The Status Quo Combustion Pt. 02

This is a continuation of the story and would make little sense without reading the other part first.

A special thanks to RF-Fast for helping to proofread and ensuring the story is in good shape.

Big Bang theory - 'The Status Quo Combustion Alternative' Part 02

Chapter 1

Scene: Penny's apartment. She entered from the hall and put her bags down.

She was wearing the same outfit from when she'd left Stuart. Her knees were still smudged from where she'd knelt on the dirty floor, and washing in the hand basin hadn't worked satisfactorily.

The scene cut to the bathroom, with a bath overflowing with bubbles. Penny appeared in frame, and she slipped off her shirt and shorts, reminding us that she'd not bothered to put panties back on when she re-dressed at Stuart's

Slipping into the bath with a satisfied sigh, the scene faded to black and then back in, to signify the passage of time. The bath was still full of bubbles, but no Penny, until she emerged from under them and wiped them off her face.

Standing, the bubbles slip off her body, revealing her wet and naked body. As she expertly wraps a towel into a turban around her wet hair, then dried herself with another towel.

Cutting to her bedroom, she emerged from the bathroom, naked but for a towel around her hair. Penny slipped into bed and turned off the light.

The scene faded in, revealing her living room, the light in the window showing its morning, and Penny appeared from her bedroom to make herself her breakfast of grapefruit.

She was humming as she cuts it open, remarkably well rested and happy, considering she was having to cover the early shift on a Saturday morning at the Cheesecake factory. Normally, she was tired and groggy, but she'd not drunk anything last night.

Suddenly she realised, as she started early, she finished early. Grabbing her phone, she texted Leonard to ask what time he'll be home and what time he has to return tonight.

Cut to her bedroom, and she's pulling on her yellow Cheesecake factory sweater, one she'd always thought pulled your attention to her boobs. Her phone buzzed, and she checked it briefly.

It was a text reply from Leonard, saying because the university was almost empty on the weekends, he planned on working around the clock. Only napping when he had to, in order to get his experiments over quickly.

Annoyance flooded Penny, and she hurled her phone down onto the bed. It bounced off, but because of her habit of not picking up after herself, it landed undamaged on a pile of dirty laundry.

What was it with Leonard? He knew last night she wanted to see him. In her impatient mind, a few hours now were worth far more than longer later. In a huff, she turned off her phone and headed to work.

Chapter 2

Scene: The Cheesecake factory, a montage of Penny making mistakes on orders and spilling food on customers. She picked up her tips with a scowl as her customers short changed her, as her annoyance at Leonard transferred to her service.

Luckily today was payday, so as Penny left the restaurant, she decided a little retail therapy was called for. Tormenting herself with some expensive shoes she couldn't afford and even if she could, she wouldn't wear them.

Then her phone buzzed, and she checked it, hoping it's Leonard, and he'd changed his mind. Instead, it's the calendar alarm he'd set up to remind her to pay her credit card bill. That would not make Penny feel any better about him, even if he was right.

As she walked to her car, she remembered she'd agreed to pose for more drawings for Stuart. Then a grin crossed her face as she remembered the theme she'd suggested. Damsel in distress, with torn and dishevelled clothing.

It would be exciting, and at the moment she desperately needed some excitement, to make up for her boyfriend abandoning her all weekend. A plan formed in her mind, and she dialled a number on her phone.

Scene: split screen between Penny in her car and Stuart in his store.

"Hey Penny, what's up? Everything OK, after..." He trailed off.

"Yeah, we're still good, sweetie. I was just calling to see if you still wanted to draw some of the poses we talked about last night?"

"Of course!"

"Could you do your drawings from photographs?"

"I suppose." He replied, confused, and the expected disappointment was obvious in his tone.

She could imagine him trying to sound happy as she presented him photos from the internet.

"Don't worry, you'll be the one taking the photographs of me. I just thought we could do more poses if I don't have to pose for an hour each. You can take as many photos as you want, and then you can choose the ones you like and take as long as you need to draw them. How about tonight?"

"Sure, I certainly have nothing else to do." Realising that sounded a little dismissive considering what Penny was doing for him, he added. "What I mean is that I'd be delighted to have the chance for you to pose for me again. I finished the drawing we started last night."

