Sort of a Prequel to ¨Delusional¨

Penny is already having second thoughts about this, she had accepted to go to this Gala thingy with Leonard but now, on the actual night of the event she was getting cold feet and the reason for that was the tall and geeky physicist that was still changing in his room. She had helped the Wackadoodle to purchase a suit and it was just unfair how good it looked on him, Penny thought that she had already smothered that thought when the guys told her that Sheldon was asexual, so she didn't pursue him, instead she accepted Leonard's invitation and she knew that she shouldn't do this because she liked Leonard as a friend, but just as a friend.

Penny was also feeling kinda bad because she was wearing a black dress with heels that she knew perfectly matched Sheldon's suit but that not only clashed horribly with Leonard's plaid atrocity of a suit but on the count of her heels also made her feel that she was taking him to one of those 'mommy and me' dances.

"Okay Raj, you ready? Remember, we're going to strut -no- we're going to swagger in there you get me?" Raj just nodded as he nursed a bottle of beer in one hand and Howard's hand on the other.

Howard and Raj were in the middle of the guys' apartment practicing some sort of walk (at least she hoped it was a walk) while holding each other's arms and even Leonard looked at them strangely "Eh guys, were you unable to find dates and are going, you know, together?."Leonard finally asked and she half expected Howard and Raj to jump away from each other but instead they gave Leonard a very smug look, Raj's smile looked more drunk than smug but still.

"That's where you're wrong Leonard," Howard announced "This is not just any Caltech Gala, but THE Caltech Gala. Everyone will be there so Raj and I prepared something special for the occasion and in fact, we're waiting for our dates."

"Right…" Leonard looked like he didn't want to know more but in the end his curiosity got the better of him "Okay Howard, spill, don't tell me you're taking your cousin again."

Penny laughed and because she felt bad tried to pretend that she had coughed when Howard turned to glare (that quickly turned into a leer) at her, moving quickly to the kitchen and pointing to her throat she went to grab a glass of water as she listened to Howard's explanation.

"No Leonard, we had the best idea ever!" Which meant that it was a horrible idea, she really couldn't wait to see how it would come to bite him in the ass. "We hired high end escorts for the gala!." Howard even pushed his chest out and Leonard just shook his head "You guys are telling Sheldon, not me." he finally said.

Maybe she should try and find Howard and Raj actual real dates, sure all of the guys could be a handful one way or another but they were still her boys and she found it sad that they had to resort to this, and she was sure that Sheldon would flip his shit once he found out and because he was going to be riding in the same car as her and Leonard she could already imagine the rant waiting for her (and Leonard) on the way to the event and back.

Penny had nothing against sex workers, hell, if she was honest with herself there was a time where she wondered about it but for her it felt like giving up so she just grinded harder at The Cheesecake Factory and maybe if she hadn't met the guys that could have been her so she was not going to judge and was going to be friendly and kind.

"Sheldon, are you still not ready?" Oh he is ready, ready for- No, bad Penny.

As usual Dr Wackadoodle did not reply and she could imagine that he was sulking while looking at himself in the mirror all tall and dark while saying 'I look ridiculous' and not knowing he looked like a freshly baked pie that she could just eat up. Oh wow, this whole thing of giving up on her attraction to Sheldon was working perfectly!. Sarcasm.

A knock at the door finally took her away from her dirty thoughts and she could see Howard and Raj teetering with barely contained glee and even Leonard looked nervous as he opened the door.

Penny wasn't sure what she was expecting but the 2 gorgeous ladies wearing long beautiful dresses wasn't it. One of them looked young, younger than Penny and was a beautiful redhead with a peppering of freckles across her cheeks and with a teasing smile that made even Penny herself do a double take because Wow! That was one gorgeous lady. Her companion was equally beautiful but a brunette that looked a little older than Penny and she was breathtaking, she smiled and Penny (and the guys) all gasped because hot damn, that was the most beautiful woman she had ever seen.

"Hello, we're Agatha and Gemma," she said as she pointed to herself and then to the other girl respectively "We're looking for Howard and Raj." Even her voice was hot and sensual! This finally lit a fire under the aforementioned guys and they quickly tripped over each other trying to introduce themselves and to invite the girls in while they waited for Sheldon to appear.

Penny was confident about her own body but both of these girls were as close to perfect as one could get and she allowed herself to hate them just a tiny bit for that because damn.

