Movies, Marathons, and Making Out

Leonard couldn't help but grin as he walked with Penny up the stairs of their building, listening to her chat endlessly away about nothing in particular as they returned home from their second date. They had kept it much more casual this time with a movie followed by a few drinks at a nearby bar and he was almost certain he hadn't stopped smiling all night. His cheeks even hurt a little. He had no idea how he had gotten this lucky.

The movie itself was probably the only part he didn't particularly enjoy. It was almost laughably predictable: boy meets girl, they fall head over heels in love until something catastrophic happens which leads to the couple breaking up but their time apart leads to a sudden epiphany and they both realise that they loved each other all along. The End. Happy ever after. Boring.

But what he most certainly did enjoy however, was watching that movie with Penny. She had insisted they take the back row, and at first he had no idea why because it definitely wasn't the optimal spot for viewing the movie in. It wasn't until about half way through, during a particularly heated scene, when Penny's hand found its way to his knee that he understood. He wasn't sure at first if it was a deliberate move or not, until she gave his thigh a soft squeeze and looked over at him. It was pitch black in that movie theatre but he was sure he saw a twinkle in her eye and lip between her teeth just before she leaned in and kissed him. This was why she wanted the back row. It might not be perfect for viewing but it was perfect for making out.

His first instinct had been to pull away. Not because he didn't enjoy it but because they were in a very public place and he never had been a big fan of public displays of affection. But then Penny held his face and slipped her tongue into his mouth and he realised he couldn't care less where they were or who might have been watching. The prettiest girl in that room was kissing him. Him! And he sure as hell wasn't going to stop her. It was quite a rush actually, knowing that any one of these people could see what they were doing but doing it anyway. It seems Penny was bringing out a more adventurous side to him.

The kissing only lasted a minute or two, and it was the only time during the movie it had happened, but it was enough for him to decide that this was the best movie experience he had ever had.

Once the movie was over Penny had suggested they go to a bar for a couple of drinks and much like her choice of movie, he wasn't quite into the idea. He had never really been a fan of bars. There was always too many people, guys getting drunk and throwing themselves around and women looking at him as if he didn't quite belong there; which he didn't. He never really felt comfortable in a bar but, again, much like the movie, it was much better with Penny's company.

The bar she had chosen was fairly quiet which he was happy about and the only funny looks he got were from guys that he assumed were wondering why a guy like him was out with a girl like Penny. He didn't mind those looks one bit. In fact he soaked it up with a slightly smug 'that's right, she's with me' attitude. It seemed like Penny was bringing out a more confident side to him that he hadn't known before too.

Through all of that and their short walk home they had barely stopped talking. Conversation came so easily to them which Leonard thought slightly odd since they had very little in common. They joked, teased, flirted and shared a hot but not over the top kiss goodnight; all the elements needed for a perfect date.

Their second perfect date.

"Well someone is looking rather pleased with herself!" Bernadette said, grinning as Penny walked into the Cheesecake Factory staff room. "And that's highly unusual when you're working the breakfast shift. I'm gonna take a wild guess that a certain experimental physicist has something to do with that uncharacteristic smile on your face!"

Penny shrugged off her jacket and replied with a coy, "Maybe. Or maybe I'm just really happy to be at work this Thursday morning."

Bernadette gave a scoffing laugh, "yeah, right. Sit down and tell me everything." She glanced at her watch, "We've got five minutes before our shift starts. Go."

And so Penny sat down at the small two-seater table and told her everything. From the awesome Jennifer Aniston movie she had dragged Leonard to - that had been made even more awesome by their back row make out session, to their time in the quiet bar where he made her laugh so hard she almost choked on her drink. She told her of their short walk home, hand in hand, before their goodnight at her doorway where he left her with a kiss.

"You don't even know how hard it was not to invite him in to the apartment for some 'coffee'."

"Why didn't you?"

"I honestly don't know… isn't sleeping with a guy on the second date a little… slutty?"

"Maybe," she shrugged, "but it's not like you and Leonard don't know each other. It might only be your second date but you've known each other for months now. That's not slutty."

"Yeah, true." But she still wasn't convinced, "I just… I wanna do this right, you know? I don't want to ruin it by jumping into bed too fast… But saying that, I don't know how much longer I can stop myself. I feel like a frickin' teenager again!" She laughed and Bernadette laughed with her. "I'm serious! He texted me the time that he was going to come and collect me yesterday and I got so excited that I shrieked a little bit. Like some thirteen year old girl waiting in line to see Justin Bieber! I even woke up with a smile on my face! I don't remember the last time I did that!"

