Later that day, as the sun was slowly setting on Pasadena, Leonard and Wyatt headed back to the apartment. They had spent almost the whole day either watching or playing baseball, which Leonard enjoyed more than he thought he would. It was a completely new experience for him, not only because he was getting involved in baseball, something of which he had never been interested in, but because he was finally getting the feeling of what it would have been like for him as a child if his own father had treated him like Wyatt did. As a child, Leonard had very little father-son bonding time, and any time he did spend bonding with his father, was built around academia. He never took him out as a child to play catch, or sit down with him in front of a television and teach him about sports. He never took him fishing, or camping. He never taught him how to fix anything, or give him even the slightest idea of how to get a girlfriend. His father never taught him anything that a father was supposed to teach his son, and Leonard had always worried that because of that, he would never be able to teach any son he had those kinds of things, but Wyatt was a different man to his own father. He enjoyed doing all those things and now, thanks to him, there was at least one sport that Leonard understood and could teach to his own son one day.
It hadn't been easy, it had taken Wyatt most of the match to explain to Leonard the rules and regulations of the game, but eventually he caught on and was pretty confident that he understood what was going on. He was so confident in fact, that when Wyatt suggested they go to the park and play a game, he was very enthusiastic about it. They went to the store and bought a catcher's mitt and a bat and ball, and they headed down to the park. At first, there weren't many people around, so Wyatt just threw the ball to Leonard and he tried to hit it, but it didn't go well. He spent most of the time swinging the bat but hitting nothing, so they switched places, but that didn't go very well either. It turned out Leonard was as bad at throwing the ball as he was at hitting it.
Wyatt persisted however, telling Leonard that everyone finds it hard at first, and reassuring him that he would get it in the end. Leonard was surprised at how patient he was being with him, but concluded that it was probably because he had three children, and had most likely done this with each of them. Leonard remembered how Penny always told him that her dad had wanted her to be a boy, and had spent most of her childhood doing all the things with her that Leonard had never gotten to do as a child. He wondered if it had taken Penny this long to get the hang of playing baseball, but presumed that it hadn't, and even if it had, it was still pretty embarrassing considering she would have been a child and he was a grown man that could barely throw a ball and certainly couldn't hit one.
Eventually though, after a good hour or so practising, he got the hang of throwing the ball at the correct speed and height needed to allow it to reach whoever was batting. A few children, probably around the age of ten, came over and began to play with them, as did a few of the male parents that were around. It didn't take long for Leonard and Wyatt's small game to turn into one that took up most of the park as more and more people joined in. Leonard surprisingly found the game a lot more exciting when it was being played rather than watched and he wondered if he would come to the same conclusion with other sports. He even found himself getting quite competitive, which was unusual, and had even found that he was actually fairly good at catching the ball. He knew he must of looked quite amusing as he spent most of the game out field, running around with his big mitt in the air, his geeky glasses and his green lantern t-shirt on, since he had taken off his new jersey in order to keep it clean, despite Wyatt's protests that it was supposed to get dirty.
It was probably the most exercise Leonard had had in a long time, and he was exhausted, but he kept on going, running around the park trying to catch the ball. There was something about being out in the fresh air, competing and working as a team with other people that he actually quite enjoyed, but then again, maybe his happiness had less to do with the fact he was outside socialising, and more to do with the fact that earlier on that day, Wyatt had pretty much welcomed him into the family.
It had been a huge weight off of Leonard's shoulders when Wyatt told him he had his blessing to marry Penny, and ever since that moment he had felt like he was soaring with happiness. It made him wonder how he would feel if Penny actually said yes to him when he proposed, because if he feels like he is flying now, god only knows what heights the acceptance would send him to. He had to stop himself from thinking things like that though. Leonard knew he was one to overthink and get too carried away, and he had promised himself that he was going to do this thing one step at a time and he still had a good bit to do before he got down on one knee, so he couldn't get too carried away yet.
Leonard and Wyatt had continued to play for a couple of hours, until everyone became tired and hungry and headed home. They quickly got a bite to eat at a snack bar before they made their way back to Leonard and Pennys apartment. They chatted casually about what a great game it had been and about how much fun it had been playing in the park as they made their way up the stairs, carrying all their baseball gear with them. Leonard was pretty exhausted, and his face was flushed with the sun exposure that it rarely saw, although Wyatt didn't seem any different. Leonard's body ached as he climbed the stairs, because he had been using muscles he was not used to using in his everyday life. He was dirty, and his face had splashes of mud and sweat, as did his jeans and t-shirt, although his muddy t-shirt was covered up by his clean baseball jersey. But even although he was tired, sunburned and aching all over, Leonard felt happy, content and accepted, feelings that he barely knew before Penny came into his life.
