Author's Note: I'm back. Thank you for your patience as it has truly been MONTHS. But forgive me… There have been more than a few emails and reviews about "when will I finish the story" so thank you to everyone for pushing this author to move forward and DO IT ALREADY!

This chapter had a very different direction, BUT after a lovely feedback note, I decided not to make this chapter so "blue sky" or effortlessly resolved, if you will. Challenge accepted, Danny! ;-)

** Sorry for errors in any of my chapters, spelling mostly. I write this super late at night and my wonderful betas also check my work in between their own writings…and lives. So…just enjoy it anyway!

ALL YOUR REVIEWS WERE AMAZING—CONSIDER THEM ALL READ AND LOVED! Because they were!
:-D

THANK YOU TO:

~ Gwuenhyvar for being my beta! (She's the reason I am working on a Kindle book!)

~ Jislane for allowing me to use her name again in this chapter. Her cameo turned into more, a happy accident.

~ RobbieO81769 for correcting my Star Wars factoid error in the previous chapter. Ooops…that's what I get for googling things at wee hours of the night!

~ To all of YOU for your continued support, reviews, favoriting of me and the story and all that. You're all the best-best-best!

Enjoy and you might want to glance at the last chapter or two to refresh your memory if you need it because it's been a few months for some of you (I know I had to in order to get back into the flow).

*MyOwnStar*

XXXXXXXXXXX

Sheldon took a deep breath, his eyes blissfully closed and his hands relaxed at his sides.

Yes. There was no place he would have rather been at that very moment.

Then, something hit his face and his reverie was broken. He looked over and saw Howard and Raj giggling amongst themselves as they turned their backs to him, the bucket of popcorn almost falling out of Raj's arms.

"Very funny," Sheldon scolded, rubbing his face of any excess butter from the overly saturated bucket.

"Can't be helped," Howard said with a shrug. "You get all 'zen-like' in the movie line, you get popcorn in the face."

"Yeah, dude. Protocol." Raj smiled and nodded, snacking on some of the popcorn.

"Come on, guys," Leonard said sourly. "The movie starts soon. Stop messin' around."

Sheldon eyed his friend with some disinterest. Leonard and he were on very curt speaking terms since the safe-sex lecture debacle and Sheldon's subsequent revenge. Sheldon's night had ended in great sex. Leonard's had also ended in sex, from what Sheldon understood (and by understood, seeing Priya in a robe the next morning), but he sincerely doubted it was as fulfilling as his night.

Tonight they were all out for the sci-fi movie they had all talked about a few days prior.

And, what's more…it was a date night for them all—at the same time. A first ever. It was a monumental moment for sure!

Sheldon took Penny, of course (despite her attempt to get out of it that afternoon). Leonard took Priya. Howard took Bernadette and Raj took Jislane. Currently, all the girls were in the bathroom for their own pre-show urination…and to do something more than be bored in line.

Penny didn't understand what the point was to wait a thousand hours in line for a movie. Well, it was only a few hours but still. BOR-ING.

"This doesn't even have hot vampires in it," she had mumbled to Sheldon when they'd managed to be first in line. He'd just raised his eyebrows at her and began the lengthy explanation of why this movie beat any teen-vamp drama and …something about the special effects budget. Penny didn't recall. Or more accurately—she stopped listening. She adored her Sheldon but she still had the right to be annoyed by his unnecessary jibber-jabber.

All she'd responded to him was, "That's nice, sweetie" before patting his arm and smiling up at him.

And now, Penny and the girls were in the bathroom gabbing away at the mirror, mostly. Jislane got a phone call and stepped out. Bernadette and Priya were talking about her new position with the law firm she worked at. Penny had little to contribute, and just fixed her lip gloss in the mirror wondering if Sheldon would really notice if she just snuck into a Sandra Bullock film instead.

"We'll wait for you back in line," Bernadette said as she and Priya stepped out.

Penny nodded. "Ok. Be out in a sec."

She turned to get tissue from the bathroom stall and heard someone enter another stall, their voice loud and obnoxious on their cell phone as they slammed their stall door shut. Penny's eyes widened.

She knew that voice.

She hated that voice.

She listened a few moments more to confirm her suspicions. Yes…it was that bitch that girl Jislane had brought to Sheldon's house (the night she'd asked him to be her boyfriend). That girl was so rude that night! Penny had secretly wanted to get her back. But how? And was it even worth it at this point?

"...Well, meet us after. Yeah." There was a pause in the girl's conversation. Penny listened closely, being nosy more than anything. "…Oh, and you will never guess who's here. That psycho asshole I was telling you about. The one everyone had to force to get up off the couch so his little girlfriend could sit down. No…here with Jislane. Yeah, I said 'hi' but whatever…"

Penny's face burned red.

That bitch is talking about Sheldon! Oh, it's on!

Penny peered out of the stall and the girl was still in hers, for whatever reason. Then Penny heard her speak out.

