The Big Bang Theory is not mine! I do not own the rights to any of the characters, or some of the items mentioned in the text. The beginning scene is different from the first episode (but some things are the same). I just decided to write it my own way. I hope you guys enjoy. This is pretty long; and I hope I can continue making all of the chapters this long. (I absolutely love Lenny). Also I want to note, none of the jokes are meant to offend. I actually took some of them straight from the show! Thank you all, be sure to leave reviews so I know how you're liking it!

Chapter One

Introductions

In a modestly-sized Pasadena apartment, two grown men sat comfortably in their living room, and had their eyes fixated upon the television.

"Must we watch this Leonard? Babylon 5 is an awful excuse of a science fiction series. If I were you, I would chose something far more interesting. Why not Star Trek: The Next Generation?" the lanky, blue-eyed, brunette haired man complained and then shoved a forkful of Thai noodles into his mouth.

"I happen to enjoy Babylon 5. That's why it's Leonard-gets-to-chose-the-show night," the short and stockier guy, Leonard Hofstadter, retorted. His eyebrows furrowed as he was clearly annoyed by the individual speaking to him.

"Perhaps I should revise that clause in the roommate agreement. No Babylon 5 on Leonard-gets-to-chose-the-show night or on any other night," the tall man speculated under his breath.

"Oh relax, Sheldon. It's only on for ten more minutes and then the TV is all yours. Anyway, did you hear that someone is moving in tonight across the hall?" Leonard asked his roommate, and proceeded to pick up his own take-out container. He wondered who the new neighbor could be. An odd 200 pound transvestite with a skin condition formerly lived there, and Leonard often felt awkward passing them in the hallway. Secretly, he wished their new neighbor would be an attractive woman his age… Either way, he dismissed the thought and flicked his dark eyes to Sheldon.

"Is that so? I wonder why that transvestite man moved. He was always relatively quiet. I absolutely despise babies, pets, and noisy individuals, so I will be furious if that's what we have to contend with." Sheldon said, and rolled his eyes with disgust.

Leonard adjusted his glasses and nodded. He supposed he agreed with Sheldon's statement, although, his roommate could be more irritating at times than the noisiest person existent. He picked at the Pad Thai he ordered, knowing that too much of this particular dish would not be beneficial to his health because of its high sodium content. "I'm going to go and greet whoever it is, I think I hear them walking up the stairs now. You can come if you want," Leonard offered, while running his fingers through his brown hair. He adjusted his jacket as he stood, smoothed his shirt, and made his way to the front door of their apartment.

"Yes, I'd like to warn them to refrain from causing a ruckus," Sheldon announced simply and followed Leonard like an obedient puppy dog.

Leonard, as soon as he had stepped out the door, came face-to-face to a beautiful blond woman. She wore tight fitting denim jeans that hugged her curves gracefully, a revealing sky blue V-neck t-shirt, and heels. She looked as if she was in her late twenties. His jaw dropped for a moment and he was speechless. The person who was going to occupy 4B was a drop-dead gorgeous female, just as he had hoped for.

"Hi," Was all Leonard could mutter. Sheldon said something after him but he was barely aware of his roommate's presence behind him.

"Oh! Hey you two! I'm assuming you're my new neighbors? I'm Penny," She mused as she picked up a box near the stairs and placed it in her gaping doorway.

Leonard's pulse sped up exponentially, far worse than usual. Not Now. The Experimental Physicist cursed silently to his uncooperative heart. He could feel the blood rush to his face, causing his cheeks to redden furiously, and he had begun to perspire. He knew it would be difficult to talk now. He knew he had better sit down. But he didn't care; Leonard just wanted to speak to this girl. "I'm Leonard Hofstadter," he held out his hand, which was beginning to moisten with sweat, "and that's my roommate Sheldon Cooper. Yes, we live across the hall." He replied with shortness of breath.

When their palms touched, electric shot through Leonard's body. Then he looked into her stunning green eyes. That was it for Leonard, he already had feelings for this woman. She had only spoken a meager sentence to him, but he had never known such a gorgeous woman in his life. His heart roared beneath his chest and he took a step back to lean against his own door frame.

Penny smiled. "Nice to meet you guys. I have to get on with unloading, maybe we can have coffee and get to know each other as soon as I'm settled in?"

