Chapter Text
Sheldon was able to get two lawn chairs from a store nearby and well, it was better than nothing.
"Okay Sheldon, we’ve got a lot of things to do. Getting beds should be at the top. BUT, priority number 1 is getting jobs."
Sheldon simply looked at her expectantly and with a tilted head. ‘That’s cute.’ But he didn’t say anything else.
"As in, any ideas are welcome…"
"Oh! Well, I will go tomorrow to Caltech and present my credentials as well as express my interest in pursuing my second PhD there."
"Okay, awesome, that’s great!." He really did look proud. "But I was asking for help. To be more precise, I don’t know what job would be good for me."
"Oh, then why didn’t you just say so?"
"…" Okay she liked Sheldon a lot but she was not a fan of this. "Yeah, this is me asking?"
"Well, do you have any special skills?"
"Uhhh, like being able to ride a horse?"
"Exactly like that."
Penny has to take a moment to think it through thoroughly "I can do that, ride a horse. Ummm I did Junior Rodeo so I know all of that, tie-down roping, bareback riding, breakaway roping. I know how to shoot. I can disassemble and reassemble the engine on a tractor…I can drive a tractor. I know how to castrate sheep. I can do any farm work." Penny has to sit down as she continues thinking about her skills.
"I did some baton twirling as a cheerleader. And…I think that’s it."
Sheldon nods along with every thing she listed. She was about to list the sex stuff, but doesn’t want that to define her. Penny is not in a place to have sex at the moment, it’s tied to bad memories, she doesn’t want to date either. Not after Kurt. And if she were to date…She very deliberately doesn’t look at Sheldon.
"What is your goal? Do you want to act or do you want to be famous?" Sheldon’s face is honest, he’s not baiting her.
"I like acting. I wouldn’t mind being famous but I guess that I can say that fame isn’t exactly my end goal. I would like to be able to make a living from acting and just be happy."
"I see." Sheldon had this very intense face he made when focusing and Penny really liked it. "There are several avenues that you can explore. Voice acting is at the top of the list, you have a very appealing voice. There is an entire industry for background actors which would also expose you to directors and producers. Theater is an underrated avenue, though it requires more effort. Videogames have a budding acting industry."
"Wouldn’t voice acting and videogames would be the same thing tho?"
"Not necessarily, while it’s true that some people lend both their likeness and voice to characters, there’s still people that are needed for body tracking, stunts, etc. After all, someone has to play the ‘bad guys’ as well."
"And what do you think it’s the best approach?"
"I believe that excluding Theater, you could try for all other avenues at the same time. Theater requires a commitment of time and effort, trying to focus on Theater and another avenue would lead you to not excelling at neither." Sheldon rubbed his knuckles as he thought seriously about her situation. She had noticed him do that when focusing deeply on something.
"I see. Thank you Sheldon."
"You’re welcome." A small happy smile sat on his face.
Penny needed to think about this, she didn’t have a problem with just getting a customer service job or maybe waitressing, but it didn’t feel like it would necessarily bring her closer to her dream. And Sheldon was always so happy to help.
She really was one lucky girl.
Sheldon was happy, it had been 4 months since they moved in to Los Robles and so far his plans were well underway. Caltech had been happy to receive him, more than happy, they had even set up a whole event celebrating ‘The return of Dr. Sheldon Cooper to Academia.’
He didn’t want to attend but Penny told him that she would be his date and that made the evening more tolerable.
Penny had also made strides, she had been surprised at how easy it was to get a job as a background character in sitcoms and movies. She liked how for one show she would wear many different shirts, dresses, wigs, all to try and make her look like a different background character.
Thankfully the jobs were plentiful and recently she was able to break through in voice acting as well. A small role in a cartoon called ‘As told by Ginger’ but Penny was beyond ecstatic, Sheldon hadn’t mentioned this but he was hopeful this would be the start to a great career for her.
His own efforts had not been any less successful, he was well on his way to earn his second PhD.
Sheldon had never neglected his education and Caltech was more than happy to accommodate him, and while he didn’t exactly love teaching, he only had 3 classes to teach a week which made it more tolerable than if it were 3 classes a day like some of his colleagues.
Not having the yoke of his father around his neck made Sheldon appreciate life more. He allowed himself to be dragged by Penny every weekend to throw a football at the park, while before football would bring memories of his father shooting at the TV as his team lost, recently he found himself thinking instead of how Penny would throw the ball while laughing.
Fascinating.
Penny was fidgeting in the elevator, it couldn’t arrive on her floor soon enough. She had to tell Sheldon the great news or she would explode. This was it. It’d been a little over a year since she arrived in California and her efforts were paying off.
As the elevator doors opened to the 4th landing Penny was already running on her feet, quickly opening her door. Sheldon was standing in the kitchen and he was serving two plates, he had found a love for cooking and she encouraged it.
"Sheldon!!!!!!!!!!" Penny knew that the squee was so high that it might hurt his acute hearing but she couldn’t contain herself.
Sheldon simply raised an eyebrow and calmly replied "Penny?" Wackadoodle.
