Long distance relationships suck ass.
Penny knows it's been only a week since she's been back in Nebraska but it honestly feels like much longer. She's been busy preparing for her transfer to UCLA because she's only got a limited amount of time if she wants to start her next semester of college in the fall and in Pasadena.
Tamika was very smug, telling Penny 'I told you so' over and over again when Penny told her she and Sheldon were finally dating. Only to turn into a crying mess when Penny told her she was transferring to UCLA, Penny was crying alongside her, but this was something that she needed to do for her future.
And she wasn't even talking about Sheldon and her. Penny wanted to act, wanted to be in TV and movies, and wanted to impress people in a theater. Penny wanted all of that plus Sheldon.
Sheldon was already at the top of his field and he was only climbing higher and if Penny was fully honest, Sheldon's worst enemy was himself. Penny loved the man but he didn't know when to shut up. And because Sheldon was on top, Penny was going to try her darndest to climb right there next to him.
"And what does Dr. Cooper think about you transferring to UCLA?" The weather sucks ass and Tamika was the best friend ever by going out to buy ice cream sandwiches for the both of them.
"I haven't told him yet. I want it to be a surprise."
"Wait. Didn't you tell me that he hated surprises?"
"...shut up…"
"Oh boy."
And Penny knows that she should have told Sheldon about the transfer but she wasn't sure if it was going to be possible until the last moment and by then she just wanted to surprise him. Which might go horribly wrong now that Tamika pointed it out.
But Penny doesn't believe that he will mind all that much to be fully honest.
They are calling each other almost daily now and when it comes time to hang up, both are reluctant to do so. Penny is 99.99% sure that Sheldon is thinking the same thing as her about how hard it's to let the other go. Penny can't wait to be able to hug Sheldon again.
Long distance relationships suck ass.
Money is going to get tight so she doubles up on shifts as much as The Factory lets her. Which is very often and Penny is about to lose her shit.
Maybe once she's in California she can find a better job than being a waitress. Her feet are hurting something terribly and this is the fourth time in this shift alone that some grabby asshole tries to pinch her butt.
"Hey toots, more coffee here!"
Definitely getting a different job in California.
Penny gets the confirmation letter sooner than she expected. And she's over the moon. She goes out dancing with Tamika and Jack to celebrate and at the end of the night punches some guy that thought it was a good idea to try and kiss her.
The next day brings her up short. She needs to tell her parents.
'Maybe I can pretend that I'm an orphan?' But no, Penny is no coward. She needs to tell her parents because it's the right thing to do. Sheldon is rubbing too much on her.
The farm brings back good and bad memories. Penny loved taking care of the animals and she also hated taking care of the animals. Brushing? Yes please. Cleaning manure? Heck no.
But the memories are also about her family. Her mother drinking from so early in the morning that by the time Penny walked in on the kitchen for breakfast the only thing waiting for her was her passed out mom. Penny had to learn to cook from a very early age, her siblings not giving a shit about her.
Her father had been her idol for much of her life. He would roughhouse with her, take her to games, taught her how to shoot, how to throw a football. And once her breasts made themselves known her father dropped her like it all didn't mean anything to him at all. Penny still hadn't forgiven him.
She takes a deep breath before entering the farmhouse, this is something she's done countless times but Penny is perfectly aware that this might be the last time she does it. This can go to hell in a moment.
Her parents are in the living room, neither talking, her father was reading a magazine and her mom was watching TV, a glass of something in her hand.
"Hey mom, dad" Penny doesn't sit, she leans against the doorframe and crosses her arms, she's not looking forward to this but she still tries to project a strength she doesn't feel.
"Penny?" Her mother is squinting at her and then turns to look at the glass in her hand.
"..." Her father doesn't even grunt an acknowledgement, for that matter, he only glances at her and then goes back to his magazine.
"Yeah, good talking to you guys. I just came here for some stuff from my room…I'm moving to California."
Her mother starts laughing mockingly "I told you Wyatt! She's not smart enough for college. So what? Are you going to work as a porn star?" Penny is used to the mean streak, it doesn't make it hurt any less.