Bernadette laughed for a few moments, enjoying her friends enthusiasm before saying, "wow, if this is how you act after a pretty good date and a kiss goodnight at your door, just imagine how you'll be when the two of you finally do have sex."

Penny raised her eyebrows and nodded, "I know right."

The door to the staff room opened and both girls turned to see their boss standing there, "Come on you two get to work! There's customers coming in already."

"Ugh." They said in unison once their boss had gone.

"Wanna go for lunch after this crappy shift is over?" Bernadette asked as they stood up and begun to tie their aprons around their waist.

"Yes!" Penny enthusiastically replied, "I'm gonna need an update on the latest happenings in the Bernadette/Howard relationship. Hopefully you've finally realised that you can do way better!"

Walking past Penny, Bernadette gave her arm a slap and started the walk to the dining room. "Stop it. He's actually very sweet. Now quit smiling like a loved up teenager and get to work!"

After a filling lunch with Bernadette, Penny returned home, still inwardly laughing at everything she had heard about the latest dinner date that Bernadette and Howard shared, accompanied this time by Howard's mother. Penny hadn't yet met Howard's mother, but she had heard plenty about her and that was enough to know that it wouldn't be a terrific experience for the little catholic girl having sex with her son. And from what she had found out during lunch, she was right. Penny had laughed along as Bernadette complained about how irritating her voice was, the way she treated Howard like he was a child and the way Howard seemed to both love and hate it.

It had been a nice lunch, and she certainly enjoyed listening to other people's drama for a change, especially now she was at a time in her life when she had very little drama at all.

Just as she was trying to figure out what it was that Bernadette actually saw in Howard that made her willing to put up with his mother, there was a knock on her door.

"Oh, hey, you!" Penny said, pleasantly surprised when she opened her door to see Leonard at the other side. She turned and nodded for him to follow, "Come on in. What's up?"

"Hey," Leonard followed her into the apartment and closed the door behind him. "I was just wondering if you had any bread?"

"Bread?"

"Yeah. I wanted to make a sandwich but it turns out Sheldon has been making Cylon toast all afternoon."

Penny screwed up her face as she sat down on her sofa, "Cylon toast?"

"Yeah it's-"

"Nevermind," Penny waved her hands out in front of her, "I don't think I wanna know. The bread is in the fridge, help yourself."

"Okay thanks! You know you really shouldn't keep bread in the fridge." Leonard pointed out as he made his way across the room.

"Yes I know, Sheldon already told me."

"Fair enough," Leonard chuckled as he took some bread from her fridge and closed it behind him, "So what are your plans for today?"

"Well, I plan on cleaning up the apartment a little and I should really go grocery shopping, buuut, there's a Keeping Up With The Kardashians marathon on today so I'll probably spend much of my evening right here watching that." She smiled up at him, "What about you?"

"The guys and I actually have a little marathon of our own planned tonight. Well, not just for tonight, we've split this one up into a few days since it's not the weekend and we actually have to go to work tomorrow."

"Oh yeah? Which is it this time? Star Wars? Star Trek? Lord of the Rings?"

"Nope, nope and nope. Harry Potter."

"Oh my god, really?"

Leonard was a little taken aback. Those were the words she usually said whenever he told her about something particularly nerdy he and the guys were doing, but he was used to hearing them with a scrunched up face and a 'you're really watching that?' type of tone, not this sparkling eyed, excited one that he was getting from her now.

"Um, yeah. Really."

"That's so cool!" She exclaimed, bouncing up on the couch a little.

He raised an eyebrow at her. Cool? He was pretty sure that was the first time she had ever described something he was doing as cool. Well, the first time she had done it without being sarcastic anyway. "It is?"

"Yeah! I love Harry Potter!"

"You do?" He was definitely expecting a Sheldon style 'Bazinga!' at any moment now.

Penny gave an enthusiastic nod and said, "Yeah! I read all the books when I was a kid. They were probably the only books I actually did read as a kid. I loved it! Me and my friend – well, I say my friend but she ended up sleeping with one of my boyfriends in high school so she's not really my friend anymore. Anyway, when the two of us were like, eleven, we queued outside a bookstore on release day for hours to get our copies of the book and then we went back to my house and made a little den out of the bunkbeds that me and my sister shared at the time and sat in there reading for like a half an hour before she had to go home. It was so good! That was the only time I did it though. When the next book came out I had decided I was too cool for standing outside in the cold waiting on a book but I still had that super excited moment after I got it where I would just sit and read quietly in my room. My mom loved it."