"Really?"

"Yeah, for some reason, I couldn't sleep until I finished it. I'll show you later."

"I'm just going to get some props and I'll see you in three or four hours, ok?"

"Penny, about last night..." Stuart replied.

"Hey, don't sweat it, Stuart. It was just sex, ok it was pretty good sex, but it's not that big a thing. I do not know why some guys get so hung up about it. It's fun and has many beneficial side effects. It's excellent exercise and boosts your immune system, plus it helps your mental health. I'm sure you were pretty depressed when I arrived yesterday?" she added.

"Of course, the fire ruined my whole life!"

"And, after last night, I figure you're feeling better about things?"

"Well, yeah, of course..."

"See, it works!" Of course, Stuart thought, it wasn't only the sex that cheered him up. Penny's plan to help him reopen his store by posing for raunchy drawings was also a big help.

"We should try to forget it and move on." She added.

"You underestimate me Penny, I'll never forget."

"Fine, we treat it as a treasured memory. We never talk about it, and it is never to be repeated." Stuart hesitated before agreeing.

Chapter 3

Montage of Penny shopping. We see her in a hardware store buying rope, with an embarrassed 18-year-old guy standing next to her. Then buying cheap navy blue underwear in bulk, then in a thrift store sorting through clothing.

Then we see Penny dumping her purchases on her bed and holding up a finger as if she'd just remembered something. She returned with scissors in one hand and a glass of wine in the other. As Penny started to 'distress' the clothing, the scene faded to black.

It fades back into Penny's bathroom, a close up shot over her shoulder of her head and shoulders in the bathroom mirror.

Her hair was pulled tight into a bun on top of her head, and she was finishing her rather severe makeup. Her blouse was frumpy, buttoned up to the neck. Once she added the wing framed glasses, she pulled a stern expression. It looked like a strict old-fashioned teacher or stern librarian.

Then Penny pulled the glasses part way down her nose and gave a sexy wink to herself in the mirror. She still had it, frumpy to sexy in a second, no matter what she wore.

The camera pulls back to reveal the changes she'd made to her outfits. Dishevelled hardly described it.

The sleeves of the blouse had been torn off, the right-hand side torn, exposing the bottom of her ribs. The left is no better. It's cut into tatters, exposing her bra through the gaps. The bra is also torn, the material of the cup torn from the straps, causing her breast to teeter on the edge of hanging out.

Penny moved, and a look of discomfort crossed her face. She reached to adjust her bra. There was a slight tearing sound, and she winced. Suddenly we realise she used double-sided tape to secure the torn bra in place.

The camera pulled back more. To show her skirt had also been 'distressed'. It was hanging loose off her left hip, and the right side was torn away just below the waistband. Her plain navy-blue panties were torn like her bra and part of her backside was exposed.

Penny picked up her phone, stepped back from the bathroom counter, and took a full-length selfie. Then brought it up to check it.

The camera cut to a close up as she zoomed in on the picture to check how much she was showing. A slightly grainy image of her panties filled the screen. The cheap underwear wasn't lined, and the thin material revealed the outline of her vulva and her slit through it.

"Perfect!" she declared, and then jumped as her phone rang. Turning her back to the bathroom counter, she leant on it as she answered.

"Hey Leonard." The scene showed a split screen between her in the bathroom and Leonard standing just outside his lab.

"Hey Penny, I really want to apologise for earlier. I should have thought it through."

"Yes, you should have."

"I just thought if I got the experiments finished earlier, we could get to spend more time together. I entirely forgot you were finishing early today."

"So, can you get out of it?" Penny asked.

"Sorry..." He glanced over his shoulder, and we see a soldier in uniform standing at parade rest in the lab's corner. "The department of defence sent an observer to make sure my experiments were legitimate." He whispered into the phone.

"It's a little intimidating, really."

"Don't forget, you owe me for this," Penny replied.

"I know. I'd better get back to work."

"Hang on a second. Do you have a laptop I can borrow?"

"Sure, my old one is under my bed. Why? Did you spill something on yours again?"

"No, I wanted to lend one to Stuart. I know it's silly to ask, but do you guys have a projector?"

"Yeah, why?"

"I had an idea to help Stuart get back on his feet quicker. Where is it?"

