I.
This is game on:
She begrudgingly wakes up, because her bed is warm, and the sun is bathing her skin in a way that makes her feel at ease. The last thing she wants to do is remove herself from the warm confines of her bed. So, she reaches over to cuddle into that warm lean body that keeps her feeling safe in the middle of the night, but she only feels cold and her eyes fly open because what the hell? But then she remembers what happened yesterday, and that she was so eager to go to bed so she could wake up and throw his words in his face.
So, she's out of bed and getting dressed because today is going to be a fun day.
The blonde opens her door but stops in her tracks because the door to 4A is opening at the same time. She almost scoffs at the innocence of it all, she knew he planned that. Only she is taken by surprise when she sees a raven-haired woman leave the apartment in nothing but her bra and a rather short skirt. Her hair is tousled, and she just knows that look, it's the morning after sex look, and she narrows her eyes at the figure standing in the doorway of his apartment. He's nonchalant, jeans hung low on his hip, his flannel shirt unbuttoned so it exposed his chest. He's leaning against the doorframe, arms folded over each other and he's staring at her when the girl kisses his cheek.
She tears her eyes away from the smug man and watches as the girl bounds down the stairs happily, out of sight. She knows any other woman would probably be furious at what they just saw, but not her. She had no right to be furious really. He knew that too. He knew that very well.
"Penny."
"Sheldon."
Their voices linger in the hallway, the acoustics are terrible.
"I see you had the company of a hooker last night?" She smiles sweetly as she pushes past him into his apartment. She folds herself into his spot, hoping for some sort of reaction, and he stutters momentarily because that's my spot, but it's like he presses play again because he's moving towards the kitchen, busying himself with anything.
He glances over at her once, "Candice," he says her name pointedly, "Is not a hooker. I met her at the grocery store actually, after you so kindly finished my milk yesterday evening, I had to run out and get more," he lifts the new carton, "I suppose I owe you a thank you."
She bristles slightly, he could be so offhand sometimes, and it annoys her to no end. She glares at the side of his head, if it's a game he wants than who was she to deny a challenge? She sits up and puts on her fakest smile, "I'm happy for you, I never took you for being a whore, but I suppose we can still surprise each other after five years."
His eyes narrow at her choice of words but he says nothing.
Just then a door is heard opening, and she's smiling innocently as his roommate comes out of his bedroom and casually walks into the middle of no man's land. He's peeking up from the rim of his glasses once he realizes how quiet it had gotten, and then he's squinting, unsure of he should ask or just continue with his day like he doesn't notice anything. He learned to not get in between their fights a long time ago, the hard way, and he wasn't about to make that mistake again. Though, they were both his friend and he felt like he owed it to both of them to be an impartial listener. He feels his body being tugged in both directions, unsure of which to go.
He doesn't get to make the choice.
"Leonard! Hi!"
He glances at his perky blonde neighbor and winces. She used to be the object of his affection, until he realized he was fighting an uphill battle and he would never win her love, she had her eyes set on someone else from the very beginning and it would be pointless to keep trying. He was right. "Good morning, Penny."
"Come!" She waves him over.
She didn't miss the look on the taller one's face, nor the way his fingers grip the fridge handle tighter. She holds in her giddiness, because if she shows that she was aware of his reaction he would go back to being indifferent, and that isn't what she wants.
She positions her body towards Leonard and pouts, "The girls and I were talking last night, and Leslie was telling us that you've been complaining about your back for some time now? She's tried helping you, but nothing has worked," it wasn't a question, it was a statement. She doesn't give him a chance to reply before she places her hands on his shoulders, "Don't worry, I took a masseuse class, my hands are magical," she leans into his ear as she kneads his shoulders.
She feels him trying to pull away, "Oh, it's ok, I was just going to make an appointment with—" he cut himself off when she applies pressure and he lets out a rather throaty moan, she smirks at his response and leans her body into his back, her breast presses firmly against him. He's facing towards the kitchen, but his eyes are closed, so she took that moment to look up at the taller man who stands behind the island, glaring at them. She sees the anger behind his eyes and the jealousy, but this was a game he started.
