This is something I whipped up while totally stuck on the original novel I'm currently working on. Quick disclaimer: I am not at all on top of The Big Bang Theory. I've just been watching it lately when it's on, have really taken a liking to it, and had this idea. So, throughout this story, if there's some detail or something that's inaccurate, forgive me. This is a figment of my imagination. Enjoy!
As Leonard walked up the many flights of the stairs to get to his fourth floor apartment, he was feeling rather melancholic. His friends were sitting in his shared apartment playing a game of Dungeons and Dragons, but Leonard simply wasn't interested that night. His longing for his neighbor and ex-girlfriend had been practically constant since she had last broken up with him, and was particularly present that night. Instead of joining his friends in the game, he had decided to go for a nighttime walk alone. He knew it seemed self-pitying, but if he couldn't have Penny, that was what he wanted: solitude.
When he finally reached the fourth floor, Leonard was about to enter his apartment when he heard giggling behind him. He turned around and saw Penny standing next to a muscular man who had about a foot on Leonard, trying to enter her apartment.
"Hey-Hey, Penny," Leonard nervously greeted her. Penny and the man turned to face him.
"Oh, hey, Leonard!" Penny said.
"Who-Who's your friend?" Leonard asked, cursing the world as he felt himself slinking into his shy, awkward persona that so often came out around Penny.
"Oh, this is, um…Jason?"
"Justin," the man corrected her.
"Right, Justin!" Penny said. For a moment, Leonard thought—and hoped—that Penny was drunk, but he knew her well and knew that she was sober enough that she should know his name. He had an inkling that Penny didn't know this man at all, that she had probably met him at a bar and had taken him back to her apartment for sex.
"Justin, this is my neighbor, Leonard," Penny introduced him. Leonard felt stung. Her neighbor? Not even her friend?
"Nice to meet you, Leonard," Justin said dismissively, clearly having no interest in him. "Come on, Penelope."
"Penny," Leonard told him.
"Does it really matter?" Justin said with a shrug. "Come on, Penny. Let's go have some fun."
"Penny, is-is that what you want?" Leonard asked, taking a few steps closer to the two. As terrified as he was of the large man, he didn't want anything to happen to the girl he still loved with his whole heart.
"I mean—"
"It doesn't really matter what she wants, does it? It's what I want," Justin interrupted Penny. "Got a problem with that?"
"As a matter of fact, I-I do," Leonard said, trying to sound brave, but failing miserably. Justin took a few steps towards Leonard. He towered over him so much, he casted a shadow over Leonard.
"What are you gonna about it, shorty?" Justin asked. As he spoke, Leonard could smell the alcohol on his breath and knew he was much more intoxicated than Penny was. "What do you weigh, ninety pounds? You really want to take me on?"
"I-I don't want any trouble. I just want what's best for Penny," Leonard told him, trying to sound assertive.
"Leonard, let it go," Penny said. Leonard looked at her and saw the anxiety on her face.
"I'm not going to let him have sex with you when he's like this," Leonard told her.
"Again, what are you gonna do about it?" Justin asked. Leonard paused for a moment, thinking about the best course of action. He tried to make a run for Penny to grab her and bring her to safety, but Justin put one hand against his chest and effectively stopped him.
"You really think you can get past me?" Justin said with a laugh. "Please. You look like scrawny science geek."
"Justin, don't be mean to him," Penny said, but she was ignored.
"Like I said, I don't want any trouble. I just want you to leave me and her alone," Leonard said, trying to keep the fear out of his voice.
"You really are annoying, science geek. I bet you've never had a girlfriend in your life," Justin said.
"Justin, stop," Penny said firmly, not wanting Leonard to be ridiculed.
"Seriously, what kind of girl would want to date a nerd like you?" Justin continued.
"That girl, that's who!" Leonard blurted out as he pointed at Penny. Justin turned to Penny, looking for confirmation. When she nodded, he burst out laughing.
"You dated him?" he asked. "Alright, you must have lost a bet or something! A girl like you would never go out with a guy like him!"
"Well, she did! So maybe she's not who you think she is, and I'm not who you think I am!" Leonard yelled at him. "I know you, Justin. I know your type. I've had guys like you bully me throughout my entire life. But I'm a grown man now. I'm not going to let you push me around, and I am definitely not going to let you do anything to Penny. Get out of our building now."
