Chapter 7: Costumes?

"Couples costumes are one of the few benefits of being in a relationship." -Sheldon

Knock, knock, knock "Penny."

Knock, knock, knock "Penny."

Knock, knock, knock "Penny."

The blond swung open the door, looking a right mess from just getting up out of her bed.

"Sheldon, it's like the middle of the night!" she complained, grabbing her forehead in what looked to be pain. Which she probably was, after how much alcohol he assumed she had consumed.

Sheldon blinked in confusion, still wearing his dark blue plaid bathrobe that he had donned upon waking up that morning. "It's six o'clock."

Groaning, Penny tried again, her hand falling hard onto her side to look at him in irritation. "What do you want Sheldon?"

"I have a bone to pick with you," he told her, crossing his arms over his chest - attempting to be intimidating. "You got Carly drunk as a skunk and changed her. She did all sorts of embarrassing things last night and it's all your fault."

Penny rolled her eyes at him. "It's only embarrassing to you because you're a weirdo."

Sheldon gaped, not liking her tone. "I take offense to that statement- and if you don't care about me then care about Carly. It's embarrassing to her. She ended up sleeping in my bed all night."

Penny didn't understand how that could be embarrassing. They were dating for crying out loud. Normally after a week of dating someone, she would have done more than sleep with them by then. "And that's a bad thing? If anything you should be thanking me. You finally got a girl in your bed."

Sheldon glowered down at the blond, voice going icy. "That's not the point, Penny. You know how uncomfortable that sort of thing makes me. I told you not to get her that drunk and you did it anyway."

Penny sighed, realizing he wasn't going to let this go and she wanted to go back to sleep. Bernadette was passed out on her couch, apparently sleeping through it all. She ran a hand through her hair. "Okay, look Sheldon. Carly is a grown woman. She can drink as much as she wants."

"She passed out! How is that okay?" Sheldon protested and Penny groaned again, unable to take any more. Her head was beginning to pound painfully, reminding her just how much they all had drunk.

"Goodbye Sheldon," she told him, shutting the door in his face.

oO0Oo

Carly slowly opened her eyes, feeling warm and content under blankets. Then she caught sight of the room around her, not recognizing any of the interior. She sat herself up, rubbing her eyes to adjust them to the morning light. She looked around. Where was she?

Oh.

The sight of many boxes of comic books and a train jogged her memory and the events from the night before came flooding back to her.

"Oh no," she breathed as her cheeks lightened from embarrassment. She chanced a glance over to the other side of the bed, but Sheldon was nowhere to be found. The other side of the bed had been made up as best as possible without waking her.

She had kissed him.

Her heart sank. What would happen to them now? She hadn't been in control of herself and had acted on pure instinct, pure want. She probably had freaked him out- oh god.

She was a despicable person. She had forced herself on him. Wasn't this like... sexual assault? Would he press charges?

She made herself calm down, just as a head-splitting headache began forming behind her eyes. It would do her no good to panic.

Oh, Sheldon... The guilt wouldn't stop coming. She threw her face into her hands, shielding her eyes from the sunlight and her mind from the impending doom she knew she would have to confront.

She heard voices coming from the other side of the apartment and made herself stop feeling sorry for herself. Just long enough to get out of their apartment and down to hers so she could wallow in guilt for the rest of her life.

Would he break up with her now?

They had only been dating for a week and she had already ruined it, she thought miserably, mortified by her actions.

She climbed out of the bed and made her part of the bed up. At some point had she kicked her shoes off? They were on the floor next to the bed and she slid them on, wondering if it had been Sheldon who removed them. She didn't remember any of it.

She stood to exit the bedroom but stopped abruptly, feeling nauseated. She leaned over and grabbed her knees, willing the sudden spin to her stomach to stop. She had drunk way more than she had intended but they all had been having such a fun time. Her self control had dwindled. Sheldon was probably disappointed in her, she thought with a pit in her stomach- her heart clenching.

