June 2004:
A pair of men stood in the airport, the taller of them was paler, dressed in a black batman t-shirt over a yellow long sleeve shirt, a black pair of slacks, a pair of black non-slip shoes. A casual light grey windbreaker over his shirts.
The short of the two men had a head full of trimmed brown curly hair, sun kissed caramel skin, greyish-green eyes. He wore a more casual outfit, a blue and orange baseball shirt, a pair of soft fabric blue short, short ankle socks and a pair of Jordan ones in blue and white.
The taller of the two rubbed his hands together and the shorter of the two groaned as he caught the action out of the corner of his eyes.
"Sheldon, please stop picking at the skin on your hands" he tsk'd
"I can't help it" whined Sheldon, "I am nervous"
Rolling his eyes, the shorter man said, "I would be as well if I hadn't seen my girlfriend in months"
Sheldon glared at his friend, "Luciano, you know very well that she is not my girlfriend. She happens to be a girl who is my friend"
Luciano smirked at his friend's predictable outburst, "I am well aware Sheldon, but getting you angry got you to stop picking at the skin on your fingers. You don't want to be bleeding when she comes out"
Sheldon signed, "I find that conclusion to be the most correct course of pathways to arrive at"
"You know, it's just us, you can loosen up on the formal verbiage" noted Luciano
"Nonsense, we are both doctors of the premier world of physics" retorted Sheldon, "We have a responsibility to represent the field to the best of our abilities"
Luciano let out a huff of air from his nose, "I am not a doctor yet Sheldon, we've been over this. I have not gotten the results of my defense of the dissertation back yet"
"Is that why you've accepted a research job at Caltech already? Because we're both so certain that you didn't pass?" countered Sheldon
"I am like 99 percent sure they gave me that job as an attempt to keep you happy" replied Luciano, "Because despite everything … you are still Sheldon Cooper"
"It doesn't hurt to have an outstanding academic, research, and work record" said Sheldon with a puffed out chest, "I will have you know that I take a great deal of pride in not just my own work and myself, but also in you and your work"
Luciano blushed slightly, "I appreciate that"
"Don't be modest, a BioPhysics specialty is something unique. You could make a real change in the world, perhaps even get a Nobel" added Sheldon
"Perhaps, I haven't thought that far ahead" admitted Luciano
"Well, that's the best part of the future, you don't really know w-" started Sheldon before he trailed off and Luciano glanced at where he was standing, before following the eyeline of his friend and his eyes landed on what had caused Sheldon to become speechless.
She was gorgeous; blonde hair that trailed slightly lower than her shoulders, tanned skin, a curvy body in what was a simple light purple tank top, a pair of short shorts, and sandals. If this was the girl that Sheldon was really talking about the entire time that he had been in California, his poor friend didn't stand a chance at not falling for her. She spotted them and a big smile graced her face and she sped up, her little wheelie suitcase struggling to keep up with her sped up pace.
"Sheldon, you're not going to give me a hug?" asked Penny as she got within a couple of feet of them, her hand leaving her suitcase handle and both of her arms spread out wide, clearly looking for the hug she had just mentioned.
Sheldon looked to Luciano who gave him a subtle 'Hug her bro' nod and Sheldon stepped forward and awkwardly extended his arms and embraced her to the best of his abilities. Sheldon's lanky form looked like it would fall apart like a Lego set, so Luciano took pity on his friend and cleared his throat to cause the hug to end.
"Sheldon, you're not going to introduce me to your girlfriend?" asked Luciano, not taking that much pity on his friend, causing the hug to end as they both turned to look at him.
Sheldon's red face glared at him and Penny smiled at that question, "Sheldon, I didn't know that we were telling people about our secret love affair"
Sheldon's glared bounced back and forth between Penny and Luciano, both of his friends laughing at his childish expression.
"That's not funny" grumbled Sheldon as he reached out and grabbed the handle to the suitcase, "Penny, this is my friend Luciano"
Luciano extended his hand out to Penny, shaking her hand as he looked down at her. She was shorter than him and Sheldon, with Luciano being between her 5'6 form and Sheldon's lanky 6'2 from at 5'10.
