While writing a blizzard story for the sci-fi collection, I had two ideas. This was the second one I wrote. Being much longer, I decided to keep it as a one shot. As always, I still don't own The Big Bang Theory. Or the characters.

Penny had always had a soft spot for him. He was her best friend, no matter what anyone else thought. Repeated calling her "Bestie" wasn't going to change that. And right now, her best friend was feeling cornered.

"Good lord, Sheldon! Let it go! There's nothing anyone can do!" Leonard griped.

"Where's a crossbow?" Howard muttered. "I need a crossbow."

"Dude, just drop it," Raj pleaded.

"Sheldon, while I understand you are upset, your continued complaints are childish," Amy complained.

"Sheldon, maybe you should sit down," Bernadette grumbled.

"SHUT UP!"

Everyone jumped an spun to face her. Penny stomped across the lounge and placed herself in front of Sheldon. She looked over her shoulder at the pain, anger and yes, childishness, in his eyes. He flinched back as if expecting her to yell at him too. She smiled reassuringly and he slowly relax. She turned back to face their friends.

"You people need to leave him alone. You're just making things worse," she said stiffly.

Leonard stepped forward and flung a hand in Sheldon's direction. "Us? Come on Penny! He's driving you nuts as well. We're stuck here in a blizzard. We can't get to Stockholm until it clears. And all he can do is whine that he's going to miss the ceremony! He's more concerned with his stupid Nobel than he is about us!"

Sheldon sputtered behind her. "Stupid?!"

Penny's eyes narrowed. "Leonard, he has worked for this all his life. 30 years he has devoted to that moment when he walks across that stage and is acknowledged for the genius he is. Everyone in this room knows how important this is to him. But since it bothers you so much, you don't have to listen to him anymore." Penny reached back and took Sheldon's hand in hers. She practically dragged him toward the door.

Amy hurried to join them and Penny held out a hand. "No one else is invited."

Amy huffed and narrowed her eyes slightly. "I'm his girlfriend, I should comfort him."

Penny bared her teeth. "Then you should have done it in the beginning." Penny looked up at Sheldon, giving him final say.

Timidly he threaded their fingers together. "Let's go, Penny."

They moved quickly through airport terminal, putting as much distance between them and their friends as possible. They neared the bathrooms and paused. Penny leaned against the wall and rubbed her eyes. She looked up at Sheldon who was watching her closely.

"Why did you do that?" he asked softly. "I'm sure that if even Bernadette is frustrated, you must be too."

Penny shook her head. "I am, but not at you."

He frowned down at her. "Why not?" Sheldon had no illusions about himself. He knew how annoying he could be. He just couldn't help it sometimes.

Penny smiled softly. "This is your dream, Sheldon. Winning a Nobel is all you've ever wanted. I understand that. And I am really proud of you for achieving it. This delay has got to be torture for you. So, no, I'm not annoyed with you for being upset or complaining. I'm upset with our friends for once again disregarding what is important to you just for their own convenience."

Sheldon blushed at the unexpected warmth in Penny's eyes.

"Sounds to me like you two could use a nice comfy place to hang out."

They both looked over at the three men standing nearby and froze. The blond in the middle smiled and held out his hand.

"Hi. I'm Chris. This is Jeremy and Tom. We're heading for an executive lounge. We have coffee, tea and these tiny little muffin things. Care to join us?"

Sheldon and Penny looked at each other and smiled widely. They nodded to the guys and Tom held out his arm to Penny. She slipped her right one through his, and her left one through Sheldon's.

Penny sipped her coffee and watched fondly as Sheldon, Tom and Jeremy debated Marvel canon. Her phone buzzed and she glanced at the message from Leonard.

Where are you and Sheldon?

She put it back in her pocket without replying. Chris sat down on the couch beside her. "Your boyfriend must be really smart to win a Nobel," he remarked.

Penny blushed. "Sheldon's not my boyfriend. He's my best friend. And yeah, he's a freakin' genius. He's a theoretical physicist and he's proven string theory."

Chris watched her closely for a moment. "Why isn't he your boyfriend? You obviously love him."

Penny turned scared eyes to him and he shrugged. "You look at him like my wife looks at me. Like I look at her."

Penny snuck a glance at Sheldon and made sure he was still intensely debating. She looked at Chris again and sighed. "Because Sheldon doesn't want me. He doesn't do relationships. He's been dating Amy for over two years and still has to be forced to hold her hand. He'd never look at me as a partner. To him I'm just the flighty college drop out who lives next door."

Penny wrapped her hands around her cup, suddenly colder. "And if he thought for even one second that I wanted more than his friendship, he'd never speak to me again."

Penny and Chris watched the heavy curtain of snow falling outside the window in silence. After a few minutes Chris stood and took her now empty cup. He walked over to join the guys and slowly drew Sheldon away with the promise of hot cocoa.

"So, Penny tells me you're a genius," he said with a smile.

Sheldon glanced at her with a soft smile. "Yes. I'm being awarded a Nobel prize for my work in physics,' he said proudly.