"Well this is a surprise!" Leonard said, surprised and amused by her excited little outburst. "You're quite the little nerd aren't you?"

"That's not nerdy!" Penny defended, "It's not like I collect Harry Potter stuff or anything like that. Although I do have a Gryffindor mug in the cupboard that I just couldn't resist buying."

"You queued outside a bookstore; you're a nerd."

"Okay fine," she sighed, "I guess I'm a little bit nerdy about it. Just a little bit. Don't expect me to join your Quidditch team though!"

Leonard laughed and nodded, "Okay. Well how would you like to indulge your little bit of nerdiness tonight and join us in our marathon?"

"I would absolutely love to!"

"Great! All the guys are coming over in about an hour and Sheldon has the first movie scheduled to start at exactly 5pm so make sure you're over before then." Leonard said as he walked to the door, "Oh, and if you're bringing snacks don't bring anything too noisy like potato chips or popcorn. Sheldon will just," he rolled his eyes, "well, you know."

"Got it. Don't be late and no noisy foods."

"Perfect, I guess I'll see you soon then!"

"Yup!"

Penny showed up at Leonard and Sheldon's apartment half an hour early. She had a hunch that Sheldon wouldn't be particularly happy about her joining them in their evening and figured it would be best to stay on his good side by showing up extra early with a packet of Red Vines in hand. Not only did they adhere to the 'no noisy foods' rule, but Sheldon loved them so that was bound to keep him quiet if he protested her presence.

She let herself into their apartment and greeted them with a chirpy "Hey guys!"

Sheldon was sitting on the sofa, eyes focused on the television and remote in hand. He looked briefly over at Penny and said "Oh, hello, Penny." Before looking back at the screen, continuing to set up the first movie for the night. "Sorry to disappoint you but you can't stay long. We are having a Harry Potter marathon tonight that's due to start in half an hour and I won't have your presence disrupting that schedule."

Penny rolled her eyes, "I'm not here to disrupt your schedule, Sheldon. I'm here to watch the movies."

Sheldon snapped his head back to face her, his eyebrows high. "And who, may I ask, authorised such a thing?"

"I did. Hey, Penny."

Penny grinned at Leonard as he walked down the hallway to the kitchen, her stomach doing that same little flip it often did these days whenever he smiled at her. "Hey."

"Oh of course." Sheldon sighed and shook his head. "I should have known it was you. Ever since you two decided to embark on this pre-mating ritual that you people call 'dating' you've been practically inseparable."

"Ever thought of joining us normal people and participating in this 'pre-mating ritual' yourself, Sheldon? Might loosen you up a little, y'know? Make you less tense and annoying."

Sheldon scoffed, "My time is far too precious to be spent with something as ludicrous as dating, Penny."

"Right." Penny nodded, "Probably couldn't get anyone to date you anyway." She added under her breath.

"I heard that."

Rolling her eyes, Penny threw her packet of Red Vines on the coffee table and headed to the kitchen to get a bottle of water while Sheldon went through of all the 'rules' she had to follow for the evening. She was beginning to wonder if she should have just stayed at home where she wouldn't have to deal with Sheldon and could have watched Keeping Up With The Kardashians in peace like she had planned. Though on the other hand she would have been alone and although that meant no Sheldon, it also meant no Leonard.

"Do you really need all stupid rules just for watching a movie?" Penny said as she sat down on Leonard's chair with a huff.

"First of all; yes, we do need all of these rules, and second of all; what are you doing? That's Leonard's chair."

"Yeah, so?"

"So, when we watch movies together Leonard always sits on that chair."

"Well then Leonard will just have to sit here with me then, won't he?"

"With you?" Sheldon asked, looking almost appalled at the suggestion.

"Yes, with me. You don't mind, do you Leonard?"

Both Penny and Sheldon turned to look at Leonard, who was preparing snacks for the evening in the kitchen. "Uh, no." He could definitely think of much worse ways to spend his evening than watching some of his favourite movies with Penny sitting that close to him. She'd be practically on his knee. The corners of his lips curled into a small smile and he blushed as his eye met Penny's. "No, I don't mind that at all."

