate encounters
4. You want less intimate encounters
5. You want more intimate encounters

Multiple options applied to Amy here, and the one that applied to her most was option 5. But since she and Sheldon kissed on date nights nowadays, he probably thought that their intimacy was at its peak already. So she went with option 3.

When it comes to the future, you and your partner… [choose option that applies most to you]
1. Differ greatly on pace of moving forward, partner want to move faster
2. Have menial differences on pace of moving forward
3. Share the same views to the pace of moving forward
4. Differ greatly on pace of moving forward, you want to move faster
5. Not applicable; i.e. currently married

The honest answer was option 4. But that had been before Sheldon had left without saying goodbye to her. He had literally run away from her when she suggested they move in together. Of course they differed greatly. More than a year ago Sheldon had claimed a game of make-belief sex between their elf and troll counterparts in his bedroom was the height of intimacy. 'How much faster can this thing go?' he had said.

Amy had accepted her faith.

She would never have sex with Sheldon. And the whole living together thing was off the table too; even when she suggested taking Leonard's room instead of sharing a bed, he had still run off screaming.

So, she picked option 3. Because whatever pace Sheldon wanted to go, she would concede. Having a boyfriend who didn't really want her – physically or otherwise – was better than having no boyfriend at all.

Amy didn't really remember the rest of the test. It had been a 200-question survey, and it had been late. She had been drinking wine during it as well.

Maybe around the end she had forgotten to vote strategically so to speak, but she couldn't really remember.

Her oven dinged.

Amy took out the lasagne, it was cooked to perfection. She served it, and let it set for a minute. She prepared a glass of Strawberry Quik for Sheldon and poured herself a generous bulb of red wine. She had a feeling she would be needing it tonight.

"Dinner's ready," she said hesitantly. Sheldon was still looking at the iPad.

"I'll be right there," he replied. He looked at Amy's answers a minute longer before locking the iPad and putting it down on her coffee table. He joined her at the table, and gave her a smile. It didn't look sincere.

"Dinner smells delicious, Amy," he mumbled.

"Thank you," she said softly. He had found out. That much was obvious. The only question that remained was who was going to bring it up.

Amy served Sheldon a generous helping, and took quite a big piece herself too. It was immediately uncomfortable between them, and Amy regretted getting such a big helping. Her appetite had lessened considerably now.

"So, uhm," she started, "how was work today?"

"It was alright."

Amy took another bite out of her lasagne and ate it slowly.

"Did you have another meeting with Human Resources now the whole junior professor thing didn't work out?"

Sheldon chewed carefully. "Not yet, no. But since no one is willing to take my class, I'm guessing I'll be back to researching any field of physics I'd like in no time. They can't just fire me, just because no student actually wants me as a teacher."

"Well, I'm sure that's not true," Amy took a sip of her wine. "You just have a bit of a reputation problem. If word got out how brilliant you are, I'm sure the students will line up by your classroom. Believe me."

Sheldon raised an eyebrow at her.

"And why should I believe you now, when I just found out you cheated on the Relationship Closeness Inventory test?"

He had lasted even longer than she had expected him to last. For some reason she was blushing, and Sheldon stared at her with disbelieving eyes.

"What do you mean?" Amy asked, feigning ignorance.

Sheldon huffed. "Oh, please Amy. Do you expect me to believe some of the answers I saw on there? Moving forward at the same pace? You were asking to live with me two months ago!"

"Yes," Amy said calmly. "And you declined. Then you decided to travel around the country without saying goodbye to me, so obviously I had been pushing you. I've come to realise now that whatever pace you want to take – whether it's a move forward or we just remain the way we are now – is fine by me."

Sheldon looked at her suspiciously.

He took another bite of his dinner, and chewed it slowly, like he was contemplating his next move.

"Let's say that is true," he continued. "I know for a fact you were untruthful when it came to those intimacy questions."

Amy looked at him blankly. "How so?" she asked.

To his credit, Sheldon blushed. He looked down at his plate as he answered.

"You have expressed a desire to have sexual intercourse with me quite a few times in the past," he mumbled, awkwardly. "I find it hard to believe that has disappeared all of a sudden."

