I sat on top of a building today and listened to the city. Just listened. Watched as white, fluffy clouds obscured blue to the vague woosh of hundreds upon hundreds of engines idling. I stared across at a thirty story building and wondered how many bricks it took to build it, wonderd how many bricks it took to build New York. Iron and steel and glass and bricks and from up there it was so easy to imagine the city was alive. Not with people, no, but the city itself a living, breathing, being that spoke in roars and honks and sirens. A thing that would wrap you in its arms just as easily as it would chew you up and spit you out. A thing that can heal itself with scaffolding and look just as bautiful with the old right next to the new. It's easy to feel alone on a New York City rooftop, the bustle of life below barely more than a roar...the roar of the parts: the cells, the people that make up the being. I was one of them now, and I've never felt more alive. 

 PARTY!

I've officially finished writing my epic, Innocence and Beauty, today at approximately 6:30- 6 years and one day since I first posted it. 

It will be posted as soon as it comes back from beta. 

<3

Here's my newest fic! It's already posted over at Sheldon Penny.... I guess I should post it here, too???

Title: Proofs: The Initial Evolution

 

By: TriplePirouette

 

Spoilers: Vague up to and including "The Terminator Decoupling"

 

Category: pre-show

 

Rating: G/K

 

Word Count: 2,602

 

Disclaimer: They're not mine. All characters belong to their respective creators.

 

Distribution: my site, ff.net, and my LJ, anywhere else, please ask first :)

 

Summary: In exchange for signing a contract, Penny learns where Sheldon's contract ritual came from.

 

Author’s Notes: Hopefully this will be the first of a series of "proofs" about the evolution of the characters we know today on TBBT and explain why they are who they are. Where to start? Sheldon, of course! I hope you like it. The "young" Sheldon was hard to write, as was Missy because I don't know as much about her- I hope that they translate. It's not exactly romantic, but I think this counts as P/S for the interaction alone.

 

As always, thanks to gladdecease for the beta. Also, thanks to Michael for the idea for the last bit!

 

*~*~*

 

Penny stared at Sheldon, waiting for him to tell her he was kidding. He stayed eerily still. Three seconds ticked by before she moved, the only sound in her quiet apartment the rustling of the papers in her hand. "You're serious?"

 

"Have you ever known me to joke?" Sheldon asked in response, holding out a pen. 

 

"Good point," She raised her eyebrows at him and looked at the papers in her hand again. "Why do I need to sign this? Can't you just trust me when I say that I'll never go into your room again without permission?" She mustered all of her acting powers, batted her eyes and made them as big and sad as she could. "You really don't trust me?"

 

Sheldon frowned at her until she let the mask slide away with a shrug. "Penny, while I would like to believe that you are trustworthy, you have already entered my room on more than one occasion."

 

She stepped forward, pointing a finger in his face, "Okay, only one of those times I wasn't invited, and that time we could have conducted our business in the living room…" she paused, smiling as she said the next part, "but you weren't wearing pants."  

 

Sheldon twitched, his jaw clenching tight. Penny couldn't be sure, but she thought she saw him fight a blush back with sheer willpower. "Regardless," he said after clearing this throat, "I find that a binding contract reminds people of their obligations more so than a promise." He pulled the contract out of her hands. "Sign here, here, and here, and initial here and here."

 

She moved forward, ready to sign, then stepped back again. "Are you going to sue me if I break the contract?"

 

Sheldon barked out a laugh. "You obviously have not read the contract. Besides, that would be the definition of a frivolous law suit. No, if you enter my room without permission one of several things will happen depending on the severity of the transgression; from a simple strike to banishment for several days." He watched her eyebrows shoot up to her hairline. "I'll also call your attention to the bottom of page 2. 'The undersigned hereby forfeits any rights to alert any maternal body to the actions of the party of the first part unless the party of the first part is in mortal danger and unable to alert the maternal body itself.'"

 

Penny's jaw dropped as she desperately tried to follow what he said. "Sweetie…"

 

"It means you won't call my mom on me unless I'm going to die or it's an emergency and can't call her myself." Sheldon pursed his lips and looked down his nose at Penny. "You have to initial that clause separately."

 

Penny bit her lip and scanned the pages presented to her. "Okay, I'll sign this-" Sheldon began to speak, but she cut him off, "And read it, on one condition."

