The Work Song Nanocluster
*after they find out they needed to fill another one-day rush order. Raj and Howard declined helping and have left. Leonard, instead of immediately going to bed, helps Penny.
.
He had agreed to help. Raj and Howard had abandoned the team, and Sheldon was tucked away in his room in a caffeine high. Leonard sat on the left of the couch, fastening the hairpin to the underside of a hot pink gerber daisy. Penny sat on his left, on the right of the couch, legs tucked under her, dropping silver rhinestones onto the center of the daisy. Her eyes were heavy. His eyes were heavy.
"How many is that?"
Leonard counted the individual seal-lock bags in the cardboard box and counted their total for the second one-day rush order: "Umm, thirteen,"
"Thirteen?" Her voice was high and squeaky. "Oh my god, I feel like I've been here for days,"
Leonard barely responded. "987 to go,"
Penny groaned, untucking her legs from underneath and stretching, lengthwise down the couch. Her body was now next to Leonard's. "Is there anymore coffee?"
"Nah, we're all out," He didn't lift his eyes from his pin fastening. "We can run down to the store and get some, but it's kind of late. Don't want to get knifed,"
And then: Penny rested her head on Leonard's shoulder. "I need coffee,"
Leonard finally broke his gaze with the daisy. Penny's eyes were closed. Her mouth hung open. Her hair, pulled taut in a ponytail and lacquered in hairspray was inches for her face. He inhaled. What was that… rainforest? Water? Jungle? Her hair smelt exotic, like tigers and toucans and hibiscus flowers. He inhaled again, looking down at her.
"Penny?"
"Mhm," She was not all there. Her body felt like dead-weight against his.
"Are you sleeping?"
His hands were frozen around the glue-gun. He didn't want to move. More so, he didn't want her to move. His neck movements were slight, soft, so as not to jerk his shoulder.
She spoke vacantly: "No,"
"Are you sure?"
"Shh,"
She nestled into. Really nestled into him.
Leonard tossed the glue gun and Penny Blossom onto the ground, still doing all he could to keep his movements small and fluid. Her face was in his neck, inhaling in slow, shallow breaths of sleep. No way in hell was he moving.
He recalled weeks ago her face being in the exact same position: pressed against his neck. Only then she was sucking and kissing. Now, she was snoring softly. Then, her movements had been sloppy and drunk, and so had his. Now, he rotated his shoulder under her and, with his arm now free to wrap around her shoulder and body, he pulled her into him. Again, gently. He pulled a blanket around their body, deftly, with one hand, making sure to cover her bare shoulders. He placed his palm on her bare, cool shoulder underneath the blanket.
Her bare skin felt entirely different when he hadn't consumed a bottle of wine and numerous shots of tequila. He hadn't truly felt her skin then. It was all a blur. He rubbed small circles on her shoulder with his thumb now, ever so slightly, soothing her into a deep sleep.
Heavy with exhaustion, Leonard rested his cheek on her forehead. His neck was warm with her breath. Penny, in her last threads of consciousness, pulled her legs up under her in the fetal position and reached her free arm over Leonard's midsection in a sort of a hug. She held on tight to his torso. Tighter, warmer, until she fell asleep and went limp.
He fell asleep with his cheek squished against her forehead and his glasses crooked on his nose.
-fin.
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