AN:

Hello again... This story was a quick one and I did it in about 2 hours (give or take a few moments of research here and there).

I hope you all enjoy...

Penny loved being a bartender. It was an easy job and something she took pride in. There were some nights she wanted to flip the bottles around in her hand and go all Coyote Ugly just to liven the place up, but she didn't feel like cleaning up her OWN mess. Tonight was one of those nights where she felt the urge to set some liquor on fire from how slow it was. It was almost 10pm and she had one more hour on the clock then she could finally get home and get the last of her stuff packed. She had been working nonstop for 12 days straight on any shift she could get just to have some travel money… money to get her to Portland Oregon to live with her friend for a few months. Gas prices had went up again and it was a wonder how she could even afford that AND her rent. She hadn't had television for almost a year and a half now so that cut at least one bill. She's managed to NOT buy shoes but that didn't mean she filled an online cart FULL and just stared at the possibilities before clicking off the screen completely. She hated being poor. She hated this life that had done nothing but dragged her further and further into the quick sand. Life had tried to drag her to the bottom so she was going to do what she does best… RUN. She broke it off with Leonard about a month ago and she hadn't heard from him OR the others since then. Truth be told, she was actually avoiding them.

She loved Leonard… still does… but she needed to sever that tie. She needed to break away from that fear. Not a fear for her life or a fear for her safety, but the fear that she'd end up in a relationship just like her parents. The kind of association where the bickering, the liquor, and the sex would become an inclination to what she was going through with Leonard. She already saw it happening the first time they were together. When Justin came and wanted to crash on her couch. That moment was when she had been pulled out of her body and watched as Leonard and her became her parents arguing over a turned over pale of water. It was unnecessary and boorish. Granted, she SHOULD'VE told Leonard about him coming over, but she didn't expect him to be so cruel. She didn't expect him to be so overly possessive and jealous to the point that he nearly popped a vein in his forehead. He yelled and it provoked her… he yelled and she lashed out. That was one thing about herself that she couldn't figure out how to change; she took things personally and straight to the heart then she would fight like a cornered pitbull. He was talking down to her like she was some kind of little child; like she was some sort of complete IDIOT, and that made her defensive and ready to strike. She knew he was right to be mad, but his constant obsessing and snide remarks about it just made the situation worse than it should've been and she was getting tired of it. She would NEVER have cheated on Leonard, especially with Justin, so why couldn't he have just trusted her? That's all she wanted. And Sheldon… JESUS… talk about serious issues, but it was Sheldon's 'issues' that made their problem come to light.

Jealousy is never a turn on for her. It was just a display of insecurity and she had enough of that to go around. She didn't need her boyfriend to have them, too. Leonard was a POOL of anxiety and still knowing all that; she still wanted to be with him. She believed she could change him. Save him from his 'mother' issues, but in all fairness… he was the one who was actually saving her. Penny shook her head and started drying off some of the glasses with a clean towel. She'd been thinking a lot about the past lately. About how many times Leonard proposed. About how many times they had a useless argument that should never have occurred. About how many times Sheldon came knocking on her door and asking her to 'crawl back' and apologize to appease his 'best friend'. Penny let a groan escape her throat as she placed the glasses down upon the shelf underneath the bar. Sheldon… oh boy… what was she going to do about him? He was completely insane. She didn't give a CRAP how many times his mother had him tested… that boy was a hay string off from a bale. But, through all that, he was actually an OK guy.

Sheldon had changed so much. She wanted to give all the credit to Amy, but there was something in the back of her mind that nagged. It poked her brain with a stick and screamed that it was, in fact, HER that changed the praying mantis into a Prince. And, technically, she was the one who helped blossom-out Amy to get her more open about what she wanted out of their relationship. She couldn't help but feel like the Goddess of Love when she watched those two. They went from being the overbearing smart asses to the 'mellow' overbearing smart asses.

Penny smiled sadly. They had each other. Amy and Sheldon found their significant other and were much happier together than Leonard and she was. It was quite sad to think about, personally. That two people, who have no clue how to express their emotions without having to quote it from a science magazine, were ten times happier than two people who're supposed to be experts in the art of emotions.

