A/N: Hi guys! This is my first ever fanfiction writing experience, and it takes place after the events of 4.21, the morning after Amy drunkenly kisses Sheldon.

N.B. I got the idea for this straight after watching this episode so I wanted to write my ideas down straight away, and I only realised afterwards that I've mixed up some of the events/dates, such as the fact that I've mentioned that they already have the relationship agreement which they didn't actually have until the next season. There are a few blips like these, but seeing as this is just a work of fiction in its own right I hope you can still come to appreciate my story!

'THE INTIMACY EXPERIMENTATION'

Chapter 1: 'Fascinating'

Knowing full well that Amy was not in a sensible state of mind or body to take care of herself properly, Sheldon was obliged to visit and take care of her until she felt well again. Also, she was his girlfriend, and he cared for her well-being, and with it being a Sunday he had no work commitments. After concluding their video chat, Sheldon completed his Sunday morning routine before taking a bus to Amy's house. He had the opportunity to get a ride with Leonard, but Sheldon had to be alone with his thoughts for a while. This didn't overly concern Leonard; he had heard weirder things come out of Sheldon's mouth.

Sheldon was still evaluating his fascination that resulted from a kiss initiated by an intoxicated Amy Farrah Fowler the preceding night. He couldn't decide why he was fascinated, or what exactly he was fascinated by. He had always considered – and always made it clear – that his and Amy's relationship was one of the mind. He had set his physical boundaries clearly, and never considered his feelings resulting from romantic physical contact; he thought that to be unnecessary, or an unlikely possibility. Being a physicist, however, it would be illogical of him to disregard this possibility entirely. He could not determine what kind of fascination he experienced; due to his fear of germs, the act of kissing or unnecessary touching should make him uncomfortable. Interestingly, though, he did not feel a strong repulsion by Amy's kiss. This confused him, so it was only natural that Sheldon would need to scientifically evaluate this further.

Sheldon arrived outside Amy's door. He raised his hand, and momentarily paused. He closed his eyes, took a sharp breath through his nose, and proceeded to knock in his appropriate way.

Amy opened the door, shocked to see Sheldon there. He tended to plan these things and inform her in advance, especially if they had not long had a video chat with each other. Still, who was she to complain? Fortunately she had decided to get dressed, comb her hair and brush her teeth since then, so she was at least semi-presentable by the time Sheldon had made his surprise visit.

"Sheldon?"

"Amy." His eyes were locked on her, but he kept his composure. "May I come in?"

"Yes, of course!" she replied happily yet curiously, gesturing him inside her apartment towards her living area.

After another second, he took his glaze off Amy and headed into the apartment. Amy took a seat on the couch, expecting Sheldon to follow. She turned her head to see that he was in the kitchen, preparing some boiling water. She lowered her eyebrows inquisitively; had she been slightly less hungover, she would have realised why he was there, though if that were the case, there would be no reason for him to be there.

"Which hot beverage would you prefer?" he asked, retrieving two mugs from the appropriate cupboard.

"Don't worry, Sheldon. I'm not thirsty."

"It's not optional." Sheldon looked to her for a response so that he could proceed.

Amy paused, her eyes fixed on him. "Peppermint."

"Good." he replied, fumbling inside her collection of tea bags. This made things easier for Sheldon, since this was the tea he was planning to prepare for himself. It made the difficult ordeal slightly easier for him to handle. He heard that peppermint tea could soothe an uneasy stomach, which would make it a suitable drink for Amy. He also needed it himself for the same reason, which further concerned him.

Amy noticed that Sheldon had made himself some tea as well as hers as he made his way towards the living area, before sitting beside her. She stared down at her cup and thanked him whilst warming her hands around it. She slowly looked back to Sheldon. She knew something wasn't right.

"I've noticed you've made yourself a hot beverage, Sheldon. Surely you had one with your breakfast not long ago. What's wrong?"

Sheldon disliked mumbling and unnecessarily mixing words and wasting time. He had to come out with his proposal. "Amy, as mentioned in our conversation earlier, you kissed me last night."