After all those times he had warned her, told her to be careful- to not do it, and look at her. She had ruined what had been between them and had proved him right.

Stomach now in a better place, she straightened up and warily left the bedroom. The apartment was a little chilly so she crossed her arms over her chest, realizing she was still wearing a thin shirt and shorts. She paused in front of the bathroom door, seeing Sheldon sitting in his spot on the couch, eating what looked to be cereal and watching television. He was wearing a blue plaid bathrobe, she noticed and the sight of him sent a little flutter in her chest.

She wished she could escape without him noticing, without having to face what had happened between them, but she forced herself to take the necessary steps towards the living room.

Leonard saw her enter first and smirked into his coffee mug, wearing a red bathrobe. "Good morning, Carly."

At his voice, Carly froze and Sheldon's head snapped up and turned towards her. She visibly paled. Unable to look directly at Sheldon she looked at Leonard instead and stepped off the stair to join him in the kitchen.

"M-Morning," she replied shyly, her cheeks warming up as she felt Sheldon's gaze on her. It was only a matter of time before he spoke, she knew that. "Do you mind if I have a cup?"

Leonard chuckled at something and then gestured to the coffee pot behind him. "Sure, of course."

"Thank you," she told him gratefully and went over to it to pour herself some. "I hope it doesn't make my stomach more upset," she said, trying to seem lighthearted.

That was when Sheldon interrupted.

"You're sick?!" Sheldon's voice was loud and deeply concerned. Either for her or himself. The reason was unclear.

Carly's heart jumped when he spoke and she tried not to spill the orange mug of coffee in her hands while answering him in a wobbly voice. "Um, no. I'm just a bit nauseated from how much I drank last night."

Sheldon went silent and Carly settled next to Leonard at the counter. He patted her hand in sympathy, a small smile on his face.

"Don't worry. It'll pass soon," he told her and she smiled appreciatively in return.

She chanced a glance at Sheldon then, taking a drink of her coffee. He was staring into his bowl of cereal in deep thought. Was he thinking of how to break up with her? She felt like she could cry at the thought.

She felt Leonard's eyes on her suddenly and she hesitantly met his. He looked down with an uncontrollable smirk before moving his glasses up his nose. "So you spent the night, hunh?"

Carly tensed at the question. She avoided his gaze, a blush on her cheeks. "Um, yes."

"Don't harass my girlfriend, Leonard. You've had plenty of women spend the night!" Sheldon's accusation shocked Carly and she looked up to see him walking towards them, his eyes narrowed at his roommate.

"I wasn't harassing her Sheldon. I just asked her a question," Leonard stated flatly, rolling his eyes before looking back over at Carly who looked incredibly uncomfortable with Sheldon now so close. "I'll leave you two alone. I need to go get ready for work."

Leonard knew that with Sheldon acting like a crazy person and Carly uncomfortable, they needed to talk whatever it was between them out - and Leonard didn't want to be the target of Sheldon's misplaced anger.

Carly watched Leonard disappear down the hall and then realized what he had just said. She looked over at the digital clock on their stove in shock. "He is working this early on a Saturday?" she asked Sheldon without thinking about it.

Sheldon went behind her, not looking at her in the eyes, to wash his bowl out in the sink.

"Yes," he said lowly with a small nod, his back to her. "He has a project he's working on."

Carly felt uneasy being alone with him. She didn't know what he was thinking and although she was trying to play casual, she knew that they'd have to confront the elephant in the room at some point.

Carly waited for Sheldon to awkwardly turn back around while holding the mug in her hands tightly. "I-I'm sorry."

Sheldon looked up at her when she apologized, his eyes unreadable. "For what?"

Carly gulped back her guilt. Where did she begin? "I... everything." For forcing herself on him. For making him uncomfortable. For passing out on him. For not listening to him about the alcohol.

He frowned, his eyes falling over to the side to stare into middle distance.