Sheldon wrinkled his nose and glowered at the woman. "You don't have a pet, more specifically, a bird, do you? I despise birds. Or a child? Or maybe you have annoying habits like performing loud Tribal dance routines at three in the morning?" The Physicist inquired rudely.

Instead of getting offended, Penny just raised an eyebrow and smirked. "No, Sheldon. It's just me. And no, I'm usually knocked out by eleven anyway." She laughed, and then spoke, "besides, I have to get up early to go to work."

Leonard, gathering himself, took a deep breath before speaking again. "Don't mind Sheldon. That's just how he is. Do you need help with carrying anything up here? The elevator's been broken for ages. Moving has got to suck without an elevator. I know from experience..." he rambled on for a few more seconds, and finished with, "Sheldon and I can help you. I insist."

Before Penny had a chance to answer, Sheldon remarked, "Honestly, Leonard? For one, it is illogical that the two of us have the capability to lift anything heavier than a comic book. And two, in your co-"

"Come on Sheldon be quiet. She might need our assistance, have some chivalry," he cut Sheldon off, clearly discouraging him from finishing his sentence. "So do you need any help?"

"That would actually be really cool of you two. I could start unpacking if you guys could manage the last box. It's in the lobby. Thank you so much. I didn't think I'd be acquainted with anyone so soon!" She smiled while opening the box at her feet and unloading various bathroom essentials.

Without another word, Leonard began to descend the winding stairs of the apartment building. Again, Sheldon followed closely behind him.
"It is clear you are hopelessly falling in love with that woman. Shall I remind you of your history in relationships Leonard? You are impossible. And I know you are perfectly aware that lifting heavy items up a flight of stairs is positively harmful to your health." Sheldon nagged.

Leonard gruffly replied, "leave it be Sheldon. It's none of your buisiness." Although he didn't want to admit it, Sheldon was correct this time. He barely knew Penny and he was already head over heels for her. Besides, he would never have a chance with her. A perfect girl like herself must already have a boyfriend. And even if she didn't, Penny wouldn't be interested in him anyway. I still own a pair of Wolverine underwear Leonard thought to himself with shame. As they reached the bottom step, the large brown box waited menacingly for them. He immediately bent down, paused until Sheldon to grabbed the other end, and began to climb the stairs again. After the first flight he had to stop. His heart rate had decided to speed up. How carrying a damn box counted as strenuous activity, he would never know. A man should be able to do this easily.

Sheldon eyed Leonard up and chided with a little, "I told you so," before they continued their gradual ascent up the stairwell.

As they finally reached the fourth floor, Leonard dropped his end of the box and gasped, fiddling in his pant's pocket for his inhaler. He breathed in not once but three times in order for his lungs to stabilize. His heart pounded in his chest, and he could almost taste the blood coursing through his arteries. He gripped the wall for support, face as red as a cherried tomato.

"Gee Leonard, you had better hope there were no valuables in there. Why you, Raj, and Howard break your back for an inferior gender, I will never understand." Sheldon offered Leonard a pat on the back, and added, "that is the reason I do not need a significant other, I'm too important to be wasting my well-being in order to achieve coitus."

"I am not looking for sex." He seethed through his teeth. Although, he wouldn't be opposed to it... He most definitely wasn't trying to achieve it.

Penny, who heard the faint bump from outside her apartment door, expected that the boys had brought up her last box. "Again, thank you guys so much! You really didn't have to…" She stopped and saw Leonard struggling, "oh sweetie, would you like some water? I really could have called the Mover back up or something y'know, You shouldn't have offered!" She truly felt bad for the guy, even a bit guilty for having him carry her stuff, so she placed a hand on his arm for support.

Leonard shivered at her touch and looked up at her shyly. He almost collapsed after being called "sweetie." He didn't want to seem weak so he stood up despite the palpitations that wracked his body. His heart was really working hard today but it was worth it for her. "No. I'm fine, really," he assured her, "why don't you maybe have some dinner at our place? I mean, if you didn't eat yet of course. We just finished eating but we have extra food if you like Thai. Our friends couldn't make it tonight. We could… Get to know each other like you suggested before… Only if you want to." The Experimental Physicist was never really the best at conversing with women. Adversely, at least Leonard wasn't like his friend Raj Koothrappali, who couldn't speak to women at all.

"Oh, sure, why not? I'd love to!" Penny announced with genuine enthusiasm.

