STEP FIVE: MAKE HER LAUGH

It happened by accident. He'd reached to brush a strand of her hair off his arm, and his fingers had brushed her side. Her eyes had widened, and she'd jumped to the side, with a shriek, looking at him with wide eyes.

His own filled with amusement. "Penny? Are you ticklish?" His eyebrow was up. Memories of Missy's only weakness flitted through his brain, and unconsciously he reached for her again.

"No." She lied, trying to avoid his reaching hand, without letting go of his arm. Dinner had been nice, he was still Sheldon, she was still Penny, they had disagreed, agreed, one upped each other, and thoroughly enjoyed themselves. She couldn't remember the last time she'd had so much fun on a date without drinking booze. As usual, once they were one on one, just them, he had relaxed, his phobias had slipped and let down, she had come to realize a long time ago that they were strongest when he felt left out, or he wanted attention, and he often did.

When they were alone, he had her attention, and he turned into a sweet, slightly bad tempered, child genius who had been forced to grow up too soon and so clung to the comforts of his youth.

Grilled cheese sandwiches with happy faces on them.

Comic books.

Playing dress up.

His arms were longer than hers, and his fingers found her side again, his other arm pinning her own against his side, holding her captive as he tickled her. Her laughter floated down the street, and soon he was laughing too.

Not his usual breathy laugh, but a devious low chuckle, that he probably hadn't used in decades.

"Stop." She gasped, "Stop, please."

Immediately he stopped, and resumed walking as if nothing had happened, only shooting her a brief glance that made her breath catch in her throat, there were little wrinkles around his eyes, and they were still crinkled in silent amusement.

She sent him a patented evil Penny glare, and he merely raised his eyebrows and smirked, then tried to blow up her mind with one hand.

She mimicked him perfectly, and he gasped a laugh, which made her laugh again.

They paused to cross the street, and Penny grinned up at him, and pressed herself up against his side, looking up at him through her eyelashes.

People didn't tickle Penny and get away with it.

He stood very still and looked down at her without moving his head, unsure of what was happening.

She ran her hand up the front of his suit, slowly, taking her time, they had to wait for the light to change anyways, and when he swallowed, she batted her eyelashes flirtatiously. "So Dr. Cooper." She said in her most falsely innocent tone. "Are you ticklish too?"

His cheek jumped, and his eyes shifted. "No."

"If you were Pinocchio, your nose would be growing." She patted the flash symbol on his chest with her hand, loosening her grip on him. She didn't want to overwhelm him, and he was starting to twitch, never a good sign.

"It is physically impossible for ones nose to grow as suggested in that story, but I suppose the reference could be used in a double entendre, in fact I'm sure Howard has used it at least twice on some poor female." He commented dryly.

Penny's mouth dropped open and she looked up at him in surprise. "Well played." She acknowledged, licking her finger and pretending to touch his shoulder with it, making a noise that reminded him of bacon sizzling in a pan.

He relaxed again, and smiled slightly, making her giggle.

The light changed, and she pulled him forward, "Come on Mr. Witty, laundry awaits us!"

He rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Penny, penny, penny... I'm not Mr, ANYTHING. I have two Phd's." He reminded her severely. "But yes, I am quite witty, aren't I? It's one of my most endearing traits."

"Aside from your little practical jokes?" She commented, with a straight face.

"Well." He grinned, "I do enjoy the occasional Bazinga!"

She was laughing again, and he didn't know why, but she wasn't laughing AT him, so he didn't really care. She had a nice laugh. It was loud, and it filled the space she occupied, but it wasn't unpleasant, even if it did seem to have adverse effects on his heart rate.

But then, it always had.