Amy decided neither to confirm nor deny this. Her blush said enough.

Her sexual desires for him had not disappeared – not in the slightest. But she was getting better at suppressing them, especially now that she had purchased a high-power rechargeable vibrator that got her off in mere minutes.

If only Sheldon wouldn't give her those looks he sometimes did; where his blue eyes were wide and he seemed to look through her. He was looking at her that way now. Amy felt warm under her collar.

She swallowed uncomfortably and took another sip of her wine. She avoided his eyes.

Sheldon cleared his throat awkwardly.

"I think it's safe to say that we didn't even get an 8.2 on this test," Sheldon spoke softly.

Amy shrugged. She couldn't care less about it. But Sheldon had been so hyped to take the test, she had decided to humour him. It had surprised her, when he believed that they had such a high score. They differed too much on a lot of subjects. She guessed their foundation of friendship helped a lot, but even she and Penny would be able to score at least a 7.5 on this.

"And here I was, hoping to find out how to up our score by 0.5 points so we would at least beat Howard and Bernadette…" Sheldon trailed off.

Amy emptied her glass of wine. "Why do you even care?"

Sheldon gave her a look. "I'm not used to being second best."

Amy sighed tiredly. "Well, get used to it then," she muttered. Standing up, she started to clear the table.

Sheldon followed her into the kitchen, carrying the dish with the left-over lasagne.

"I feel uncomfortable with you lying on the test, Amy," Sheldon said.

She planned the give him an exasperated look, but stopped in her tracks when she saw the look of anguish on his face.

"Are you saying you want to change our relationship so my feelings and desires are taken into account as well?" she asked, not daring to hope.

Sheldon blinked at her.

"No," he said. "I'm saying that I feel uncomfortable with you lying on that test, because I've told everyone that we have a score of 8.2 when we clearly don't have that."

Of course he wouldn't be willing to work on the relationship. He probably thought he was working on it enough as it was.

"So, I may have answered some questions a little differently. What do you want to do about it?" she was getting pissed off. Sheldon's need to win and to be the best at everything used to be endearing, but it was bugging her now. Of course their relationship wasn't the best of those in their social group. Not when he ran away from her at the suggestion of living with her, when she went out of her way to cater to his needs. Not when all she asked for where some sweet words from time to time and maybe the promise of something more in the physical department, and all she got was a half-hearted peck on her lips at the end of their date nights.

And he could either accept that they weren't the best, or make it the best.

Sheldon didn't answer. He seemed deep in thought.

They drank tea on her couch while Amy put on the documentary Planet Earth narrated by David Attenborough – her favourite, but her heart wasn't in it. She looked at the TV without really watching it.

Her idle hopes of Sheldon changing for the sake of their relationship were coming back, after suppressing them for a long time. It seemed like a waste of time, hoping for him to change. She had thought that maybe he'd return from his train journey a different man, but he was still very much the same.

She sighed again.

During the documentary, she could feel Sheldon's eyes on her from time to time.

"Amy," he said. "Would you be willing to take the survey again? Truthfully this time?"

Amy really didn't. Some of the questions in there were really confrontational (To what extent do you feel supported by your partner? Can you express your thoughts and wishes to you partner without fear of being judged?), and she didn't feel comfortable answering them at all.

"Sure," she mumbled instead.

Sheldon sighed in relief. "Thank you," he said.

After the documentary was finished, Amy took their empty mugs to the kitchen. Sheldon was putting on his windbreaker, the alarm on her phone had chimed at ten o'clock. Their date night was over.

Amy exhaled slowly. She had been looking forward to tonight, but the evening had turned uncomfortable and tense after all the talk of the Relationship Closeness Inventory-test. Not for the first time during their so-called relationship, did Amy wonder whether or not they were as compatible as that dating website once had claimed.

She turned on the faucet to rinse out the mugs, when Sheldon cleared his throat next to her.

"I would like to say goodbye," he said, giving her a look.

Oh, right.

What once was the highlight of any date spend with Sheldon – a kiss goodbye – had turned into more of an obligation than something she enjoyed.