Her father finally closes the magazine and pinches the bridge of his nose. "Still with that acting bullshit?" His voice is equal parts exasperation and resignation.
Penny's eyes fill with tears, she was expecting this but it still hurt. Takes a moment to compose herself, doesn't want her voice shaking for this next part.
"No. I'm moving to California because I'm transferring to UCLA. I've already completed all the paperwork. I'm not here to ask for anything from you…from either of you. Not for permission. Not for money. I'll go pack a bag and get out of your hair." Penny hates that her voice breaks at the end.
She's half dreading, half hoping that either of her parents will follow her to her room. Only silence follows her across the empty house. Penny packs a duffel bag while big fat angry tears blur her vision, her Junior Rodeo ribbons, her Care Bears, the Hello Kitty plush, her favorite sweater and her photo album all go into the bag. The glove her dad gave her on her 6th birthday stays on the shelf.
Packing her childhood takes too little time and there's still only silence from the rest of the house. Penny walks through the halls of the only home she had ever known until a few years ago while uselessly wiping her eyes, it's muted and gray, at least compared to her memories. She leaves out the front door unimpeded.
Penny says goodbye in her heart. She's not sure if to her parents, to the farm or to the hope that they would ever care about her.
It hits her on the drive home.
Penny has to stop on the side of the road, corn fields surround her and she lets it all out. She hits the steering wheel in frustration, screams out in pain and grief. She can't stop crying.
Once she's able to compose herself Penny is surprised by how dark it is outside. She's all cried out and her eyes hurt, but it's a first step. Maybe one day she can move forward without this hurting.
But even with it hurting like hell right now, she's not going to stop.
"Penny. I quite enjoyed this film." Sheldon sounds surprised.
"Yeah? What did you like about it?" Penny is lying on her dorm bed and trying to pretend that the rolled up cover across her waist is Sheldon's arm.
"While usually the films of this variety can't wait to make the 'main couple' meet and enter into a romantic relationship. In this film the viewer never actually gets the catharsis of seeing them enter into such a relationship. It's only hinted at. I found it refreshing."
"But?" Penny knew Sheldon, he had something more to say.
"No buts…just that some of Annie's actions could be considered a bit stalker-adjacent."
"Hey! It's romantic. She is searching for Sam and okay yeah, some of the things she does are a bit too much but…shut up." Penny is not really upset but she was surprised that Sheldon saw it that way.
"I still enjoyed the film."
"Yeah, me too. This is a favorite of mine along with 'You've got mail.' Hey! We can watch that next."
"Of course."
They stayed talking on the phone for a long while after the movie ended. Penny still hadn't told Sheldon about her transfer, she knew he hated surprises but she had a feeling that he wouldn't really mind this one.
Tamika helps her pack stuff up, Penny wants to just throw everything into her car but the other woman looks horrified when Penny suggests the idea.
Even with her stuff properly packed and organized it takes more than a little wrangling to make it all fit into her car.
"Well…I guess this is it." Penny has her hands in her pockets and is awkwardly shuffling on her feet. Tamika was her first real friend in college and if there's one thing that Penny will truly miss from Omaha is Tamika herself.
"Come here you dumbass." Tamika pulls her into a fierce hug and Penny is already ugly crying before Tamika is even able to get her arms fully around her frame.
"I will miss you so much!" Penny is probably ruining the other girl's shirt with snot and tears but she can't seem to stop crying. "You have to keep writing to me, and you have to call me every week. I better be invited to your-"
Tamika is simply saying yes to everything that Penny is asking and patting her in the back. They were supposed to be the same age but Tamika always acted like Penny's big sister.
It takes Penny 10 minutes to compose herself and Tamika is right there next to her until she does and she never lets go of Penny's hand.
"I love you Pen, can't wait to see you on TV."
"You better come to Caltech for your PhD." Penny sounded like a petulant child but she didn't care.
One last long hug and Penny is driving to California in her too battered car. It'll be a long drive but Penny is actually looking forward to it.
