Word Count:1246
Summary: "Because he's my nerd."
Disclaimer: I don't own The Big Bang Theory or the characters.

All their friends thought that they knew what kind of couple they were. They couldn't understand how a former waitress and an experimental physicist who seemed to have nothing in common could be in a relationship.

In reality, that was kind of true. But like many people tend to say, you don't know what goes behind closed doors.

It wasn't as if behind closed doors they actually had something in common that they didn't share with the rest of their little group. Their interests were still different ones at the end of the day when everyone left them alone in that apartment. But when the doors were closed and they faced each other, they could finally be alone.

And that sometimes meant going to the roof in the middle of the summer with some beers and enjoying the sun setting behind all the buildings. It meant sharing awkward childhood memories, gossiping, and it meant dancing to old songs like it was nobody's business. Because, well, it wasn't. And they would sing until their throats and lungs were begging for them to stop. The neighbors weren't able to hear them, and that was a known fact they learned after the first time they were there.

Sometimes though, it wasn't in the middle of the summer when it was nice enough weather and a light jacket were all that was needed at 3 am. Sometimes it was in the middle of the winter, where they needed three jackets just to be able to feel...well like they weren't going to die of hypothermia.

And that was the case on a very cold 7th of December.

They had just got the tree ready in their apartment, with the help of their friends. After a few yawns, they all scattered to their homes, leaving the couple alone. Neither was tired yet, and with a simple exchange of looks, Leonard grabbed their jackets, and Penny grabbed the beers, and they both headed to the roof.

The cold air hit them hard when they entered that roof, but the giggles that escaped both of them were enough for the other to understand that they both wanted – or even needed – this night. With Christmas rolling up soon, they both had very busy days. Between buying presents, Christmas dinners, and phone calls from everyone that wasn't able to talk to them face to face, they haven't been able to have one moment alone for two entire weeks. They both needed this.

With their jackets put on, Penny handed a beer to her husband. They both just sat with their backs against the wall, looking to the city lights and the few stars in the sky. Penny started to think back to when Leonard first visited her old farm with her, how they both laid on the grass with their hands interlocked, staring at the stars in silence. In the farm life is quieter, and in the night the only few noises that are heard are from animals. The only lights are the ones coming from the moon and the stars. Penny misses those stars. In the city, there aren't as many stars, but they still look to the sky to find them.

Since her husband grew up in the city, he didn't understand her need for the stars. They were just there, in the sky, even though they weren't seen with the city lights. After two weeks in the farm though, he changed his mind. He too felt the need to see the stars, and with a smile he takes a sip from his beer, closing his eyes as he thought back to those cool Nebraska nights.

They stay like that for a little while, just enjoying the sort of quiet and that private moment. Eventually, Penny gets up from her spot, complaining about not feeling her legs anymore. Leonard laughs, but gets up as well, knowing very well that she wants to dance.

She starts by putting an old slow song, and they laugh, remembering the prom that was held in that very roof, that night where Sheldon confessed his love for Amy, where Stuart took Howard's cousin to that prom. But most importantly, where Leonard and Penny had their dance and Penny showed Leonard he wasn't the only "dork" in the relationship.

They both hold each other tightly, seeking both warmth and love, smiling as they so. They are both quietly singing along to the song, enjoying each other's presence. But eventually, the song is over, and when the other starts, Leonard starts to laugh before the lyrics even start, making Penny roll her eyes at him. Eventually, they both start to sing along, dancing the song in their peculiar way, even if the song as nothing to do with what they are doing. They twirl each other, they hold each other, they pretend to be ballerinas until their heads start to spin too fast.

They are both laughing and trying to breathe, sitting against the same wall as before. Penny is with Leonard's inhaler in her hand, "just in case" she always says, between laughs because even though the subject is serious she can't ever stop laughing during those nights. They call them their happy nights, where they are both just having fun and ignoring their adult problems and responsibilities.

The night is only over when either Leonard or Penny starts to drift to another world against the others shoulder. The next day they both look a bit like zombies after being up for most of the night, and sure that the few beers they drank over the night were also enough to make their head throb. But they don't seem to mind, instead, they just don't look at each other, because if they do they just start laughing and everyone stares. This eventually happens, because they can't just not look at their spouse.

The weird stares from friends don't matter when you're reminded by a simple lock of your spouse's eyes about the story of how Leonard lost his first tooth – ran against a tree – or Penny's first experience with driving a car – it smashed against the trash can because she thought it was easier to ride the tractor. And they just laugh, and their friends stare, and when they finally manage to calm down – which means not looking at each other – all it takes is another look and they go back to barely being able to breathe.

And somehow that happens during dinner the next day when all they want is their bed and pillow. They have enough energy to almost cry of laughter by looking at each other.

Because maybe they don't have the same interests. But they both love to talk to each other, they love hanging out, and most of all they both love to gossip. And what better time to gossip than after midnight? Penny was teaching that to Leonard, and he was learning that he enjoyed it way too much – Penny teases him that he was made for that and that he should be a journalist; he tells her not to say those things because he might just do that in his spare time.

And when the girls ask Penny how they are still together, she takes a second to think about those late nights where they are just themselves. Where they are happy and free, and so much in love. And she answers with a tiny smile on her face:

"Because he's my nerd."

The End

I can't believe I actually managed to write something. This quarantine has been mostly about watching tv shows and studying, so I didn't manage to have time to write (even though I'm always home *sigh*).

After long months of hiatus, I think I'm ready to go back to writing. Are there still people that read these stories?