Author's Note:

So, this is an idea I sat on for a long time. I started writing it months ago, but then stopped because I wasn't sure where exactly it fit in the canon timeline of the show. I finally decided it doesn't. In my head, the only way this makes sense is to say this takes place in an alternate universe where, instead of breaking up at the end of season 8, Sheldon and Amy commit to working through their problems and taking small steps towards becoming intimate. But I'm not writing the part where that gets explained.

This was originally going to be a one shot but now I'm pretty sure it's not. I didn't mean to start up another chaptered fic while Jamais Vu is not yet finished, but sometimes these things just happen. As I mentioned, I started writing this quite some time ago, and recently I ended up rereading what I wrote and had this moment of 'this is good, someone should finish this.' So here we are.

This is probably not the most in-character fic you'll find, but I'm having a great time. I hope you all enjoy this bit of self-indulgence.

A special thank you to my beta reader Stark. I'm sorry I didn't go with one of your title suggestions. They were really good, they just didn't quite match with the titles of my other TBBT fics. But discussing it with you is what led me to this title. I appreciate you!


Chapter One


"I've got a little surprise for you," Amy said, presenting a small box to her boyfriend as she sat down beside him on her couch.

"Now Amy-"

"I'm well aware of your hang ups with gift giving, Sheldon," she plowed ahead, not letting him finish his protest. "Let me be clear, this is a present for the both of us. No reciprocation needed. You'll understand once you open it. Furthermore, if it truly makes you uncomfortable, you can return it to me without consequence and we'll speak no more about it."

Sheldon regarded his girlfriend carefully. Her words seemed sincere, but he wasn't the best judge of that. He tried so hard with his schedules and charts and agreements to strip away all the hidden meanings these close interpersonal relationships seemed to be rife with, but somehow it still felt like at least half the things Amy said carried underlying expectations which were unfathomable to him. But it was something they were consciously working on, her being more direct with him and him trying harder to see things from her perspective, so he chose in this moment to take her word for it. Though he still didn't like it.

"Very well."

He cautiously took the box from her. It wasn't wrapped, which was reassuring to him. Wrapped gifts were for special occasions, so maybe this really was no big deal. After turning it over in his hands for a few seconds, considering the size and weight, he lifted the lid to reveal a small remote control nestled in tissue paper.

"What is it?" he asked, removing the contents for examination. There were only three buttons: the power button, an arrow up, and an arrow down. Clearly this wasn't for a TV, sound system, or similarly complicated device. Also it was purple, which was unusual.

"Maybe you should turn it on and find out . . ."

Sheldon recognized that tone and raised his eyebrows at her, but she just smiled back at him. So he had been right to be cautious before. She was up to something. Still, he was curious, so he pressed the power button.

"Oh!" Amy gasped and jerked as the small bullet-shaped device she'd slipped into herself earlier came to life. The room was filled with a muffled buzzing noise that maybe someone else wouldn't notice, but she had no doubt her boyfriend's sensitive ears picked it up. Sheldon jumped back a bit at her outburst and was now watching her with wide eyes. She bit her lip to keep from making any more noise. A moment passed before Sheldon remembered himself and hit the power button again, turning it off.

"Amy, are you okay? What was that?"

"It's a remote controlled vibrator, Sheldon," she said, trying to quickly compose herself. He had only turned it on to the low setting, but it was still more intense than she was expecting. Already she felt soaked through, although the anticipation alone had gotten her halfway there. "I know you're not ready for coitus yet, but if you're willing, I thought we could try this out. This will let you have complete control, and you don't have to touch me if you don't want to."

Sheldon didn't respond. She met his gaze and saw he still looked shocked, and she started to rethink pushing this on him. But sometimes Sheldon needed to be pushed, and she knew he would never do anything he truly didn't want to do. Amy shifted closer to him on the couch and gently laid her hand on his fist clenching the remote, feeling him relax incrementally as she did.

"Tell me what's going on in that big brain of yours."

