A/N: It's starting to heat up. Ready your body.

It was Saturday night. Sheldon had a plan in mind to bring Penny onto their paintball team as their sniper, hopefully permanently. He wasn't sure his 'bribe' would work but he had to try.

At 8:15pm Penny met him in the laundry room and he gathered his courage while loading the machine.

"So, Penny," he began. Confidence was key, he reminded himself. "Our paintball rematch against the Geology department is tomorrow."

Penny smirked. Sheldon didn't know it, but she was prepared to accept whatever 'bribe' he offered just to keep up the pretense. She just wanted to spend time with him. And shooting things was fun. "Yep. And you haven't offered me a good wake up bribe yet. You sure you really need me, Moonpie?"

Sheldon's jaw clenched at her use of his Meemaw's nickname for him but he reigned himself in. He did indeed need her. In more than just paintball, he was starting to realize.

He drew in a deep breath and straightened his spine, bringing himself to his full height. He nodded in resolution and stepped toward her.

"If you join us for paintball there will be more where this came from."

Sheldon cupped her face and crashed his lips onto hers. It wasn't the gentle tentative exploration from a week ago. He'd had time to think about this and he knew what he wanted and wasn't afraid to let her know. Her lips had slightly parted in surprise as he'd touched her face and now he took advantage of it by capturing her bottom lip between his. A moment's pressure and he touched his tongue to her lip, asking for more.

Penny opened for him and fisted her hands in his layered shirts, hauling him closer. She wasn't expecting this to be her bribe, but she would take it. And take it and take it, as long as he was offering.

His tongue didn't linger in her mouth long. It darted in and out, almost tentatively tasting her, and it was driving her crazy. The third time he darted in she caught it and sucked. It woke something in him and he pushed her up against the rumbling washing machine, one hand going into her hair while the other slid to her back, holding her closer. He was starting to feel the strain in his neck but didn't want to stop so he brought both hands under her arms, which had gone around his neck, and lifted her so she sat on the washer.

Now that they were on even footing, so to say, he could continue to explore. His hands slid up and down her back while hers trailed down his chest. He idly wondered if she could feel his heart beating against his ribcage. It was certainly beating hard enough.

Her shirt had ridden up when he lifted her and when his hands reached the small of her back he felt the heated skin there. When he stroked it Penny wrapped her legs around his waist and pulled their bodies flush. His hardness pressed against the seam of her jean shorts and they both gasped and broke apart, breathing hard.

Penny left a trail of small wet kisses along his jaw to his ear and whispered, "Are you bribing me with sex?" Then she took his earlobe between her teeth and lightly grazed it, sending a shiver down Sheldon's spine.

Sheldon buried his face in her neck and drew in an shuddering breath. "I wasn't." He whispered and placed a kiss on the junction of her neck and shoulder. "But if this isn't a good enough bribe..."

He groaned as she tightened her legs around him, pressing him harder into her, and ran her nails through his hair.

"I mean I was gonna say yes regardless of what you came up with," she said, lightly pulling his hair to one side to expose his slender neck. She once saw it as strangleable. Now she just wanted to bite it; so she did, and he gasped and groaned again, grabbing her hips with both hands. "But if I can get more out of it I will."

"So you're saying you'll be my sniper tomorrow?" he asked, leaning his forehead against hers and looking from one eye to another.

Penny grinned. "Honey, if you wake me up with sex I will do just about anything you ask, short of cleaning."

"That's fine; I prefer to do the cleaning myself. You never get it right." He smiled and kissed her again.

~*DD*~*DD*~*DD*~

When the washers finally stopped they were so rumpled there was no mistaking what they'd been doing. Their lips were swollen and their hair mussed, and Sheldon had a fading red bite mark on his neck.

Penny brought up their situation while they were loading their second loads - his whites, her delicates. "In all seriousness, Sheldon, what do you want out of this? I'm not really comfortable with a 'friends-with-benefits' situation. I like you too much."

Sheldon shook his head and started the washer again. "I agree. But would you be opposed to a relationship?"

Penny felt a small frisson of fear strike her and brought her hand to her throat. "Would that really be a good idea though? What happens if we break up?"

Sheldon leaned against the washer and considered her questions. "I don't think it's a bad idea. We've been friends for years now. We already know the best and worst parts of each other. And if, for some reason, we decide to discontinue the relationship I believe we could resume our friendship fairly easily. Really, all we'd be doing by entering into a relationship would be adding a physical element to our already mutually fulfilling friendship."

Penny thought about that. About their particular brand of friendship. Then she thought about the last week, and their various kisses. If he was as good in bed as he was standing in the laundry room they had real potential as a couple. And even if he wasn't particularly good at first, he was a real quick learner.

"Alright," she said finally. "Let's try it. Sheldon, will you go out with me?"

Sheldon smiled. "Only if you agree to be my sniper tomorrow."

Penny grinned. "Deal. Seal it with a kiss?"