They make enough money to get by, they have fans, they still have their artistic integrity mostly intact. But it’s so hard not to hope for something more. What’s worse is feeling like they deserve it.

Troy hasn’t seen so many disapproving looks since he attempted to start off his presentation on parent-teacher night with the theme song to Reading Rainbow, complete with tossing construction-paper butterflies into the air and everything. (He’s still not sure how that one went wrong. LeVar Burton is awesome.)

“I wish you wouldn’t have to be so sincere all the time. It hurts my teeth.”

Even though they haven't been on the bus in months, Penny's always still slightly surprised every time she wakes up in an actual bed, a flat steady surface that doesn't shudder and lurch with every turn and pothole. She wakes up confused and with a decent head start into hangover territory, and somewhere there is a phone ringing. Her face is pressed against Sheldon's bare back, and she tries to wipe her hand across where she's drooled on him. It's best to avoid his lectures before she's even seen coffee, let alone ingested it.

They go inside, and Penny almost forgets about the van. This is her first mistake.

Hello, future victims of Chuck Bartowski! Do not be afraid, I brought you beer to help you deal with your inevitable shame.

You're all still riding the high from Rex Manning Day, but a strange sort of future-nostalgia has settled over the store, a tangible blanket that makes time seem slower and faster all at once.

Basically, she's spent the last ten minutes resisting any wayward urges to lick her way up his forearms.

"You taste like toothpaste," she says after they break apart, like it's a surprise. He always does first thing in the morning. Early morning Sheldon is her favorite, hair sticking up in the back and a slight case of stubble. She wants to wake up next to him, hear his voice raspy with sleep.

"So you and Sheldon, huh?" Damn him. "So you and Howard, huh?"

"Raj? Hi Raj! I know you can't probably answer me, so if it's you, just, um, press a button or something?"

It's nothing like a dream, everything seems oversaturated and heavy and real. She feels awake. She is awake. She's in bed, curled on her side, the plaid comforter pulled up to her neck, sliding bare legs back and forth across the cool sheets.

Monday, he meets the guys at lunch. The cafeteria has macaroni and cheese, so things are already looking up. Until Howard plunks into his chair and announces that the two of them will not be attending Monday night dinner for the first time in... ever. Sheldon gasps and Leonard's jutting his chin at the approximate angle of extreme confusion, and for the second time in two days, Raj has no clue what's is happening.

His hand is on her back and he's steering her gently towards the door. A sudden, stray thought bubbles up: is this a date? When did this become a date? And then Sheldon leans in just enough so she can feel the pressure of his chest against her arm, and she swears on all that is holy that he smells her hair. Yep, it's a date. Fantastic.