She shook, scared of being rejected by him. "I promised you that we would go slow... that I would be careful with the alcohol at Penny's and I-I broke that promise." Her voice cracked as she felt a sob threaten to come out of her then, as she forced herself to face the emotions she had been hiding from since waking.

He was quiet, too quiet. His face was expressionless and she didn't know what to do or say at that point. His response made her realize just how bad she had messed up.

She had taken his trust and thrown it back into his face.

Suddenly, he took a staggering breath and straightened up in front of her, his eyes finally looking at her fully. She held her breath, worried about what he would say.

"I've given what happened between us last night a lot of thought. Admittedly I didn't get much sleep..." he glanced down at his feet then returned his gaze to her with a look of vulnerability, which took her off guard. "I won't lie to you and say that what happened was easy for me, b-but..."

He trailed off and looked away, trying to find the right words to explain himself to her.

She trembled, her fingers pressing hard on the mug in her hand. "But?" She prompted in a tiny voice, needing to know what he was thinking.

"At first you shocked me. I wasn't prepared then and I- well, I ended up liking it."

Carly's mouth dropped and she was sure she hadn't heard right. Liked it?

She vaguely remembered that he had said he was okay with her kissing him at some point before she had passed out but everything felt surreal and dreamlike that she hadn't been sure if it had happened- if she had just imagined it.

Sheldon's ears burned red from the confession and he quickly tried to recover from it. He hated feeling this way. He moved past her and headed for the coffee table, grabbing the remote to turn the television off.

"Did I hear you correctly? You liked it? Liked... kissing me?" Of course, Carly had to make him repeat it. It had been difficult enough to say it once.

He looked up and saw that she was approaching him, mug of coffee forgotten on the counter, and a look of pure disbelief on her face. He had told her he'd wanted it... perhaps she didn't remember everything. She had been very intoxicated.

"Yes," he told her quickly, not wanting to go into further detail. "It was, interesting." Interesting that he liked it. That his body had responded to it. That he didn't mind if they did it again.

Carly still was flabbergasted but she threaded her fingers together in front of her, beginning to feel guilty again "But I forced you, Sheldon. I made you uncomfortable. Don't you hate me now?"

Sheldon had heard her ask that the night before and still didn't get why she'd think that. "Why do you keep thinking I would hate you? I am uncomfortable every day of my life. Should I hate everyone?"

Carly balked and looked down. "So you don't hate me for... what I did?"

Sheldon was exasperated. "Of course not! I couldn't ever hate you. I like you," he corrected her.

Carly's eyes darted back to his so suddenly with so much emotion that he back-stepped, thrown off by it. She looked like she might cry.

Panicking, he went to her and grabbed her shoulders awkwardly, and pleaded. "Don't cry- it's okay. Just don't cry!"

Carly trembled under his hands and he felt it. Close to her now, he saw the tears well up in her eyes as she looked back at him, her bottom lip quivering. She pulled it between her teeth, attempting to hold herself together at his demand, but she was struggling.

Sheldon's eyes lowered to her mouth, trying to remember what exactly it had felt like to have it upon his. It had been soft, gentle, sensual- it had made his whole body warm and his toes curl.

Suddenly, she was throwing herself at him and it took his breath away- stunning him. Her arms wrapped around his middle, holding him to her and her face pressed against his chest. She shook and he knew she was crying.

Mortified by her reaction, he stood there unmoving, not understanding what was happening and why. "What's wrong?!"

Carly grabbed onto him tighter, sobbing into his bathrobe. "I thought-ought you were going to lea-leave me because of what I di-did!"

Sheldon frowned, unable to understand why she'd think that. "What? Of course not." Didn't she understand that by making her his girlfriend, he'd permanently housed her in his close social circle? That he didn't just let anyone this close to him and therefore this was a huge deal?

Carly just cried harder into him and he stared down at her, scared of her, and unsure what he should do. She didn't seem like she was going to stop any time soon and so he stood there uselessly with his hands up, hovering over her body while she clung to him.

