Title: The Hug Day Addendum
Author: phantagrae

Rating: G
Pairing: Sheldon & Amy (Shamy!)
Disclaimer: The characters and universe of this story do not belong to me. I just like to play with them.
Feedback: Yes, please. phantagrae@earthlink.net

Summary: Sheldon proposes an addendum to the Relationship Agreement.

Sheldon and Amy sat at the kitchen island, sipping their tea, a momentary lull in their conversation having settled between them.

Sheldon eyed Amy over the lip of his cup as he took a long drink of soothing chamomile. His heart was beating a little faster than usual and his hands were a bit clammy.

Amy's eyes were lowered, but as she glanced up, he quickly looked away, suddenly finding something interesting in the depths of his tea.

"Sh...," Amy began.

"Amy," Sheldon began, simultaneously.

Sheldon heard the term "Shamy" in their overlapping voices - that somewhat annoying conglomeration of their names that all of his friends used.

It sounded different to his ear when it came from their own voices.

"Go ahead, Sheldon," Amy said, taking another sip of her tea.

"Thank you," he replied, taking a moment to lower his cup and carefully turn it again and again.

"Amy..." He looked at her, then looked down, then licked his lips.

"Sheldon, is something wrong?" she asked gently.

"No...no..." he stammered.

He took a deep breath and finally spoke.

"Amy, a few months ago, when I was upset about Kripke's work being ahead of my own, you consoled me with a hug." He glanced up at her face for a moment.

"Yes, Sheldon," she replied. "I hope it helped."

"Well," he continued, nodding his head, his eyes locked on his mug, "I just wanted you to know that I really did appreciate it."

"Thank you, Sheldon," she answered. "I'm glad."

"And pursuant to that, I have a proposal for you." He finally looked up to see her reaction.

"Oh?"

"Um...yes." He took another deep breath. "I was thinking that we should make an addendum to the Relationship Agreement to allow for a once-a-month Hug Day."

He saw her eyes widen a bit and a smile began to play around her lips. Her lips...

"Oh, Sheldon," she replied, her voice shaking a bit as her smile widened. "I agree that would be lovely."

"Good," Sheldon replied, exhaling with relief. "I actually have the addendum written up and ready for you to sign."

"But I propose a slight change," Amy added.

"Oh?" Sheldon's voice rose in trepidation.

"I propose that we have Hug Day once a week."

"Counterproposal..." Sheldon began warily, once again trying to gauge her reaction. "Every other week..."

"Agreed," Amy replied easily. "What day of the week do you suggest?"

"Thursdays," he answered immediately. "That way they may coincide with Date Night on some months. Get it all over with at once."

"Hmm..." Amy replied, taking another sip of her tea as her left eyebrow arched over the frame of her glasses.

Sheldon began to blink rapidly as he studied that eyebrow. That didn't seem like a good sign.

"Um...well...unless you had a different day in mind..." he said cautiously.

"Sheldon, you're the one who proposed the addition of Hug Day," she began. "If you find it unpleasant enough that you have to 'get it over with', the way you also seem to be suggesting is your attitude toward our Date Nights, like it's a chore you must endure, then I wonder why you brought it up at all."

She kept her eyes lowered as she again sipped her tea, leaving Sheldon to dip his head a little as he tried to read her face.

He inhaled and exhaled loudly a few times before he could find the right words.

"I...I...I'm sorry..." he finally said, watching her closely. When she brought her eyes up to meet his, he continued.

"I don't think of our Date Nights as a chore," he said firmly. "You know that I don't particularly enjoy going out to strange restaurants or getting dressed up, or otherwise participating in many of the social conventions associated with dating."

Amy nodded silently, her lips pressed together in a firm line.

"But that doesn't mean that I don't enjoy your company. I do."

"And...?" Amy prompted.

"And I do want to try having a Hug Day every other week because I did find you hugging me to be...generally...a pleasant experience."

"Generally?" Amy asked with a frown.

"Well," Sheldon replied quickly, "You know that I still have a problem with such physical gestures, but I did find it...emotionally...pleasant."

"Did you enjoy our Valentine's Day hug enjoyable?" Amy asked shyly.

Sheldon studied the surface of the table. "Yes," he said quietly.

"But you told me I was ruining Valentine's Day," she responded, a note of hurt coloring her voice.

"Well, you ambushed me!" he said more boldly, looking up at her. "I wasn't ready for it. And you held on for kind of a long time!"

"Okay," she conceded. "I guess you're right."

"So, getting back to the scheduling of Hug Day," Sheldon began, "do you have a counterproposal as to the day of the week?"

"No," Amy replied. "I suppose Thursdays will do."

"Very well, then," he said, stepping over to his desk to retrieve a sheet of paper. "I have a few parameters outlined here for the hug itself."

"Okay," Amy said, setting down her empty cup and folding her hands in front of her on the table.

"The Hug shall not last longer than five seconds," he intoned.

Amy wrapped her arms around herself and counted out loud.

"One one-thousand, two one-thousand, three one-thousand, four one-thousand, five one-thousand."

She shook her head. "I propose ten seconds."

"Amy..." He frowned at her. "That's hardly a scientific method with which to determine the best duration of the hug."

"Perhaps you're right," she replied. "I propose we experiment with duration and position to determine what would be most comfortable for both of us."

He stared at her for a long moment, his lips rolled in between his teeth.

"Agreed." He nodded in resignation. This was becoming more complicated than he had originally envisioned. "How shall we begin?"

"Well, perhaps we begin with where the hug shall take place."

"What do you mean?"

"The couch? The doorway? Out beside my car?"

"Not outside," he said immediately.