Penny sighed again. She'd been doing it a whole lot, lately. She was so exhausted from trying to make the beta thing with Leonard work that she hadn't hung out with any of the boys like she used to. She actually missed doing all those asinine things with them, though she'd never say it out loud. When Sheldon's relationship with Amy began, it was like everyone just split up to do their own thing. Penny knew stuff like that happened, but that didn't mean she liked it. Penny had seen more of Amy than she did of Sheldon. Her 'Bestie'. Penny smiled and filled little cups on the bar with red straws as she shook her head. Oh AMY… Amy, Amy, Amy.

Amy was fairly unpleasant the first time she met her, but much like Sheldon… once she found her place in the universe… she was eager to learn 'social protocols'. Amy attached to her like a tick and she couldn't pull her off. Then, as time passed, Penny found that she didn't WANT to pull her off. Somewhere along the very strange journey with Amy Farrah Fowler, they became best friends… allies… sisters. She couldn't describe the feeling of having someone that close. She was friends with Bernadette, but something about Amy made friendship a very stronger word. Penny wouldn't lie to herself, having Amy by her side was like being a queen, but there was something very wrong and strange about it, too. Amy… Amy was changing just as much as Sheldon was. With her wisdom, Amy began to blossom into her own woman and slowly, Penny's little baby bird was moving closer to the edge of the nest. When her and Sheldon became serious, Amy dove off and left Penny all alone… all alone and afraid to fly. Amy didn't need her anymore. She had become her own woman with a man to drag around behind her.

The blonde shook her head and looked down at the bar where a couple shared a single stool. The boy's hands were listless as they explored the girl's clothed body as if he'd never felt her figure before. The girl's lips tasted at the exposed flesh of the boy's neck as her fingers burrowed through the short black hair on top of his head. Penny sighed at how young love always looked so overbearing, yet exciting, full of exploration, experimentation, and exhilaration. You never knew what to expect the day after next. That's what Penny wanted out of love. She was, needless to say, a very sexually driven person. She was too busy throwing her body to whatever hottie would catch her that… she never really experienced the love she thought she deserved. Age DOES bring wisdom. She had told the girls that what she and Leonard had was possibly a new, better, boring kind of love, but that's not what she wanted. She wanted the love that she read about in books. Someone to chase her and sweep her off her feet. She wanted someone to SHOW they loved her instead of berating her WITH the word. She wanted to be made love, slow and sensuously, as if that person was just feeling her body for the first time. GOD she was pathetic… 28 years old and wishing for love like some snot nosed teenager. Penny heard the female groan into her lover's neck and she sighed… AGAIN. Leonard was amazing in the foreplay department. She could never deny that, but stroke for stroke… he couldn't get her off. She had to finish the job herself and any woman can tell you… that just will never cut it. Though THAT wasn't the reason she broke up with him, it was still placed in her arsenal, just in case she needs some ammo. Penny WAS a woman, afterall.

She heard someone sit onto a stool to the far end of the bar and she snapped out of her funk with a groan. She grabbed a coaster and was sliding it towards the person on the top of the shiny wood and spoke, "Good evening, what can I… … SHELDON?"

"Fair eventide, my fair barkeep."

"Uhh… Yeah... Sheldon, what are you doing here?"

Sheldon looked offended as his Texan accent cut through, "I was hoping for a conversation and a diet coke with light ice, but I can see that civility has left this here establishment."

Penny's brows furrowed and she shook her head and went to prepare his drink, "OK… HOW did you get here? That hurt your feelings, less?"

Sheldon swallowed and looked down the bar at the couple nearly fornicating upon a single stool and he snapped his eyes back to her, "Amy Farrah Fowler and myself just finished signing all the paperwork to nullify our Relationship Agreement… and she refused to offer me a ride back home much like Leonard, Wolowitz, and Koothrappali are ignoring my texts and calls. I refuse to take a cab for fear of the last time I took one it smelled of old cheese and possibly boiled socks… and I forgot my bus pants. Luckily, I got to the Cheesecake Factory just as it began to rain. I have come to 'hitch a ride' with you; seeing is how your shift ends in less than an hour."