Penny's car was so shitty that it didn't even have a CD player. No, she had to make do with the ol' reliable, a cassette player, which was fine by her, it made it easier to record music. She had paid 10 bucks to one of the AV girls for a cassette with her own personal mix of Radiohead's songs.
'How to disappear completely' played and Penny had to fight back tears thinking about her parents. Was Penny somehow in the wrong? She tried her best to be what her father wanted and yet he still stonewalled her when it was clear that Penny was a girl. Penny lost her dad from one moment to another.
'Fake Plastic Trees' is next and Penny thinks of her mother. If she could be called that. The woman was a mystery to Penny, a complete mystery. She seemed to hate being married to a farmer, resented living on a farm and refused to help with any of the farm work. And yet, there she was, on a farm and married to a farmer. Maybe it all was a personal type of hell for her mother, maybe that's why the only good memory that Penny has of her mother is being 7 years old and sick as a dog, to the point that her parents thought she might not make it through the night. Her mother had fed her noodle chicken soup, caressed her face lovingly and even sat all night with her…then again, maybe Penny's feverish mind had hallucinated the entire thing.
'Creep' began playing and Penny sang along with it. Letting out all of her frustration along with Thom Yorke's yell of 'What the hell am I doing here?'. There was always something so liberating about this song and Penny loved it, by the time she finished yelling 'Run' she was back to feeling excited about moving to California. Nebraska had been home, but it was too small for Penny and her dreams.
'Let down' plays as the 'Welcome to Wyoming' sign comes into view and Penny sighs in relief. She had the irrational fear that Nebraska would keep going on forever.
Gas station food is really as bad as it sounds, she sticks to bags of chips and beef jerky.
Driving through Salt Lake City is intimidating, especially at night. It doesn't help that 'Rabbit in your headlights' starts playing, and yeah this wasn't Radiohead but it had Thom York in it so Penny included it. A decision she was regretting now, the song had always given her the creeps and without fail raised the hairs on the back of her neck.
Penny at least gets a decent meal at a Diner.
Vegas comes into view just as 'Everything In Its Right Place' is wrapping up and 'No Surprises' is starting to play. Vegas means that California is just up ahead, a stone's throw away and Penny can't stop smiling, she sings along "No alarms and no surprises, please!".
Penny stops to eat something at Vegas…and she also loses 30 bucks in the slots.
There isn't enough space in the car for Penny to lie down comfortably when taking naps, she curls up as best as she can in her front seat. By the time she's driving past San Bernardino National Forest her back is killing her and she can't wait to sleep in a proper bed again.
Thom Yorke is singing about black eyed angels when Penny finally turns into Los Robles Avenue. She turns off the cassette player.
Seeing Sheldon's building makes her tear up because she's finally here. This is finally happening. She's home.
She parks in the spot reserved for 4A and once the engine turns off she presses her forehead to the steering wheel. Sleep is threatening to overtake her. She shakes her head, grabs her duffel bag and backpack, yawns as soon as the California sun hits her face.
Penny gets on the elevator and tiredly presses the button for the 4th floor. She can't help but lean against the wall, the gentle movement of the elevator threatens to make her fall asleep.
The door to 4A is the most beautiful thing Penny has seen all day. Her knock is tired and bordering on lethargic.
No answer.
Penny checks her clock and grimaces, Sheldon is at work. It's a Thursday at noon. Of course, just her luck. Penny lets herself into the apartment. Sheldon had forgotten to ask for the spare key back and she's so tired that there's no guilt in using it.
Even as tired as she is, Penny makes sure that Sheldon didn't get a roommate, the spare room looks exactly as she left it…but better be safe, she goes into Sheldon's room, drops her luggage and crashes on his bed. She's asleep in seconds.
Sheldon watched as Penny walked to her gate. She would occasionally glance back at him and he had the irrational urge to wave at her. He resisted it and once he couldn't see Penny anymore regretted it, he should have waved.
Watching her walk away to get on a plane made his chest constrict in a way that at any other moment in his life Sheldon would have made him run to the ER fearing a heart attack. It was irrational, it was nonsensical and it was very real.
