Living with Sheldon was easy…yeah right.

Her Moonpie was what one could call, a little neurotic, which was fine by her. She already had that experience last summer so this was not a surprise.

Some things were always easy to adapt to. Penny is happy enough that Sheldon makes her breakfast everyday, back in UNO she would get breakfast burritos in batches and then put them in the freezer, 45 seconds in the microwave and she had her breakfast to go. So the tinfoil covered plate in Sheldon's fridge that has a carefully placed omelet with a couple of slices of ham feels a lot like love.

Other things are a bit harder. Sheldon's bathroom schedule taunts her every time she walks by the fridge and she doesn't mind the little squares that say 'Shower', it's the ones that say 'BM' that she struggles with. She's happier pretending that the entire thing doesn't exist.

Penny is flexible, she can adapt to Sheldon and she knows for a fact that the same applies to him, he might grumble a little but he'll do it.

That first week back in the apartment is all unpacking and printing the syllabus and then printing a comprehensive schedule with Sheldon's help. College starts in 2 weeks and it's not enough time for Penny.

Feeling like her options are limited she breaks and asks Sheldon for help.

"-d that's why I want to find a different type of job. Not to mention that it was hell on my feet."

"I see." Sheldon always frowns when thinking. It makes him look unfriendly and for a moment Penny wonders if this habit of his has prevented him from making friends…and then she remembers how Sheldon spoke to Kurt and the thought passes. "Have you thought about another type of customer service job? Last week when I was visiting the board game store, I saw a sign on the boutique next door requesting help." He writes a phone number on her notebook "It's on 1775 East Colorado Boulevard, right next door to my preferred board game store as well as only 17 minutes away from Caltech and 5 minutes away from Pasadena City College."

Since Penny has nothing to lose she calls the number and scores an interview. The Boutique is actually more of a Thrift store, but it's the cleanest and fanciest thrift store that Penny has ever seen. The owner meets her and tells her the story of the place, it's actually a non-profit thrift store that aims to give back to the community and Penny loves it.

Penny is upfront about her school schedule and the owner's eyes brighten when Penny tells her that she's trying to become an actress. Penny brought a copy of her schedule and the owner agreed to give Penny a chance. She's going to be working 4 shifts a week and the pay is slightly more than she was making in tips in a regular week with a full shift schedule, so she's happy about that. Also, employee discounts are a godsend.

UCLA is amazing, no other way to put it.

Meeting Sheldon made Penny appreciate school a whole lot more and now having actual classes about acting made it all feel so much more real. She could feel her dream get closer with each new class. Penny was also going to invest in singing classes because Sheldon had not so subtly said that it would be a good idea.

Ouch. One of the downsides of having a boyfriend that was all about honesty.

Most days she had to leave school as soon as her last class ended in order to make it to her shift so all partying and socializing had taken a backseat. She still found an awesome group of girls to have lunch with, they were all from different courses so Penny got to expand her group of friends.

"Seriously Penny, you need to let me hook you up with Brad Mulligan. He's in the Football team and he's here on a full-" Penny interrupts her before she can finish.

"Sorry, not interested. I'm taken." This is the third time this week that Penny has to field one of the girls trying to set up a blind date.

"Really?!" Something about the other girl's tone makes Penny stop focusing on her lunch and look up at the girl. Monica? Marissa?

"Yeah. Really." Penny narrows her eyes at the girl. Her tone is a little hard.

"Just sayin' Brad is someone with an actual future you know?" The girl is playing coy "Much better than-"

"I don't give a fuck." Penny's voice cuts through the conversation. "You don't talk shit about my boyfriend. Period." Penny picks up her stuff and storms out of the cafeteria. She's got one more class before she can leave, she has a shift today and Sheldon will go pick her up after her shift. She can't wait to see him, she needs to hug her Moonpie.

"Are you certain that you're okay?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"I've observed that when you have a 'bad moment' during your day, you require this type of cuddling."

They were lying on the couch, in the exact same position as when Sheldon kissed her for the first time. There was something very comforting for Penny being wedged between Sheldon and the back of the couch. Of course it brought good memories from that first kiss, but it also made her feel protected, as if the world only consisted of Sheldon and her.

