Everybody Loves Sometime

A "The Big Bang Theory" Fan Fic by Mme Moirae.

This fan fic starts after S05E08 "The Isolation Permutation." Content from the current season after that episode will be included, though may be altered to suit the story.

I own nothing.

Gentle Readers,

While I am in no way a shipper for Amy and Penny (Pam? Pamy? Pemy? Anny?), I am incredibly fond of the friendship between them and how Penny has been the driving force behind the growth and social change in Amy. It was while I was writing a scene for another TBBT fan fic (The Quest for Penny, a S/P ship, cough cough) that this story concept came to mind and refuses to let go.

I have no idea where this story is going. There will likely be heart break and angst, confusion, complications, and, knowing me, I'll probably throw in some S/P nuggets because I can't resist the opportunity.

The focus, however, will be the relationship between Amy and Penny, and with more focus given to Amy's character than Penny's.

I hope you enjoy!

(Reviews are like chocolates. Please feed, I'm very okay being conditioned to write more.)

A year and a half ago Dr. Amy Farrah Fowler's life changed forever.

In accordance with the agreement she had with her mother, she arrived at a coffee shop to meet Dr. Sheldon Lee Cooper on a date. Based on the few emails exchanged prior to meeting, he seemed compatible enough for a single date, though she had neither anticipated or foreseen anything more happening. Relationships and/or men weren't something Amy had any interest in, not when the field of biology had her lost in its alluring presence, and no reason and/or man had ever presented itself to give her an interest. What she had not expected was the sudden click she'd felt with Dr. Cooper, but it wasn't a sensation she would have labeled as chemistry between them – they were a meeting of brilliant minds.

What had been more surprising than discovering someone nearby who could challenge her mentally was meeting the person who challenged her entire world: Penny.

Penny was everything Amy had ever wanted to be in high school (and college): pretty, well liked, sunny, social, and, well, she outright radiated! Penny was the type of girl that Amy used to dream about being friends with and yet didn't understand or like at the same time; for the first month of knowing her, part of Amy had been waiting for the bubbly blond to say something cruel or snarky or pull a practical joke like so many had before her.

Not once did Dr. Fowler pause to consider that she wasn't going to be set upon with malice, that the social world she knew growing up could be different now. For her she had always known that she would remain where she belonged – in the science world where intelligence outranked appearance and no one expected her to be witty and social. (Which, frankly, she was far wittier than most others she met!)

The malice never came. There were no practical jokes. Maybe it was because Penny had already been influenced by the three scientists, future microbiologist, and the weird engineer, but the blond bombshell hadn't once looked at her as if she were a strange outcast, and more and more, Amy realized all of her preconceptions about Penny had been wrong.

Every one of Penny's flaws were outshone by the inner sparkle that made an entire room light up, the way one smile from her could change a whole day, or just a whiff of the vanilla bath soap she used – the same Amy mighthave bought the exact same of just so she could sniff it from time to time. She had the body of a western goddess, one Amy thought about probably too often.

She wanted to hate her. Even dislike her. At the beginning of seeing her – truly, caught off guard by just how beautiful she was – she'd tried so hard to hate, dislike, or even darkly envy her. Valiantly Amy had told herself that the blond's smile was too bright or friendly; that the use of "Shamy" was juvenile and annoying (and it was, really, except when Penny said it); that she simply wasn't educated enough for the boys' social group, or that her perkiness couldn't at all trump the lack of order in her living space. Amy had even tried to convince herself that the "blond bimbo" (the one negative cliché Amy had used for her, but only once and afterward there had been a horrid taste in her mouth) would ruin the genius of Sheldon, Leonard, Raj, and herself. (As he only had a Masters' degree, Howard didn't count.)

Amy had tried to hate her... and failed.

The extent of her failure was abysmal and terrifying. Never before in her life had Amy failed to the degree she had in trying to hate Penny.

She was in love with Penny. Head over heels, over the moon, riding the express lane to heartache, in love with Penny.

And now her best friend and the woman she was in love with was moving into her apartment.

The arrangement had seemed so harmless in the beginning. Penny was – as usual – facing financial problems, but instead of borrowing more money from Sheldon or Leonard and finding herself right back into the same situation in a few months, she'd made the decision to move into a more affordable apartment. Leonard, of course, hadn't been on board with it and had spent a week trying to change Penny's mind – the man was, after all, still madly in love with her and desperate to get her to believe they belonged together. (Not even his association with Priya had been enough to change that dream! The scoundrel.) It had been while Penny was bemoaning about Leonard's attempts that the idea came to Amy and before she could think about it, she'd blurted out:

"Why don't you live with me? I have an extra bedroom now that the monkey is gone. And you wouldn't have to pay any rent."

That had Penny's eyes widening as she straightened on the couch and stared at Amy. "Not pay rent? Amy, I know you do well at the lab, but -"

"No, no! It's not like that. No one else knows this, but my grandparents used to own this building, and now my uncle does. This apartment has housed quite a few of my family and is the only place my mother approved of when I left the nest. In exchange for not paying rent I often settle disputes among any residents and inform my cousin, Marco, when emergency maintenance issues arise."

"Oh, I see."

Amy rushed on as she saw the wheels turning in her bestie's gorgeous head, "We could split utilities and you could help with residential disputes. You're so good with people, Penny! Well, sometimes." She thought quickly to the few times at the Cheesecake Factory where Penny wasn't so good with people. "It would be perfect! You could save money living here and we'd have even more time together!" Visions of girls' nights and impromptu sleep overs (so easier without driving!), sharing a bathroom, "accidental" glimpses of Penny in various stages of undress (she was determined to be able to study the goddess' body), and more danced in the neurobiologist's head.

It was perfect then in Amy's eyes – her and Penny living together. She'd have an incredible new amount of time with her bestie, learn so much more about her, and, for the first time, live with someone who she could trust. Who genuinely cared about her (her mother didn't count as she was, well, her mother). Who wanted to be around her. Who wanted her friendship.

All it took was a half hour before Penny agreed and the two of them quickly devised a plan. Penny's landlord had been nice in not holding Penny to the end of her lease (undoubtedly tired of her often late rent payments and had people lined up for apartments; the latter Amy suspected to be more true as he wanted to start showing it before Penny had even finished packing), the boys took the news with notes of alarm, surprise, and good cheer (and a couple sexual comments from Howard, but, like death, was unavoidable), and two weeks after blurting out her heart's desire, Penny was moving in.

It seemed like such a tragedy that what Amy had been looking forward to she now dreaded, because it wasn't until the morning Penny arrived that Amy realized just how she really felt.