"I still insist that I look ridiculous in this, Penny can't I just wear my usual suit?" And here he comes, the man haunting her dreams. He is looking down at himself as he complains, Penny just hopes that whatever rant he will undoubtedly give them is short so they're not late to the gala so she hopes to stop any arguments in the bud "You look great Sweetie! Isn't that right?" Penny turns to the other 2 girls in the room and damn if she's not proud of her work because the both of them are looking at Sheldon like he's the last steak at the buffet so to hide her smug grin she takes a sip of her water.

"Dr. Cooper?" Agatha says in delight and suddenly walks up to Sheldon and everyone that knows Sheldon takes a sharp intake of breath because she didn't just approach Sheldon but she's also touching him, well, not exactly, Penny can see that she is holding Sheldon's sleeve in between two of her delicate fingers but she still cringes and closes her eyes waiting for the Sheldon explosion but it doesn't come right way so she opens her eyes to see if maybe Sheldon went into shock or something and first she looks at the other guys and she's sure her face matches theirs, all of them are shocked. Not only does this girl know who Sheldon is but she's also touching him (kinda) and he's not blowing a gasket. Maybe this is one of those massive hallucinations thingies..

Focusing her attention on Sheldon brings her up short because he's not looking ready bolt or like he's going to Purell himself into next week, no, he looks surprised but then he gives Agatha that lift of his lips that means he secretly happy and the water still in her mouth suddenly tastes like vinegar. "Ah Martha, good evening." Sheldon nodded at 'Agatha' in greeting and Penny swallowed the suddenly bitter water and it burned the whole way down to her stomach. "It's Agatha tonight Dr. Cooper" the brunette hussy replied, even her voice had changed, it went from sensual to happy and Penny wanted to punch something.

Sheldon nodded as if that made any sense at all and okay, maybe Penny wasn't as smart as him but this didn't make sense because Sheldon was acting as if, as if he knew this Agatha…

Motherfuc-

Penny is not sure how but suddenly she's there in between them and taking Sheldon's hand to drag him out of the apartment " Let's go, we're gonna be late!" and her voice sounds high even to her ears but she needs to get out of there, she needs to get him out of there and get some answers because nuh-uh, this was Sheldon, he didn't have a deal right? There's a perfectly reasonable explanation to this, she might be an undergrad that is paying for school or, or, or maybe she is Sheldon's dentist and just happens to moonlight as a escort, or maybe she's a fan of his work and Penny is aware that she's grasping at straws but she needs to because the other possibility is that Sheldon knows Agatha -sorry- Martha in the biblical way and she stops that line of thinking because her eyes start to burn and her throat constricts a little so she turns to look at Sheldon and he looks so innocent, so Sheldon-like, that her look becomes a glare because her Moonpie had some explainin' to do. They stop at the lobby and she finally lets go of him so he can face her.

Of course Sheldon is complaining about her wrinkling his suit and how he bruises easily as if he hadn't just turned her entire world upside down just a moment ago.

"Sheldon, shush!" and he clams up, good, still the same Sheldon she knew "Okay Moonpie, dish, how do you know her?" hands on hips so he knows it's serious.

"Penny, only Meemaw may call me-" Finally looks at her face and something clicks in that beautiful mind of his and realizes that this is serious talk time. "You mean Agatha?" Her jaw clenches.

"No Sheldon, I meant Martha" she hisses the name and it's only because she's looking at him closely that she catches the twitch of his mouth. Unfuckingbelieveable. He was thinking about lying to her, to her face!

"Okay Sheldon, spill." Penny pointed a finger right at him and she could almost see his thought process, look up, look down at her and then look away, bring his hands up to his chest trying to grasp at a strap that was not there and then he finally sighed and opened his mouth. Of course this is the moment that the rest of the party chose to join in and Penny wanted to weep in frustration because as soon as Sheldon saw the others he started taking charge and maneuvering everyone to their own cars (Raj, Howard and their dates on one while Leonard took Dr. Look-I'm-full-of-surprises and her on the other) but she didn't miss the way Sheldon was holding himself he probably thought he was safe from her question but he had another thing coming.

Thankfully, once in the car she wasn't the only one curious "So buddy, Agatha, uh, you know her?" Leonard also looked as if he had been punched so she felt a little vindicated in her reaction, yes, this was normal, Sheldon freaking Cooper knowing a escort, that was the weird part and she could kiss Leonard (she won't tho) for bringing up the subject, she was going to get her answers now.