 

"What would that be?"

 

"You tell me why you started using contracts." She looked at him, waiting expectantly.

 

His eyes narrowed then his brows lifted. He looked at her, looked at the door, and looked back, a bit confused, a bit nervous, a bit interested. "Why?"

 

"Why?"

 

"Why do you want to know?" He narrowed his eyes at her further. "What is your motivation, and furthermore, what will you do with the information once dispensed?"

 

Penny's face slowly melted from confusion to a blank, vacant look. "I just wanted to know. I thought maybe I would feel better about signing this… and all the future contracts I'm sure there will be, if I knew why."

 

"You won't make fun of me?" He asked quietly.

 

She paused, smiling slyly. "Have I called you Moonpie lately?"

 

He sighed. "Point taken. Okay. In exchange for this anecdote from my past, you will read, and sign, and abide by the contract, and not make fun of me."

 

 Penny smiled, nodding sharply. "Deal."

 

*~*~*

 

Sheldon was eight years old when he first heard the term "contract" in a way that interested him. He was trying to figure out the best way to turn his laser pointer into a real, destructive laser gun. He was in the living room, notebooks spread out on his lap, pencil in hand as he considered the structure of his small laser pointer.

 

"Shelly, move!" Missy bounded into the living room, pompoms flouncing behind her. "I want to watch TV before I have to go to cheering."

 

"Excuse me, I was in here first. I will not move." He closed his notebook and stared at his sister, hands in fists in his lap. "You are going to the game; you have to leave in five minutes. Why should I leave when I'm already here? You're actually leaving!" He gestured to the various books he'd scattered around himself. "I'm working!"

 

"Oh Shelly. Trying to make a telereporter again?" She laughed and threw her pompoms at him. "Mom said we're not leaving for ten minutes. I get to watch television until we leave."

 

"It's 'teleporter' and Mom said I could work in here while you're gone!" Sheldon whined standing and dumping the plastic cheerleading monstrosities on the floor as he did. Missy stuck her tongue out at him and sat on the floor in front of the television, switching the channel manually rather than look for the remote under all of Sheldon's stuff.  "Mom!"

 

"She's out trying to get the car started. Dad didn't get the battery changed again," Missy mumbled as she flipped through the channels.

 

"Why is it that you always get what you want?" Sheldon asked, gathering his books. He couldn't work if she was going to watch television in here.

 

"Because I don't blow things up. And I want normal things!"

 

"That was once!" Sheldon let the air deflate from his lungs. "And if it's not normal to want to provide the world with, clean, renewable energy by dismantling a microwave to use its parts, then I don't know what is."

 

"No, you don't!" She yelled over her shoulder as she switched channels. He hung in the doorway, leaning against the jamb, trying to figure out what he should do. Missy stopped flipping the channels, huffing when she didn't find what she wanted. She stopped on "The People's Court,"   looking back at her twin. She knew he was still there, and she knew that he hated this show for it's tendency to glorify imbeciles and frivolous lawsuits. "I think I'll watch this."

 

"You dislike that show as much as I do." He narrowed his eyes at her, pouting, but unwilling to leave the room.

 

"I don't like you more than I don't like The People's Court!" She grabbed her pompoms and ruffled them at him, just to annoy him more.

 

He leaned into the doorway, thinking about what the next best course of action would be. His father was at work and would be of no help. His mother would be in a bad mood now that the car wasn't working again. He could try to get her to referee their disagreement, but past instances told him she wouldn't be of any help, either.

 

Your honor, he signed this contract stating that he would complete the work on the house by the end of the month.

 

Let me see a copy of that. Is this true?

 

She didn't hold up her end of the agreement, your honor. She broke the contract; therefore I didn't have to complete the work.

 

Sheldon's ears perked up. By the time he was really paying attention the people on the television had started arguing about emotional distress, but the seed had been planted in his head. "Enjoy your television," he said, turning away and nearly running for his room.

 

"Weirdo," Missy whispered as she changed the channel. If he wasn't going to suffer, nether was she.

 

Two days later, Sheldon presented his mother with three neatly handwritten pages as she was starting to make dinner.

 

"What's this?" She asked, putting her recipe book down on the kitchen table and taking the papers from him.

