So I actually dreamed the basic idea for this last night, and decided to write it this morning. Just one possible way that Leonard and Penny two point oh could take this step. There are so many possible ways this could happen, and this isn't my ideal scenario, but hey, this is the best my writing skills allow!
I don't own any of this, no monetary gain, etcetera etcetera.
"I just…I can't believe I've never eaten there before!" Penny said. "I didn't even know that place existed, and wow, they have great egg roles!"
"Yeah?" Leonard said, smiling at her as they reached the third floor, "you liked it, huh?"
"Oh," Penny said, putting a hand on his arm. "Actually getting to spend time at that shooting range plus the best Chinese food I've had in like, years?" She smiled back at him. "Just about a perfect evening."
"Just about?" Leonard asked, feigning hurt. "You mean that that waiter telling you that your dress was too short didn't just top it off?"
She laughed, rolling her eyes. "It's not that short," she said, smoothing it down. She hesitated, "is it?"
He raised his eyebrows. "Am I the right person to ask that question?" He scanned her from head to toe. "But as I don't think Raj would call this 'ridonkulous' I'm thinking that guy was just being really conservative."
She chuckled, "okay then."
"Well," Leonard said as they approached her door "I'm really, really glad you had a nice time tonight."
She brushed her hair back from her face. "I really did," she said. "And you did too, right?"
"Of course I did," Leonard said. "I love spending time with you."
Penny had glanced down at her hands when he started speaking, and when he finished she looked up and they held each other's gazes for a few seconds. "Me too," she said quietly, giving a little nod.
He nodded back, smiling. "Good. Good." He stepped toward her, put his hands on her arms, and kissed her. "Good night." He turned to go back across the hall.
"Leonard, wait."
Leonard turned back around and smiled. "Yes, this was supposed to be a date," he joked.
She raised an eyebrow and smiled. "I was thinking..." she lowered her head slightly and gestured with the hand that held her keys toward her door. "Do you want to come in?"
He cocked his head slightly, looking surprised. "Um..I-I-ah..um..." he stuttered. Stopping, he took a breath. "Are you sure?"
He couldn't tell if she was blushing, the hallway was too dim, but it certainly looked like she was, at least a little bit. "Yeah, I mean...we're together."
"Is that reason enough?" Leonard asked, a small part of him wondering why in the Hell he was hesitating; a larger part of him knowing exactly why. She usually called the shots, and he was usually okay with it, but he wasn't ready to follow her this time. He wanted to be sure. "We said we were going to take things slow."
"Leonard," she said, tipping her head to the other side and taking a step toward him. "We got back together in January. We are taking things slow." She raised her eyebrows ever so slightly. "Do you want us to be eighty years old and still saying good - bye at the door?"
Leonard looked down. "I'd rather us be saying good - bye at the door than not being together at all." He gestured between them. "I don't want to mess this up."
"Do you want a reason?" she asked. "I care about you. We've had some great times since we've gotten back to each other. If I was any other woman, would you have waited this long?"
"If you were any other woman," Leonard said, flat out, "I wouldn't be this worried about doing it right."
She smiled. "Me too. And that," Penny said, stepping closer to him, "is why we're ready." She gestured to the space between them, much like he had done. "You don't want to mess this up?" She moved closer until their bodies touched, and she slid her arms slowly around his neck. "There," she whispered. "Problem solved."
He smiled at her. "Okay," he said, closing his eyes when she kissed him and sliding his arms around her.
She pulled back after a few moments. "So?" she asked, stepping back and motioning toward her door.
His hand found hers. "Lead the way."
"Don't be silly," she said playfully as she adjusted her keys in her hand. "Walk next to me."
Because I really feel this second try is much more even than it was last time, where Penny called the shots and Leonard was whipped. (Don't get me wrong, I loved them before, but now I just love them so much more!) I really feel that they're much more even now, and ready to last. I hope so, anyway.