Sequel to: Eudaimonia

Raj was an outcast. He arrived in America and thought that he would be freed from the yoke of tradition and expectations, only to be met with racism, intolerance and hate.

Meeting Howard was lady luck herself giving Raj a break. The other man wore clothes that were a little too tight on him and he failed to understand why women found him creepy. But, he had accepted Raj as he was, and Raj for the first time found someone that understood that overbearing parents did not equal loving parents.

And then Raj was sucked into the orbit of Sheldon Cooper. The Physicist was brilliant, there was no other way around it. Raj devoured his papers and attended his (very) rare classes. The man was eccentric, Raj got sucked into comic book night, paintball, Thai food. Friends.

And then Penny joined their group, she was the Sun, Sunshine incarnated to this earth. She never made fun of his heritage, nationality or skin color. She would not make fun of him for his other hobbies, The Notebook, Twilight, 50 Shades, The Bachelor. She was a friend he did not know how to appreciate.

While he harbored a not so secret crush on Penny, the one from Leonard's bordered on obsession. He brought it up once and Leonard whined and compared himself to the protagonists from those 'chick things' that Penny likes and Raj's stomach twisted.

But Leonard was his friend. He ignored the voice that pointed that Penny was his friend as well.

Then the Arctic happened and it became easier to make fun of Sheldon. To reduce him to a cartoon, a child having a tantrum. It made it easier for Raj to ignore the pain in the other man's eyes.

When Sheldon created the position for Raj, so he wouldn't be deported, that's when the first cracks appeared. Sheldon didn't need to do that. Raj was aware that Penny was now in a higher totem position than himself, Sheldon would move heaven and earth to keep Penny in his circle, and yet he extended a hand to Raj.

Raj rationalized it, Sheldon was selfish, he's only doing to keep you here. Raj should have focused on the fact that Sheldon wanted him to stay.

And then Raj's own career started taking off, no longer his success would be tied to Sheldon's name. It made it easier to regress to previous behaviors. 'Ignore Sheldon', 'He's special', 'He'll be a real boy one day'

After working so closely with Sheldon it was easy for Raj to catch the small cringes, the twitching hands and blink-and-you-miss-it frowns that showed how their comments hurt Sheldon. But Howards was doing and looking expectantly at him. 'Howard is my friend.'

But Sheldon had been his friend as well.

When Leonard finally was able to successfully date Penny, Raj had been jealous. How could he not be? But he remained her friend…at least for a while.

Raj had spent enough time around Penny to learn her moods and habits.
-Penny sat next to Sheldon. (Until a disapproving look from Leonard put a stop to that)
-Penny went out dancing. (Until Leonard guilt trip her into staying at home)
-Penny did things with Sheldon. (Until Leonard started being cruel and nasty towards Sheldon after he had been out with Penny)
-Penny smiled a lot when she got laid. (She didn't smile as often now, only a forced smirk that made her look older)
-Penny joked around with all of them. (Her jokes had an edge now, cruelty right around the corner)
-Penny liked spending time with them. (More and more night she was alone or with the girls)
-Penny liked drinking a glass of wine with dinner. (After Leonard and her started dating, this became a glass with every meal and then Raj caught her smelling like alcohol during her shift at The Factory)
-Penny liked acting. (Penny stopped going to auditions after Leonard accused her of wanting to cheat)
-Penny dressed comfy and in bright colors (She only wore long sleeved blouses and pants in muted colors. Leonard whined if she wasn't wearing his clothes, even though they didn't really fit Penny as she was taller than him)
-Penny liked to watch Football and have parties. (Penny only hangs out with them and Leonard now)
-Penny hugged everyone. (Penny now looked to see if Leonard was around first)
-Penny is a happy person by nature. (Penny is no longer happy)

Raj could see how Penny became…less. A muted version of herself.

Leonard argued that Penny was doing better than ever, she had a better paying job (and that also seemed to rankle him), she abandoned acting, she was growing up, she 'stopped being foolish'. And Raj was certain that Leonard didn't realize how much like his mother he sounded like in that moment.

And then Penny and Sheldon left. Raj, like everyone else, was shocked, until he stopped to think about it. Sheldon had become withdrawn, just taking the punches from everyone else, including his girlfriend. And Penny was becoming someone Raj refused to recognize.

Sheldon was more than his eccentricities and Penny was more than the wine in her pantry.

The week after Sheldon and Penny were gone was the hardest for Leonard. Raj stopped going to Los Robles altogether when Leonard moved into 4B. He didn't know how, but the man had purchased the same furniture that Penny had and was basically memorializing the place. One tense pizza night was enough for Raj to never want to return.

Seeing the way Leonard was acting was the wake-up call that Raj needed. He started going to Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) -he wasn't sure why Howard snickered every time he mentioned it- and was happy to see results. He was able to talk normally to the new waitress at The Cheesecake Factory and was able to make small talk with the mail lady.

Two months after Penny had left, he decided to reply to her email. He apologized for not saying anything to Leonard. For failing as a friend and for not appreciating her enough. He did not mention Leonard, or Howard, or Amy, or Bernadette.