 

"A contract." He said proudly, his hands behind his back as he rocked on the balls of his feet.

 

"Well, I see that, Sweetie. Why?" She flipped through the pages.

 

"Because Missy doesn't keep her word. She is always interrupting my work, taking over communal spaces after I've claimed them, belittling what I do-"

 

"Well, that's because she's jealous, Sweetie," His mother replied automatically.

 

"She shows her jealousy by breaking my Popsicle Stick scale model of the Enterprise?" He stamped his foot. "That's beside the point! I want written evidence that she knows what she is and is not allowed to do, and that there will be consequences if she doesn't abide."

 

"Now Sheldon, isn't that a bit much? It's also not very Christian of you, not trusting your own sister." His mother stood, pointing at him with the papers. "Where did you get all of this about contracts, anyway?"

 

"Missy was trying to irritate me with The People's Court. I heard the term on there and researched extensively in several different sources, including three different encyclopedias." He smiled a bit, waiting for the praise she usually gave him about his initiative to learn on his own. It never came.

 

"Sheldon, this is frivolous and unnecessary. I will not sign it and neither will your sister. You need to have more faith in people." She handed it back to him and turned back to the counter to get ready for dinner.

 

"What if I could prove she's not keeping her word?" Sheldon asked, upset and confused.

 

"Sheldon…I don't want to hear anymore of this nonsense!" She started chopping an onion, dismissing him.

 

*~*~*

 

"Wait, so what happened?" Penny asked, clutching a pillow in her lap as she faced him on her couch.

 

Sheldon shrugged. "Well, I left, upset that my Mother didn't seem to think that Missy not keeping her word was important. I then engaged in a bit of deceit."

 

"What?"

 

"Well, without my mother's signature as someone over the legal age of consent in Texas, the contract would be null and void. However," Sheldon smirked and leaned in closer to Penny, "Missy didn't know that."

 

"You didn't?" Penny asked, her eyes wide with mischief.

 

"I did!" He announced, as proud of himself now as he was back then. "I drew up a new contract, using much simpler words for her benefit, which stipulated for each infraction of hers, I would cause havoc of equal or grater value in her world." Sheldon inched towards her conspiratorially. "She abided by the contract for nearly six blissful years before I slipped in front of my mother and mentioned it. One of my main arguments that got her to sign was that Mom knew about it and would help me enforce it." His smile drooped. "Once the proverbial cat was out of the bag she redoubled her efforts to make my life more difficult, but by then I was well on my way to my doctorate, so we didn't travel in the same social circles."

 

"So you just started using them all the time?" Penny asked, loving that she knew something new about Sheldon.

 

"Not at first. Since I had used deceit as my main tactic the first time around I didn't realize how effective they could be. It was when I was a little older and had to sign my own contracts when I entered boarding school regarding the consequences for poor conduct that I realized how useful they could be. I slowly integrated them into my working life, and then into my personal life."

 

"And they work?" Penny was curious now as to who would actually sign contracts on a regular basis.

 

"Oh yes! They work wonderfully. Like I said before, there's some sort of effect from signing a contract that makes people behave more in line with what they've discussed. I postulate that it's the written list of provisions and consequences instead of simply having them implied, but I have not yet come up with a solid method with which to test my hypothesis."

 

"Have you ever had someone break a contract?" Penny asked, biting her lip a bit, looking over at the papers on her table.

 

"I've occasionally had to hand out a strike or two, but most people will reassess their intentions once I mention the fact that they're in violation of a legal, binding contract." Sheldon smiled proudly.

 

Penny picked up the papers and quietly read them as Sheldon sat next to her, barely moving as she read all four pages. "Pen please?" She looked up, holding out her hand expectantly. She started writing at the bottom of the last page, and he leaned in to read over her shoulder. She stopped, her head tilted down towards the papers but with her eyes focused completely on him until he leaned back, then continued. She signed in the places he'd indicated, and initialed in the rest of the appropriate areas before holding the packet and pen out to him. "Now you."

 

Sheldon scrunched up his face, "I don't know if I can sign it now that you've altered it." He flipped through to the last page and read out loud, "'The undersigned will not reveal any or part of what has been said in this room today unless she is threatened with bodily harm.' Aw, Penny, that was a very nice, appropriate addition to the contract." Sheldon smirked, looking pleased that she had actually participated in the exchange instead of just indulging him in it.

