A/N: Anything recognisable to Gotham belongs to it's rightful owners. I only own Penny and a few extra OC's who may be scattered along this fic.

I made some changes since first re-publishing and have split a few of the chapters because they were really long.

If you enjoy please do review =)

Penny never got her second date. In fact, Penny never got a call from Harvey at all. Not for another year. Things happened that got in the way of Harvey ever calling Penny for a second date and one of those things was his brain being filled left, right, and centre with cases. Harvey, though he'd never admit it to himself, was a sucker for sabotaging his own happiness. He actually really liked Penny, she had this spunk about her, this attitude that said she'd try to take on anyone, even if they out matched her in height and weight. She had secrets too, Harvey could tell that, she had a black box just like he did, and he liked that too. He also sensed that beneath all that bluster, a softer side was hiding.

After a month had passed Harvey knew he couldn't waltz back into the sweet shop and as Penny wasn't heading to the station any time soon, he avoided it, at all costs. Even getting his new partners to go in there for him.

A year had passed.

A whole year since he'd not called her back, not gotten a second date. A whole year without him getting to have the banter of those short-lived weeks in the previous year. A whole year of getting partners to go in there and buy his twizzlers or getting them from another store. A whole year and it would have probably been longer only Harvey went in there by mistake.

Penny had just stared at him for a moment and then quipped something about him finally deciding to show up. Surprisingly, she'd been calm. She hadn't over-reacted, Harvey liked that. She just shrugged it off and said that it was ok, sometimes people don't fit and sometimes life gets in the way. Harvey had reiterated that he'd had a really good time. He'd tried to explain. He wanted her to know that it wasn't about not-fitting, in fact, he thought they fit pretty well. No, this was about work, this was about him using the excuse of work because maybe somewhere deep down he didn't think he really deserved the kind of happiness he could see himself having with Penny. This was about the fact he didn't think he deserved someone, not someone who got him the way Penny seemed too.

Harvey couldn't say all that though, wouldn't say all that and so instead he'd come back the following day with a bunch of flowers and a hot dog from that place he remembered her saying she liked. He offered to take her out again and despite her reservations Penny agreed, she still didn't have anything to lose.

Harvey never showed up for that date either though.

It was three days later when Penny saw him. It was a Thursday and Penny was late home, she always went to her ballroom dancing classes on a Thursday. It wasn't professional, far from it. It was a group of people in a drafty studio all with two left feet or co-ordination problems learning how to dance at their own pace. She enjoyed it, it gave her the social interaction she wanted and there was no pressure, everyone was in the same boat and nobody had any airs and graces that a proper dance studio might have.

Penny rounded the corner to her apartment and saw the lump curled up on the floor near it. Panic blossomed in her chest. She had no idea it was Harvey. Bile rose up in her throat, what if it was him? What would she do? She doubted she could keep her temper, one of them would definitely end up dead. She thought he was dead though, she thought he'd be dead or at very least that he'd never ever come back to Gotham, not with Falcone looking for him.

When she got closer and recognised the fedora, the scruff of beard, a sigh left her lips. Relief bloomed inside her chest and spread out to her fingers and toes.

"Detective Bullock?" Penny said raising a brow at him and sounding deeply unimpressed.

"I've been waitin' for you." Harvey replied, he sounded drunk.

"Oh yeah, you mean like I was waiting for you for over an hour?" Penny retorted, she wanted to step over him open the door and slam it behind her.

"Is that all?" Harvey pushed and Penny scoffed, shaking her head. She didn't know whether she wanted to punch him or go for his gun and shoot him. "Penn I'm sorry. I got a little mixed up in something." Harvey said sincerely.

"You know the beauty of being a cop is you can spin all kinds of lies. I was on a stakeout, I got pulled onto a case. If you didn't wanna take me out Harvey you shouldn't have offered. I'm not some little girl scout gunna get all heartbroken but I won't be made a damn foo-" Penny stopped mid-sentence as Harvey pushed his hat up. Penny looked at his face.

