The Cooper Libido Experiment 6/?
Title: "The Cooper Libido Experiment"
Author: g_girl143 / gwendy
Rating: PG-13
Chapters: 6/(?)
Timeline: Post L/P...beyond Post L/P...
Summary: There are times when the thing you love the most will cause your downfall. In the case of Dr. Sheldon Cooper, that would be Science...
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or the series and am not making any money out of this despite putting my sweat and blood into it. So save me the lawsuits and just allow a beggar to indulge in fantasies. Thank you.
A/N: Get ready for one long chapter guys, with a lot of dialogue. I particularly enjoyed writing this one and I do hope you enjoy it too ^_^ Posted just a day after the 5th chapter, so give your love to gemsile123for the quick beta! The 7th chapter may be a lil late though, as I still have a few knots I need to tie on that one.
Previous Chapters:
Chapter 1 // Chapter 2 // Chapter 3 // Chapter 4 // Chapter 5
Chapter 6
"Penny, take your clothes off."
Penny blinked and stared at Sheldon as though he were mad. Well, she almost always stared at Sheldon as though he were, but this was the first time in a long time she had ever considered him seriously bonkers.
It was Anything-Can-Happen Thursday. After the awkwardness of yesterday's Halo Night which had forced her to leave without saying goodbye (to Sheldon anyway), she'd planned on avoiding him entirely, which was why she was thankful Leonard had finished his experiments. He'd been the one to drive Sheldon to and from work. But after that, there was no avoiding spending time with them. Her girl friends all had dates, and Leonard had practically begged her to come over. She wasn't obliged to of course, her and Leonard having called it quits years ago, but Leonard had put up a very good argument that Sheldon just might come over and talk her into not disrupting his daily routine by her absence.
She'd relented, mostly because she'd rather not be alone with Sheldon. She didn't want to dwell on the reason why she didn't want to be alone with him, but what he was asking her now certainly raised some interesting points.
Penny managed to rehinge her jaw and closed the door of apartment 4A. "Excuse me?"
"Take your clothes off," Sheldon repeated as though he were just asking her to hand him the remote control, and then added, "Please."
Penny tried to speak but no words came out. She looked around the living room, but the other two men were not gonna be of any help. Raj, though watching her and Sheldon's exchange, was cowering in the middle of the couch, while Howard was sitting back in one of the armchairs, clearly enjoying the show.
He'd probably enjoy it if, for some impossible reason, she obeyed Sheldon's command.
Penny walked past Sheldon and put the plastic bag of Chinese take out on the coffee table. She knew, without looking, that Sheldon had followed her and was standing very close.
"Penny, did you not hear what I said?"
"Yes, Sheldon, I did." She turned and glared at him. He looked nonplussed and just so...clueless, she wanted to strangle him to his senses. If he even had that. "But why the hell would you ask me to take my clothes off?"
Sheldon snorted. "I could state a number of reasons. For one, you have not run out of clothes to wear, as you had just gone on a shopping spree three days ago which left you financially burdened, again, whereby I had to call upon the power of a favorite superhero to save you."
Penny groaned. "Look, Sheldon. I'm sorry, okay? But I'll pay you back as soon as I can and--"
"Your clearing your debts has nothing to do with the current situation, though it had to be brought up to point out the fact that you DO have a change of clothes. And frankly, I have never given you any time constraints as to when you should pay me back. Because I know you most certainly will."
In any other situation, Penny would've greatly appreciated Sheldon's complete trust in her. "I just wanted to wear this tonight, that's all."
"I can't see why you would. Temperatures are still high, and it's clear by the beads of sweat on your forehead that this has also affected you. Why, I myself have had to pull back my sleeves to my elbows." Sheldon showed her his forearms, and she shivered. She rarely got to see them, and the few times she did made her blood run hot. Damn, if she couldn't understand why. "There, you see? Your cheeks have even turned scarlet from the heat."
She quickly turned away and began to retrieve the takeout trays from the bag. "So what if I wanted to wear a jacket and sweatpants today? Just think of me having my own walking sauna."
"That would certainly provide a reasonable explanation to your choice of garments, but that maroon jacket you are currently sporting does not match the blue top you have underneath, nor the bright green of your sweatpants. I thought you had more fashion sense than that."
Penny chewed at the inside of her cheek to stop herself from retaliating. Of course she knew her clothes were mismatched. She'd done that on purpose, but damn if she was going to tell Dr. Whackadoodle that.
