"Penny, Penny, PENNY!"
I'm going to change my name, she thought to herself with a sniff, and wiped the last tear from her chin away. She closed the book on her lap and made her way over to the door, not sure whether she was in the mood for him today. She hesitated for a moment; only in dire situations would he restart his routine again, and that would have to be done another 2 times to complete the cycle of 3's.
"Whutup, Shelbot," she droned as she opened the door, and glanced up at the tall figure in her doorway, the one she hadn't seen for a little over a week.
"I can't sleep," he moaned, his folded arms fidgeting close to his chest. He wasn't even changed from his day clothes.
"Me neither, Sweety," she sympathized, and he connected his eyes to hers for the first time. "Why not?" he almost whispered, looking weary on his feet.
"Because I have a giant praying mantis in my doorway!"
His shadowed eyes snapped away coldly, but he didn't even bother to make a retort. Sheldon without smart retorts was like...she couldn't even think of an analogy to word how worrying and wrong that was.
He turned away on his feet as she was staring, loosening his arms only to scratch nervously at the skin beneath his sleeve. He was like a zombie.
"Sheldon?"
He jumped at her voice slightly, and turned his profile to her.
"Tell me what's wrong."
He thought for a moment, not turning to her fully. "I've already told you; I can't sleep."
"There's more to it than that."
She went to grab his arm, but he flinched at the sudden movement. A sharp pain shot through her, one that only sharpened when his eyes turned for a moment back to her, filled with a fear that only a lonely child would have. Cold came over her, and she unconsciously wrapped her robe closer.
"I miss him too, honey. But he'll be back before we know it."
"Who?" he lied, judging by a noticeable twitch at the corner of his blue eye. She kept her laugh contained, seeing his struggle.
"The little homunculus, the muscle of your group," she hinted coyly, but her words were barely registered by a small nod.
"It's quiet in the apartment," he said, his deep voice catching on his dry throat.
Suddenly Penny realized what this was all about. Since the apartment was burgled a couple of years ago, Sheldon was terrified of living on his own. While the evening wasn't so bad, he viewed the night as a time where he was most vulnerable. She had never told Leonard that during his time with Priya, she would invite Sheldon over or she would go there, so he was never alone. She had almost forgotten that routine in the midst of her own misery and loneliness.
"Oh, Sheldon, I'm so sorry. Wait there-"
"It's fine, Penny, I'm on my way to Amy's," he snapped quietly, and Penny paused in the middle of her living room to turn to the wide open door.
"But it's 11:30!" she exclaimed, glancing fleetingly at the clock beneath a discarded cardigan on her TV stand. "If you're going to Amy's anyway, why did you stop by? Just to wake me up?"
A tiny smile pulled at his profiled lips, and he let out a tiny snort. "I knew you were not sleeping due to that infernal clicking of the glass, and I heard crying, so I didn't wake you."
She stood, routed and guilty, as his face turned momentarily to look at her. Silently, he walked away and disappeared down the stairwell, a new, fresh tear climbing down her cheek, before she even started thinking about Leonard again.
