"Look, Leonard," Penny said excitedly as she walked into his lab, holding up the item she'd purchased earlier that morning. "The perfect gift for that wackadoodle you live with!"

Leonard took the box with a frown. "Headphones?"

Penny grinned. "Yep. But not just any headphones, they're the noise cancelling ones! That way, if I stay over we can have as much sex as we want, without him ever hearing it."

Leonard grinned as well, but Penny soon saw it morph back into a frown. "Sheldon doesn't like getting gifts."

Penny rolled her eyes. "Seriously, you need another roommate. Okay, enlighten me, why does the great doctor Cooper dislike getting a gift? Is it because someone else touched the package?"

Leonard grinned. "No, though I'm surprised he didn't think of that, considering his germ phobia. To him, the act of gift giving is a contract, forcing him to reciprocate with a gift of similar value, both monetary and perceived."

"Hmmph, I really hope my friend finds some good loopholes in that contract. I do not want to be woken up early in the morning, just so you get to pick up Sheldon before work." Penny stepped closer to Leonard, placing her hands behind his neck and kissed him. "Some things I don't mind being woken up for, though," she added after the kiss.

Leonard grinned. "I'll keep that in mind."

Penny initiated another kiss, enjoying the feeling of being held close against Leonard as their tongues dueled inside their mouths and his arms wrapped lightly around her waist.

"I'm glad you decided to visit me on your day off," Leonard said when the kiss had ended.

Penny smiled. "Well, I haven't seen you since Monday morning. I figured I might as well stop by so we can have lunch together."

"Sure, I'd love that. Did you have a place in mind?"

"Uhm, no, not really. How's the food here?"

Leonard frowned. "Really? You wanna have lunch in the cafeteria here?"

Penny shrugged. "Why not. It's close so we cut down on travel time." She pressed her lips against his, deepening the kiss quickly. "Plus," she added, breathing a bit heavier, "it gives us some time for other activities." The statement was followed by another kiss, while her hands were slowly moving over his body. "Your door locks, right?"

"Huh? Uh, yeah."

Penny simply nodded an acknowledgement, released Leonard, and walked over to the door, closing and locking it. "Take of your clothes."


Leonard couldn't wipe the grin of his face even if it would save his life. Glancing to his side, he noticed Penny seemed as happy as he was. She had initiated it, claiming that she couldn't stand going without sex any longer. It had definitely surprised him, the whole notion of someone actually wanting to do that with him decidedly non-standard. And he'd definitely never expected to do that in his lab, or anywhere but in the privacy of a bedroom or maybe a hotelroom.

When he'd realized he didn't have protection he'd tried to back out, but Penny had been quick to inform him she had taken care of business and would be good for a while. That little bit of information indicated Penny was actually expecting they'd be having sex for the foreseeable future.

"Certainly worked up an appetite now, after our activities," Penny said suddenly, though thankfully soft enough that only he could hear it.

Leonard grinned. "Yeah, I could definitely eat something right now."

Penny grinned back at him while she took hold of his hand, linking their fingers. "Yeah, I could eat a horse! Well, you know, if I wasn't a vegetarian."

Leonard looked at today's offering on the menu as they queued up. "Well, no horse on the menu," he joked after a couple of seconds.

"No, but quite a few good options," Penny observed. "I think I'm getting the Mac 'n' Cheese."

"Well, as you know, cheese and I are not very good friends," Leonard said, not needing to explain his comment as he had told her he was lactose intolerant, "so I'm going for the salad."

"The salad? I don't think so, Mister. You need to eat something that'll give you some energy for tonight. We've got the house all to ourselves again, and I plan on making good use of that good fortune."

To say Leonard was surprised to hear this, was an understatement. Already having had sex today, he did not expect Penny to already plan for more tonight. Then again, that first night, almost a week ago, she had proven her healthy libido by initiating it three times over the course of a couple of hours, so perhaps this shouldn't have been such a big surprise at all. "Right. Maybe I'll have the Beefaroni instead."

It took a couple of minutes before they could finally get their order and pay for it, all the while Penny standing close to him, one hand holding his, the other rubbing his back, an arm or wherever she felt like. Leonard knew it was a bit childish to feel smug every time he caught an envious look from the other men around him. But it really wasn't his fault the gorgeous woman - standing so close to him there wasn't even room for a molecule to be in between them - had decided she liked him that way. Nor that she wasn't afraid to publicly show to everyone they were together. Even during the walk from the register to the seating area she kept one hand to him.