Penny had come to stay with him for the duration of her summer break and Sheldon was perfectly aware that they spent all of their time together, time moved just the same but looking back it felt as if time had moved faster. He wanted more time with Penny, it hadn't been enough.
Sheldon hated driving and yet here he was, driving to return the vehicle that he and Penny had used this summer. He had found himself doing a lot of things outside of his regular routine when it came to Penny. Trying to put it into words was beyond his skill, not that he hadn't tried, he owned three notebooks filled back to back with his observations and theories about what was it about Penny that moved him so, only to come up blank.
Penny was the reason he had bought a couch despite faring well without one before. She was the reason his apartment now had throw pillows and blankets and yet it was not a source of distress for him. That second bedroom in his apartment now belonged to her, she didn't know it of course, but how could he get a roommate when that room now had Penny written all over it. Figuratively of course.
He couldn't allow anyone else to use it.
As he sat on his couch Sheldon reflected on the night that he allowed himself to voice his feelings. That day was still fresh, the disgust and anger he felt towards that handsy undergrad still made bile rise to his mouth. But Penny had saved him, she had seen him at his lowest and yet she did not balk or ran away. No, she instead ran towards him. She comforted him and patiently waited for him.
Sheldon wasn't sure what romantic love actually was, until Penny he had been unbothered by the idea of it. But he was sure about what he felt for Penny. And he was certain that he didn't want to lose her presence in his life, he wanted to see her smile, wanted to make her smile.
Irrational.
He had consulted with Missy about his feelings of course, while nowhere near his intellect, Sheldon could admit that Missy was far more capable in social nuances and situations. Penny had been the one to suggest he tried reaching out to his twin again, to try and rekindle their sibling relationship.
Missy had immediately told him to ask Penny out…in a far cruder manner of course.
"Shelly, that girl is about ready to throw her panties at you. Just tell her genius."
Missy had made it sound all so easy but nothing in life ever was, therein lies the beauty of the sciences and the unraveling of life's mysteries. So he instead called Meemaw.
"Moonpie. This ain't rocket science. Ya care for the girlie right?"
"Of course."
"Then why don't ya tell her that?"
"...She could not feel the same."
"True. Or she could feel the same." He heard her inhale deeply, a cigarette no doubt. "Are you telling me that my Moonpie is so scared of the result of the game that he won't even get on the field?"
"I…don't like sports."
"But ya like Penny."
"I do." It had always been easier with Meemaw, she might not understand him but she accepted him fully.
"There ya go. That's all ya need. I have a hunch that she does feel the same though and when she says yes I want ya to invite her back for Christmas."
"Yes Meemaw."
And in a way it truly had been as easy as that.
Sheldon had awoken to find himself lying next to Penny on his couch, the flickering light of the TV allowed him to watch her features, the rise and fall of her chest. He had intended to wake her up so they could go to their respective rooms. Instead, he muted the TV and watched Penny sleep.
He fell asleep without knowing how or when. The next time he opened his eyes it was because Penny had covered them with a blanket.
And there, in the dark of the living room, at an unknown time in the night Sheldon tried to convey his feelings. It was nerve wracking, but by simply having Penny close to him he got the necessary courage to continue.
Kissing had always been one of those things that Sheldon thought he would be unable to enjoy. Seeing it only as an activity that spreads germs, his parents never kissed, Georgie and Many rarely kissed, as such it was something that he never thought much about.
Kissing anyone was something that caused him to feel nauseous. Paige had kissed him by surprise right before he moved to California and it was a distressing event. He had ranted at her about germs, breaches of personal space and more until Paige left crying. No, kissing was not something Sheldon was interested in.
Until Penny.
Kissing Penny was exhilarating. Every kiss made him feel like he had just won the Stevenson award all over again. Sheldon took notice of Penny's movements and copied them, learned what made her sigh, what made her fingers curl into his shirt, what drew that cute little squeak out of her. Sheldon always loved learning new things.