Harvey looked like he'd been battered every which way. There was a cut on his face, bruising too, and if the way he was slumped was anything to go by he'd taken a kicking to the ribs.

"I didn't lie Penn." Harvey said. Penny was trying not to show how concerned she was. Men like Harvey were dangerous, they were all rough and scruffy and walked with swagger that made you think, because they wanted you to think it, that they were assholes. Beneath it all though they were gentlemen, romantic and kind. They were good men with hearts of gold and a deep desire to be a hero. Men like Harvey were dangerous because they gave you hope. Hope that there were more men like Harvey out there.

"No, you just didn't show up." Penny retorted. "Come on, get up I can't exactly leave you out here in that state." Penny grumbled letting her apartment door swing open. She wasn't going to help him up though he could do that himself. When Harvey did get up the extent of his injuries was a little clearer, he was holding his arm across his ribs, almost limping and his face was a mess. "Have you been to the hospital?" Penny asked him. Harvey scoffed at her.

Penny's apartment was small and shabby. The living room opened onto the kitchen, the bathroom was small and pokey and off the living room. It was equipped with a shower, a tiny bathtub, sink, mirror, and toilet. The living room had a few shelves with bits and pieces on, a tiny VHS collection on a stand, an old TV with the VHS player underneath it. Penny had no pictures of anyone, anywhere, not even one of herself. The walls where they joined the ceiling were clearly damp and the first signs of mould that had been painted over were there. In front of her television there was a couch, sturdy looking but old and there was a single chair, both had clearly come as a set a long time ago. Penny's bedroom, the only one in the apartment was almost directly opposite the front door. She had a large double bed with basic looking bed coverings. Penny's apartment wasn't fancy but there were clear signs where she'd tried to make it feel more like home. Ornaments and fake flowers, there was a collection of figurines on a high shelf.

Harvey limped in and almost fell onto the couch, he would have hovered in the doorway, but he didn't have the energy, he pulled his hip flask from his jacket pocket and took a swig.

"That's not going to help." Penny chastised him as she put the kettle on to boil.

"It's helping with the pain." Harvey grumbled.

"Put it down." Penny pretty much ordered him as she opened a cupboard and pulled out a small first aid kit. She never really used it, so it was still well stocked. "Take your shoes off too, you're not lying down on my couch with those things on." Penny instructed. As mad as she was at him, Penny actually gave a damn about Harvey and she wouldn't see him hurt. In some respects, her and Harvey were cut from the same cloth. They both liked to force out this idea that they were tough as nails and as hard to get through as old leather. It wasn't always the case though. Penny would never see a kid go hungry on her watch and where her friends were concerned, she was usually one of the first in the throng of things helping out. The biggest difference between Penny and Harvey was that Penny was brave, so much so sometimes it got her into trouble. Harvey on the other hand knew when to step back.

"What are you doing woman?" Harvey asked her. He took his shoes off slowly and lay down on the couch getting comfortable, well as comfortable as he could be on a couch. Still, lying like this took the pressure off his spine and the bruising on the underside of his leg so he preferred it. He took his hat off too and the extent of his injuries were visible.

"I'm going to clean your beat ass up. I'm also still deciding whether or not to add to those bruises, so I suggest you shut your mouth." Penny replied with her back to him. Harvey's lips twitched at a smile, even though it hurt to smile. "What happened to you?" Penny asked as she brought everything over on a tray, including two coffees.

"Don't-" Harvey started.

"Don't you don't me or I'll give you a matching black eye and throw you out on your ass!" Penny growled. She nudged him up a little and perched on the edge of the couch. The wounds she could see were a couple of days old and Harvey clearly hadn't gotten around to cleaning himself up. Harvey wouldn't admit to it but the first night he'd gone home and collapsed onto his bed only to wake up a few hours later with blood on the sheets. After that he'd gone to the underground doctor and got one wound stitched up. The pills the doctor gave him coupled with the alcohol had knocked him out for a whole day. He'd spent the next morning sleeping and then he'd remembered Penny. Penny could see there was a bandage through his tight shirt over his stomach and Harvey would be hard-pressed to stop her checking that.