 

"You know that this is going to be a thing now, even if I have to sign a thousand contracts." Penny shrugged slyly at Sheldon. She almost leaned in to nudge him, but thought better of it at the last second.

 

"What will be a thing?" Sheldon asked as he signed, making the contract binding.

 

"I've gotten a peek… I'm going to want to know more." Penny stood and walked around the couch, leaning over his shoulder. "You're not getting off that easy, Moonpie."

 

Sheldon's jaw tightened and ticked, his eye twitched, and he stood stiffly. "Be prepared for more binding agreements in the future, then, Madam." He walked to the door, opened it, then turned back. "And may I remind you about clause at the bottom of page two!"

 

Sheldon left quickly, not quite slamming the door after himself. Penny smiled at the door; she'd initial her butt off if it meant learning a little bit more about that man.

 

*~*~*

 

Two days later, as per Sheldon's calculations and requests, apartments Four A and B had their windows and doors open, creating a cross breeze on the first nice spring day to air out the musty feel of winter. Leonard reached the landing to the fourth floor, only to hear Penny's mumbling spill out of her apartment. He quietly walked over, not wanting to interrupt her if she was on the phone.

 

He found her sitting cross-legged on her couch, typing furiously on her laptop, the words she was typing spilling quietly from her mouth. "…wherein the party of the first part… Wait- was that the party of the first part or the second part? No. It was the first part. …the party of the first part will not reveal, infer or… or… oh, hell, who talks like this anyway?" She sighed, swiped at her bangs, and returned to typing. "Stupid contracts. I wonder what he'd do if I wrote it in crayon."

 

Penny laughed, and Leonard backed away from her apartment slowly. 'Oh dear,' he thought, 'it's spreading.'

Hi everyone! I'm Posting my first ever S/P fic here. It's also posted at my ff.net account here

I'm not exactly sure about how to do this- so here's my first try. Let me know if there's any protocol here that I missed. I hope everyone enjoys it! I love constructive criticism- so please leave any and all comments!

<3 TriplePirouette

*~*~*

Title: My Dearest Moonpie

By: TriplePirouette

Category: UST, Post-Ep

Rating: PG

Disclaimer: They're not mine- I'm a poor and having fun... take pity...

Distribution: my site, ff.net, anywhere else please ask first :)

Summary: Penny reads Sheldon's letters. Post-ep for "The Terminator DeCoupling"

Author's notes: My first Penny/Sheldon fic. I was converted to a BBT fan in December, and started shipping maybe 2 weeks ago. If I'm missing info, just point me toward the episode that I missed! I'm just getting into their "voices" so I hope this isn't too OOC... Thank you to gladdecease for the fabulous beta!

Feedback PLEASE at: TriplePirouettePhile@hotmail.com I love anything constructive! Blatant flames, however, will be disregarded and used to roast s'mores....

Disclaimer: All recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The plot is all mine. No copyright infringement is intended.

*~*~*

Penny knew it was wrong. It was as wrong as using all the washers during his regular time to do laundry or calling his mother on him. She was invading not only his space but his privacy as well. If he ever had an inclination that she did more than skim them, she'd be banished with three strikes. No questions, no reprieve. She was sure she'd no longer be his friend, despite rating above Raj.  

Yet, that still wasn't enough to stop Penny from sitting on Sheldon's bed and reading every letter from his grandmother that he'd hidden in that nondescript box.

It started out as fascination, really. Even his closest friends thought of him as more robot than man, yet here was very tangible proof that he not only had emotions, but still tapped into them. A robot would not keep letters so lovingly. She would have expected that maybe he'd scan them into his computer and keep them on file to save space and time. Knowing Sheldon, he probably had scanned them, but he'd also kept the hard copies. These letters were kept flat and clean and were still so crisp and clear that she could read every single letter in the flowery handwritten script as if they'd been written yesterday.

It wasn't easy to pass up a chance to get to know him better, to really understand what made him tick, what made him who he was.

