The Quest for Penny.

A "The Big Bang Theory" FanFic by Mme Moirae.

I own nothing.

Gentle Readers,

Welcome to Chapter Two!

A huge thank you to those who have been reading and reviewing this fanfic already! I hope this chapter and all those to follow are well enjoyed. There are quite a few twists and turns I have planned in the future chapters, but I do caution that they may not be explained as you find them. Which really just means you'll have to keep coming back to learn the why's, how's, and have the huh's explained. (Aren't I sneaky?) Mostly I point this out because I will not reveal plot secrets in PMs or if asked in general, though I'll probably give a hint if you ask sweetly enough.

If you'd be interested in pre-reading submissions for me, please drop me a PM! It is very important that you have a quick turn around rate (within 12-24 hours), label yourself a TBBT addict, and, most importantly, aren't bothered by a writer's ramblings. (I see that there are Beta Testers, but frankly I'm not sure how to go about using them and I'd rather have volunteers for this particular work than potentially bug people to read.)

Now, for this chapter we have a glimpse into Halo night, but most importantly, Sheldon's plan has hit its first bump... or so he thinks.

I hope you enjoy!

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


"Since when does Penny have a spot? And why can't she be on my team? She was on your team last time!"

"Oh, Leonard..." Sheldon began with a sigh and straightened his posture.

The tone in Sheldon's voice was one she'd heard before, that air of exasperated superiority as if he were about to explain the origins of the alphabet. Frankly it was nice not to have it directed at her for a change, even if it didn't really bother her. Over the past year it hadn't been directed at her as often, much to her surprise and delight.

Penny's lips pursed as she tried to bite back a smile and settled into "her spot," barely having arrived a few minutes ago for the routine Halo night. Almost immediately Sheldon had shooed Raj out of "her spot" and then informed them of the teams. In those few minutes alone she felt reaffirmed in the decision to be their fourth; during the quick shower she'd taken after Sheldon's departure Penny had kept flip flopping on whether to keep to the agreement to play (and the promise of shoes) or find some excuse to make. It was becoming more and more difficult being around Sheldon and keeping her reactions to herself; she was pretty damn sure that he was going to notice something was off, demand an explanation, and then banish her for having any carnal thoughts about him, as if she had the nerve to think about him in some way other than as a genius. Yet, he'd smiled at her when she'd walked in, one of those real, genuine smiles, and the though the smile vanished as fast it'd come, it'd started the night off on a better than expected note.

And now he was, once again, putting Leonard in his place, so to speak.

"As apparently part of your brain has been absent for the past five years – likely due to too much focus on the often failed pursuit of intercourse – allow me to catch you up, as you say."

Leonard's eyes swept heavenward and his jaw clenched a little.

"Penny sits here in the middle or on the chair to my right. I suspect it started as her trying to worm her way into my spot and now, as success has proven futile, it is habit, and therefore her spot. It's simply part of the natural order, Leonard. I don't know why you're making such a fuss."

"You suspect?"

"Yes. Suspect. Guess. Conjecture. To have some hint or knowledge. Come now, Leonard, do I need to explain everything for you?"

The words were said so calmly, yet three pairs of eyes were staring at him; two looked at him as if he had fallen from the sky and the third … held a touch of wistfulness in them. Slowly Penny drew herself away from the memory that flashed through and her grin finally escaped as she tilted her head at him.

"Sheldon, I thought as a brilliant scientist you didn't guess because you reached conclusions based on observation and experimentation."

Penny's smile widened when she saw the way his eyes brightened, long fingers squeezing a little into his knees where they'd been settled as if he were trying not to, well, beam. Caught up in the pleased expression in his features she entirely missed the look Leonard and Raj exchanged or how Raj mouthed his bewilderment to Leonard.

"Very good, Penny!"

It was her turn to beam, doing so as she looked back to the flat screen television and leaned forward for her controller. Almost instinctively she was looking for the little box of chocolates Sheldon kept nearby and wasn't disappointed when a moment later he held one up for her. The word didn't even have to be asked before her lips were parting. She could have sworn she felt just a brush of his finger on her lips when he fed her the small ball of chocolate.

