A/N - I found this the other night and after reading through it, couldn't for the life of me remember if I planned on continuing it or not! So I'll put it up and let you guys decide because I was actually quite happy with this. Though I genuinely can't remember what my plan was with it or when I wrote it! And I just remembered that it was inspired by the opening lyric of 'October' by Bluebird/Bri Cuoco - "Well it's perfect weather for breaking hearts and I'm wearing layers so it takes you longer to peel me apart" :)

"Damnit, damnit, damnit!"

Penny threw her head back in frustration and punched at the top of her steering wheel as a bolt of lightening hit outside somewhere in the not-so distance, bringing with it a sudden downpour of heavy rain. This weather was rare enough and it was just Penny's luck that she'd get caught in the middle of it. It was exactly what she wanted after having to park right at the end of the block after leaving her umbrella in her apartment earlier that afternoon; evidently she had overcompensated for her recent miserable mood with positivity after waking up and telling herself today wouldn't suck as much as all the days before had sucked. But every day proved that she needn't have bothered telling that to herself, and today was no exception.

Groaning, she pulled her hand back toward herself to inspect her knuckles, which felt as though they were pulsating from where she'd punched the steering wheel. Both hearing and feeling her phone go off to indicate a message, she pulled it out from the pocket of her green apron that was still tied around her waist.

Hey, just checking you're okay and got home alright - hope you didn't get caught in the rain!

Throwing her phone down at her purse on the passenger seat, Penny groaned loudly and squeezed her eyes shut. It was nice of Bernadette to text her, but anything along the lines of 'are you okay?' frustrated her these days, especially when it was clear that she wasn't. And Bernadette could tell that she wasn't - if she was okay, then her manager wouldn't have politely asked her if she would like to go home two hours early. A particularly rude customer had broken her 'nothing's wrong' facade and had cost her two hours wages. Though in her own defense, she was doing a damn good job of keeping up that facade and if she slipped once or twice, that should be allowed.

It was exhausting. Seeing the guys on her way in or out of the apartment or seeing them at the restaurant. Amy and Bernadette coming over to visit her or going to the bar while she was bartending. Bernadette always starting with 'how are you today?' if they were working together. Sheldon coming over to ask for bread because he wanted Cylon toast and it was Leonard's responsibility to buy bread but he hadn't bought any. Awkwardly bumping into Leonard on the stairs, by the mailboxes, outside their apartments. Just because she was an actress, it didn't mean she had perfected the skill of masking her own emotions every single moment of the day. And she was really being pushed to her limits with the whole 'masking your emotions' thing.

Opening her eyes, she realized the hot tears spilling over her eyes and down her cheeks. Yanking down the sun visor with a little too much force so that one of the hinges came loose, she looked at her reflection for a second before grabbing a yellow napkin from her apron and dabbing at her face. Granted, she was only going to run to her apartment through the rain, but she didn't need to do that with blotches of mascara all over her cheeks. She had some pride left.

Taking a few breaths, Penny grabbed her purse and shoved the napkin inside before putting her phone in properly and zipping it up. She really wished she had a jacket. Until a few days ago, one of Leonard's hoodies had been in the back of her car - he had left it there for her a while ago with the explanation that if it rained or got cold and she hadn't taken anything to cover up in, she'd have his hoodie to throw on. She had given that hoodie back to him a few days after they had broken up along with some bits and pieces of his from her apartment. When he'd come over an hour later with a bag of her things, she'd almost burst into tears right in front of him. It was like a kick to the stomach. And heart. And every body part. But she figured she deserved that after what happened at the bowling alley.

For now, she was just going to have to face the rain. Physically now too, rather than just emotionally. Removing her keys from the ignition, she jumped out of the car and locked it quickly while simultaneously swinging her bag over her shoulder. As her luck would have it, she had stepped out into a large puddle that soaked her feet and hit somebody behind her with her purse while a spike from their umbrella hit her on the head.

"Sorry," she grumbled, keeping her head down as she turned to make her way over to the apartment building.

"Penny, it's me." Leonard said, lightly touching her arm to stop her.

Blinking, Penny on instinct turned straight around to look at him. "Oh." At least the rain was giving her an excuse for the runny make-up on her face she hadn't quite managed to properly remove. "Hi."

"Get under here, you're soaking already." He had decided to go for a walk - something he had been doing a lot recently - despite Sheldon's warning of the forecasted upcoming heavy rain. Now he was glad he had; he knew how much Penny hated getting caught in the rain. Unsure of what to say or do next, he gave her a weak smile and liked his arm through hers to pull her underneath the shelter of the umbrella. "Let's go."

Almost on autopilot the two of them walked quickly to 2311 huddled under his umbrella, Leonard pushing the door open and ushering Penny inside before shaking the umbrella out and closing it. He smiled again when he realized she had waited for him in the lobby rather than disappearing off upstairs like they'd been doing recently whenever they saw each other. Gesturing to the stairs, they began to walk up together. The usual awkwardness that had been present whenever they were together since the break-up wasn't there; it was just silent. Not awkward, not bad; just silent.

Reaching the fourth floor, they both found themselves outside his door. Penny put a hand on his arm, looking at him thoughtfully for a moment before opening her mouth to say something. No, I can't do it, she thought, shaking her head and squeezing his arm. She wanted to invite him over for coffee, she wanted to ask if she could use his shower because she only had cold water now that the water bill he'd paid last month had run out, she wanted to have a conversation with him more than anything. She wanted him to know how she felt. She needed to know how he felt. Instead, all that came out was a quiet "thanks."

Leonard wasn't the smartest guy when it came to women or break-ups, having very little experience with either. But he knew Penny, and he knew that last thing she would want to do was ask him for anything (with the exception of coffee). He knew she wasn't always able to express herself the way she wanted to. Leonard also knew that sometimes, he had to put aside his lack of confidence and uncertainty and just be the brave one because it wasn't fair to expect Penny to always be the brave one. "Do you want to come in? The guys will all be at the Comic Book Store at this time and... I just got new Star Wars shampoo."

"Thank you." Penny smiled her first sincere smile in what felt like forever. It was all she could say right now - and all she needed to say, similarly to how he hadn't had to explain why he wasn't at the Comic Book Store or why he mentioned the shampoo. It was absolutely nothing and everything in the world that stopped her from hugging him right there.