A/N: Thank you to everyone reviewed the previous chapter, they are always appreciated .
Penny was a sleep although not soundly, when she suddenly woke up confused as to why she merely turned over and tried to get back to sleep unfortunately she couldn't. She also realised this couch wasn't as comfortable as she'd hoped it would be, now wishing she had taken Leonard up on his offer to use his bed instead. Penny finally found a more comfortable position and was drifting back to sleep when she heard something that woke her, sitting up and looking around seeing nothing in the dark. She listened closely to see if she would hear the noise again, after a few minutes of hearing nothing she lay back down again trying to get back to sleep. Unfortunately she wasn't able to get back to sleep as she started to wonder while lying there that the reason she had originally woken up was because of the noise she heard.
After a while having no success in getting back to sleep, Penny got up with a huff realising she wasn't going to get any sleep out here now. She started wonder what to do when she remembered Leonard had offer her his bed sure he meant to herself. But she kind of like the idea of sharing his bed with him. So Penny made her way down the hall to Leonard's room pausing at his door, suddenly wondering if this was a good idea. But she quickly discarded her worry knowing she wasn't going to be able to get back to sleep out there on the couch with it not being that comfortable or that noise she kept hearing. Opening his door slowly she stepped into his room closing the door softly behind her turning to the bed in the dim light from outside she could make out Leonard's sleeping form. All she could think was how adorably cute he looked lying there asleep, she could see how peaceful he looked in his sleep and actually started to feel a bit sorry that she was going to wake him. Sitting down on the edge of his bed , she softly spoke his name " Leonard" getting no response she put her hand on his shoulder shaking him slightly " Leonard".
Leonard slowly started to wake , blinking a few times try his best to understand what was happening "Penny?".
"Yeah hi i was wondering if i can sleep in your bed".
Leonard was till a bit groggy ,wiping his eyes "You want to sleep in my bed?".
"Yes, i can't get comfortable out there and there is this noise i keep hearing and i have no idea where it's coming from".
Leonard yawned whilst nodding his head "Sure you can sleep in my bed " with that started to get out of bed , only for Penny to put her hand on his shoulder to stop him " Where are you going?".
Looking at her confused " To the living room to sleep on the couch".
"Don't be silly your bed is big enough for the both of us lets just share".
Leonard's eyes went wide "You want to sleep with me?".
Penny chuckled "Sure unless it makes you uncomfortable".
Leonard thought about it While he didn't think it would be uncomfortable for him to share a bed with Penny it did make him nervous , but it still sounded like a good idea' he thought " Okay if you're sure".
Grinning at him even though she doubted he could see "Thanks". thinking for a moment " Leonard do you have anything i can wear?".
"Erm my t shirt is over there you can use that if you want , sorry i don't have anything for your bottom half".
"It's fine the t shirt will do" shuffling to end of the bed Penny retrieved Leonard's t shirt , turning to look at Leonard to see him watching her though she doubt very well without his glasses on. "Leonard can you look the other way while i get changed?".
Leonard blushed and quickly looked away even though without his glasses on and the low light he couldn't of seen much anyway "Oh sorry".
Penny smiled even though it was dark she knew he probably was blushing, quickly stripping down to just her panties she put Leonard's t shirt on. Pulling it up to her nose she inhaled the scent he had left on the t shirt making her smile why she didn't know. She made her making her way back to the top of the bed she carefully got under the covers facing towards Leonard's side of the bed. Seeing that he was still facing away from her, she tapped him on the shoulder.
"Leonard sweetie , you can turn around now" Leonard turned back to find himself face to face with Penny so close he didn't need his glasses, she smiled at him before leaning in to kiss his cheek " Thank you for letting me stay here".
"Your welcome Penny".
Still smiling she gave him a soft kiss on his lips "Goodnight Leonard".
"Goodnight Penny". with that they both went to sleep with a feeling of being very comfortable with the other next to them.
Sheldon got up and did his morning ritual before heading into the living room , to find that his unwanted guest was nowhere to be found , he wondered for a moment if she had left. Deciding to go check if she had gone to join Leonard for coitus he made his way to Leonard's room fighting the urge to knock on he quietly opened the door. To find that she had indeed joined Leonard in bed but as he hadn't heard anything during the night maybe she just wanted somewhere more comfortable to sleep. Closing the door he made his way back to the living room and over to his desk, he spent a few minutes writing out the consequences of Leonard's action then printing them off. He went back to Leonard's door slipping the sheet of paper under it , before walking back and going to the kitchen to get his breakfast. A smile on his face the entire time over what he'd given Leonard 'That'll teach him to bring uninvited guest here again' he thought .