Leonard noticed Howard and Raj sitting at a table of four and he automatically started in that direction but slowed down as he remembered Penny wasn't exactly a big fan of the two, and with good reason. He looked around quickly, hoping to find another table in the general direction he'd been going.

"It's okay, Leonard," Penny murmured. "They're your friends, and I'm sure they know now not to upset me or oggle me like that."

Leonard grinned, but felt he needed to caution her. "I don't know about that last part, though. Howard's... uhm... special that way."

"Well, if he creeps me out too much, I'll touch him in his special place. And not at all like the way I touch your special place," she added, smirking a little.

Leonard chuckled, knowing full well Penny would definitely make good on the threat. "Make sure you explain that to him," he said softly. "Hello, boys," he said out loud to Howard and Raj as they reached the table.


Penny shook her head as she got into her car. She loved Leonard, but his friends and colleagues were just plain weird, creepy, or both. Even though Howard had been on his best behavior, she had noticed his glances at her top. Raj had been quiet, of course, unable to talk in the presence of any woman he wasn't related to, and had kept to himself for the duration of their lunch.

Then Elmer Fudd had shown up, and boy, if she had thought Howard was creepy, this guy redefined the term. He had taken up a position next to her, slightly behind, offering him an unobstructed view down her top, which she was sure he had taken full advantage off, judging by Leonard's disapproving glare at Elmer. When he had bent over to tell her earnestly that when she was done with little league to come see him, she'd made clear to him she would not take him up on the offer the only way she deemed appropriate: she'd swung her arm hard into his midsection. Daddy didn't call her slugger for nothing!

Despite Howard and Elmer, Penny still considered her visit to Leonard's place of work a great idea, not in a small part due to their activities in his lab just before lunch and the make-out session after lunch. Leonard had been really surprised when she'd locked his door and instructed him to take of his clothes. He had admitted he'd never had fooled around in his lab, which Penny had loved hearing, knowing she'd be his first and hopefully only experience with sex in his lab. She smirked at the thought that this might have been a nice start to a list of places. Not that she had much experience with sex in other places, her list currently limited to a few times in the back of a car, her bed, Leonard's bed and, as of an hour ago, Leonard's lab. But she was definitely looking forward to extending that list with new, exciting places. Just with Leonard, obviously.

She had to rid her mind of those thoughts so that she could focus on driving home safely, Penny realized as she passed a crossing, not entirely sure if the light had actually been green. Glancing in the rear view mirror, she could already see traffic crossing from left to right, so the light had probably been red, or maybe yellow. Stop thinking about Leonard she admonished herself.

Perhaps they could start extending their list by doing it in every room of her house? They did have an entire weekend after all. Damn, horny much? Well, she was, she admitted to herself. And what happened to not thinking about Leonard. Well, it was hard not to think about him, especially having sex with him. Leonard may be shy and insecure, but he definitely knew what he was doing in that area, and he did it very well.

That was a very big difference from her experiences from before Andy was conceived, limited in number that had been. Of course, back then she and the guy hadn't had a clue as to what they were doing, but it wasn't like she had gained any experience since then, Leonard technically being the first since Andy's conception. And Leonard wasn't overly experienced either, yet he seemed to know how to please a woman. Penny frowned. That wasn't exactly true, was it? Leonard had been really unsure after their first time, worried she hadn't achieved the blissful state and had instead pretended to not hurt his feelings. Perhaps it was just something with the two of them that made things so good?

It certainly seemed that way. Even if Leonard had a little more experience than she had, she knew from his friends his relationships in general hadn't lasted very long. She couldn't imagine anyone having received the level of pleasure Leonard had given her, would've willingly walked away from that. Yet, they had, Penny knew; all of Leonard's previous relationships had been broken off by the woman he'd been in a relationship with at the time.

"The thing is, sometimes he can do or say something that scares away the woman he loves." Miranda's confession from last Sunday came back to her. Could it really be so bad it would drive anyone away from him? Could it drive her away? She had been adamant to Miranda she would never dump him, but a little bit of doubt started to form. Penny shook her head. She was being silly and nervous over nothing, she told herself. Leonard was a great guy, something those other women - luckily for her - hadn't realized.

Or perhaps they had been afraid of commitment and all Leonard had done was profess his love for them. Some women just had commitment issues, even if that was more common for men than women. That was probably it, Penny decided, easing her own mind. After all, why else would anyone leave the sweetest man she'd ever known?


