Chapter Text
*Chapter 11*
The cleanup after breakfast was quick, so Penny made sure to catch Sheldon before they both separated for the day.
“Hey, Sheldon? Can I see the relationship agreement for a minute? I know we just signed it, but I want to make a suggested amendment.”
Sheldon tried not to let his panic show. Did he do something wrong? Was sleeping in his room too much for her? Did he already ruin it?
Penny could see the fear in his eyes, she hurried to soothe him. “Sweetie, breathe for me. I just want to add something that I think you will appreciate. I’m not making any drastic changes or anything.”
Sheldon took a deep breath. “It’s in my room.”
Penny followed him up the stairs berating herself for her lack of foresight. She should have known that he would panic if she didn’t word it just right. She would have to be more careful in the future, or at least until they both felt more settled in this relationship. It wasn’t so different from their friendship, but those differences felt monumental.
Sheldon reached into his messenger bag and pulled out the folder with the relationship agreement in it. He looked down at it, still with a hint of fear in his eyes before slowly holding it out to her. She gently took it from him and sat down at his desk. She wrote in her proposed amendment and handed it back to Sheldon with a small smile.
Penny watched as he took a deep breath and then read what she had written. He snorted.
“Really, Penny? I don’t know whether to laugh or scold you.”
Penny laughed, and Sheldon fought the urge to smile. He didn’t want to encourage her. He glanced back down at the contract, although with his eidetic memory, he already had it memorized.
The Moonpie Clause, Amendment 1: Sheldon may respond to Penny calling him “Moonpie” with “Penny, only Meemaw calls me Moonpie” or other variations of the same meaning without fear of Penny going “junior rodeo” on him.
He would have to give this some serious thought. He smirked internally. Let the nickname war begin.
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“So, how do we want to do this?” Missy asked distractedly as she looked around the mall.
“I figure we can start on the right, and work our way around.” Penny was on a mission. Sheldon had shown them his new belt buckle at dinner last night and had asked for their help to determine its worth so he could get a gift of equal importance for Dirk. She smiled to herself when she thought of his gift giving eccentricities. It was something that irritated most people, and while it could be frustrating at times, she thought it was a bit sweet that he worried about making sure things were even.
“We should stop at ‘Break a Leg’,” Missy interrupted her thoughts “they have dresses for every occasion and they’re affordable too. I need a new dress for mama’s party. They’re in the back, but that will give us a chance to check out some other stores as well. Once we’re done, we can swing by the food court and have lunch.”
Penny brightened, she loved dress shopping. “Sounds good to me!”
They started walking by stores while chatting while window shopping. It was an unspoken agreement that if they saw a shop that looked interesting, they would stop to look or go in. Missy turned to her while they were looking in one such window. “I love my brother like crazy, but why the heck are we doing this? And how do you plan to figure the cost of this buckle?”
Penny laughed “I may not be a genius, but I have a PHD in Sheldon and shopping.” She had heard somewhere that you need to spend 1,000 hours doing something to be an expert, and she had spent well-over that learning how to work with Sheldon and his idiosyncrasies. “I spent the morning on ebay and various leather shop websites, wrote down costs of belt buckles of similar size, and made two lists. One for manufactured belt buckles, and one for handmade ones. Then I called Wolowicz and explained the situation. I asked him not to say anything since Sheldon wants to show it off, but I asked what he thought something like that would go for. He’s a serious collector, so I figured he’d know all about stuff like this.” Penny turned wide eyed as Missy started screeching loudly, jumping up and down, and waving her arms like an excited toddler on Christmas.
“Oh my GOD!” She grabbed Penny’s arm “You are in love with my brother!”
Penny’s cheeks flushed and she stammered “I-I never said that.”
Missy laughed maniacally pointing at her in the middle of the mall. Penny blushed as people around them started staring. “You didn’t have to! Sheldon is crazy on a good day, and here you are going out of your way to help him. You wouldn’t do all this and put this much thought into it if you didn’t love him.”
Penny frowned “He’s not crazy. Your mother had him tested.” She responded automatically.
