Closing Time

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Penny had adopted a ritual. Every day that Theodore worked, she would go visit him, usually toward the end of his shift. It was especially exciting for her during nights where he'd have to close up shop, because that meant that she'd get the left over fries or chicken wings of the day. Who cares if they weren't fresh? They were free. She had other reasons of course for going to see her good friend Theodore.. she had thought of him as much more than a friend for quite some time. She, however, had never told him..because he was just a little older than her, she was an adult and still lived with her parents - and still had a tendency to listen to them, and he...well, he was an artist. And he was perfect in her eyes.

Why would he want to date a girl like Penny, who's only form of art was sketching on paper? He was a painter.. he used colors, and emotions. She just...doodled. Still though, she spent a lot of time with him, and every day that she saw him, the butterflies in her stomach refused to cease with their fluttering. 

Not to mention, he worked with Ruby, and well.. she was kind of intimidating to a plain girl like Penny.

Tonight, was one of the exciting evenings when Theodore worked until closing time. A few minutes before Granny's was about to close, Penny stepped inside, carrying an old backpack that pretty much carried her entire life inside of it. Most women carried purses.. Not Penny. She didn't want to have something that could be carried on her shoulders.. the back was far easier. Not to mention, she was sure that she'd one day be able to afford a motorcycle. It was her dream. Just as she was passing by, she noticed a couple of the dwarves carrying take out coffee cups. "Hey guys," Penny spoke with a grin. The dwarves smiled and grumbled respecitvely as they passed her on their way out. 

She plopped down her backpack and leaned forward against the counter. "Hey handsome." She spoke with a grin. If only he knew that she really really thought that he was the most handsome guy she'd ever met. "How was work?"

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Theodore had gotten used to something, somethings he probably shouldn't have. Every so often when he was working the closing shift at Granny's, Penny would round her head. He assumed she mostly came for the left overs that were free, but Theo had grown accustomed to her company. The two were friends, having bonded over the similar fate of once being rather furry and now walking on two legs. Theodore wasn't really sure when it happened, when he thought of more than just friendship when he thought of Penny. But it had. He was sure she didn't think of him that way. She was a gorgeous person, inside and out and had her share of friends in Storybrooke. Theo thought of himself as a lowly painter, one who wanted to be a real artist but probably never would.

It was sad that he actually had more to offer her as a kitten than he did as a man. But never the less, seeing Penny at the end of his shifts always bright a smile to his face, and tonight was no different. He was cleaning the counter off when he heard the door chime. She was hopping in, saying goodnight to the dwarves as the left.

"You're late. I almost let Grumpy take home the left over lasagna." He joked, but kept a straight face as he placed the tin foil wrapped tray on the counter and handed Penny a fork.

It always caused his cheeks to flush when she called him handsome, something he wondered if she ever noticed. Though he silently prayed she didn't. How embarrassing his thoughts would be if anyone listened to them out loud. A grown man, acting like a small school girl with a crush. "Same ol' same ol'. The ex savior came in and turned a dwarf into a statue. Luckily Regina had turned him back." He shrugged and let out a small sigh. Everything seemed to be all opposite now in Storybrooke, and honestly it didn't bode well for Theo. It gave him a knot in the pit of his stomach that he just couldn't shake. "And how was your day, gorgeous?" He smirked at her, pretending t was just a witty comeback for her calling him handsome. Though, in reality it was nothing of the such.

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She nearly missed the lasagna. She playfully gasped, and clutched her chest. "Theo..that would have broken my heart." She mused teasingly. She gave him a winning smile, and took the fork from him. "Thank you. Why don't you get another fork and join me for dinner?" Even though it was a simple question, it made Penny's stomach feel like it was tying in to knots. She was becoming a little more bold each time she went to visit  him. She recalled the first time she referred to him as  'handsome'. She thought she was going to faint from the blood rushing to her face. The two of them had eaten together before during closing time, but to share a plate? That was taking it to another level. 