Leonard woke up with smile on his face, Penny had moved in the night and now had her head on his chest and her arm around him plus one of her legs had moved between his. He had been surprised when she came into his room , telling him she had heard a noise and couldn't get back o sleep out there, so had asked him if she could share his bed. Leonard was both excited and nervous about being in the same bed as Penny, hoping his body wouldn't betray him. Luckily it hadn't .
After a while he felt Penny begin to wake up he watched as her eyelids slowly opened to reveal those beautiful green eyes of hers. When she saw he was looking at her she smiled "Morning sweetie".
Smiling back "Morning, did you sleep well?".
Nodding her head " I did , again thank you for letting me stay ".
"You're welcome , but just out of curiosity what made you want to sleep in my bed?, you seemed happy to use the couch".
"I was but i got woke by a noise and just couldn't get back to sleep also your couch isn't that comfortable for sleeping on".
"I did offer you my bed ",
"I know but i didn't want you to give up my bed for me, besides " moving closer to him" Doesn't it feel better to share a bed with someone instead of sleeping alone?".
Leonard blushed, he had very much enjoyed having Penny in bed with him , sure he shared a bed with other women but it just felt different with Penny better even. Nodding " It does " looking at the time " Well i should probably get up". Penny herself off him so he could get out of bed , as he made his way to the door where his robe hung, just as he was putting on his robe, he saw a sheet of paper on the floor. Picking it up he looked at it seeing it was from Sheldon he knew something like this would happen from what happened yesterday but this was too much even for him.
Penny had watched Leonard walk around the bed and towards the door for his robe only wearing a white t shirt and boxers , Penny smiled when she noticed he had a cute tushie. She was disappointed when he covered it up with his robe , when she saw him pick something up from the floor and started reading it , she sat up in bed " Leonard what's that?".
Turning around he came back to the bed and sat down on the edge near Penny ,he let out a sigh" I have to take Sheldon's class again TWICE ".
Penny looked confused "Sheldon has a class , what's that about".
"Well if any of us do something he doesn't like he gives us a strike , if we have three strikes we have to take his class".
"That's stupid, just tell him you're not taking his class".
"I've tried that he made my life a living hell until i agreed to take it".
Shaking her head" And you still live with him ?".
"Yeah i know , he isn't that bad most of the time well some of the well on a few occasions".
"Still if it where me i'd of moved long ago, anyway what are the strikes for?".
" Lets see , Strike 1 - Bringing a uninvited guess into the apartment
"Strike 2- Allowing a non gang member to share our food".
"Strike 3- Not participating in game night instead leaving with the interloper".
"Strike 4-Allowing said interloper to stay in our apartment without 12 hours notice".
"Strike 5- Your interloper was sleeping in my spot".
Penny just looked at Leonard shocked "Are you serious you got 5 strikes all because of me?".
"Yup but don't worry about it".
"It's wrong Leonard , why should he get to say who can visit and who can stay or what you do, it's your apartment too".
"I know but according to the room mate agreement i have no real choice".
Penny looked at him confused " What the heck is a room mate agreement?".
"When i came to look at the apartment i had to pass barriers to even look around the place and i had to sign a room mate agreement to actually move in. I had been looking for ages and this was the best apartment i'd found so i didn't think much of signing the room mate agreement although now i wish i hadn't".
"Well i think your stupid for not only signing that room mate agreement but for putting with the way he treats you".
"What am i supposed to do?".
"I don't know move out and get your own apartment".
"I know, but can we forget about this, do you want to have breakfast here or go out?".
"Fine i'll let it go for now, i'd rather eat out than have to deal with your room mate".
"Okay do you want to take a shower or have my drive you home?".
"Erm i'll just put my clothes back on and you can take me home to have a shower and get changed".
"Okay i'll go take a shower while you get dressed".
Penny watched as Leonard went to drawer and picked out some clean underwear and then a t shirt , he stopped at the door before leaving smiling at her " I won't be long". with that he left. As soon as the door was shut she got out of bed quickly pulling on her jeans, but as she was about to take Leonard's shirt she stopped deciding she wanted to keep it on. She picked up her blouse and bra holding them in her hands and sat patiently waiting for Leonard to come back not wanting to go outside and deal with his crazy room mate.
About twenty minute passed when there was a knock on the door " Penny is it okay to come in?". Penny almost laughed he was asking her if it was okay to come into his own room. "Sure sweetie" the door opened to reveal Leonard now wearing a clean pair of boxers and t shirt with what looked like a picture of both a dog and a cats head. She made his was over to the closet getting a pair of pants to put on after he'd put them on he got a hoodie putting it on as well then a jacket over the top. Nothing about what he was doing was exiting yet Penny couldn't help but watch as he got ready to go out, once done he turned to her "You ready to go?".