A little while later Howard and Raj showed up, each of them just as surprised as Leonard had been that Penny actually wanted to join them, and at precisely 5pm Sheldon pressed play on the first of their movies.

For the majority of the first movie Leonard and Penny sat side-by-side, squashed together so much that one of Penny's legs had no choice but to rest on top of his. It wasn't the most comfortable position ever, but it wasn't bad either. Being this close to Leonard was never a bad thing. It actually felt quite good to be pushed up against him like this, though she often found herself wondering where to put her hands and she was pretty sure he felt the same way since he barely kept them still. It was quite cute, really. She had always been used to the type of guys that would use this kind of opportunity to put their arm around her or casually place one hand on her thigh, and although the change was sort of nice, she couldn't deny just how much she wanted him to put his hand there. It wasn't that far away, she thought as she noticed him clasp his hands in his lap. He would only have to move a few inches and his hand would be on her - where she wanted it to be, and where he probably wanted them to be too. But she knew Leonard enough to know that that was a move he wasn't going to make through fear of over stepping his boundaries. Yeah, it was cute, but slightly frustrating.

Penny, on the other hand, had never been shy about this type of thing so she figured if he wasn't going to make the move, then she had no choice but to. Turning her body into him, Penny lifted one of Leonard's arms, ducked her head under it and shifted her weight down the chair just enough for her to be able to rest her head between his shoulder and chest. She draped one arm over his stomach and smiled as he caught on to what she was doing and moved over a little to give her more space, and held her by the waist.

Once they were comfortable Penny titled her head up a little to look at him, holding his gaze for a second as she gave him a smile that he returned. He looked so adorable, and even a little smug. It was obviously quite impressive for him that he had a girl cuddling into him like this whilst his friends all sat alone, and if it hadn't been for those friends of his sitting just a few feet from them, she would have kissed him. Not that she particularly cared if they saw them, it was more the fact that Sheldon would undoubtedly have something to say about it and frankly she couldn't be bothered listening to him moan.

So instead she settled for nuzzling her head into his chest again and listened to his heart beat against his chest as she tried to focus back on the movie.

At first Leonard fully welcomed this change. It was definitely more comfortable and highly satisfying to have Penny cuddle into him like she was. But not too long later he began to find it difficult to keep his attention on the movie. How on earth was he supposed to focus on the adventures of Harry Potter while Penny drew lazy patterns on his t-shirt with her finger? Or while the sweet scent of her apple shampoo occasionally drifted up from her hair and left him very briefly mesmerized? How was he even supposed to remember there was a movie playing when she hooked her leg over his thigh, pushed her body against his and let out a quiet sound that was somewhere between a sigh and a moan?

Was she doing this on purpose? Was this some sort of teasing, flirty game that she was playing? Was he supposed to play this game back? Or was she simply getting herself comfortable and he was making more of every movement than was intended? Either way he was sure she knew the effect she was having on him because her head was resting on his chest and his heart was rapidly beating against it. There was no chance she didn't hear that.

Leonard was somewhere between relieved and disappointed when the first movie ended and they took a break before starting the next one. He felt like he needed some time to catch his breath and shake himself off, but before long they were back in the same positions, with Penny resting against him, enlightening all his scenes except one. He could see her beauty, he could feel her soft, teasing, almost torturing touch, he could smell her hair and even her perfume, he could hear her breathe and sigh and laugh – all sounds which made his heart skip a beat or two, but he couldn't taste her. If he kissed her he could, and God how he wanted to kiss her.

As the night drew on and the sunset outside, leaving the apartment with a nice warm, romantic glow, this feeling only heightened. If only they were alone and he could.

'The Chamber of Secrets' came to a close all too quickly and yet not quick enough. It was late; he was tired and had to be up early for work and yet as everyone got up and ready to leave, he found himself frantically thinking up ways that he could get them to stay a little longer. Well not all of them, just Penny.

Either some almighty power was working in his favour tonight, or Penny was just as keen to stick around longer as he was for her to, because as Raj and Howard said their tired goodbye's and Sheldon shuffled off to bed, Penny offered to stay and help clean up. He had told her there was no need, purely out of politeness since there wasn't really much that needed tidying, but luckily for him she had insisted.

All was quiet while they cleared the coffee table of empty sweet wrappers and drink cans. Every now and then they would steal quick looks in each other's direction, giving a smile and turning a shade of pink when they were caught. Penny tried to shake herself out of it, feeling slightly silly that every time she passed him in the kitchen she would hold her breath and hope that their bodies would touch, even briefly.

