Title: Live Now
Rating: PG-13/T
Originally posted: 8th April 2018
Originally written for: ANGSWIN – 'I would like a fic about what unlikely incident brought them together in the first place. What happened to Penny/Leonard and Sheldon/Amy? How does the rest of the gang react to the new Penny/Sheldon relationship?'
Notes: set post the series so far as at date of publishing (April 2018); for HetSwap 2018.

It was essentially a misguided attempt at saving their marriage. Well, maybe it wasn't so very misguided but it sure had backfired in the end. When Leonard suggested it, Penny agreed, sure it couldn't make matters any worse. Then she mentioned the plan to Amy who had clearly decided it might be the cure for her own failing marriage, and there was no doubt in Penny's mind that Sheldon never once thought to argue.

What better way to mend what's broken than with a video game? The guys still put a lot of stock in time spent in an RPG, and these days, it was possible to have a whole other life that existed purely in the virtual world. With all possibilities open to them, the two couples ought to have reconnected in this other world, managed to say the things that proved too hard in real life, maybe sparked the romance and passion again that had long ago died away.

It worked, in fact. Certainly, they found love again inside the game. The problem was that the wrong people had been romancing each other in their virtual lives, however inadvertently.

There hadn't really been a fight about it. The data was irrefutable, as Amy had said, and there really was nobody left to blame. She packed up her stuff and said goodbye with a smile that shocked everyone, maybe even herself.

Leonard took it harder, at first, but then he always did. In the end, he realised that it couldn't be helped. As he left both his wife and best friend behind for now, he told them only that he should've seen it coming.

And then there were two.

"So, that happened," said Penny from one end of the couch.

Sheldon considered telling her what a redundant use of words that was but right now he didn't have it in him.

"I find myself caught in quite the maelstrom of emotions," he told her instead, staring straight ahead as he considered it. "I have such an affection for Amy which has never wavered. I told her I loved her and vowed my life to her because I thought it made sense. At the same time, I believe a man of my IQ must have known that persisting with the marriage was futile, I just didn't have it in me to give up."

"That's because you're a good man, Sheldon," Penny assured him, smiling in spite of everything, especially when he met her eyes. "You always have been."

"I hardly think so in these circumstances," he told her, shaking his head. "The other overwhelming feelings I seem to be experiencing are relief and happiness, neither of which ought to be components of the reaction brought about by the breakdown of two marriages."

"I think relief is normal," Penny considered. "The worst is over. The truth is out. That's gotta be a good thing, right?"

"I suppose." Sheldon nodded. "It does also seem oddly fitting that this should be the way that truth was discovered. After all, one of the first occasions in which you and I bonded was over a video game."

Penny smiled at that particular memory.

"Conan the Barbarian," she recalled happily. "God, I loved that game."

"It was fairly addictive at the time," Sheldon agreed, smiling back at her. "You were an excellent player."

"Thank you."

It was easier to remember the way things were back then before everything got complicated. Before Penny let herself believe she and Leonard could work. Before Amy came into their lives and made it her mission in life to have Sheldon for her own. Serious relationships, weddings and marriages, it all got so out of hand.

"You know, Penny," said Sheldon then, turning a little in his spot to look at her, "as much as I have improved in my social skills and am better equipped to deal with the feelings, as well as the physical activities, connected to romance, I did not have the capacity back then. If I had..."

"If you had?" Penny prompted when he fell silent. "Sheldon? How long have you known that you had feelings for me?" she asked then, suddenly a little taken aback by the realisation that this may have been coming for some time, and not just on her side.

"I think a more pertinent question to be answered first pertains to the exact situation we find ourselves in now," he said, shaking his head. "For instance, if you were to ask me if I truly believed my character was courting Amy's character within the game, my truthful answer would have to be no."

"You knew it was me?"

"I did."

"Huh. Well, that makes me feel a little better."

Sheldon frowned a moment before realisation dawned.

"Are you implying that it is not merely my genius level of intelligence that led me to this conclusion? That you also knew?"

"I knew." Penny nodded. "Well, I was pretty sure from the get-go. You're one of a kind, Sheldon," she reminded him, meeting his eyes again. "Even when you're playing a character in a game. There was no way I was interacting with anyone but you and... and I know it's bad because I should've stopped when I realised, but I didn't want to," she confessed. "It's crazy how much I've missed you lately. I mean, you're right here, right across the hall, we see each other all the time but... but it's not the same, is it?"

"No, I don't believe it has been for quite a while," he agreed, heaving a sigh. "If only I had been better equipped when we first met, this ludicrous situation could never have presented itself."

"When we first met? Really?"

"Oh, Penny," he said, rolling his eyes. "Please, do not pretend to be so oblivious. I am sure you were not unaware that we were all highly attracted to you on the occasion of our first meeting. While you have been known to make jokes about my being a robot, I believe you actually know better in reality."

"Of course, I do," she agreed, nodding her head, inching a little closer along the couch. "I felt it too, and I knew it was crazy and it could never happen, but then time went by and we got closer. I just never knew how to make it work. It seemed impossible with a guy like you. Then there was Amy and you... you changed. For her, you were willing to be closer, to be a boyfriend and a husband. My God, you have no idea how jealous that made me, but I had no idea how to deal with it all. So, I just clung to Leonard, thinking we had to make it work in the end. Pretty dumb, huh?"

"You think that was pretty dumb for you, but someone as intelligent as I am should have known better at least," said Sheldon, looking at her one more time. "There is no woman in the world that can compare to you, Penny. In all the galaxies and all the dimensions, known and unknown, there never shall be."

It was, without question, the most beautiful thing any man had ever said to her, and Penny's eyes filled with tears for not just that reason, but also because it was Sheldon who was finally saying it now. She had waited far too long, but at least it seemed that perhaps it wasn't too late. Her hand went to his cheek and he instinctively leaned into her touch.

"I love you so much, Dr. Sheldon Lee Cooper, B.S., M.S., M.A., Ph.D., Sc.D."

She smiled at the look of surprise on his face that she had memorised such a list and recalled it all in such a moment too.

"Penny, I did not think I could love you more than I already did, but now, I think I actually might."

She laughed at that, she couldn't help it, but the humour left the situation when he leaned in closer and they finally kissed. It was sad to think of the endings that had been caused in bringing about this new beginning, but it was true what people said about letting the past go and not worrying about the future. The present was what had to matter most.

Somewhere in Penny's head there was a quote, she might even have got it from one of Sheldon's sci-fi shows, and it came to mind now as he kissed her.

'Live now; make now always the most precious time. Now will never come again.'