Sheldon, who was clearly peeved, headed into 4A and had begun to clean up his mess.

Penny walked in and sat on the far-left cushion of the couch. She watched Leonard close the door behind them and shuffle in. She looked around the room, curious about the environment she was in. These guys were nerds, she knew that from the start. But the various Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, and sci-fi film memorabilia scattered around the place affirmed this for her. She had to laugh internally. She would never be caught dead in a place like this in highschool. But these guys were nice enough, and she was beyond those days. "So what do you guys do for a living?" She asked them politely.

Leonard reached into the Thai Palace bag and picked out a take-out container full of steamed dumplings. He handed Penny a plastic fork, in which when their fingers brushed together, his heart leaped in his chest for the hundredth time today. His eyes scanned over her beautiful body. Oh no. He didn't notice it before, but when he did, he grinded his teeth together. "Ahh… Penny, you see, you're sitting in Sheldon's spot. Could you scoot over a bit before he notices?"

"Why can't he just sit somewhere else?" Penny questioned with a mouthful of dumpling already in her mouth. These guys were so weird.

"You'll get to know Sheldon-"

"Leonard. She's in my spot. Get her out of my spot. This is what happens when you invite people over that don't know the rules of the house." The lanky man groaned in agony and folded his arms together neatly.

"No, no. I'll just move over! No biggie," The blonde pleaded, sliding over onto the next cushion, continuing to eat her meal.

Leonard walked over to the kitchen, quickly snatched his pills from the medicine cabinet before anyone could notice, and took two capsules with water. He then found his place in his frequent chair, and directed his eyes upon his roommate and his new acquaintance/crush.

When Sheldon took his place in his "rightful" spot, he went on, "now that that's cleared up, to answer your question from earlier Penny, I am a Physicist. That means I specialize in physics to explain it in a way that a muggle such as yourself would understand. My aspirations as of yet are to obtain a Nobel Peace Prize. Leonard's occupation is far less brilliant, he's an Experimental Physicist. He might as well just be a college professor."

Until Penny remarked, "well, it all sounds impressive to me," Leonard was quite infuriated at his roommate's comment. Leonard scratched his head and looked at the pretty girl across from him and had shivered when their eyes met. "Enough about us. What brought you here to Pasadena Penny?"

Finishing off her plate, Penny placed the bare container on the table in front of her. She smiled at Leonard. He was much more polite than most of the guys she'd encountered throughout her life. "I moved here from Omaha, Nebraska. I've been dreaming of becoming an actress since I was a little girl so I decided to follow my dream. What better a place than California, y'know? For now I'm just Waitressing at the Cheesecake Factory"

Leonard nodded. "Of course. I'm glad everything's working out for you."

"Not quite…" Penny trailed off, sighing. "Ex-boyfriends are a pain in the butt, you know what I mean I'm sure."

"What happened?" Leonard probed. He hoped he wasn't being too nosy but he was concerned for her deeply. However, the word ex really made him interested.

"Well, I was with this guy Kurt for a pretty long time. And the reason I got this apartment is because I moved out of his place after we broke up. The problem is, he won't return my TV that I paid for no matter how much I try to threaten him. He won't answer any calls or texts about it but I know he's seeing them." Penny explained, her elbows on her knees, and her hands resting on her chin.

"I could call up my friends and go and get it tomorrow?" Leonard offered sincerely.

Sheldon shook his head and let out a long sigh.

"I don't know Leonard, you really don't have to. He's pretty… well, I just don't want him trying anything. I can try and get a lawyer. I would feel terrible if anything happened to either of you. And besides, you've really done too much already." Penny explained and then stood from her spot on the sofa. "It was really nice meeting you Leonard, Sheldon. We should definitely do this again soon!" She added, and made her way to the door.

"You're very welcome, anytime!" Leonard followed her to the door and softly shut it behind her. He lingered there for a moment, letting his heart recover. "Our babies will be smart and beautiful," he breathed.

"Well it has been awhile since a female has been in our apartment, since your grandmother with Alzheimer's was here last Thanksgiving. I think your little affair with Penny was successful, aside from your constant attempts to impress her for intercourse. My, you're already speaking of having offspring with her." Sheldon pointed out and started over to the kitchen. He reached for his mug and began to boil water to make tea.

"Sheldon, maybe we should get Howard and Raj over here tomorrow. I'm going to try to get her TV back."