A/N - This is a belated birthday gift for the wonderful Molly! Popped into my mind while listening to this song on a road trip. I felt as its the final ever taping night of Big Bang Theory, it was a good day to finally get round to uploading it. Can't believe it's the final taping... here is something happy in the meanwhile :) This is set way back ten years ago in Season 2.

A backless dress and some beat up sneaks

My discotheque Juliet teenage dream

I felt it in my chest as she looked at me

I knew we were bound to be together

Bound to be together

She took my arm, I don't know how it happened

We took the floor and she said:

Oh don't you dare look back, just keep your eyes on me

I said you're holding back,

She said shut up and dance with me

Shut Up and Dance - WALK THE MOON

"Hey! You came!" Penny grinned as she broke away from her conversation with her friends to greet Leonard by the punch bowl.

"I did," Leonard smiled, "I've just been hanging out by the punch bowl since we got here. People are quick to fill up so... less awkward small talk."

"We? Who did you bring?"

Slightly grimacing, Leonard replied almost apologetically, "Howard."

"Ugh, Leonard, you know usually when I say you can bring one of the guys I mean not Howard or Sheldon."

"So... just Raj?"

"He can't talk to girls, so he can't piss them off," Penny pointed out, "and besides, it worked for him before. Girls love a guy who listens. Ah... poor Cheryl. She'll be so disappointed."

With a small shrug, Penny scanned the crowd in her apartment to see where Cheryl had got to. She had confided in Cheryl that she was hoping Leonard would come to her party, and in turn Cheryl had shared that she hoped Raj would be there again. Oh well, Penny thought, her loss.

"I would have preferred to bring Raj to be honest, but he's got the telescope tonight," Leonard sighed as he saw two girls turn away from Howard with a frown at each other. "Would you like some more punch?"

"Ooh, yes please," Penny held her cup out for him to refill. She smiled at his outfit, which she knew he'd probably spent a good few minutes stressing over. He was wearing the jeans she'd convinced him to buy when they had gone suit shopping a while back, with a blue t-shirt and a shirt over the top instead of a hoodie. It was a good look on him, she thought. It showed off his arms more, and Leonard had surprisingly attractive arms. She cleared her throat when he finished with her cup and took a sip. "Mm, thank you."

"It's good punch," Leonard nodded appreciatively. "This is already my third cup."

"Then you should probably slow down a little!" Penny giggled, instinctively grabbing his arm slightly.

"Oh yeah? How many have you had?"

Squinting and putting a finger to her chin in mock deep thought, Penny hummed. "I think this is my fourth."

"Only?"

"Well, I have to work tomorrow morning - and sometimes its fun to watch people being drunker than you."

"Then why on earth would you throw a party if you have work the next morning?"

Scrunching her face as she looked down at her cup, Penny shrugged shyly. "I was only meant to be working in the afternoon. But a morning shift came up and I really need the money so... I took it."

Nodding, Leonard let Penny take a long sip of her drink. He knew she didn't really enjoy talking about money and her lack of it. As he looked awkwardly down at his shoes, his face broke into a grin as he spotted Penny's choice of footwear for the evening: her rarely worn scruffy pink Converse sneakers. "No flip flops this time?"

"Nah, my feet get so sticky at parties when I wear flip flops," Penny explained, grateful for the change in topic. "It doesn't really go with my outfit-" Penny did a slightly flirtatious slow twirl in her black dress, allowing Leonard to take in the flow of the skirt and the backless design, "-but I definitely wasn't going to bother with heels tonight."

"No, no, it looks great," Leonard's eyes suddenly went wide as he blushed. "Umm, I mean, it looks fine. I like the mix of party dress and old sneakers. Plus, err, I like Converse."

"Yes, they're very comfortable."

Penny mentally face palmed herself. She was not a nervous flirter... usually. Apparently even four cups of punch couldn't quite fix that weird fluttery feeling she got around Leonard sometimes. He probably thought he was the one who had made it awkward. She certainly made it seem that way some of the time.

Looking up, Penny gave Leonard a smile, hoping to repair the situation somewhat. She wasn't really sure what to say next, which meant Leonard probably didn't either. The smile he gave back was laced with amusement, almost like if he'd had a bit more confidence he would have made fun of her for her strange comment. She raised a brow slightly, daring him to voice his mocking. He tapped his feet slightly in his usual black Converse, and she shook her head ever so slightly as his smile burst into a wide grin.

But she wasn't wrong - sneakers, especially her worn in Converse, were very comfortable. Especially for dancing... and they were at a party. It was that point in the night when people had had a few drinks but weren't tired yet so were happily dancing in between conversations.

Acting on instinct, Penny grabbed Leonard's cup of punch and set it down with hers on the side before grabbing his arm and pulling him toward the small dancing crowd where her dining table usually was. Before he could protest and before she could really think about it, she put her hands on his shoulders and started dancing.

Eyes wide and body not moving, Leonard stammered, "Penny - you know I don't dance."

"Sure you do! It's what you're about to do right now!"

