The Quest for Penny.
A " Big Bang Theory " FanFic by Mme Moirae.
I own nothing.
Gentle Readers,
I hope you enjoy.
(Reviews are like chocolates. Please feed, I'm very okay being conditioned to write more.)
As Penny's face radiated up at his modest praise, Sheldon felt that familiar warmth spread through him. After five years the warmth no longer took him by surprise and there were many times he found himself wanting that feeling. (To want an emotion had been an even greater hurdle than adjusting to the experience and he still often found himself having to make room for acceptance.) Why wouldn't he want to feel the way he did whenever she smiled up at him like that? Before he didn't understand why people were so apt to socialize, why so many were focused on pair bonding and mating, and while sex was something his mind refused to entirely compute, he understood the whys a lot better now... and knowing why was always a scientist's greatest battle.
Until Penny stormed her way into his life with her cheery nature and breathtaking smile, emotions had never been at the forefront of his mind or really within his spectrum of notice. That was, emotions he didn't know what to do with, how they would be responded to, or if they were even okay to be felt. Anger, passion, dedication, betrayal, determination, those were emotions he could acknowledge and use in his field, ones his mind knew what to do with. What future Noble prize winner needed anything else that his mother and MeeMaw couldn't provide? Until Penny he'd never noticed anything was missing from his life.
Until Penny he never realized his life had been missing more than his future Noble prize.
No one cooed like Penny did. She might not understand his work (okay, scratch might), but she supported it and him, and she believed in him. He knew how Leonard, Raj, and Howard scoffed at him – really, it had to be more of jealously than anything else considering he was a far superior being – but Penny? She smiled at him, knew precisely what buttons to push, and she might call it gibber-gabber, but she paid attention and she had never dismissed him or his brilliance. There was such sincerity in her when she cared for him, and though at times she'd glared at him at the request, she sang Soft Kitty and rubbed Vic's counter clockwise into his chest; in his head the voice of his mother singing Soft Kitty had already been replaced by Penny's.
Was it any wonder she was meant for him?
Approvingly his eyes flickered over the top she wore; yellow really was one of her best colors. He wished she'd wear it more often.
"Under the assumption you haven't eaten breakfast I've taken the liberty of setting out some coffee and a bear claw," he informed her as he stepped back to permit her inside. Inner approval soared when the top of her head nearly grazed his shoulder – she was wearing heels, a detail he quite liked as it brought her closer to his height and carried her scent easier to him.
"Aw. Breakfast? That's... really nice, Sheldon. Thought Carney's was up first, though." There was a hint of confusion in her voice, but she still headed straight for the kitchen. He saw her pause at the counter where he had set out a clean coffee mug – the one she usually used when she did not bring a cup over – and a freshly brewed pot of coffee.
"It was, but there's been a change of plans." His lips slightly tightened. "Raj's brother sent him a new Patang -"
"A Patang?" She glanced up from looking at the bear claw as if she had never seen her favorite pastry before.
Sheldon did not miss the mischievous flash through her eyes. "Yes, a Patang. An Indian kite for kite fighting." The roll of her eyes went ignored, but he did not launch into a summarized history of kite fighting in India as he could have - and part of him wanted to. "In lieu of the new Patang we've agreed to start our day with a fun, spirited round of kite fighting."
The bear claw hovered in front of Penny's mouth and with a small, inward groan, he watched her put it down.
"Kite fighting? Sheldon, I don't have a kite."
"Already solved. I have an extra you may use."
"A'right, but..." Penny hesitated, finally took a bite from the pastry. He did not have to reach for patience as his distraction came then. It was only for a couple seconds, that was all he permitted, but there was a reason why he noticed her chewing habits - he loved watching her supple lips move. "I, um - I've never done the whole kite flying thing. In Nebraska we shoot things from the air. Pew, pew."
"That does not surprise me, Penny, and something I have taken into consideration." Frankly, Sheldon was ecstatic that Penny was not familiar with kite fighting - he had been counting on it. "It's no matter at all as I will be happy to teach you."
"Hey, Penny! Happy to teach what?" From the hallway leading to their bedrooms Leonard appeared. As usual he was wearing one of his hoodies, returning to the casual geek look that Priya had temporarily changed. He seemed far more comfortable in these clothes than anything she had picked out for him. There was a huge smile on his face at merely looking at Penny and Sheldon's muscles tensed as he watched his roommate advance closer to the kitchen.
