Sheldon returned to his apartment, a cat from build-a-bear in his arm. He was happy. More happy than he had been in a really long time. He had picked a black and white cat to dress in a train conductor outfit and had named him William Murdock after the man who invented the first steam locomotive prototype. He had informed Carly of this on the way home and had gone into detail about how the train had come to what it is today.
He noticed as he walked through his apartment that Leonard was nowhere to be found and he assumed that he was out with Penny. Sheldon noticed the time and that it was time for dinner and he hurried into his bedroom to place his cat on his bed. When he returned to the main area he stopped, realizing that he hadn't offered Carly for dinner. She had gone to all that trouble to make him have a good day, he could have at least asked her to come over.
He hurried out of the apartment and found himself getting anxiety as he walked down the stairwell. It was odd and he stopped on the third level, staring down at his hands that were beginning to sweat and feel clammy. He hadn't felt this way since he had to make that speech about an award that he had been given at the university…and that had ended badly with alcohol. He shook himself and continued down the stairs towards the second level. Carly's smiling face flashed into his mind and he began to think about how she was with the animals. He hadn't known she was such an animal lover. She was so…gentle. It made something in him stir and he found himself breathing rapidly when he stopped at her door.
He licked his lips, staring at the door for a moment. He was confused with himself. Why was he acting this way? He had asked her to dinner before. Why did it feel different this time? He took a step back and looked at the light peering underneath her door. He saw no shadow so she wasn't near the door at the moment. He placed his hand on his heart, feeling it race.
Was this what Leonard felt when he had been pining for Penny? Wait. Was he pining for Carly? It was true that he thought her nice to be around and he agreed her skin was decent. He was astonished with his next thoughts. She was pretty. It was more than just her skin now. Her hair was silky looking and her eyes were the colors of the sea, neither blue nor green: both.
He raised his fist to knock, inwardly smacking himself for being pathetic and he was surprised to see the door swing open suddenly. His eyes widened and he saw Carly with her hair a little disheveled as if she had run her hands through her hair many time. Her eyes were at alert and she was staring at him in a way he had never seen before.
What happened next was completely unexpected. Her lips were pressed against his and he froze up like a popsicle. It was over before he knew it and he eyes were still wide and his lips were ajar from the kiss. She fell to the bottoms of her feet and looked up at him, panic starting to set in.
"Interesting," he muttered.
Carly frowned, looking up at him with wide eyes. She swallowed. "What's…interesting?"
Sheldon looked at her as if she was an alien, making her recoil. "Interesting that you are panicking when you were the one that attacked me. Shouldn't I be the one panicking? But it's also interesting that I'm not panicking. I am just surprised and shocked, and those words mean the same thing, but still. It's interesting that I am wanting you to do it again and that I am not repulsed by it. It's interesting—"
Her lips were on his again and this time, his eyes fluttered close. Her arms found their way to his waist and pulled him closer to her. He realized how short she was and wrapped his arms around her, lifting her up as he leaned down to make her more comfortable. The kiss was closed mouth and was just a long press between them, but it felt mesmerizing.
She pulled back a little and kept her forehead pressed against his, looking into his eyes that opened slowly to lock onto hers. "Sheldon?"
He could only nod, his breathing was labored from the kiss and his heart was racing like he had run a lap and his mind…it was spinning with words that described the kiss: fascinating, interesting, captivating, enthralling, stimulating…
"I'm sorry if I took you by surprise. I was gonna come see you in your apartment but not to do that…I just saw you and I couldn't help it…." She said with her cheeks flushed.
Sheldon surprised himself when he pressed his lips against hers, catching her off guard. She kissed him back and he pulled away with a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach. "Would you—like to come over for dinner?" he whispered.
Carly looked up at him, her eyes dazed from being kissed by him and she found herself nodding and following him up the stairs to his apartment, his hand in hers. Penny and Leonard were sitting on the couch eating pizza and looked up at them as they entered, still hand in hand, which didn't go unnoticed by the two.
"Well hey guys! How was today?" Penny asked, not being able to contain herself.
Leonard smirked as Sheldon, who had red ears, walked with Carly through the room and towards the couch. "Get up. You're in my spot," he told Penny, who scowled and made Leonard scoot over, but he got up to sit in the arm chair. She huffed and pulled Carly down in between Sheldon and her.
"Sheldon, that was rude," Carly pointed out, but Sheldon was already getting himself a slice of pizza.