"Hey, I'm outta toilet paper. Could you hand me some?" She was talking to Penny. She must have seen her feet under the stall.

Penny cleared her throat and said in a high pitched voice, "Sure!" With that, and a devilish grin, Penny reached for the toilet paper.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Where have you been?" Sheldon asked, peering down at Penny and sipping on his drink.

The other girls were with the guys, chatting away. Penny heard Leonard giving Priya the same details Sheldon told her about the movie. She wondered if Priya was just as bored with them.

"Oh, just taking care of business," she responded sweetly, gently putting her arm through his without thinking about it.

"Well, I should hope so. The movie is a full two and a half hours long. You don't want to miss a thing. You know, the original budget for this film was only 4 million dollars."

"I see…"

Just then, a loud "What the fuck!" could be heard from the ladies bathroom. Everyone turned towards the direction of the vulgar statement.

Penny just smiled, laughing her own wicked little chuckle and lacing her fingers through Sheldon's, who looked shocked and a little appalled at the outburst.

"What was that all about?"

XXXXXXXXXX

(Five minutes prior)

Penny reached for the toilet paper and with some manipulation, unlatched the holder. She grabbed the roll of toilet paper and snuck away to the other three stalls in the five stall bathroom. She furiously took the toilet paper out of the holders and was soon holding four rolls of toilet paper in her arms.

"Uh. Hello," came the bitch's voice from her stall. "Toilet paper?"

"Yeah, I don't see any…" Penny responded. "Oh, wait. Here you go!"

She reached down and handed the girl one small square from the bunch.

"What the fuck is this?" the girl sneered, snatching the one tiny tissue square.

"You asked for toilet paper. You never said how much." Penny stood. "Courtesy of the psycho asshole's girlfriend."

With that, Penny spun on her heel and walked out. She opened the door to the men's bathroom and tossed the four rolls in before quickly walking back to where the others stood. She wore a triumphant smile as Sheldon looked over at her and asked, "Where have you been?"

XXXXXXXXXX

Penny couldn't deny how she was a tiny bit nervous that the girl would come out, find her, and kick her ass. She actually clung to Sheldon a little more, though he offered less than brawny support. A couple of girls finally did go into the bathroom, mostly to see what the commotion was, and within minutes the nasty girl came out—fuming and embarrassed.

Penny could tell she was looking for her, but was saved by the bell when the line opened up for the movie. The girl was stalking towards her anyway, but went up to Jislane rather than her and Penny could hear her start to complain about what happened. She was actually surprised that the girl, as bold and foul-mouthed as she was, didn't just confront Penny herself.

"Sorry…I don't know what to tell you…" she heard Jislane say in a helpless tone, obviously hating confrontation between a new friend and an old friend.

Penny decided to ignore the rest of the conversation and instead allowed Sheldon to aggressively pull her in the direction of the "acoustic sweet spot" in the theater before someone else got to it. She plopped down next him, and he looked at her with happier-than-Christmas-morning smile on his face.

"First in line and best seats in the house."

Penny just smiled and shook her head. She looked down. "Where are your Red Vines?"

"Oh, right here. I got tired of holding them." He produced the package out of his jacket and placed them on his lap.

"I think I'm going to get some popcorn and a Coke."

"But the previews are starting soon."

"No, they're not."

"And you're going to be fighting the crowd. See? They're still bustling in."

"Well, then maybe my boyfriend should get them for me…. It is a social convention." Penny smiled and batted her eyes at him.

Sheldon's sat up a tiny bit. "Oh, Penny. You know I'm a progressive man. I don't hold back any woman who wants to assert their independence. You go and you get that popcorn and Coke. You show that crowd who's boss." He looked at her, and cleared his throat. He hoped his inspirational message told her what it needed to: that he didn't want to get up. He finished with, "You…you go, girl."

"Nice try," she replied wryly, crossing her arms.

"I had to open my mouth," he mumbled angrily as he got up and scooted past her and the others in seats.

When Sheldon was out of sight, Penny looked down the line of her friends. They were all happily chatting away and talking to their dates. She smiled and sat back before quickly jolting up and also scooting passed her friends out into the aisle.

"Save our seats!" she pleaded with Leonard as she passed him.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"To save Sheldon," she murmured worriedly as she hustled down the aisle.

She heard Leonard say "huh?" before dashing past the remainder of people coming in. It had momentarily slipped her mind that Jislane's friend might still be in the lobby, perhaps waiting for Penny or Sheldon to walk out. She was certain the girl hadn't come to see this movie.

She found Sheldon standing ten people back at the concession line.

"Hey," she panted, reaching out and grabbing his hand. "I changed my mind. Let's go in."

"Why?" He gave her a confused look.

"I just—"

"HEY!"

Penny cringed when she heard the holler and everyone in line looked in the direction of the voice. It was her.