Missy laughed even harder “And you are even starting to sound like him!”
Penny rolled her eyes and gave her a pointed look “All I’m saying is that I understand.” She held up a hand “I don’t agree, but I understand. He has anxiety and wants to keep things even so he doesn’t have to be beholden to anyone else. Y’all grew up poor, and he fights hard every day to make sure he won’t ever have to live like that again. If someone gives him a gift, he wants to return the favor. I feel bad that he has such anxiety over it, so if I can help alleviate some of that, I will.” Penny started walking again.
“Oh, no you don’t!” Missy chased after her laughing “You aren’t getting out of this. You love my brother, and you are going to admit it!”
Penny laughed along with her “Now I know why your brother was so eager to leave Texas!”
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“He was a good man, wasn’t he, Meemaw?”
“Yes, Moonpie, he was. We had our good times, and we had some rough patches as well, but I loved your Pop-pop more than anything.”
Sheldon placed the bunch of flowers on the ground awkwardly. He didn’t believe in heaven or hell, and he thought it was silly to go to the grave of someone to talk to them, since they weren’t there, but his Meemaw had wanted to come see her husband, and there was no way he was going to upset his Meemaw. There were some things even he knew not to get in the way of.
“You know,” she said, wiping away a tear “he would have been so proud of you.” She said reverently.
His head shot up “Do you think so?”
Meemaw smiled serenely and patted his arm “Yes, he would have. He was always going on about how you were going to change the world.”
Sheldon looked morosely down at the tombstone and frowned. “But I haven’t. Changed the world, that is.”
Constance shook her head sadly at her grandson, he was just like her Charlie. “You may not see it, Moonpie, because you’re too close to the situation, but I assure you that there are a thousand or more ways that you’ve changed the world. They don’t always need to be in bright shiny lights or fancy papers. Small little things you do can have a much larger impact, and don’t you forget it.”
Sheldon decided silence was the best course of action. He waited until his Meemaw was finished filling in Pop-pop on all the family drama and escorted her back to the car where Charlene was waiting patiently for them.
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Penny dashed up to her room as soon as they got back and stashed her personal purchases in her closet. She quickly freshened up before running down to the barn so she could meet Missy, Sheldon, and Meemaw. The goal for tonight was to set up the tables and chairs, and to get a jump start on some of the decorations. As soon as she had everything stashed away, she hurried downstairs and out to the barn where she came upon a sight she never thought she’d see. Sheldon, sweaty and hauling furniture around the barn. Lord have mercy on my libido, she thought.
Sheldon picked the next large round table up off the cart and hauled it to its designated spot. He leaned it up against his lower half and propped open the legs. Georgie had arrived about an hour ago to “help” but it seemed he was more interested in pushing his little brother around. In response, a deal was struck. If Sheldon could set up half the tables by himself, Georgie wouldn’t tease him the rest of the visit. If he couldn’t, well…it would get a lot worse. Sheldon was determined not to fail, he knew he could easily carry and set up all the tables if he wanted to. While he made it a point to appear weak so he wouldn’t have to be the muscle of the group, he was far from actually being weak. As everyone well knew, he liked to be prepared for any emergency, and that included staying in shape to avoid being the first to die in a catastrophe. It was a wonder that no one had put two and two together. He heard a sharp gasp as he righted the table. He turned to see Penny standing in the doorway of the barn.
“Hello, Penny. Is everything okay?”
Penny walked over and placed her bags on the table. “Hi, Sweetie!” She gave him a quick peck on the cheek “Yes, everything is just peachy.” She smirked “I was admiring how easily you hefted that table.”
He snorted “Penny, Penny, Penny, it’s just a table.”
Penny laughed “You say it’s just a table, but you never carry anything if you don’t have to, so what gives?”
“Drat.” She knew him better than anyone. A part of him was thrilled that she didn’t question his strength, and another part of him was wondering how she could see through him so easily. He didn’t want her to know that his brother had been messing with him, but he knew he couldn’t lie to her. “I made a bet with Georgie. If I set up half the tables by myself, he can’t tease me the rest of the time we are here.”