Inwardly Sheldon was staring at Leonard with his gaze of death. Not only did he feel robbed of time (as usual, really), but Penny was about to smile at him and instead her eyes went swinging away! That the expression in them dimmed appeased him a little. Leonard really did have a way of spoiling things! It was past time he took care of that.
"Sheldon's going to show me how to kite fight!"
The brightness in Penny's tone began to calm his inner frustrations with Leonard, though it only took his roommate and colleague two seconds to ruin it - again.
"What? But you don't like kite fighting."
Of course, the confusion in Leonard's tone was rather rewarding.
"Now, Leonard, you can't say that." Sheldon stepped in, gave Penny a moment with her bear claw that she had been trying to take another bite of. "As Penny has never flown a kite before she cannot determine that yet."
Leonard's dark brows winged up. "All right, that may be, but she never accepted any of my invitations for kite fighting." His eyes flickered between his roommate and his ex-girlfriend, focused on the latter - who merely shrugged and took a sip of coffee.
"You never included lunch and a movie?"
Leonard's stance tightened a little defensively. "Carney's and The Muppets? That's the big lure? You hate trains and last year when we displayed our Muppet costumes, you laughed!"
"Hey! That's not true!" Penny exclaimed.
"No? You've never expressed interest in them before!" Defended Leonard just as Sheldon's voice pitched.
"You laughed?" Sheldon's eyes went a little wide on Penny. "But you said my Kermit looked authentic!"
He could feel his lower lip just slightly start to tremble. Leonard's low self-esteem could not accept the fact that Penny was more apt to go kiting on Sheldon's invitation than his (and was likely remembering how she had opted for football with her friends than kite fighting); it did not matter that Leonard was clueless to the most important matter because this had given him enough ammunition. Now to hear Penny had laughed about his baby Muppet costume? This was not part of the scheduled day! Darn Leonard.
Penny let out a sigh and shook her head; Sheldon didn't miss the quick daggers she eyed Leonard with. When she looked back to Sheldon, however, the gaze had softened.
"I did laugh, yes, but that was more at Howard in his Gonzo costume - the nose was in such the wrong place. You make a great Kermit."
It was not what she said that soothed his slightly ruffled feathers, but ... her tone. It always came back to her tone, the way she spoke and the expression in her eyes. Especially when she said that last line about him being a great Kermit; he could have sworn her eyes were sparkling. Then, of course, Leonard came back into the conversation, or at least tried. The moment he went to open his mouth Sheldon's gaze pinned him and held him silent; if Leonard was only to cause problems he may just have to stay home!
"Now, Leonard, I'm surprised at you. After all your bemoaning over the years how you want more time with Penny, even despite her attempts to avoid you at times, here are you complaining! And attempting to start fights! I will have no fighting in this apartment. You know how I feel about arguments."
Penny's eyes fixated on her coffee.
"I wasn't starting a fight! Or complaining." Leonard's arms crossed tight across his chest just as Sheldon's eyes narrowed a little.
They all knew what was coming: Sheldon's shoulders tensed a little, his chin lifted with the natural air of superiority, and his chest puffed out a little. "And you have just earned yourself a strike."
Leonard muttered under his breath and glanced to Penny as she purposely kept herself busy with the last few bites of the bear claw. That was two strikes now after getting one last week for something equally inane.
"I'm really not complaining," he defended again, though in a much smaller voice. "I'm just... confused." Bewildered might be a better word.
"Considering the chaotic and useless state of your research I'm not surprised," Sheldon snorted.
Seeing Penny done with breakfast he moved for his wind breaker once wiping down the space of counter she'd used and rinsing out her coffee cup. He didn't need to see Leonard's expression to know his roommate was far more focused on being insulted than why Penny was with them. Leonard was far too easily manipulated at times, and his overly sensitive nature and battered sense of self worth were much hotter buttons to push than anything female related. (Women did come in second, though.) Using Leonard's frailty against himself had not only proved useful in keeping espionage activities and determining factors hidden, but gave Sheldon a way to needle back at him.
Frankly, after seeing Leonard treat Penny like a piece of meat in their relationship, Sheldon wanted to do a more than simply needle.
After assured that Leonard had the kites in the trunk, the three piled into Leonard's car and headed for Raj's. The topic of discussion was, of course, that Leonard's research was not chaotic or useless.