"D-Don't cry, Carly," he urged her, pleading and hoping she would stop. "I-I don't know what to do to make you stop!" The idea of getting her a hot beverage was thrown out because she had just drank coffee a moment prior.

Carly hid her face into his chest, her sobs slowing and her breathing becoming easier instead of choked gasps. "Could you... hug me?" She asked him pitifully, voice muffled by the bathrobe.

Sheldon paused for a moment. Of course, he thought. Of course, that's what he should have done. It's what his mother would have done to him if he was upset.

Slowly, cautiously he lowered a hand to her back and a hand to her hair, holding her to him awkwardly. He was so much taller than her, it was a little uncomfortable but if this was what it took to get her to stop sobbing, he would do it.

He couldn't stand to hear her cry. Especially because of him. "There, there," he muttered unevenly.

"Thank you," she breathed against him and they held each other for a very long time.

Once calmed down enough, Carly slowly withdrew, but still held him. He kept his hands on her, uncertain if she would begin crying again and willing to be there just in case. They looked at each other for a long searching moment, Carly making sure this was real and Sheldon making sure she was not going to burst into hysterics.

"I'm sorry," she told him again, her cheeks stained by tears and her eyes swollen from crying. He looked confused by her apology. "For crying. I- you mean a lot to me. I was so scared that I had lost you."

Sheldon's hand in her hair lowered to her shoulder and he held her steady. "You won't lose me."

Carly's heart swelled with emotion and she knew she would have a hard time not falling in love with him. He was too good to be true.

Sheldon saw the look of awe on her face and he couldn't help but feel like he had said the right thing. He felt pleased with himself.

Her expression changed and she began pulling away. He frowned from the loss of contact, surprising himself that he had enjoyed her being in his arms like that- looking up at him with such amazement.

"I should get going. I need a shower and to... brush my teeth," she told him, looking uncomfortable and bashful all of a sudden.

Oh. "Of course, excellent hygiene is essential."

Carly smiled at him. That specific smile that she reserved just for him. It made his heart swell at the sight and he couldn't help but smile back.

"I'll see you later, then?"

Sheldon nodded. He hoped so. He watched her leave his apartment, his emotions all over the place as he did so.

oO0Oo

The next weekend, Carly sat on Penny's bed, watching the blond go through her closet, throwing random outfits out onto the floor. Carly stared down at them in thought, playing with the hem of her purple knee-length dress and worrying her bottom lip in thought. "I don't know, Penny. Are we really going to do this?"

Penny sighed dramatically, turning around to look at her and crossed her arms. "I know. It's completely ridiculous."

"I'll say," Bernadette confirmed miserably, as she sulked in a chair against the wall.

"It's too late to back out now. We already told them we would go," Penny reminded ruefully, leaning against the closet door frame.

"They looked so excited at the idea. How were we supposed to tell them no?" Bernadette sighed and leaned back in the chair, crossing her ankles.

"But costumes?" Carly asked with a small grimace. The last time she had worn a costume had been ten years ago for a Halloween party with her Grandmother's bingo group, and even then it has just been cat ears and eyeliner drawn whiskers.

Penny sat down on her bed next to Carly and tried to smile. It was more of a wince. "It's just for four days. Maybe it will be fun?" She was always the optimist.

"But we have to wear costumes," Bernadette repeated, sounding just as put out as Carly.

Penny groaned and looked up at the ceiling, bummed. "Yeah, I know. I had to dress up with them before when we all went to a New Year's Eve Party at the comic book store."

"Why did you have to wear costumes to a New Year's Eve party?" Carly asked in confusion.

Penny huffed. "There was a costume contest and my kinda-sorta boyfriend at the time wanted to go with the guys."

"That's awkward," Carly chuckled, thinking that it had to have been since Leonard would have seen her with some other guy.

Penny withered at the memory. "You have no idea."

Bernadette grinned though. "Who did you have to dress up as?"

Penny gritted her teeth, apparently regretting the whole thing. "Wonder Woman. It was the worst costume I have ever worn in my life and I have worn my share of slutty costumes."