"A girl during lunch made me angry and it ruined my day until I could see you." Penny had considered for a moment to lie, but there was no reason to do it. Sheldon was happy to cuddle with her and the arm under her waist felt loving. With anyone else but Sheldon she'd probably feel trapped as hell in this position.

"I see." Sheldon frowned and Penny was distracted for a moment by examining the way his forehead wrinkled, it was different than when he was focusing. "Did you go 'Junior Rodeo' on her ass?" He says it so seriously that she can't help but laugh.

"No, no, Honey…Maybe next time if she continues to be rude."

Sheldon lets out a huge sigh "I'll have the bail money ready."

Penny is so shocked that she almost misses the way his mouth is twitching and sure enough, a moment later he does his breathy little laugh and he can barely get the Bazinga out.

"Ha ha, very funny Moonpie." But she loses the fight and a smile breaks through her face.

It felt good to be home.

"Hey Penny, I'm really sorry about what Marsha said yesterday." Penny was sitting with the girl group again, but this time she sat on the other side of the table, far away from that pushy girl from yesterday. However, the girl currently apologizing was not one that Penny was familiar with.

"Is that right?" Penny doesn't want to be confrontational but she's still a bit cranky about yesterday.

"Yeah, we have already told her to tone it down. Just let me know if she bothers you again." The girl extends her hand and Penny considers leaving her hanging but she looks honest and it would be a good idea to make more friends, so she shakes the offered hand. "I'm Kelly."

This Kelly girl turns out to be rather funny, she's studying Sociology and she moved to California from Georgia when she was twelve. She didn't laugh at Penny's dream of being an actress and they bonded over growing up on a farm.

"No way! Your boyfriend is THAT smart?"

"Swear to God. He's already the top dog of the Physics world."

"The top do-OH! Your boyfriend is Sheldon Cooper?!"

Penny has to gape, because not many people should be able to make that connection so easily. "Yes! How did you know?"

"Are you kidding me? My boyfriend can't shut up about him, I swear that if I didn't know any better, I could swear that my boy has a thing for yours." Kelly's face is full of fond exasperation. "My boyfriend, Fred, is studying at Caltech. Apparently Sheldon Coop-oh sorry-Dr. Sheldon Cooper is the next best thing since sliced bread and Fred has been unable to actually make the cut to one of his classes. He thought becoming a sophomore would make it easier, but nope, only seniors get that privilege."

Penny is still in shock, she knew that Sheldon was a big deal but here she had the perfect example of how that looked for others. Kelly was exasperated by her boyfriend gushing so much about Sheldon and his papers.

"Huh. So are you going to tell your boyfriend that you have an in to meet Sheldon?"

"Are you kidding? I'm taking this to my grave, I don't want to lose my boyfriend." But Kelly smiles as she says it and Penny knows that she'll use the fact that she knows Sheldon's girlfriend sometime in the future.

"Yes, well. Trust me, one night with my Sheldon and your boyfriend won't want to enter his class anymore. He's a genius but he's not the best at meeting people. I love the man but I ain't blind."

"Love huh?"

Penny freezes for a moment but blinks and then nods happily. "Yeah, I love my Moonpie."

It's been a little over a year since she first met Sheldon and Penny is able to accept it. She is in love with Sheldon Cooper. They're still learning a lot about each other, but she's in this for the long run.

Sure, he wasn't what she imagined as a little girl. No, he was somehow better.

Penny still missed sex tho. Now that things had calmed down, maybe it was time to start on her next plan.

Get Dr. Cooper out of his pants.

Penny was in UCLA, she had a job that paid well and she was living with her wonderful boyfriend. Life was good.

The only thing missing from her life was sex.

No other way around it, she just needed that, and not just any sex. She needed sex with Sheldon.

Sheldon was more than good with kissing. He didn't even freak out (much) when Penny introduced tongue to the game and it was great, Penny had always been one for kissing, she enjoyed it immensely.

But she was starting to get very frustrated. As in back to puberty frustrated.

So she started small, as they kissed on the couch she pulled his hands to her waist and then once the kissing got a bit more intense she put his hands on her ass. Fantastic success, after a couple of sessions like that Sheldon soon learned that he could touch her like that on his own.