Because it was an obligation to him.

Amy turned to him, and almost balked back in shock. He was much closer than she had expected. Sheldon's eyes flit over her face quickly, before he leaned in and pressed his lips to hers. The tingles in her body appeared immediately, just like always.

There was something different about his kiss though. He was much closer than usual, and where both his hands normally sought out her waist, only one held her there in a tight grip. She was pulled flush against him. His other hand had grasped her face and it was as if her held her immobile as he kissed her.

Amy moaned out of shock, and Sheldon's lips moved over hers. Amy hesitantly moved her lips against his. It was different than their usual date night kisses. No, not just different; better. Heavier. Hotter.

The tingles multiplied.

Amy's hands moved on their own accord, her left coming down on the arm holding her close and her right lying on his chest, over his rapidly beating heart. Amy felt dizzy, and if it weren't for Sheldon's tight hold in her waist, she would have fallen down for sure.

Sheldon groaned lowly, and she felt the vibrations under her palm on his chest. They seemed to resonate through her. Their lips continued to meet over and over again.

Sheldon pulled back from her after what felt like minutes. He looked at her with a penetrating gaze. Amy exhaled slowly. What was that?

Sheldon's gaze was unwavering. Amy felt that swoop in her stomach that you feel when you miss a step when going down the stairs. She swallowed away the sudden dryness in her throat.

"Thank you for dinner," Sheldon muttered, and his voice seemed to have gone down an octave. Amy's heart palpitated.

"Anytime," she replied breathlessly.

Sheldon nodded slightly. "I'll see you tomorrow?" he asked.

Amy didn't even know what kind of plans they had the next day. She nodded nonetheless. Sheldon was still holding her head. And her waist.

"Alright," Sheldon whispered.

He let go of her, and took a step back. Amy felt cold without him this close to her. Sheldon had a ruddy colour on his cheeks, and he was holding his messenger's bag in front of his crotch. Amy pretended not to notice or at least not to read into that. There was no way that kiss had left him hot and bothered. Like it had left her.

"Good night." Sheldon closed the door behind him softly.

Amy stood in her kitchen for a long time, trying to make sense of her thoughts.


Amy filled out the survey again – truthfully this time – and sent her answers to Sheldon. She wondered how he would respond, and what their actual score turned out to be.

She sent it to his e-mail, and texted him to inform as well. It wasn't necessary, since his phone would notify him of her e-mail as well, but she wanted to. Especially after the way he had kissed her.

She still felt the tingles in her stomach when she thought back to their encounter in her kitchen.

To: Sheldon
I took the survey again; I sent you the results already. I had a great time tonight. XOXO

He had to know she was referring to the way he kissed her tonight. The rest of the evening had been uncomfortable and stilted. And she normally never ended her texts with hugs and kisses. He had to notice. Right?

To her surprise, he texted her back rather fast, even though it was way past his bedtime already.

From: Sheldon
I saw the incoming e-mail. Thank you for taking it again. I shall look over the results tomorrow. Sweet dreams.

After the 'sweet dreams' was a heart emoji. A heart emoji. Amy stared at it.

Amy's heart started to beat faster in her chest. It was preposterous how the act of him sending her just an emoji was enough to drive her wild.

But it did.


Amy woke up the next day feeling well rested. Sheldon's wish for her to have sweet dreams seemed to have worked. While she didn't recall them, she woke up with a feeling of contentment in her chest. She smiled and grabbed her phone from her nightstand.

Sheldon had texted her.

From: Sheldon
Good morning Amy. I looked over your survey. I'll run it through the website's algorithm later. Perhaps we could talk about it tonight? X

Amy stared at her phone. What was going on? Why was he so persistent about this stupid test? Did it bother him that much that Howard had beat him at this? It wouldn't surprise her. Sheldon looked down on a lot of people, and of all his friends, he looked down on Howard the most.

But since when did he end his texts with kisses?


Leonard was dressed nicely as he opened the door for her at apt. 4A later that evening. He gave her a smile. "Hey Amy," he greeted her. "Don't worry, I'll be out with Penny tonight. You have the place to yourselves."