Penny got up smiling "Sure am , lets go". with that they both left Leonard's room making there way out the apartment whilst ignoring what Sheldon was saying to them.
On the drive over to Cheryl's apartment Leonard couldn't help but think of the fact when he got back to his room after having a shower finding Penny had gotten ready but was still wearing his t shirt.
When they got to Cheryl's apartment building , Penny turned to Leonard "Do you want to maybe come and wait in the apartment whilst i get ready?".
"I don't know will Cheryl be there?".
"Probably but don't let that bother you , she'll probably just ask how you are and stuff just be yourself".
Leonard nodded "Okay" .
Smiling at him thanks sweetie okay lets go up" with that they got out of Leonard's car and made there way into the building, whilst in the lift however Penny wondered if it was a good idea after all to have Leonard come up with , she started to worry what Cheryl might asked him or more importantly what she might tell him.
When they got to Cheryl's apartment door Penny took a breath before unlocking the door and entering , she felt a bit of relief when Cheryl was no where to be seen. But that didn't last long when she suddenly came out of her bedroom "Oh morning Penny, and i can see by the way your dressed and with Leonard stood behind you that you spent the night at his , way to go girl".
Penny just scowled "Yes i did spend the night as i was too tired to drive but it was just sleeping nothing else".
Turning to Leonard "Sweetie, i'm just going to take a quick shower and get changed then we can go out and get something to eat, will you be okay out here?".
Leonard nodded " Sure i'll be okay you go get ready".
Smiling at him " Okay " leaning over giving him a peck on the lips " I won't be long " with that she left for her bedroom to get ready. Leonard just stared at where Penny had gone not knowing what to do. Finally turning and seeing Cheryl sat on the couch staring at him with a smile on her face, which made him uncomfortable. Seeing the chair he made his way over to it and sat down avoiding eye contact with Cheryl.
Cheryl had watched the way Leonard was behaving he looked so nervous being here and she kind of felt sorry for him as Penny had essentially left him with someone he didn't really know. A smile crept on her face as she realised she had the perfect opportunity to find out more about him and see what it was about him that had Penny like him so much.
Going for a simple approach "Leonard would you like a drink?".
Leonard turned to her "Sure ".
Getting up and heading to the kitchen "What would like? we have coffee, tea, wine and some juice".
"I'll have juice please".
After pouring him a glass of juice she made her way over to him "Here you go".
Smiling up at her "Thanks" smiling back you're welcome". returning to her seat "So Leonard what do you do for a living?".
Leonard took a sip of his drink before answering " I am a experimental physicist ".
Cheryl just stared at him blankly "A what?".
"A Experimental physicist" seeing the same blank look he tried to explain " I create experiments to determine if other peoples ideas are true".
Cheryl nodded even though she really didn't know what he was on about" So any hobbies?".
Leonard really didn't want to tell her his hobbies , but didn't want to be rude " I like reading and collecting comic books as well as figurines, i like to watch sci-fi fantasy tv shows and movies especially super hero ones. I like to play video games and board games i also play paint ball every Saturday morning with my friends, what about you?".
Cheryl was not at all surprised at the things he did for hobbies as she along with all the other waitresses had thought they where nerds , and what he just told her confirmed it. However she didn't understand someone with such a fascinating job could be caught up in such childish things, and why had Penny fallen for him it just didn't add up for her.
But he had just asked her a question and she needed to answer "Well lets see i like to party watch sports go out watching movies , going to the beach you know normal stuff".
Leonard frowned "Normal stuff?".
Cheryl look wide eyed she hadn't realised how that come across to him " Oh i mean you things that most people do, it wasn't a dig at your hobbies".
"Well it sounded like one, just because i have hobbies that seem odd to you doesn't make them bad".
"I'm sorry you're right people have different hobbies i should make fun of yours".
There was silence between them Cheryl didn't want to say anything in case she said something wrong again plus she was worried about if he would tell Penny about what she said. It was Leonard who spoke next deciding to ask her about what her and her friends had done, turning to look at her "Why did your friends spy on Penny?".
Cheryl looked at him and was stunned he had asked her that question deciding to play it safe "Well we , well I thought you too where just pretending to date because..". trailing off before she said too much.
"Why would you think we would pretend, what possible reason would i have to pretend to date Penny?". Leonard was just as confused now as when Penny told him the same thing.
Cheryl was stuck what does she tell him, deciding she will tell him a mostly truth " Well you have understand i've known Penny since middle school and not being rude you're not the kind of guy she normally dates".
Sighing " I guess you're right but that doesn't mean that Penny can't change, but out of curiosity what where the guys like that Penny dated?".