They eventually reached the fourth floor and as Leonard was about to unlock the door and head in, he stopped. He turned around to face Wyatt as he felt the need to thank him for the great day they had had. "Wyatt, thank you." He said almost shyly. "I had a lot of fun today." Wyatt just stood and nodded. "And about what I told you earlier… I would really appreciate it if it was kept between the two of us, I don't want too many people knowing."
Wyatt grinned and patted him on the back. "Don't worry Leonard, I won't breathe a word of it to anyone. Just you make sure to let me know as soon as she says yes!"
Leonard beamed, "Of course, sir… And if she says no I'll just give you a text." He laughed, before opening the door and heading into the apartment.
The girls were sitting on the couch, with a glass of wine in hand, and there were shopping bags scattered all around the apartment.
"Hey boys!" Hilary said with such cheeriness that Leonard was sure she hadn't just had one glass of wine that day.
Penny turned around as she had her back to the door, and smiled at them, before looking Leonard up and down and scrunching up her face. "Dad?" She asked, tilting her head. "Who is this guy you have just brought into my apartment and what did you do with my boyfriend?" Leonard looked at her, a little confused as he took off his catcher's mitt and put his bat on the floor, while Hilary and Wyatt laughed.
"Oh this is your boyfriend alright." He said with a grin. "We went to play baseball in the park and he was pretty good too… Well, he could just about catch and throw the ball, just don't give him a bat and expect him to hit anything!" Wyatt laughed, and then as he looked around the apartment, his laugh disappeared. "Did you two leave any money at all in my bank account?!"
Penny and Hilary giggled, the effects of the wine showing. "We did!" Hilary exclaimed. "And now, you are going to take me out for a lovely dinner!"
"I am?" Wyatt asked.
Hilary nodded and grabbed her shopping bags. "You are!" She stood up and gave Wyatt her bags, and then turned and gave Penny a kiss on the cheek. "Bye, sweetheart. I had fun today, see you tomorrow at your play!" Hilary squealed with excitement and so did Penny. "Bye Leonard." She gave Leonard a quick kiss on the cheek, "Oh sweetie, I think you need a shower!" She said playfully, before taking Wyatt's arm and heading out the apartment.
"Bye!" Wyatt shouted as he left.
"So…" Penny said as she stood up from the couch, walked towards Leonard and raised an eyebrow. "You play baseball now?"
Leonard grinned as Penny played with the collar of his jersey. "That's right."
"You do realize that your face is almost the colour of my red wine?"
"It's not that bad is it?" He said with a frown.
Penny giggled. "Let's just say, I will definitely be able to spot you in the crowd tomorrow!"
Leonard smiled back and pulled her closer. He felt like he had barely seen her that day, and he wanted nothing more than to hold her close to him. He had overcome a huge hurdle today, one that had been quietly eating at him for the past few days, and he knew he hadn't been quite himself. But it was done now and he finally felt, for the first time in a couple of weeks, that he could relax.
"Oh, I almost forgot!" She said as she pulled away excitedly. "I got you something today, although I'm not sure if you will like it now that you have gone all jock on me!"
She went over to her bags and began rummaging through them, "I really am being spoilt these days huh? First your dad buys me stuff now you! We gotta get your parents to visit more often!" Leonard chuckled.
"Okay! Close your eyes!" She said as she jumped up and held something behind her back. Leonard done as he was told and after a few seconds she excitedly said, "Alright open them!"
He opened his eyes and Penny was holding up a t-shirt, it was black with the figure of superman, standing in his classic pose with his hands on his hips, but his face was cut off at the neck of the t-shirt. "How cool is this! When you wear it, it will look like you are superman! Do you like it?" Penny said with so much enthusiasm that Leonard decided she had definitely had more than just one glass of wine.
Leonard laughed as he took the t-shirt from her hands. "I love it!" He said as he held it up to his body.
Penny grinned and bit her lip as she took the t-shirt from him again, placed it on the sofa and wrapped her arms around his neck. Leonard held her by her lower back and kissed her, tenderly at first but within a few minutes their passion for one another overtook their bodies. He held her tightly against him as she ran her hands through his hair and down his back. Shivers ran throughout his body, washing over all his aches and pains from the day and removing every inch of exhaustion he had felt.
Penny moved her hands to his chest and began to unbutton his jersey as she pulled him toward the bedroom, and with a grin and one eyebrow raised she said "Let's get you in the shower and clean you up."