Amy blinked uncomprehendingly. "Alright," she said. "Where is Sheldon anyway?"

And just then he came walking out of his bedroom. He wore a dress shirt. It wasn't a real date night tonight, was it? Sheldon usually never dressed up for just dinner. Amy immediately wondered whether or not she should have changed after work.

"Hi," she said. She was breathless from just seeing him.

"Hello."

Leonard looked between the two of them. "Alright, you kids behave. I'll sleep over at Penny's tonight," he added, giving Sheldon a pointed look.

For some reason Amy felt a rush of warmth go through her. Was Leonard suggesting something? It seemed absurd. And yet… Sheldon appeared almost flushed.

"Alright," Sheldon nodded.

Leonard left, and it was either because of his awkward behaviour or because it was awkward between them that the air around them felt strange.

"So," Amy said, trying to fill the silence. "What are we having for dinner?"

Sheldon snapped out of his reverie and proceeded to tell her what he had ordered for dinner in great detail. Amy smiled. At least that was normal.

They had dinner together, all the while talking about work and upcoming movies. Both ignored the elephant in the room; the test results and their heated kiss from the night before. It was surprisingly normal and Amy felt comfortable as they joked and talked. It was almost as if nothing happened; no trains, no tests, no making out in the kitchen.

But then Amy remembered the day before and it all came rushing back to her.

Amy was getting anxious. He had asked her to discuss it tonight, whatever that meant. There really wasn't much to discuss: Amy wanted more than he could give, and she was trying to find peace with that. She certainly wasn't going to suggest anything ever again. He was a flight risk.

They cleaned up the dishes together and Sheldon put the kettle on.

"It's past nine," Amy said. "Are we still having tea?"

Sheldon moved around awkwardly. "I thought maybe you could answer some of the questions I had after reading your test results," he said questioningly.

"Do we have to?" Amy asked. It had been a really nice evening, and talking about that would surely turn the mood around.

"Please," Sheldon said and he indicated towards the couch.

Amy took her designated seat, and smiled in thanks when Sheldon handed her a cup of tea. He sat down next to her and looked down his own cup.

"I wanted to make sure we were on the same page after yesterday," he started. He took a deep breath, as if he was stalling himself. He continued to talk quietly.

"The reason I asked you to take that test was not to see if we would beat the others. I wanted to see if you saw our relationship the same way I do. And I thought that you did, since we scored so highly. But when I saw your answers yesterday, it was hard to miss that you hadn't been honest. Your answers weren't consistent for one, and I knew for a fact you were lying on some of them."

Amy was silent. They had already discussed this.

"I thought a lot while I was away. And not just about string theory, or whether I should continue researching dark matter or proton decay now," Sheldon continued. "I realised that I wasn't ready to live with you, and you obviously were. And it made me worry that perhaps we looked at our relationship differently."

Amy swallowed nervously. That was exactly it.

"It seems as though you've given up trying to move forward. Is that true?"

His eyes were incredibly blue and Amy couldn't lie.

"Yes."

Sheldon took a slow breath. "After reading your actual responses this morning, I noticed that, yes. While you don't mind adapting to my needs, you completely eliminate your own feelings in the process. I know I wrote the Relationship Agreement to skew in my favour, but I never intended you to be untrue to yourself."

Amy didn't really know what to say. "Oh."

She took a sip of her tea.

"So, you're saying you want me to go back to making suggestive comments about sex and asking for more kisses than the ones we already share?" she asked jokingly. The air around them was way too tense.

"Yes," Sheldon said clearly.

Amy's smile slid off her face under his heated stare. The earlier tenseness had been awkward, but the tension was turning into something else now. Especially with the way Sheldon looked at her.

Amy swallowed thickly. "Okay."

Sheldon stared at her a beat longer. "Good."

His eyes shifted to her mouth. Amy's heart beat faster. For a second she wondered if he was going to kiss her, but he just kept looking at her.

"I know you're patient with me and I appreciate that," Sheldon mumbled. "but I was worried that your feelings for me had gone away when I read your initial answers."

Amy felt bad for him. That hadn't been her intention.

"So you understand that I had to check yesterday if you still desire me," Sheldon finished.