But above all, Sheldon loved learning about Penny.
Sheldon was having dinner at the local Cheesecake Factory and he was struggling to not say something to the waitress about her skill to do her job. But it was hard to stay calm knowing that Penny would not have made the same mistakes as this woman did.
She got his order wrong, touched his fries, and reluctantly replaced a fork that had a stain.
It was when she brought him the wrong type of cheesecake slice that Sheldon couldn't contain himself anymore, he was about to go on a tirade about the woman's incompetence when he saw her closely, she had nothing in common with Penny, this woman was a little older than Penny, she was a redhead, tall and with a line of freckles across her cheeks. And yet, Sheldon's words died in his throat.
For a moment he had seen Penny and his stomach clenched at the thought that someone like him would have lost their patience and yelled at her. Sheldon usually wouldn't care. No, he only started to care once Penny came into his life.
It had been a week since Penny had left and he found himself thinking about her more often than not.
Taking a deep breath Sheldon calmly explained that he had ordered a Peanut Butter Cheesecake slice and not the Strawberry one sitting in front of him. The waitress apologized and quickly brought him the correct slice. As he took a bite of his dessert Sheldon noticed a small piece of paper under the plate, torn from a notepad, pulling it out showed writing on it.
'I'm really sorry, it's my first day.' The writing is frantic and messy. Chicken scratch as Penny calls it.
Sheldon stares at the note for far too long. Look up at the waitress, the hurried way she's running from one table to the next, how the manager scolds her in a low voice, the tears threatening to spill and he has a sudden uncomfortable moment of realizing that he had almost been part of it.
This woman was someone's Penny.
Sheldon's stomach clenches and he has to blink quickly to stop the onslaught of emotion that this simple thought brings him.
Sheldon always carries with him a blue ink pen, he carefully writes on the back of the piece of paper. 'Persevere and succeed'. Puts it alongside the twenty dollar bill he's leaving as a tip and he hopes that she'll be here next week.
It's highly illogical but he hopes Penny runs into the same kindness at her own job.
"Penny. Can you explain again why Kathleen kissed Joe in the end? One would think she'd resent him for years to come." The movie had been entertaining but Sheldon couldn't reconcile the ending with the rest of the movie.
"Well Sheldon, you're right, I'm not going to lie. It is a little unrealistic, but in my head I think it's because as much as she loved her little shop, it was never truly hers. It was her mom's and it was stopping her from pursuing her real dream of writing children's books. Like…it was still shitty. But she was able to move on with her life because of it. She also had feelings for him from two different perspectives, as Kathleen towards Joe, but also as 'Shopgirl' towards 'NY152'. That's why she kisses him in the end."
"I see. So despite Joe being the catalyst for change in her life, she was able to accept it due to the inherent need to move away from her mother's shadow?"
"Err…yes?"
"Fascinating."
Sheldon stared at his whiteboard intently. He was supposed to be working on integrals but instead his mind kept drifting to Penny.
He had wanted to approach Penny about the idea of transferring to UCLA. But he was unsure how to do that or even if he should, their relationship was still new and while for Sheldon there really was no one else but Penny, he was perfectly aware that this was not the case for everyone, Penny included.
Missy and him had been talking more often since he and Penny started going out, and while Sheldon would never admit this to anyone, he quite enjoyed those conversations with his twin.
Not that they were terribly stimulating, but they made him feel closer to his childhood home.
Shaking his head Sheldon tried to focus on work again but it was not to be, he needed to reset himself. Penny had introduced him to Radiohead and while Sheldon could admit a certain partiality towards the band, he still couldn't 'feel the lyrics' as Penny had indicated.
Moving towards his desk and the portable CD player on it, Sheldon removed the Radiohead disk and safely stored it in its case. No, Radiohead had not been for him, it was a band for Penny.
Carefully removing another CD from his desk drawer, Sheldon went through the now familiar motions of removing the disk from its case and putting it on the tray. It had been by chance that he found this band, he had been playing 'Let Down' on repeat in his office for hours when a rather disgruntled janitor had knocked on his door and shoved this CD in his hands.
