"That was delicious. Again, thank you, Penny."
"After last night I figured it was worth risking asking for another special cheesecake." Penny smiled over her glass of wine. It had been a slight rush to collect it after her class had finished, get ready and be on time for their dinner date, but it was worth it.
"Good call." Leonard gave a half-chuckle, still slightly embarrassed. "Did you want another slice?"
"No, I'm all done." Penny clarified, putting down her wine glass beside her empty dessert plate. She had very specific plans for what was going to happen next. "You?"
"Yeah, I'm finished."
"Good."
Without warning, she had closed the distance between them on his couch and her lips were on his. Her hands were squeezing his arms before he could even comprehend how quickly this was happening. He wondered if you were supposed to wait an hour after eating to have sex. Or was that just for swimming? Oh well, Penny was the scientist, if she was okay with this then he certainly was.
"I would have eaten so much faster if I knew this was happening next." Leonard giggled as they pulled apart for air.
"Uh-huh." Penny agreed breathily, her hands fumbling to undo the buttons of his shirt.
I've gone to heaven, Leonard thought as she attacked him with fresh kisses. "This is so exciting!" Things were actually working out for them this evening.
"It's just us in the apartment, right?" Penny asked between kisses.
"Yeah. Sheldon is-"
"I don't care where he is." Penny mumbled. "Do we have time before he gets back?"
Leonard frowned as he pulled back slightly. "Probably not. He has a personal curfew. He'll be back soon." He gave her a long, hard kiss before taking her hands and pulling her up with him. "Your place?"
"Hell yeah."
Tilting her head to the side, Bernadette smirked. "How was it?"
"How was what?" Penny asked, looking up from her work.
"The sex. How was it?"
"What - how did - how do you know?"
"I've never seen someone work out an equation like that so quickly and you haven't been this relaxed since the day before you began attempting to flirt with Leonard. You literally have a permanent smile on your face." Bernadette grinned, giggling when Penny blushed. "So how was it?"
"It was..." Penny bit her lip, looking around the cafeteria before leaning in slightly. "Kinda awkward."
"What do you mean?"
"Well... we've both been waiting for this for a really long time."
"So?"
"So we were both really, you know-"
"Horny?" Bernadette asked gleefully, a little too loud for Penny's liking.
"Shh!" Penny slapped Bernadette's hand. "I'm trying to have this discussion with you, not the entire cafeteria!"
"Sorry, sorry." Bernadette giggled. "Continue."
"It was just... quick. I was done. Then he was done. And that was it."
"Oh. Yikes."
"And then we were lying there and it was just... so awkward. I mean, it wasn't bad, but it was just... quick. And quick is kinda... embarrassing, and not what you want. And awkward."
"You've been friends for a while, it's bound to be at least a little awkward at first."
"I was very aware that we had been waiting for this to happen and exactly how long we've waited - since we met, since we started dating, since we first kissed..."
"There you have it then. Was is bad awkward?"
"No! I mean, I got what I wanted. That was pretty great. I feel refreshed. Even awkward sex is better than... well, none. I mean, do you know how long I waited for this? But it was just. So. Awkward."
"So how was your date last night with Penny?" Howard asked Leonard as they sat down for their lunch.
"It was good." Leonard nodded, with a small reminiscent smile. "We had dinner and cheesecake. Then we had sex. How was dinner with Amy, Sheldon?"
"Wait, wait, what?" Howard held up a hand.
"You heard what you heard." Leonard raised a smug brow. No way was he going to let them know how awkward it had been and how nervous he had felt around her this morning; he was going to bask in all the glory he could get. This kind of glory came rarely enough as it was, he refused to allow his friends to diminish it for him.
"Yes. Unfortunately, I heard on my way back to the apartment." Sheldon shuddered uncomfortably.
"So you actually took Amy out to dinner? No way, dude!" Raj grinned excitedly.