In contrast to Leonard's reaction, Raj gave a friendly smile and waved at Penny when he saw her; he didn't at all seem surprised to see her there. That was rather nice, she thought as she returned his smile, greeted him vocally despite knowing that he could not - he hadn't had any liquor yet today, after all. The rest of the drive was in relative peace, Leonard having eventually moved on from Sheldon's well-timed insult and seemed now more interested in the patang stowed carefully in the trunk. However, she did not at all miss the few looks he tossed her way in the rear view mirror, even if she did not return a single one.
She wanted to be shocked at how Leonard was reacting... but could she really be? He was entirely clueless about her feelings for Sheldon and that meant he was even more unaware of Sheldon (possible) feeling about her. (Eh, scratch the possible.) That did not matter, though, because he was still convinced that he loved her, they were meant together, and he felt threatened. That was the bottom line. He could not conceive how she would actually want to go kite fighting, to Carney's, and a movie when he had not been involved with the planning. Despite that she was considered part of their group she did not make a great deal of appearances outside of the norm.
If she wanted to be fair to him she could admit that it was because of him that she had a place in the group at all - technically he had been the one who first invited her over for lunch. He'd been the one who kept up the lines of communication, though she'd known then as she did now that he'd done so out of his interest for her. Since she could be a little fair to him - he only marginally annoyed her this morning - she would thank him later for being the person who brought her and Sheldon together. It did not take a genius to know that alone Sheldon would not have approached her or invited for lunch or anything that happened as a result. They would be complete strangers who merely lived across the hall from each other, and that was a rather sad thought and fate. For that alone Leonard deserved a high five.
They arrived to a relatively active park – not surprising considering how perfect the weather was! – but were able to find decent parking and secure two good spots for their kite fighting teams. It was not until the four of them were in the park that Penny finally saw the extra kite Sheldon had for her. The thing had been covered the whole way from the car! Like some special military secret, she thought with a small roll of her eyes. The inner sarcasm was gone a heartbeat later when Sheldon removed the kite cover and revealed a magnificent phoenix.
Penny's breath caught in her throat as she took in the kite. Neither too large or too small, the main body of the mythical creature was done in pink silk, the feathers, so detailed in their shape and painted ridges along the edges, were a ripple of gold and trimmed with purple; six long tails rippled down in gold and purple and had scalloped edges of silver. Along the middle tail was P E N N Y painted onto the silk with perfectly neat brushstrokes in black ink. The kite looked as if it could sail around the world and take her for the ride.
"Sheldon…" What did she say? It was beautiful! It was a kite, but it was beautiful and…
"I wanted to make sure you liked the kite. The Phoenix seemed appropriate as it rises from the ashes to live again and one can only speculate how your first kite fighting experience will go. However, I would not compare the bird's song with yours." He spoke so quickly that Penny had to glance up at him, her fingertips lingering on the silk phoenix. His lips were a little pinched; they relaxed the moment she smiled.
"Sheldon, I love it. It's gorgeous! And hey, I have my very own mythical creature!" She was not even going to comment about his indirect jab about her singing ability or lack thereof.
"Penny, one cannot own a mythical creature. They are mythical and –"
"Sheldon, shut your hole and take my thanks," she said in a rather sweet voice.
He said nothing as his eyes shifted briefly to where Raj and Leonard were approaching after briefly leaving to get a couple waters. Already Leonard was suspiciously eying Penny's kite – he would have remembered Sheldon having a kite like this one - something she saw when her eyes flickered over to the pair. Damnit! She wanted to be able to really enjoy this kite (seriously?) and more so the fact that Sheldon got this for her. Specifically for her. (Later she could question just when he really did buy the kite.)
Thankfully, Sheldon seemed more prepared for this question from Leonard, and when Leonard inquired, he simply said:
"Oh, I've had this one for years. Originally I purchased it for Missy, but when she did not display any interest in kite fighting I stored it away in case I ever needed an extra. Now Penny can use a real one instead of that Hello Kitty excuse for a kite. I don't know what Howard was thinking."
He must have practiced because his right eye only squinted a little with the lie and that could have been from the sun. Leonard seemed to accept the response, perhaps because he did not get a glimpse of the tail with Penny's name on it. That would have opened a completely new can of worms, and while she was pretty sure Sheldon had answers ready, she'd rather they didn't have to be. Penny was simply happy Leonard did not start with more questions or looks and merely took his kite and Raj with his kite to their determined spot.
She was even happier when the moment she and Sheldon were alone he smiled at her.
Today was going to be a good day.