It felt like a slap in the face. Had he only kissed her like that to see if she would participate? Or to see if she would become aroused? Just when she was thinking he might be changing after all, he went and pulled a stunt like this.

"Right," she mumbled, looking away from his face.

"It may have awoken some of my own desires as well," Sheldon whispered so softly Amy barely heard him.

She stared at him. Oh. She hadn't been imagining it when he had shielded his groin with his bag yesterday then.

Her stomach constricted. Sheldon had been aroused. From kissing. From kissing her.

She looked up at him and was met with the same heated look he had given her the day before. She felt hot all over. Her heart started beating faster. Her palms were moist. Not just her palms were moist now.

Neither of them looked away. Amy breathed shallowly.

They both snapped out of it when the alarm on her phone chimed. It was ten o'clock.

"Ehm.. I should go," Amy mumbled. She looked away from him.

"Alright," Sheldon whispered. He stood up from the couch. Amy took a deep breath. Her legs felt wobbly.

She got up from the couch as well, but as soon as she stood, her legs gave out. Sheldon grabbed her quickly though – he must have developed these reflexes from gaming, Amy figured – his hands holding her up by her waist.

"Amy!" he exclaimed. "Be careful!"

Amy's heart was racing. She clung to him. Was she that tense that her legs just decided to stop working?

Sheldon looked at her worriedly. "Maybe you should lie down for a bit," he said.

Amy nodded weakly. Maybe that was for the best, yes.

She intended to sit back down on the couch and lie there, but Sheldon was guiding her towards his bedroom. His grip on her waist never wavered, and he held onto one of her hands tightly. Amy's heart was beating fast. When he said 'lie down' she never expected him to be talking about his bed.

Sheldon walked her over to his bed, and helped her lie down. Amy's head touched his pillow, and she seemed to bathe in his scents. Fabric softener, talcum powder, that unique smell that was completely him. Her legs felt even more wobbly now, and her whole body tingled.

His eyes shifted over her face. "Are you feeling light-headed?" he asked.

Amy shook her head.

She felt a lot right now, but light-headed was not one of them. Sheldon was slipping off her shoes, after having grabbed another pillow. He took a seat next to her on the bed. He carefully lifted her stockinged feet and positioned them on the pillow. Amy watched him through half-lidded eyes. Just his fleeting touch on her feet had her in a heightened aroused state.

Sheldon's hand rested on her ankle. His fingers were caressing her fleetingly. The tension around them was palpable.

"If I had known that all I had to do to get in your bed was almost-fainting, I would have tried that years ago," she joked softly. He had asked for that, hadn't he? That she continued making lewd suggestions?

The corners of Sheldon's mouth ticked up in a half-smile.

"I wouldn't have been as willing to get you here though," he spoke softly, and his hand moved from her ankle upwards, caressing her calf gently.

Amy inhaled sharply through her mouth. Sheldon was watching his hand caress her leg, and she could only look at him with bated breath.

"I think I can sit up again," Amy whispered. Sheldon was slowly making her crazy with his barely-there touches on her leg – he had reached her knee now and was moving up on her thigh.

Sheldon looked back at her, and his eyes were darker than she was used to. He reached out to her with his other hand, and helped her sit up.

His hand remained on her knee. Now that she was sitting up, she was a lot closer to Sheldon than she was before. There was something intimate about the way they were situated now. Amy on his bed. Sheldon next to her. His hand on her knee. His other hand holding hers. Their eyes locked.

Amy was afraid to breathe. Sheldon's thumb moved in small circles on her thigh. Even this was turning her on now.

Sheldon eyes moved over her face again. Amy leaned towards him slightly. Hesitantly.

He met her halfway. Their lips touched in a chaste kiss. They barely touched at all.

But it was monumental for some reason. Because they were not saying goodbye at the door or having some other kind of contractually obligated kiss.

Amy pulled back from him and looked at him. She was extremely nervous.

The hand on her knee squeezed her softly, and the other hand pulled her in. This time when their mouths touched, he wasn't fleeting or hesitant. He was determined.

The tingles were there again. They were everywhere.

