renisanz: angelo, jono, & jubilee watching tv (s/p kiss clr)
[personal profile] renisanz
Title: The Caffeine High Corollary
Author: renisanz
Summary: Sheldon comes off his caffeine high with unanticipated results.
Category: Romance, UST
Pairing: Sheldon/Penny
Rating: PG-13
Wordcount: 1,370
Spoilers: A tag to “The Work Song Nanocluster”
Warnings: Sensuality.
Disclaimer: Don't own 'em.
Notes: Written for the Fiction Friday challenge @ [livejournal.com profile] sheldon_penny . Thanks to [livejournal.com profile] mrsvc  for the quick read-through. :)

. . . . . . . . . .

After counting up all the Penny blossoms one last time to make sure that the had definitely made 1,000, Penny shuffled across the hall to her apartment. She fished her key out of the pocket of her jeans and wrapped her hand around the doorknob as she prepared to unlock it. She was surprised when it turned before she got the key into the lock.

She must have forgotten to lock it.

Pushing the door open, Penny walked into the apartment and thew her purse in the general direction of the couch as she made her way to the bedroom. A very human sounding grunt came back at her, and Penny gasped as she saw a long, very human-like figure move against the bright turquoise fabric of her sofa. He eyes went wide jumped back, until she felt the wood of her bookshelf against her back.  and she reached behind her, fingers grasping for anything that could be used as a weapon, but her hand only found the smooth spines of book stacked upright on the shelf. Before her, right next to the couch, was a lamp. She wished she had seen it earlier.

Penny was just about to try her luck at darting back out of the front door when the figure leaned forward, she heard a soft click and suddenly the room was bathed in the soft light emanated from around the blue lampshade.

“Oh, Penny. You're home,” came a groggy but familiar voice.

Penny sagged against the bookshelf in relief. “Jesus, Sheldon.” She put a hand against her chest as adrenaline-chilled relief washed over her body, her nostrils flaring in anger that he had scared her so. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“Well,” Sheldon looked around, as if he wasn't sure why he was there himself. “Cleaning.”

For the first time Penny took in the the state of her apartment. Come to think of it, she didn't have to step over or around anything when she first entered. The coffee table looked pretty clear, the magazines that had been strewn across the den were neatly stacked—probably sorted by subject matter and content—on the surface.

No clothes were hanging over the back of chairs, and she looked down to her right to see that that wicker hamper was shut with no camisole tops or bra straps hanging over the edge.

She looked back at the scientist on her couch. He was still wearing that ridiculous Flash costume. He'd taken off the mask at some point, though. Penny figured he must have come down off his caffeine high and crashed on her sofa.

“Alright, it's official. No more coffee for you,” Penny declared. She walked around the back of the sofa and plopped down on the opposite end, to Sheldon's right.

Sheldon made a tut of agreement, like when he was about to go into a tirade about how wrong she had been to force the caffeinated beverage on his delicate system. Instead he just sagged against his corner of the couch and nodded. “I will have to devise some way to leave this misadventure out of my next conversation with Mother.”

He turned to regard her. “Did you succeed in fulfilling your Penny Blossom order?”

“Yep. One thousand. We counted them twice. I threw in a few more just be be sure.” Penny yawned and then turned to him and smiled. “Thank you for helping me optimize my manufacturing process,” she said, patting is knee for emphasis. Letting Sheldon tell her what do did work out for the best sometimes. Though, she'd never tell him that. It was too fun ruffing his precious, genius feathers.

She didn't move her hand from his knee. Leaning forward, she closed the distance between them. She meant to kiss him on the cheek, partly hoping the shock of physical intimacy might scare some sense into him and he'd scurry back over to 4A. Sheldon turned at the last moment, and her lips brushed against his.

Whoops.

She expected him to jump back or push her away, but Sheldon remained still, and when Penny didn't pull away either, she felt the slight pressure of his mouth—his lips—tentatively moving against her own.

