Chapter 5
'Cosmic'
an epilogue, set in the not-too-distant future

It's a rainy evening in Pasadena, California, but as Sheldon holds the door open for Penny and they step out of the comic book store, the showers have drizzled to a stop. In the night sky, he can see Orion's Belt shining through the break in the clouds. M42 is particularly bright, even without binoculars.

She moves ahead of him, seeming to be in no hurry to reach her car, continuing their conversation that began in the new-release aisle forty-five minutes ago. Not a word of hers slips past him, yet his mind is preoccupied. It has been this way all day, yet the logistics of it continue to elude him.

There has been no deviation from any previous Wednesday that he is aware of. Despite this being her usual day off, Penny arrived at their apartment for coffee at approximately eight-o-five a.m. as she always has. Twenty-five minutes later he and Leonard departed for work. Because of Leonard's five o'clock time slot on the open science grid computer, it has become Penny's responsibility to pick him up, after which their normal routine currently consisted of stopping at the comic book store for New Comic Book Day. Then to Soup Plantation to pick up their dinner order. Then, home for Halo Night.

He can find no reason for his mood to be unsettled. The last time he felt like this...

He steps off the curb to follow her across the wet parking lot, her voice still drifting to him on the cold breeze as she continues her topical monologue.

And then the magnitude of it hits him. He's not sure if it is something she says or something she does - she is oblivious either way. But he finds that she does not need the knowledge of relativistic methodology or the inner workings of string network condensates to stop him in his tracks. The unsolved equation that has forever hovered over their mutual association seems to evaporate in the wet air before his eyes.

It is utterly brilliant in it's simplicity. He cannot believe he is seeing it for the first time...

*

Penny moves out into the parking lot, only half-heartedly patting for her car keys in the pocket of her jacket. With a smile, she realizes that it is a bit unusual for her to be doing so much of the talking. Ordinarily, Sheldon is an excited bundle of comic book facts when they leave the shop. He is quiet tonight.

She turns to look for him, hoping not to find him bestowing one of his superior, know-it-all expressions on her, but she is surprised. He is staring at her, although not in the manner she expected.

His heavy black hooded sweatshirt is zipped up to the collar of his dark green polo shirt and he is clutching the strap of his messenger bag in earnest. He is standing stark-still, his blue eyes are large and dark pools. The only visible movement comes from a slight bob of his Adam's apple, and the damp breeze playing with his short, dark hair.

In anyone else, she would recognize that look immediately. Yet tonight, after all this time, she cannot allow herself to hope, much less acknowledge the sudden ache in her chest...

*

She hasn't done anything but stand there, her blonde hair half-haloed by the florescence of the comic book store, half by the streetlamp at her back. Her head is titled and she is smiling at him, questioning, and she is clutching one of his bags of new comics in one hand. She is beautiful. And she has no idea what she has just done to him.

He is only beginning to fathom it, himself. Yet, he possesses no equivocation as he walks to her ...

*

Her Keds have rooted themselves to the pavement, and she cannot budge as he moves slowly in her direction. As he gets closer and closer, she can see his hooded eyes are both determined and resolute. She shifts an errant strand of hair from her cheek as she attempts a long, anxious look up at him as he reaches her.

Without much hesitation, he timidly cups her face in his large hands...

...and kisses her.

~fin~

Now I have come to understand,
The way it is,

It's not a secret anymore,
'cause we've been through that before,

From tonight I know that you're the only one,
I've been confused and in the dark,
Now I understand.

I wonder why it is,
I don't argue like this,
With anyone but you,
I wonder why it is,
I won't let my guard down,
For anyone but you
We do it all the time,
Blowing out my mind,
Just like a star across my sky.

-Corrine Bailey Rae 'Like a Star'