"Oh my god, Sheldon mentions you all the time. You do research on heart diseases and proteins right?" asked Penny as they finished shaking each other's hands
"That is a rather simplistic manner of talking about his research Penny" cut in Sheldon, "It is much more complex than that"
"Don't worry about it, that's the basis of it" said Luciano with a chuckle, "Please forgive Sheldon, he is very passionate science"
Sheldon nodded as if it was common sense
Penny shrugged, "I took to the coo-coo a couple times weekly, I am used to the craziness that comes with talking about science with him"
"I'm not crazy, my mother had me tested" said Sheldon
"Let's get going, I'm sure you don't want to be standing around in the airport. I will drop you guys off at Sheldon's place" said Luciano as he led them back to his silver 2002 Nissan Murano that they had parked in the airport parking.
"You don't live with Sheldon?" asked Penny once they were in the car, "I don't want to kick you out"
"No, I live in University Housing" replied Luciano as he started driving
"It's kind of like a staff version of a dorm" added Sheldon, "I would live there as well, but I prefer to have a bit more space for my work"
"I agree with the space issue, I had to mount two of my whiteboards onto the walls" agreed Luciano
"You have multiple whiteboards?" asked Penny
"Oh yes, that's part of the process. You put an equation on the board and you let the brain unscramble the meaning of the universe" said Sheldon with a dreamy sigh
"He's right" said Luciano
They made some more passive polite chitchat as Luciano finished driving them to Sheldon's place before leaving Penny and Sheldon to settle in, agreeing to see them again sometime soon.
Sheldon carried her suitcase up the stairs, making their way to 4A. The door opened and Penny took in the apartment she had only ever seen through a computer screen. It felt like remembering a place she had never been before. But she could remember all the times she had seen the place.
The open blinds on the window, the placement of the tv, Sheldon's special chair. It was all so real at the moment.
"You room is going to be over here" said Sheldon as he led her to the spare room, the room was a bit bare, but there was a full size mattress that was made, a small 3 drawer wooden dress that was the same shade as the bedframe. The blinds were down, but the dark curtains were open. And of course because this was a Sheldon owned place, the entire thing was cleaned to perfection.
"This is where you're going to be staying, there is additional clothing storage space in the closet if you need to hang up any clothing" said Sheldon as he pointed to the closet, "There is a bookbag full of emergency supplies, rations, and instructions under the bed"
Penny slowly dropped to the ground looking under the bed, seeing a full bookbag really sitting under there.
"Now, I don't know your bathroom usage, but from my understanding, girls do not have the ability to hold their facility to the same degree as males, so I did not want to anticipate incorrect times. Thus, on this card, you will find rather times that I will be in the bathroom, I hope you can work around it" said Sheldon as they left the bedroom and he handed her a laminated index card, highlighting his preferred bathroom times, with a amendable 10 minute window if absolutely need be.
Penny looked at the times, "You can go at these times every single day?"
"It helps to eat a lot of bran" confirmed Sheldon, "Now, I eat my food on a rotation, but since you have visited me, I am going to not adhere to the schedule for once. You may pick what we eat today"
Penny's face twisted into an 'aw' face, "Sweetie, you don't have to do that"
"No, I insist, you are my guest after all" countered Sheldon, "You do know what you want to eat right?"
"Something simple, like Pizza" suggested Penny
Sheldon nodded, "I can do that as long as we move Chinese to Friday and don't eat pasta this week"
"Whatever makes it work for you" replied Penny
The rest of the day was spent relaxing, although Penny questioned why Sheldon didn't own a couch, but was also willing to admit that he wouldn't have been able to carry it by himself even if he had brought one.
They ate the pizza, Sheldon's specific order of shredded chicken with basil seasoned tomatoes on top was not the worst thing Penny ever had. She slept like a brick that night, the fatigue of the day catching up to her.
When she woke up the next morning, it was already 9 AM and Sheldon was gone. He left a note informing her of his return at approximately 4:35 PM but was uncertain of the daily traffic at that time. But there was also a plate of eggs and bacon in the fridge for her, with instructions on how to make 'perfect' toast if she so desired.