"What happened?" Penny said again as she dipped a cotton ball into the lukewarm water and brought it up to his eyebrow and the cut there.

"I tried to put a stop to something." Harvey said, he sounded half ashamed of himself. Dix had always said no heroes and Dix was right. Harvey couldn't sit by and watch this time though. There was no partner to get damaged here it was just him. He'd been a fool and he knew it.

"What? Something in the GCPD?" Penny asked him. Harvey just watched her for a minute until Penny spoke again. "Everyone knows the GCPD is corrupt Harvey." Penny said to him. "Those who don't are too naive to understand how Gotham works, this is the city of sin. You slip a cop a twenty and he'll look the other way."

"We're not all like that." Harvey said, he didn't know why but he wanted to tell Penny that he wasn't a bad cop. Not really. He wanted, no he needed her to believe that he was just doing what he had to, to survive.

"I don't blame them Harvey, you got to go along to get along right? I just mean that some cops are worse than others. Some cops revel in the power that comes with that duality." Penny sighed. "I know there are worse guys than you, I didn't actually mean you." Penny said shaking her head.

"There's two cops, running this ring. I caught them with a girl." Harvey frowned and swallowed for a moment. Penny knew what was coming. "She can't have been older than 16, 17 and they were all acting like she was a seasoned prostitute. I got nothing against working girls or other people using them." Harvey said leaving out the fact that he himself used them from time to time. Penny suspected that though already. "There's a line you don't cross though. I brought it up with the chief and they didn't like it, said she just looked young, but I'd checked her records. She was seventeen Penn and they were feeding her drugs and doing god knows what. I tried to take it a little higher and this is what happened. No heroes in Gotham." Harvey let out a disappointed sigh. "They got me after work. I couldn't help her Penn, what if I made things worse? I was on my way to the restaurant when they jumped me." Harvey watched Penny carefully, she wasn't looking at him, she was staring at a spot on the wall and he could practically feel the rage bubbling beneath her skin. Her jaw was wound so tight he swore it was going to lock and then she sort of shook her head and snapped herself out of it. Looking back down at him and starting to clean the blood off his head again.

"I haven't been in work since. I told a few of the guys though, when they asked me why I wasn't in. I know the GCPD is corrupt, drugs and gangsters are one thing, but you don't touch kids. I think two or three of the other officers might have dealt with these two detectives." Harvey admitted with a frown.

"Good, so they should." Penny managed to get out. "Did they cut you?" She changed the subject running her finger over the spot where the bandage was.

"Lil' bit, it's nothing to worry about." Harvey replied, he wanted his hip flask back and he made to reach for it. Penny didn't stop him, in fact she snatched it off him and took a swig herself.

"Well you better get to opening this, if I'm patching you up, I may as well do the lot." Penny sighed and rinsed out the cotton ball bringing it back to his face.

"You gunna kiss it better?" Harvey grinned trying to lighten the mood. "Because I've got this pain righ-" He started and Penny punched him, hard on the arm so that he winced and let out a grumble.

Once Penny had cleaned Harvey up, she told him he may as well stay on the couch, it was too late for him to be going anywhere. She was kind of worried for him, he was in no shape to stand up for himself at this hour in Gotham and this building alone could see him run into someone with a grudge. Penny was cleaning up, her back to Harvey as he started on a hot chocolate she'd made after the coffee was finished. Harvey had a million and one questions for her, he wanted to know everything about her. Her apartment didn't really give an amazing amount away.

"Hey Penn." He said wiping the chocolate from his moustache, she reached for the pan on the side and made a noise of acknowledgement in Harvey's direction. "Let me take you out again." Harvey offered.

