Jetpack

Sheldon was flying.

The citizens of Pasadena waved and cheered as he zoomed by on his jetpack, gradually ascending higher and higher. Somewhere in the back of his mind it registered that he should be afraid to be up so high, suspended alone in the air, but the thought was easily dismissed. The view was magnificent up here, and he could see the crowds below all marveling at him and his genius. This was how it was meant to be.

But as he hovered in place, surveying the land, he felt the straps from the jetpack loosen and slip away from him. He tried to grab at them, but he couldn't grab fast enough. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion. The jetpack tumbled end over end away from him while he began his own plummet through the air. The citizens of Pasadena kept waving as the ground rushed up to meet him.

Sheldon woke up with a start. Amy shifted in bed beside him, then went still.

It was all a dream. The realization helped him to settle back down into the sheets, though his heart was still pounding.

Sharing a bed with his girlfriend took some adjustment. Even though they went to sleep on their own sides, Amy seemed to gravitate towards him during the night, and it wasn't unusual for him to wake up to her spooned against his back. After so many years of sleeping alone, stiff on his back in the middle of the bed, Sheldon found it hard to get used to the new position, the heat from her body, the motion of her breathing. But after their disastrous first night together and the resulting argument, he was resolved to make it work. Eventually he discovered he could drift off again without disturbing her as long as he gave it some extra context.

So he took to imagining various scenarios where it would be necessary for the two of them to be so close. They were stranded together on the ice planet Hoth, huddling for warmth. Ravenous zombies had taken over the city and they were squeezed together sharing the last good hiding place. Or, like last night, when he felt her arm slip securely around his waist, he imagined she was his jetpack.

Clearly those thoughts bled over into his dream, and when she rolled away from him in her sleep he lost his pack. That made sense. The lingering rush of adrenaline from recalling the dream plummet began to fade now that Sheldon had pieced together the night's actual events. Now he was free to go back to sleep.

Except he couldn't. His breathing and heart rate had returned to normal, but somehow he still felt a bit like he was in free fall. All alone on his side of the bed, he couldn't relax again without something to anchor to himself.

It only took a few minutes before he sighed and gave into the urge he was feeling. Amy hardly stirred as he scooted closer and pulled her into his arms. Her warmth and steady breathing, which had once been so irritating, began to lull him almost instantly.

What had he been thinking, imagining them flying? Sure, maybe a jetpack would be a faster, less restrictive means of transportation, with fewer confusing controls than a car, but it was still far too dangerous. Trains were still superior, he'd be better to stick with those.

Sheldon's last thought before drifting off again was of the two of them cuddled up together in a cozy sleeper car.

Author's Note:

Years ago, I saw a comic posted on tumblr about being the big spoon and pretending to be a jetpack, and for whatever reason that always stuck with me. Randomly remembered it again and it seemed like something that fit these two. About halfway through this it started to feel somewhat ridiculous, but I decided to go with it anyway. Sometimes you just need cuddly otp content, you know? Plus I wanted to get something posted for Valentine's Day.

Much love to all of you!