"Ah, yes, I know her. Leonard please keep your eyes on the road, I rather you not kill us due to your lack of attention." And then he clammed up while pretending to fuss with the sleeves of his jacket and hell no, he was not getting away with it, she could already see Leonard back down from his roommate glare but Moonpie had still to look back at her even once, the audacity.

"No sweetie," she could see him freeze up at her extra sweet tone of voice "What we want to know is how, how do you know…Agatha" it took a lot of her to not hiss out Martha instead and wow, she wasn't sure where all of this anger was coming from but it was clear that she was not doing a great job at hiding it, even poor Leonard was giving her a weird look. Okay, calm down Penny, you accepted this date because you had decided to give up on Sheldon, he didn't have a deal, he was not interested in women or men. Except. It seemed that she was wrong and looking back on it, it was always someone else telling her that about Sheldon, but the man himself never said nor confirmed that, so Penny had two options, stick to her guns, forget about this and move on with her plans to at least give it a try with Leonard…or, go after the Wackadoodle and deal with the consequences.

Said Wackadoodle seemed to have decided that silence was the better part of valor (Yeah, she knows that's not the right quote but she's too pissed to care right now) and was doing his best to look out his window and pretend that there was no one else in the car.

Penny could forget all about this, pick Leonard, he was the safe choice, he knew how to behave in public and was not driving her crazy due to his eccentricities BUT, was that fair to him? To herself? Penny was no quitter, she once broke a pinkie in the middle of rodeo and she still came first.

Letting out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding and making the two nerds on the car jump as if she had just shot a gun, she looked amused but then her face crumpled a little, she hated being a bitch, but she was going to have to be one to poor Leonard and ensure he knew she was making a choice, a choice he would not understand but one he would have to accept and live with and she hoped they would come out friends afterwards. Goddamn Wackadoodle with his piercing blue eyes and innocent face, fine, he was a baby deer but she was a goddamn Huntress. Penny is no quitter.

No one brings up again the subject of Agatha/Martha for the rest of the night, but that is not to say that it was a smooth night, first, her heels made it so Leonard was basically talking to her boobs and Penny just wanted him to look at her face and more importantly now Penny was hyper-aware of Sheldon and every time Penny would see that Agatha would approach him she was suddenly right there by his side and she knew that by the end of the night it looked more like she had been Sheldon's date and not Leonard's which made her feel bad, maybe she could set him up with that new waitress at the Factory, Bernadette was cute as a button and also blonde, plus she had that nerdy but hot vibe going on and she was sure Leonard would love her.

Sheldon probably thought that she had forgotten but oh no, she was biding her time because she was fully aware that Sheldon Cooper was a creature of routines and tomorrow night was Laundry Night™. Penny already knew where her baby deer was going to be, she just needed to follow him there.

The night ends and she successfully prevents Agatha from approaching Sheldon which fine she technically didn't have a reason to do that, yet, but…shut up.

And of course things are never easy so when they all go back to the building, Howard and Raj are excited because they basically made Kripke lose his shit in the middle of an event and everyone was congratulating them and she really needed to get these boys on a real date ASAP, or maybe get them to accept that they were adorable together and to give it a shot but she's tired so she'll leave that decision for Future Penny to deal with, the both of them are talking in quiet tones with their dates and Penny doesn't want to hear the contents of that conversations so she grabs Sheldon's arm and moves to the lobby so they can go to their respective apartments.

Penny doesn't miss the longing look Agatha shoots Sheldon and is forever grateful that Dr. Oblivious is the way he is because he is already talking about his REM cycle and Penny is just feeling inner peace knowing her Wackadoodle is in here and that Agatha is out there and just as she thinks that everything will be okay she hears a voice "Penny, can I talk to you?" and Penny might truly be a bitch because she doesn't want to talk, she knows what Leonard will ask and she knows that it will suck plus her feet are hurting because the heels made her look amazing but they were hell on her feet, but better to deal with this right now than having it hang over their heads. She lets Sheldon go up and stays in the lobby waiting for Leonard to make up his mind on how he wants to approach this, it doesn't take long.

"So, did I do something wrong?" Leonard shuffles from one feet to the other and he looks up at her with kicked puppy eyes, any other night, any other day she might have caved in but tonight she still had some of that rage in her gut and she had made up her mind so no, Penny was not going to play along tonight but that didn't mean she had to be cruel.

