Chapter 1 - Apartment 28: "We've still got time."

Switching on the light as they stepped into Penny's apartment, which had a brass '28' on it's front door and was situated on the second floor, she turned to look apologetically at Leonard. "I'm sorry, it's a bit... messy."

"That's okay," he shrugged, following her down the narrow hallway, which was lined with her shoes. He watched as she paused to kick off her red ballerina pumps, and he stepped out of his own shoes behind her.

Turning right, they emerged through a door into the living room. "Uh, just make yourself at home." She gestured to the couch before dropping her jacket and bag to the floor. "Tea or coffee?"

"Coffee, please."

"Good, because I don't really have any tea." Penny confessed, before heading through a door opposite to the one they'd come in through.

Shrugging off his jacket, Leonard looked around as he headed towards the couch. It was... small. And not very... it was a definite step back from her apartment in Pasadena, to say the least. Sitting down, he placed his jacket neatly over the arm of the couch, though he really could have just tossed it anywhere and it wouldn't have made a difference. He put his bag at the side of the couch and then took the room in. There were bills, magazines and empty coffee mugs decorating the coffee table in front of him. A few DVDs surrounded the television, and to the right of it was a clotheshorse drying neatly laid out clothes and underwear. He assumed the building didn't have a laundry room, and her apartment didn't have a dryer. At the far right end of the room was a small wooden dining table with two chairs, littered with more magazines, a few books, and more mugs.

"Yeah, okay, it's more of a total dump than just a bit messy," Penny admitted with a nervous chuckle as she walked back in, two mugs of coffee in her hands. Placing them down on the coffee table, she gave him a small smile. "I guess I haven't changed at all. But hey, at least I do my laundry! Wanna see the rest of this place while the coffee cools down a little?"

"Oh, sure," Leonard nodded, standing from the couch.

"There's not much to it," Penny said, as they headed back out of the living room, and through the door directly opposite, which found them immediately in her bedroom. "This is my bedroom."

"It's... nice." He said, for lack of better words, coming to stand next to her to get a proper view.

"Umm, not really," Penny shrugged, "but you know... it does its job. I do miss my comforter back in Pasadena though." She traced one of the flowers on her duvet, before noticing her chew toy (she was never going to forget that name) laying on the side of the bed that she usually slept on and wasn't covered by the duvet. Hastily, she grabbed a pillow and threw it on top of it. In her defense, she hadn't been expecting visitors - least of all, Leonard. Heck, there hadn't even been a guy in the apartment since she'd moved in, aside from the guy who'd come in to set up the internet. "I don't get why duvets are such a big deal here," she said quickly, hoping he'd noticed neither chew toy nor blush on her face.

Leonard pretended not to notice. "Yeah. Comforters are better." He looked around the room to divert his attention. There wasn't much to it; the beige walls were bare, spare from a Hello Kitty calendar hanging by a door, which he assumed led to the bathroom, and a small framed painting of a flower. A small wardrobe stood next to a dresser, both overflowing with clothes, which spilled out to the floor, in the corner to the left of the bedroom door. Her pink laptop sat on the bedside table closest to them (he always wondered how it hadn't broken yet) besides a blue nightlight. The bedside table between the wall and her bed on the far side accommodated another nightlight and a large picture frame, where he could make out a collage of pictures. "Mind if I take a look at the pictures?"

"What? Oh, yeah, of course, go ahead." Penny nodded. "I'm just gonna go to the bathroom."

He nodded back, and watched as she went through the other door (confirming his assumption that it was the bathroom door) before following and going to perch on the edge of her bed, by her pillow. He picked up the photo frame and smiled. It was a collage of photos with familiar faces. Bernadette, Amy, her parents, friends from work and college, even a few with Howard, Raj and Sheldon.

But what struck him most and caught his attention was the picture in the middle. It was the only one that hadn't been cut out, it's edges surrounded by the rest of the photos in the frame which had been cut to just show the people in them.

This central photo was of himself and Penny. It had been taken at one of their small group gatherings that Sheldon would refuse to characterize as a 'party'. He could tell because she was wearing a black dress but no shoes - those could be seen in the corner of the photo; she'd always take them off when they weren't out. They were facing each other, her eyes closed and a small smile on her face as he kissed her forehead. He had one hand holding her waist, the other in her hair. Penny had one hand on his chest, the other up around his neck, fingers lightly tangled in his curls. He couldn't remember the photograph being taken, but he could remember the moment perfectly. They had been dancing together, and then she'd whispered that she couldn't wait until it was just the two of them again.

Shaken from his thoughts, Leonard looked up as he heard his name being called from behind the closed door. "Leonard? You wanna come see the bathroom?"

Brow raised, he placed the frame back. "Umm, are you still using it?"

She opened the door, giggling. "No, I was just drying my hands then."