Sheldon seemed to devour her; his mouth moved against hers in a way that she could only describe as passionate. She was so distracted by the way his lips moved over hers – with hers – that Amy didn't realise she was being pushed back down on the bed.

She found herself on her back, with Sheldon hanging over her. Her heart swooped in her chest. It was going awfully fast all of a sudden. Sheldon's weight felt heavy on top of her, but not the smothering kind of heavy, but the delicious kind of heavy.

Amy moaned quietly, and Sheldon pulled away from her. He was breathing heavily.

For some reason, one of the questions from the survey popped in her head.

During intimate encounters, does your partner put your needs above his/her own?

She had chosen 'not applicable' the second time she took the test. Sheldon was trying to make her change her answer now, it seemed. He searched her eyes for a second, before he bent down towards her again.

Their lips moved over each other in open-mouthed kisses. Sheldon's tongue brushed against her upper lip, and Amy was sure she was dreaming. There was no way in hell that she was French kissing Sheldon on his bed.

Since she was dreaming anyway, there was no need to overthink the situation like she was a the brink of doing.

So, she stopped thinking about Sheldon's fear of germs and whatever reasons he could have to be doing this. Curiosity? Needing to beat Howard at the test by making Amy happier about their relationship?

Or could it be.. genuine desire?

Amy moved her tongue against his, and it was the strangest sensation. The slickness of the underside felt so sensual against her own tongue, and Sheldon seemed to like it too. He made a groaning sound in the back of his throat, and literally pounced on her.

Sheldon was fully on top of her now, and his bodyweight felt deliciously heavy again. Amy gasped into his mouth when she felt a hard bulge in between his legs press up against her.

This dream was becoming rather vivid.

One of Sheldon's hands was grasping her leg again, and his hand moved higher and higher up her thigh. Her skirt was pushed up, and Sheldon pulled away from her fully now. He pushed her legs apart with his knees and settled in between them.

Amy could only stare up at him. Her skirt was bunched around her hips. Sheldon was looking down at her unabashedly. His eyes swept over the top of her thighs, where her stockings ended. The lace trimmings stuck to her thighs by a silicone strip.

Amy didn't wear stockings often, but this morning she had felt particularly sexy – probably because yesterday she had been kissed by her boyfriend like she only had dreamed about for years – and had taken them out of the packaging.

Her sensible pink cotton panties contrasted greatly with the black lace of the stockings.

Sheldon's hands were caressing her thighs over the lace. Amy trembled under him.

"I don't think I've ever seen these before," Sheldon spoke quietly.

Of course he hadn't, he hadn't seen any of her tights or pantyhose this close-up. This was the first time he looked under her skirt. Amy thought.

"Did you wear these because of our date tonight?" Sheldon asked, his voice barely a whisper.

She hadn't. Despite their rather heated kiss the night before, she had never thought she'd be in such a state of undress in front of him tonight.

"I might have," she mumbled anyway.

Sheldon's eyes darkened. His right hand travelled up higher, and he was slowly caressing the very top of her thigh, his fingers barely grazing the edge of her panties.

Sheldon swallowed thickly. "Is this okay?" he asked hoarsely.

Amy nodded rapidly. Yes.

She had expected him to remove her panties, but instead his fingers moved over her, feeling her through her underwear. Amy widened her legs, giving him more access. Her legs were trembling again.

The stimulation was minimal, but the thought that Sheldon was willingly touching her, there, was enough to drive her wild. She gasped softly when Sheldon touched the right spot.

His eyes flickered up to her face.

He brushed against her again, harder now, and Amy's breath caught in her throat. Sheldon kept looking at her face as he repeated the movement, each time with a different amount of pressure but always in just the right spot.

Amy's eyes had fluttered closed by now, and she was moaning softly with each touch.

"Like this?" Sheldon mumbled.

Amy opened her eyes. She couldn't believe what was happening. Sheldon was actually touching her, and now he was asking her for instructions to get her off? She hadn't had this sex dream before.

Sheldon was blushing, and his pupils were dilated. He had never looked this sexy before. Amy gulped.

