A/N - I don't particularly do fluffy stories much, but I just couldn't help it-the last episode gave me a lot of feelings! So thanks for reading, and feedback is always appreciated!

Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, 2016

"Hold on a minute, Penny. Are you really informing me right now that we are to share this disgusting bed in this inadequate hotel room? There could be bed bugs in that mattress! And when was the last time these pillow cases were washed?" Sheldon had a look of sheer panic on his face, and Penny couldn't help but laugh. Her new boyfriend was so high-maintenance. But luckily she came prepared.

"Sweetie, relax," Penny said, patting his arm. "First of all, I brought your comforter from your bedroom. Not the one that was on your bed, your back-up comforter. And your sheets and blankets and pillows. They're in the trunk. Second, I called the hotel this morning and informed them that I was extremely allergic to dust and to please go back and make sure everything in this room was as clean as it can get. I, of course, offered them a sizable tip for this service."

Sheldon looked less terrified, but still hesitant. So she brought out the big guns to distract him from the cleanliness of the room.

"See that big bag on the bed?" Penny asked him.

"Yes, of course I see it, Penny, I'm not blind."

"In that bag is every Gary Con 2016 shirt they had for sale on the convention floor, size medium, ready for you to layer over your finest thermals. Just like I promised."

Sheldon was actually grinning now. Making Sheldon happy was one of Penny's favorite things, mostly because it wasn't very easy, and she felt such a feeling of accomplishment when she could make it happen.

"Penny, I must admit, you have outdone yourself. I didn't know what to expect when you invited me on this excursion, but it's shaping up to be a fine convention. Provided, of course, you brought enough hand sanitizer."

"Oh, damn, I knew I forgot something!" Penny exclaimed. Sheldon frowned, until Penny dug through her luggage to find an industrial-sized bottle of hand sanitizer. "I wouldn't forget this, Sheldon. I know how important it is to you."

"Thank you, Penny. That means a lot to me," Sheldon said. "Now let me show you in a way that will mean a lot to you."

Before Penny knew it, his soft, lovely lips found hers. Kissing did not come naturally to Sheldon, but he caught on fast. They hadn't been together very long, and he was still learning how to please her. It didn't take much; Penny knew it wasn't easy for him, and they took the whole intimacy thing extremely slow.

"I can't believe it's been a year since we did that experiment," Penny said. "It seems like a lifetime ago."

"It seems like a normal calender year to me, but, yes, I do suppose a lot has happened since then. I must say that while the events that led to this convention were sometimes uncomfortable for the both of us, I think I'm happy about these new developments," Sheldon said. Penny smiled. God, he was so damn adorable.

"Me too, sweetie. Very happy. Now, look, the Escape From The Dwarf Lord's Tomb starts in ten minutes, so we better head downstairs."

"Oh, goodie, I thought all those seats were taken!" Sheldon said happily.

"I wouldn't want to go to Gary Con without going to Escape From The Dwarf Lord's Tomb," Penny said. "I mean, what would the point of that be?"

"Sarcasm?"

"You bet," Penny said. "Now come on, we want to get a good seat."

Penny tried her best to keep up with...whatever the hell was going on at this thing, but she found herself thinking about the events that led them to Wisconsin. A few weeks after the experiment, Penny got some bad news from home. Her mother had gotten into a car accident and was in the hospital. She was going to be fine, but Penny collapsed in tears when she got the phone call from her father. Leonard tried to comfort her; he said all the right things and everything, but nothing he did could console her. What finally made Penny calm down was when Sheldon came over with the requisite cup of tea, and said, "Penny, I don't know if this will be of any comfort to you, but I'm very sorry this happened. I hope your mother will be okay."

And it was those few words and the simple act of making her tea that made Penny have an epiphany right then and there. She was totally butt crazy in love with Sheldon Cooper. And definitely not in a sisterly way.