"Here, listen to some real rock."
And the man had left just like that. Sheldon had been tempted to simply throw the CD away, but he had to concede to getting tired of hearing the same song over and over. The cover on the CD was rather unique, evoking perhaps an Alien abduction, opening revealed a generic brand CD and cheap paper with penciled 'Don Caballero 3' on it. A bootleg. The urge to simply throw it away returned, but Sheldon decided that there was no harm in listening to it at least once.
Sheldon was hooked from the moment he pressed play. It was only music, no lyrics. And it was perfect. There was something about it that made his mind able to focus and work.
Before fully focusing on his whiteboard Sheldon had one last thought about Penny and how she had opened up his life to countless possibilities.
Sheldon entered his apartment and immediately noticed that something was off. He paused in the middle of the living room, trying to figure out what had changed.
His acute hearing soon picked up the noise of snoring, snoring he knew. With that mystery solved, he took his time removing his bag, taking out his notebooks and storing them properly. Went to grab a glass of water, washed the glass and set it to dry. And he finally moved towards the ajar door of his bedroom.
Penny slept peacefully face down in his bed. He made a mental note to ask Penny if her septum had been damaged during her Junior Rodeo days, her snoring might be related to it.
Taking a quick glance around the room Sheldon was able to notice her backpack and the duffel bag now adorning his floor. There were many things to focus on, but try as he might, Sheldon couldn't move past the reality that Penny was in front of him.
Questions could wait.
All that mattered was the fact that Penny was in Pasadena…well, maybe he should order dinner. Penny would appreciate that.
Penny was having the best dream. Sheldon was dressed as a professor and she was dressed…well, she wasn't actually dressed in anything anymore at that exact moment in her dream and just when Sheldon was about to switch from spanking her to something far more interesting, that's when the smell of garlic bread hit her.
'Wait, garlic bread?'
Her dream leaves her immediately, making her groan in disappointment and frustration. Penny is face down in Sheldon's bed and she's almost fully awake, she can feel sleep trying to claim her again but she knows the dream is a bust, no going back to that.
Moving her face to one side she reluctantly opens an eye and thankfully the room is dark, but Sheldon's door is open and some of the light from the hallway is spilling in, making it much easier on her eyes.
The smell of garlic bread is still strong and it's making her tummy remember that the last thing it had as food was half a bag of beef jerky and some Cool Ranch the bed is warm so she stays for a couple of minutes longer, unable to go back to sleep and unwilling to stand up. The sounds of the apartment are much clearer, Sheldon must have the TV on at a low volume because she thinks that she can hear Spock's voice. Sheldon's footsteps are faint but Penny is reassured by their presence.
Rolling over to her back makes Penny groan like a petulant child and she's already missing the warmth of the spot she was lying in.
Sheldon must have heard her because suddenly he's entering the room and turning the light on. Penny has to close her eyes at the sudden brightness. "Hi Moonpie." Her voice is husky with sleep.
"Hello Penny." She had missed his voice.
"Surprise!" Penny said weakly, her eyes still closed. "I was in Nebraska when I realized that I had forgotten to pat your cute butt, so I had to come here in a rush." Her tone is light.
"Sarcasm?"
"Nope." Penny popped the word. "A joke."
"Drat. I was doing so well. This is why you should start using Bazinga as a-" And the sound of his voice soothes Penny in a way that she did not expect. It makes her feel that things will be okay.
"I missed you Moonpie" Penny interrupts his rant.
"I missed you as well Penny." And it's the touch of his fingers on her cheek that makes her finally open her eyes. The brightness is still too much but Sheldon is touching her. It's just two fingers, running across her cheek delicately, Sheldon is tracing some line that only he can see, and it's not sexy, it's not meant to be comforting but it still makes her eyes sting, she can feel the onslaught of tears threatening to break through.
She was finally home.
Sheldon's finger's freeze as the first tears spill out of her eyes. Penny quickly grabs his hand before he can take it away.