Her thoughts were tugged away from her anxiety and swooning when he told her that the former savior turned one of the dwarfs in to stone. Her eyes widened and she suddenly found herself both nervous, and relieved. Relieved that he had been working, and that he was safe. "That's terrible.." she muttered. "I hope he'll be okay. ..I'm glad you're safe." She smiled once more at him. This time it was warmer than usual, instead of being teasing like she normally did.  He made her laugh though..so she wasn't often without at least a little smirk. He certainly knew how to make her feel better.. even in a dire time like this. "I hope this thing with the Dark One gets fixed soon. I'll worry about you too much, every time you're here." She wasn't even thinking about what she was saying..she was far too concerned to play coy. 

Blushing, she tried to shake off her worry for now. He was okay.. that's all that mattered. He called her gorgeous, and that grin was back on her lips. "I got lost in the woods, and caught in a rain storm. Luckily my sniffer led me back home." She poked her own nose with a little giggle. 

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Theo playfully rolled his eyes at Penny as she acted as though the world would have been over had the lasagna been given away. But, he couldn't help but smile. She seemed to always have that affect on him. Forcing him to smile somehow without any effort. He shook his head and waved her silliness off, "Oh hush. I'm sure your little heart would have been just fine without it." He smiled, though gulped right after when she told him to get a fork and join her. It was stupid, and Theo knew that Penny meant it innocently. They were friends, and he had just worked a long shift, she probably assumed her friend was hungry. Of course she would tell him to eat with her. But, for some reason the sheer thought of sharing a plate of food with Penny felt...intimate. That was silly. There he went again having thoughts that were probably completely absurd. But, he did as she asked and grabbed himself a fork and leaned over the counter dipping the end of the utensil in the tray to swipe up a bite of lasagna.

Theodore shrugged, "Everything was fine. I don't think she'll actually hurt anyone. It seemed like an easy enough spell for Regina to take care of." He said thinking back to the afternoon. He smiled at what Penny said next, though he was trying his best not to read too much into it. He could hear Bianca in the back of his mind teasing him right now for how he was acting and what he was thinking. And it caused him to blush a bit, turning his face away from Penny's direct view. But at the same time, Theodore wanted to appear to be fearless and strong. That's how the real men in these fairy tales were, right? Brave...not scaredy cats. "Eh, I'll be fine. Granny is more than enough protection I think. I wouldn't cross that woman." Theo joked and let out a small laugh.

He smiled at her joke about her nose being a sniffer and couldn't' help himself, and leaned forward to nuzzle their noses together. Once he realized what he was doing he quickly pulled back and just stood up and began nervously cleaning behind the counter. He turned around so his back was facing Penny so she would see the sheer horror that had now formed on his face.

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As the two of them shared the lasagna, Penny wondered what Theo was thinking. Sure the two of them talked pretty much every day, but there weren't any deep conversations about their emotions...no matter how many times Penny wanted to tell him how she felt. "I'm sure I would have gotten over it." She smirked and took a bite of the lasagna. She sighed happily and closed her eyes. "Best. Lasagna. Ever." Which.. it really was. Even when it was reheated over and over again. 

Even though Penny was never a huge fan of their Mayor, she was glad that Regina had been there to clean up the messes that the Dark One was making. She liked the dwarfs, and was happy that the one who was cursed didn't stay long in his rocky form. And, of course, she was incredibly thrilled that nothing happened to Theodore. Otherwise, Penny would have probably gotten herself killed from doing something stupid out of revenge. She laughed at his comment about Granny. What made it hilarious was the fact that he was right. "I know I wouldn't want to get on her bad side." She bit her lip, and gingerly poked at the lasagna, while making her next comment. "I'm sure Ruby would have been right there to go all big bad wolf." she muttered, grumbling. She almost hoped he didn't hear her. 

