Disclaimer: I do not own The Big Bang Theory, nor any recognisable characters or settings, the only thing I can lay claim to is the writing of these stories themselves.

Warnings: None in this chapter

Pairings: Sheldon and Penny

Word Count: 1,476

A/N Hey guys, so day 2 of my Shenny challenge and I am enjoying this maybe a little bit too much. I never thought it would be such a challenge (I know right?) for me to be confined to a day per chapter but, if any of you have read some of my other stories then you will know that my chapters, especially those from the more recent stories, are usually never shorter that 5000 words each... Hope you guys enjoy reading these!

Watching a movie

Penny had had a long day's shift at the Cheesecake Factory. Her boss had been a right bastard, complaining about every little thing she had done wrong, or right as it were. Her tables and customers had mainly been sleaze ball jocks who were way too handsy as she waited their tables, took their orders and bought them their refills. She was disgusted by how one of them had thought it okay to slap her ass as she walked away.

Unlocking her apartment, Penny released a deep sigh as she looked around her apartment, she had spent some time yesterday evening, after she had returned home after the distarouds phone call with her now ex-boyfriend. She had needed to do something to keep her mind of the cheating bastard and had chosen to give her living room and kitchen a quick tidy up. Especially since she knew Sheldon was going to be stopping by this very evening.

She dropped the bag of groceries she had purchased for their meal tonight and quickly went to take a shower. She smelt like cheesecake and sweat. Getting changed into a comfortable pair of grey sweatpants and a plain pink tank top, she set about finding her copy of Star Wars. Something she had purchased after Sheldon and the guys had made her watch it the first time and despite their thoughts; she had found herself enjoying it far more than she would care to admit. So much so that she had decided to purchase the entire collection, as well as Star Trek and Doctor Who. She was turning into a nerd, just like her neighbours.

Setting the DVD on top the coffee table, Penny made her way into the kitchen to start the preparations for dinner knowing that Sheldon knew her shifts at the cheesecake factory and therefore knew when she was due home. Oddly, she found herself not minding that one bit, it actually made her feel safe because she knew that if something were to happen and she didn't arrive home on time then Sheldon would know instantly.

She was halfway through cutting up the little hot dogd as the pasta simmered on the stove when a knock came on her front door bring a smile to her face.

*knock knock knock*

"Penny."

She wiped her hands on a clean tea-towel to make sure they were clean before she turned to the door, listening out for the next sequence.

*Knock knock knock*

"Penny."

"I'm coming, Sheldon."

She called as she proceeds to walk towards the door, giving the man on the other side ample time to finish his OCD enforced knocking sequence on her door. She stands just on the other side, hand poised on the handle when it comes.

*Knock knock knock*

"Penny."

As soon as he had finished, Penny opens the door wide. A large, bright smile on her face when she sees him standing there, arms held behind his back as he rocks slightly on his heels. He offers her a small smile of his own before she gestures for him to enter and he does so with a nod of his head in thanks. Glancing around the room, Sheldon's smile grows as he turns to face his friend.

"Penny, I am please to see you are using the organisational chart I suggested to you. Your apartment looks much better now."

The waitress beams at him as she makes her way back to the kitchen to finish cutting up the hot dogs so she can add them into the tomato sauce which she adds to the stove just as the pasta is finishing up. She glances back around while everything is heating through and smile when she sees Sheldon sitting in, what he deemed, his seat in her apartment. His eyes wide with delight as he studies her own collection of Star Wars: extended edition.

"Penny, I was not aware of your heightened interest in Star Wars and the extended editions?"

He questions and Penny can feel a light blush dusting her cheeks as she giggles. Turning back to the stove she begins to dish up their servings as she answers.

"Ummm. Well, I really enjoyed watching them with you guys and I had a little money to spare last month and I saw them in the shop and had to buy them. I know I could have asked Leonard to borrow his if I wanted to watch them again, but I wanted my own copy and… yea."

"I see. Well, I am please to see you finally recognising the marvellous creation that is Star Wars and I very much look forward to watching them with you."

Sheldon responds happily, carefully looking at each movie case in turn, studying the quality of the packaging before he turns to face Penny once more as she places his plate of food on the coffee table in front of him.

"So, Sheldon. Do you want to watch them in Chronological order of when they were produced or how the events transpire in the plot?"

She questions and for a moment Sheldon doesn't answer. He simply stares at the girl sitting on the sofa adjacent to himself in awe, wondering when she had become that smart or when she had started to use such vocabulary.

"I believe, Penny. That we should watch them in order of when the event proceed in the originally plot line of the movies."

"Sounds good, Moonpie."

Penny giggles at Sheldon's half meant glare and leans forward to pick up Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. Quickly slotting the disk into the player, Penny sits back to dig into her food, shifting only slightly when Sheldon abandon's his chair to perch on the cushion beside her.

The theme tune begins, and Penny and Sheldon settle down to watch the movie, silence reigning supreme over the apartment, besides the sounds of cutlery hitting crockery as they eat their meals completely engrossed in the film.

When the screen goes black, Penny is curled up against the arm of her sofa her empty plate abandoned next to Sheldon's on the coffee table while her neighbour is seated on the edge of his seat, looking as if he had just discovered something new in String Theory. Penny sighs happily, stretching her arms above her head, she leans forward to extract the disk from the DVD player and places it carefully back into its case. When she then proceeds to place it, along with the rest of the series, back on her DVD shelf for safe keeping.

As she turns back around, she sees Sheldon walking into her kitchen with their empty dishes in his hands, a determined look on his face that she knows all too well.

"Sheldon, Sweetie. You don't need to wash up for me."

He doesn't turn around when she addresses him, merely continues to his way to the sink putting on a pair of yellow washing up gloves before he begins to fill her sink with warm soapy water.

"On the contrary, Penny, I do. You have invited me into your home on one of your rare evenings off and despite the emotional turmoil you are supposed to be suffering from due to the discover we made about Leonard yesterday evening, you still offered to cook me one of my favourite meals and we watched Star Wars: the Phantom Menace together. It is the least I can do for you."

Sheldon states it all as if it were some unarguable scientific fact and Penny knows that she isn't going to win this one no matter how hard she tries. So she grabs her clean tea-towel from off the kitchen counter and stands beside he wacky neighbour offering him a bright smile when he turns to glance down at her.

"Well then, when you put it like that, how can I argue."

"Very easily I would have thought. Seen as you are more than perfectly capable of…"

Penny smiles, rolling her eyes in fond exasperation as she places a hand on Sheldon's arm to cut him off."

"Let me at least dry the dishes."

Sheldon studies Penny for a moment before he concedes and nods his head. They set about their task of washing a drying every plate, bowl, utensil and pot which needs cleaning in companionable silence. Penny finds herself enjoying this time she is spending with Sheldon, surprisingly not finding his usually antics of systematically explaining every little thing to her, though she notices a certain lack of condescending tones nowadays, frustrating or offensive. Now she cherishes the time she can spend with just the two of them, no Howard or Raj or Leonard to interfere and get in their way.

She smiles at Sheldon when he passes her another plate and that same spark which ignited the previous night reawakens.