"Is that who I think it is?" Sheldon asked, mostly to himself.

"Uh, yes…" Penny pulled closer to Sheldon, or rather pulled Sheldon closer to her.

Before anymore could be explained, the girl was in Penny's face.

"What the hell was that all about in the bathroom?" the girl asked angrily. "You think you're funny?"

Sheldon took a step back. Penny didn't.

"Hey, I gave you what you asked for." Penny threw up her hands with a shrug before crossing her arms.

"I'm gonna kick your ass," the girl replied, almost matter-of-factly.

Sheldon sighed. Why did Penny always find herself in confrontations with other women? He wasn't even sure what this one was about. He gathered…bathroom…and something the other girl asked for. He assumed toilet paper because that's the only thing one would need assistance for if they were bound to the toilet doing their business. That, or the girl got stuck on the toilet seat somehow.

"Oh, please. I should have kicked your ass at the apartment," Penny shot back. To be honest, she was getting a bit nervous. She was a tough girl, but she didn't go seeking fights with others. "But revenge is a dish best served WITHOUT TOILET PAPER!"

Sheldon looked around, noticing others were starting to stare and feeling uncomfortable with it. He took another step back.

"Penny, perhaps we should go…"

"I think your freak is calling you," the girl indicated, crossing her arms and pointing at the tall man behind Penny.

"Hey!" Sheldon protested. "I'm not a freak. By all accounts, you're the freak. I don't see anyone else here creating such havoc in a public place. I was merely standing in line getting popcorn and a Coke."

"See? That's what I mean. Freak."

Penny opened her mouth to say something, but Sheldon stopped her. "Penny, please. Allow me." He turned curtly to the woman and simply said, "Go away."

"Excuse me."

"Go. Away."

The girl looked around and then crossed her arms again, smiling a bit. "Fine. I'm leaving." She eyed Penny up and down, then smiled a fake smile at Sheldon. "Enjoy your movie."

With that, she stalked off. Penny gave Sheldon a wide-eyed look. "What the hell was that? You just got her to leave like that?"

"Sometimes it takes a simple request. You Nebraskans and your fights," he said, with a shake of the head, turning to face forward in the line.

When they left the concession and walked to their seats, Sheldon stopped so short, Penny bumped into him from behind.

"Sheldon, what the heck? I—"

"No," he seethed. It was stated with the same venomous tone he formerly reserved for Wil Wheaton in their arch-enemy days. He almost dropped Penny's drink in his hand.

Looking over his shoulder, Penny gasped. In Sheldon's seat was a large, brawny guy giving Leonard a hard time. Leonard and the others just looked at the two of them with a somewhat helpless expression. It wasn't simply the guy that brought Sheldon and Penny both to their own levels of rage—it was her. She'd gone into the theater, found their seats, and SAT DOWN! The theater was jam packed and really the only other alternative to getting the two intruders to move seats was creating a fight…and after a long ass wait in line, no one wanted the risk of being kicked out for that.

Penny glanced at Jislane, who looked only mildly invested in the scene. She and Raj were checking out an app she had on her phone and laughing. Penny rolled her eyes.

Sheldon angrily stomped over and scooted in until he was in front of Leonard, who backed into his seat as far as he could to avoid being eye level with Sheldon's crotch.

"These are our seats," Sheldon said to the big guy.

"Uh, Jen," he said, turning to the bitch.

So, that was her name.

"Yes?" she was innocently looking up from her own cell phone.

"Were these seats occupied when you got here?"

"Nope."

The guy smiled up at him. "Guess you're mistaken."

Sheldon huffed. "Oh no, sir. It is you who is mistaken."

Penny scooted into the seats and leaned down to ask Jislane, "Why don't you do something? This is your friend."

"She's kind of mad at me because of what you did," she responded. "Sorry. She won't listen to me."

"Really?! You can't just—" Penny stopped short after looking at her. The conversation would lead nowhere. Pursing her lips and standing straight again, Penny murmured, "That's no way to start a friendship off with your boyfriend's friends. But whatever."

"You can have our seats," Jen said to Sheldon, pointing at the farthest corner of the theater.

"What? NO! These are our seats! Leonard," he turned to his friend. "Did you not tell them these are our seats?"

"No, I just allowed them to sit there," he responded sarcastically.

"Proper seat saving protocol would have been to scoot down and place your jacket on your own seat until we returned. We've discussed this!" Sheldon was in the beginning stages of a tantrum, and Leonard opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by someone shouting for them to sit down.

Sheldon looked back at the screen and saw that the movie previews were starting.

"Get up!" Sheldon said again, his voice going from angry to pleading.

"Come on, guys. Look, you were mad at me. Sorry about the whole bathroom thing," Penny started, rolling her eyes and hating to (fake) apologize. "Just let us have our seats. Sheldon has nothing to do with anything."

"Make us," the girl sneered back.