Penny brought his diet coke with just the right amount of ice and a very festive umbrella and put it on his coaster as he spoke, then the words jumbled and pieced together in her mind and she spazzed, "YOU AND AMY BROKE UP? But… but WHY?"

Sheldon's face was stoic and full of pain that only a person who's lived with this man for years could actually read. She put both her hands on the bar and gave him a sympathetic look as he raised his hand, "Penny… I do not wish to discuss this. It was a very long walk here with it firmly secured within my eidetic memory. I just wish to drink my drink and go home and sleep. Now, may I obtain a straw so as to avoid catching some mutation of malaria from your drinking glasses?"

She let out a hiss of air through her nose and dug into her hunter green waist-apron pocket and tilted a bendy straw towards him. He took it with a springy 'thank you' and proceeded to open the paper that surrounded the plastic straw. There was a silence between them that Penny hated. Silence and Sheldon were probably mortal enemies with one another. She knew this man far too well to not see that he was hurting. That losing Amy was a blow he could never recover from because he didn't know how to handle it. He was a man that got too attached to things and when they were gone, when they left him all alone, he had no way of recovering from its withdrawal from his life and he did what he always did... he sought out his friends... he sought out familiarity and something he could grab a hold of. And since he couldn't find his other 'friends', it was only natural that he'd come looking for her. The last resort.

He slipped the straw into his drink and sipped at it as he stared down at white tube within the darkened liquid. His eyes cut up and caught her stare intensely. Penny loved a pair of beautiful blue eyes, but when he stared at her like that; it was as if he was absorbing her soul right into his cold eyes. They weren't just gazing at you… they were studying you, etching your energies, taking in every last motion and breath and freckle that you had… they were calculating your very existence. Those were the eyes of a man who wanted to know everything about you but didn't want you too close. Those gorgeous ocean blue eyes could almost drown you from the intensity of his stare. She couldn't help but think that they were wasted on him. He had the most enticing bedroom eyes, yet, when he gave them, he really did want to just go to bed; alone. She couldn't deny… if Sheldon were just a normal, sexually driven male… she would've taken him for a ride and probably never let him leave. She blinked and found his eyes still burrowing into hers and swallowed. What was he thinking about when he watched her like this? What the hell was going on inside that head of his?

"Perhaps… Penny… we can pass the time with an inquiry that has been brought to my attention as of recently?"

Penny was finally released from his shackled stare and moved to grab the cotton towel and wipe off the bar's top. She looked down to see the couple no long there and… yep, you guessed it… sighed, "Ok, Sweetie, I'll bite… what inquiry would that be?"

"The inquiry as to why all your belongings have been packed up… and incorrectly I should add. Penny, Penny, Penny… since when do fine China and books become acceptable 'packing buddies'. One little flip and your China will become small shards of Japan." He gave a gaspy laugh to his joke and collected himself, "But… that is beside the point at the moment… I will circle back to it after I DO make my point. Penny… it is a social obligation that you must inform us of when you go on vacation two weeks prior to said vacation. If you wish us to water your plants and collect your mail, then it is imperative that you give us a notice of when you evacuate the premises of the apartment complex."

She jolted him a little as her voice got louder than she meant to, "SHELDON… breaking into my apartment again? SERIOUSLY? We've had this discussion before, remember? And… what's wrong with the way that I pack?"

"Wha-what's wrong? A proper packi…"

"ENOUGH… ok? Enough Sheldon!" She interrupted him and watched his face thrown in shock as she spun around and whipped the rag into the 'dirty bin' with a foot stomped to the ground. She clenched her jaw and calmed herself down and found a way to look him in his terrified eyes without spooking him into running and finding a blender because of the octave of her voice, "I'm not going on vacation, alright. I'm leaving. I'm moving to Portland. This is my last day at work and my last weekend in Pasadena. Monday morning… my friend is coming with a U-Haul and I'm gone. I need to leave and do something for ME for a change."

