Sorry for the heaviness, sometimes life has a grey overcast. I promise we'll see some blue skies later in the week.
Enjoy!
The rest of the week went by quickly for Penny. She spent her Tuesday car shopping. She scoured the car ads on craigslist and kijiji and after a few calls that she regretted making, she finally found a seller who didn't seem like they were a psycho killer. Penny purchased a yellow 2000 VW Golf. The seller was a nice woman who was about Penny's age. She was upgrading to a SUV because it could hold her son's soccer team.
She spent her Wednesday clothing shopping. She purchased clothes that weren't t-shirts and jeans for her new job. She couldn't wear the same pencil skirt and one pair of dress pants that she owned every day. Plus it gave her an excuse to splurge on shoes. After spending some of her money, she spent her Wednesday evening with Sheldon, Leonard and Amy at the comic book store. They all went to Sheldon's after and watched a classic sci-fi movie called Forbidden Planet. Sheldon reminded Penny that it wasn't a date, she reluctantly agreed. After the movie had ended and Amy and Leonard left, Penny decided that instead of torturing herself she would go home too.
Her dreams weren't as bad, but they were still there. They were still unsettling. Penny just wished she could get over this thing that had so much power over her, but she found that it was hard. Though if she did have a bad dream, Sheldon would appear in them, telling her that it was going to be okay. It made her feel better, like she knew that he would protect her. No matter how bad things got, she knew he would be there.
Saturday came fast. Penny stood in front of Doctor Sheldon Cooper's door to take him on their second and a half official date. Penny knocked on just under the 4A sign and waited. Normally, she would have just come in, but today she was on official date business. Sheldon opened the door and his blue eyes stood out against his black batman t-shirt and light blue thermal. Penny grinned at him.
"Hi." She quickly said while taking his hand. She gave him a gentle tug and his body obeyed her command by leaving his apartment.
"Hello" Sheldon replied as he fished his keys out of his pocket and locked his deadbolt. He grasped her hand and the two walked down the stairs together.
"So where are you taking me?" Sheldon asked as they approached the second floor. Penny sensed a little bit of uncertainty in his voice. She lightly squeezed his fingers to reassure him.
"It's a surprise." Penny teased as they made their way down the stairs.
"Penny, you know how I feel about surprises." Sheldon whined. Penny smiled up at him. His face told her that he was worried. She coaxed him past the lobby doors and toward her car out front.
"Can you give me a hint as to what the afternoon holds in store for us?" Sheldon all but begged. Penny got into her car and Sheldon followed suit. Penny looked over at him while she turned her car over and gave him a pouty face.
"I promise you'll like it." Penny assured him. Sheldon fought off a small twitch that pulled at his left eye. Penny fought off the smile that was pulling at her lips. She began to drive and Sheldon looked out the window. The drive to Travel Town was quiet, but Penny didn't mind. It was much better than playing the element game he tried to play with her once, she wondered if he realized that she actually never played the game.
The silence between them was a comfortable one. It was a silence that Penny felt like she could be herself, she didn't have to pretend to be interested in what her date was telling her to only get into her pants. Sheldon placed his hand on her thigh and Penny was quick to cover his hand with her own. Sheldon broke the silence between them.
"Fine, I will accept your premise, but just so you know, I like comic books, trains, koalas- Good Lord! You're taking me to the zoo!" Sheldon exclaimed. He looked at her with wild excitement. Penny tried her hardest not to laugh.
"No, we aren't going to the zoo. It's better, I promise." Penny assured him. Sheldon seemed a bit disappointed, but he kept his hand on her thigh anyway. They continued their drive in silence.
After driving through LA, Penny made it to their destination. Sheldon grinned when he saw the sign. She barely had time to park her car before he was getting out and dragging her to the entrance. They began walking through the museum and Sheldon excitedly chattered on about the trains, what kind they were, what year they were built. If it were anyone else, Penny wasn't sure it would be the same.
They walked up to a train car and Sheldon studied it. Penny watched him and it seemed like the gears were clicking into place inside his mind. He gripped her hand into his. His touch was purposeful. He turned his attention to her and gave her a quick smile. Penny couldn't help but smile back. His shameless love for trains was kind of addicting. She didn't understand why the other guys always harped on him for loving trains so much. Penny decided that she liked train-loving Sheldon.