"Strange," muttered Leonard under his breath, too softly for Penny or Sheldon to pick up. Raj's dark head nodded in agreement as he quietly grabbed his controller.

For a moment Penny wondered if either of them realized Sheldon hadn't explained why she had to be on his team and just as quickly decided it either didn't matter or was for the best. She certainly wasn't about to complain! On the nights like this she came up for dibs, there was usually some bickering between the guys who she teamed with; out of all of them, she preferred playing with Sheldon, just as much as she enjoyed beating him, of course. With how limited their opportunities – okay, her opportunities – were to be a team or classified as a pair in some way with him, how could she argue over tonight's decree? Or, well, the last time she had played Halo and been claimed by Sheldon?

Dark lashes fluttered as her mind paused and fingers froze around the controller. Claimed by Sheldon? Was she really getting that desperate to have him notice her in a non-platonic way that she was romanticizing Halo pairings? Inwardly she sighed, felt her slender shoulders slump just a little. Yes, she was being claimed by Sheldon but only in the sense that he wanted her "expert" Halo skills. He wasn't tossing her over his shoulder and stalking off with her like some wild alpha mate. (A big ol' five she might be, but nothing drove her wilder than a man being able to take control.) Mentally shaking herself, Penny leaned back on the couch and crossed her legs, flower print shorts straining against her thighs.

Beside her Sheldon shifted, controller in hand, and she involuntarily shivered when his hand all too briefly brushed at her bare leg. It had have to been an accident as he moved since he didn't look at her nor did he even recoil. He probably didn't notice, she thought, fighting back a frown. Just like everything else he didn't notice.

With a little grumbling, Leonard sat on her other side and Penny instinctively shifted a little until she found her knee resting against Sheldon's. She waited for him to pull away, to tell her to move back, or even glare at her. Instead she heard:

"It is now 8:02. We are two minutes behind thanks to your nonsense, Leonard, and that will be coming out of the bathroom break – specifically yours."


"Med pack! Sheldon!"

"There! Get him! Get him!"

"Raj! Behind you!"

"To the left! Your other left!"

"Eat death!"

"Now!"

Raj squeaked!

"Penny! Penny! Penny!"

Penny shrieked as a grenade bomb exploded on the screen and she lurched forward on the couch, perched on the very edge. "Damnit! He's on my ass!"

Raj snickered as another bomb went off.

The insults and smack talk continued to fly, the heated game progressing. Remnants of pizza sat in the middle of the coffee table with bottles of water and two cans of Mountain Dew scattered around them. Sheldon was no longer sitting next to her, instead standing beside her as if he was trying to tower and protect her from Raj and Leonard to his left. Of course, she could have been projecting as Sheldon had been a touch more protective in the game than usual. While he was never one to leave a teammate behind or allow defeat if he could stop it, he'd died once when trying to save her. And then a second time.

The second time she blamed him for, though, as she had been too distracted to save herself. Sheldon had picked the worst time to whisper to her, a sneak attack plan, and the following few minutes all Penny had been able to think about was that (a) his lips had ever so lightly brushed her ear, (b) his breath was far too warm and did all sorts of tingling things to her skin, and (c) how her stomach had knotted at the whispered tone. It was not the first time he had ever whispered to her, but Penny was damn sure his lips had never touched her ear before. Not that she gave it any further thought after that, her life restored and she back into the game before her mind could wander further.

An hour later the game came to a close – Penny and Sheldon victorious.

"Ah! Another satisfying win. Penny, you played remarkably well tonight. I believe that qualifies for two pairs of shoes."

Oh, damnit. She couldn't help herself from sweetly smiling, the smallest hint of a blush dotting her cheeks and her eyes demurely turning down for a moment. It was the same reaction she had whenever he openly complimented her without also managing to unintentionally insult her.

