Happy Valentine's Day to my favorite fandom!

This story was born out of a completely crazy idea (which will come up later in the story) that I had a little more than a year ago. I didn't have time to write it then, so I chose to try and get it ready for this year's Valentine's Day.

It is only a short story, 8, maybe 9 chapters and I will write a little bit more about it in my end notes.

The story starts during the season 5 episode "The Vacation Solution" which was aired shortly before Valentine's Day.

Thank you in advance for reading. I hope you will enjoy the first chapter!

Exothermic Love Reactions
Chapter 1: Designing The Experiment

Amy

"It will work.", Amy whispered to herself as she sat on her couch on what appeared to be an ordinary Thursday night. "I know it will work."

It wasn't date night. Not for another two weeks. Still, she knew Sheldon was on his way here, although he didn't know yet why exactly she had invited him.

"He will love it. I know he will.", she nodded to herself, although her palms were sweaty, and her heart was pounding.

Her eyes shifted to the blue folder that was peeking out from in between her favorite books in the bookshelf.

Light blue like the color of Sheldon's eyes, although she would never tell him why she had chosen this particular folder to store her copy of their relationship agreement.

In her mind, she repeated the section that had made her form her plan that she could only hope would not be too forward for her boyfriend.

Section 10: Holidays
Subsection D: Valentine's Day

It is herein stipulated that the "girlfriend" has the right to undertake the planning of a celebratory event, once a year on February 14th.

The "boyfriend" is hereby mandated to exhibit behaviors that, under the impartial scrutiny of a disinterested onlooker, may bear semblance to affection.

In case the "girlfriend" fails to implement an acceptable event plan, it is henceforth declared that she shall lose her celebratory privileges until the subsequent year.

Over the past weeks, Amy had read this section so often, she could recite it in her sleep.

On this basis, she was able to establish three facts.

Number One: Now that she finally had a boyfriend – and not just any boyfriend, but Sheldon Cooper –, she desperately wanted to celebrate Valentine's Day with him. She wanted it all. Romance. Sparks. Butterflies.

Number Two: With the way Sheldon had written this particular subsection, it was clear that he had no intention to celebrate Valentine's Day with her. "An acceptable event plan"? What did that mean? He had kept this deliberately ambiguous, so he could veto any plan she would come up with.

Number Three: Sheldon might not like things like romance or kissing or any kind of affectionate behavior. But she knew, he liked her. Enough to make her his girlfriend and put effort into writing up a 31 pages long document. Also, he called and texted her all the time. He came over to her apartment on a regular basis, looking for advice or her company. He enjoyed her presence. He just didn't see a reason to believe that spending Valentine's Day with her could be enjoyable as well.

And so, out of these three facts, Amy drew a conclusion.

In order to celebrate Valentine's Day with Sheldon, she would have to come up with a scenario that was just too good to resist. And if anyone could do this, it was her, Amy Farrah Fowler.

She had been racking her brains for weeks before he had called her, out of the blue, and told her he had to take the following week off and wanted to spend it in her lab. With her.

His plan sounded lovely in her ears and her first impulse was to agree to it. But then she had started thinking.

What a lucky stroke of fate it was, that Sheldon had to take a vacation during this particular week. It was the perfect opportunity.

And so, she had done her research and put a plan in motion that would hopefully lead to the Valentine's celebration of her dreams.

Now all she had to do was present her findings to her boyfriend and hope he could be convinced to deviate from his initial plan and go along with hers.

She nervously checked her watch. It was 6:59 pm. She made her way to the apartment door and, punctual like a clockwork, there was a series of knocks at her door.

She smiled to herself. This was one of the things she had always liked about Sheldon. He was predictable. Reliable.

"Hello Sheldon, thank you for agreeing to come here today.", she said as she opened the door for him to enter.

"Hello Amy.", he said in his usual business-like tone. "Thank you for inviting me over. Although I am a little surprised. It is not like you to invite me so spontaneously. Tonight is not date night. I was looking forward to having pizza night."

"I know. That's why I ordered pizza.", she agreed.

He seemed surprised for a second.

"Really? Well, that is considerate of you."

Amy couldn't help but notice that he did not ask which pizza she had ordered. Or from which restaurant.

Apparently he knew, she was reliable too.

