A/N - Just a short little piece inspired by a really cute Leonard and Penny photo which turned into a head cannon of him giving her a piggyback over on FanForum. Thanks Brit for the head cannon and CBS for the utter cuteness of the photo! Hope you all enjoy this cuteness on a Friday :)
"Leonard!" Penny squealed amidst her giggles, gripping tightly onto his shoulders. After she had hugged him from behind on the couch, both of them feeling particularly affectionate that afternoon after a lazy morning watching movies in bed, he had suddenly gripped her thighs and stood up, causing her to cling on and wrap her legs around his waist - resulting in a spontaneous piggyback.
"What?" Leonard asked, as though he didn't have a person on his back. He moved away from the couch so there was more space for movement, hitching Penny up slightly to make her easier to carry.
Damn, I forgot how strong he actually is, Penny thought as she felt his arm and shoulder muscles working. "You'll hurt your back."
"I'm a physicist, Penny," Leonard reminded her, squeezing her thigh gently, "I know the optimal way to carry things with least risk to injury - not that I employ these methods all the time. Besides, I've lifted things way heavier than you."
"Yeah?" Penny rested her chin atop his head, quite enjoying her position and the knowledge that he was supporting her weight without complaint. She scrunched her nose as his messy curls tickled her face slightly.
"You've seen the size of the stuff in my lab. You think I have minions to move it around for me?"
"Minions are little, Leonard. They wouldn't be able to move that stuff anyway unless there was an army of them." Penny pointed out.
"True. But you know what I mean." Leonard said, twisting slightly from side to side.
Enjoying the movement, Penny smiled. "You really are the muscle of the group. Even if it is by default."
"Huh?"
"Remember, you explained to me ages ago that Sheldon assigned you these things."
"Oh, yeah." Leonard smirked. "Well then I guess I'd better put the muscle to use!" He announced, before quickly stopping his twisting. Instead, he began to spin them in a fast circle in the space between her front door and bedroom door.
Once more, Penny burst into a fit of giggles, squealing occasionally as she gripped on even tighter, wrapping her arms around his neck and her hands onto his t-shirt. "Leonard!" She continued laughing, enjoying this sudden burst of playfulness.
"Damn," Leonard slowed down suddenly until he came to a stop, panting slightly.
"What?" Penny asked, immediately concerned. "Do you need your inhaler? Did you pull a muscle?"
"Both." Leonard admitted, making it over to the bedroom, where she slid off his back and onto the bed.
"Here," Penny leaned over to the nightstand to grab his inhaler and hand it to him. He sat down beside her and took two puffs, using the other hand to clutch his arm. Guessing that that was the pulled muscle, she swatted his hand away and began to massage it gently. "You okay?"
"Yeah," Leonard nodded, putting his inhaler down beside him on the bed. "It's not so bad. I think I just got a bit carried away with the running around in a circle. Bit dizzy."
"Aww, sweetie," Penny pouted, kissing his cheek. "Now you're the Pulled Muscle of the group."
Raising a brow, Leonard cocked his head to the side. "Funny. That's what I said when Sheldon assigned us those roles."
Flopping back down on the bed, Penny bit her lip. She had been planning on saving the news until their dinner date that evening, but now seemed a good a time as ever. Plus his inhaler was right beside him. He'd surprised her with that piggyback, now it was her go. "You're going to have to get them muscles into proper shape now that I'm pregnant."
Leonard turned to look at, his expression blank. "I'm sorry. What did you say?"
"I'm pregnant." Penny repeated. "So you'll need to get those muscles into shape."
Nodding to himself, Leonard furrowed his brow. "You're pregnant."
"Yes. And from the onset, you are banned from trying to name it after some stupid character from Star Wars or whatever."
"And you're just... casually telling me this?"
"I was going to tell you tonight, but... now I'm kinda glad I chose not to, considering how surprised you are right now. You'd probably have burst into tears at the restaurant."
"Hey, I only cry sometimes!" Leonard defended himself. This seemed to pull him back into a sense of reality. "You're really pregnant?"
"Very much so. I even called your work and made sure they give you a day off for the first scan in a couple weeks time."
"That's very organized of you."
"Seriously? I don't even get a congratulations, not even a hug, just 'you're organized?' - come on, Leonard, I was expecting some kind of freak out at least!" Penny joked.
"I'm just... didn't expect this."
Penny grabbed his arm, pulling him to lie down beside her. She placed his hand over her stomach, turning her head to him. Her voice was soft as she said, "we're having a baby, Leonard."
Finally, it sunk in properly for Leonard, and he smiled as he turned his head to look at her. Their lips met and they kissed softly for a moment, before he pulled away with a smug grin. "Our baby will be smart and beautiful."
All Penny could do with smile. She had hoped he'd be the one crying, but she could feel tears forming in her own eyes. What she had once feared most in her life was suddenly the most wonderful moment of her life - tied of course with her engagement and wedding. Three best moments, three Hofstadter family members. "It will be. And it'll want plenty of piggy backs from Daddy, and you'll be carrying around a super heavy Penny, so seriously, get working on those muscles. Daddy." She smirked playfully at him.
Rolling onto his side, he moved his hand to her hip to roll her onto her side to. Their noses touched as he looked into her eyes. "I can think of a way to get started on that." He told her, before their lips met.
Penny had no objections to this form of exercise whatsoever.