Leonard exhaled loudly as he caught himself once again looking at the workbench next to the lab door. He'd been looking at it regularly for the past few hours, reliving the activities that had taken place just before lunch. As a result, his afternoon had been less than productive. He checked the time, realizing he might as well start his weekend a little early. It was a good thing he had managed early on in the week to have Sheldon brought home by Raj, providing ample time for Sheldon to prepare for the change.

Leonard entered his car almost fifteen minutes early, but considering the amount of overtime he had accumulated, it was unlikely the university would consider this a problem. He didn't think Penny would mind either, considering her earlier remarks. He still couldn't quite believe this was all really happening, but for once he decided not to put too much thought into it, something he knew he tended to do. So far Penny had shown clearly that she at the very least liked him a lot, giving him no reason to entertain thoughts about any of the multitude of bad scenarios he knew he would conjure up with ease.

It was the surprisingly light traffic that allowed him to park in her driveway a good twenty minutes earlier than he had anticipated. Penny opened the door with a smile before he had even reached it. Her arms went around his neck and she kissed him deeply, sighing as the kiss ended. "I missed you," she breathed. Leonard just grinned widely, enjoying the very warm welcome he had just received. He then noticed her glance over his shoulder, smiling brightly and he turned to see who or what was making her smile.

"Hi, Mrs. Gallaghan," Penny greeted the woman, then introduced him to her neighbor. Leonard politely shook her hand, glancing back at Penny as she added "my boyfriend." Not just 'friend,' as he had expected, but 'boyfriend'. They hadn't discussed this before, they hadn't even said 'I love you' to one another.

"My nephew will be very disappointed to hear that," Penny's neighbor said. "You know he wants to be with you forever."

Leonard frowned, not quite sure what to make of that remark. Was that the reason Penny had introduced him as boyfriend? To ward off another attempt by her neighbor to be hooked up to a nephew? Or was this Penny's way of making her neighbor's nephew jealous, and she really wanted him? She wouldn't do that, would she?

He was probably tall and good-looking too, Leonard thought glumly. Probably worked out a lot and be all muscles, and, admittedly, probably a much better match for Penny anyway. He wondered how long it would be before Penny would break up with him and run to her dream man. Would she ever think of him again? Would the two of them laugh at their wedding as they remembered the short nerd who actually believed he'd had a shot with her? Would she even remember him at all?

He suppressed a sigh. Another relationship that seemed to be over before it had even started. Maybe Howard and Raj had been right to mock him the first time they met Penny. He might not have any brainwashing powers, but the supposed relationship was clearly based on a ruse. He'd probably never hear the end of it from his friends.

He was so caught up in his doomsday scenario that he had completely missed the short conversation that had been taken place, and only refocused on the here and now when the neighbor said her goodbyes and crossed the street. He followed Penny inside, not sure what to do next. If Penny was indeed just using him, he should probably get out, before he would be hurt even more.

Penny was pushed up against him as soon as the front door was closed, her mouth hungrily connecting with his, confusing Leonard. Was she still pretending? Why would she? Obviously the guy she really wanted would hear back from his aunt soon enough. This just didn't make any sense whatsoever. He looked at Penny, as the latter seemed to sense something was wrong, a frown forming.

"Leonard? What's wrong?" Her expression changed to one of realization. "Oh, God, did I jump the gun with the whole 'boyfriend' thing? I know we haven't discussed our exact status yet, but I thought you felt the same way? Listen, we can just go back to being friends and just do the dating thing." She smirked. "Well dating and having lots of hot sex."

"What about your neighbor's nephew," Leonard asked.

Penny moved her head slightly further away, looking at him all confused again. "What about him?"

Leonard averted his gaze, no longer able to look her in the eyes while she was looking at him. "Well, he wants to spend the rest of his life with you. I just thought that..." He stopped talking as Penny started to laugh.

"Leonard," she said once she got the laughter under control, yet still smiling broadly. "The kid's ten years old. I don't think you have to worry about me running of with him."

Leonard exhaled in relief. "Oh, that's good to know. In my head you were using me to try and make him jealous or something." He was about to kiss Penny, glad his doom scenario wasn't even close to reality, when she suddenly pushed away from him.

"What the hell?! You really think I'd go out with you to make someone else jealous?! Damn it, Leonard! We had sex, for God's sake! Do you think I'm a slut?!"

Leonard only stared at her, not quite sure how to respond. To his dismay, Penny retreated even further, her eyes filled with hurt and anger.