In the weeks following her realization, Penny spent a lot of time thinking when it must have happened, and determined that it started from the very first moment they met. Sure, Leonard was the one who made the biggest impression that day, but it was Sheldon and his quiet, broody Beautiful Mind genius guy vibe that so intrigued Penny. It was when she saw him in his black suit and realized for the first time that he was actually handsome underneath all those ridiculous superhero shirts. It was when he took her to the hospital when she fell in the shower, and then sang Soft Kitty in a round while she was still loopy from the medication. It was when he assured her they were both dreamers, and when he complimented her sincerely on her acting skills. Penny had been falling in love with Sheldon Cooper for eight years, and now she couldn't deny it any longer.

The only problem? Oh, yeah-she was engaged to Leonard, and Sheldon was in an ever-increasingly serious relationship with Amy Farrah Fowler. How those relationships ended is a story for another time, and it doesn't matter who ended what. The only thing that mattered now was when Penny invited Sheldon over for a dinner of spaghetti and hot dogs and told him about her feelings.

"Sheldon? Do you understand what I'm saying?" Penny said that fateful summer night.

"Of course I understand, Penny, I'm a genius, I understand most things."

Penny sighed. This was going to be harder than she thought.

"Yes, Sheldon, I know. That's one of the things I love about you," Penny said. "But what do you think? Have you ever...felt that way about me?"

Sheldon took a bite of spaghetti and drank some milk, looking pensive and thoughtful. Just when Penny almost couldn't take another second of silence, Sheldon said, "Well, ever since my relationship agreement with Amy was terminated, I have been looking at our friendship in a different light. Maybe it was that experiment we participated in that made me realize I trust you more than I trust almost anyone else I know-other than Meemaw and my mother, of course. So in answer to your question, Penny, yes, I have felt that way about you."

Penny was in shock. Was this really happening? It wasn't like Sheldon to be so...hippy-like. Maybe what they originally thought was a harmless experiment really did change everything. She decided to go with it.

"Really? When have you felt that way about me, Moonpie?"

"Hmm. Well, when I saw you in that play, I felt a strange fondness for you that I wasn't very familiar with, and the times that you've cut my hair, I've always found strangely...exciting. I like to play Halo with you; you're even better at it than I am. And when you gave me the Leonard Nimoy-RIP-napkin so many years ago, it really showed me that you understood me more than most people, which was disconcerting but also nice. Are those examples sufficient or do you want me to continue? Also, you know only Meemaw can call me Moonpie."

Penny couldn't stop smiling. It appeared as though they were on the same page, and maybe they could really do it. Maybe it could actually work between them.

After dinner, Penny and Sheldon sat on her couch, and she held his warm hand in hers. They talked for hours about what a relationship between the two of them would entail, and how they'd break the news to Amy and Leonard. And before Sheldon left since it was way past his bedtime, he leaned in and kissed Penny very softly. "I've been wanting to do that for a long time," he said, and then he left. And Penny knew this was going to be a very interesting journey for the two of them, but it would ultimately be worth it.

After a full day of as much nerdery as Penny could stand, they wearily went back to the hotel room, where Penny put on all the sheets and Sheldon's comforter on the bed before he'd agree to even sit down on it. They never shared a bed before-Penny wasn't sure if Sheldon ever shared a bed with anyone. But after they both got into their pajamas and brushed their teeth, Sheldon surprised Penny. This was definitely a relationship full of surprises. He kissed her gently, and then a little bit more, and more, until they reached the point where more than kissing would have been the only next step. Penny knew that was still a long time away, but she also knew he was dying of curiosity. Things would happen when they were meant to happen, and Penny was learning to go with the flow.

"Penny, I know I haven't said this much, but I love you. And it's not because you bought me the t-shirts. Well, not just because you bought the t-shirts."

"I know, sweetie," Penny said. "I love you, too. Now let's get some sleep."

Little did they know what results the love experiment would bring Penny and Sheldon. But as they both discovered, their love was like a puzzle—they fell in love in pieces over the years, and the experiment was the only piece left. After that, it was up to them to figure out what they'd been missing. Now, they were each other's favorite game, and it was like Monopoly—it could go on forever.