"I had no choice. Leonard was inviting Penny over and was anticipating coitus. I didn't want to be in the apartment for that. He also told me he'd put a dirty sock in my room while I slept if I was there." Sheldon sighed, shaking his head in disappointment. "Outsmarted by Leonard, of all people."
"Did you enjoy yourself?" Raj asked.
"Actually, I did. We had a wonderful meal that didn't disrupt my eating schedule - other than location and seat - and the conversation was pleasantly intellectual and fascinating."
"So really you should be thanking Leonard." Howard pointed out.
"Why would I thank him?"
"Because if he hadn't asked you to leave the apartment you wouldn't have asked Amy if she wanted to go for an impromptu dinner." Howard explained, refraining from adding 'date' onto the end of his sentence. "And saved you from listening to his coital activities."
"I just adjusted my dinner to accommodate the circumstances." Sheldon shrugged. "And I can't eat in a restaurant on my own. What if someone touches my food while I go to the bathroom?"
"You could have asked us." Raj pointed out with a teasing grin.
Sheldon responded with a glare; he hated his friends being right.
"Oh hey, Amy!" Penny grinned as she saw Amy pause to look around the cafeteria, trying to decide where to sit. "Come join us."
"Really? Can I?" Amy asked nervously, clutching her lunch tray protectively as though it and the opportunity to sit with someone were about to be taken away from her.
"Sure." Bernadette smiled politely, patting the seat beside her.
Settling down beside Bernadette, Amy looked around the cafeteria. "Why aren't you sitting with the guys? I was under the impression that Penny was dating Leonard and Bernadette, Howard."
"We can't gossip about the guys in front of the guys." Penny explained, stabbing a piece of chicken onto her fork.
"What gossip?" Amy tilted her head. "Why would you gossip about your boyfriends?"
"Not that kind of gossip. Just... girl talk stuff." Penny clarified, clearing her throat and giving Bernadette a knowing glance.
"Like what?"
"Penny had awkward sex with Leonard last night."
"Bernadette!" Penny kicked her friend beneath the table.
"What? She asked!"
"Fine. Bernadette slept with Howard and he was wearing super tight Batman boxer shorts and apologized for forgetting to change them to match his shirt."
"Hey!"
"What? She asked." Penny folded her arms. "So what's your gossip?"
"Uh..." Amy blinked, not quite sure how to respond to either of those things. "Well, I had dinner with Sheldon last night."
"Hold up - you went out for dinner with Sheldon?" Penny pressed her palms flat into the table, eyes wide with shock.
"Yes."
"Like a date?"
"It wasn't a date. Just dinner."
"That's where he was?" Penny sat back and then let out a small laugh. "Good move, Sheldon Cooper, good move. I'm impressed."
"What does that mean?" Amy frowned curiously.
"I just didn't think he'd ever have the balls to do that. Congratulations."
"Oh, I see. Apologies - my 'girl talk' and 'gossip' vocabulary is fairly limited."
"Not a problem. We'll have you fluent in no time!" Bernadette grinned.
Nervously, Penny knocked on the door of Amy's office. She waited until she was invited to come in before stepping inside and giving her a smile. "Hey, Amy."
"Hello, Penny. How can I help you?" Amy looked up from her laptop. "Did you want to engage in more girl-talk-slash-gossip?"
"Uh, no, actually. Something more serious this time. Can I sit?"
"Of course." Amy gestured to the chair at her desk.
"Okay, thanks." Penny sat herself down, placing her purse on her lap. "So, I'm working on this paper and I know you're really busy and everything but I was hoping you would be able to go through my notes and ideas so far? I feel pretty confident with the experiment I'll have to do but I'm not sure the theory is totally... there."
"Could I take a look?" Amy asked when Penny didn't continue further.
"Oh, right! Sure." Penny quickly fumbled to open her purse and extract the file with the work she was doing for the paper and handed it over to Amy. "It's all in here - the experiment proposal, the objectives, and the plan for the paper and an outline of the thesis."