"The cupboard behind where Sheldon normally sits. What's the idea?"

"If we manage to pull it off, I'll tell you about it. So can I borrow both?"

"Of course. Love you."

"Love you too, see you, sweetie."

Scene: Penny's bedroom, on the bed, her new outfits. Each is very similar to the last, except whilst the first is intact, but the second and third have an increasing amount of damage. The outfit Penny was wearing, as she appeared, was obviously the fourth and most damaged. She grinned at the outfits and gathered them up.

Scene: Stuart's comic book store. This time, the soot on the walls, floor and windows have been cleaned up, but the walls are still discoloured. The windows have also been whitewashed to block the view.

Penny walked in with several large bags of stuff. She was wearing her undamaged frumpy outfit, including the wing frame glasses, and grinned at Stuart's expression of surprise.

"It's part of the costumes I've brought. Here, look at this." She put down the bags and showed Stuart the selfie from earlier.

Stuart's eyebrows shoot up as he sees how sexy she was in her 'post ravagement' outfit.

"Wow, that's incredible Penny. How are we going to do this, because my phone is not really very good for taking pictures?"

"I've got that covered. We take them on my phone..." She pulled out the laptop from a bag. "Then upload them on to this, and then..." She showed the projector in the bag. "You can project them onto a wall using that."

"Brilliant!" Stuart nodded.

"I figure you could trace from the projection."

"That's kinda cheating, isn't it?" He asked.

"Not if it's your own work. Besides, this is not about high art, it's about rapidly earning enough to reopen your shop. If you can finish the drawings quicker, you can sell them quicker. By the way, I expect to get some cut from them, if only to repay me for the props here."

"Sure, what did you bring?"

"A couple of outfits, from what I'm wearing, down to what you saw in the picture. Plus, some rope to tie me up." Stuart's expression was priceless, but he pulled himself together quickly.

"If you want to see last night's drawing, it's on the chair. I'll set up the laptop and projector." He offered.

Penny picked up his sketchpad and flipped it open to see the drawings. The one Stuart had drawn last night was with a simple black pencil. This was in full colour and the image was softer. Checking the original, she saw that he'd dialled down on her sultry look, which seemed to make her more beautiful. She also noticed he'd upped her bust size by at least one cup size. 'Well, I suppose that's just how he sees me,' she mused.

"Want to transfer that selfie as a test?" Stuart asked, pulling Penny's attention away from the drawings. He'd set the projector and laptop on a box.

"OK, but I'll do it. There are some pictures on my phone I'd not want you to see." She regretted saying that, as she quickly got stuck on how she transferred the file. Meaning Stuart had to help.

Moments later, there was a larger-than-life size projection of the picture on the wall. To Penny, it was almost like her first time on a cinema screen. Stuart, however, was entranced and moved to stand closer to the wall, just to one side of the projection. Penny came up alongside, watching Stuart's eyes move over her image.

"Just for the record, I used double-sided tape to make sure my boob didn't fall out. I thought it's best if we keep these drawings erotic rather than pornographic." Stuart nodded, then turned to Penny with a smile.

"I had the same thought myself. A guy can come home to his wife or girlfriend with an erotic image, especially if it's comic book style. Do the same thing with porn..., not so good." He shook his head.

Penny grinned. It was something she had worried about a little. Having that title associated with her work might hurt her acting career, such that it was. Moreover, Leonard would have less chance to object if it was only implied nudity, instead of explicit. Stuart, however, would get to see her naked, but they had already done that and more last night.

She felt a stab of guilt over what they'd done. But not as bad as she'd expected.

She pulled out the ropes from one bag and asked.

"Do you know anything about knots, ropes, or bondage?" Stuart chuckled nervously and shook his head again.

"If we had the internet, we could look it up." She added.

"I happen to know the Wi-Fi password for the dry cleaners next door."

"Did you use some clever geeky techie method to find it?"

"No, just hours and hours of guessing with nothing else to do. Turned out to be the name of the store with a 1 at the end."

Scene: A short montage of the pair sitting cross-legged in front of the laptop watching as image after image flicked up on screen. Looks of surprise and curiosity cross their faces. Sometimes they tilt their heads to the side to understand an image and then expressed their understanding.

Eventually, Penny closed the lid.

