Perfect REM Sleep

Sequel to Dropping off the Edge

Sheldon was sitting at his desk working on a new plan. Last night had not gone well. Sure, Penny had seemed susceptible to his kiss, but then she had bolted. He had never found the opportunity to make his intentions clear. He glanced at the clock and saw it was only 9:30. Leonard had left just after 8 this morning without speaking. His room-mate appeared to be giving him the cold shoulder. Sheldon looked back over the newest notes he had made.

Penny likes a man who is dressed stylishly.

Penny likes a man who is courteous.

Flowers, perfume or chocolates are customary gifts to indicate interest.

Women like it when you keep the conversation centered on her.

Okay, so first up was clothes. He looked down at his plaid pants and rubix cube shirt. He wondered if these were appropriate. With a sigh he decided not. Missy was always saying he dressed like a child. Hmmm. Missy had purchased clothes for him during her last visit. Slacks and dress shirts that he had stored away in the back of his closet. He still had plenty of time before Penny would wake up. He walked back to his bedroom to change.

30 minutes later Sheldon walked back out to the living room, tugging at the sleeves of his shirt. He did not like the button at the wrist at all. Unfortunately the other shirt had a button a slightly different shade of white and that was unacceptable. He sat down at his desk and considered the next suggestion. How could he show courtesy to Penny this morning?

"Usually that means holding open doors, or carrying her bags."

Sheldon screeched and almost fell out of his chair. He spun around and saw Penny on the couch. She was in the middle cushion with her legs curled up under her. Her arms were crossed over her chest. She was watching him with a neutral expression.

"Sheldon, what is going on?" Her tone was carefully devoid of emotion. "Why are you taking notes about me?"

Sheldon started to panic. This wasn't part of the plan. He wasn't sure what to do now that he had no plan. He opened his mouth several times but couldn't explain.

Slowly Penny stood up and approached him. "Why Sheldon? Talk to me."

He caught the faint catch in her voice and looked up into her eyes. There was worry there, but also hope. He took a deep breath and stood up.

"Penny, for some time now I have observed a change in my disposition towards our usual interactions. I have noticed an increased feeling of contentment when I am with you. I also have begun to react to your presence in new ways. Increased pulse and temperature. Erratic breathing. Even on occasion, stimulation of my libido."

Penny bit her lower lip. "And what does that mean to our friendship, Sheldon?"

He saw the slight smile at the corners of her mouth and almost groaned. She was aware of what he meant. She just wanted him to say it. He smiled softly.

"It means I would like to change the paradigm of our friendship into a more physical one. I would like to date you, Penny."

Sheldon watched with amazement as her lips curved up into a beautiful smile.

"By physical, do you mean sexual?" she asked.

Sheldon stepped closer and bent his head. Penny met him halfway and their lips came together. Tentatively he slipped his arms around her waist and pulled her against him. They broke apart slowly. He could feel his heart thumping under her hands and they were both breathing hard.

"Penny, I know I have no experience with this type of relationship, but you would find I am quite willing to learn." He looked at her hopefully. "Will you go out with me?"

Penny laid her head on his chest and smiled. "First things first, Sheldon. Go change. You don't need to play dress up for me. I like you just the way you are."

Sheldon looked down at her in surprise. "Are you sure? All the research I have done says that…" He shut up promptly as Penny kissed him again. He usually hated to be interrupted, but he was sure he could get used to this.

"Sheldon," Penny said with a smile. "I mean it. I like your t-shirts and chinos." She grimaced. "Okay, I'm not so fond of the plaid pants, but they are part of who you are. Yes, you looked drop dead sexy in that suit last night, but I also think you look sexy in a batman tee, or your plaid pajamas, or even your Doppler costume."

He couldn't help the pride swelling up in him. Penny thought he was sexy! "Okay. I'll change. Then what?"

Penny shrugged. "Then we take it slow. We'll go get some lunch and see where we go from there." Sheldon went back to his room and changed quickly. He wondered how slow she intended for them to go. Now that he had discovered he had a libido, he was very interested in using it.

They were walking up the stairs after a pleasant lunch when they ran into Raj, Howard and Leonard. Leonard took one look at their entwined hands and stormed down the stairwell angrily. Howard seemed rooted in place, staring with wide eyes. Raj gave Penny a small smile and Sheldon a small nod. Then he pulled his friend away.