Penny narrowed her eyes “And if you can’t?”
Sheldon looked away guiltily. “Then it will get worse.”
She clenched her fist “Worse? As in, he’s already started?”
Sheldon almost flinched at the steel in her voice, but he knew she wasn’t angry at him. “Why do you think the bet was created?”
“You stay here, Moonpie, and finish the tables. I think I’ll go have a little word with Junior…” She started to walk off, but he stepped in her path, gently grasping her arm.
“Penny, while I appreciate it, I must ask you to refrain. This is my battle, and I need to fight it. Can you understand that?”
Penny softened immediately and placed a hand on his cheek “Of course I understand, Sweetie, I don’t like it, but I can respect it. How about I go help Meemaw sort through all these bags and get started on the rest of the work?” he nodded and she smiled “Promise me you’ll let me know if I need to go Junior Rodeo on his ass, okay?”
Sheldon smiled “It shouldn’t come to that, I am more than capable of hauling these tables, but I appreciate the sentiment.” He leaned down and gave her a peck on the lips. He would have liked to linger a bit, but he couldn’t, not while he was in the same room as his Meemaw. When he pulled back, Penny smiled and grabbed her bags before walking over to where his sister and Meemaw were sorting decorations. She looked back at him and gave him a little wave with her fingers. He waved back then walked over to grab the next table.
George strolled over, hands in the front pockets of his jeans. “I gotta tell you, Shelly, I still can’t believe you got a girl like her, even after seeing you kiss. Are you sure you didn’t brainwash ‘er or somethin’?”
“Georgie, if I could brainwash someone, don’t you think I would have already done it to you?”
George huffed “I reckon that’s true. It’s still too weird, she’s so pretty, and you’re so….” he looked him up and down “well, you. It don’t make no sense.”
“Well, luckily for me, it don’t need to make no sense to you,” he replied. He was getting angry and his Texas twang was starting to come out. He hated that, but he also couldn’t help it. There were some things that just were, and Sheldon knew better than to put effort into trying to change it. “So why don’t you get back to hauling tables and leave me be so I can get my job done.”
George laughed “Hit a sore spot huh? Good to know.”
Sheldon angrily hoisted the next table and walked away before he said something that was sure to start a physical altercation.
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Penny looked around the barn, large paper stars and twinkling lights were strewn across and hanging from the rafters, hay bales were set up along the walls around the stage and dance floor for guests to take a quick breather between dances, tables were decorated with cream colored linen tablecloths with large mason jars tied with ribbons as centerpieces to be filled with fresh flowers come Saturday afternoon, a long table set up along the far wall to hold all the food and beverages, and a big “happy birthday” sign hanging above it. All the decorations were in a pretty opal color, contrasting nicely to the cream.
“We did good,” Meemaw said as she looked around the barn. “Mary is going to love it. Why don’t we head on in, and order some dinner? I’m hungry, and I’m too tuckered out to go out.”
Missy nodded “That sounds like a great idea, Meemaw. Shelly’s friends are set to arrive tomorrow, so it might be nice to have the place to ourselves for the evening.”
Penny turned to Sheldon “Sweetie, do you have a place in the area you are comfortable ordering from?”
He nodded “Yes, the ‘Pizza De La Resistance’ delivers here and is acceptable. I will go and place an order. What would everyone like?”
Once preferences were made known, they all headed back to the main house. Charlene and Missy went to the kitchen to gather all the plates, napkins, and silverware. Penny took care of drinks after making sure Meemaw was settled in at the table. Sheldon went to his room after calling in their order to grab his travel notebook and a pencil. He wanted to get some work done while they waited for dinner. As he was leaving his room, he was stopped by Geroge.
While Penny had promised not to interfere with their bet, that didn’t stop her from pulling George aside and explaining a few things when they were out in the barn. He had never really considered that Sheldon had actual feelings. As a child, he had always seemed so unaffected and aloof. He had always envied that in his little brother, though he never said so. There were many times that George wished he didn’t care so much, and Penny made it clear that Sheldon and him were more alike than he thought.