"Penny, I must say that you know me very well. I really do appreciate your efforts. Thank you for coming here with me." He said. Penny smiled and stepped closer toward him. She placed her hand on his chest to steady herself, stood on her tip toes and pressed her lips against his. Sheldon slightly stiffened under their kiss, Penny took his hand and placed it on her hip. Penny broke their innocent kiss and planted her feet firmly on the ground. She realized that it was the first time she kissed him in public, not only that, he actually let her. She blushed and turned toward the train.
"Did you know that this type of train hauls thousands of tonnes of coal through Nebraska, your beloved home state, every day?" Sheldon asked. Penny had a vague idea about where he was going with it. It was time to pry into Penny's past.
"Tell me about growing up in Nebraska." Sheldon asked. Penny felt herself begin to close off. Her internal alarms were going off, signalling that he was treading on territory that he shouldn't be treading on.
"I guess it's like growing up anywhere else, Sheldon. It probably wasn't very different than growing up in Texas." She replied. They walked away from the train moving forward through the museum.
"Penny, it is highly improbable that you had the same upbringing as I did. I can assure you that the Texan mindset if quite different from that of middle of America." Sheldon said. Penny raised her eyebrows at him. Sheldon gave her a knowing look.
"I think that growing up as a genius in east Texas is quite a bit different than growing up on a farm in Nebraska." Sheldon told her. Penny was beginning to feel defensive.
"Sheldon, I was in junior rodeo. Don't make me kick your ass in front of all these nice people." Penny said, trying to make it sound like a playful warning. Sheldon slightly frowned.
"Penny, my mother, Missy and my Mee Maw were all I had. My childhood, what little there was of it, was unpleasant to say the least." Sheldon told her. Penny crossed her arms, she wanted to tell him that her childhood was just as unpleasant, but she couldn't. She quickly licked her lips and took a calming breath through the nose and exhaled through her mouth.
"Sheldon, I don't want to talk about it. Can we just keep going? I'm having fun and I don't want to talk about who had it worse as a kid." She softly said. She stared at his shoes. Dark grey sketchers. His laces were almost perfect. Penny flicked her eyes up to meet his. He stepped toward her and placed a chaste kiss on her lips.
"My apologies Penny." He simply said as he offered her his arm. Penny graciously took it and the two continued on their date. After they rode the train around the museum, Sheldon offered to take her for lunch. They stuck with the train theme and went to Carney's in Hollywood. Penny and Sheldon talked about Doctor Who, Penny kept calling him Doctor Who and Sheldon patiently told her that he was The Doctor, not Doctor Who. After their lunch, they drove home and Penny was trying to explain the beanie baby fad of the 1990s, Sheldon told her about the general concept of a fad from a sociological perspective.
Sheldon walked Penny to her door. She leaned her back against the door and looked up into Sheldon's face. His eyes darted across her features and she felt guilty for pushing him away earlier. She wanted to let him in, but she spent so many years building up her walls that it was hard to break them down. He laced his fingers into hers and Penny could see his beautiful mind working.
"I wanted to apologize if I upset you earlier, it wasn't my intention." Sheldon started. Penny nodded. Even though she didn't want to have this conversation again, she forced herself to.
"All I want is to get a little bit closer to you, I want you to tell me things that no one else knows. I want you to feel comfortable telling me whatever is on your mind." Sheldon continued. Penny nodded again. She knew that she would have to let him in, she knew that he could tell she was resistant.
"I know. I just need you to be patient with me." Penny explained. She was going to deconstruct herself one brick at a time if she had to, maybe admitting that she was hard to get close to was the first step. Sheldon's tongue darted out and he quickly moistened his lips. He nodded just as she had. Penny smiled. Maybe it didn't have to be so hard. Sheldon softly kissed her. She let him wash over her. She felt relieved. Sheldon pulled away and smiled at her.
"Would by chance want to join me for laundry night?" Sheldon quickly asked. Penny didn't hesitate.
"I would love you join you for laundry night, 8:15, right?" She confirmed. Sheldon softly smiled at her.
"Yes, 8:15." He said. Sheldon quickly kissed her again. The softness of his lips lingered on her own.
"See you then, Penny." He said as he walked toward his apartment. Penny let the excitement build up inside of her as she watched him disappear into his apartment. She quickly made her way into her own apartment and began collecting clothing that she could toss in the washer.