And oh yeah, Sheldon had a thing for her butt.

All of that was perfect. The issue occurred when he stopped there, he'd caressed and fondle her butt, squeeze it while kissing her and…that's it, they would stop kissing and go out, or go eat dinner, or watch TV. And it was killing her, not to mention that Sheldon didn't understand why she had to go change underwear after a kissing session.

Enough was enough.

Penny had prepared for this night, she was wearing a cute pair of sleeping shorts, they were loose and 'innocent', she had a large tee stolen from Sheldon and wasn't wearing any underwear. Penny was ready.

The night went on as usual, Sheldon didn't mention her attire and they had dinner, watched TV, and then washed their teeth. Sheldon didn't like to kiss after eating without washing his teeth first, and Penny could live with that.

The kissing started innocently enough, Sheldon was in his spot and Penny was kneeling on the middle cushion, Sheldon was leaning half against the back of the couch and half against the armrest. As their kissing deepened and grew more intimate, Penny started pushing Sheldon more and more, until she was almost lying on his chest. Some adjusting from Sheldon's end and they were making out with Penny between his legs and yeah, she could feel the effect she had on him, it was one of her favorite parts of making out in this position.

Sheldon's hand began their familiar slide towards her bottom but once it got there he gasped and pulled back his hand. "PENNY!" He looked scared, as if he had done something wrong. The material of her shorts was thin and silky, he was used to there being at least two barriers of clothing.

"Hey, Sheldon. Look at me. It's fine. You can touch me. No, I want you to touch me. It's okay, I want this."

Sheldon looks at her and Penny can see the conflict on his face. One part must be him being raised a good southern boy and another part is all Sheldon Cooper original. She's still musing on Sheldon when she feels a tentative hand on her hip. Penny smiles at him encouragingly and then plants a kiss on his jaw. "That's not my butt." She murmurs.

Sheldon's hand freezes and Penny fears that it's too much, but she's thrilled when his shaking hand makes contact with her ass. And Penny decides that more kissing is a good idea, so she does just that. Pulls Sheldon in for a kiss so he can't focus on anything else and after a moment she can feel him loosen up again, he's back to being an active participant in the kiss and the hand on her ass grows more confident, squeezes and makes her moan.

Penny doesn't let Sheldon stop the kissing this time.

She can feel the material of her shorts start to stick to her lower lips, she's also most likely getting Sheldon's shirt wet but at this point she doesn't care, she needs the friction as much as the kissing and a bad idea pops in her head, a really bad idea. Well, maybe not bad, but naughty.

Penny stops kissing him and quickly says "Sheldon, trust me." Sheldon looks a bit lost from the kissing but he nods and that's all the confirmation she needs before grabbing his hand, turning it palm up and shoving it down her shorts. She doesn't let go of his hand because she knows he will try to pull it away.

Sheldon takes a sudden intake of breath and Penny joins him at the feeling of his hand on her skin, he's frozen and not moving but Penny is moving enough for the both of them.

"It's okay Honey." She says between breaths. Penny doesn't want to just rub one out using Sheldon's hand, so she forces herself to stop and look at him. "Please Moonpie, touch me." Penny is whimpering but she hopes that Sheldon can do it.

"Penny…you're so wet." Sheldon's voice is an awed whisper and it makes Penny laugh.

"Yeah, you did that." He looks at her in surprise. "Penny I-" Maybe his hand got tired of not moving, but his fingers move, it's a small movement, just his hand clenching and then relaxing again but for Penny, it's enough to drive her over the edge. Maybe it's how innocent Sheldon looks with his hand down her shorts but Penny doesn't care.

Penny is a happy girl.

Coming back to herself and she's still basically straddling Sheldon's hand while catching her breath, Sheldon is looking at her like she's a formula he needs to decipher. She's about to ask him if he's okay when he moves his fingers in a more decisive manner and steals Penny's breath.

"Fascinating." Penny hears him whisper.

Sheldon spends the rest of the night learning what makes Penny whimper, gasp, moan and more. When she's finally able to go to bed on shaky legs Penny only has one thought in her mind.