The fire in his blue eyes starts to blaze and she feels like she's winning. No, giving his roommate a back massage isn't the equivalent to him sleeping with Candice the hooker, but it still is getting a rise out of him. He was always really possessive of her anyway. She leans her head to the side and leans further into the back of his roommate, her throat starts to produce a low noise and she feels the air around them thicken. She's glad she decided to wear shorts and the skimpiest tank-top she owned; her breast are practically against his neck.
She feels him lean into her and a loud bang! is heard. He opens his eyes and she smirks, "Don't you have a meeting with Gablehauser in twenty minutes?" His voice comes out rough and he has to clear his throat because that wasn't supposed to happen.
His roommate's eyes are doubling in size and he's practically running out of the door, murmuring about how he forgot and that he's grateful she helped his back problem. She smiles as he leaves and then looks at the taller man who's glaring at her. Her smile turns to a smirk, "Ready to admit defeat?"
He scoffs.
She's confused.
"You just stepped the game up, it's not game over yet."
She wants to shout at him because what the hell, dude? You just had sex with another woman! Instead she stands to her feet, hands on her hips, "If you want to start a game then you're on but be careful of what you wish for because you don't know who you're messing with!"
"You started this, Kitten," his voice is smooth, and she almost waves a white flag because damn.
"Me?!"
"You remember our conversation last night?"
Now she's saying, "But you slept with a hooker right after!"
He shakes his head, "Candice," he corrects, and she glares at him, "Is not a hooker. I told you, I met her while I was running errands, however you were under the misconception I met her last night. No, I met her this morning. Yes, she came back to the apartment with me, but we didn't have sex," he is looking at her now, "We only made out," he admits.
She doesn't know if she wants to knock him over the head for making her think the worse or kiss him for not being able to have sex with another woman. She does neither, because she remembers he just started a war and she wasn't going to be the first to back down. So, she steps back, "Game on, Cooper!"
She's walking away when she hears him chuckle.
This is how it starts:
They're cuddling, and it's nice because they have the apartment to themselves and it's been awhile since they were able to have them time. One of their friends were always around, and as much as they love their friends, they loved kissing more.
The movie is done, and he's cleaning up their mess, he looks nervous and she's aware because he never looks nervous, so it's making her nervous in turn because why would the guy who never gets nervous, be nervous? "Something wrong, babe?"
He looks at her, and I mean really looks at her, he places their popcorn bowl down and sits beside her not caring she was in his spot. He takes her hands in his and he speaks, and she's shocked, "I know we've only been seeing each other for three months, but I just feel like I have to say it now before I lose the nerve," he exhales, "I love you."
He didn't know what he expected from her, but he didn't expect her to move away from him and walk towards the kitchen in silence. Apart of him thinks he just messed up the best thing that has ever happened to him, and the other part of him, the more rational part, thinks it was better he say how he felt now opposed to keeping it in and never saying it at all. He watched her, "Are you going to say anything, or am I going to have to charade your feelings?"
She looks at him, and her eyes are giving off an emotion he hasn't seen before, "I…I don't know what to say, I don't…"
"You don't love me?" His voice is clipped.
"No. Yes…I don't know…" she trails off, "It's been three months, Sheldon."
"Yes, but we've known each other for five years. I know everything about you and vice versa, there's nothing we can do that will surprise each other anymore, how could you not feel the same way?" He's genuinely confused.
She opens the fridge, afraid to speak because she doesn't want to hurt his feelings. She takes out the milk and decides she's going to make hot chocolate, because she doesn't feel too good anymore. She feels his eyes on her and for some reason can feel the build-up of an argument, and she feels like it's better they argue now because it would fill the awkward silence and she wouldn't have to deal with the heartbreak she's actually feeling.
