CH

"So how do we this?" She asked, leaning over the counter, watching him have another slice of cake. The shed/rocket was built, the troops had been fed, and once again the little house was silent except for the two of them.

"I suppose I should ask you out on a date."

"That's it? But we've done all those things already." Penny pointed out.

Sheldon put down his fork thoughtfully. "Well, if this was two hundred years ago, which it isn't, I would ask to make your acquaintance, arrange to 'run into' you at various events until such a time as I was welcome to pay a visit to your abode and formerly request your hand in marriage from your father. Unless of course, you established by the code of the fan that you were not interested, or rebuffed my cleverly coded bouquets of flowers."

Penny pursed her lips. "Would you have tried to sneak a kiss in the moonlight?"

His eyebrows twitched. "Would you have been receptive to such a thing?"

"Well, you do waltz divinely."

"I see. You do know that the waltz was a risque form of dance not acceptable for respectable young females of a certain class at that time?" He quizzed.

Penny burst out laughing. "Would that have stopped you?"

His lips curled up at the edges. "Social protocol has never stopped me before."

She rose up and walked around the counter, touching his chin gently with her hand. "And that is one of the things I love about you." She winked and quickly kissed him on the cheek then left the room, climbing the stairs.

He sat there, frozen for a moment, before a smile took over his face.

When she had informed him over supper that she was accepting his proposition, he had instantly envisioned a line of mini geniuses coming down the stairs in full paintball equipment, with Penny bringing up the rear, issuing commands and plans of attack. They would be formidable, unbeatable. Penny had aged gracefully of course, her long blond hair tied back in a braid, her camouflage tank top clinging invitingly to the curves childbearing had emphasized. He would be similarly dressed, greying perhaps, but not bald- nobody in his family ever went bald, and he would pat his Nobel Prize lovingly before going out the door to take on the Last Chance Paintball Park. All of the children would have inherited Penny's athletic prowess, except the youngest, who would be the smartest, and who would grip his hand tightly as they ran through the tire park cleared by the older siblings... The fact that this youngest child had big green eyes and a long blonde ponytail surprised him enough that he had been able to blink away the vision and cut his cake before Howard started singing about monkeys.

What monkeys had to do with birthdays, he'd never know.

He hadn't really considered the fact that the children would also share Penny's looks, not just her abilities, perhaps some to the extent of being mini-hers. Pressing his hand to the kiss which was still tingling on his cheek, he found the idea irresistible. He'd never before met someone so attractive and simultaneously so good at video games, what would the world do if they produced a female so attractive, and with brains to rival his...

She could work for the government. The next Mata Hari. A live Queen Amadala. He stood up suddenly. The next leader of the Nobel Prize Award Committee!

His fingers fumbled with excitement as he moved his plate and fork to the sink, rinsing them carefully before putting them into the dishwasher, and turning off the light.

There was much to be done. Much to be learned.

He had planned on a extended courtship of dinners out, followed by movies in, but she was right, and they had been doing that all summer. He was now officially a boyfriend.

He needed to find out what that entailed. He would have to ask Penny. Slowly he climbed the stairs.

Penny sat on the edge of her bed, running a brush through her long hair. It had grown another four inches since she had moved into the house. It hadn't been this long in years. The one time she had mentioned getting a haircut, Sheldon had cut her off so quickly, she hadn't brought it up again. With all that had happened in the last while, she had started to wonder if he had a thing for long blonde hair.

It might be the most normal thing he'd ever done. Lots of men had a special liking of long hair, she'd just never really thought much about it until he had reacted so badly to the suggestion that it needed to be cut.

And she did enjoy the way it felt on her fingers.

One hundred strokes with a boar bristle brush, her mother had drilled it into her conscious. Fifty on top, and fifty upside down, to let the blood rush to the scalp. Healthy hair was beautiful hair. Her mothers one vanity.

A worthy one, she thought, because it was true her mother had had beautiful hair. Longer than Penny's, even now, and a lighter shade of blonde courtesy of her Norse ancestors.

She was even pretty sure there was a song about long hair.

It wasn't long before she heard Sheldon's footsteps coming up the stairs, and then a silence which meant he had paused. Looking up, she saw him standing in the doorway to her room, watching her slide the brush through her hair.

"Yes?" She smiled at him.

"I just thought..." He blinked, eyes mesmerized on the trajectory of her brush strokes, "what does a boyfriend do?"

"Well," Penny stood up and moved over to him. "Usually, they give their girlfriend a kiss before bed."

"Ah, the good night kiss, I read about that." He frowned.

"I just brushed my teeth." Penny notified him seriously.

His eyes slide over her, and one of his long fingers reached out to touch the length of hair cascading over her shoulder. She rarely wore it down like this.

Suddenly, with hawk like accuracy, he swooped in and planted a quick kiss on her lips.

"No." Penny shook her head, "Like this."

He had to admit her was much more enjoyable.