She sat on his bed, cross-legged and bare footed, letter in hand, and could only imagine what he would say to her. (No one's allowed in my room, Penny. Please take your feet off my bed, Penny. Do you know how much bacteria build up on the bottom of your feet in a normal day, Penny? My bed is a sacred area for rest, Penny. Those letters are private, Penny.) It didn't stop her from reading.

My Dearest Moonpie,

I am so sorry to hear that your classmates are not behaving better towards you. Unfortunately I'm going to take your mother's side on this one: you are not allowed to bring death rays to school. Not only is murder a sin, Sheldon, but it's not polite, either. Continue to be kind to them and turn the other cheek and they'll soon see how wonderful you are.

Penny put the letter down after skimming the rest of it- only bridge clubs and questions about what he'd like for Christmas. None of the letters were dated, though some pages looked older than others. She lifted the next. Knowing Sheldon they'd be in chronological order.

My Little Moonpie,

I'm so happy to hear that you helped your sister with her science project, even though you didn't want to. You know that I've always told you that you need to share your gift with the world- and that starts with your own sister. Despite the fact that it was "only a model of a volcano" and she wouldn't let you "crate a real blast of molten magma", I know that she appreciated it. And you helped her win first place! She has always looked up to you Sheldon, remember that.

This one was shorter and spoke about another week in the life of Sheldon's Mema. Penny wondered if it was his mother's or father's mother, but didn't dwell as she moved on to the next letter. Even though she knew he was on the train, Penny couldn't help but feel like he would walk through that door any moment armed with strikes. She started shifting through the pages. Thank you's for gifts sent for birthdays and Christmases, questions about how school was going and what he was doing with his friends over the summer.

Penny tried to concoct his replies in her head, but couldn't picture a young Sheldon. Every time she tried to picture him she'd simply see a tinier version of the man she knew, the same scientific jargon flying out of his mouth at a fantastic rate. She couldn't picture him playing with his action figures like her cousin's kid- he'd probably had shelves lined up with toys in their original packaging. She couldn't see him chasing his sister around with worms like her friend Johnny had done to her when she was 7- Sheldon would have dissected them instead. And no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't picture him crying with a scraped knee after falling off of a bike. He seemed like he would have always been too careful to hurt himself.

She flipped through the pages, looking for anything to catch her eye, but saw little more than the words of a doting grandmother. At the bottom of the box was a page that looked more fragile than the others, like it had been read over and over. Instead of taking it out, she lifted the rest of the pages away and held the box up, reluctant to touch it.

Sheldon-

I never thought I'd live to see the day one of my grandchildren graduated college. Your grandfather would have been so proud. He was smart, smarter than me and your Mother-

Well, that answered that question.

-but not nearly as smart as you are. Your Mother likes to say that your genius is a gift from God, and while I know it to be true, I also know that your own hard work has taken you farther than you could have ever imagined. You could have hung back, skipped a grade or two, and breezed through. Oh no, not my Moonpie. You worked hard, pushed forward, and now you've graduated college. And you're determined to become a Doctor. Oh, I know, you're going to say "Mema, not that kind of doctor." Well, I know that, but you'll still be the first PhD on either side of your family. That is an accomplishment that no one can take away from you.

Penny had met Sheldon's mother. She seemed like a simple woman who loved her son, and while she understood how to manipulate him, she didn't quite seem to understand what made him tick, either. Mema did. Penny smiled at the letter. No wonder it looked so worn. She bet Sheldon read it often; she would have if she had something like this. She pulled the box a little closer as she read.

You've sure had your problems. People will always be jealous of how smart and handsome you are, of how easily you grasp things that others can't fathom. People won't understand your need for order. I know you get that from me- but a tidy house is a happy house. People will be threatened by what you can do with numbers and theories. People will be jealous of all that you've achieved so quickly and easily. People will never, never see how amazing that brain of yours is quite like I do, dear. That is their loss.

Be yourself. Be amazing. Be smart. Never apologize for being who you are supposed to be. And enjoy it.  I know I do.

You will always be my nummy, nummy Moonpie, no matter how many doctorates you hold or how old you are.

All my love,

Mema

Penny could barely hold back the tears that had formed in her eyes. It was touching, emotional, and unlike what she'd ever imagined for Sheldon. She carefully and quickly put all of the pages in the box back in their order, reverently placed the lid back on, and gently placed the box back on the shelf. Penny stared at it for a moment, feeling intensely guilty.