"You know, I've got a better idea." Before Leonard had a chance to react, Justin thrust his fist into Leonard's nose. He dropped to the ground, clutching his nose as he moaned in pain.
"Oh, my God! Leonard!" Penny cried as she ran over and got down on her knees beside him.
"Forget him, Penny. Let's go have sex," Justin said.
"Fuck you! Get out of here before I call the cops!" Penny yelled at him.
"You wouldn't do that," Justin said as he rolled his eyes. Penny grabbed her phone from her purse, dialed the three digits, then held it up.
"All I have to do is press 'call.' And I will do it! Get the hell out of here and never talk to me again!"
"You're not as hot as I thought you were," Justin snapped before he stormed down the stairs. Penny began to devote all of her attention to Leonard.
"Leonard? Oh, God. Oh, you're really bleeding," she said as she examined his nose.
"I'll be fine," Leonard said, not wanting to look like any more of a weakling than he thought he already had.
"Are you sure? Maybe I should take you to the hospital," Penny suggested.
"Believe me, Penny, I've had more than my fair share of nosebleeds inflicted upon me over the years. I'll be fine," Leonard assured her. "Maybe you could help me into your apartment, get me some tissues?"
"Yeah, of course." Penny helped Leonard up, then walked him into her apartment and onto the couch. She grabbed a handful of tissues from the box on the coffee table and tended to his bleeding nose.
"I can do it. Like I said, I've had a lot of nosebleeds," Leonard said as he gently pushed Penny away and took matters into his own hands. Within a few minutes, he had managed to stop the bleeding.
"That's pretty impressive," Penny said, giving him a sad smile.
"I had to learn to take care of myself pretty fast," Leonard explained.
"Because people were inflicting wounds upon you?" Penny asked sympathetically.
"Yeah, well…It shouldn't be a surprise to you that I was bullied growing up, right?" Leonard said with a forced chuckle.
"A little bit," Penny said. "You're such a nice guy. I would never have been able to pick on such a sweet person."
"Well…not everyone has your heart," Leonard told her. "But anyway…"
"Yeah," Penny said, realizing he didn't want to talk about his childhood anymore.
"Penny, can I ask you something?" Leonard asked.
"Anything."
"Did…Did you lose a bet?"
"Huh?"
"Is that why you started dating me? Because you lost a bet?"
"No! Oh, Leonard, of course not! Why would you think that?" Penny wondered.
"Because Justin was right about one thing. All of my past experience confirms that girls like you do not date guys like me," Leonard said.
"No, Justin was wrong," Penny told him. "First of all, what is a 'girl like me'?"
"You know. Drop-dead gorgeous, smart, funny. And then you have me, a scrawny, five-five physicist. In most situations, that combination is like mixing permanganates and alcohols," Leonard pointed out.
"Is mixing permanganates and alcohols bad?" Penny asked.
"A solid oxidizer mixed with combustible materials will result in a major explosion," Leonard replied, regretting opening his mouth.
"Why does that have to be a bad thing?" Penny wondered.
"Why does an explosion have to be a bad thing?" Leonard repeated, his eyebrows raised.
"Too literal, sweetie," Penny told him. "An explosion in reality is a bad thing. But a theoretical explosion doesn't have to be a bad thing, right?"
"I don't understand," Leonard told her.
"Oh, honey. Your head is so stuck in science," Penny said, patting his hand sympathetically. "Maybe in science, explosions are bad. But in my book, when a certain kind of explosion happens between two people, it's a wonderful thing."
"Okay, for once, you're the one not making sense," Leonard said. "What do you mean, a good theoretical explosion?"
"Okay, forget I said that," Penny told him. "All I meant was, there can be a certain kind of passion between two people that is so powerful, it's equal to the force of an explosion. Sometimes it's bad, like when two people are fighting. But sometimes it's really good, like love."
"An explosion of love?"
"Yes, Leonard. An explosion of love."
"Well, okay," Leonard said after a moment. "I'm still not sure I understand your point."
"I haven't gotten to that yet," Penny told him. "My point is, while it's usually bad to mix a pomegranate and alcohol—"
"Permanganates and alcohol," Leonard corrected her.
"Sometimes, when that pomegranate and wine get together—"
"This is not scientifically accurate. Alcohol does not mean wine," Leonard said.
"Shut up, dummy, it's called a metaphor!" Penny snapped, then regained her calm composure. "There are occasions when a pomegranate and wine get together, and it becomes that beautiful kind of explosion, the kind that has passion and love."