She smiled to herself and sat down next to him on her couch.

It was time to get down to business.

She cleared her throat and took a deep breath.

"Sheldon, I asked you to come here, so we could talk about next week. You know… your plans to vacation with me. In my lab."

"I see."

Sheldon did not look at her but down to his feet.

Did she imagine it, or did his voice sound apprehensive?

"I was thinking about it.", she continued quickly. "And… I am not sure it is the best idea."

"Oh."

He still wasn't looking at her, and his leg started shaking against hers.

What was going on with him?

"It's just…", she tried to explain. "A lab isn't really the best place to spend a couple's vacation and…"

"Say no more, Amy.", Sheldon said brusquely and got up. "It is not like I don't have other options. If you fail to see the advantages of having me in your lab, then so be it. You did not have to invite me over for that, a phone call would have been enough. I will look into other possibilities."

Amy needed a few moments to realize her mistake, but it seemed to be too late already, as Sheldon was making his way to her apartment door again. He seemed tense.

"Sheldon, wait. I never said I didn't want you in my lab. The opposite is true.", she was quick to clarify. "In fact, I think it could be… romantic… to work together. Like… Marie and Pierre Curie."

Sheldon turned around, looking at her sternly. "Romantic? Amy, a week in your lab is supposed to be… inspiring and… fascinating. Two of the most evolved minds of the century working together as a team… there's nothing romantic about that."

His voice sounded dismissive, but who cared about that, when he had just called her mind one of the most evolved of the century?

Also, the way he was standing there. The look in his eyes, so vulnerable and insecure. No matter how much he fought his emotions, his eyes always gave him away.

How she had to fight the urge to get up and hug him to her chest. Not just because of what he had said, but also to assure him that her reason for not wanting to spend a week with him in her lab had nothing to do with what he assumed.

A few days ago, when Sheldon had called her and told her about having to take a vacation, he had complained about a lot of things.

Being kept away from the university. From science. Being forced to relax and have fun. What a waste of time all of this was.

But there was one thing he had not told her. At least not with his words. But Amy had heard it in his voice.

He was hurt. Because the people around him wanted him gone. As so often, he was made to feel like a nuisance. His bosses might appreciate his mind, but other than that, they made it perfectly clear that they preferred not having him around.

But he had to realize that this wasn't what she thought of him, right? She couldn't get enough of his presence. That's why…

"Why don't you sit down, and I tell you about my suggestion for next week."

She patted on the spot right next to hers and after considering it for a few moments, Sheldon sat down again.

"Alright.", he conceded and looked at her expectantly.

Amy folded her hands in her lap, as she talked.

"So… when you told me you were taking next week off… it got me thinking. I haven't really taken time off in years, so I could easily take the week off too and… I thought, maybe… we could do something together. You know. Just you and me."

"But…", Sheldon furrowed his eyebrows. "We already were doing something together, just you and me. Science. What else is there to do?"

Amy smiled gently. Well, she could think of one or two things. But she couldn't say those out loud.

"There are… other places where we could be engaging in science. In fact, I would say… it's impossible for you and me to be anywhere without there being science too."

"That is true.", Sheldon agreed. "But I have a hard time figuring out, what you are getting at."

Of course he couldn't figure it out. It was so good, she could hardly believe it herself.

"Well, remember that story you told me. About that time, two years ago, when Leonard was invited to go visit CERN and bring along a guest?"

Sheldon's face reddened.

"He had signed a contract on this, Amy.", he exclaimed. "I still cannot believe Leonard would just betray me like that. I mean… Why would anyone take his girlfriend to CERN instead of his best friend, a world-renowned physicist. It serves him right that he had to take Raj in the end."

Amy just nodded. She had expected this reaction. And it was the perfect lead up to what she was trying to tell him.

"Well…", she bit her lower lip. "For what it's worth, if I had the opportunity, I would choose to bring you there with me any day."

A soft smile appeared on Sheldon's face. "Thank you, Amy. I know you would. You are so loyal. Unlike… other people."

"So… you would want that. Right?", she asked tentatively. "Me taking you to Switzerland to go visit the Large Hadron Collider. Among other things."