"Oh, this is about to get real," Penny said, pushing Sheldon out of the way who tumbled onto Leonard, Penny's drink almost spilling entirely.

"Hey! HEY!" All four of them looked at the direction of the hollering. It was a security-rent-a-cop looking guy at the bottom of the stairs. "Find other seats or get out."

"I will not allow this cinematic injustice to take place!" Sheldon stated indignantly, standing straight. "These hooligans need to move! These seats were reserved to those who waited hours in line. Us. Make them move. I shall not move from this spot until you do your job, although with the seeming absence of any real academy training, I can see how that would be difficult."

XXXXXXXXXX

Sheldon held his Icee and Red Vines as Penny clung to her popcorn bucket and soda, both looking out at the filled parking lot.

"I can't believe we got thrown out!" Sheldon exclaimed.

"Yeah, crazy," Penny mumbled, sinking behind him to avoid the inevitable glare, lecture, and fight. She got her phone out and texted Bernadette. This was all her fault. If she hadn't asked him to get her popcorn then her boyfriend would be happily watching the movie and she would be happily daydreaming about not being there watching the movie.

"This is all your fault!" He twirled around to face her in full on angry Sheldon mode. "I waited weeks for this movie, then hours in line, and because of you I—"

"Wait a second," she shot back, holding up her free hand. "It was because of you that I even did what I did."

"Got a kicked out?"

"NO!" Penny huffed and threw her arm in the direction of the door, indicating to the scene inside. "That girl came into the bathroom and to get her back for being such a bitch at your apartment, I..." Penny cleared her throat and looked away, "kind of denied her toilet paper when she needed it in the bathroom. I, um, got rid of all the rolls."

Sheldon adjusted his shoulders. "You expect that to excuse this night?"

Penny's mouth dropped open. "YEAH!"

"It doesn't."

"Come on, Sheldon! I was sticking up for you! Getting her back for being so…ugh. Forget it." Penny started walking away and Sheldon followed her. She abandoned her popcorn and soda on a bench as she walked by.

"Where are you going? Or have you forgotten that Leonard was our ride?" He was surprised how fast she was walking.

"Go away, Sheldon."

"Me!?" He was still trailing her like a little puppy, trying to keep up with her steps. "I believe it is I who should be stomping away angrily."

She stopped short and Sheldon stumbled to stop next to her. "Well, stomp away then, Mr. Big Man."

"I hardly think you have the right to be angry."

Penny's phone chirped and she checked it. "Bernadette texted back. Those jerks left. They just wanted us to get kicked out. Can you believe that?" Penny looked up and met angry blue eyes. "You want to try to sneak back in…?"

"How?" Sheldon shot back angrily. "We were escorted out."

"Yea, but I could ask Bernie to open the side door…or…" She shrugged, not really knowing what she was talking about. "I don't know, Sheldon. I'm sorry! I'll take you to see this movie tomorrow! I promise!"

"It won't be the same. Everyone will have seen it. Our seats are vacant, just waiting for our return." He pouted. "With the perfect sound quality and everything."

"Hey! You guys!" They turned to the sound of Leonard's voice.

"Oh, you've talked to the manger and are getting us back in! Thank you, Leonard!" Sheldon started to walk towards the theater.

"Actually, uh, no. I came out to hand you the keys. You guys can come get us in a couple hours." He handed Penny his car key and shrugged. "Sorry."

He sprinted back into the movie theater and Sheldon turned to Penny with a gaping mouth.

"Well, I guess we're not stranded. Come on, darlin'…" Penny hoped to change Sheldon's disposition, knowing the scorn of Sheldon could last hours…days…weeks. And she was stuck with him exclusively for the next two or three hours. She grabbed his hand and dragged him towards the car.

"This is the Stan Lee incident all over again! You and your irresponsibility getting me to miss out. Oh, Penny. No, amount of sweet talk will salvage this night." Sheldon took an angry sip of his Icee.

XXXXXXXXXX

Finally. Quiet, thought Penny, smiling to herself as her lips trailed his neck. Her lips had halted his babbling lecture instantaneously once they were in the car, driven away, and parked at some random back road she found near the theater.

"The night isn't entirely ruined," she whispered in his ear as her hand slid over his thigh.

"Well, that is certainly still up for debate," he mumbled back. He cleared his throat, his eyes darting to his watch.

"Give it to me," Penny sat back, holding her hand out.

"What?"

"Your watch. Hand it over."

"What—why?" He held his wrist up to his chest protectively.

"Because you're thinking about if there is a possible next showing, which you know there isn't and even if there was, I am not paying a second admission for the same movie that I didn't want to see anyway. So—hand it over."

Sheldon pursed his lips and yanked the watch off his wrist, practically tossing it in her direction. He crossed his arms and looked out the window at the stars in the sky, sighing and wondering at what point the movie was playing. A small constellation caught his eye and his mind automatically went to the history of the constellation and how it came to be named. Before his mind could glide through the rolodex of facts it held, something began pressing against his body. It took him a moment to realize it was Penny.