She looked up at him as she noticed a very quiet atmosphere surrounding them. He was staring down at his hands and she could see them shaking. He didn't look up at her as he spoke, "Wh-why? I don't… I don't understand. Why must you move? WHY? It's illogical!"

She sighed and shook her head, "Not everything has to have a reason, Sheldon. I-I just need something new in my life. I need to break this… this habit I've created for myself before it becomes all that I am. I really don't expect you to…"

She was cut off by Sheldon moving off the stool and slamming his hands down onto the bar that caught the attention of the last stragglers within the restaurant. He was still staring down at his hands and he refused to look up as his voice was low and shaky, "Everything has a reason. EVERYTHING! Nothing occurs without a form of rationale. People do not do something without the possession of basis. Why… why did you not tell… say… W-Why didn't you tell me you were leaving? Why would you not tell ANY of us that you were leaving? AND DON'T YOU DARE SAY BECAUSE IT WAS NONE OF OUR BUSINESS! This is not how you treat a so called 'friend', am I correct? I will not allow this!" He looked up with a child's fear that Penny had never seen on his face before. No… not a fear… despair. He was desperately begging her not to go with those pools of cold misery and it made her chest clinch. She whispered his name but before it left her lips… he spun and ran out of the restaurant with her staring after him.

Penny had to pay for Sheldon's drink before she clocked out five minutes early and rushed to her car. She yelled Sheldon's name when she exited and ignored the looks some of the people were giving her as they walked down the sidewalk. She moved to the parking lot and fished for her keys with irritated fingers. She knew that Sheldon was unstable when it came to change… but this… this was new to her. He looked… emotional… like he was battling something inside of him and he lost at the last moment. Why couldn't she figure him out? He was just a bundle of spaz that she just couldn't quite contain. When she thinks she finally has him figured out… he goes running into the light drizzle.

She takes out her phone and dials Sheldon's phone. It rings twice then goes to voicemail, "Damn It!"

She texts him: Sheldon, where r u?

Nothing.

She stomps to her car with fire burning in her eyes. She unlocks her car door and gets in and slams her door shut, HARD. She grips the phone in her hand and put her forehead into the free hand and just fights off the anger. What the HELL is she getting so angry about? After tomorrow, she'll be free of his crazy ass, unpredictable, and angsty moods… but… she couldn't allow herself to just go home and let him wander around Pasadena in the middle of the night.

She texts him again: U have the right to be mad but plz just tell me u r somewhere safe

There is a tap on her passenger side window that makes her shriek loudly into the compact of her car. Sheldon jumps back a little from the door and Penny almost snarls as she leans over and unlocks the door, "DAMN IT SHELDON!"

Sheldon got into the car and shivered a little as he shut the door gently, "I only got two blocks away when I heard cans and footsteps in an alleyway then I ran back here." He spoke a little out of breath and Penny felt relieved.

Penny buckled her seatbelt just as Sheldon did and she started her car. He did his 'lookie-loo' at her consol and she knew he was waiting for the 'check engine' light to pop on, but it never came and he looked over at her, "You… you fixed your check engine light?"

She looked over and smiled, "I sure did. Fresh new start, remember?"

She was about to put her car into drive when his voice cut her off, "Why is it that you believe moving will become your 'fresh start'? Why can't you just do that HERE? Why must you… why must you leave to become better? Do you think that somehow WE are deterring your progression? Are we POISON to you? Are we so noxious that you believe you must be rid of us to make YOURSELF better?"

Penny snapped her head over to look at him, "That's not it at all!"

He was looking out the window with his hand gripping the handle on her door with dangerously white knuckles and his hand shook. He suddenly turned and looked at her with his eyes watery and full of rage, "STAY HERE. Stay here and better yourself. We will HELP you. That's what friends do, correct? Stay… PLEASE."

"I've made up my mind and no Whackadoodle with the fear of HIS life changing is gonna make me stay… and that's FINAL!"