'Eidetic memories rule.'

Next morning brings Penny one thought. Sheldon hadn't climaxed. He had been focused solely on her and that was great! Penny was overall thrilled that they had become more physical and intimate, but being fully honest, after that first orgasm she was a goner, Sheldon wanted to learn and Penny was happy to teach him.

Penny also wanted to touch him but she forgot in the heat of things.

Even as annoyed as she's feeling, Penny can't help but smile remembering Sheldon's face when her tee hit the couch. He was looking at her naked chest with an intensity that made her nipples harden even more.

Sheldon spent a lot of time touching her, learning about her body. A shiver goes through her body remembering it, looking at the alarm clock shows that it's still early, she doesn't have school today but she does have a shift later in the day and Sheldon has already gone to work.

Penny bites her lip, hesitating. 'Might as well go for it.' Penny thinks as her hand goes into her shorts.

Sheldon was conflicted.

Not about last night's activities. No. He didn't subscribe to his mother's religious ideas about coitus.

No, the conflict in him originated because he thoroughly enjoyed it. Penny's skin had always been soft and smooth but last night it had felt incredibly smooth, warm and…Sheldon put a stop to that thought as he felt his body react to the memory.

He was thankful for his eidetic memory but he had a suspicion that even without it, last night would have been seared into his mind.

His mind was still full of Penny. He had yet to leave his office even once, the whiteboard sat forgotten in the corner and Sheldon had no motivation to change that any time soon.

Sheldon Cooper PhD had enjoyed physical contact of a sexual nature.

He can easily recall the first time he learned about sex, his lab partner in Germany had shown him magazines and like all things, it was something new to learn, so Sheldon did. He learned about the exchange of fluids, about orgasms and most importantly, he learned about diseases. That is what made him swear to never have sexual contact with another being.

Until Penny.

Penny smelled like vanilla, her skin shone golden and her eyes were improbably bright. Every time she touched him, his stomach clenched, not in disgust or rejection as it did for other people. No. In anticipation, the scent of her shampoo made him want to smell more of her. Penny had haunted his dreams ever since he first met her.

Sheldon engaged in masturbation once a week and while he had been attracted to Penny, it wasn't until he was back in California after that first trip to Nebraska that she made an appearance in his thoughts during that intimate time.

He had felt ashamed, Penny was his friend. It still didn't stop his treacherous mind from conjuring images of Penny bending over to pick up a dropped notepad, of her tousled hair and slightly puffy lips in the morning when they met by the bleachers, of the tight jeans she so favored as she walked to her car in front of him.

It was maddening.

Sheldon was born for science and physics. It's something that he has never doubted, until last night. He had thought that masturbation was enough to keep those urges at bay, but he had been wrong. Last night only made him want more of Penny.

Of course Sheldon had considered to refrain from any sexual activities, to tell Penny that he, Sheldon Cooper, was above carnal urges. But that would be a lie. Sheldon Cooper was also a man.

Blast it! He was Dr. Sheldon Cooper PhD. He could conquer both sciences and emotions.

With Penny's help of course. He was a man, but not just any man. He was more, greater. If lesser men than him could have both science and relationships, then Sheldon would not be left behind. He was Sheldon Cooper and he would not have to choose between science or Penny.

He refused to entertain the mere idea of it.

A memory of Penny writhing and moaning on the couch comes clear to him and he doesn't stop it this time. The way her mouth parted, the grimace of pleasure as she neared her climax, one of her hands holding onto his arm for dear life…this needed further study.

Last night after Penny had gone to bed, Sheldon had stayed up and using the hand still covered in Penny's fluids, he had pleasured himself in the bathroom.

It was wrong, he knew…but that orgasm had been earth shattering. His emission of semen had been significantly larger than in previous occasions and still, his desire for Penny was not diminished. He took a shower before going to bed and yet another one in the morning, but he had the illogical sensation of still feeling Penny on his fingers and member.

'Dear lord.' Sheldon thought as the pain of epididymal hypertension hit him. He needed to talk to Penny.

But before that, he needed to cancel his afternoon classes, there was no way in hell he would go up on that stage with Penny running through his mind.