"Sure, I mean, if the opportunity arose.", he shrugged. "One would be stupid not to take it. But it is incredibly rare to get invited to actually visit the heart of CERN. So, this is merely a rhetorical question. As much as I would like it, I doubt that you, as a biologist, would ever get the opportunity to take me there."

Bingo. She knew, she had him now.

"What if I told you that I have reached out to them and secured us a tour next week? One that would take us directly to the Large Hadron Collider and gave you the opportunity to exchange ideas with the physicists that are currently working on projects there."

"But…", Sheldon's jaw dropped. "That's impossible. How… Why…"

"It wasn't even that hard.", Amy said, beaming at her boyfriend. "As I said, I reached out and… I might have mentioned your name and occupation. Then I got in contact with a scientist there who has apparently been following your work for a while. Well, long story short… if you don't have any objections, I would like to book us a flight."

His eyes widened.

"We are actually going to CERN?", he exclaimed. "And see the Large Hadron Collider? Do you mean it, Amy? Wow… that is… so exciting. I… I cannot believe it."

He looked so happy. That alone was worth all the planning.

"Believe it.", Amy said and grinned at him. "We are going to CERN."

He was shaking his head, a happy grin on his face. It looked almost like his koala face.

For a second, she got distracted by how cute he looked. And how good he smelled.

Oh... she couldn't believe her plan was actually working out. And she would get to have him all to herself for a whole week.

She could see it all before her. It would be so... romantic.

And she couldn't wait to brag about it in front of her colleagues.

Amy Farrah Fowler was spending Valentine's Day in Switzerland with her brilliant boyfriend. Who would have ever expected any of this?

"This is amazing. But…", Amy snapped out of her daydream as she noticed the wheels in Sheldon's head starting to turn, as his grin vanished. "But… you're not a physicist and… you do not like flying. Travelling gives you constipation. And… just like me, you do not usually take time off. So… what… are you getting out of this?"

Amy's heart pounded in her chest like crazy. Now was the moment. She had to watch her next words extra carefully.

"Well… I thought… maybe we could stay there for the whole week. We could make it a round trip. I did some research and… they have this amazing, interactive science center near Zurich. And there are alpine zoos. And CERN of course and… also… a few very nice places to… spend Valentine's Day."

Sheldon

Valentine's Day.

It felt like a bucket of cold water had been poured right over him.

Of course. There just had to be a twist, hadn't there?

Ask a girl to be your girlfriend and suddenly, she expects to celebrate Valentine's Day.

Granted, he had put the possibility into their relationship agreement, but he had phrased it in a way so that he would never actually have to go through with it.

What a sick twist of fate that his boss was making him take a vacation during this exact week?

Of course, Amy would jump on this opportunity and plan a couple's vacation that would stop him from getting out of spending this day with her.

After all, she was a girl. An extraordinary one, but apparently that did not keep her from being into all kinds of hippy dippy things.

Was there a possibility for him to still get out of this?

He had already admitted to wanting to fly to Switzerland. He had expressed enthusiasm over it. And… he had to admit… he really, really did want to go visit CERN.

"So… that's your plan to celebrate Valentine's Day per our relationship agreement?", he asked carefully. "Visiting CERN and doing science things all week?"

It did not sound all that bad.

"Well, actually…", she started.

Oh no…

"Yes?"

"I thought that… we would start out the week with the science center and the alpine zoos… then we are going to visit CERN and then…"

She trailed off. Why didn't she just tell him?

"What else are we going to do, Amy?", he demanded to know.

"Well, uhm… I… I found this really cute hotel in the mountains. And they offer all kinds of beautiful activities. Like… riding on a carriage in the snowy landscape. Or eating chocolate fondue by the open fire or… guided hikes on snow boots in the evening to watch the stars together."

Riding on a carriage? Hiking on snow boots? Hotel?

That last thing made him think of something dangerous.

"Let's assume for just a second that I would find this acceptable. What would the sleeping arrangements be during this week?"

He nervously awaited her answer.

"We would be staying in hotels in different areas of Switzerland. Separate rooms of course.", she said quickly, which already eased his mind greatly. "And then… like I said, there's this cute hotel, with this… interesting concept…"

"Interesting?", Sheldon asked apprehensively. "How?"