Penny paused and sighed closing her eyes for a moment. She hated him, she really, really hated him. She hated him for giving her a sparring partner, she hated him because she had that spark with him. She hated him for showing her a good time, for being a gentleman. She hated him for disappointing her, making her feel things she hadn't felt, hadn't wanted to feel and hadn't hoped for in a long time. The worst thing though, the very worst thing was that she didn't hate him at all. She wouldn't set herself up to be hurt again though, to be disappointed.

"Harvey, come on. You don't have to offer to take me out because I patched you up." Penny replied.

"I'm not doing it for that." Harvey said.

"Harvey I'm not dating material." Penny pointed out.

"You're talking to the guy who forgot to call you back and stood you up?" Harvey let out a laugh.

"Exactly, I mean look what happened when we tried to go out a second time, you got your ass handed to you-"

"Give me three reasons why it's not a good idea because as far as I can see you still got nothing to lose." Harvey pointed out. He was wrong though. Penny had everything to lose now because hope was a very dangerous thing to instil in someone and the hope Harvey was starting to instil in her, the hope that she could have a happy, loving relationship was something that she wanted to bury so deep down that it never resurfaced.

"Number one I'm an asshole, you deserve a little housewife who'll cook and clean for you. Number 2 it'll probably take you another two years to actually arrange a damn date. Three I don't want to date, I didn't want to date the first time you took me out." Penny said.

Harvey wasn't really offended, he was a little bit disappointed, but he wouldn't pass up being friends with Penny. A spark was a spark and it would probably still be there in years to come. He liked her. He respected her wishes but that didn't mean he was going to give up. For now, he'd just enjoy being her friend, enjoy having this little womanly shaped lump of trouble in his life and if all she ever wanted to be was friends then that would be fine by him. She wasn't an asshole, he wasn't going to correct her though because he knew she wasn't saying it for effect. It would have taken him exactly ten minutes to organise another date. Harvey in reality only had himself to blame, although she didn't show it, he knew Penny had been disappointed in him and he could understand if she didn't want to set herself up for it again.

"Ok, no dates." Harvey said with a nod. "You got a problem with me asking from time to time?" He asked.

"You got a problem with me punching you in the face when it starts to piss me off?" Penny asked arms folded across her chest.

"No ma'am." Harvey saluted her and leaned back against the couch.

That one night of Harvey staying on Penny's couch would become a pretty regular thing over the years, when Harvey got too drunk, when Harvey had a crappy day and had a little drink. He usually ended up at Penny's and he always ended up on her couch. Harvey had declared it the comfiest couch in Gotham, even though he'd almost broken it twice. Penny was always there with an ear and a firm word when he needed it, she was always there to set him straight about things. She was the support he needed because Harvey did need support even if he'd never admit it. They got into a trend and once every blue moon Penny would let Harvey buy her breakfast and walk her to work.

#?~

Neither of them really had any serious romantic attachments, the short-lived ones always felt odd. More so for Harvey than Penny. When he showed up at her apartment and she had a guy there it was a source of contention, Harvey would make a joke out of place and Penny would always put Harvey before the guy, she'd always tell the guy he had to go because Harvey was her friend and she couldn't leave him out in the cold. For Penny and Harvey, it was going to take something big for them to actually admit the way they felt about each other. Penny buried her feelings so deep it would probably end up a deathbed confession and as the years went on Harvey became more cynical and beaten up by Gotham. He couldn't face the humiliation and disappointment of admitting his feelings to Penny only for her to rebuff them. He'd rather pretend they weren't there, see his prostitutes, go about his business and stay on her couch every once in a while.

Yes, it was going to take something big, something life threatening, something like certain death for either of them to ever admit anything and that moment wasn't going to come for either of them until years later.

A/N: If you enjoy please do review =) And if you want to keep up with the story and updates why not follow it!