"Penny has been eating with us for years now, she should be well aware that this is my spot and whoever sits in it will be told to move," he replied before taking a bite out of his pizza.
Carly was going to protest further but Penny nudged her, making her look over at the blond. "Don't bother. He's right, I knew better," Penny replied with a shrug.
Carly smiled and took a piece of pizza for herself and Leonard spoke up. "So you never said, how was today?"
Sheldon scoffed. "Leonard, don't you ever watch the news? It was 85 with a 20% chance of precipitation. Good lord, I thought you got that app for a reason."
Leonard glared at him and looked to Carly. "How did today go, Carly?"
Carly grinned. "Great. We had a good time."
"Cool, where did you guys go?" Penny asked, curious as she took a bite.
"Carly took me to the animal shelter she volunteers at over in Burbank," Sheldon explained, enthusiastically.
Carly smiled at him, glad that he had a good time like she hoped he would.
"An animal shelter hunh? That is really sweet," Leonard commented, making Carly blush and smile.
"Yep," she said and Sheldon glared at Leonard.
"Is it wrong to hit on someone else while sitting in front of your girlfriend?" he asked, his eyebrow twitching.
Penny choked on her pizza and Carly looked at Sheldon with a frown, while Leonard looked at him like he was insane. "I wasn't hitting on Carly. Taking care of animals is sweet, Sheldon."
Sheldon wouldn't let it go and Carly tried to contain the pride that was swelling up inside her at the fact that Sheldon was possessive over her. "Sheldon relax, he was just being polite. He didn't mean anything by it," she said making him glance at her and glower at Leonard.
"You best watch it," Sheldon muttered and Leonard widened his eyes at his roommate. He had never seen him like this over a person before, besides his mother.
"Um so anyways, Carly," Penny said, trying to refrain from awing at Sheldon's macho-ness when it came to Carly. "Bernadette and I are planning a girl's night, Monday and we wanted to know if you wanted to come."
Carly was shocked. She had never gone to a girl's night before and had only seen them on TV. "Sure," she grinned. "What are you guys planning on doing?"
Penny shrugged while taking a sip of her water. "Oh just by a bottle of wine and kick back and relax. We can all crash at my place," she said with a smile.
Carly laughed, "Sounds fun. I get off at eight so I will hurry to change and I will meet you up here then."
Penny grinned. "Awesome."
"Carly…" Sheldon interrupted.
Penny and Leonard rolled their eyes. Carly looked at him with a smile. "Yes?"
"Are you sure it's wise to drink with Penny? I have seen her drink and it's not productive. She even has caused me to be so called 'wasted' and I ended up taking off my pants in front of a crowd. I just don't want that for you," he explained and she laughed.
"Wait, what? You got wasted and took your pants off?" she asked him, clearly unbelieving.
Sheldon blushed and glanced away. "Admittedly yes, but it was because I was nervous about making a speech and Penny told me that it would help."
"And it did!" Penny defended herself. "You were so not nervous you didn't mind getting comfortable on stage."
"Let alone, letting everyone see your ass," Leonard said with a laugh, making Penny burst into laughter as well.
Carly saw how embarrassed and ashamed Sheldon looked and she felt sorry for him. She placed a hand over his and he tensed up before glancing at her and smiling a little. She had to fight the urge to kiss him right then and there.
"Well I gotta work early tomorrow. I will see you all later," Penny said, standing up suddenly and dusting her pants off.
"I'll walk you out," Leonard said with a smirk and followed her out after saying goodnight to Carly.
The couple was alone once more and it was just as uncomfortable as the last time. Carly ate her pizza, trying to swallow quietly because it was incredibly silent in the apartment. She chanced a glance at Sheldon and he seemed to be struggling with something.
She frowned and turned to him. "Are you all right?"
Sheldon glanced at her, his eye twitching a little. "Yeah, I'm fine. A little rattled that they told you all about that, but I am fine."
Carly smiled, reassuringly and leaned into him, squeezing his hand a little. "Don't worry I am not going to make fun of you."
Sheldon smiled at her. "I know. You aren't like that."
She shook her head in agreement. He stared at her smile, admiring it for a moment before he frowned. "Carly?"
"Yes, Sheldon?" she asked, noticing where he was staring at and she licked her lips nervously. That made him shift a little and he looked up at her eyes with intensity.
"I think I would like to kiss you again," he replied quietly and she sucked in a breath. She had honestly thought he would run after she had lost control of her body the first time. But his reaction was something completely different and she could definitely live with it.