"They have one main lodge and then several small cottages spread out over a large area in the mountains. You know, it would just be the two of us… in a cottage on a snow-covered mountain. And before you ask, we would have separate rooms there too of course. But… it would give us the opportunity to… just be by ourselves for a few days."

Sheldon blinked twice.

He wasn't sure what to make of this.

It was confusing. Before that fateful evening three months ago, when he had asked Amy to be his girlfriend, things between them had been so easy.

He had understood her in a way he rarely understood anyone. They had been two likeminded scientists. Intellectual equals with a relationship of the mind.

They still were. But they were something else now too. And sometimes, he did not quite understand what that meant.

He wasn't exactly sure, when he had realized for the first time that he felt differently for Amy Farrah Fowler than he did for his other friends. There had been a few clues early on but even so… he never fully understood why the possibility of her dating another man bothered him this much.

But then, he had found himself obsessing over the possibility that she could be having coitus with Stuart. He shuddered at the thought. Stuart Bloom. Uneducated seller of comic books.

Hadn't it been enough, having to entertain the possibility of sending her into Zach's arms a year before that?

It had not been easy to admit it, but at some point, he had figured out there was only one way to stop this from happening again and again.

It was time to take a stance. If he wanted other guys to stop sniffing around her, then he had to make her his girlfriend.

Of course, he had taken measures to ensure that this would not be changing the nature of their relationship too much.

He had regulated everything. From date nights to holidays, to handling expectations regarding physical intimacy… it was all there. And it was supposed to make both their lives easier.

But no matter how many measures he had taken, Amy kept surprising him with her ideas of how their relationship was supposed to look like in her mind.

So, he just had to wonder… this trip… what was it truly about?

Generally speaking, he did like the thought of spending a whole week with Amy.

That's why he had wanted to spend it in her lab. That's why it had hurt for a second, when he thought that she did not want him there. That maybe, he was an annoyance to her like to everyone else.

He liked the thought of going to a science center with her. One they hadn't explored together yet. Visit CERN with her. And stay in a cottage to work on one or two new episodes of Fun with Flags with her. Oh, maybe they could record one there. About the flags of the Swiss cantons.

But he did not know what else would be expected of him. And that made him feel anxious.

Then again, she did organize a tour to the Large Hadron Collider for him. One of his biggest dreams was coming true. Thanks to her.

Maybe he could at least try to give her something that clearly meant a lot to her.

"So…", he started thoughtfully. "You want to spend Valentine's Day in a mountain cottage with me… eating chocolate fondue and… looking at stars… riding on a carriage… is that it? Apart from the chocolate, those do not belong to my favorite activities, but… I think I can do them. If you promise not to make me go hiking on snow boots that is."

"Alright.", she nodded. "No hiking."

"And that's it.", he clarified. "That's all you expect."

"I mean… yes. Essentially.", she answered.

"Essentially?", he asked carefully. "So… then tell me, what else do you expect?"

"Sheldon…", she answered quietly and blushed.

Why was she blushing? This could not mean anything good, right?

"Amy, I cannot agree to this trip unless I know exactly what is expected of me.", he stressed.

"I mean…", she said and blushed even deeper. "It will be Valentine's Day. Per our agreement, you are obligated to… uhm…"

"To exhibit behaviors that, under the impartial scrutiny of a disinterested onlooker, may bear semblance to affection.",he recited. "But we will be alone in a cottage so… there will not be any onlookers. Interested or disinterested."

"Still, it will be Valentine's Day.", she pointed out. "So… I was thinking… or hoping… maybe you would like to…"

Sheldon rolled his eyes.

When had he ever wanted to be affectionate with anyone?

"Maybe…", Amy said quietly. "Maybe we can agree that there will be some affection."

"Define 'some'."

"Well…" Amy averted her eyes and looked down at her fingers. "A few months ago… we cuddled. Right on this couch. You were okay with that, weren't you?"

No. No, he was not okay with that. He was not okay with missing his Lego funtime. He was not okay with listening to harp music. He was certainly not okay with having to cuddle with this woman who hadn't even been his girlfriend back then.

He was so not okay with the suggestions she had made before that.

French kissing. Second base. Torrid lovemaking.