Hitting the send button Raj felt a sense of relief. He hoped that it was enough, he had purposely waited to reply early in the afternoon so Penny could reply after she got home from work and mayb-

The Skype ringing sound makes Raj jump in his seat. It's Penny.

Before being able to think it twice he clicks to accept the video call and there in all her pixelated glory is Penny. She looks fantastic, much more like the Penny in his earlier memories than the stranger that tried to take her place.

Her smile is back and is soft on her face as she gazes into the camera. ¨Hey Sweetie.¨ She says softly. She's clearly in bed and lying on her side, a small orange kitten is lying next to her head on the pillow.

A smile grows on his face as well and tears prickle at the edge of his eyes. Raj now understands what it feels like to see the sun after it has been hidden for years.

They talk and apologize to each other, for missed chances, for broken friendships and they both talk about starting over. Raj is about to ask Penny where she is and if she wouldn't mind if he went to visit when an arm snakes across her front and she's pulled back against someone.

Raj freezes at the suddenness of it all, he knows that she's the one that called him but it still feels like he intruded in something intimate. He's not sure why but he's about to apologize when Penny beats him to it.

¨Oh, sorry Raj, Sweetie. It's almost midnight for us and Sheldon is a sleep-cuddler.¨

He's having trouble processing any part of that sentence, but he sees the fond exasperation on Penny's face, how her smile didn't diminish and more importantly, that she's sober.

Raj squees in pure excitement and soon Penny joins him. ¨I know right? But it's been fantastic.¨ and Penny sighs in pure happiness.

That night Raj goes to bed happier than he has been in a while and it's all because he knows Penny and Sheldon are okay. Raj and Penny organized a call for next week, he wants to properly apologize to Sheldon and hopefully recover a semblance of a friendship.

Raj is able to talk things out with Sheldon, there's too much baggage there for things to go back to normal but Sheldon still wants to try, Raj is floored by the offer. Penny later messages him to tell him that Sheldon was happy about starting over and was even considering inviting him to their home.

Penny and Sheldon are in New York. Penny's social media went private when she left, but he's lucky to be invited in again to see what their life has been.

There's pictures of a train, of them eating beignets, Penny posing next to a Sailor Moon cutout, Sheldon in the middle of biting a sandwich, Sheldon with the softest expression ever holding a tiny orange kitten, Penny in a beautiful garden smiling widely with her arms stretched towards the sky, Penny struggling to get up on a gigantic bed, Sheldon and Penny in front of Columbia University, Penny laughing in what looks to be a Chinese restaurant, Sheldon giving a class, Sheldon and Penny sitting side by side on a couch and the orange kitten sitting between them.

They were happy. Maybe it was time for Raj to find some happiness of his own as well. Howard and Bernadette were together and Raj loved his buddy but things were not the same, he had different priorities now. Amy only hangs out with Bernadette, and Leonard dithers between being fully depressive to almost manic, plus there's an edge there now. Whenever they go out Raj doesn't miss the way Leonard's eyes swivel and focus on every blond head.

A few months later Raj is happy to know that Leonard is in a somewhat serious relationship with an undergrad student named Kate, he brings her around for drinks one night and when he sees Kate for the first time he can't help but share a look with Howard. Howard looks just as put out as him and even Amy makes a small comment. Kate could be Penny's little sister.

Raj can see history repeating itself, the drinking, the manipulation, how Kate seems scared of Leonard's reactions. He pulls her aside and tells her the truth. He's happy to hear that she broke up with Leonard the next day.

And then it finally happens. They're in the cafeteria when Kripke makes a noise, Raj has been thinking about his PTO days and when he should travel to New York next month when his brain finally catches up to him and he sees Penny on the screen. He has already seen this music video, Sheldon proudly showed it to him on their last call.

He knows there's a credits roll and what it will say.

Turning to Leonard, Raj is dumbfounded, the man looks as if it's his girlfriend on the screen. Raj still remembers how Leonard told Penny to grow up and give up on acting and this is that same man?. And it's because he's focused on Leonard's face that he sees how it changes, the way he scrunches up his features, the pinched lips that remind him of Beverly, and Leonard is suddenly yelling and throwing his lunch tray on the floor like a toddler being denied something.

He looks at Howard and he can see a similar fear on his face. Leonard is not okay.

New York is really fun. He was already fully crying when Penny came out with the rest of the cast to bow and he had never imagined that Sheldon could clap so much.

He spends a week there and the Coopers open their home to him. There's Halo, and Pizza, the new addition is Club Sandwich night. They go and visit their new Comic Book Shop, and Raj is pleasantly surprised by the cozy atmosphere and attached coffee shop.

Raj makes small talk with the barista which he initially thought to be an Indian expat like himself but her French accent captured his attention immediately. Her name was Naeema and she was from Mauritius. Penny pulled Sheldon to explain that they should give Raj some space and Raj made a note to buy her a gift basket.

This first trip makes him look at New York and wonder 'What if.'

By the time Penny and Sheldon announce their pregnancy a year later, Raj is living only 20 minutes away with his girlfriend, Naeema.

Verum Finis.