He looked up with wide eyes as she straddled him with a smile on her face. He lifted his hands near his chest, uncertain what to do in this new situation. Despite the fact that they were in a relatively private location, this was still outside of his public display of affection comfort zone.

"Penny, honestly, I—" His words were cut off by her lips. His hands slowly eased down to her shoulders.

She had perfected the car make out session long (long) ago along with the seasoned car sex which she hadn't had since, well…Kurt. She was curious how far Sheldon would allow her to take this but didn't worry too much about if he would reject the idea of car sex. She was honestly surprised he hadn't already opened his car door and pushed her out.

"I'm still mad at you," he said against her lips when there was a small pause in the kissing.

She shook her head and ignored him, bringing her head down to kiss his neck.

"I mean it, Penny. This is another strike." His voice sounded even and persistent.

"Give me a hundred strikes, I don't care," she heatedly whispered, running her tongue up his neck.

The intake in his breath and the way he scooted up in his seat told her the discussion was most likely over.

"Just say it, Shelly," she teased, kissing his neck a few more times.

He cleared his throat. "Say what, Penn…..y?"

"Say the words, 'I don't care about the movie. I'm with my girlfriend.'"

Sheldon rolled his eyes. "I'm here, aren't I?"

"Say it," she coaxed, pulling back and tugging at her shirt.

"This is ridiculous. You're essentially asking me to lie. I do care about the movie and—"

"Just…say it, Dr. Cooper," she pressed, pulling her shirt up over her head. "Tell me you don't care about a movie you can see tomorrow, or next week, or never." She leaned in close to his lips. "Because you're here with your girlfriend."

Sheldon formed the words on his tongue but the way Penny's bra slid off her arms silenced him momentarily. He cursed himself for his biological reaction to her.

She lifted her body and Penny tugged at his zipper. His hands came down on hers in a firm grip and she was forced to look directly in his eyes.

"I do care about the movie. I am here with my girlfriend. Please don't unzip my pants in the car. Anyone can come at any time."

"No one is going to see. Sheldon, this is what couples do."

"Not us."

"We haven't tried it yet." She yanked her hands away from his grip. "And it won't be sex. Just…" She leaned over and pecked his lips. "A little fooling around."

Sheldon took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "I wish we were in the movie," he murmured, feeling her hands on his chest.

Slumping her shoulders, Penny started to get off him. She slid her bra back on and sighed heavily. Feeling guilt, Sheldon opened his eyes and looked out the window, feeling the tension between he and Penny build. He just wasn't really in the mood. He was pushing down the temper tantrum he was having over the whole being kicked out of the movie thing and it was actually helping very little that Penny was trying to seduce him.

Penny bit back the comment she wanted to make about having a 'normal' boyfriend because she knew who she was with. An eccentric with his own set of rules, which he only bent when he wanted to. This was obviously not one of those times.

After getting dressed again and starting the car, Sheldon turned to her. "I know where we can go."

XXXXXXXXXX

"Well, this certainly does make me feel better," he casually stated, taking in the smell of new comics.

"Hmph," Penny grunted, eyeballing the old comics. "I thought your loyalties were to Stuart. Why are we at this old comic book place."

"Oh, I do like this place very much, but it's a bit further out and Leonard refuses to drive out here." Sheldon studied the cover of one of the comics encased in a plastic sheath in his hands.

"I see." She strolled around the place. The proprietor, an old man behind the counter reading a book, was the only other person in this tiny establishment. There were a couple of small aisles filled with memorabilia, shirts, videos and comic books, and then a small staircase. Next to it was a handwritten sign that read 'More Merch Up Stairs'.

Penny started up the tiny staircase, hitching up her purse over her shoulder a little more as she looked up. On the last step, she looked around at what appeared to be storage…or just a very disorganized way of selling more old crap. She coughed at the musty smell but was intrigued by the small space anyway.

She peered into one box and pulled out a random bound comic book, gasping and almost dropping it. She looked behind her as if she was worried her teacher was going to bust her for smoking in the bathroom or something and turned back to the pages.

"Whoa," she said under her breath and she flipped through the pages of what appeared to be pure sex with very little plot.

"I see you've found your preferred genre."

Penny screamed, the comic book flying in the air, and clutched her chest. "Jesus, Sheldon!" She gaped at him. "You scared the living shit out of me."

"I'm sorry," he stated in his matter-of-fact, casual way as he walked over and picked up the dropped comic book. He handed it back to her.

"No. No, just put it down. I was just looking." She turned away, her face burning red with being caught red handed. She was more embarrassed about that than about actually looking at it. She never said any of this was a preferred anything to her. It did, however, remind her of parts of the comic book series Sheldon introduced her to in his room.