What was going on in his brain? It wasn't often that he found himself at a loss for words, but the few times it did happen it seemed to be Amy's doing. Prior to a few seconds ago, he didn't know remote controlled vibrators existed, and his knowledge of regular vibrators was limited to that one time he accidentally found Penny's when she asked for his help organizing her closet. He looked down at their joined hands and the small remote within. The remote in his hand, the vibrator in his girlfriend. Her face and the pleasured gasp she released when he'd turned it on. Sheldon didn't know how to process it, but it was burned into his memory now. Perhaps that was why she asked him to turn it on before telling him what it was. That vixen. When his eyes met hers again, his pupils were dilated and dark.

"I think we should go to your bedroom."

"Really?"

He leaned in and pressed his lips to hers. When he felt her respond to the kiss, he deftly flipped the remote in his hand and pressed the power button again, making her jump and moan against his mouth.


Amy lay on her back on her bed. She had removed her shoes, tights, cardigan, and blouse and felt incredibly exposed, even though she was still covered by her undershirt and skirt. Sheldon hovered, standing to one side, studying her. Her heart raced, and she couldn't tell if she was excited or nervous or both.

"Whenever you're ready," she told him.

He pressed the power button once again. She had braced for it this time and so she didn't jump, but Sheldon noted the change in her breathing. Her head was thrown back, eyes closed, and her chest rose and fell quickly. He increased the intensity of the vibrations without warning.

"A-ahh, Sheldon!" She squirmed and clawed at the sheets.

Fascinating.

Having this kind of power over her was intoxicating. He didn't expect to like it this much. Didn't expect it to have this kind of effect on him. That he could do this to her, make her moan and say his name without laying a finger on her. He wished he'd known it before.

Amy relaxed a bit as she got used to the new setting, but her chest kept heaving. She met his heated gaze and a delicious shiver ran down her spine. She'd never seen that look in his eyes before. So intent, so focused, so hungry. The whole experience was unbelievably arousing.

Suddenly the intensity increased again, and she rolled to her side and almost doubled over, crying out. She started to reach out to him, then stopped herself. She had promised him full control, if he wanted to touch her then he could, but she wouldn't ask for it. Instead she rolled back again and groped herself, one hand on her breast and the other between her legs, pushing the vibrator deeper.

Sheldon swallowed thickly. Amy was stunning like this, completely uninhibited, her dark hair fanned out on the bedspread, her body contorting in ecstasy. His beautiful girlfriend. All it took was one more push of the button to send her spiraling, screaming, shaking into orgasm.

Even with the build up, that final push caught her off guard. Her body wracked with pleasure and she felt like molten liquid melting into the bed. Somewhere in the back of her mind she wondered if she should be embarrassed by how fast it had all happened, but when she met her boyfriend's eyes again that thought faded away, replaced by the bright burst of love she felt for him.

"That was amazing," she told him, still breathless.

"Good," he answered in a soft voice. The remote never left his grip, and Amy realized the vibrator was still on inside her, now back on the lowest setting. She made a move to sit up and remove it, but suddenly found herself pushed back down on the bed.

"Not yet," Sheldon said.

"O-okay."

A new shot of arousal coursed through her from the way he forced her back, a surprisingly dominant move from someone who had previously just been spectating. She regarded him through half-lidded eyes, wondering what he had planned next, then realizing maybe he had no plan as he just stood by the bedside.

In reality, his mind was working overtime to analyze everything that just happened. It was the first time he had ever witnessed her orgasm, the first time he had ever caused someone to orgasm, and his body was reacting in ways he couldn't control. The tingling in his stomach, his spine, his groin. A part of him wanted to throw himself onto the bed with her, feel her heat, taste her skin, finally make that carnal connection. Another part of him was still horrified by the thought. Previously, it was something he never allowed himself to dwell on, something that only came up in the dark dreams he didn't tell anyone about. He wasn't ready.

And yet, she was there, and he was here, and if nothing else he wanted to observe her again. Just one more time, slower, so he could better catalogue the results.

She moaned softly when he changed the vibration setting again. This time he left it for several seconds before going back to low for several more seconds. Then he changed it again. Then he brought it back to low. He teased and toyed with her that way for what seemed to her like hours. Every time she felt like the vibrations were intense enough to tip her over the edge again, he would turn it back down. She was left panting, sweating, groaning in frustration, writhing on the bed, her hips thrusting up into nothing.

"Sheldon, please."

"Just three more settings to go, Amy," he told her, unmoving. It was then that she figured out what he was doing. He was testing her reaction to every possible vibration setting. He wasn't even purposely trying to drive her crazy, and somehow that drove her even more crazy.