"Okay, stop. Leonard sweetie…just stop. I know I was a sucky date tonight" She didn't liked how his eyes filled with hope "But I think this is a sign that we're not meant to be." one of her hands reaches out to grab Leonard's shoulder because she needs him to understand this "Sweetie, I don't feel that spark with you." her voice was gentle but firm. She then took a breath expecting the return serve.

"But you feel it with Sheldon?!" She knew that he was mad, and that her response would only make it worse but no hiding for her, she made sure he was looking at her before nodding and firmly saying "I think so, at least I want to give it a try."

"But I love you!" at that she finally let go of him and took a step back, the L word was a big thing for her and she never said it unless she meant it, so hearing Leonard saying it so easily after 1 Not-date and now this sham of a date made Penny feel thankful that she had not given in because this was sad, he barely knew her, never even asked about her life and they did not share anything in common other than living in the same building and liking Tarantino movies and that was not enough to build a relationship out of, she was not going to build castles in the sand, not after Kurt.

"No Leonard, you don't." She raised a hand to stop his next words "You can't love me because you don't know me, we don't have anything in common and you have to respect that I can say 'No' for whatever reason I want." She could see his shoulders sag at this, but she wasn't done yet "Leonard, sweetie, I want to believe that I am your friend, that you respect me as one and that we'll be okay. That I was more than the girl you wanted to bang." Shit, that came out harsher than she intended "I'll give you time but I still want to be your friend Leonard." The effect of her words was clear in the defeated posture but she had said all she needed to say so she started to climb up to her apartment.

"Penny?" she looks down at him still rooted in the same spot, guilt overwhelming his face and eyes "I'm sorry" There are worlds contained in those two words.

Ah, that still hurts just as much as the first time she realized that the boys in high school were not hanging out with her because they liked her but because they wanted to get in her pants and once she made it clear it was not happening they all cut her out of their lives, silly Penny, did you really think it was going to be different this time?. Giving Leonard a watery smile she managed to say "Thank you."

Maybe they will be okay after all.

She made it all the way to her apartment without crying but allowed herself to cry until she fell asleep, tomorrow she had some Hunting to do.

Penny hated that first moment of waking up right after you had a good cry because it felt like a mini-hangover that was totally unfair, excuse her for being an emotional person. Whatever, she had a shift today and also had a Moonpie to catch. Suddenly feeling better Penny went through the motions of her day, by this point she was an expert waitress so she could spend time thinking about how to approach Sheldon in the Laundry Room without messing up orders or tripping over her own feet.

She was not having much luck unfortunately because all the usual tactics would go right over his perfectly combed head. Giggle and smile? He would look around scared of a prank. Touch her hair and throw it over her shoulder? Probably would make a comment about her split ends. No, Sheldon was different so she needed to think differently, she almost went to Bernadette to ask 'How do you tell a guy that you like him?' but she was not a 14 year old girl and she had some pride dammit.

At the end of her shift she decided that the best approach would be a direct attack, Sheldon would probably try to wiggle out of it otherwise because his stupid brain can only think science and not the fun Discovery Channel science that Bloodhound Gang sang about.

Now with a plan (sort of) she was ready (sort of) to meet her not so innocent neighbor, she took a shower, debated between shorts-shorts or pajama pants and finally chose pajama pants with Hello Kitty print, she thought that maybe it would make her look casual but no too casual…goddam it, she was a 14 year old girl.

Finally hearing the 4a open she peeked and sure enough there was Sheldon with his basket, okay, deep breath, you got this Penny. Taking her own basket she waited until Sheldon had walked down and judging enough time she went after him, heart beating wildly.

The laundry room had no one else, probably because everyone in the building knew to steer away when Sheldon Cooper was on a mission. Seeing that he was separating his clothes Penny decided to bite the bullet and implement her plan. Penny entered the laundry room and before Sheldon could utter his regular greeting she closed and locked the door behind her and for good measure she leaned against it so he would have to go through her if he really wanted to leave.

"Hi Sheldon" Okay, good, her voice was normal.

"Hi Penny?" He sounded confused and was glancing around the room as if he were looking for the reason that I closed the door. Time for the truth Penny, get you that baby deer.

"Hi Sheldon" Or not

"Hi Penny" eyebrow going up, not a good sign (but very sexy looking) "Is there a reason why you're currently blocking the entryway?" he even stopped sorting out his clothes so you know it's serious.

"Hi Sheldon" Please say anything else, just anything else before he thinks you're having a stroke.

"Hi Penny, are you feeling ill?" Okay, the way he scooted back and used his shirt to cover his mouth and nose hurt a little but that was enough to get her to reboot and remember her plan.