Leonard's brows drew together and he shook his head. "Okay. I'm going to take Raj home before this gets any weirder. Sheldon's being nice, Penny has a spot and two new pairs of shoes..." He paused as Raj leaned over, whispered quickly into his ear. "Peep toe? What is a peep toe and why do I even care?"

A soft laugh bubbled up from Penny before she pressed her lips together, sank back into the couch. "Yes, Raj, I like peep toes, too."

Her deduction was rewarded with a smile from the astrophysicist, one that grew as she smiled back to him. In the morning she would send him a text and see if he wanted to come shoe shopping with her on Dr. Whack-a-doodle's dime. While the man really needed to lay off the sweater vests – there wasn't a decent one he owned – he had an uncanny affinity for women's clothing and style. And chick flicks. While Penny would never admit it, there were times she preferred Raj's company for movies and quasi girl talk over Bernadette and Amy. (Especially Amy. There was only so much talk about penis envy she could handle, even if her ego always did a significant boost every time they saw each other!)

"Oh, whatever. They're just shoes. Come on, Raj."

As he spoke Leonard was already moving to the door, his keys grabbed from the bowl, his brows still knitted; it was his typical "there's something weird going on that I don't know about" expression and it had Penny grinning as she waved good night to Raj. Looking over at Sheldon, seated once more beside her, the smile slipped... and then warmed.

"I should probably get going, too. Thanks for the pizza and future shoes."

She nearly lost her breath the way he looked at her right then. It was a look she hadn't seen before; his eyes were brightened and yet warm at the same time, like he was looking at her fondly. Very fondly. A shiver went down her spine and she forced herself to stand and to ignore it. Yeah, she definitely needed to take a small break from the guys or the next thing she knew she was going to be –

"Penny, are you free tomorrow night?"

Penny's hand froze on the door knob as she half turned, glanced back at him over her shoulder. He was rising up from the couch and her chin had to tilt a little just so that their eyes didn't lose connection. Tomorrow was the third Thursday of the month or otherwise known as, "Anything Can Happen Thursday." For Sheldon, if alone, that meant an extra night at the comic store and pizza, but this was probably him asking for a ride somewhere. For her... she knew she had nothing planned and it was right there on the tip of her tongue to say so. Her lips even parted with the words, yet she found them stuck, hindered by her own thoughts. Hadn't she just told herself she needed some time and space? For very good reasons.

"Actually I have a, um, date." Briefly her eyes turned away as she mentally slapped herself. Not only had she just lied to him, but made up a date? Now she was going to have to figure out something to do tomorrow to get her out of the apartment for a few hours. She looked back just as Sheldon released an unsteady breath. Her lips quirked, but she said nothing. He was going to have to find someone else to drive him around, as appealing as the extra time with him really, really, really was.

She sighed at the three reallys in her mind.

"Oh, I see," he murmured, hands clasping in front of him. "Very well then. I shall bid you good night."

"Night, Sheldon."

Penny didn't let herself hesitate another moment – she wouldn't be able to – before slipping out of the apartment. She nearly ran the short way to her own and didn't let out a breath of relief until she was safely back inside, the door locked. She was going to have to find a way to get her control back around him. Sheldon – and the boys – were an important part of her life. Once she had already faced the possible reality of not having him – them, her mind stressed – in her life, when her and Raj's night of "nothing happened" threatened to destroy the group. That possible reality had been far more difficult to deal with than she'd let on, and now... now she couldn't even consider the thought.

Her unaccepted feelings (she could hear Sheldon in her head saying just that phrase) for him were hers to deal with and they weren't going to ruin things, not if she could help it.


Ten seconds after the apartment door closed behind her Sheldon tore his eyes away and flew over to his desk, the laptop stirred to life. A few moments later the Skype ring played and his screen became filled with the familiar image of a young woman with long brown hair left loose and straight, glasses perched on the bridge of her nose. Behind her came a puff of cigarette smoke that had a brief quizzical expression on Sheldon's face before it was gone and he was focused on the matter at hand, features calm despite the quickened state of his heart. A date? Why was this the first he'd heard of such?

"Amy. There's a problem."