"Am I wine or am I a pomegranate in this metaphor?" Leonard wondered, his brows knitted together as he was deep in thought.
"Oh, my God. For a genius, you can be really stupid," Penny said.
"I'm just trying to follow your convoluted logic."
"Who said this was logical?" Penny asked. "It's not logical. It's not logical at all. That's the point. It doesn't make sense, and it shouldn't work. So maybe…" Penny exhaled. "I don't know. Maybe that's why I separated the pomegranate and the wine. Maybe I was afraid their differences would come together and make the bad kind of explosion. But now…I'm starting to realize that, no, it doesn't make sense, and it shouldn't work. But it does. It does, Leonard. It defies all of the laws of science, but it still works." Penny sighed. "The wine made a huge mistake."
"So I am the pomegranate?" Leonard asked. Penny thumped his forehead. "Ow!"
"Did you understand anything I just said?" Penny questioned.
"Yeah. I think I finally got it," Leonard said after a moment.
Penny nodded. "I think I finally did, too."
"We are so wrong for each other," Leonard said. "We are so wrong for each other, it inexplicably has the inverse reaction and makes us so right for each other."
"Leonard?"
"Mmm-hmm?"
"Shut up and kiss me," Penny said before she pulled the rather stunned Leonard towards her and planted her lips upon his. It took him a moment, but Leonard quickly began to kiss her back.
"Penny?" Leonard said quietly as they pulled apart after a minute.
"Yeah?"
"I, um…" Leonard began to dig in his back pocket.
"Did that kiss give you an asthma attack?" Penny asked.
"No," Leonard said, rolling his eyes as he grabbed his wallet.
"What, are you gonna pay me for that?" Penny asked, confused. Leonard searched through his cash until he found it: a diamond ring with a white gold band.
"Oh, my God," Penny breathed. "Oh, my God. Where did you get a ring?"
"I…I've been carrying it around for a few years," Leonard admitted.
"That is the sweetest thing I've ever heard!" Penny squealed. "Okay, sorry, I'm ruining this."
"No, just making it more difficult," Leonard told her. "Penny…I've never met another girl like you, and I'll never come across anyone who could begin to compare. So, while you're available, I would like to take the opportunity to ask you to marry me."
"Oh. That was so awkwardly sweet," Penny said.
"What-What does that mean?" Leonard asked nervously.
"It means yes, my crazy pomegranate," Penny told him. Leonard smiled, then slipped the ring on Penny's finger. She admired it. "Gosh, you have surprisingly good taste."
"Thanks, I think," Leonard said. "So…Are we engaged?"
"Yes, Leonard, we're engaged," Penny told him before she directed her eyes back towards the ring. "Wow. Where did you get that?"
"It-It really doesn't matter, does it?"
"Oh, God. Did you get it from a pawn shop? Is it even real?"
"No, I did not go to a pawn shop," Leonard assured her.
"Oh. Good. That's where my dad got my mom's, and I think it's tacky as hell," Penny told him. "Really, where did you get it?"
"Um, that depends if you like it or not," Leonard told her.
"Honey, I've said that I love it, like, ten times. Where'd you get it?"
"It…I don't know if you'll think this is weird."
"Oh, sweetie, there is nothing you could do to make me think that you're weirder than I already believe you are," Penny said, earning a small scowl from Leonard. "Come on. I'm dying of curiosity."
"My…My grandmother died five years ago, and she left me her ring. She said she wanted me to find a nice girl, and, as she said, she knew it would be difficult for me, so she wanted to give me luck," Leonard began to explain. "I knew I wanted to marry you the second I laid eyes on you, so…I've been carrying it around ever since we went on our first date, waiting for the right moment. Is that weird?"
"No, it's not weird! I think that's even better than Tiffany's!" Penny enthused.
"Really? You don't think it's creepy that I've been carrying a ring around in my wallet waiting to propose to you?"
"For anyone else, it would be a little creepy, but for you…It's just your clumsy, yet somehow endearing way of saying how important I am to you," Penny said, making Leonard smile. She smiled back, then leaned in and kissed him.
Leonard felt elated. Somehow, by getting punched in the nose by a would-be sex partner, Penny had realized that she wanted to be with him. He didn't understand why or how she gotten there, and he didn't care.
She was his again.