And then they were kissing. Sheldon was kissing her. His hand came up to cup the back of her head, his long fingers tickling against the skin at the base of her neck, and she gasped at the sensation. Sheldon opened his mouth, too, mimicking her actions, and Penny let her tongue slide into his, tasting the residual coffee flavor.

Penny leaned into him more, and Sheldon turned his body toward her, bracing his back against the back sofa to better accommodate her weight, and she pulled her legs of the floor, propping herself up on her knees as she prepared to climb into his lap. She broke the kiss, opening her eyes to get her bearings, and the bright yellow lighting bolt of his costume jolted her back to reality. She was a hair's breadth away from straddling Sheldon.

Holy. Crap.

“Penny,“ he breathed.

“Sheldon, I—,“ she started. She stood now, looking down on her feet as she fought the impulse to run into her room and slam the door.

“Does...Is this a normal side effect of excessive caffeine intake?” She finally met Sheldon's eyes. They shone with a strange mix of wonder and curiosity. He was taking deep, measured breaths, and Penny took in his reddened lips and flushed face.

“Uhm...” Penny mumbled, biting her bottom lip to prevent herself from saying, Yes, that's exactly it. Blame it on the 'feine. But she couldn't lie to Sheldon about this. “Well, it affects people in different ways, I guess,” she told him. A couple of cans of Red Bull and late night quests on Age of Conan had never ended in her making out with Sheldon, so she was at a loss for explanations.

“Interesting,” Sheldon said.

He licked his lips, and Penny needed something to lean against. She settled on resting her butt against the arm of the sofa, because sitting back next to him was out of the question.

“Look, Sheldon, I don't want things to be weird between us.”

“Why would things be weird between us?” Sheldon asked, his eyes widened in genuine confusion.

Penny looked at him with incredulity until it clicked. Any other guy would probably expect this to lead somewhere. But this was Sheldon. Brilliant, organized, maddening Sheldon. He'd probably already filed this moment away as some sort of social interaction anomaly, something “curious” that happened to him once, put on the back-burner for further study, right behind everything else that took his focus away from acquiring the Nobel Prize.

“Right,” Penny said more to herself than to Sheldon, and she felt unexpectedly embarrassed.

“Penny,” Sheldon's voice was unusually soft, yet wary. “Are you...Is something bothering you.”

“No, no, Sheldon,” she looked into his eyes and smiled brighter than she felt at the moment. “I'm just tired, ya know.”

“Oh, good. For a moment I feared I had unintentionally upset you.”

Ha. Now he gets it right.
“I want to get a few hours of sleep before I have to mail this stuff, so...I'll see you tomorrow.”

“Very well,” Sheldon nodded. Taking the hint, he finally got up from the couch. Penny followed as he made his way to the front door. She watched as he opened it, and then stood at the threshold as he walked across the hall. He turned before opening his door. “Good night, Penny,” he said.

“G'night,” Penny sighed before shutting her door.

. . . . . . . . . .

Date: 2009-08-02 12:07 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] mrsvc.livejournal.com
I TOLD YOU I'D SAVE THE CRAZY FOR THE OFFICIAL POST~

OMG, I LOVE IT. I LOVE THAT HE'S STILL IN HIS FLASH COSTUME, THAT HE USED HIS CAFFEINE HIGH TO CLEAN HER APARTMENT, I LOVE THAT PENNY CAN'T JUST LIE TO HIM AFTER THAT AND THAT SHELDON CAN ~COMPARTMENTALIZE AND THAT PENNY CAN'T. HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE.

&hearts &hearts &hearts &hearts &hearts

Date: 2009-08-02 12:30 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] renisanz.livejournal.com
Thank you. This ended a lot more angsty that I originally intended, but I still like it. I love me some angst like Penny loves steak. :)

Anyway, yeah, I just thought about how the episode ended on that note, with Penny kinda checking Sheldon out when he came out in the Flash costume, and him being all alpha male with ordering the guys to work...