Penny has a routine for her Fridays, sleep in and then eat the breakfast that Sheldon left for her in the fridge while reading a magazine. Take a shower and then prepare her school stuff for her shift later that day, she can do homework while manning the counter at the boutique. Drive to work and park her car in the almost always full parking lot two blocks away from her job. Work her shift while doing homework and handling customers, do the closing tasks and call the Chinese restaurant to make their order while waiting for Perry, the security guard, to close the boutique at 8PM sharp. Walk to the board game store next door and pick up her boyfriend.

This was her favorite part of the day.

Sheldon was usually in the middle of a Magic game. Ever since the new Odyssey set had been released, Sheldon hadn't missed a single FNM, he wanted all the promos…and yeah, Penny now knew what all of that meant. No one was more shocked about that fact than Penny herself. But love makes you do crazy things.

Like how Sheldon now knew who Ethan Zohn was, and not only that, he had opinions about him! Her Moonpie surprised her every time.

Sheldon was in his praying mantis position as he focused on his current game. She knew better than to startle him.

"Hey Sheldon." Penny stood next to him and said softly. She saw as he came back from whatever place he was in, he shuffled the cards in his hands and gave her a quick smile.

"Hi Penny."

Now that he knew she was there, Penny sat next to him and watched the rest of the game unfold. This was his last game of the night because they had to go and pick up their order.

As Sheldon tapped lands, played creatures with far too many teeth and discarded cards from his hand, Penny had to smile at the thought that this was her life now. Penny from high school would have never believed it. She had always been a bit boy-crazy, trying to find the perfect man. She had imagined someone tall, muscular and blonde…basically Fabio. But she had found tall, lanky and brunette instead and she couldn't be happier.

Sheldon finished his game, got his promo card and they walked to her car talking about their day, which took her to another favorite part of her Friday nights.

Sheldon had to drive them to the Chinese restaurant and then back to the apartment. He had recently acquired his adult driver's permit and this was one of the ways he could get experience without too much risk. From the parking lot to the Chinese restaurant, it was 8 blocks and then from the restaurant to the apartment it was 6 blocks. Easy.

Well, it was supposed to be easy.

"C'mon Honey, you can go a little faster."

"Penny, I'm driving at an ideal speed."

"Ideal for making babies fall asleep."

Sheldon was learning but he lacked confidence which was weird, but then she had already heard about Georgie being the cause for his fear of driving so maybe it wasn't that weird after all.

The entire drive should have taken them 30 minutes tops, with Sheldon on the wheel it takes them 1 hour. Which, to be fair, it's an improvement over that first drive of 2 hours.

"You got this Sweetie. Next time I won't even have time to write an essay while you drive."

"Sarcasm?" He questions.

"..."

"Sarcasm." He decides.

Dinner is great as always, Penny is glad that they gave this new restaurant a try. She preferred the Orange chicken but Sheldon was gaga for their Tangerine chicken and while Penny could see why, she preferred sweet over spicy.

"Penny?" Sheldon had been watching TV but he muted it and turned to look at her.

"Sheldon?" Penny had been balancing her weekly expenses in her checkbook (Sheldon had taught her how to do it.)

"May I touch you?"

Penny sucks in a breath. She hadn't brought up their actions from last night, because yeah, she was thrilled but also was kinda scared of pushing Sheldon for too much and too soon.

"Touch me? As in last night touching?" And she can't look away from his face, he is blushing and is struggling to keep eye contact, his fingers are clenching and relaxing and that movement makes her crotch tingle in excitement.

"I…yes?" Sheldon gulps nervously but more confidently repeats "Yes." He is facing this head-on and Penny is all for it.

"Of course Honey." Penny smiles in what she hopes is an encouraging way but it might be more Cheshire Cat than anything else.

She still has to brush her teeth, but honestly, she doesn't mind. Not when she knows what's about to happen.

"Sheldon, give me 2 minutes to change and I'll be right back." Penny doesn't wait for an answer and runs to her room. Her room is not as messy as back in UNO but she doesn't have anything sexy to wear. Yesterday's shorts were all but ruined (not really, but she's not wearing them until she washes them) and because laundry night is not until tomorrow, the only clean things she has to wear are not meant for sexy times. Period panties? Out. Boxers? Out. Baggy gray sweatpants? Oh yeah, so sexy. Not.

