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It had been two months since they'd started dating. And she'd . . . enjoyed it. No, really, she had! And it wasn't that he wasn't kind, because he was, even though he sometimes had trouble seeing the big picture about people and animals in need. And it wasn't that he wasn't funny, because he was, if a little more egotistical than she was used to sometimes. And it certainly wasn't that he wasn't helpful, because he definitely was a hero to the city, although he tended to do a lot of punch first, ask questions never, allowing the police force to deal with that aspect, while he stood in front of cameras and gave interviews. And it wasn't even that she wasn't enjoying the sex, because unlike she once thought, he wasn't selfish in bed, despite the fact that she'd never tell him just how good he was, because it made her blush too much to ever consider saying it out loud and, quite honestly, he didn't need all that much of an ego-booster.
But there was something missing. She'd always been taught that communication was the key to every relationship, and while she didn't always follow that rule, she knew that there was something that she did need to tell him. They were going on another date today, deciding that the park worked better as a date. He said it was so that Penny could rest from worrying about other people all day and finally focus on herself, but she got the impression that it was so that he wouldn't have to deal with the homeless people she worked with. But it was nice of him to spare her feelings like that! Um, wait, she got a little lost there. What was she just thinking about?
Oh! Right! Her coming out. She could do this. Their date was actually now, and she was waiting for him on a park bench, with two servings of vanilla frozen yogurt.
He arrived not too much later after she did, surprising her by being on time, and looked as good as ever; which was very good!
"Penny! Hello. You look fantastic today. I thought you might have your hair up for some reason, but my point still stands."
"Hammer!" She smiles, and then gets a confused look as she wonders, 'Does he have a first name? I'll have to remember to ask him that. "You look really nice too."
"Ah-hah! But of course. I always look good."
"Er, right! Well, sit down, I've got our little cups of frozen ambiance here. Complete with sporks!" Hammer looked confused for a moment, with a frozen smile on his face, but he sat down all the same, taking the yogurt.
"It looks delicious."
"Great! I mean, it's my favorite. So, you know, I thought that maybe you'd enjoy it too?" They opened up the little plastic covers and dug in as best they could without dripping any through the tines.
"So, how's the hero-ing business going?"
"Wonderful! How kind of you to ask. There are still many villains and evil-doers in the area. It is unfortunate for Los Angelos, but quite fortunate for me." And there was that grin again. "Of course, perhaps, if I were to succeed too well I could instead devote my time to continue encouraging people to continue giving to your causes and things, and to be more like you." His head tilted to one side, as he added an addendum, "Not exactly like you, of course, because then there would be too many Pennys running around. Not like the coins, because I'm pretty sure that the mint has all of the pennies, but there would be too many yous. And one is definitely the preferred number of yous that there should be. Maybe two."
"Mhmm." Truth be told, she stopped paying him as much attention, right after he had told her how kind she was to ask. He was bursting with a desire to talk about himself and his job every time they saw each other. By this point she knew to ask him about it much in the same way that any other person would ask 'how are you doing?'
It's just that she was so distracted with what she knew she had to tell him! They continued eating until eventually she found herself idly scraping the bottom of the container with the spork. It had been a minute since she stopped bringing any sort of half-melted dairy product to her mouth, instead, she was eating healthy doses of air.
"Are you certain that you're feeling alright, Penny?"
"Mm." She was so distracted that she could have sworn that she saw the shrub behind the bench move from one side to the other. She shook it off. "Well, actually, I've got something that I need to tell you."
"Of course, Penny! You can tell me anything, you know that."
"Um, right." She inhaled. "Well, the thing is that I'm- I'm pansexual. I just thought that you should know."
There was a pause as the information seemed to hit him. It seemed to drag on forever. Not that she was saying that it took things a little longer to process in his head, of course, it was just that while you're in the moment of something like this, seconds pass slower. Anyway, it was only about five seconds before a genuine smile started spreading on his face.
"And you thought that would bother me? Nonsense, I'm completely fine with it. I'd care for you regardless of anything like that."
She exhaled again, very relieved.
"Good! That's- um- alright, great!" She wrapped him a quick hug that he returned before standing up and they continued on with their day-date. It went smoothly, except for some thing with geese that he apparently had.
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It had been a wonderful day for Hammer. His date went fantastically and he and Penny were on the way to his place where they would undoubtedly proceed to enjoy copious amounts of sex. Especially after that new bit of information that she had revealed earlier.
He had no idea what she would use the pan for, but he was very willing to give it a try.