Amy quickly leafed through what was in the folder, scanning her writing and the work she'd done so far. "Great. I'll take a proper look at it tonight and get back to you tomorrow."
"Thank you so much. I really appreciate it."
"No problem."
"I'll leave you to your work," Penny said as she got up, "again, thanks - I just really need someone to have a look at the theory and you're the best one here. I'll see you tomorrow."
Hesitating, Amy watched Penny getting up and heading toward the door before making her decision. "Penny, can I ask you a question?"
"About my work?"
"No. About... Sheldon. You know, girl-talk-slash-gossip style."
"Oh." Penny stopped in her tracks, turning around. "Sure, sure. Though I have to say I don't really know that much about him." She explained as she sat down.
"I just wanted to know... is he - does he ever, I don't know, talk about me? Am I just getting my hopes up?" Amy asked, deciding to get straight to the point. "I am a very busy person, as you know. Before Sheldon I had very little interest in relationships, given my abysmal track record with them. Although my relationship with Sheldon is primarily academic, I can't help but feel like perhaps there's something more."
"Aww, Amy!"
"It's ridiculous, I know."
"It's not ridiculous!"
"It feels like it is." Amy sighed.
"Believe me, it's not. Sometimes we convince ourselves that we're better off alone until we meet someone who proves otherwise. I mean, I thought I was totally over falling for guys and that I wanted to take a break from this whole dating thing and then I met Leonard and that changed very quickly." Penny shrugged, giving Amy a small smile. "But yes, Sheldon does talk about you. Not things most guys would say about a girl, but it's Sheldon - he talks about you in his strange way. And he's very protective about it; he'd try to explode my brain if he found out I was telling you all of this."
"I'm not very good at this. Friends, boyfriends, relationships - I've always operated alone. Somehow this is all happening all of a sudden and it's very confusing for someone like me." Amy admitted. "Especially relationships."
"Believe me - I'm not as good as I thought I was either." Penny laughed. "It's terrifying actually liking someone. And... it took me a long time to actually tell Leonard that I liked him. I just didn't know what to do. It still scares me, feeling like this; it's like new territory for me. So trust me, Amy, you're not alone here. Just because you navigate it differently and you don't have the same experience, doesn't mean you're the only one in the world who thinks like that and keeps hoping for something more. Sheldon too operates alone - it's a huge step that he asked you to work on the project with him, and an even bigger one that you went to dinner together, even if it's just 'dinner as friends'. I think you have every reason to think there's something more there."
Leonard woke up momentarily confused, but the music coming from the kitchen told him exactly where Penny was and re-aligned his mind to the events of the night before as he sat up in his bed.
He had forced himself to go over to Penny's apartment after confiding in Sheldon and being convinced that the only way to solve the problem was to talk to her instead of avoiding her - but not after promising Sheldon that if they did "succumb to coitus" that they would stay at her apartment. Talking to Penny had gone much better than planned; they had agreed that perhaps they just needed time to adjust and if that didn't work, maybe they were better off just being friends.
And then they had the most amazing sex he'd ever had. The moment they'd made that agreement was the very moment they'd realized that was the exact opposite of what they had wanted, and their lips had crashed urgently, neither of them knowing who exactly had initiated it.
They ended up in Penny's bed, which broke. They moved over to his place, forgetting his promise to Sheldon - even forgetting he was there, considering how loud Penny had been. They'd fallen asleep satisfied and definitely more than just friends.
Which landed him to where he was now. Smiling to himself, he swung out of bed and scrambled around for a while trying to find his pajamas before remembering they were still somewhere in Penny's bedroom. Instead he put on a fresh white t-shirt and boxers before picking his robe up from the floor and putting in on and heading out to the kitchen, meeting an unimpressed Sheldon and very perky Penny.