And he most definitely was not okay with the secret he had been keeping since then:

He had not hated cuddling with Amy. It had been uncomfortable, and he had worried about her germs. He had never felt the urge to repeat it but… But in the end… he had not been as opposed to holding her in his arms as he had thought he would be.

No, he definitely did not need a reminder of this strange anomaly. He did not need to be kept awake by having to wonder how this woman was able to make him question the rules he had set for himself so many years ago.

But she was his girlfriend now. And whether he liked it or not, they were celebrating Valentine's Day together.

So maybe he just had to bite the bullet.

"And… that's what you expect? Cuddling?"

She shrugged.

"It was only a suggestion. I won't force it on you."

"Okay…", he said, a little unsure of what she wanted to hear.

"How about… I just leave the decision to you? We can cuddle…", he flinched at her words. "…or kiss…", he flinched some more. Thinking back to how he had felt the two times she had kissed him would open a whole other can of worms. "…or… just don't do any of it. It's up to you."

"Up to me?", he asked slightly startled. "But you are the one who wants affection."

She took a deep breath.

"And you are the one who struggles with it. So, why don't you decide? We'll be up there in the Swiss mountains in a beautiful cottage. On Valentine's Day. If you don't want any affection, then fine. But if you change your mind… like I said, it's up to you.", she repeated.

"Up to me.", he deadpanned.

She nodded, still averting his eyes.

He was about to say that it was settled then. There would not be any kind of affection. None of it.

But on the other hand – he eyed his girlfriend, trying to make sense of her expression – Amy really had gone out of her way to make one of his biggest dreams come true this week. She had organized something remarkable. All for him. She was being a wonderful girlfriend. Maybe… he could give her at least a little something in return.

"I will consider it and I will come up with something appropriate for the occasion.", he conceded.

Amy's eyes lit up and for a second, and he felt a strange sensation in his stomach.

He had made her happy.

And although he wasn't looking forward to being affectionate with her in any way, at least he was getting something out of it.

It was settled. He was getting a week full of science and fun with the one person who would appreciate it as much as he did.

There was another strange sensation. In his heart this time. He had felt it a few times before in her presence. He found himself unable to identify it. Or determine what to do about it.

Lucky for him, their pizza was delivered before he could do something extreme to express his gratitude for everything she had organized.

Like… hug her.

While eating dinner, they talked about her research. Even though it was only biology, it was fascinating as always. A part of him was sad, because he would not get to be working in her lab. But maybe they could do that another time.

"Thank you for dinner.", he said as he put on his windbreaker. "I will go home and start packing now. I suggest you do the same."

"Alright.", Amy got up with him and walked him to the door. "Our flight is going Sunday afternoon."

"I'll have Leonard drive us to the airport.", he promised. "Goodbye, Amy."

"Goodbye, Sheldon."

He flashed her a warm smile before he left.

This had been a pleasant evening. Maybe they should be having pizza night at her place more often.

A few minutes later, he was sitting at the bus stop, contemplating the week that lay before him.

Visiting CERN. Going to a science center. Alpine zoos… Valentine's Day was settled in a reasonable way.

He smiled to himself.

There was no way anything could go wrong.

So… did you expect this? Can you imagine early Shamy going on a Valentine's Day trip to Switzerland? Please tell me your thoughts!

I admit, I just love sending Sheldon and Amy someplace where it's just the two of them.

We are dealing with very early Shamy here and I tried to keep them both in character as much as possible but – you might have guessed it just by looking at the rating – there will be parts later in the story that could seem a bit OOC for this phase of their relationship. I hope that, in the end, everything will make sense.

Of course, I completely made up that section of the relationship agreement, as well as Amy's blue folder. I doubt that there was even something about Valentine's Day in the agreement at that point, but if there was, I could imagine Sheldon writing it that way.

Now to my schedule:

My initial plan was to post all the chapters today, since this story is meant to be a Valentine's special.

Unfortunately, life got in the way. Two days after I finished posting my last story, I had a Covid infection, which kept me in bed for two weeks and now I am in bed again with tonsillitis. It's really not that bad, but I wasn't able to finish this story on time.

I honestly don't know what my schedule will be now. I really wanted the first chapter out today and I do have a first draft of the rest finished on my computer, but most likely I will be mainly posting on weekends again from now on.

I hope you will be patient with me, and even more, I hope you will enjoy this short story.