Hello friends! Its been ages since I wrote anything at all and the first time I've written for something that isn't an anime. Needless to say this is my first foray into the deliciousness that is Shenny, but I'll do my best!
That being said, don't be alarmed by the first chapter – this is a Shenny-centric fic, but I wanted to introduce this new character before getting to plot things… mainly because I'm still thinking those things up. Chapter one is an exercise to see if I have it in me to do this and I hope I do! Constructive criticism and advice is always welcome!
Standard disclaimer: I don't own Big Bang Theory. Duh. But ohhhhh if I did….
Penny trudged up the stairs of the apartment building, passing the broken elevator at each landing and silently cursing it. After a long, stressful shift at the Cheesecake Factory, she wanted nothing more than the luxury of being able to ride up to her apartment rather than subject her already sore feet to more pain. It had been a particularly awful night; some sleazy guy had hit on her and a child spilled a drink down the front of her denim skirt. At least she was off until laundry night.
As she reached the fourth floor landing, she pulled her keys out of her bag and with a glance back to 4A, she remembered with some relief that the boys were off at a movie marathon of some sort. Something about aliens… she hadn't really been listening when they were attempting to explain it to her. All it meant was that she could go into her apartment, throw some grungy sweats on, and watch chick flicks with a good glass or three of wine.
She turned back around to insert her key into the lock but paused, looking back behind her. There was something outside of the boys' door and it definitely didn't look like a package.
'The hell…?' she wondered to herself at the sight of a mass of what she assumed to be a person sitting outside of her neighbors' apartment. Had that been there five seconds ago? It had to have been, she reasoned, because whatever, whoever it was seemed to be asleep.
'Ok… maybe it's a hobo? Crazy hobo? Burglar? Don't panic… this is what junior rodeo was for,' she thought, tiptoeing over to the figure, briefly wondering if she should go retrieve her baseball bat first. Nah.
As Penny approached the sleeping figure she found that it was actually quite small, just made to look large with the luggage around it. Whoever it was, Penny could take it. Unless it had a gun. Reaching out cautiously with a sneakered foot, Penny nudged the figure a couple of times, eliciting nothing much other than a decidedly female and decidedly annoyed groan. Nudging a little harder, the woman was finally jarred awake… at least somewhat.
"Damn it, Mama, I said I was up!" she groaned in a thick southern drawl, peeling the hood of her sweatshirt off of her head to reveal a head of choppy, near-chin length brown hair and blue eyes that darted around to figure out where the hell she was.
"Can I help you with something?" Penny asked dryly, one eyebrow raised, no longer afraid of the small woman sitting on the floor. She had a feeling that this was going to be a big pain in the neck. To her credit, the girl looked somewhat embarrassed to have been caught sleeping.
"No. Not unless you know where these guys went off to," came a curt reply, accented as the girl jerked her thumb back towards the door of the boys' apartment.
Penny sighed. She hadn't planned on being dragged into another one of Leonard or Sheldon's issues but here she was. This one, with the looks and accent seemed to be Sheldon's problem despite her small stature. What was she going to be? Crazy former classmate? Redneck cousin? At the moment, Penny had her money on redneck cousin.
"Well, you'll be waiting awhile.. Might as well come in and wait," Penny offered, turning the key in her lock and inviting the other girl inside, hoping that she wouldn't come to regret that decision. "I'm Penny, by the way, Leonard and Sheldon's… neighbor."
"Oh, I've heard a lot about you," came her amused response. That just sounded like trouble. "Hannah Cooper. Nice to meet'cha," the girl replied, standing up and slinging her duffel bag over her shoulder.
Penny was right about the relative thing. At least she wasn't a crazy neighbor or something. Didn't mean she wasn't crazy, but if she was at least it she would be Sheldon's responsibility when he got home.
When standing to her full height, Hannah was still at least a head shorter than Penny. Wasn't everyone in Sheldon's family freakishly tall? This girl was short. Like really short. Upon closer observation, though, she still had those Cooper traits – sharp features and big blue eyes.
Penny stopped her thought process at that and frowned slightly. When had she come to be an expert on 'Cooper traits'? Shaking her head she tossed her keys on the counter and her purse soon followed it. Her apartment was a mess, but that didn't seem to bother Hannah one bit as she brushed aside a few items of laundry to sit down on her blue couch.
"So, um… Hannah… You're related to Sheldon, then?"
"One might say he's my big brother, but I'm thinkin' about disowning him after this," she replied with a grin, her accent having faded into a slight twang now that she wasn't agitated.
Sheldon's other sister. Penny had never heard mention of her, but if she was anything like Missy then they were going to get along just fine.
"Hannah, can I offer you a glass of wine?"
"Oh Lord, yes please…"
Yes. Just fine.
Over the next couple of hours the two girls got to know each other. Penny dished about her crappy waitressing job and her aspirations to become an actress and Hannah spoke of her years at college. No, she was not some beautiful mind genius like her brother. She had a degree in history with a focus on art history. She started at 18 and it took her four years like a normal person. Penny could just hear Sheldon's voice in her head expressing his distaste for a 'liberal arts' degree in that derisive tone he used when talking about things unrelated to science or comic books.
She also found that they were the same age, with Penny being just a few months older. Thank God, that meant she hadn't offered alcohol to a minor. To pass the time until the boys returned, they drank, watched 'Almost Famous' and gossiped like old friends (after the second glass of wine) until they heard several sets of footsteps coming up the stairs.
The door to 4A opened and shut and that was when Penny's new friend got up, obviously ticked off. It was go time.
"I told him I was comin'! This is so typical," she muttered, throwing her duffel bag over her shoulder again to haul it across the hall.
Penny got up as well, because really, there was no way she was gonna miss this. Something like this would have Sheldon eating from the high fiber end of the shelf for the rest of the week. She stood in the doorway of her apartment as Hannah slammed her fist into the door several times. She watched in amusement as Sheldon opened it unperturbed… and then his eyes grew just a fraction bigger.
"Forgetting something?" Hannah sniped, glaring up at her brother. Penny still couldn't believe the height difference. Genetics really were weird. There must have been some short relatives somewhere else in that family.
"You know that's impossible, Hannah," came the predictable reply as the question sailed right over his head.
"Then what the hell, Shelly?" she pressed, leaning forward in a rather intimidating manner - which was impressive coming from such a small woman. A crowd had gathered behind the door now – Raj, Howard, and Leonard not wanting to miss a second of this either.
"I'm sorry, you'll have to be more specific."
"I told you when I was comin' so why weren't you home?"
"I was hoping you would give up and leave. Also, there was a marathon of the Alien vs. Predator movies."
"Don't you make me call Mama!"
That did it. Sheldon opened the door wider to allow his sister to step inside, pausing to spare Penny a glance. Penny grinned smugly back at him.
"Be nice, Sheldon!" she chirped, before turning to go back into her own apartment. When she heard the door across the hall shut she let out the giggles she'd been holding in. Sheldon? A big brother? She tried to imagine him as something like she'd had – teasing, protective… Penny stifled a snort. That image just did not compute.
Easing back down onto her couch, she picked up her abandoned wine glass and was about to turn the TV back on when she heard the door open and close again and what she assumed to be Raj and Howard scurrying down the stairs. She hadn't warned Hannah about them but from the sound of things she'd handled it just fine.
Penny turned her TV on and flipped to a re-run of America's Next Top Model with the feeling that things were going to get interesting pretty soon.
And that's it for now! Reviews are appreciated and as I said before – constructive criticism as well!