"It seems I am currently subject to your inattention." She heard Sheldon harrumph when she continued to ignore him, and she imagined he was pulling back his shoulders. "Very well, I didn't want to put it so bluntly after sugarcoating the fact...but what I've been trying to tell you is that your clothes make you look unattractive."
She stopped putting away the takeout trays and turned to face him. She tried to tell herself this had been her purpose, to look as unattractive as possible, but she hadn't anticipated being this upset at having it pointed out. By Sheldon. "Unattractive?"
Sheldon raised a brow. "I'm saying it makes you look fat and ugly."
The reasonable side of Penny's mind told her to let his words slide, to ask him when he had even started to care about the way she looked, to continue with this verbal spar and never let him win, but the ego was a hard mistress to suppress.
Before she knew it, she had already pulled off her jacket and thrown it on Sheldon's spot. She heard Howard hitch a breath, and Raj release a squeak, but she ignored them both. "There! Happy now?"
"Not yet." Sheldon took her jacket off his spot and began meticulously folding it. Freak, Penny thought. "You are still wearing those horrid sweatpants, though by the bulk around your hips, I have deduced you are actually wearing shorts underneath. So if you would be so kind, please discard your sweatpants as well."
"Come on, Penny. You heard the man. Take your pants off."
Penny snapped her head towards Howard. He was looking at her the way he always did. Like some pimple-faced teenager who'd just discovered what sex was. She thought of the perfect attack, and started to speak.
"I'm not asking her to take her pants off in front of us, you lecherous turd," Sheldon flared, and the words died in Penny's throat. She turned to look at him, and saw he was glaring daggers at Howard. "Penny, go change in my bedroom."
"W...What?"
He turned to her then, and she could practically feel the heat from his anger. For some reason, it made a ticklish, but not at all unpleasant feeling settle at the pit of her stomach. "Go change in my bedroom. Leonard's in the bathroom after having accidentally consumed whole cream milk, and his room still has the lingering scent of flatulence."
Penny grimaced. "I thought no one was allowed in your bedroom. I'll just go change in my apartment."
"And waste time and energy by walking across the hall when I've already given you a more convenient alternative?" He pointed at the corridor. "I'm giving you temporary access. You have two minutes. Go."
Penny wanted to protest, and she did try to, but the moment Sheldon put his hand on the small of her back made
all her thoughts dissolve into mush, more so when he actually led her to his bedroom. She was thankful he left the moment she was inside, or he would've seen her knees shaking.
She didn't waste any time, and less than a minute later, she re-emerged in the living room.
Howard whistled, his eyes on her shorts. "Hello, hello kitty."
"Honestly, Howard, can you, for once, not be a creature worthy of disgust?" Sheldon growled, and this made Penny tighten her arms around the pair of sweatpants she was carrying. "Acknowledging the prints of a woman's shorts with a suggestive tone is improper."
"But...didn't you like..." Howard held his hands up to go with his shrug, "...say the same thing to her way back--"
"Irrelevant. I did not have coitus in mind at the time."
Penny didn't exactly know what to make of Sheldon's response.
She breathed a sigh of relief when Leonard finally came inside the room. "Hey guys, what did I miss?"
"You missed Penny's little striptease," Howard replied with a leer, and once again, Penny had to glare at him.
"I didn't do a striptease, you lecherous turd," she fired, then froze. Did she just use Sheldon's language?
Sheldon spoke again, and it didn't hit Penny until then exactly how much he'd been defending her that night. "One more word out of you, Howard, and you're banished. You already have two strikes, and I have a good mind to add 'no sexual teasing of Penny' to the rules."
The room became as quiet as Raj, who still hadn't said a word from his vantage point at the couch. Sheldon stuck his nose in the air and took one of the trays from the coffee table before sitting down in his spot. He hadn't even asked her if she got his order right, although she believed she did.
"So," Sheldon opened his takeout, "what are we going to do tonight besides eating and basking in this glow of awkward silence? And yes, I am being thoroughly sarcastic."
Penny managed to gather herself and took one last item from the plastic bag. "I have the original Thai version of Shutter on BluRay. I heard it's even scarier than the remake."
She heard groans from both Howard and Raj, while Leonard, who was now seated at the other end of the couch, sipped loudly from his cup of coffee. Asian horror, she knew, wasn't her boys' thing especially if it didn't involve anything scientific, but the film came highly recommended, and she didn't want to watch it alone.