"I really missed you Sheldon." Her voice is watery and weak, she's probably crushing his hand with how hard she's holding onto it. She's expecting Sheldon to complain, to freak out about her tears.
"I have missed you terribly as well Penny." Sheldon's voice is soft and he takes a seat on the bed.
Penny can't take it anymore, she tackles Sheldon against his headboard and crushes him in a hug and she's thrilled that Sheldon is hugging her just as desperately.
It takes her an embarrassing amount of time to calm down but Sheldon stays with her and doesn't complain about her ruining his shirt.
She's so happy that she starts laughing, calming down from her fit of laughter takes her a moment, Sheldon still doesn't say anything about her being practically on his lap and it's a beautiful moment.
Of course her stomach decides that the comfortable silence needs to be broken with a loud growl.
"I ordered dinner. I hope you don't mind pasta." Sheldon sounds like always, straight and to the point.
Meanwhile Penny is mortified, yeah, she's not super girly but still, she's got her girl pride which means this is one of the big no-no's, alongside with Sheldon hearing her fart or hearing her pee. Penny's thankful for not being a snorer because she couldn't live with that.
"Dinner sounds great Honey. Thanks. Let me go refresh myself." Penny can't look him in the eye, she can feel her face grow hotter and hotter and quickly runs to the bathroom to calm down and splash her face with water.
Damn tummy growl.
A quick bathroom break and Penny feels more awake now. She'll just ignore what happened a moment ago and hopes that Sheldon will do the same.
Thankfully he says nothing and dinner goes swimmingly. They haven't discussed Penny suddenly being in California of course, conversation was kept light about movies and shows. Sheldon made her watch Buffy and Penny is instantly hooked, she had seen Sarah Michelle Gellar in 'Cruel Intentions' and liked it well enough but to see her as the butt kicker of the group is what made her keep watching…and then Angel showed up and Penny never looked back.
"Penny, have you made arrangements for your stay in Pasadena?" Sheldon's voice brings her out from her musings about sexy vampires. And this is the moment of truth, she could lie and say yes and go sleep in her car, but this is her first grown up relationship and she needs to start being more truthful. If Sheldon already has a roommate moving in in a couple of days then she'll deal with it maturely.
"Ah…no, I was kind of hoping that I could stay here again?" Her sentence ends in a question and she's smiling awkwardly at Sheldon.
"Penny, do you have gas? Your face seems to indicate so." And he has the gall to look proud of himself.
"What?! No! Sheldon, why-" She has to stop herself, her Moonppie asked because he thought that was appropriate. "No Sheldon. Just no, no talking about gas. Especially after dinner."
"Oh! Okay."
Penny is holding her face in one hand, willing her blush to fade. 'You knew he was special Penny.' She reminds herself.
"And you haven't answered my question Sheldon." Her voice is muffled, she still can't look at Sheldon directly.
"Of course you can stay here Penny."
"Well, that's the thing Moonpie. I actually transferred to UCLA and I'm starting classes in the fall." At that she finally looks at him and she's rewarded by one of his honest to god smiles, not the creepy one his mom forced him to wear at church, but the one that made him look 10 years younger.
"That is fantastic news Penny!" Sheldon actually hugs her, kinda. They're sitting side by side on the couch and Sheldon puts an arm around her shoulders, it's much better than it was at first but it still feels boney and awkward, but after a long moment he adapts and it's nicer, warmer.
"Thanks Honey." Penny leans her head on his shoulder and he only flinches for a moment before pulling her closer. "That's why I was wondering, if you haven't found a roommate yet of course, if you wouldn't mind me taking over that extra room."
"Oh!" She can't see Sheldon's face and can't quite make out the tone in which he says it. But she's already dreading the worst. She really was looking forward to living with Sheldon again. 'You're an idiot Penny, you should have told him about moving here. Now because you're a dumba-' She's so busy feeling sorry for herself that she almost misses the rest of what Sheldon is saying.
"Of course. I haven't searched for a new roommate. To be perfectly honest, since your stay here I have felt distress at the idea of someone else habitating in the space you had occupied." Penny finally turns to him, sees that Sheldon is frowning at nothing. "It has been a disconcerting feeling."