"I got it!!!!!" Penny started jumping in place before launching herself at Sheldon and hugging him tightly with all 4 limbs, she probably looked like a monkey but she didn’t care. Sheldon on his part only held her by the hips.
"The role of the recurring enemy girl?" He was also getting excited, she hadn’t stopped talking about how she really wanted this show. She had found a love for voice acting and this would be her first big recurring role."
"Nope" Penny popped the P and her smile was as big as it ever had been.
"Forgive me Penny, but I’m confused, I thought you wanted this role?"
"I did. Until they offered me the role of the protagonist. You have in your arms the voice of Kim Possible!" Penny couldn’t stop squeeing, she was just so excited.
Sheldon finally hugged her properly and twirled her for a moment "Congratulations! You’ve worked really hard for this. I’m proud of you."
Penny knew that Sheldon only said things that he meant and him saying that he was proud of her made her finally start crying in happiness. She buried her head in Sheldon’s shoulder and babbled incoherently, wanting to thank him for being there and just being himself. Sheldon simply held her and kept saying "There, there. Sheldon’s here."
She loved him.
Sheldon didn’t doubt for a second that Penny would do great things. Obtaining this protagonic role was just evidence of that. She had been working hard, sometimes she would not come home for 3 days as she was running between acting jobs.
He was proud of her. So he told her.
With arms full of Penny, Sheldon felt that while their courses might have derailed due to circumstances outside of their control, they now had course corrected and were on their intended roads.
Sheldon only hoped that Penny wouldn’t lea-
Penny kissed him.
He tasted her tears, it shouldn’t have made for a pleasant experience.
He kissed her back.
Penny had been scared. She had known for a bit that her feelings for the tall scientist were no longer Platonical. But she was scared.
Penny had done a lot of things she wasn’t proud of, selling her body was number one on that list. It hadn’t really been her decision, but she was forced due to circumstances. She knew of girls that did it and loved it, but she was not one of them.
She had been scared of Sheldon rejecting her. He had never shown any aversion to her due to her past job, he didn’t flinch at her touch. He allowed her to touch him when she had witnessed Sheldon tearing the head off a sales girl for being a little too familiar with his person.
She had been scared of her feelings not being returned. Sheldon deserved someone better, someone that wasn’t tainted, someone that could understand his work.
Penny had been scared of all of that, until Sheldon kissed her back.
Penny thought she would die from happiness. Maybe Sheldon didn’t believe in Fate, but she did. And it was Fate that put her on the same road as Sheldon Cooper.
It was 2003 and the year had already started on a bad note. Louis/Louise moved away, Penny loved her neighbor and was sad about it but they were being transferred to LA.
Because of this Penny had been trying to get Sheldon to agree to move. She had found an amazing place for sale on E. Del Mar Boulevard, literally 5 minutes within walking distance from Caltech (And a gym, and a grocery store, and even more).
It was a beautiful Victorian style house, 5 bedrooms and 2 baths. Not only would they have a front garden, but also a backyard AND a huge plot for gardening if they wished to. But Sheldon was a little reluctant, he had a soft spot for Los Robles and she did too, but with Louis/Louise gone, it felt like the right move at the right time.
Arriving at the 4th landing, she saw that their new neighbor would be moving in. There were boxes around the entrance to 4B and Penny could see 3 young guys moving stuff inside the apartment. She was on the phone with Sheldon and trying to convince him while looking for her keys inside the mess she called a purse when a whiny voice was heard clearly.
"She’s perfect." Penny refused to turn around, she could feel the weight of lustful eyes and even without looking she knew the type. ‘Where are those damn keys.’
"Our babies will be smart and beautiful." Penny was ready to bring down her door but the only thing that stopped her was the idea that it would remove a barrier between her and this asshole.
Talking louder on purpose Penny wanted to make it clear she didn’t appreciate the comments "Honey, did you also hear that?"
"I did." Sheldon sounded upset as well and she was willing to bet his acute hearing was more of a curse right now.
"And this is why I want to move. I don’t want an asshole treating me like a piece of meat." Penny was finally able to find her keys and to start opening her door.
"I concur, let’s call the realtor."
"Thank you Honey. Love you" Penny locked the door behind her and stopped for a moment before putting the dead lock as well.
"I love you too."
Sheldon had been great at this relationship thing, he never pushed her for more than she was ready to give, and she was thankful for that. Penny was rediscovering sex with Sheldon and it felt nice to have someone actually care about you and not just your body.
Penny knew that they were both broken but strangely enough they fit together. The Penny from 3 years ago wouldn’t be able to believe that this would be her life after leaving Nebraska. There were a lot of things she still needed to do, like Tommy. He was getting out next year and during her phone calls with him she had floated the idea of him moving to Pasadena and finishing school and he seemed happy to try.
And this place, this apartment had been the first true home for both her and Sheldon as adults. But she was ready to start thinking long term.
She wanted to own her home.
Penny ignored the knocks at her door and the whiny voice accompanying them, she needed to contact the realtor as soon as possible.