She turned her eyes on Sheldon and waited for him to protest and tell her the impossibilities of the film as well as nitpicking at its quality and degrading her tastes.
But all he said was, "Good. I suggest though, that we watch it after we eat. If indeed the film is as scary as you say it is, we might end up with some people," he looked at Raj, "choking on their masticated food particles."
Raj responded with frown and a helpless shrug, then leaned over to retrieve his own take out. Penny started for the chair beside the couch and was about to sit down when Sheldon opened his mouth again.
"Raj, you're in Penny's spot."
All heads turned to look at Sheldon, although Penny imagined hers were the widest eyes in the room. "Whoa! Since when did I have a spot?"
"I suppose it has been an unspoken agreement through the years, but if you wish for me to put it in writing, I can do so after the movie," Sheldon replied, though he didn't turn from glaring at Raj, who seemed to be shrinking by the minute. "Sit over there."
Raj quickly moved to take the chair Penny had been planning to sit on. She looked at him for a moment before turning to face Sheldon again, who was obviously waiting for her to sit down.
She shook her head. Things were getting so freakishly weird tonight. "Sheldon, no offense, but I don't wanna sit there."
He frowned. "And why wouldn't you? This is the closest seat to my spot, which you seem to have a fondness of making your own."
"Sheldon, I can't always be in one spot like you. Besides, it's Anything-Can-Happen Thursday. That means I sit wherever I want."
Sheldon shifted in his seat, although the way he held his shoulders told Penny he had an argument ready. He always, she thought with annoyance, had an argument ready. "Penny, have I ever, in the entire course of our friendship, insisted you sit beside me?"
"Uhm...no..."
"Then, I am abiding by the rules of Anything-Can-Happen Thursday. Now, sit."
Penny felt her shoulders slacken as she begrudgingly took 'her spot' beside Sheldon. She thought she saw him smile, but she was too angry at being defeated to care.
Sheldon Cooper, 2. Penny, 0.
***
Penny pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. Her eyes were glued to the TV, watching as things became even more ominous for Tun and Jane, the lead couple of the movie. Raj had his fists around his mouth like a boxer on defense, while Howard sat stiffly in his seat, his fingers almost holding on to the arm rests for dear life. Leonard was pressing himself against the couch, his hands covering his face though he'd spread his fingers to watch. Only Sheldon seemed oblivious, his body relaxed on the couch, his face expressionless and almost bored.
The entire apartment was dark, save for the glow of the television. She'd been the one to insist on turning off the lights to add to the scare factor, but now she wished she hadn't. She started to lean towards Leonard, but he was jumpy, and he looked as though one touch would send him screaming like a banshee.
God, she didn't need that right now, especially since Tun was slowly waking up to find something...or someone slowly dragging his blanket away from him...
Natre, the movie's ghost, suddenly came into view. Screams echoed in the living room, and she couldn't tell whether it was hers or Howard's that was louder.
It was pure defensive instinct that sent her wrapping her arms around Sheldon. He froze, but that didn't keep her from burying her face into his shirt, muffling her scream on his collarbone when she managed to steal a glance at the screen.
Then, the scene was over. It had all been Tun's nightmare, but that didn't stop obscenities from being thrown, especially from Howard.
Then, all was silent again, and they continued to watch.
"It's okay," she heard Sheldon whisper, his breath in her ear. That's when she realized she was still hugging him.
She would've let go if Natre hadn't popped into the scene again, and she ended up tightening her arms around Sheldon. "Dammit, I shouldn't have gotten this movie. I'm gonna have nightmares for weeks."
"It's only a movie, Penny," Sheldon said, and his tone calmed her. He wasn't condescending. In fact, he sounded almost protective. "Certainly, the elements of the movie, like the sounds, background and lighting, make-up and acting takes advantage of the innate human fear of death, but on a whole, it is something that cannot possibly happen in real life..."
Sheldon continued to whisper to her, explaining this and that, about scientific improbabilities and whatnot, and soon, it became so lost to her until all she heard was the drone. That beautiful, lovely, musical, soothing drone. Strange, how she could continue to watch the movie yet still listen to him talk. It was just like back in high school, wherein she couldn't concentrate on studying unless the radio or the TV was on. Like she needed some validation that...she wasn't alone.
It made the movie more bearable, and each time a scary scene came on, Sheldon had a good explanation ready. Another thing that helped was his arm around her shoulders, though how it came to rest there, she wasn't sure.
But it felt nice. And comfortable.