"No, you don't understand... I can't dance. In front of people."

"Oh come on, please?"

"But-"

"Come on! I've seen you dance!"

"When?"

"We've played that Dance game on your Wii!"

"Oh. Yeah. But that's different!"

"How?"

"I don't know. I just-"

Penny rolled her eyes and giggled. "Leonard, would you just shut up and dance with me?"

"I - okay. But I've never really danced with a girl... at a party."

"It's easy. You just... dance. Hey - stop looking to see if anyone is watching you!"

"Sorry."

"Just... focus on dancing. You can copy me, if you want."

That seemed like a good idea, Leonard decided. He wished Penny hadn't taken away his cup though - he could do with the extra alcohol. Although if they were dancing together, then maybe he didn't want the extra alcohol so he could remember this moment. He hadn't seen Howard dancing with a girl.

Impressed with himself, Leonard loosened up slightly just as the song changed over to something faster.

"See! Isn't this fun?" Penny grinned at him, yelling slightly over the music, which someone had now turned up. Thank God she'd warned the apartments above and below her that it might be noisy.

"It's not too bad," Leonard admitted, leaning slightly closer so she could hear him properly.

Although he didn't know the lyrics, Leonard grinned and bobbed along as Penny sang out loud to the song. When they reached the chorus, Penny and pretty much everyone around them started jumping up and down, one hand in the air. After watching the first few jumps, Leonard then decided to join in, his hand half raised.

"You've gotta put it all the way up!" Penny bounced a step closer to him as she shouted, taking his hand and holding it up fully in the air.

Despite feeling slightly stupid, having never danced like this before, Leonard found the experience quite fun. Just jumping up and down for no other reason than enjoying a song and dancing to it, with everybody else in the room doing the same thing. Sharing the same moment, the same experience, the same freedom. For the first time in his life, Leonard felt like he was part of the crowd and not just watching from the sidelines.

Hands still held together in the air, Penny took a tiny step closer and for a moment simply grinned at him before closing the distance between them and kissing Leonard. Taken by surprise, it took him a few seconds before he kissed her back. The kiss ended before the chorus was over and their hands were back down, but it was the longest kiss they'd shared, and definitely the most intense.

Passionate, almost, Leonard thought.

When Leonard gave Penny a questioning look, Penny simply smiled in response. There was that shy expression that flitted across her face again, before Penny remembered she wasn't here to be shy about her actions. People kissed at parties. She and Leonard had kissed before. It didn't have to mean anything, but if it did, then great. Right now, they were just two people enjoying themselves.

They continued dancing throughout the night, neither of them mentioning the kiss - mostly out of nerves - but choosing to simply enjoy themselves instead. They decided to have one more drink each once they were too tired to dance, by which point a few people had already left. An hour later the last of Penny's guests stumbled their way out of the door, which Penny gladly closed behind the last person who had come close to throwing up in her kitchen sink.

"Ugh, I am so ready to sleep," Penny said, leaning against the door for a moment. "That was fun but I am exhausted."

"Well, that was quite some dancing you did," Leonard chuckled, starting to collect cups from around her apartment. "It was a really fun party though."

"Thanks! You don't need to bother cleaning up though, I'll deal with it tomorrow when I'm back from work. Ugh... work."

"It's okay, I don't mind," Leonard smiled. "Thank you for inviting me. I had a lot of fun."

Grabbing a fresh bin liner, Penny followed Leonard round so he could throw the cups in. "Thank you for coming - I know parties aren't your thing but... it's fun when you're here."

"Really?" Leonard couldn't help but laugh.

"Yeah!"

"Well... I'm glad you think so. I don't think I'm much fun at parties."

Smiling, Penny leaned in quickly and kissed Leonard on the cheek. "I think you're a lot of fun at parties. I think you've got all the cups, so don't worry, I've got the rest from here."

"Are you sure?" Leonard asked, slightly stunned by the kiss on the cheek.

"Yeah, I'm sure. I'll just get rid of the food and head to bed, and deal with the rest tomorrow night. I know Sheldon'll kill you if he hears you going to bed during his middle of the night pee."

Sighing, Leonard nodded. "You're right, he will kill me."

"I'll see you tomorrow, Leonard." Penny smiled, resisting the urge to hug him. She may not have had much to drink, and most of it had worn off, but she knew if he didn't leave then she'd end up with him staying the night. They'd talk for a while, and inevitably she'd kiss him again. Probably more, although Leonard might still have the sensibility to stop. God, it was frustrating liking someone so much and not knowing how to deal with it.

"Goodnight, Penny," Leonard awkwardly patted her arm before turning to open the door. "I hope work isn't too bad tomorrow."

"Feel free to swing by for some dinner, if you want," Penny leaned against her door frame. Preferably alone, about ten minutes before my break.

"I'll see if the guys are up for it. Huh, I wonder where Howard got to?"

"I think he left with Annie. She's pretty slutty."

"Guess I'll find out tomorrow," Leonard shrugged. "Sleep well."

"You too, Leonard."