Penny gets it. She's felt the same since dating him.
Being in a relationship with Sheldon is both exciting and scary, it's like they match each other's crazy. Sheldon is not threatened by Penny's forwardness and he's not sulking because she doesn't need protecting, he's not put off by her drinking beer and loving football.
And she's not scared by his intensity to everything, understands that he is so smart that sometimes he circles back to stupid without realizing it, and the hardest pill to swallow is that he doesn't do romantic, not in the traditional way at least, no, her Moonpie is subtle, he'll put his hand near her and only put his pinky on top of hers, blushing like a schoolgirl all the while.
Penny is learning to see all of those subtle ways that Sheldon shows that he loves her, like allowing Penny to take a bite of his food (with a clean new fork of course), or taking her recommendations for movies seriously (Penny is aware how big a deal this actually is after one call with Meemaw where she mentioned it by accident), and not to mention going back home to Texas for Holidays.
"It's okay Honey, I really missed you as well."
"Yes, I suppose it can be put quite succinctly like that."
Penny has to smile at how relieved Sheldon looks to finally be able to put a label on the feeling.
"So, ready to have me as your roommate Moonpie?" There's teasing in her voice.
"Oh yes! I have already updated the roommate agreement." Sheldon looks really happy about that.
"Err…" Penny was not a stranger to the agreement, she had helped Sheldon write it when he first got a roommate. And truth be told, it stinged that he wanted her to sign it. 'No Penny, this is fine. Grown up relationship remember.' Penny was going to ask why she had to sign it but instead changed it to "What kind of changes? I remember the whistling clause."
Penny was afraid to be presented with the book sized agreement that Sheldon had made all previous roommates sign, as such she was pleasantly surprised to see only a handful of paper sheets and the first piece of paper was only the words 'Roommate agreement' with a Lion underneath it for some reason.
"Wow Honey. When you said you had made some changes I thought that meant you had added more clauses, not less." Penny leafed through the agreement and she was shocked that all the clauses about accidental super powers, time travel, robots, zombies, etc. Are simply gone.
"Well yes, I discussed the possibility of this scenario with both Missy and Meemaw and after they found out that for our relationship we had a policy of discussing things with no contracts, they both individually suggested that I follow that same method for our cohabitation (if it were to happen). And I agree that our verbal relationship agreement has been a boon due to the trust shared between us, so this abridged agreement is only outlining the basics of cohabitation, rent, maintenance, laundry, dishes, etc."
As Sheldon spoke Penny continued to read through the agreement. Everything seemed pretty reasonable, that is until she got to clause 9.1 and clause 12.3.
"Okay Moonpie, it all looks great, except for this one and this one." She pointed to the clauses "For 12.3 I only have a question, what happens if we both have to use the shower at similar times? As in, let's say I have class at 8 and you have to be at work at 8 too?"
"Ah, I have actually taken that into consideration, if you take a look at the bottom, as long as I receive at least 8 hours notice I will concede to moving my shower earlier in order to accommodate for this break in schedule. Should this change be permanent for your schedule we both need to schedule a roommate meeting to create a new schedule beneficial to the both of us." Sheldon smiles at her and okay, that's cute.
"Sounds great Honey, thank you for clarifying that. Now for 9.1" Penny takes a deep breath, this one is going to be a hard one. "I'm not always going to be available to be able to drive you." Her voice is gentle, because she doesn't mind driving Sheldon around, but she's not really sure about her new school schedule, and she still has to find a new job. "I think you need to learn how to drive."
"But Penny!" Honest to god panic in his eyes.
"It'll be fine! I'll teach you." She takes a hold of his hand and Sheldon squeezes it. "It's going to be okay Honey."
Sheldon still has a bit of a wild look in his eyes but he nods at her and attempts a shaky smile. "Okay, okay."
Penny smiles at him and because she can, she straddles his lap and kisses him. The roommate agreement can wait.
Penny had missed her boyfriend.