Date: 2009-08-02 12:17 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] fujiidom.livejournal.com
God, this rules. Him cleaning her apartment afterward is so canon in my brain, now.


“Does...Is this a normal side effect of excessive caffeine intake?”
GUH. I really adore this. I want this universe to exist and to see more break-of-dawn make-outs. In costume. I LOVE IT. Awesome job.

Date: 2009-08-02 12:57 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] renisanz.livejournal.com
Thank you! I'm so glad you like it. I just started thinking about writing a tag with the aftermath of Sheldon's caffeine-high, and this came out.

Date: 2009-08-19 07:19 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] rodlox.livejournal.com
if Sheldon is in costume as the Flash, would Penny be in costume as Tina?

Date: 2009-08-02 12:58 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] kitsuneneko.livejournal.com
To quote Penny, Holy. Crap.

This was great!! So much angst and loveliness. Wonderful job! :D

Date: 2009-08-02 01:31 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] renisanz.livejournal.com
Thank you. I'm glad you liked my attempt at angst. :)

Date: 2009-08-02 01:19 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] tsukihysteria.livejournal.com
O_O THAT WAS HOT. Especially with Sheldon in the Flash costume. MMMHMM. I still think he looks the best out of the four guys in the costume. Raj is second. The other guys is too short. Flash is suppose to be tall. Okay, getting a little ahead of this. HEHE. THANK YOU FOR THIS. *fans self*

Date: 2009-08-02 02:55 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] renisanz.livejournal.com
Actually, I don't care much for any of the guys in the Flash costume, but I guess Sheldon looks the best out of them. :) Still I tried to made it work for the story, so I'm glad you enjoyed it. :D Thanks.

Date: 2009-08-02 02:42 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] irrel.livejournal.com
OMGGGG This is totally canon in my head now! I loved this, it was hot and very in character :D

Date: 2009-08-02 03:02 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] renisanz.livejournal.com
\o/ Glad you like it. :)

Date: 2009-08-02 03:23 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] evening-shadow.livejournal.com
I know how much you liked angsty so I was like, oh noes, trouble! However, I thought this was very good and well written. I loved the fact that he was cleaning her apartment and I thought her reaction was very realistic. Very enjoyable.

Date: 2009-08-02 04:27 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] renisanz.livejournal.com
I really didn't set out for it to be so angsty at the end, especially on Penny's end. At first, I thought of writing this later in the morning, after Sheldon had gotten over the caffeine high and my train of thought eventually flowed to this, with Sheldon still in the Flash costume. :)

So, I'm glad you enjoyed it. :D Thanks again for the catch. Penny no longer has a rusty bottom. :)

Date: 2009-08-02 03:36 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] elsiesnuffin.livejournal.com
I have no idea how I nissed this at first! Great added scene! I think I will choose to believe this is what really happened on the show after he zoomed out of the apartment.

Very well done!

Date: 2009-08-02 04:30 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] renisanz.livejournal.com
Yay. I'm glad you choose to embrace my slightly angsty alternative. :)

Date: 2009-08-02 04:13 am (UTC)
ext_10182: Anzo-Berrega Desert (Between the Bars)
From: [identity profile] rashaka.livejournal.com
I really like the way you ended this, with Sheldon's "hmm, okay" attitude and Penny being the one reading too much into it.

Date: 2009-08-02 04:33 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] renisanz.livejournal.com
\o/ Thank you! :)

Date: 2009-08-02 09:28 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] jazzrose343.livejournal.com
\o/ this is officiallt canon!
This is what happened after he left the apartment.

The idea of Sheldon cleaning her apartment high on caffine is brilliant.

Also loved the ending with Penny reading more into it that Sheldon.

Love me a bit os S/p angst

Date: 2009-08-02 03:58 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] renisanz.livejournal.com
Thank you. I'm especially glad the ending has gotten positive reviews. :)

Date: 2009-08-02 01:23 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] she-burns1.livejournal.com
OH my LORD - LOVED THIS.