"So, you know you can use my milk, and everything else I own, but you don't know if you love me," he snides. She knew the remark was stupid, but damn it I need to argue. So she spins around on him and raises her voice to a ridiculous level and all of a sudden she's shouting and he's shouting and she's throwing his milk down the sink to prove something, and he's red in the face and she's breathing heavily and what was the even point of this argument again?
He nods his head in agreement, she doesn't know what she said.
"You're right. Maybe then you'll know if you love me or not."
What?
"I…"
"It's so sad how childish you are," he snipes, "You rather suggest we see other people instead of facing your emotions?"
Oh…no, that's not what she really wanted.
"Well fine, enjoy your free time because I know I will," he opens the door to 4A a gesture that he wants her out, "Just remember I won't be waiting around for forever," he finalizes.
Something in her snaps, and her pride is back where it should be, and she holds her head up high and storms out of the apartment. Tomorrow she would show him what he's missing, and how stupid it was of him to kick her out just because she wasn't sure how she felt. Tomorrow he would see!
From the start their relationship was fun and untraditional. They were open and free, and there wasn't a tight leash around their necks, there were no boundaries they laid out. It was all about mutual respect and it worked. She had never seen him be this carefree before, and she enjoyed it. He changed when they started seeing each other, and she only let herself wonder how much this change would affect their time apart. Was he serious about seeing other people? No. He couldn't be.
She falls asleep.
This is point Sheldon:
The group is sitting at a bar, in a dimly lit booth. It's a rare occasion they can all hang out after work in a public area because their work schedules are all so hectic, but surprisingly they were able to have some time off this weekend and they plan to take advantage of that, so here they are. At a grimy little bar, enjoying each other's company.
"Thanks again, Penny, I don't know what you did but Leonard's been singing praises about how you fixed his back," Leslie is smiling and she smiles back, because she does like Leslie, despite her rough history she was a cool person to know and a great female ally.
At this point, everyone in their circle is aware of the tension between her and Sheldon. They're sitting at opposite ends of the booth, across from each other. The only time they look at each other is to send glares at each other or smirks. She rolls her eyes once she catches him looking at her again. She's at a bar, and she should be out there mingling, but she can't bring herself to. She's in a slump and she doesn't know how to get out.
This all started because she was unsure of her feelings, but the longer she stays away from him the more aware of her feelings she gets. She doesn't like it.
She's brought out of her thoughts when she notices him stand to his feet and make his way to the bar, he's ordering drinks, and she can't help but watch the way he leans into the bar raising one arm. His shirt rides up slightly, exposing his hips and the deep V that runs downwards. She bites onto her lip as she imagines all the times she let her tongue trace that same outline. Her eyes are narrowing once she sees an eager redhead approach him.
She's hitting on him.
She could tell by the way his body retracts at first, but then they make eye contact from across the bar and he smirks before looking back at the redhead. He leans into her and whispers something into her ear, she giggles and grabs his arm. He's flexing, and he places a hand on the redhead's hip, bringing her in closer to him. Her body is pressed flushed against his and she can make out how the redhead's mouth is slightly open as she listens to the empty promises he fills her head with.
She's grinding her teeth and she feels someone touch her arm, it's Raj, he smiles at her sympathetically and she can't take it. She didn't know this is what it would feel like to be in a game with him, and a large part of her didn't like it. Though, a larger part of her didn't like the idea of giving up. She excuses herself from the table and tells them all she's going home, she doesn't feel well. It's not a total lie. She'll see them tomorrow when they go to the beach.
It takes a moment, but she finally comes to the thought: how was he capable of outdoing me twice? Since when does Sheldon Cooper have more game than herself? Because god damn it, it wasn't fair that he was upping her in her own game. She pulls into the apartment building parking garage and decides no more laying around. He made the first two moves, it's time for her to fight back.
She's not aware that he comes back to the table five minutes later asking where she went.
Hopefully this is a two-shot. It's a two-shot for now at least.