Obviously the way she had been sort-of teasing him earlier was still having an effect on them. It hadn't exactly been on purpose, she hadn't really noticed when her finger had started drawing patterns and only realised the half-moan-half-sigh she had made after she had made it. But at the same time, she had made no move to stop herself doing these things either. She knew that what she was doing was, for lack of a better term, turning him on. She heard his heart rate pick up and felt his grip on her waist tighten. Honestly, and accidentally, it had turned her on too. Far too often during those movies she found her thoughts turning to what she would have been doing to him had they been alone.

And now they were. She had made sure of that. She knew she couldn't just go home after all of that, not on her own anyway. But now that they were alone, she was surprised to find that she wasn't all too sure of what to do. This was a position she hadn't been in in so long that it suddenly felt very alien. Could she just go up and kiss him now as he stood washing dishes at the sink? She supposed she could, and the very pleasant view she was getting of his cute little tushy told her that she should. Picking up the last empty snack bowl from the coffee table, Penny made her way over to him, nerves creeping up within her the closer she got. She wished those would stop.

"Here's the last one," she said, her voice was a little ragged so she cleared her throat as she stood beside him and handed him the bowl.

"Thanks."

Penny picked up a dishtowel and started drying and putting away the dishes, all the while wondering why she still hadn't grabbed him and kissed him and why she was all of a sudden so anxious about the whole thing. She wasn't a teenager anymore; she had done all of this before she just had to start acting like it.

"So will you be joining us again tomorrow for the continuation of the Harry Potter franchise?"

"Definitely! As if I'd miss 'The Prisoner of Azkaban'! It's one of my favourites!"

"Great," Leonard chuckled as he put the last clean dish to the side and pulled off his rubber gloves, "I'm glad. It's still super weird seeing you so excited by this though." He gave her a cheeky grin, "You nerd."

"Shut up, you." Penny said, hitting him on the side with her towel.

"Hey!"

"What? Don't call me a nerd and you wont get hit!"

"But you are a nerd!" Penny hit him again and stuck her tongue out between her teeth, holding in a giggle as he said, "Stop it!"

She shook her head and held the towel behind her back with both hands, a playful yet seductively challenging look on her face as she locked eyes with him and said, "Make me."

Leonard grinned and stepped towards her with the intention of reaching around to grab the towel from her, but just as he was going to, Penny dropped it to the floor and threw her arms around his neck, crashing her lips on to his.

He was a little shocked at first, he had figured this was where all this playfulness was heading but he hadn't expected it to happen at that moment. Never the less, he took full advantage of it, kissing her back at the same time as he put his hands on her waist and walked her backwards until she was pressed against the kitchen counter.

The kiss very quickly became rather hot and heavy. No sooner had their lips met than their tongues were in each other's mouths, teeth were biting on lips and their hands were roaming each other's bodies. A gentle squeeze on Penny's ass was all it took to make her moan into his mouth and when she slid her hand up under his t-shirt and grazed the skin on his back with her nail, he gave the exact same, albeit slightly louder, moan. His kisses then found their way down her neck and he quickly found the sweet spot that brought out another moan, accompanied this time with a tug at his hair. God it felt good when her hands were in his hair. It felt good when her hands were anywhere on his body, actually. It was something he could get very used to.

When he finished working on her neck he moved his kisses back up to her mouth and Penny pushed against him, moving him backwards until it was him being pressed against the opposite counter. She broke contact with his lips as she pushed her hips hard into his, smiling and biting down on her lip at the sound of the low moan he gave.

Putting one hand in his hair again, Penny put her lips to his ear and whispered, "Is that a wand in your pocket, Hofstadter, or are you just happy to see me?"

Leonard couldn't help but chuckle while his face turned scarlet.

"How about we take this over to my place?" Penny's nose touched against his before she gave him another quick kiss.

"Why don't we just go to my room," he kissed her, "it's much closer."

"Mmhmm," Penny nodded, kissing him again, "But the things I plan on doing, I don't fancy doing with Sheldon and his Vulcan hearing in the next room."

"Right. Good point." He nodded, wondering what it was he had done in a previous life to make him so lucky right now. Or maybe this was just karma's way of repaying him for all the crap he suffered in his early years. Many years of being picked on, beaten up and called names were being repaid with this beautiful woman currently kissing her way down his neck while one of her hands grabbed hard onto his buttcheek.

"Okay, let's go to your place. Quickly."