They all sighed simultaneously, realizing they couldn't get out of wearing the costumes. The guys had already made their enthusiasm known about it.

Sheldon had seemed rather excited to see what Carly would dress up as and had even given her a whole list of people he approved of. He was cute, of course, but she wasn't the costume-wearing type. At least she didn't think so.

Carly bit her lip, thinking of her boyfriend's twinkling eyes, and shrugged. "We wouldn't want to let them down."

"Yeah you're right," Penny agreed begrudgingly, before standing up and going back over to her closet.

"What costumes should we even dress up as?" Bernadette asked, glancing between Carly and Penny. "Are there any female superhero's we could impress the guys with?"

"Sheldon gave me a list," Carly told them. "But I left it in my apartment."

Penny shrugged. "It's fine. Go get my laptop off the table. We'll think of something."

Bernadette nodded and stood, disappearing out of the room.

"Comic-Con better be as exciting as they all say it is," Penny commented suddenly and Carly laughed.

"You mean you hope there is alcohol."

Penny grinned over her shoulder at her. "You know me so well."

"I had to take three days off of work for this," Carly told her, thinking about the fact that she was losing money to go spend time with her boyfriend and friend in Pennsylvania. It sounded exciting, sans the costumes part.

"So did I. Let's hope I have enough money to pay my rent this month," Penny said flatly, grabbing a handful of her clothing to throw into her suitcase.

Bernadette returned and the girls began to research what they could find. After a couple of hours, they had decided and realized they'd need to go shopping.

Not that any of them were complaining. Carly was happy to spend the rest of her Saturday with them shopping and enjoying a meal out with them at a nice restaurant.

"So Howard's finally deciding to move out with you?" Penny asked over her glass of wine.

Carly looked up from her salad curiously at her petite friend.

Bernadette gave them a rueful smile. "Sort of. He told me he'd let me help him pack and we would get moved out before Comic-Con but he's procrastinating."

Penny frowned in sympathy and Carly leaned on an elbow. "He must be incredibly attached to his mom."

Bernadette nodded and looked up at Carly from behind her glasses, annoyance on her face at the thought. "You have no idea. They did everything together. When I was helping him pack last night, I found his prom picture and they were dancing together."

Penny choked at that. "You've got to be kidding me?"

Carly was surprised. "Wow..."

Bernadette sighed and looked down at her fat glass of wine. "Yeah that's what I'm dealing with..." she shook her head and then with a sudden thought, look e up at Carly with a playful smile on her lips. "But enough about me! I heard that someone spent the night with their boyfriend last weekend."

Carly ducked her head, her face burning in embarrassment. She couldn't help but smile though. "Yeah, I did. Not on purpose. I passed out and probably gave him a heart attack."

Penny snickered from behind a hand. "That's not what I heard. Leonard told me that Sheldon confessed to kissing you."

Carly wanted to hide under the table and she slid her hand over her face, wishing her face wasn't as red as it was.

Bernadette squealed in delight. "Whaaaaat?"

Carly shook her head and set the record straight. "I kissed him. I actually forced myself on him. I still feel bad about it."

Penny laughed. "Honey, don't feel bad about it! Somehow you kickstarted Sheldon into puberty."

Bernadette giggled and gave Carly a raise of her eyebrows. "How was it? Did he brush his teeth afterward and spray you with Lysol?"

Penny burst into another round of laughter at that, Bernadette joining in. They were teasing, Carly knew but she couldn't help but feel like they may have been making fun of Sheldon.

Feeling a little defensive she crossed her arms over her chest. "No, of course not! He just - well he didn't move. Not at first."

That sobered them and Penny quirked an eyebrow, suddenly very interested. "What do you mean 'not at first'?"

Carly realized she had said too much and stared at their waiting faces. It wouldn't hurt to tell them, would it? Sheldon had already spoken about it to Leonard so... it would be the same.

