Prompt:Yellow caution tape.

Hidden Meanings

The bright, yellow caution tape criss crossed against the elevator is a welcoming and familiar sight to Penny as she trudges up three flights of stairs.

She's just visited her family back in Nebraska and is glad to be back. She's forgotten how tiring her family can be sometimes.

She eagerly heads into her apartment, carelessly discarding her suitcases in the middle of her living room floor. She'll unpack later. Right now, she needs to see someone.

With a new found sense of exhilaration, she quickly makes her way across the hall.

The door opens and there he is, decked in a dark blue Superman shirt, long sleeved green shirt underneath and khakis'.

Impulsively, she hugs him tightly, breathing in the smells of mint, soap and clean cotton. He stiffens at the surprise attack before awkwardly wrapping his arms around her, breathing in sunshine and strawberries.

She releases him because she knows that he can only tolerate a certain amount of physical contact.

"Penny, your absence caused quite an inconvenience this past week. I had to make due with Wolowitz as my HALO partner and, while he is certainly an adept player, he doesn't follow our particular line of strategy.

Laundry night was also uneventful. I'm used to having you talk my ear off with random topics so the silence was interesting."

She smiles as he continues to explain the rest of his week and how her not being there affected his routine. She smiles, because in his own way, he is telling her that he misses her.