She was good at keeping secrets. She had to be; if she didn't, someone might catch on, and that meant death. For one or the other.
She had come to LA for the rich pickings of whatever she craved. Looks, talent, intelligence, she had her choice of what to eat on any given night. She gained with every encounter, little by little, while they lost, paid for the night with a price they would have never agreed to, had they known.
She never asked. They didn't know.
Sheldon knew. She knew he did; her ill-fated relationship with Leonard took a little much out of him. He became a shell of himself, less than what he was somehow. She didn't take much of his smarts, no sir—mama didn't raise a fool. She stole his confidence, his drive, his determination and he made it too easy. He was always willing to give in to her, let her do as she would. She did that and more, until he was a husk with nothing left to give. It was almost mercy when she decided to break it off.
She saw Sheldon watching her, speculative look on his face as he tried to figure it all out. She smiled, she laughed over her shoulder, and Leonard would smile back wanly, too spent to be angry any more. She had taken that from him too.
She moved on to Raj. The alcohol gave him a little Dutch courage and he was able to 'charm' her with his caramel skin and dark brown eyes—or so he thought. She garnered more intel on Sheldon than she ever needed, or wanted, for that manner. Raj was quite the little observer.
Any time she needed to know something, she would visit Raj. He was her best spy yet. And so easy, so easy to manipulate, to mold.
Sheldon watched as Raj faded away, much as Leonard had. His personality flattened, like cardboard in a crushing machine. His interactions, when he was able to have them, were dulled and remote, distant and disengaged from reality.
He expected Howard to be her next target, since he had a weakness anyway.
He was, but it was once. He surmised that it was once. It was never spoken of, something that was totally unexpected. He couldn't tell what exactly was missing from each of them, but something was, something intangible.
Penny knew. Penny knew, because Penny stole whatever it was from them.
Now he was her prey.
Sheldon watched Penny stalking him. she would lick her lips in anticipation when she thought only he was watching; she touched her finger to her forehead, pretending to think and ponder when he knew, knew in his heart that all she would need to do would be to walk into his bedroom.
In the end, that's exactly what she did.
She swooped in on him one Saturday night, after everyone had left to troll the bars half-heartedly, looking for female companionship to replace the lingering ache that they had no idea of its origin. It was just there, had been there, and would stay there until they found what they needed to fill it. Their search was in vain, but she would never tell.
Another secret for her to keep.
She stepped inside his room and watched him from the door. He was immediately awake, watching for her. He had surmised she would make her move soon.
"Penny, people aren't allowed in my room." He had to follow form, if nothing else.
"Sheldon, you already know I'm not people. Don't you?"
He nodded, the shadows flickering across his face. "How do you do it? How did you drain them?"
She sidled over to the bed, standing next to the edge. He cringed back slightly in his cocoon, wary of her in every possible way.
Ignoring his fear, she reached out and brushed the hair off his forehead. "Oh, Sheldon, I knew that if anyone could figure something out, it would be you. So close and yet so far, sweetie."
"You're a succubus," he blurted out, clutching the blankets to his chest.
"Yes." He could tell that she was surprised, shocked even by his correct assumption. "What gave me away?"
He pushed himself erect as she sat down on the side of the bed. "Actually, you should have just killed them. They are barely alive as they are."
"I know." Her voice was sad. "I couldn't do it. They were—are my friends."
"As they are now? And me? What will you steal from me? All I have is my brain, Penny."
"Oh, Sheldon, you're so much more than just your beautiful mind. And I'm not here to steal from you. I'm here to give you a gift."
"Excuse me?" His eyebrows climbed his forehead and she smoothed the shock away.
"You know what a succubus is, what we do. We drain men of their essence. We cannot use that essence, only an incubus can—and without an incubus nearby, I have too much energy, too much essence. I need to purge myself and you are the perfect vessel."
"Me?"
"It won't hurt you. If anything it will make you…better."
He thought about it for a moment. "How is the transfer made?"
"The same way that I drain them—sex. It's always blood or sex, Sheldon. That's the only things that matter in this life. Once the bond is created, it can't be severed. That's the only drawback that I know of, for you. For me—well, there's other consequences for me."
She stood and walked back to the door. "I will give you a night and a day to decide. If you refuse, I will have to look elsewhere for an outlet for my energies. If not—well, I wanted it to be you, Sheldon. Really, I do."
She left as quickly as she had come.
Sheldon researched through the rest of the night and most of the next day. Later that evening He found himself sleeping on his computer keyboard, the keys embedded in his cheek. She sat across the room, waiting for him, calling to him with a siren song that was indistinguishable but audible to him nonetheless.
"Have you decided?"
"I have a question."
She nodded. "I knew that you would."
"Should I accept your proposition, the available literature indicates that you would become mortal. Is that your goal, Penny? To gain your mortality and give up the life of a succubus?"
"That's two questions, and those are not the only possible outcomes, Sheldon. The internet is not the only source of information, as you should know, and relying on it alone was foolish on your part."
"What, then? Enslavement?"
"Close. My mortality will be bound to yours. As long as you live, so will I. Shall you meet your untimely end, I will die as well."
"Why, Penny? Why would you bind yourself, your entire existence to mine? You are immortal."