Then, it became a little too comfortable. Sheldon's palm was slowly stroking her shoulder, and later, running up and down her arm. And she reacted...by pressing herself even closer to him.
She didn't know what was going on, but soon, she lost all interest in the movie and concentrated on the electricty of Sheldon's hand moving along her skin. She could feel his heartbeat against her ear, though she couldn't remember when she'd pressed her cheek to his chest. She heard and felt him smell her hair, and she took in her own deep breath, inhaling the fresh scent of his shirt.
He always smelled so clean.
Somewhere along the line, his other hand had come to rest on her thigh, which she had since pressed against his leg. For a moment, her eyes darted to the other men in the room, but when she found them engrossed in the movie, she relaxed and shifted even closer to Sheldon.
She'd never wanted to be so close to him as she did now.
She felt him move his hand along her thigh, and she had to swallow a gasp and look up at him. He wasn't looking at her, and in fact, had his eyes on the TV.
She bit her lip and buried her face in his chest again. Did he even know what he was doing? Or realize how it was making her feel?
Well, of course he wouldn't know, her mind whispered. This was Sheldon Cooper. He probably thought he was handling or coddling her like that cat he had when he was little. He didn't know the first thing when it came to intimacy, and it made her feel a bit guilty that she was...taking advantage of the situation. Because by God, that was what she was doing. She hadn't been touched for so long, and to be touched by Sheldon, asexual extraordinaire...
But was he really dead down there? The thought made Penny quiver. The first time she'd seen it, she'd dismissed it. The second time, when she'd actually felt it...she had still been in denial. But right now, she was wishing that what she had seen was real. That somehow...Sheldon was really human and could actually feel something.
For her.
Her eyes started to lower but before she could check and see, the lights were snapped on, and she immediately let go of him. She blinked away the spots in her eyes until she saw the credits roll in the screen. She hadn't even realized the movie had ended.
"That was some scary shit," Howard declared, shakily moving away from the light switch. He turned to Raj, who still had his fists bunched up against his jaw. "Remind me never to date Thai chicks. And to stay away from Thai food for a while."
"Come on, Howard, it's only a movie," Leonard declared, though he sounded obviously relieved that it was over. He turned to look at Penny, and she hastily lowered her head so he wouldn't see how flushed she was.
She saw him frown. Oh God, she thought. He'd noticed...
Leonard's question, however, was directed at Sheldon. "Sheldon, what are you doing with that tray?"
Penny turned. and saw Sheldon had put one of the empty takeout trays on his lap, covering his crotch. "It was dark earlier. I thought there was still food in it."
"Well, it's light now, and we finished eating well over an hour ago. And...I don't even think that's your tray."
"Why do you always nitpick on every little detail, Leonard?" Sheldon fumed, much to Penny and everyone's surprise, before he stood to his full height, the tray still clutched to his groin. "If you'll excuse me, I need to brush my teeth."
His strides were stiff, as though he had broken something, but they were quick enough to get him to the bathroom real fast.
Penny took in a deep breath and busied herself with putting away the takeout trays. She needed to do something...anything to distract her, but her thoughts were too loud, and even Howard and Leonard's excited discussion about the movie couldn't take her mind away from how Sheldon had touched and held her.
And the thought of what he could possibly be hiding behind that tray.
"I need to drink some water," Howard muttered and walked over to the sink. It wasn't long before they heard him scream and curse.
"The damned water's hot!" Howard declared, though it sounded more like "da dan wates hothf". He'd obviously burned his tongue. He then marched to the bathroom and knocked. "Sheldon, are you taking a cold shower in there?"
"Talking to me through the bathroom door! Strike three, Howard. You're banished."
"Great." Howard's shoulders slumped. "And just when I'd finished the class last week too..."
A/N: "Shutter" is my favorite Asian Horror film, and I personally deem it to be even scarier than "The Ring". I wish I could say the same for the American remake, but that's my opinion. I only watched that movie once. I never watched it again. And until now, Natre scares the hell out of me. Nuff said about that ^_^
Some of you may have recalled the third chapter of my first multi-chapter S/P fic, "The Elevator Conundrum". There, the first line began with Penny telling Sheldon to take his clothes off. I just decided to bring back that technique, but of course, in reverse LOL.
Didn't I say in my teaser that clothes will be discarded? *wink wink*
I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'm working on Chapter 7, and it will be Sheldon/Penny centric as well, and there will be some vague reminders of another of my previous fics ;). Til then *mwah* Teasers? Room invasion...