Penny was only half listening to Sheldon as he began to explain what 'hentai' was to her and the sub-categories and genres and names and types and characters…

"Sheldon," she interrupted. "I know. I remember some of this stuff from Leonard."

Sheldon raised his eyebrows and pursed his lips. "I see." He tossed the comic book down. "I was not aware you knew about his collection."

"Just the cartoons."

Sheldon sighed in exasperation. "The anime."

"Yeah, the Anna May."

Sheldon rolled his eyes and turned to look at the books next to him. Penny continued perusing the selection before she came across a few comic books she recognized. She gasped lightly to herself, gathered them all up in her hands, and ran downstairs. She quickly purchased the lot and held the brown paper bag tightly against her chest.

She actually almost choked at the fact that she just spent well over a hundred dollars on what she just purchased but didn't care. The impulse buy would be worth it for sure.

"Is this all you have of this collection?" Penny asked with an air of conspiracy in her tone.

"Unfortunately, yes. I'm surprised you found them all in one place in fact. Not much is organized in the attic." The man's voice was gravelly but casual.

"Can you order the others?" she whispered, looking quickly over her shoulder at the entrance to upstairs.

"I've tried. That's how I got those ten."

"Shit," she said under breath.

"Penny," she heard Sheldon call from the bottom of the stairs. "I wasn't done looking and we have another hour and half before we have to pick the others up."

"I'll be right there!" she called. "Can I take these up?" She indicated to her purchase and the old man smiled and nodded.

Following Sheldon up the stairs, she smiled to herself. She had been known to be a shop-a-holic in her day—hell, even now—but this was definitely in her top three of Awesome Finds!

Sheldon held four books in his hand and was contently looking at another box. It didn't appear as graphic as the one Penny found but it was adult nonetheless. Penny smiled and wondered if the others realized Sheldon was actually a bit more comfortable with sexuality than he let on (before they knew about him and Penny). She, of course, knew very well he was…

Watching him, her excitement was taking over and she couldn't hold it in any longer. While the idea of waiting to give him what she purchased played in her head, it was the impulse of giving it to him right away that won over.

"Sheldon," she started in a flirty tone. "Darling…" She giggled as she strolled up to him. He looked over his shoulder.

"Yes?"

"I think I have something that might make you really feel better about the movie," she stated as she strolled over to him.

He gave her a quizzical look and accepted the bag she offered to him. Furrowing his eyebrows, he placed his selection down for the meantime and reached in to pull out about ten comic books.

Sheldon's face lit up in shock, registering what had been found and purchased.

"I know you have this one," Penny said, pointing to the first on the stack. "And you might have some already in here, but I know you said there was at least twenty and I just picked up what I saw and—"

Her rambling was cut off by Sheldon.

Or rather by his lips. He'd placed the pile down so fast and pulled her head towards his so swiftly; it literally took Penny's breath away. His kiss was passionate and sincere, almost desperate.

Penny gripped his forearms for support mostly, not wanting to pull away from the kiss despite the fact that she couldn't breathe.

Finally pulling back, Sheldon's eyes twinkled. "I must say, you're getting better and better at being my girlfriend." The way he smiled she knew he was placing a jovial spin on the statement.

She had found and purchased all the comic books by Sigmund Alfonso, the author of the comic books Sheldon got from overseas and gave her to read that one night in his bedroom. He only had six and she remembered him saying there was somewhere around twenty in all that he knew of.

"You forgive me?" she breathed out.

Sheldon contemplated his answered and shrugged a tiny bit, accompanied by a nod. "I suppose this is proper compensation."

"You bet your ass it is. It's—"

But Penny was cut off yet again. By Sheldon (yet again).

This time it was him gently pushing her away. He pushed her behind a stack of boxes in one of the musty corners. The smell would forever be embedded in her mind.

She yelped when she almost tripped over her own feet getting around the boxes. "What are you doing?"

Sheldon didn't respond as he glanced back one last time before turning to her with a smile on his face. It was a simple one and she'd received it before, many times in fact.

But there was something different about this one. It wasn't the way he smiled…it was whatever was in his eyes. The look was a positively…panty-dropping gaze. Penny swallowed and quivered a bit when Sheldon's large hands spanned her waistline.

"Sheldon, we're in a public place," she whispered a weak protest.

He shook his head. "Not that public," he whispered back, his lips inches from hers.

"But…" Whoa. Yep. This place is definitely his comfort zone—his element. Penny's thoughts were racing as she tried to understand the difference between the car in the middle of nowhere and this rinky-dink comic book store.

"Penny?"

"Yeah?"

His eyes flickered to her eyes and back to her mouth, as his nimble fingers undid her jeans.

His breath was warm against her neck as he said "thank you" in her ear, causing a very visible shiver to run through her body.

