"Penny?" Sheldon said over his shoulder quietly.

"Hmm yeah?" I asked and looked up from the latest issue of Cosmo.

"Will you look away while I change?" I nodded and returned to the double page spread about Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt.

I guess I should back-up a bit and explain why I was watching, or should I say not watching beautiful mind Sheldon Lee Cooper change.

We had just been shopping for a tuxedo for Sheldon, and seeing as all the guys and Amy had bagsied not to take him I'd been forced into finding him something suitable to wear to some Symposium thing-y. We'd gone to the local mall and after Sheldon deemed all of it unsuitable we'd had to trek to the next town in the hopes of finding something that both of us approved of. For Sheldon, something that wouldn't make him look like a clown and for me, something that wasn't plaid. So we'd headed off to the Glendale Galleria in the hope of finding something appropriate. And, surprisingly, we had. A simple, understated black tux with a classy fitted dress shirt and black silk bowtie. What was even more surprising was how handsome Sheldon looked in it. He'd gained quite a bit weight recently so he didn't look like a gangly teenager going to junior prom anymore. No, he looked like a distinguished man. Of course, I'd never admit any of this to him. So then we'd had to deal with getting Sheldon a few extra supplies, I refused to let him wear his stupid tidy whities with that tux and he refused to not wear an undershirt. So we'd chosen three pairs of black Calvin Klein boxers and a skintight white undershirt. On the way home we'd gotten lost, due to the fact that it was now about 9pm and dark and also that we'd been arguing over something stupid, as per usual. That's when we'd ended up in the middle of god knows where and no fuel in the tank. Oh, I forgot to mention, neither of our mobiles had any service so we were stranded. I'd pushed down the back seats and lain out all my emergency blankets to make a bed of sorts. So that's it, you're up to speed.

'Penny?" Sheldon asked again and I looked up. "I'm about to get changed, please avert your gaze." I rolled my eyes and pretended to look back down at my magazine. I was, to say the least, curious. Curious as to what lay beneath the geeky t-shirts and long sleeved undershirts. Hey, don't look at my like that! They guy had seen me naked, so it's only fair that I get to see the de-robed physicist. Sheldon was on his knees in our makeshift bed with his back to me. He slowly peeled off his green lantern t-shirt and folded it neatly at the end of the bed. I glanced down at my magazine as he turned around slightly. I looked back up only to see that he'd removed half of his undershirt. The rest came off with a little bit of difficulty tugging it over his head, which was pressed forward due to his height and the height of my car. He discarded it and fumbled around for his new undershirt and boxers. I gasped inaudibly. Sheldon Cooper was more than kinda hot shirtless. He was pale, sure. But it wasn't weight he'd gained no, it was muscle. The whole area across his shoulder blades was ripped with tight muscles and he had prominent dimples just above the waistline of his underwear. That however wasn't the thing that took me, that was the tattoo. Yes, you heard me right, our Moonpie had a TATTOO. In the centre of his back, just between his shoulder blades there was a delicately drawn key with elaborate wings.

"You have a tattoo?" I asked without thinking and Sheldon span round to face me. Which revealed a deliciously sculpted abdomen and pecks that weren't quite Abercrombie worthy but still unexpected and hot. His eyes were as wide as saucers.

"You said you'd close your eyes!" He retaliated and pulled his white shirt over his head dramatically.

"Coming back at you with, you have a tattoo?" Sheldon was turning an angry sort of red. He shook his head in disbelief and disappeared under the green plaid blanket. I sighed and tipped my head back against the headrest. It was getting pretty late anyway. I climbed over the seat and onto my half of the makeshift bed. Sheldon, in his sulk was way over on the other side of the bed curled in a ball. I slipped in-between the blankets and tried to get comfortable even though my pillow was a totally cute brown leather handbag. I stretched up and flicked off the lights above the dashboard. I could just hear Sheldon's quiet breathing and the sound of my heart bashing against my chest. I don't think Sheldon really realised the inappropriateness of us sharing a bed. Leonard was going to flip when he found out in the morning. Just because we were sharing a bed didn't mean we were sleeping together. It was nothing. I pulled my knees up and stared into the darkness.

"Penny?" His voice was so quiet that I could have imagined it. "Penny?" He repeated even more quietly. He sounded sleepy and kind of defenceless, which was pretty rare for Sheldon. "Mmm yeah Moonpie?" I replied equally as sleepily. I could hear the sound of him shifting closer towards me.

"I got my tattoo when I was 16." There was a silence that stretched comfortably between us.

"Why?" My voice cracked slightly.

"I was in love." If I wasn't sufficiently surprised by Sheldon having a tattoo, the knowledge that he was capable of loving anything apart from his spot and science could have knocked me dead. I didn't dare say anything; I knew he'd go on. "We were stupidly in love. I had just got my PhD and had a life of greatness planned ahead of me. She was an experimental physicist, her name was Lexi and she wore sweaters and drank coffee. She had curly hair the colour of toffee. We dated for a year and it was magical. We lived on campus in rooms next to each other." His words just sort of hung in the air in-between us.

"What happened Sheldon?" I asked quietly and slowly put my hand in the gap between our bodies.

"She got sick, really sick." That's all it needed. Sheldon's heaving chest and quiet sobs told the rest of the story. I didn't even notice when his hand found mine in the dark and we quietly lay there. "The key represented how she set me free and the wings represented how she's now free." I could feel my own eyes stinging with tears. "I've never told Leonard any of this Penny and I would appreciate it if this was to stay between us."

"Of course Sheldon."

We were silent for a long time after that. His hand felt so right in mine, I may have Nebraskan man-hands but Sheldon was 6"2 and had pretty huge Texan man-hands himself. "Penny?" His voice was gentle and soothing. "Is it wrong to have feelings for someone else?"
"What sweetie?"

"Would Lexi be mad at me if I had feelings for someone else?"

"Of course not sweetie. It's been a long time and she would have wanted you to be happy..." I trailed off "Is this about Amy?" Sheldon shifted slightly and didn't reply. Then I felt hot breath in my ear and turned to face him slightly. A pair of slightly chapped lips collided with mine. His left hand found the back of my neck and his long fingers tangled in my hair as he deepened the kiss. His teeth bit down hard on my bottom lip and I fell against him slightly. My hands pressed up against his hard chest and our legs were entwined with each other and the different plaid blankets. I felt him smile suddenly against my lips. "I haven't kissed anyone like that in a long, long time."

Later on Sheldon opened the sunroof and I lay curled against his side as he pointed out the different constellations. Suddenly I was glad that everyone was so apprehensive to take Sheldon shopping so that I could have these series of perfect moments to remember. The day I discovered Sheldon Cooper.