Deciding to use her current location to her advantage, while munching on her breakfast, she opened up her laptop and started looking for small acting gigs in LA, because much to her surprise, Pasadena to Los Angeles was a 17 to 30 minute drive according to MapQuest.
She was sending out emails when the home phone in the apartment rang and she looked at it, seeing what she believed to be a Texas based number calling. It could be nothing or it could be a family emergency or something, thus she decided to pick up the phone.
Upon doing so, she was immediately greeted with a confident, warm, and loving voice that could only belong to a Grandma.
"Hey Moonpie, I had a quick little question" said the lady on the other end of the phone
"Oh, I'm sorry" replied Penny, "Are you looking for Sheldon?"
"I was, but now I am wondering if I have the wrong number" answered the lady
"No, this is Sheldon's home phone, he's just at work at the moment" confirmed Penny, "Did you want me to take a message for him?"
"Oh, are you one of those assistants they give out at the university?" asked the woman
"No, I'm Sheldon's friend. My name is Penny, I've visiting California while on break from school for the summer" corrected Penny
"Oh, Sheldon has a … friend visiting" muttered the lady, "Tell him his Meemaw called and wanted to talk to him"
Penny nodded and scribbled it down on a sticky note on Sheldon's desk, "Got it, will tell him first thing when he comes home from work"
"Thanks love" said this Meemaw lady before she hung up.
She sent out maybe three or four dozen emails replying to ads asking for models or actresses, before she took a break for a late lunch. She found that the pantry had a 'Penny' section of things she was free to take and eat, it was strange to see a guy so organized.
It was earlier than 4 PM when Sheldon came home, bringing with him Luciano once more. The Hispanic man was carrying two white boards while Sheldon opened the door to let him in, talking about something.
"Although it was discovered less than 40 years ago, the cosmic microwave background or as the cool kids call it CMB, radiation has been around a lot longer than that. A relic from the early days of the Universe more than 14 billion years ago, the CMB is the oldest radiation on record. Current cosmological models posit that the CMB should be slightly polarized but this property has never been observed ..; until now" finished Sheldon as Luciano brought the white boards into the apartment and put them down along the breakfast counter.
"I understand your excitement with it, but I am still going to be focusing on the Malaria project that the university offered me" replied Luciano
"Are you sure that I can't pry you away for a couple hours a week?" asked Sheldon, "You have an unique ability to understand Physics and could be able to show how the applications of something like CMB has an impact on the environment we're observing"
"I can spare my Wednesdays for you" said Luciano with a shake of his head, "I know that you're too stubborn at this point to simply take 'no' for an answer"
"Perhaps, internally, you just know that I'm right" suggested Sheldon
Penny looked at Sheldon and then at the sticky note on the desk, "Hey Sheldon, someone who called themselves 'Meemaw' called asking for you"
Sheldon gasped and a big smile appeared on his face, "My grandmother called, excuse me while I take a moment to call her back in my room"
Penny watched as Sheldon grabbed the house phone, punching in a number as he walked away from them.
Luciano eyed Penny looking at Sheldon fondly, "So, Penny, what is your plan for being out here?"
"Oh um, I plan on being an actress, so I've just been applying to the ads asking for actresses" admitted Penny
"Not bad" replied Luciano, "And what do you think of Sheldon?"
"Oh, he's great" answered Penny, "I don't know if I've ever met anyone like him before in my life"
"Sheldon is a rather kind guy, he's a little rough around the edge socially" confirmed Luciano, "But he would do anything for his friends and he doesn't really have a lot of them"
"Really?" asked Penny, "But he's so nice"
"To you, to others he can be arrogant and demanding and somewhat rude" admitted Luciano, "But to his friends, he's a sweetheart"
"Definitely, he's helped me so much with school and I never thought he was rude or anything" said Penny
"I know, he talks about you often" said Luciano, "He thinks the world of you"
"And I think the world of him" said Penny
"Great" said Luciano before he leaned back to make sure that Sheldon's room door was still closed, "Then I will ask only one thing of you. Sheldon is a good friend of mine, I know he can be different at times, but whatever you do. Please, don't hurt my friend, he can't handle it"
A/N: I like these shorter chapters, they feel more like mini 15 minute episodes