Chris nodded absently. "So, if your so smart, why are you letting a doll like Penny get away?"

Sheldon twitched and looked stunned. After a moment he asked in a low voice, "Is it so obvious?"

Chris shrugged. "A guy in love can recognize another guy in love pretty easily. I love my wife so much it makes my skin itch. You look like you feel the same about her. So why aren't you two together?"

Sheldon drooped slightly. "I asked her out once. But she thought I was just trying to make Amy jealous. And in a way I was, I guess. Amy was my friend and I didn't want to share her attention, but at the same time, I was starting to care about Penny a great deal, so I thought that maybe if she went out with me, she might start to like me too. When she said no, I decided not to ask again."

Sheldon sipped his cocoa and looked over at Chris. "Besides, I'm not exactly her type. Penny is beautiful. She can have almost anyone. She prefers the muscular guys like you, not the awkward scarecrows like me."

Sheldon and Chris walked back over to the guys and joined the conversation. Chris glanced at Penny again, she was dozing lightly. After awhile he had a plan. He pulled Tom from the mix and whispered to him. Tom smiled widely. He liked Sheldon. The guy was a bit intense, but very cool. He nodded and meandered over to the couch. He sat beside Penny and angled his body toward hers. Instantly Chris noticed Sheldon's awareness.

Penny opened her eyes as the couch dipped and she turned to look at her visitor.

"Hello, Penny. Mind if I sit with you?" Tom asked. She shook her head warmly. She had a thing for tall, dark and lean. He may not be Sheldon, but he wasn't bad to look at.

Sheldon watched from the corner of his eye as Penny laughed at yet another thing Tom said. He gritted his teeth as Tom reached up and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. She hates that, he growled to himself. Jeremy laughed and nudged Chris.

"Looks like Tom has made another conquest," he said slyly.

Chris smiled and nodded. "She does seem to be enjoying herself. I think maybe you're wrong, Sheldon. She apparently does like the scarecrow type."

Sheldon glared at his new friends and started to get up to leave but Chris put a hand on his shoulder. "Listen, I sent him over there. I knew you wouldn't believe me if I just told you. Penny cares about you. More than you know. You have a chance at something really special, if you just have the guts to go for it. She's convinced you could never like her. That you would, in her own words, never speak to her again if you knew how she felt."

Sheldon hung his head. "Our friends would hate us. Leonard loves her and Amy loves me."

"Amy, the one who tricked you into giving her a bath, who forced you to kiss her, who knows how you feel, but pushes anyway?" Jeremy asked. "Leonard the guy you said staked a claim the day you met Penny, before he even knew anything about her? The guy who dropped her in a second for the neighbor upstairs, or you sister, then picked her back up when they were gone?"

Chris shook his head. "That's not love. That's lust. That's infatuation. Love is accepting who someone is and caring about them. Love is knowing someone's good and bad qualities and wanting them regardless. Love is about compromise and support. So, ask yourself this. Does she know the good and bad about you? Does she support you anyway? Does she try to change you, or does she adjust herself for you?"

For Sheldon it was as if a door opened up in his mind. He stared out the window at the ebbing blizzard. He thought about how she took care of him when he was sick. How she defended him and stood up for him. She protected his spot from Bernadette. She stood up to Leonard for him. She had stood up to all their friends for him. He felt like a complete fool. All these years he had been so blind. Sheldon stood and marched over to the couch. Tom looked at him and nodded before rising and walking over to join his buddies. He sat down beside Penny feeling nervous but determined.

"Penny, I love you." he blurted out. "And I think you love me, too. Am I correct?"

Penny looked at him in shock. "You love me?"

Sheldon nodded quickly. "Ever since the first time you took care of me when I was sick." He looked at her shyly. "Do you love me? Could you?"

Penny smiled slowly and leaned in close. Sheldon's pulse sped up and he met her halfway. The moment their lips touched the whole world faded away. There was just the two of them. Slowly Penny pulled away, eyes bright with unshed tears.

"I love you, too Sheldon. Ever since our first spaghetti dinner together," she said tenderly. Sheldon sighed with relief and pulled her closer for another kiss. Loud applause broke them apart after a few minutes.

Penny laughed loudly. "I take it I have the three of you to thank?"

Sheldon grinned. "Penny, why are you so surprised? They're super heroes. It's their job to rescue people."

Sheldon was partially right. Leonard and Amy were furious and they went home rather than go on. Howard and Bernadette went home too, but only because Howard had caught a bad flu bug. Raj decided to go on to Stockholm. Especially when Penny and Sheldon's new friends accepted an invitation to go also.

The newspaper clipping was laminated, framed and hung on the wall prominently. In the center was Sheldon and Penny, an arm wrapped around each other as he held his Nobel. On their left stood Raj and Chris, and on the right stood Jeremy and Tom. The caption underneath read "Avengers assemble to celebrate Nobel win with close friends Dr. Sheldon Lee Cooper and his fiancee Penelope Queen."

Beside it on the wall was another picture. This one of Sheldon in his tux and Penny in a beautiful white wedding gown.