Sheldon's eyes went wide as Penny snapped her attention back before her and pulled down the stick and put it into drive. She griped the steering wheel so tightly as she drove that her hands went to sleep. She couldn't think straight… she couldn't begin to understand that this man who BROKE into her apartment just to clean was now showing a bevy of emotions that she didn't even think he possessed. That was enough for her to know that she needed to leave.

They got to Los Robles and she didn't even bother hesitating after parking. She got out and shouldered her purse and went ahead and palmed her house key and moved to the front of the building before Sheldon even got out of the car. Her shoes crunched at the pavement of the parking deck as she blindly walked with the tears burning her eyes. She heard the door open behind her and her body shuddered as Sheldon's voice loudly echoed within the garage, "I… I love you."

She stopped dead in her tracks but dared not to turn around. The sound of the car door closing rung out behind her as the buzzing of the lights almost matched the feeling of her blood in her veins, "I have known for a while that I harbor feelings for you, but it wasn't until you
told me that you were vacating that I finally knew what those feelings were. Amy had expressed that she loved me, but that I wasn't able to do the same for her because something was in the way. I love you, Penelope. I do so very much love you." His last sentence was almost whispered at how close he was to her. He moved to her side but didn't overwhelm her with touching, "I ask you again… please… stay. I do not think it possible to watch you leave… I..."

"Fuck you, Sheldon!" She shoved him hard and took off running and at the speed in which she hit off the ground… not even The Flash, himself, could catch her.

She made it up the stairs and into her apartment with her chest rising and falling faster than her heart could keep up with it. She slammed the door shut and locked every lock on her door before sliding down the frame and crying openly into her arms. That bastard… THAT BASTARD! He had just broke up with Amy and now he is begging her to stay… then he confess his love… was it just to KEEP HER HERE? If that was really the case… then she HAD to leave… she needed to get away from him. As she sobbed harder and harder into the crook of her arms, his voice replayed in her head. Love was a word that she hated to hear, but… coming from his lips… it was like hearing an angelic chorus. That only made her cry more. The one time that a man says that he loves her and she was actually thrilled to hear it, but she didn't know if it was a lie… a ploy to keep her in Pasadena. She didn't know how, but she found herself in bed and cried herself to sleep like she's done so many times before.

Penny stretched as the last bit of her stuff was moved into the top floor of her friend's home. Jordan moved Penny up into the 'guest' room that had a balcony and a gorgeous view of the Willamette River. In the distance she could see the mountain ranges and it was utterly breath taking. The air was so crispy that it burned her lungs as she took in a deep breath. This was what she needed and Jordan even told her that she and her husband would love it if she stayed and Penny accepted their offer in promise that when she found a job… she'd be paying some kind of rent and the two newlyweds gave a smile.

She turned back towards the balcony doors and walked into her new room. It was HUGE. The bed was a queen and looked to be draped in lace with long bed posts that reached the ceiling. She gave a grin and knew it would soon be covered in stuffed animals soon. The room was pristine and the walls were a gorgeous blue. The carpet was almost khaki colored and the ceiling was a deep cream. She had her own bathroom and walk in shower with a black and silver theme going for it. She had two deep closets that would fit her shoe collection just nicely and an oak dresser that had five rows of deep drawers. She was so happy, but something was nagging at her.

As she left, she said goodbye to everyone. There were tears, hugs, kisses, words of encouragement, and promises of keeping in touch… but Sheldon wasn't there. Amy and Leonard acted accordingly… not giving any sign that they knew what had transpired with her and Sheldon two nights before. She didn't think Amy would ever let her go, but… after a few awkward long hugs… she finally jumped into the U-Haul and stared at the edge of Los Robles disappearing further and further from the rearview mirror.

Penny happily trotted down the stairs and heard Jordan yell out that her and Scott were going out for a few. Penny stopped at the bottom step and yelled out an 'OK'. She moved to the hallway to see Jordan smiling and nodding towards the living room before slipping out of the front door. She thought it was kind of odd since her husband was right behind her outside the door, but she just moved towards the living room and was eager to do some channel surfing. She happily moved down the little hallway and hopped down the little step that led to the light gray carpeting of the living room and froze.