"Sheldon, I must parlay with you on paramount subjects" there, it's out.

"Penny," he finally lowered his shirt and she could see the slight lift of his lips and it just wasn't fair, no one should look that cute "seeing as you have trapped us in the laundry room I think we can discuss these important -ah- paramount, sorry, paramount subjects." He looked amused and even went back to sorting his clothes.

Okay Moonpie, game on.

"I am attracted to you Sheldon" She saw as his body froze and he turned to quickly look at her.

"Bazinga?" Oh poor baby, he looked as scared as she felt. But it wasn't time to approach him, you got this Penny.

"No Bazinga Sheldon," c'mon, spit it out, if he rejects you then it's better to get it over with "Last night I realized that I was still attracted to you," like a Band-Aid, all at once "I actually held onto these feeling since I met you, but then you never showed anything back and I tried to forget about it," No, don't cry! Ahh fuck that's a sob "I tried to bury my feelings because you became my best friend and I didn't want to lose you but seeing last night how you flirted with Martha or Agatha or whatever her name is made me feel as if I would lose you and that's why I spent all night with you because I wanted you to look at me! And I already told Leonard because I'm done running away!" There, the full truth and even some things that she didn't want to reveal.

Sheldon looked like a deer caught in the headlights and she was sure that he wasn't breathing, she was watching him closely and jumped when he took a deep breath, there it is, she can see it now, the panic, he's looking around the room for an exit but no luck Moonpie no running from this.

He starts moving his mouth but for once in his goddamn life Dr. Sheldon Lee Cooper is speechless. If this goes to hell at least she'll always have this image. No! Bad Penny, no assuming, no running. She is wiping her tears but refuses to look away from him, she'll face this head-on.

"Penny, I…I don't know what to say, I-" and he clams up again, okay Penny, give him a nudge.

"Sweetie, I just want to hear the truth, that's all." Voice watery but at least she's not sobbing anymore.

"Ah, the truth, yes," big beautiful brain is working overtime there "Forgive me, I'm not familiar with the customs for this type of situation, but," rises to his full height and licks his lips in nervousness, his eyes still refuse to focus on anything, at least until he focuses them fully on her, blue meets green and her breath is gone "I have also felt a physiological pull towards you, in the same manner as you mentioned a moment ago, I tried to suppress these feelings thinking them unwelcome and then Leonard began his incessant and unpleasant courting of you and…" He trails off, unsure on how to continue "And I was unable to suppress them, each time you prance into the apartment I can't help but stare at the way the light plays with your hair, when you smile at me I-" he finally looks away, a blush on his cheeks "feel like I can do anything. Your optimism is contagious and on days where I'm unable to see you I find myself angry and saddened. You were a distraction in the beginning, you brought chaos into my life and foolishly thought of banishing you from our lives, but," he takes a deep breath, c'mon Moonpie, please "but I found your absence unbearable and even more distracting. I have never felt this for anyone Penny, I don't know what the correct protocol to follow is." and he extends his arms to show how truly lost he feels but for her it's an invitation and dropping her basket she runs into him and is only the wall being there that prevents him from being bowled over.

Penny can't speak right now, because Sheldon feels the same, that's enough for her right now, they can figure this out later, one day at a time. She's sure that it will be difficult, for the both of them, but as his unsure arms surround her in a hug that shouldn't feel as good as it does she feels that things will be okay, they got each other.

An unsure hand comes up and touches her cheek, she looks up at Sheldon and the blue of his eyes swallows her, to the point that she almost misses the way his lips hesitantly touch hers in a chaste kiss and right there, at that moment she knows. She's a goddamn 14 year old girl because she can feel her face flush red as if he had just proposed. He's going to kill her and he doesn't even know it.

They still have a lot to talk about, but it can wait, for now she's happy to just be here in his arms.

The prompt for this was:

Caltech gala, Penny is invited as Leonard's date, Howard and Raj fail to find dates so they decide to hire 2 high-end escorts, Penny and Sheldon disapprove but can't stop them.
Penny finds that she likes the girls until one of them greets Sheldon as if she knows him and then is shocked when Sheldon greets the woman back af if he knows her which leads to Penny having a wild imagination as well as needing to talk to Sheldon about this.
The woman seems to know he doesn't like being touched and that he likes to be addressed as Dr Cooper
And for Penny the glass of water she was drinking suddenly tastes like vinegar