This was a huge step. For both of them. And it scared her somehow; what if she scared him off? What if he didn't like the feel of her? He had to have noticed how wet she was under the fabric of her panties.

He was touching her differently than when she did this herself; it was good, but not good good. On top of that; the stimulation was indirect, so he would have to work even harder to really make it well for her.

Amy took a hesitant breath. "Almost," she whispered. She took hold of his wrist and repositioned his hand slightly, and moved it against her in the way she liked; tiny circles, with more force than he was using right now. Sheldon got the hang of it quickly – he kept a steady rhythm, touching her with the precise pressure and in the exact spot Amy had shown him. Her hand fell away from his wrist.

Sheldon's eyes moved from his hand between her legs to her face and back again. Amy was breathing shallowly; the intensity from his stare was making her chest constrict and her insides burn.

She tried not to moan too loud, but it was rather difficult.

She could feel herself getting wetter and wetter, and her hips were undulating against his fingers now. It was suddenly very hot in his room as well; her back was slick with sweat, and all the clothes she still wore were suffocating her. Her breath was coming out in small gasps coupled with throaty moans.

The tingles had multiplied, and multiplied exponentially.

They were becoming too much now. For a fleeting second, Amy worried how Sheldon would respond to her orgasming in front of him, but it was too late now. He flicked her clit one final time, and Amy gasped loudly when her orgasm overtook her.

Her back arched, and her legs trembled around him. The waves of euphoria washed over her, and the tingles were everywhere; moving from her fingers to her core to her legs and feet and back again. Her whole body shook with shocks and her mind was blissfully blank for a few seconds.

The feeling of pure bliss was ebbing away slowly, and Amy opened her eyes carefully. Her whole body felt heavy, and it was as if she was falling further into his bed. She was breathing deeply.

Sheldon was looking at her intensely. His hand was still resting against her throbbing centre.

Amy exhaled softly, and she let out a sort of breathy chuckle.

"Wow," she murmured. Her face felt hot.

Sheldon was biting his lip. He removed his hand from her and looked away awkwardly.

"Sheldon," Amy mumbled.

He looked back at her. He had red blotches on his cheeks and his pupils were still dilated. Amy made sure to keep looking at his face and not let her eyes wander down to see if that hard bulge was still in his pants.

"How was that?" Sheldon asked, barely audible.

Amy bit her lip to keep from smiling too brightly. "Really great," she whispered.

Sheldon nodded and looked away. Amy lifted her hand with great difficulty, her limbs felt like lead. She grasped his hand and used it to pull herself up. Amy reached out to touch him – not even between his legs, but just his arm – and Sheldon shifted away.

Amy tried not to feel rejected.

It was most awkward now, considering Sheldon was seated on his knees between her opened legs. He kept his eyes averted.

"I think this is the most I can handle today," Sheldon mumbled.

A rush of warmth moved over Amy. He was right of course. This was huge; what just had happened between them.

"That's okay," Amy said softly. She moved around on the bed awkwardly, pulling her right leg inward so she could close her legs and preserve some of her modesty.

"I've been thinking about touching you like that for a while," Sheldon admitted quietly. "I know you want our relationship to be more physical, I didn't need a survey for that."

Amy could only nod. I've been thinking about touching you like that for a while. His words resounded in her head. They made her inexplicably happy.

"I just didn't realise how intense it would be for me," Sheldon finished softly.

Amy felt a sudden lump in her throat. She had been ready for years now. Of course Sheldon was overwhelmed by this.

"I really, really enjoyed that," Amy whispered, "but I appreciate it even more that you're trying to be more intimate. For me."

Sheldon looked up and gave her a slight smile. "It's not just for you," he said, and his eyes shone with desire.

"Hoo," Amy breathed out. Sheldon's pupils widened.

Amy bit her lip and looked down at her lap. This was fine. No, it was more than fine. They were moving forward, at a slow pace. But forward nonetheless.

"I think I need to change some answers on that survey, though," Amy said, smiling at him. "Maybe we'll beat Howard and Bernadette after all."

END

A/N Something more sweet than hot, for the difficult times we're all going through right now. I hope I made your day a little brighter with this.