Though Sheldon had kept his voice even when he responded to her, inwardly he felt like he was burning up. He thought treating this round in a more methodical manner would calm him down, but it didn't. When he turned up the setting once again and Amy let out a strangled cry, he almost echoed her. Maybe he wasn't going to make it through the remaining two. Maybe neither of them would.

"Mmmgh, Sheldon, please please pl-"

Suddenly he was on top of her, his mouth pressed to hers, swallowing down her pleas. The weight of him pinning her down, the hard bulge rubbing against her thigh, that was all she needed. Her eyes rolled back and her body arched into him as she came again, moaning his name.

"Good lord, Amy," Sheldon gasped as she trembled beneath him, fighting desperately not to lose it himself. He couldn't, he didn't plan for this, he didn't have a change of clothes. He pressed the power button on the remote and breathed out in relief when she relaxed under him a few seconds later.

"Are you okay?" she asked. All he could do was nod, his eyes squeezed shut.

"Do you want me to-?" He felt her arm move, reaching down.

"No!" he shouted, startling her. "Don't. I can't."

"Alright."

He was hit by a wave of affection for her just from the way she listened to him without question. She went still again, but it didn't make much difference. Her breasts were pressing into his chest and his face was so close to hers their breaths mingled. It was hard to focus on anything else. He kept his eyes closed.

"Kolinahr?" she asked with a slightly amused lilt.

"I'm trying."

His only hope was to peel himself away from her, but it took ages for his body to respond to his brain's signal to move off the bed. When he finally did, he felt bereft.

"You can use the bathroom first," she told him, remaining prone. "I don't know if I can stand up yet."


Amy emerged from her bedroom several minutes later, after she had cleaned up and composed herself and allowed Sheldon enough time to do the same. She found him sitting on her couch with his gaze trained to the floor, expression unreadable.

"Was that . . . enjoyable for you?" she asked carefully. He looked up and gave her a puzzled look.

"I think you know very well how I felt."

"True, you did present some rather hard evidence to your feelings," she said with a smirk. "But I thought I better check to be sure your symptoms weren't actually the result of an alien parasite."

Sheldon rolled his eyes. "I think we're far past the days of alien parasite hypotheses."

"Glad to hear it." She grabbed two water bottles from her fridge before joining him on the couch and pressing one into his hands. It was then that she realized he was no longer holding the remote. It was on her coffee table, not far from her TV remote, looking rather innocent now that the toy it controlled was tucked away in her nightstand drawer instead of tucked inside her.

"I suppose it goes without saying that I enjoyed it too," she finally said when he offered no further comment.

"I gathered as much."

She took a drink from her water before making her next request. "So does that mean you would be open to doing this again sometime?"

Sheldon nodded. "I think this is something that's worth further exploration, yes."

"Then why don't you hang on to this?" She nudged the remote closer to him. It was probably a silly request, he would probably say as much. The remote would be useless once he left the building, it was not long-ranging. But still, there was something about the thought of him having it, one half of a whole she would also possess. To her surprise, he slipped it into his pocket without a word.

"I don't know the protocol for these situations," Sheldon admitted after taking a long drink from his water bottle. What did one do after pleasuring one's girlfriend with a sex toy in the late afternoon? Should he make tea? But Amy already gave him the water. This was all her fault really, springing this on him. It should be up to her to plan what comes next. Truthfully, though, all he really wanted to do was go back home and try to process what had happened between them. Maybe update the Relationship Agreement to accommodate whatever this was.

"I don't know either," she answered. "But I'm happy we get to figure it out together."

She was looking up at him through her lashes, a light blush on her cheeks, and before he knew what he was doing, he was leaning down to brush his lips over hers. The kiss was sweet and chaste, very different from earlier when he pressed into her, but it felt like a promise.

"Do you want me to drive you home?" she asked when he pulled back. Sheldon shook his head and stood up.

"No, I'll take the bus. Considering how long it took you to stand up from the bed, I'm not sure I trust you behind the wheel right now."

"Fine," Amy said, frowning, hating that actually he might have a point. At the very least, she was liable to zone out at a red light thinking about what just happened. "I love you, by the way."

He looked back at her from the doorway and smiled. "I love you, too."