She took a deep breath and straightened in her seat. "At first he froze up. I thought maybe he would push me off of him, do all those things Bernadette said- but then he... kissed me back."

Both girls squealed and Carly looked around them hastily, worried they were causing a disruption. No one was looking at them though.

Composing herself slightly, Bernadette begged for details. "Sheldon kissed you back? Like- tongue and all that?"

Penny shook her head, disagreeing. "I couldn't see him french kissing."

Carly tilted her head, wondering what it would be like. "No, he didn't. It was all closed mouth kisses but... wow- it was amazing. That is until I passed out."

Penny fanned at herself like she was hot. "Man I can't believe that happened. And to think! It's all because of us, Bernadette."

They high-fived one another and Carly rolled her eyes at their antics. She was glad to have friends like them. They were so supportive and genuinely seemed to like her.

She was thankful for this new chapter in her life.

When Penny and Carly arrived at the apartment building, the girls were surprised to see Leonard and Sheldon already walking up the first flight of stairs.

"Oh! Well hello boys," Penny greeted loudly, happily. She was a little tipsy from the amount of wine she had consumed at the restaurant.

The men turned around to see them, Leonard taking in his overly happy girlfriend and Sheldon glancing from Penny to Carly with a slight frown. His eyes ran over her and she held back a blush, wondering what he was thinking.

"Where were you guys?" Leonard asked them while Penny walked up the couple stairs to link arms with him.

"We did some shopping and got a bite to eat."

"Did you drink?" Sheldon asked and Carly was aware that by the way he stared at her, he was asking her directly.

"It was just one glass of wine. On my part at least..." she explained, letting him draw his conclusions about Penny.

Sheldon visibly relaxed and she felt comfortable enough to approach him, no longer wanting to stand by the landing.

The four of them began walking up the stairs. Leonard and Penny were a few stairs ahead of them and Carly fell in step beside Sheldon.

"What's in the bag?" He asked her and she looked down at her hand, forgetting she had been holding it that whole time.

Panicking, she made sure he wouldn't be able to see inside. They had all wanted to surprise the guys with their costumes. "Oh, just some clothes," she told him. It wasn't technically a lie.

Sheldon didn't seem interested in it and so he dropped the subject. "Have you thought any more about who you're going to dress up as for Comic-Con?"

Carly smiled, not missing the anxious excitement in his voice. He was looking forward to their trip. Probably more so for Comic-Con but she still wondered if it was partly because she would be there.

She hoped so.

"Yes actually. I think I have it figured out." She caught his eyes when he looked at her in surprise.

"Is it one from the list I gave you?" He sounded so hopeful that it broke her heart to tell him otherwise.

"You'll see," she told him instead, hoping that when he saw her costume on that he'd forget about that list.

The smile that appeared on his face as he thought his list had been helpful made her heart melt. He was so cute.

With Leonard and Penny ahead of them, talking lightly to each other, she took the opportunity to take his hand. He jolted from the touch and she could feel the protest, the twitch to pull away, but he surprised her by holding it back.

She caught his eyes and they smiled at each other, a knowing look in their eyes.

"So how was your day?" She asked him, as they neared the second landing. She realized that she would have to part with him soon, with a pit in her belly. She had just seen him. She didn't want to separate again.

"It was fine. Leonard and I went to a lecture this morning, then I convinced him to take me to the train store. They finally have those tiny models I've been looking for," he told her happily and she felt her heart clench.

He was so darn adorable.

"That's great, Sheldon." She smiled up at him as they paused at her door, Leonard, and Penny disappearing up the stairs and around the corner.

Sheldon hesitated to leave her as well, returning the smile as he gazed into her eyes. "I'll see you downstairs at 8:15 then?"

Carly's heart skipped a beat at the hopeful tone in his voice. She nodded. "Of course, it's laundry night."

Sheldon grinned and surprised her by giving her hand a little squeeze before she watched him spin around, leaving her there at her door.

I had a quick question. Are any of you getting alerts to chapter updates? Thanks for reading!