“Shelly, listen, I know I raz on you quite a bit, but I hope you know it’s all in good fun.” he sighed with equal parts fondness and exasperation. “You're my little brother, and sometimes I forget that you don’t see the world the same way as the rest of us. I want you to know that nothing I say is ever meant with meanness. I’m just teasing you.”
Sheldon pondered Georgie’s words. He knew, logically, that older siblings had a role to play, which often included a level of teasing, but he didn’t really know where the line was. “I appreciate you saying that. I can’t say that I know that it’s ‘all in good fun’, strictly because I don’t know when you are serious, and when you are joking around. Penny says that everyone can struggle from time to time on reading other people, and that I just struggle more on average because my brain is too busy trying to solve the mysteries of the universe.” he tilted his head “Maybe we can come up with some sort of signal that can let me know when you aren’t joking, that way I will know the difference?”
George felt shame rise up in him. He knew that Shelly was different, and tended to take things more literally, but he didn’t know that he couldn’t tell the difference between a serious criticism and a joke. He thought he was pretty clear, Missy never had a problem telling the difference, but Shelly was on a whole different level. “How about I just tell you that what I’m going to say is not a joke, and it’s serious, before I say it. That way it’s clear. I can’t imagine too many instances where I would want or need to say anything mean to you, but if I do, I will make it clear that I’m not joking. Would that work?”
Sheldon thought for a moment. “That would be acceptable. Unless you say it outright, I will go on the assumption that you are joking around, and try to respond appropriately.” He began to walk off, then stopped and turned back to his brother “I will also tell you if I am not joking. Leonard says that I say mean things sometimes, even though I mean them as jokes, he says I sometimes hurt people’s feelings. I don’t know how though, I’m hilarious, but I will make sure to differentiate for you as well.”
George shook his head and followed Sheldon down the stairs. “Shelly, I love you, but you are such a weirdo.”
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Penny insisted on doing the dishes. Charlene had worked really hard today helping to get everything ready, and while Penny knew it was her b&b, she just didn’t feel right not pulling her own weight. Call it an ingrained habit from the way she was raised, but she wouldn’t feel right otherwise. She sent everyone else upstairs for the night, but Sheldon held back.
“Are you sure you have the water at the optimal temperature for sanitization?” He wrung his hands in anxiety.
Penny smiled and rolled her eyes playfully. “Of course I do, Sweetie. You made sure I knew how to ‘properly’ wash dishes years ago. I still argue that regular hot water does the trick just fine, but I wouldn’t do anything to cause you or your cousin problems.” She leaned up and gave him a quick peck on the cheek “I’ll meet you upstairs as soon as I’m done.”
Sheldon took a deep breath and relaxed his shoulders. If it had been Leonard, Raj, Howard, or even Amy, he’d question them further, and most likely stay to supervise, but if there was one person that he could trust implicitly, it was Penny. If there was something she refused to do, she would just tell him outright. It could infuriate him sometimes, because it would be better if she just did things the way he wanted, but at least she always did exactly what she said she would. He respected that about her. “Thank you, Penny. I will prepare for bed and work on some calculations while I wait for you.”
Penny lingered downstairs a few extra minutes, washing down the counters after finishing the dishes. When she finally padded up the staircase, she found Sheldon moving about in his room. She quietly crept forward, wondering what on Earth he could be up to. He had said he was going to work, and she was really hoping he didn’t manage to get his hands on a white board, because if he did, he’d spend the rest of the weekend doing science-y things. Luckily he hadn’t noticed her yet, which gave her an opportunity to observe him.
Sheldon was bent over the trundle bed, fussing with the sheets as though he were preparing for an inspection. He tugged at the corners, aligned the pillow precisely with the edge of the mattress, then smoothed the blanket one last time before turning down the bed. She watched as he took a pair of her pajamas out of her suitcase, refolded them, and placed them at the foot of the bed. Only her Moonpie would refold a pair of pajamas that he himself had packed. He then adjusted the glass of water on the nightstand, ensuring that it was within reach, but not so close as to be accidentally knocked over as she slept.