"Okay," Amy continued. "So, couch or doorway? Is this a good-night hug? Or a hug while watching TV, or talking, or just because?"

"Well, apart from the time you hugged me when I gave you the tiara, all of our hugs have been while seated on the couch. I suggest we try that first." Sheldon gestured toward the sofa and they both stepped over into the living room.

As they sat on the couch - Sheldon in his proprietary spot and Amy close beside him - Sheldon began taking deep breaths, blowing them out loudly through his mouth.

"Sheldon, are you okay?" Amy said, shifting a little closer to him. "What's the matter?"

"I'm just getting ready," he said, squeezing himself as far into the corner of the couch as he could, his arms and legs pressed closely together.

"So, are you expecting me to hug you?" she asked, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

He looked at her in surprise. "Well...yes...I mean...what do you mean?"

"I think we should hug each other," she said quietly.

"Oh..." Sheldon said softly. "Um..."

He turned and opened his arms toward her as she began to do the same. His perfect memory immediately recalled the first time he and Amy had held each other. She had been upset over feeling rejected by Penny and Bernadette and had bargained him into holding her as they sat on her couch. Though he had been reluctant to engage in the process, in the end he had to admit to himself - though he had never admitted it to anyone else, including Amy - that it was not altogether unpleasant to have sat there on her couch with his arms around her, her head on his shoulder and her arms around him...

No, not altogether unpleasant.

Now as they moved toward each other, he made more of an effort to wrap his arms around her, rather than letting her do it all.

When they were comfortably entwined, they leaned back against the couch.

"So, who's going to count?" Amy began.

"What?" Sheldon asked. "Oh...yes, the duration. Um...you can."

Amy looked over Sheldon's shoulder at her watch.

"Okay, this is for ten seconds, starting...now."

They sat in silence as Sheldon tried to relax, trying to concentrate on how her body felt in his arms, how it felt to have her arms around him.

At last Amy spoke.

"That's ten seconds."

"Okay," Sheldon said, quickly backing out of the embrace. He took a deep, slow breath as he settled back in his corner.

Amy dropped her arms down to her sides and stared at Sheldon.

"Well," she said matter-of-factly. "How did that feel?"

"Um...okay." He studied the wrinkles in his pant-legs and picked at imaginary lint. "What if we try hugging at the door? A good-night hug might be appropriate on occasion."

He looked up at her and was relieved that she was nodding.

"Okay. Let's try that."

They got up and moved over to stand in front of the door.

"Ten seconds in this position," Sheldon said. "I'll count this time."

He looked at his watch as they leaned in toward each other, his arms around her shoulders, hers wrapped around his waist.

"Starting...now," he said, a little startled when her embrace tightened around him. He made himself relax into it and tightened his arms around her body.

He thought about the night he and Amy had sat on his bed and role-played an imaginary physical encounter. He had to admit that it was easier to imagine what it might be like to be intimate with Amy when she was there in front of him playing along. But for now, this was as far as he could bring himself to go in real life. He hoped that she would see it as the first step forward down that path.

"Sheldon?" Amy tilted her head back.

"Yes?" he asked, looking down into her eyes.

"Has it been ten seconds yet?"

"Oh!" He jerked back as he looked at his watch. "Um...um...yes...a little more than that, actually. Sorry."

"Oh, it's okay," she said with a smile, stepping back and straightening her sweater.

He crossed his arms and stepped back as well, looking at the floor as his cheeks reddened.

"So, what do you think?" Amy asked.

Sheldon cleared his throat and met her eyes briefly.

"Um...I think...ten seconds will be fine," he began.

"What about location?" Amy continued. "Do we want to specify as to location or can it be determined on a case-by-case basis?"

He took another deep, relaxing breath and continued in a more normal tone.

"I think I prefer the good-night hug at the door," he said. "However, we can include an exception for hugging on the couch when consolation is needed...or on...special occasions..."

"Okay," Amy said agreeably. "However, I would like to include an option to reconsider in six months."

"Very well," Sheldon replied. He walked over to his desk and sat down at his computer. "If you would like another cup of tea, it will take me a few minutes to revise the Hug Day Addendum."

"Okay," Amy replied, returning to the kitchen. "Would you like another cup?"

"Yes, please, Amy," he answered, typing quickly and easily.

After a few minutes, they had finished their tea and Sheldon had printed the document.

He stepped over to the kitchen island and handed her a pen. He indicated the signature line.

"If you will sign here, the addendum will be considered to be in effect immediately."

"Oh?" Amy took the pen and signed quickly.

"Well, tonight is Thursday, and it is Date Night," Sheldon began. "We might as well consider it our first Hug Day." He eyed her gently and smiled fondly at her.

She smiled widely in return and slid the signed document over to him.

He countersigned and stepped over to the desk to slip the signed page into the Relationship Agreement folder.

"So, is this goodnight?" Amy asked, glancing at her watch.

"It is getting late, unfortunately," Sheldon said. "And with two cups of chamomile tea, I'm going to get sleepy and I'll also have to urinate, so..."

Amy offered him a crooked smile as she slipped her purse over her shoulder and made her way to the door.

He opened it for her and they stood at the threshold.

"Goodnight, Sheldon," she said simply.

"Goodnight, Amy" he replied warmly, holding his arms open toward her as she stepped forward and returned his embrace.

They held their hug for ten seconds before stepping back and smiling at each other.

Sheldon bit his bottom lip and nodded at her.

"Goodnight," he whispered.

"Goodnight," she said softly, turning to go.

He watched her start down the stairs before going back in to close the door, walking back toward his room with his arms wrapped around his body.

"One one-thousand, two one-thousand..."