I want there to be some sort of AUish sequel because by the end I was like 'but but but...no! More kissing please!'

Still, absolutely brilliant! And for such a little kiss, there seemed to be a lot of hotness packed in there! Huzzah!

And I love the song your listening to now, yay! <3!

Date: 2009-08-02 04:07 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] renisanz.livejournal.com
Thank you! I saw this going a whole 'nother way when I started, but I'm happy with the angst, my first love. ;)

And I love the song your listening to now, yay! <3!

Yes, I have you to thank for that. I'm really enjoying this mix. :)

Date: 2009-08-02 09:04 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] she-burns1.livejournal.com
*happy dance* Glad you liked it!!! :D

Date: 2009-08-02 09:15 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] gemsile123.livejournal.com
Gah! You totally took my idea for the challenge! But it's ok, because you did way better that I could have done with it. Yours was also more realistically angsty than mine would have been. So yay, good job!

Date: 2009-08-02 09:44 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] renisanz.livejournal.com
Aww. Sorry to take your idea, but glad you think I did it justice. Thank you. *hugs*

Date: 2009-08-06 02:09 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] phil-urich.livejournal.com
Nice build up and I liked that Sheldon continued to be perplexed by the whole issue. Also his waking up in Penny’s apartment, rather than the other way around, was a nice surprise.

Date: 2009-08-06 04:44 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] renisanz.livejournal.com
Thank you. :)

Date: 2009-08-19 07:18 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] rodlox.livejournal.com
and when he gets back, Leonard'll ask "what happened?"
and Sheldon will say "Penny came back once the caffine was out of my system, we kissed, and we said good night."
and Leonard will say "huh" while thinking and you're over here? WTF man, are you nuts?

excellent story; you got both their voices perfectly.

Date: 2009-08-19 06:47 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] renisanz.livejournal.com
LOL. Thank you. I've been mulling over the idea of continuing this story. That would be an interesting conversation for Sheldon to have with Leonard, but I think Sheldon's knows enough to try not to mention something like that.

Date: 2009-08-19 07:02 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] rodlox.livejournal.com
if you can, great; if not, no problem.

what's the phrase?..."I'd agree with you, but this is Sheldon we're talking about." ;)

(remember when he said "now I understand 'friends with benefits'" ?)

Date: 2009-09-07 05:30 pm (UTC)
ext_251: (Big Bang Theory - Penny/Sheldon)
From: [identity profile] htbthomas.livejournal.com
HEHEHEHE. We must see more effects of caffeine on Sheldon if this is the way things go! :D

Thank you!

Date: 2009-09-11 09:39 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] renisanz.livejournal.com
Yes, definitely. It's kinda sad that Sheldon is had to be on drugs or something to really let loose, but it definitely works for the humor.

Date: 2009-10-26 10:08 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] devinecancerian.livejournal.com
Loved this. Definitely canon for me now, I totally forgot about Sheldon and his Flash costume after his epic exit, but this is definitely something I could see him doing. Sheldon + Caffeine High + Penny's Messy Apartment = Clean Apartment! :P.

Date: 2009-12-22 05:34 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] renisanz.livejournal.com
Wow. I'm super late replying to this...

Thank you so much. I'm glad you liked this crazy idea of mine and that you thought it was realistic enough to happen on the show. :)

Date: 2010-04-11 03:37 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] yavie-namarie.livejournal.com
Oh wow. How on earth did I miss this fic?! This was so absolutely perfect! =D

Date: 2010-04-11 03:47 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] renisanz.livejournal.com
*shrug* I don't know. I wrote this quite a while ago, so I'm you took the time to read it, either way. :)

Thank you. :)

Date: 2012-06-01 09:10 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] jen4850.livejournal.com
Sweet. Love his reaction.

May 2012

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