Cheryl looked Leonard in the eye" Are you sure you want to know?" Leonard nodded "Well okay, Penny has always had a type and not being rude you are not it. She always dated the guys that where popular and athletic with great hair usually football players some baseball players a wrestler a few who went the gym and they where all taller than her. They also all had something in common they where all bad boys", she decided not to tell him that guys like him Penny used to pick in high school " I'm sorry Leonard".
Leonard looked dejected at hearing the kind of guys Penny usually dated which made him wonder why she had been dating someone like him instead of her normal type, was it out of pity?.
Penny had rushed having a shower and getting ready she didn't want to leave Leonard with Cheryl too long in case something was revealed she didn't want him to know. Just as she was about to leave she stopped and picked up Leonard's t shirt bringing up to her nose to inhale his scent,which now was a mixture of her own. She thought about giving it back but decided she was going to keep it until he asked for it back until he did she was going to to use it as a sleep shirt , she smiled thinking of herself going to bed in his t shirt. So putting back down she left the bedroom all ready to go but she knew instantly something as up Leonard looked so sad and Cheryl was avoiding looking at her.
"Sweetie you ready to go". without even looking up he nodded and made his way to the door Penny watched him then turned with a scowl on her face at Cheryl who was still avoiding looking at her. She quickly followed Leonard out the apartment and found him waiting by the lift for her "Leonard are you okay? without looking at her again "I'm fine". Penny now knew something was terribly wrong and she had a feeling it as something that Cheryl had told him, for moment she panicked wondering if Cheryl had told him about the bet.
Leonard was just lost in his thoughts trying to work out why a woman as beautiful as Penny would be with him when she could have much better guys than him. Why had she agreed to go out with someone who was clearly not her type physically, he really didn't know and wasn't sure he wanted too.
They made it to the lobby by now Penny couldn't take it any more "Okay Leonard what's going on, you've been acting strange since i came out of the bedroom did Cheryl say something to you that upset you?".
Leonard finally looked at her "Sort of she just told me some things about you that.. you know what it doesn't matter". with that he made his way out of the building to his car. Penny quickly following him finally catching up with she grabbed his arm turning him to face her "No Leonard i want to know what she told you that making you act this way?".
Looking at her he could see nothing but concern in her eyes maybe even a bit of fear" Okay i'll tell you but not here lets go and get something to eat and i'll promise i tell you then".
"Okay but you better tell me i don't want any secrets between us" inwardly cringing when she remember that there was a a huge secret between them, Leonard nodded "Okay". Both got into his car the journey to the cafe was quiet both lost in there thoughts Leonard still overthinking what Cheryl had told him and Penny wondering what was bothering him so much.
They arrived a cute little cafe not to far from her now favourite restaurant , Penny now wishing she had her bikini so she could do abit of sunbathing after the meal. Getting out of the car together Penny not giving Leonard a chance to do what he normally would , as they met Penny grabbed his hand and gave it a squeeze. This made Leonard look at her she smiled sweetly at him and was happy when he smiled back, they made there way inside sitting down by the window waiting to be served.
They both ordered there meals and a drink , when the waitress left Leonard looked out the window towards the beach seeing all the people on it noticing quite a lot of guys who where much taller than him and way better physiques this got Leonard back to thinking about the type of guys Penny used to date the guys on the beach where probably just like the guys she dated. It again made him wonder why she was with him when she could be with someone like them he also remembered what Penny had said to him the first time they went to the beach, seeing all these young buff guys maybe she was right about him not fitting in. Then there was the club every guy who hit on her was also taller and more built than he was sure Penny had turned them all down but it didn't go unnoticed that no guy like him hit on her. Although she had told everyone one of them he was her boyfriend , but even that thought didn't make him feel any better, he knew he was just being ridiculous. He just didn't know why knowing the kind of guys she usually dated made him so insecure, especially since she was now dating him and seemed to be happy about too.
Penny watched Leonard looking out the window towards the beach , she didn't like the look on his face he look so dejected she really needed to find out what was wrong "Sweetie are you going to tell what's wrong like you promised".
Leonard was brought out of his train of thought by Penny saying something , turning to look at her he nodded , 'Maybe telling Penny what he was thinking will ease his feeling of inadequacy ' he thought.
" I was talking to Cheryl about you".
A/N: Thank you for taking the time to read this chapter i hope it was okay, i am sorry if you didn't like the second half of it. It was just that for some reason i thought Leonard needed to know the kind of guys Penny used to date. Then i thought Cheryl would be perfect person to let it slip about the kind of guys Penny used to date. Also given how Leonard was in the beginning of the show which is the time this story is set i thought it would make him insecure and have him over think why she was with him.