The music he'd heard earlier had stopped. He noticed Penny was making French Toast - he loved French Toast, and it wasn't even French Toast day! - and Sheldon was, obviously, kicking up a fuss about all the disruptions she was apparently causing. Leonard didn't even care that Sheldon told him off for the noise he and Penny made the night before, rendering Sheldon unable to sleep properly. Instead, he proudly explained that Penny's bed had broken, so they had to go back to 4A to continue.
"You're a homunculus, Leonard, and Penny is no giant - I see no reason for the bed to have broken." Sheldon frowned disapprovingly.
Grinning, Penny put an arm around Leonard. "Aww, my little homunculus."
"I told you not to call me that." Leonard sighed, looking down at the French Toast on his plate.
"Sorry sweetie." Penny smiled, giving him a quick peck on the cheek before turning to address Sheldon. "Why don't you do the math, Sheldon - I'm sure it's at a level even an astrophysicist can understand." Penny smirked at Sheldon's dropped jaw and eye twitch in reaction to her comment about her job. She knew that would make him tick. "The motion and friction caused by coitus on a bed made of-"
"Penny!" Leonard nudged Penny in the side, eyes going wide.
"Please don't continue." Sheldon said, his face pale.
"Well, at least you get it now." Penny shrugged.
"Not only did you disturb my sleep, but you woke me up early with this terrible music, ruin my morning with your... coitus talk, and the worst part is you made French Toast on Oatmeal day!"
Rolling her eyes, Penny dropped her arm from around Leonard and picked up her plate and a bottle of syrup. "Whatever, you're impossible." Shaking her head, she made her way back to Leonard's room.
"Really, Leonard? You find attractive a woman who uses the word 'impossible' when she actually means 'improbable'?"
"Yes." Leonard said simply, giving a small shrug before grabbing a plate and the sugar tin before making his way back to the bedroom.
"Penny... I'm not sure I want to ask you this, but as a friend I feel obliged. Did you know you have something on your chest? And... what is it?" Bernadette asked as they sat down in the cafeteria for a morning coffee before the day began and Penny removed her jacket.
"What?" Penny looked down with a frown to find whatever it was offending Bernadette, bursting into a grin as she located it. "Oh! That's just some syrup."
"Messy eater?" Amy asked sympathetically.
"No, just a really fun morning in bed involving Leonard, French Toast, syrup and sugar." Penny shrugged, blushing slightly but her grin wide.
Bernadette giggled as she watched Penny smugly stir in her sugar. "So I'm guessing the awkward part is over, huh?"
"Yup."
"I'm sorry, is this the awkward sex you were talking about yesterday?" Amy raised a brow.
"No longer awkward." Penny confirmed. "But yes."
"Okay." Amy nodded. "Would you like a napkin to clean it off?"
"I don't think a napkin is how she intended for it to be cleaned off." Bernadette laughed.
"A napkin would be great." Penny nodded, taking the one Amy was offering her. "Thank you."
"You're welcome." Amy smiled. "I have to say, when you invited me to coffee I didn't think it would be particularly interesting, but I was wrong."
"Why wouldn't it be interesting?"
"Oh, it's nothing against either of you - I just felt perhaps conversation so early on in the day would be rather redundant, given that there is normally not much to talk about of the day yet."
"We don't just talk about the current day." Penny explained. "It's not like, a rule. We can talk about ten years ago if we really want to."
"It's just that usually when I overhear morning conversations, people only ever talk about what they did that morning. Sometimes the night before, now I come to think of it." Amy looked at Penny and Bernadette nervously. "Forgive me; I'm not accustomed to these social situations. I don't normally get invited to talk to people in the morning."
"Don't worry, I didn't either before I met Penny." Bernadette smiled kindly at Amy over her coffee. "When I started at the Cheesecake Factory I used to think she was weird for telling me about something that happened the week before. I thought it was because it was the morning and she hadn't had coffee so her mind wasn't in the right place yet."
"To be fair, that's still a viable excuse." Penny laughed. "Well how about we make this a thing then, Amy. Coffee before the academic day begins."