Summary: For five years Dr. Sheldon Cooper has been plotting for his greatest quest – the capture of Queen Penelope – while an unsuspecting Penny has been trying to grasp onto the expanding feelings for the man she never expected.

Gentle Readers,

This story includes spoilers from Season 1 through Season 5 and picks up during Episode 510 "The Flaming Spittoon Acquisition" directly after the kitchen scene with Penny and Sheldon. (The rest of that episode and anything afterward isn't reflected in this story, though I may/will be including spoilers that work within this plot.) This may end up slightly AU or OOC.

I own nothing.

Final note, this is my first fanfic. I've been an avid fan of the show since the first season and am very much a "Shenny" shipper. Reviews and constructive criticism are welcomed and encouraged!

I hope you enjoy.

Knock, knock, knock.

"Penny!"

Slowly Penny rose from the couch with a sigh of tired annoyance and glared at the door. She had barely been home from The Cheesecake Factory for five minutes, still dressed in her uniform, and aching feet propped on the edge of her coffee table. Or, rather, they had been until him.

Knock, knock, knock.

"Penny!"

Already at the door she waited, a hand on one hip and a slow breath drawn in. It had been one of those days where all she wanted was a bottle of wine and the last sleeve of saltine crackers. Maybe the packet of Ramen noodles. Was there a bottle of wine left? God, she hoped so.

Knock, knock, knock.

"Penny!"

Her soft mouth pulled into a tight smile as she swung open the door. After trying dozens of times before, she didn't bother mentioning he didn't need to knock three times. Not only would he not listen, but Penny had realized she was wrong. He did need to. It didn't matter right then, of course – Sheldon Cooper wasn't going to make this evening any better.

"What, Sheldon?"

Bright blue eyes quickly scanned her features. It was so subtle at times, like now, but over the years she had noticed and begun to watch. With Sheldon felt at times as she was nothing more than a specimen.

"I see you have experienced a, what you say, 'grueling day,'" he began, long, elegant fingers raising in air quotes, "at your place of work, if one can call it that –"

Penney's eyes narrowed; Sheldon rushed on before her lips could finish parting.

"It's Wednesday, and therefore Halo night. Howard, I have been told, is enduring some pre-wedding custom that is both frivolous and time wasting."

"Unlike Halo night?" she drawled dryly, leaning against the open door.

Sheldon continued as if he hadn't heard her. "As Leonard, Howard, and I will need a fourth, I have come to issue you an invitation to Halo night. And, because of what happened last time, I will pay for your portion of the pizza."

Somehow she suspected Leonard had something to do with the bribe, especially when Sheldon continued with:

"And a pair of shoes."

Despite that she sighed and didn't immediately answer him, she knew what she was going to say: yes. Once she thought she had the ability to say no to him – no, no, she did! There had been numerous times when saying no to Sheldon Cooper – Ph.D – had been easily done, the words slipping from her without a second thought. Once upon a time ago she could even slam the door in his face and walk away. Now she was caught by those blue eyes that were shimmering in a way she liked to imagine was a look unique to her. (Were his lips relaxed into the promise of a smile?) Except, just as that thought came so did the flare of confidence in his eyes; he knew she wasn't going to say no. She was going to stand there staring up at him, eventually sigh, and then agree. How could she really deny him?

Besides, he was offering a pair of shoes. Inwardly she sighed.

"Penny, are you now finished with your internal monologue?"

Brows began to lift until she realized the sigh hadn't been internal and the tightness in her shoulders loosened as she released the door. The man really did see too much and yet not nearly enough sometimes.

"Yeah, I'm finished. I'll be over at eight."

"Excellent! I shall you see then."

Penny's fair head merely shook as she shut the door, leaned against it a moment later. Pizza and Halo with her boys. On the surface it seemed so simple, something two weeks ago she wouldn't have thought twice about. Two weeks ago there hadn't been that awkward conversation in her kitchen, one that replayed again and again in her head. Two weeks ago she hadn't lied to him.

"I came to ask if you would like to go on a date with me."

"I'm sorry – what?" Had he just said what she thinks he did? Somehow Penny didn't let go of the wooden spoon she was using to stir dinner with and was relived when her voice didn't squeak with surprise. There couldn't be anyway of knowing what she had been stewing over, trying to figure out how Amy could consider giving up on him for someone like Stuart.

"A date! You and me. Dining, dancing. Perhaps you'd like to take in a prize fight."

"Oh God. Are you trying to make Amy jealous?"

… "Why is everyone so obsessed with Amy and Stuart?"

… "I am not trying to get her back."

"All right, honey, let me tell you a story..."

"I'm the guy."

"You're not the guy."

Damnit. He was the guy.

Just as Penny started to push away from the door the sound of footsteps caught her attention and she paused. What else did Sheldon want? She froze as her hand went for the doorknob and she realized the footsteps weren't coming closer but were... retreating.

Closing the door of apartment 4A, Sheldon was relieved to note the absence of his roommate, colleague, and friend, Dr. Leonard Hofstadter. After his last encounter with Penny he needed a few minutes to himself and he quickly found himself seated at his laptop, the silence of the apartment only marshaling his thoughts into further focus. It wasn't that the encounter had been particularly revealing or important, except for those last moments. Did she even realize how her eyes softened whenever she looked at him? It didn't even matter if her tone was sharp or biting, the moment she looked to him those beautiful green eyes softened just enough for him to notice.

A few clicks of his touch pad had him into a password protected folder simply named Penny. Inside the folder were organized sub folders; he passed over the ones filled with photos, experiment data results, previous years of journal entry, and selected the one labeled for this year. He had no fears about the folder and its contents ever being discovered; Penny's folder was buried into his personal files and he was sure that not even Howard Wolowitz would be able to get into. (As inferior as the engineer was, Sheldon did quietly acknowledge the man's skills – non-romantic – with a machine.) There had been a few times in the past when Leonard (and once, to his dismay, Penny) had almost seen him inside the folder, but now he took far more precautions.

The folder started the day he met her. Leonard had merely assumed he was heavily concentrating on his latest research, but he'd really been noting down every detail of his first encounter with Penny. It hadn't mattered that he had seen plenty of aesthetically pleasing women in his life time – his twin was a prime example of one – but nothing had prepared him for that burst of sunshine. Worse, he had been entirely unguarded for the way she made him want to beam, a feeling that escaped the moment she'd recognized him for what he truly was.

"So, you're, like, one of those beautiful mind, genius guys?"

"Yeah."

"This is really impressive."

"I have a board, if you like boards. This is my board."

In five minutes he'd known she was the one. Her smile made such a strange tingling sensation start in his toes; she had a sweet, light voice that he knew he could listen to for hours, even if the subject matter was beneath his intelligence or notice; her scent of woman and vanilla rivaled that of a new comic book, and she'd seen him for what he was in an instant. Of course, Leonard, in his attention seeking ways, had ruined a perfect moment, and he, in turn, realized he neither knew precisely how to react to Penny, how to manage to strange feelings she stirred, or how to make her realize he was going to be the best thing that ever happened to her. There was so much planning and research that had to be done first, though.

Five years later he was ready for his ultimate quest: the capture of Penny.