"Oh, alright." He stood up, and followed her into the bathroom. Instantly he was drawn to the products on the edge of the bath, leaning against the wall. "Star Wars shower gel!" Leonard grinned at her, his eyes lighting up. "Ah, and Hello Kitty bubble bath. Of course."

"Yup, I saw them in the store and just had to buy them. It's like a little bit of home is here with me." She smiled, before turning to him. "Well, this is all there is too it. It's not much, but it's..." Penny trailed off, before she remembered something. "Oh, I haven't shown you the kitchen!"

Although he doubted it was particularly interesting, he accepted her enthusiasm and followed her back through the bedroom, across the hall, through the living room and into the kitchen. Again, it was small, but to his astonishment it was a lot tidier than the rest of the apartment. He spotted a washing machine, but no tumble drier, so guessed his earlier assumption about the lack of laundry room was correct.

"I drink almond milk now," she explained, opening the fridge to show him the cartons. Closing it, she looked around the kitchen. "And I actually have in-date stuff in my cupboards, since I don't have anyone to smooch takeaways off of."

Chuckling slightly at this, he nodded. "Well, that's good that you have edible food in your cupboards."

"You want anything?" She asked, opening one of the cupboards and pulling out a packet of cookies. "These go good with coffee."

"Yeah, those look good."

They headed back through to the living room, sitting down on the couch and picking up their coffees. They both sat quietly for a moment, sipping their drinks, before Penny reached for a cookie. "So, did you like the play?"

"Oh! Yeah, yeah, it was really great. Really funny; I laughed a lot. Which probably looked stupid since I was sitting on my own, but still." Leonard took another sip of his coffee after an awkward laugh, before looking up at her. "And you were awesome too, Penny. It was one of your lines, near the end, that made me laugh the most. You were so good. And that costume looks really good on you."

"Aw, thanks." Penny blushed a little. "I'm not the main part, but... it's fun. Thank you."

"I got a program too - well, actually, I asked for a playbill, but they got what I meant. Anyway, it was seriously cool to see your name in there, and your little picture. It's just in my bag." Leonard grinned at her. "I'm so proud of you."

"Oh, thank you." Again, Penny blushed, tilting her head to the side slightly. "You know, you're the first one who... who came to see the show, for me. And I know you didn't know about it, and just came across it, but… you said you saw it because you saw my name there, and nobody's ever done that." Her eyes held his as a silence washed over him, neither of them moving, a million thoughts running through their minds. Eventually, she cleared her throat. "So, that's... that's really nice."

"Well, you know, as soon as I saw that you were in it, I knew I couldn't pass up the opportunity to see you acting. I… I always thought…" Leonard sighed, shaking his head a little. "It was just great to see you doing what you love. I really am so proud of you, Penny."

"That's really sweet, Leonard. I'm glad you stumbled across it."

"Me too." Leonard finished the last few sips of his coffee, before placing the mug back down on the coffee table. "Are you in tomorrow?"

"No, no show on Sunday." Penny shook her head.

"Okay, good. I was getting kinda worried that I was keeping you up and you'd be tired tomorrow. According to the usher, you did two shows today."

"Oh, no, even if I had to work tomorrow, I wouldn't mind." Penny assured him. "Even when we've got a two show day, I only really need to be up around midday anyway."

"Ah, so it fits with your love for sleep." Leonard chuckled.

"It really does!" Penny agreed. "Living close by helps too. The tube station is literally two blocks... streets... down and the taxis can go in the bus lanes so I beat the traffic if I use those. Sometimes I walk if I feel up to it."

"Seems like a pretty good location." Leonard nodded approvingly.

"Uh-huh, it is. I mean, this place isn't exactly... great, but, it's convenient, and it's all I can really afford, so, yeah." She gave him a small smile. "It's not so bad. I mean, it's London, I can't really complain too much I suppose."

"And you're... you're okay with the bills, and stuff?" Leonard asked cautiously, unable to help the concern, worry and need to help that came up whenever Penny spoke about money.

"Oh, yeah!" Penny nodded quickly. "Yeah, for once I can actually pay those. I mean, it doesn't leave me with as much left over as I always imagined it would, but it's not so bad. I can still buy food, and go to the gym, and buy clothes and shoes if I'm careful."

"Alright, that's good then. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sound-"

"Leonard, it's fine, I know you worry about these things." Penny assured him with a small shrug. "And Daddy's paying for my apartment in Pasadena while I'm gone. But if I renew my contract this year, I'm going to have to either pay for it myself or sell it."

"Oh. Well I guess that's a fair deal." Leonard said, thankful for reasons he couldn't explain that she had kept the apartment, even it was only for now. "Do you still speak to anyone in Pasadena?"

Sadly, Penny shook her head. "Not really. Every so often the girls ask how I'm doing and say 'we all miss you' but... that's about it. Do you?"

"I don't either. Sheldon emails once a month, per the roommate agreement, to keep me updated. The guys sometimes send me a message to ask how it's going."

Silence passed over them until Penny said, "things changed quickly."

"That they did."