Penny leaned against the doorframe, biting back a smile. For a man who claimed to be so indifferent to sentiment, he always made sure the people around him felt cared for. Sometimes it was harder to see, but it was easy to pick up on if you knew what you were looking for. She didn’t think anyone truly appreciated the care Sheldon gave to others. While he foisted a hot beverage on anyone who was upset, it was because he truly believed that providing a hot beverage would make them feel better. It was something she herself was guilty of taking for granted.
“What are you doing, Sweetie?” she asked softly.
Sheldon startled slightly, straightening his back. “Ensuring your environment is properly optimized for sleep. We have a busy day tomorrow and I want to make sure we both get a good night’s rest.”
Penny stepped inside, shaking her head and smiling at him fondly. “You know, you might be the only guy I’ve ever met who thinks turn-down service is a love language.”
Sheldon blinked, tilting his head. “Love language?”
She thought he was just adorable when he didn’t know something. “Yes, love language.” She sat down on the bed and patted the space next to her, inviting him to sit down. She withheld a giggle at how gingerly he sat down, so careful to avoid messing up his work. “There are many ways people communicate love, which is sort of what the idea of ‘love language’ is about. It is believed that there are five categories of love languages. Acts of care, quality time, giving and receiving gifts, physical touch, and words of affirmation.”
“I have never heard of this before. Are you able to cite your sources so I can determine the validity of this theory?” He asked curiously.
Oh Lord, she had activated academic Sheldon. “Sweetie, I don’t remember where it originated, I read about it in a magazine somewhere, but I’m sure we can find out once we get back to Pasadena.”
Sheldon hummed to himself. “That would be acceptable. So the premise of your argument is that I perform acts of care as a way to show affection for others?”
“If you’re asking me if I think the way you take care of people is how you show you care, then yes.”
He nodded to himself. “I can agree that in many cases, that could be true, but I find the hypothesis that it is the only way I show care to be incorrect.”
“I’m not saying it is the only way, but rather that it is one of the ways. I think we all enjoy all five of the love languages for different situations, but I think people might prefer certain categories for giving and receiving on average.”
“Could you clarify?”
Penny bit her lip and thought for a moment. How to explain in a way that he would understand? She wasn’t as smart as the guys, and she didn’t use big words, she just knew what she felt. “I guess a good example would be that I prefer to show people I care with words of affirmation and quality time, while I like to receive acts of care and physical touch. That’s not to say that I don’t enjoy the other love languages, but those are the ones I tend to gravitate towards. Does that make sense?”
Sheldon sat with that for a moment before responding. “Are there specific acts of care and physical touch that you prefer to receive. I want to do this right.” He wrung his hands. “Maybe we should include addendums to the relationship agreement to include these concepts.”
Penny laughed lightly “Sweetie, I don’t think we need to do that, we already made sure we stated what we wanted out of the relationship, and many of those items already address the love language thing.” She laid her hand over his, stilling the movement. “As for specific acts of care and physical touch. Each relationship is different. We will have to learn these as we go. I can tell you, though, that I think it is really sweet that you made sure my space was ready for sleeping” She held up a hand when he opened his mouth to interrupt. “I’m not saying you need to do it all the time or anything, but I want to acknowledge how sweet and thoughtful it was of you.”
Sheldon closed his mouth and thought for a minute. “So, you’re saying that our relationship is different from all the other relationships you’ve had in the past, and therefore I am unable to use previous data to inform my actions and so I must develop my own dataset?”
“Yes, for the most part, we will both have to experiment to find out what works and what doesn’t work for our relationship.” She smiled at him before standing. “Now, I’m going to go get changed and get ready for bed. Do you have more work to do before bed?”
“No, Penny, I have finished for the evening.”
“Okay, I’ll be right back.” She leaned over and brushed her lips against his cheek before grabbing her pajamas and heading into the bathroom.
When she gave him that soft smile, the one that always seemed to disarm him, he cleared his throat, tugged at his pajama top, and added a little quieter, “I do like experimentation.”