Amy sighed and put her face in her hands. "I knew this was going to be an issue. Sheldon, I honestly didn't mean to make you uncomfortable in any way and I ju–"

"After due consideration," Sheldon interrupted, "I have decided to propose an experiment."

Amy lifted her face from her hands to face Sheldon. "An experiment?"

"Yes, on the grounds that I take full control and take it at my own pace."

Amy gulped, eyes wide in anticipation. This couldn't really be what she thought, could it?

Sheldon was planning to explain the experiment to Amy before doing anything too wild and spontaneous, but before he knew it he found his lips locked against hers. When Sheldon finds a fascination with something, he will give it all of his attention and focus. But this was something more than fascination. This was something he had never experienced before. Amy had made Sheldon somewhat more open-minded to things; things that he never thought he'd be comfortable with, such as self-massage. Even with something as initially off-putting as that, he was overwhelmed at how good it could actually feel. Maybe kissing could pleasantly surprise him too. Maybe not. Only experimenting would bring a suitable conclusion.

Amy couldn't tell whether she had taken a breath since Sheldon pressed his lips against hers. She couldn't remember where she was, and that wasn't because of the hangover. If anything she felt drunk again, or like she was on some fantastic drug. If only she could observe what had happened in her brain during this moment. How fascinating it would have been to see what was making her brain feel like it would explode!

At that point she realised the kissing had stopped. She was so lost in the moment she hadn't realised, and slowly opened her eyes to see Sheldon staring back at her, not very differently than before.

"That was nice…" Amy said quietly.

"Good." He responded, before unexpectedly leaning in to kiss her again.

This one was different. This one seemed more curious. Sheldon liked what he felt, and he was eager to learn more. Feel more. He wanted – needed – to learn Amy physically. He stroked one hand through her hair to the back of her head and placed the other hand on the couch next to her to slowly lower her down.

Amy had to be dreaming. She'd always dreamed of this moment, but was never sure when or if this was going to happen. As she lost herself in Sheldon's passion, she softly ran her hands through his hair, to which he responded with a low moan under his breath. This was good news – this didn't make him nervous, which meant that it was going at a comfortable pace for him. She took this opportunity to stroke her other hand from the nape of his neck slowly down his back to rest at his sciatic area. As she should have expected, Sheldon flinched and pulled back abruptly; he still lay over her, but nervously looked away. Amy was longing for this, and for it to go further, but she wouldn't dare pressure Sheldon into doing anything that he was uncomfortable with.

"Sheldon…" Amy asked, concerned. "Is everything okay?"

Sheldon suddenly felt calm. He instinctively ceased this activity due to his general beliefs in acts related to and involving coitus. However, seeing as he'd never experienced it himself, he realised just how natural it could feel. He didn't want to stop it. He still wanted more. He slowly turned back to face Amy, her eyes sparkling back at him. He observed just how beautiful she really was. He hadn't looked at her in this way in this kind of situation before. "Fascinating."

Amy gazed up at Sheldon and smiled. It felt like they were the only two people in the world at this moment. She didn't need anything else from him, not right now. She wanted him to be comfortable, and for him to know just how much he meant to her.

"I love you, Sheldon." She wasn't planning on saying that – far from it. She didn't want to pressure him like that, but it just slipped out. Nevertheless, she meant it, and she wanted him to know.

Sheldon closed his eyes and placed his forehead gently against Amy's, inhaling deeply but slowly. He absorbed everything from this moment, making a memory that he would treasure forever. A new sensation he had never felt before, with just simply him and Amy. His Amy. He spoke in a hushed tone, his lips barely touching hers. "I love you, Amy."

They both embraced this moment and stayed silent for several minutes, both with their eyes closed and heads resting gently against each other's. Eventually, Sheldon lay in the small space there was beside her on the couch and held her tenderly. They fell asleep in each other's arms, not fully understanding what just happened or how it came to be, but they knew it was perfect.