Standing in front of her closet Penny comes to the realization that she has nothing clean to wear. The only thing that is clean is definitely not sexy. 'It's not like you can go out there naked' The thought crosses her mind but it makes her stop.

'Well…why not?' And Penny can't come up with a counterargument, eyes the beach towel that is the size of a house.

Sheldon can hardly believe that he got the words past his mouth. His hands had been shaking as he pretended to watch TV, it had been maddening and he could hardly breathe.

But Penny had simply smiled and agreed to his request.

He needed to feel her skin again, touching her was the closest he'll ever be to being able to touch sunlight directly…not good, Penny made him illogical. Soon enough he'll be writing poetry.

Sheldon has to laugh at himself for the ridiculous thought.

At least Sheldon could breathe again. He had brushed his teeth and was now waiting for Penny to come back from her room.

Last night had made him aware of the many ways he could give Penny pleasure, but he had also discovered that he received sexual gratification by the act. Penny had been improbably wet and he was aware of both men and women creating their own lubrication but he hadn't expected that it would be so much.

It was an interesting sensation, and one he wanted to feel again.

'Deep breaths Sheldon.' Penny was still not back and Sheldon was already aroused. He had to remind himself to breathe.

"I'm back Honey." Penny's voice instantly draws him back to the moment.

For some reason Penny has covered herself with a large towel and Sheldon is about to ask her if she's okay when Penny throws the towel off her body and onto the couch.

Sheldon can't breathe once more.

Seeing Sheldon's expression makes Penny proud of her decision to bare it all.

The apartment is warm, thanks to Sheldon's almost obsessive calibration of the thermostat. But her skin still breaks into goosebumps and her nipples harden, and it's all because of Sheldon's intense look.

He's looking at her with dark eyes the color of the ocean during a storm and it makes her want to giggle hysterically. They have come a long way from that first meeting.

"You can touch me Honey." Her voice is deep and it comes from deep within her chest, it makes Sheldon jump into action, Penny's not sure it was a conscious decision but suddenly he's right there and Penny has to look up at him. 'He's so tall' A nervous giggle escapes her.

"Penny." Sheldon's voice rumbles in her chest. "You're fascinating." His right hand is suddenly on her hip and the initial contact makes her jump a little. His touch is hesitant at first, as if Penny would suddenly have a change of mind.

Penny makes sure that Sheldon can see her smile before putting her hands around his neck and kissing him slowly. She's hoping that it will help him relax and as his hands grab her with confidence she smiles into the kiss. Her hands travel down to his chest, go around his body and under his tee, she moans in disappointment at feeling the undershirt and not his skin. 'Of course'

She jumps again when Sheldon's hands find her bottom and squeeze.

"Take this off!" Penny growls and tugs at his undershirt and Sheldon moves to comply. Maybe he's just as horny or maybe something in her voice bypassed all the smart, but whatever it is, she's glad once Sheldon is shirtless.

Sheldon truly looks like a swimmer and the chest hair does funny things between her legs. Penny kisses him again and she takes his hands and places them back on her bottom. The following squeeze is all Sheldon tho.

Penny has had enough, she needs to feel his hands on her. "Come here." She moves to the couch and fixes the towel on top of it. Penny is not sure how far this will go but the towel will help with the cleanup if things do get out of hand.

She lies down and Sheldon is on top of her. All he needs is her hand guiding him to her crotch for Sheldon to take over.

There is more that's supposed to go here, but I don't want this site to nuke my account or story. If you want to read it in full, this story is posted also in AO3 but without the censorship.

"I love you."

Penny was in the middle of swallowing when Sheldon shocked her again. She thankfully didn't choke. Penny couldn't help but laugh a little and had to stop herself from a full blown guffaw at seeing Sheldon's pleased expression.

It was the first time she had seen him so relaxed.

He looked panicked at his words, at least there was no twitching on his face. She knew he meant it.

Straddling him on the couch she kissed him on the jaw.

"I love you too Honey." It was as simple as that.

"Oh. Good."

Penny finally laughed at that.