She sighed, hanging her head in her hands. "Sheldon, the years grow thin. There is only so much to see in a thousand lifetimes before it becomes boring. So much you can do before it's all been done. I've repeated everything so many times that I cannot stand it." She stood and put her hand on her hips, glamour falling around her as he finally viewed her in all her glory.
It was truly a terrible and wonderful thing.
Her skin was pearly alabaster, glowing from within. Her eyes glowed emerald in the dim light of the living room, pinning him to his spot on the couch; her clothes fell away with a wave of her hand and she was nude, proud, and shameless before him.
"I have chosen you, Sheldon Lee Cooper. What say you? Will you release me from my curse and allow me to feed the hungry, pour myself into you as I would pour into a vessel the finest of wines, the purest of oils. I swear no harm according to Solomon's vow, sealed for all time, upon which I make oath and fealty to the one to break my chains."
He could feel the words pulling his assent from his lips, before he could halt them, stop himself from speaking them. "I say yeah, I will be your vessel. I will break the chains of bondage and put my own chain round your neck, forever to bind your life to mine."
He had no idea where the words came from, only that they had been spoken and could not be recalled.
She glided across the floor and he was astounded at the change in her appearance. If he had thought her aesthetically pleasing in the past, it was nothing compared to now. He imagined that this is what Aphrodite would look like in human form, and then chastised himself for his flight of fancy.
Then again, when confronted with something straight out of myth, was there any other avenue but fancy? He couldn't think of anything besides Penny, or the person/thing that he thought of as Penny.
He held his hands in front of him in a lame attempt at warding her off. "One question—you owe me that. Why me?"
Her smile was gently horrifying. He wanted to cringe, but could not; it was so familiar, so right to see that smile on her face that he could not turn away, could not close his eyes to the persona before him. This was his Penny, not the shadow of her that he had come to recognize as her human form.
"Oh, Sheldon, you should know. You've always known. I saw you first. You were the one that sparked my interest, that kept me tied to this place for so long. You have always been and shall always be. You were my first love, the one love that I could allow, could sink into, and could free me. It's always been you."
It was almost too much for him to bear. He fell to his knees and she knelt before him, her hand extended to touch his face. "Will it hurt?"
"No, my sweet Sheldon, it will not hurt. It will make it better. It will make you better."
She ran her hand across his temple and down his jaw, hooking her fingers behind his mandibular joint. She gently tugged and he came to her willingly, his face millimeters from her. "I gladly give what is mine to give and accept from you the joining, the bonding. Where you go, I shall go—when your life force ends, mine will as well. I am yours."
He had no idea where the words were coming from, but he found himself speaking in turn. "I join you, I bond with you, I accept what is yours. Where I go, I will take you, guard you until my life force ceases."
She took his hands in hers and pressed her lips to his.
He waited for any sensation, any rush of feeling, and felt none. He pulled back with a look of surprise and she smiled at him.
"Sex, Sheldon, remember? Coitus."
"You mean that we have to have sex?"
"Yes, darling man. We have to have sex. Coitus. Intercourse."
He looked at her in near panic. "Penny, I have never…."
"I know, Moonpie. I will show you."
She stood and drew him to his feet with their joined hands and they retired to his room.
She laid him down on the bed and brushed his clothing aside. It fell open and away, baring him to her gaze as she looked at him openly.
She climbed on top of him and kissed him gently. "You must allow me free reign. You must open yourself to me, mind and body and soul, and let me in."
He allowed his mind to go blank and let her take control.
It was a good thing that she was sexually aggressive because he could not have done the things that she was doing for him. She fascinated him, mystified him, and boggled his mind.
She made him feel things that he had never felt before.
His body arched in a moment of ecstasy, and then the strangest feelings began.
He felt strong. Strong, smart, invincible. He could feel the strength coursing through his veins, his arms, and his body. He could feel his mind expanding with thoughts and experiences that he had never had himself; instinctively, he knew that this was part and parcel of her, what she was giving him. She was making him a better man. He was now, in more than just words, becoming Homo Novus.
With one last kiss, she gave him her knowledge, her experiences, and her all.
She collapsed on top of him, the ethereal light dimming as she fell into a deep slumber.
Sheldon looked down at her, cradled in his arms. She looked peaceful; he had no wish to wake her now.
He moved away, easing his arm from under her head. The movements woke her, despite the care that he took.
"Sheldon? What's happening?"
He turned back to look at her, sated and soft upon his bed. His bed. In his room. No, not his alone any longer. Their room, their bed, their apartment.
He ran his finger down her cheek. "Hey, Kitten. Did you have a good nap?"
She leaned up on one elbow and kissed him soundly. "Great. One question—why am I in your room?"
He couldn't help it—he had to give one of his breathy laughs. "Oh, sweetheart, it's our room now."
"Our room." She threw her arms over her head and rested back on the pillow, smiling widely. "Well, I'm a little foggy on when our relationship paradigm changed, but I'm glad that it did." She spread her arms wide and he came to them willingly.
He noticed that she was slightly…less than before. Nothing that would be noticed by the average person, really, but he noticed. He knew. He realized what she sacrificed for him, what she gave him, and his heart swelled in his chest.
"As am I, Kitten. As am I."