Penny watched Sheldon closely. "Perhaps we …"

Sheldon shook his head. He knew Penny so well. "No. I do not want to hide what we are doing. Leonard will either adjust, or he won't. I find I do not care. He has nothing to do with us." Sheldon turned worried eyes to hers. "Unless you find you still have feelings for him."

Penny shook her head with a smile. "No, Sheldon, I don't. I'm not even sure I really did. I think mostly I was so lonely that I built that up into something that wasn't there." They walked into Penny's apartment and settled on the couch. Sheldon reached out and pulled Penny closer. She smiled with delight and snuggled against him.

"Penny, I want to show you something." Sheldon grabbed his phone and pulled up the picture. Penny looked at it and felt tears well up in her eyes.

"Sheldon, when did you take this?" He was surprised by the awe in her voice. It almost matched the way he felt when he looked at it.

"The night we watched V For Vendetta together." he said. He watched in confusion as Penny blushed bright red. He tried to pull back so he could get a better look at her, but Penny buried her face in his chest.

"Penny? Why are you blushing?" She shook her head and pressed closer against him. Sheldon's curiosity was aroused though. He gently pried her away from him. "Please tell me? Do you not like the picture?"

Penny bit her lip and rolled her eyes. "That was the first night I umm, thought about you. In bed." It took him a minute to understand, but when he did, he felt his temperature rise.

"Penny, what made you think of me that night?" he asked shyly. She smiled.

"It was V. He's was really hot, and somewhere along the line I kind of stopped seeing the Hugo Weaving and saw you instead. Tall, lanky, and he was so sure of himself, like you are. Utterly confident. That's a very sexy quality, Sheldon." Her voice had dropped to a purr, making it very difficult for him to concentrate on her words.

Suddenly his lips were on hers again. He couldn't seem to get enough of her kisses. Penny shifted her body until she was sitting with a knee on either side of his lap. Sheldon panicked for a moment until he felt that first brush of her pelvis against his. Then all rational thought flew out the window. He grabbed her waist and pressed her against him. She moaned deep in her throat. He couldn't believe he had caused that. She was responding to him. He shifted them to the side and laid down with her above him. His hips bucked underneath her, and Penny began rubbing against him. Sheldon buried his hands in her hair and began trailing kisses down her neck.

"Penny," he murmured breathlessly. "we need to move. This couch is too small." She sighed with regret and slowed her movements. After a minute she was still, just laying across his chest. Sheldon was confused. He had thought they would go into her bedroom, but instead she appeared to lose interest. He wished now he hadn't spoken. "Penny? What have I done wrong?"

Penny turned soft eyes to his. "Absolutely nothing, Sheldon. But we're moving too fast. I'm sorry. I just lost control there for a little while. I want us to do this right."

Sheldon tried to reason that out. "But we both want this, correct?"

Penny nodded. "Very much, honey. But you said you wanted to learn. And lesson number one is we take our time. We don't just jump into bed. We are going to date, and get to know each other as potential lovers, and explore this attraction carefully. I don't want a relationship based only on desire. Understand?"

It clicked in his head then. "You mean that if we save sex for later, the things we do before then will give us a foundation for building our friendship into more than just a friends with benefits relationship." She kissed him gently and nodded her head. Sheldon cupped her cheeks in his hands. "I want that, too Penny. I want a real committed relationship. And if that means I have to wait to sleep with you, then I will."

She laid her head on his shoulder and they relaxed into each other. They wiggled until she was on her side, with him behind her. Sheldon wrapped his arm around her waist and they got comfortable. She reached for the remote and turned on the Firefly dvd she had been watching that morning.

Sheldon woke up feeling very refreshed. Penny was still curled up in his arms, and he smiled softly. He looked over at the clock on the dvd player. It was 5:24pm. They had slept over 5 hours. Sheldon frowned at the implications. He had never woken up feeling so energized. He took a moment to analyze that. There was only one conclusion. He did not have enough evidence to arrive at an accurate theory. He grinned suddenly. It was entirely possible that having Penny beside him would result in deeper and more rejuvenating REM sleep. He would need to test that hypothesis. Now, to just convince her that sharing a bed was necessary for REM sleep. All in the name of science, of course.