"Ok, that's enough of that. How about we grab something to eat?" Stuart nodded resignedly.

"My treat!" She added, and he replied 'ok' with far more enthusiasm.

Scene: the sidewalk outside the store. Stuart was in the background locking up, then he started to walk next to her.

In a few paces, she slipped her arm through his.

"So, what did you think of what we just watched?" She asked.

Stuart hesitated before replying.

"Some of it was surprisingly artistic, but it would take years to learn the knot tying skills for them. Others, frankly, looked painful."

"And!" Penny asked, squeezing his arm.

"And what?" he asked.

"Come off it Stuart, after last night, you're still going to try to play coy?" Stuart blushed and I was several paces before he replied.

"Fine, some of it was exciting. However, given how so many of the women were naked, I'd find it exciting, anyway." He finally answered truthfully. "What about you?"

"I agree. Some were incredibly intricate and beautiful, the details in the knots. How long would you have to be suspended before it was finished? Some others, well, frankly, were a little scary. But I suppose that's kinda the point, right?" He nodded, obviously not entirely sure what she meant, but sidetracked himself by asking.

"And?" Extending the pronunciation. "You insisted I admit the other stuff." He added with more force.

"OK, damn it, I never should have mentioned I liked a guy to take charge last night. It seems like a natural extension from that towards being tied up. It's something I've thought about often and wondered what it would be like."

"You've never tried it?" He asked, a little surprised. From what Stuart knew of Penny, he'd have thought she'd have had the self-confidence to indulge in whatever she wanted.

"No, I've never had a guy I trust enough to try bondage."

"What about Leonard? Surely you trust him?"

"Of course, but..." She paused, looking at the sidewalk silently for a few paces. "I love Leonard. I really do, and I trust him wholeheartedly. He'd do whatever I ask, even if he didn't really want to. And that's part of the problem." Stuart waited for her to continue.

"We have a sort of unwritten agreement that we don't talk about our previous sexual history. Obviously, there is more of that for me than for him. I know there are things I've done, or would like to do, he'd be uncomfortable with."

"Shouldn't he know? You are going to marry him, aren't you?"

"Baby steps Stuart, I'm trying to dial in my wilder side. Sometimes it doesn't always work, like last night. Eventually, we'll reach a happy balance, I hope. So, the tying up thing, for example, what happens if I love it and he only does it because I asked? Or worse, he loves it and I hate it? As I brought it up, I'd feel obligated to keep doing it, anyway."

"Besides, I suspect part of the excitement of it is a tiny doubt about the person tying you up. A hint of danger, which, because I trust Leonard that much, wouldn't be there. That's where you come in."

"Me? What about me?"

"Well, you're going to be tying me up later, and while I trust you, I don't trust you like I do Leonard."

"You're saying I'm not trustworthy?" he asked in mock indignation.

"No, what I'm saying is that with Leonard, if he did anything wrong. He'd know he'd suffer from it for years to come, each time I brought it up. For you, I don't really have that leverage over you. Instead, I'd have to rely on punching you out." Stuart's steps hesitated until she squeezed his arm, smiled and pulled him on.

The pair stop at the entrance to a Chinese restaurant. His manners kicked in and he pulled the door open.

Chapter 3

Scene: Reception of the Chinese restaurant, the waiter (James Hong as usual) asks if they want to eat in or take away.

"Eat in please, and can we get a quiet table?" She took Stuart's arm again, causing a sickly grin on his face.

Scene: A quiet booth at the back of the Chinese restaurant. Penny and Stuart hand their menus to the waiter as he finishes taking their order.

"So, do you have any ideas for later?" Penny asked.

"Yeah, a few..."

"I bet you do!" Penny teased with a grin. Stuart ignored that and continued.

"The computer changes things, though. I'm sure I can get hold of a bit of software that you put your picture into, and it puts a sort of comic book filter over the image. Making you look more like a comic character. I'm thinking we could do a one page comic strip of you, building up to the..."

"Money shot? Sorry, that was a bit more graphic than I meant. But you know what I meant, right?" She said and felt a little embarrassed using the porn term for their art.

"Yeah, we can do a standard storyline with you posing in each frame going from demure to dishevelled."

"What do you mean by a standard storyline?"