For all the things she couldn't imagine for Sheldon, she could clearly see him as a sad, misunderstood boy who was made fun of and beat up a lot, who had tricks played on him by older boys and who was laughed at by girls. She could see him studying harder and harder in his room, determined to fall back on the only thing that made sense to him, forsaking people for science. She could see his mother banging on his door (bang bang bang Sheldon bang bang bang Sheldon bang bang bang Sheldon The principal said you threatened to blow up the chemistry lab with dry ice today. No, Mommy- I simply said it was a distinct possibility for it to happen given the chemicals the teacher had on display) and correcting his behavior and forcing him to do things he didn't want to do just to get through life.

And she could clearly imagine a grey haired Granny, maybe with a cane, who couldn't get around that much anymore, but who always had milk and cookies ready when her grandson came to visit her. Maybe she lived far away... it made the letters make more sense. Maybe he didn't see her that often. Maybe, she thought very sadly, there hadn't been another letter in that box because she hadn't lived long enough to see him get his doctorate.

Penny knew she was making things up, filling in the gaps with her imagination, but she couldn't help it. As she turned to leave, her foot crunched on a piece of wood that lay on the floor; the remnants of his Japanese puzzle box. All of a sudden she felt like a horrible bully.

'People won't understand you,' came the thought. She didn't think that was a line explicitly from the letter, but it was the gist of it. She didn't understand him and neither did his friends. If they did, maybe they wouldn't be so quick to call him crazy (or wackadoodle, she reminded herself) and criticize his quirks. They all had quirks, just not as many or as specific. She picked up the broken wood up off the floor, sweeping all of the splinters into her hand as she stood.

She enjoyed fighting with him, no doubt. There was something about pushing him, challenging him, and Sheldon pushing back, that felt right between them. Holding the broken box and key in her hand, though, she vowed to stop going so far.

*~*~*

Sheldon stopped short after opening the door to his room, startled to see a brown shopping bag sitting in the middle of his bed. He surely had not left it there. He stood still, pondering what to do. He wanted to unpack, re-scan his clothes into their inventory and take a shower. Reason said he should investigate the bag, though he would like nothing more than to pretend it wasn't there.

Because that meant that either Penny had left it there when she'd been in his room to retrieve his flash drive, or she'd entered his room a second time without permission. Neither option was one he liked. He sighed, putting his luggage by his door and moved forward to the brown bag. He examined it throughly before reaching in to remove the note from the top of the bag, the key to his desk drawer taped securely to the bottom of the paper.  

Sheldon,

I think I broke your puzzle box when I was getting your key the other day. I replaced that box, and bought you another one because they seem interesting, and this way I won't know where you're hiding your key this time (If you choose to hide it in one of these at all). I hope you like them.

Also, I'm sorry I read your Grandmother's letters. It was very rude of me. I hope you can accept my little token of apology.

I can't wait to hear all about the conference on Thai night.

Penny

Sheldon put the paper down, puzzled. He wondered how she could have broken the box in a way that he wouldn't have been able to fix, but appreciated her gesture all the same. He reached in, pulling out two small white boxes. He opened them, finding a puzzle box similar to the one he'd had, and another that was shaped like a ball. He smiled. They would be a fun challenge this evening after he unpacked. It really was thoughtful of her.

He pulled the last thing out of the bag: a soft circle wrapped tightly in a plastic shopping bag from the store on the corner. He unwrapped it and raised an eyebrow, unsure if he should laugh or be insulted. He decided to take the gift in the vein it was meant, and laughed.

He placed the individually wrapped Moonpie on his dresser. He would have that for dessert tonight.

So I just started here, and there's going to be a big learning curve for me.. I'm not usually into these journals or things.

Let's see if anyone's reading? (Who would be? I don't know...) Where does one get all these awesome icons... I see people posting a bunch- but they ask for credit.. well, where does one credit an icon they've taken? I don't want to steal anyone's work. and how does one build those awesome custom mood thinggys??

This is going to take me a while, I can feel it.

 I'm new here, but you might know me from my fiction previously. Apparently, someone's already taken the name "Triple Pirouette" here, so I've decided to short hand it a bit. 

I hope to jump right in.. any and all help in getting started is appreciated!