TITLE: The Shampoo Conundrum
DISCLAIMER: I own nothing.
A/N: Just a very short story I needed to get out of my system.
Penny didn't think about Sheldon's annoying comment about her recent change in shampoo until later. Leave it to Dr. Wackadoodle to care for such nonsense. What he didn't know was that she herself missed her regular shampoo, too. Not that she would have ever told him that. She had only bought the coconut-scented one because the supermarket had been out of green apple. She wasn't Sheldon, who probably would have complained to someone about it, but Penny had simply bought another one. Now, standing in the shower with a drop of that coconut madness in her hand, she realized that sometimes Sheldon did have a point. As weird as it was. What principle had he talked to her about? Thermo-something? Of course she didn't remember. Penny wondered if she should ask him again. She didn't like change either, at least not profound change. That's why she kept running back to Leonard. He had become such a fixture in her life. All of the boys had. Sheldon included. Even if he did do crazy things like wake her up in the middle of the night to tell her to keep dating Leonard.
Minutes passed and the water grew cold. Penny washed the shampoo off her hand without having washed her hair. As much as she hated greasy hair, she suddenly didn't feel like using this particular scent. It made her feel queasy. She mentally cursed Sheldon and got out of the shower. With unwashed hair. He would pay for that.
Later that day, Penny walked over to Leonard and Sheldon's apartment. Only her "boyfriend" was present. She was almost disappointed without quite knowing why. As Leonard kissed her softly on the mouth and gave her his newly improved puppy look, she realized why she wished Sheldon to be there as well. He usually didn't care for public displays of affections and would have prohibited them. Or not, given his current fear of Penny and Leonard breaking up. For someone like Sheldon, who was supposed to have important theories and life-altering things on his mind, he sure spent a lot of time snooping around her relationship. Having listened to Amy, it seemed to Penny as if he was thinking more about her relationship than his own. Suddenly Penny had an idea:
"Leonard, have you noticed anything different about me lately?" She asked out of the blue. Leonard adjusted his glasses and stared at her intensely. He stopped longer than necessary at her stomach and Penny felt a sense of queasiness rise up within her. She knew she wasn't pregnant, but having Leonard consider the possibility was almost as frightening.
"Not that low." She quickly said to make him forget small, genius-like babies. So Leonard looked at her face, walked around her but he obviously didn't find anything he considered different. Penny didn't know what to think of her plan anymore. It had been a stupid idea, she realized.
"What is it? I'm sorry, I don't see anything?" Leonard seemed distressed upon being clueless.
"It's not something you see." Penny mumbled. Without another word, she left the apartment. She half expected Leonard to follow her. To her own surprise though, he didn't. As she stood in front of the door, Sheldon appeared on the stairs.
"Good day, Penny." He said in passing. When she didn't move away from the door, he stared at her with an expression torn between confusion and incomprehension.
"Is there something you wanted? Leonard is inside."
"I know he is." She said through gritted teeth.
"Do I detect anger, or –"
"Yes, you do detect anger!" Sheldon tilted his head and slightly frowned. He looked as if he was solving some kind of equation in his head.
"Your hair. It doesn't smell like coconuts. It doesn't smell like green apple either, but at least it doesn't smell like coconut."
"Why, Sheldon, why?" Penny threw her hands up in the air. Sheldon, by now, was only confused. He clutched his shoulder bag like a small child.
"You didn't ask a question beforehand, so do you want me to guess what is bothering you, because as you should know I do not care for such childish games."
"I don't want you to guess! Why do you care what my hair smells like? Why are you the only person who even notices what my hair smells like?" Penny invaded Sheldon's personal space and he backed away, only to have her follow him. She wanted an answer. She wanted him to stop caring so much, because it confused her. He wasn't supposed to notice these little details about her; not if Leonard, her boyfriend, didn't notice them.
"It's not my fault your hair is constantly in my face." Sheldon answered defensively. He quickly walked around her and now it was him standing in front of his own apartment door. The relief was clearly written on his face.
"If you would excuse me now." He opened the door and left Penny standing there. For a moment she didn't move. Her heart was beating fast, as if she'd just returned from a run, and she felt like yelling at Sheldon again and again. He was the only one who could make her feel this way: alive.
"My hair is never in your face." She said quietly to herself and much too late. She only realized it at that moment. Sheldon didn't care for anyone's hair in his face. Or anyone touching him.
But still he knew what her hair smelled like. The only person who knew what her hair smelled like was Dr. Sheldon Cooper.
Penny realized she was in much deeper trouble than she'd thought.
END