So,  maybe she was a little jealous of Ruby. Who wouldn't be? She was gorgeous, single, and worked closely with Theodore. But she quickly shrugged it off. When she told him about her following her 'sniffer' home, he must have thought that her nose crinkling was cute, because before she knew it, he was suddenly nuzzling her nose with his. She forgot how to breathe for a moment. It felt so right.. but.. did he mean to do that? Was it just to tease her? He moved back, and she stared at him. It felt like it was for an eternity. He was cleaning the counters shyly, and again, before she knew it, she was flying on to the counter, wrapping her arms around him, and pressing her lips against his. 

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Theodore had always been afraid to get in those types of conversations with Penny. One wrong move and he would be confessing his feelings for her. Which would just be utterly embarrassing on his part. Part of him missed the old days. Well...there were two old days. The old old days where he was a kitten and his biggest problem was trying to be a big tough alley cat. And it wasn't like he had any other kittens or whatever to impress. It was just him and his siblings. But then there were also the old days in Storybrooke. Days where Theo didn't remember who he was, hadn't know he was just a cat. Hadn't known really anything about himself. He was Theodore a simple painter. Maybe it would have been easier to talk to Penny like that. He smiled at her comment on the lasagna and just shook his head. "That's because it's always free for you." He joked.

Theodore had to agree with Penny on that note. He didn't think the ex savior would actually really kill anyone, but he didn't want to get on her bad side and try. That was for sure. She had already been powerful before she became the dark one. He was certain that there was a ridiculous amount of power just surging through her. He didn't really ever want to be on the receiving end of that. He eyed Penny a little confused. "Ruby? I guess so. I'm definitely more terrified of Granny, though." He smiled and only half joked. Theodore had honestly never thought of Ruby in that way before. She was his coworker and fellow Storybrooker. That was really it. But maybe it was because he had a certain type, and that wasn't really Ruby. He didn't really understand Penny's tone with that, but he just brushed it off. It was probably nothing.

He had felt like a complete idiot after he did nuzzled her nose with his own. That was something that couples did not friends. And they weren't a couple, as much as Theo wanted that to be true. He needed to keep busy. The more he kept busy the easier it was for him to not look over at Penny. She probably was staring confused, or maybe she was pissed off. He heard shuffling and turned to look out the corner of his eye to see her hopping over the counter. Oh she must have been more pissed than he thought. She was going to smack him or something. "Penny I'm.." He was ready to apologize, though he didn't get the chance because instead of her hand meeting his face like Theo expected, her lips were pressed against his own. He could feel her arms wrapping around his neck, and instinctively Theodore wrapped his own around her waist, picking her up off the floor to pull her closer and kiss her back. He let his hand run up her back until it reached the back of her neck, and he rested his forehead against hers. "Well that...was definitely unexpected. I thought you were going to slap me." He smiled.

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Penny wasn't normally the type of girl to throw herself at anyone. And yet.. she found herself very easily in the arms of Theodore. She was half expecting him to move away.. maybe she misread the situation. But instead, he had pulled her closer to him, and returned her kiss. She felt as though she were flying. With such a large family, Penny never tried to just take what she wanted, but rather wait her turn. But that nuzzle to her nose just sent her in to a frenzy. She needed to tell him how she felt.. or at least, she had to take some sort of action..and she definitely did that. The kiss ended, all too soon - but they needed to breathe - and the two of them looked in to one another's eyes. She laughed when he had told her that he expected her to slap him.

"If I didn't kiss you soon, I would have had to slap myself." She gently bit down on her lip, allowing herself to gaze in to his eyes longer. She could feel herself blushing still.. part of her wanting to shy away. "Theo, I've liked you for a really long time.. and I don't know if you feel the same, but when you just nuzzled my nose, well.. Your lips were so close to mine that I," she could feel her breath catching in her throat. "I had to kiss you.. I just had to." If she didn't, she would have certainly regretted it. But this was the point of no return. This was when she'd find out if he could ever feel the same.. or if she was going to not pass go, and end up directly back in the friend zone.