His hands glided up her back, under her shirt and down again as his lips crushed into hers. Penny had certainly had her share of public places and intimate affairs (she was even pissed at an old boyfriend for posting their escapades in his blog online) but this seemed so much more taboo than that. She was in a place she equated with nerdy virgins who played role playing games, flew kites, and made an unhealthy amount of references to science fiction as pure gold facts. She was here about to do something undoubtedly sexual. She was about to share in Sheldon's bending of his own rule (again, bent under his terms, not hers, just like she figured).

She moaned into his mouth when his hands grabbed a handful of her ass in a tight squeeze.

Get's turned on by receiving comic book gifts. Check, Penny thought, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him closer.

Sheldon pulled back, trailing his fingers down her neck and considering something briefly.

"What?" Penny asked, trying to read it stoic expression.

Finally his eyes found hers again, his pupils huge. A small smile tugged at his lips, but didn't do much more than that.

Standing straighter, Sheldon tugged her closer to him. He moved some of her hair out of her eyes and just looked over her beautiful features in the dim light.

Sheldon, you know better than to do this.

His thoughts floated in and out of his mind, but he was only vaguely aware of them.

No, this is okay. Statically speaking, there is less than one percent chance anyone will come up. Including the owner.

His tongue danced with hers again, her hands searing a path down his body even through his clothes.

Who are you, Dr. Cooper?

His fingers laced through hers as he pushed her body back against the wall, pinning her hands on either side of her head.

Or rather, what are you, Dr. Cooper? Because a true gentleman wouldn't display this type of exhibition.

A mewling sound escaped Penny's lips when Sheldon grinded up against her, both still dressed, his mouth fastening itself to her neck. The sound made him push against her even more and she let her legs spread a bit to grant his actions more access. He was rock hard by now and practically growled at her physical response.

Oh, I'm not a gentleman today…

Penny bit her lip when her body practically crashed into the wall before her. The force of his turnaround of her was so fast, it made her heart jump. She tried pushing her body back up, her hands resting against the wall in front of her, but within seconds Sheldon's body loomed over hers.

There is no gentleman in a man blinded by this kind of need…

He smelled her hair and knew she sprayed perfume on it tonight, for their date. He grabbed a small handful of it and gently tugged it back, forcing her head to tilt.

There is no going back from this type of behavior.

Her hands roamed his thighs as he stroked her body all over, his fingers gliding against the exposed skin of her stomach.

Sheldon closed his eyes and forced his thoughts back. The one thought that now remained, and screamed at him, was Penny. Penny…

Her scent…

She sighed when his hands slid her pants down.

Her body…

His lips met hers when she turned her head and met his lustful stare with a matching one.

Her…everything…

"Sheldon," she groaned, her hands pushing her face away from the wall. But he barely heard her as he pounded her, ravishing her neck with his mouth.

Her voice was muted by the situation. She panted and whimpered, her body pushing back against him as much as his aggressive movements would allow.

Penny barely registered anything after her climax, least of all the way her own pants were being pulled back up her body. Her eyes were still closed as warm hands refastened the jeans and soft lips kissed her cheek.

"My Penny, for the win," Sheldon whispered, then supplied a very mild version of his quirky laugh as he stepped back, allowing her to stand and stretch her body.

By the time she did turn around, Sheldon was already to his comic books again, the ones from the brown bag. He smiled at them brightly and said, "You will be read tonight, you lucky comic books, you."

With that same smile directed at her, he started walking down the stairs with his own selection.

Penny took a few minutes to collect herself, still shocked Sheldon had just fucked her in the comic book store after making a big deal about the car. She could deny it all she wanted, but her body was buzzing with satisfaction and contentment…and something else.

She fixed her appearance and checked herself out in her compact mirror before heading downstairs, avoiding the owner's eyes. Although, she suspected he knew what had just transpired. She opened the door and let the cool night air kiss her hot skin and Sheldon followed her.

Walking to the car, Penny checked her watch.

"So, Dr. Cooper. I'm all forgiven then?" She felt like she already knew the answer, but had to ask again.

Sheldon looked up from his comics. "Oh, by far." They both hopped into the car. "And you're lucky." He fastened his seatbelt. "I'm fairly certain without this," he indicated to the books she bought, "payback would have been even harder."

"Harder than what you just did?" she mumbled, chuckling at her own crude commentary and not expecting Sheldon to pick up on it. As the car rumbled to a start, she continued to giggle to herself, looking over at a serious faced Sheldon.

"Yes."

Penny blinked at his response, her mouth opening to say something with only a small choke coming out.

Sheldon casually opened up one of his "new" comic books and perused the pictures, knowing reading wouldn't be done till later because of the dark.

But Penny didn't miss it and Sheldon didn't hide it—the smirk on his lips was real. Real and with a very…very clear message.

"I think I've created a monster," Penny murmured to herself as she drove off.

"Some of the best comic book heroes are considered monsters," Sheldon causally sighed out.

"And some of the best villains hold PhDs," Penny stated in return, recalling a conversation she had with Sheldon when he recited a number of villains with "advanced degrees."