Sheldon stood with his arms behind his back standing right in front of the flat screen TV and looked up to see her. His arms went to his side and he swallowed deeply.

"Sheldon… how… what the hell are you doing here?"

He took in a deep breath through his nose and blinked a few times, "I told you that I couldn't watch you leave. Therefore, I began doing research on all your Facebook friends that lived within 15 miles of Portland, Oregon and Jordan Sandberg popped up. She was kind enough to allow me access into her home to try and… 'woo' you."

"Woo… WOO me? Sheldon… you and Amy…"

"… are no longer twain within a corresponding relationship. Amy Farrah Fowler has buried herself within the inconsolable arms of Leonard Leaky Hofstadter and has been since Leonard and your break up thus nullifying the Relationship Agreement due to the 'Monogamous Unfaithfulness' subsection. Please listen to me, Penny… I may not know your last name… I may never have met your family… I may not know EVERYTHING about you, but… I want to. I want to know everything about you because YOU… you are my unexcogitable equation. I spend all night staring at my white board just trying my darnedest to try and figure you out, but I'm happily thrown into a sleepless night of staring up at my ceiling and just thinking about… about you. I love you Penelope… I know you have a strange convergence of Philophobia, but I'm willing to help you push through that… I am willing to say that I love you in the most scientific way that by the time you pull up your translator app… I would have swept you into my arms and pressed you into a very amorous round of osculation."

Penny fell on top of one of the armrests of the box chair facing towards Sheldon and just stared at him in bewilderment as the tears she didn't know had formed began to slide down her cheeks. He dared to take a step towards her without his eyes ever leaving hers, "I'm not here to ask you to move back to your apartment… I am simply here to ask you…"

"Sheldon… stop…"

He froze and went rigid for a moment. She sniffled and her eyes fell to the floor, "I'm sorry that you and Amy didn't work out but… I am not emotionally ready for… … for whatever THIS is. I-I'm sorry but, I have to ask you to leave."

"No."

The word rolled around in Penny's head for a second before she looked up at this stern face and she stood slowly. He moved to her so fast that Penny didn't have enough time to place her foot upon the carpet before he swept her up into his arms. She stared, wide eyed, at the darkness of being pushed against his chest. She was utterly shocked as his voice, nearly muffled into her hair, "I am not leaving this room without you. I want you… I want you to move in with me at Los Robles."

Penny pushed off his chest and squeaked out, "WHAT?"

"I am having a hard time understand which part of that sentence you didn't…"

"I UNDERSTOOD JUST FINE! My 'WHAT' was referring to your offer. You want me to move in with you? What about Leonard…"

"He and Amy have… arrangements."

"Oh… Oh God…" She shook her head at the absurdity of this whole situation, "Sheldon, I just MOVED here. I'm not leaving for some overemotional baggage of your loneliness. You KNOW what causes love, but you don't understand it. How can I possibly take you seriously?"

Sheldon didn't hesitate… he cupped her jaw gently and placed the most placid kiss upon her lips that she'd ever felt. It sent wave upon wave of rapture wherever he touched her. His lips were cold but meshed warmly as they moved their dampened velour against her lips. His thumbs caressed her skin ever so slightly until he finally moved away and spoke softly, "Love is changing for the good of another. I-I wanted to show you how much I can change… for you."

Her dulled malachite eyes nearly exploded against the cobalt stare of the man before her as an unstoppable tear ran down her cheek. Her fingers flung to her lips as if trying to keep his kiss there and she couldn't stop the smile from taking over her face, "I… I love you too."

No more than a few days later and Penny is flinging herself upon 'her spot' on the couch nearly causing Sheldon to bounce out of 'his spot'. She grabs his right arm and drapes it over her shoulder as she moves in to press her body closer to his. He smiles as his fingers massage into her arm until her hand flies up and entwines with his and they happily watch TV… until Penny gives a furrowed look and says, "Ok… why is this called Doctor Who?" and Sheldon groaned and rolls his eyes as he explains the show to the blonde, AGAIN.