Well, friends, we finish up in Penny's apartment, the launching pad for the Starship Shenny... in this little corner of our parallel universe, anyway. It took them long enough, yes? Thanks to all of you for your reviews, follows, and favorites, your support truly warms my heart:) Oh, and thanks to those of you who corrected me on the nightly food-and-game schedule! Until next time, dt.
They were sitting in her apartment, two loads of clean laundry setting on the floor. They sat on the couch, looking at their clasped hands, both relaxed and quiet. After the silence had been officially broken in the laundry, they talked for an hour as they finished their clothes, Sheldon spouting endless information about word games, his favorite number, and who was the better Enterprise Captain, and Penny going on about work gossip and how weird she felt because she was attracted to Jase Robertson from Duck Dynasty.
But now they were sitting quietly, the air around them swelling with questions, emotions, and uncertainty. Their relationship had taken a new turn, establishing a new paradigm, and they were still coming to grips with it. Penny ran her thumb over the back of Sheldon's hand, taking in the details of his fingers, and rapidly finding herself falling in love with his long, slender phalanges. The truth was, she had been fascinated by his hands for years, and was relishing finally getting her paws on his, and could not stop herself from imagining their intricate dexterity working up the skin on her arm and other extremities.
Sheldon was also keenly examining her digits, in particular her fingernails, which he found pleasantly short and well-manicured. He also found himself admiring the strength in her carpal musculature, and imagined her wrangling horses and livestock with her bare hands, and wondered if he should relax the ban they had instituted on wrestling. The fact was, there was something strangely comforting about being in the grip of someone he admired, and he pondered her skills as a masseuse, and if he should slyly ask her to "tweak" his sternocleidomastoid.
"So where are we, Sheldon?" Penny broke the silence, still looking at his hand in hers. "And where are we going?"
"We're in your apartment, Penny," he answered plainly. "And while I can't speak for you, I know I am going to my apartment, performing my evening routine and going to bed."
She tossed her head and rolled her eyes, looking at him with annoyance. "No, Dr. Smartass. I meant us," she said, motioning between them with her free hand.
"I don't understand," he said honestly. "We're still friends, and neighbors, and seem to have resolved our issues from the past week. I would say our friendship is functioning at an optimum level of congeniality."
She sighed and looked at him thoughtfully. "You know things have changed, right? I mean, you've revealed parts of yourself that I honestly didn't believe were real. And I've revealed…" She looked down at her chest and nodded to her right side. "…Little sister here, among other things."
"That was quite a revelation," Sheldon said quietly, unconsciously looking at her bosom. "But do you really consider the right one the more diminutive of your mammary glands? As I recall, it has a bit more length, visually speaking."
"How did you…" she gawked, then narrowed her eyes. "So, you really did take a peek when I fell in the shower!"
"I may be a gentleman, but I am not blind," he said, a playful look in his eye. "And I assure you, I was not the least bit titillated by your…"
"…Titties?" Penny finished, looking over at him coyly, a wide grin slowly filling her face.
"I prefer the term mammaries, or, to be more colloquial, 'abodes.'"
"What, you don't like that word, 'tits'?" she said, bobbing her head and carefully accentuating the t's. "How about boobs? Jugs? Hooters?"
"Penny, don't be vulgar, it doesn't become you," he chided.
"Oh come on, Sheldon," she snapped, leaning back and puffing her chest out. You can't handle my Girls? Knockers? Cans? What's the Klingon word for 'em, Captain?"
"'ChabDu', which can also be translated 'dumplings', but that's beside the point," he said, wincing slightly. "Seeing you parading them like that makes me uncomfortable."
She slumped back down, and looked at him with affection. "Do you see what I mean? We just had a five-minute conversation about breasts. Things have changed! We're…closer now. Special. Kinda like…best friends." She took up his hand in hers again. "Best friends who hold hands?"
And who fantasize about those hands holding other parts and having more than just conversations about boobs, she thought to herself lustily.
"Best friends? That's quite an evolutionary step in our relationship paradigm. That may be grounds for drafting a Friendship Agreement."
"Uh, no-no, there will be no signing on the dotted line," she said. "I don't do contracts with friends."
"Well, fine, let your life be willy-nilly," he said, playfully snatching his hand away. "But I don't take being your best friend lightly."
"Neither do I. It takes a hell of a person to be YOUR best friend," she said, nodding her head. "I know, I'm dating him."
"That brings up an important point," Sheldon cautioned. "How do we break this news to Leonard? And Amy?"
"We don't," Penny responded. "This will be our secret alliance, so to speak. Y'know, our clandestine affair?" Her face beamed with nefarious mischief.
Sheldon began twitching. "No, no. You know I cannot keep a secret, especially from Leonard. This will never work."
She took his hand in hers and ran her other hand up the underside of his forearm. "Come on, Moonpie. Live on the wild side. Be dangerous. Go where no Sheldon has gone before."
"And where is it that I'm going?" Sheldon asked, nervous.
"Well," she said, looking up thoughtfully. "We've been on a six-year mission to seek out new life and experiences. We've been to the farthest reaches of our own little galaxy, and now it's time to find the next frontier."
"Penny," Sheldon interjected, becoming calmer. "Do not speak the Prologue in vain. It's the bedrock upon which the Star Trek Universe is built."
"What I'm saying," she said, turning her eyes back to his. "Is we're on this long, long journey, and we may not know exactly where we're going, but it's doesn't matter, because we're with our best friend, someone we would trust with our life. And as long as we have that, we're golden."
"Fascinating," Sheldon said, getting a faraway look in his eyes. "I can accept that."
She lifted his hand to her lips and kissed it, then raised her eyes, enlarged with affection, "That's my scientist," she cooed.
After a few more minutes of staring into each other's eyes, Sheldon swallowed and took Penny's other hand in his.
"Penny, may I try something?" he asked, looked at her with wide eyes.
"Sure, Sheldon," she replied with a sideways look. "Whatcha got in mind?"
"This," he said, and then pressed his lips to the back of her hand. Her face instantly flushed and her eyes closed, her face widened with a demure smile.
"Mmmm," she breathed, "That's nice. How long have you been planning that?"
His lips made a slight smacking noise as he raised his head and looked in her eyes. "That was an impromptu decision. After all, you dared me to walk on the wild side."
"Hmmm, Fascinating," Penny smiled, her hand still stroking his arm. "Very, very fascinating…"