She smiled and nodded. "Okay."
He turned towards her fully and lifted his other hand that wasn't connected to hers to tilt her chin up. He looked into her eyes and then he kissed her, pressing his closed lipped mouth against hers. He wasn't ready for any open mouth kisses because to tell you the truth he was terrified of it. At the moment, this was enough. Her hand that held his trailed up his arm, making him shiver slightly and feel things he hadn't before. Her hand stopped at his shoulder and pressed up against the side of his neck to hold him to her.
When they pulled away from each other, they were both heavy lidded and their hearts were racing at the speed of light.
"Sheldon?" she whispered.
"Yes?" he immediately responded, making her smile.
"What does this mean?"
Sheldon recoiled, dropping his hands and looking away from her uncomfortably. "Well…I suppose that this means…well what social protocol actions need to take place now that we have engaged in not one but several kisses, is to well…" his voice trailed off and his fingers fumbled nervously in his lap.
"Ask me, Sheldon," she said, biting her lip in anticipation.
He glanced at her before looking down again, his eyes seeming to look for that hole to crawl into. He was silent for a long time as she waited for him to speak.
"Sheldon?" she asked, wondering if he was going to ask her or if he had changed his mind.
He jumped, startled and he suddenly turned around with a nod to himself. "Carly. Will you be so kindly to not reject my question as to if you will be my girlfriend?"
That wasn't exactly what she had thought he'd say but she shouldn't have been surprised. She laughed. "No, I won't reject your question, but you must ask it first."
He let out a breath and glared at her. "You are being difficult; you know how much this is making me uneasy."
Carly leaned in and kissed him, taking him off guard but he kissed her back and then smiled breathlessly. His mind was made up. "Carly," he began and appreciated when she sat up straight and gave him her full attention. "Will you be my girlfriend?"
Carly pretended to think and tapped her chin with her forefinger while looking up with a smile. He watched her and was confused when she frowned.
"Before you answer, remember you said that you wouldn't reject," he said hastily, making her hold to her words.
She broke into a smile. "I know, but before I answer, you must answer this question first."
Sheldon raised his eyebrows. "I didn't know we could have stipulations before the answer had been given."
Carly rolled her eyes. "Sheldon, if I can't reject your question then we all know what my answer is going to be. I am just stalling it for a moment."
Sheldon thought her words over before nodding. "Okay fine, go on."
Carly shifted eagerly. "Okay, Sheldon, if we are to be boyfriend and girlfriend does that mean I can kiss you whenever I want and vice versa with you?"
"No," Sheldon replied immediately, making her frown. "I prefer it to be a private thing, meaning I don't want people watching as I have intimate moments with my girlfriend."
Carly smiled. "Okay, that's fine. How about hand holding?"
"Would you rather me just type this out? I could make the relationship agreement printed out by tomorrow," Sheldon offered. "It would save us this time we are wasting while we could be downstairs doing our laundry."
"No Sheldon. Just answer my question," Carly said, making him slump in defeat and nod.
"We can only hold hands giving each other moral support, shaking hands after I receive my Nobel Prize, and…well I suppose we can when we sit on the couch as well. I didn't mind it a few minutes ago," he said, shrugging.
She grinned and sat up properly, looking at him in the eyes. "Then yes, Sheldon. I will be your girlfriend."
He let out a sigh of relief. "I thought you were going to back out."
Carly laughed. "Sheldon, I told you I wouldn't."
"Yeah but that doesn't mean anything. Everyone said that the Green Lantern movie was going to be great, but it wasn't," he pointed out.
Carly shook her head but smiled and stood.
"Where are you going?" he asked, shocked that she was leaving.
She turned around at the door to look at him with a smile. "I'm going to go get my clothes. I will meet you in the laundry room in a few minutes, deal?"
Sheldon smirked, looking down at his watch as he stood. "Smart thinking. It's twenty minutes till 8:15, which is laundry time. Okay, I will see you then."
When he turned around to head back into his bedroom, she grinned. "Sheldon?"
He spun around to see her walking towards him and stop fairly close to him. "May I kiss you?" she asked.
He didn't have time to respond because of his own actions as he was already leaning down and kissing her. They pulled away and smiled at each other, liking the feelings that they gave the other.
"See you boyfriend," she said, winking at him before turning on her heel and walking to the door.
"Okay, girlfriend," he said quietly and headed to his bedroom.
And they both had smiles on their faces.