"Yes, they do." Sheldon put his book back in the bag and folded his hands over it.

"So, which one are you? A hero or a villain?" Penny teased, driving down the street.

Sheldon smiled and looked out the window, then back at her. "I think you know the answer to that."

"Sometimes I don't think I do, Sheldon."

"The hero. Of course."

"The first with an advanced degree," Penny teased, smiling at her own wittiness.

Sheldon considered this, then furrows his eyebrows and looks at her. "Not so. In this series," he started, indicating to the bag on his lap, "the hero has a doctorate in literature while the villain is an entrepreneur."

"Ah, yes, but since the story is written in the villain's point of view, he kind of becomes the hero in the reader's eyes…so the hero, a PhD holder, is then turned into the villain…" Penny was pleased with her argument and it appeared that Sheldon was as well.

They rolled up to the theater parking lot with about twenty more minutes to go until their friends were due out.

She parked the car, turned off the engine, and looked at Sheldon. "Well?"

Sheldon blinked at her, then smiled and nodded. "I told you hanging out with me more would make you smarter."

She rolled her eyes and suppressed a laugh. "You make arrogance look so cute," she thought aloud. A year ago (hell, a few months ago) his arrogance would have caused her the urge to slap him. Tonight was different.

They both flipped through the newest addition to Sheldon's comic book collection as they waited for Leonard and Priya (and the others) to come out. When they finally did, all shuffling to their own cars and Leonard finding Penny and Sheldon, Penny swapped seats with Leonard. She sat in the back with Priya and chatted about what they had done while they were separated (minus the sex, of course). Leonard knew not to divulge too many details and seemingly told Priya the same since she was very tight lipped when Penny asked how the movie was.

Sheldon showed Leonard what Penny had bought him, and a fleeting look of envy spread across Leonard's face. He let it go almost as immediately as it came, mostly because he didn't want to start another argument. They would get over their fight from last night. They were best friends—they'd be talking again normally in no time, but it still wasn't worth the risk.

Especially since the envy was not for the collection he held up, but because the woman he so desperately wanted to have accept him in this measure for so long was buying his best friend a rare series that they bonded over. He glanced back at Priya with a forced smile, wondering if she would ever do the same.

Priya cocked her head to the side and mouthed, "Are you okay?"

Leonard backed out and started down to the exit. "Yeah," he murmured. At a red light he turned back to her with a more genuine smile, and she returned it. They'd made up even more before the movie officially started, Leonard promising her many sweet things that seemed to win her over.

He looked at Sheldon again and felt no tense vibe coming from him. He looked at Penny in the rear view mirror and saw that she was gazing out the window.

"Leonard, it's green," Priya said from the backseat.

Snapping out of his reverie, Leonard took off down the road.

"Thanks, Priya," he said.

"Thanks for letting us take your car," Penny stated, almost absent mindedly. Her mind was obviously somewhere else.

"Oh, uh. You're welcome. Sorry about the whole movie theater thing."

"Oh, don't worry," Sheldon responded, gazing at his comic book through the weak light of whatever lights glowed from outside. "I don't care about a movie I can see tomorrow. I was with my girlfriend."

He didn't look back at Penny or up at Leonard or anything. He just flipped the page, his facial features as calm as if he had stated a basic scientific statement.

Penny closed her eyes, smiling broadly to herself as she turned to the window. Her eyes opened up with her heart undeniably swelling.

"Well…" Leonard said. "That's personal progress." His statement was more to himself than to Sheldon.

It's more than that, Penny thought.

XXXXXXXXXX

At the apartment, Leonard and Priya stepped into 4A and when Sheldon turned to say goodnight to Penny, she pulled him down for a kiss. He stumbled a bit before catching his guard. He was barely able to return the kiss before Penny pulled back.

"Great first date, darling," she purred, pushing away from him and walking over to her door.

Sheldon smiled and nodded, turning his back to her to walk into his place.

About five minutes after Penny was in her apartment, she heard a series of lovely familiar knocks at the door.

Opening it up, Sheldon held up the entire collection of Sigmund Alfonso's series that he now possessed. "I thought we might both enjoy reading this tonight."

Yanking him in by the collar, Penny said, "Yep."

Sheldon opened his mouth to say something but she took the stack of comic books from his hands, placed them on the coffee table, and grabbed Sheldon's hand. As she walked to the bedroom, she looked over her shoulder and said, "It'll be perfect after-sex reading."

With one last glance behind him at the abandoned books, Sheldon turned to her and nodded in agreement, smiling with a bit of resignation rather than excitement.

As the door closed, Penny's voice could be heard saying, "But you're still the hero…"

XXXXXXXXXX

Hope the wait was worth it. I have some more to tell because there is more to tell.

BTW: Yes, the toilet paper incident was an idea from a Seinfeld episode I was told about. :)