The Size Of It
She was going to do more than punch them in the throat. She was going to do more than hog-tie and castrate them. She was going to kill them. Slowly. Painfully. With a smile and great joy.
Sheldon gulped and twisted his hands together with agitation as Penny ranted and yelled. Even with his excellent hearing he could barely hear her. He wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. Her threats were getting more and more violent and a few had made his skin crawl. She was quite the bloodthirsty little thing.
Sheldon gave a surprised bark of laughter at that thought. Penny stopped pacing and spun around. Unfortunately, her shoes weren't optimal for retaining traction on his couch. Penny's arms flailed as she pitched forward and plunged toward the floor.
His heart skipped a beat as he lunged forward and scooped her up. He clutched her to his chest, his eyes wide with concern. "Penny? Are you injured?" he asked softly.
Her tiny fists were twisted into his shirt, her eyes squeezed shut tightly. After a moment she looked up, tears slipping down her cheeks. "Thank you," she whispered.
Howard reached out and brushed some of Penny's hair back, and she swiftly turned her head and bit his finger. She glared at the small Jewish man fiercely. "Fix me!" she snarled.
Howard looked at her sheepishly and held out his hands. "I don't know how," he admitted. "I don't know how I shrunk you to begin with! This thing was busted. It's never worked. I don't know what happened!"
Penny tried to spring at Howard, but Sheldon kept a firm grip on her. She threw her head back and screamed as loud as she could. No one heard the door open.
"Oh god!" Leonard moaned. "Sheldon you didn't get a cat, did you?" Sheldon and Howard spun guiltily as Leonard, Amy, Bernadette and Raj walked into the apartment with pizzas.
The newcomers froze.
After a couple of seconds Penny waved and smiled self-consciously. "Hey guys. Ask me how my day went."
Penny edged her way around a pizza box and sighed softly. Sheldon looked at her, noting the sadness in her expression. Amy was chattering on about how much she wanted to scan Penny's brain and see if there were any changes in her brain waves due to her deduced size. Bernadette kept giggling about how Penny was now only 19 inches tall, and wanting to play dress up with her. Raj just kept poking her with a finger to assure himself he was really seeing her, and not just drunk. Leonard was sulking in the armchair, having spent the last hour ranting and yelling at him and Howard.
It's not like they had shrunk her on purpose. They were actually disassembling the laser to use it for spare parts when she had walked in and it went off. Raj quickly poked Penny again and tears sprang to her eyes. Sheldon reached out and picked her up, holding her close to his chest. He glared at his Indian friend and stood up. He ignored Leonard's demand to know where he was going with Penny. He ignored Amy's outstretched hand to collect her "bestie". He simply walked from the apartment and headed across the hall.
Once he had shut and locked the door, he sat Penny down on her sofa. "Are you okay?" he asked timidly.
Penny glared for a second before bursting into tears. "Do I look alright to you?!"
Sheldon fidgeted and sat down tentatively. He cleared his throat and looked at the miniscule woman he considered a friend.
"Soft kitty, warm kitty, little ball of fur. Happy kitty, sleepy kitty, purr, purr, purr."
He restrained his instinctive twitch as Penny climbed onto his lap and cuddled against his abdomen. She cried softly, so he began singing again, his left hand coming down to support her back. When she finally fell asleep, he studied her closely. He had never really watched anyone sleep before. Her breathing was even, her chest rising and falling rhythmically. He couldn't help grinning when she began mumbling in her sleep. She was dreaming about AoC, apparently, mumbling about Sheldor, Queen P, trolls and scythes.
He watched her right hand twist in the material of his Batman and Robin shirt, and realized there was a pattern to it. Clench, clench, twist, smooth. Recently he had begun to notice patterns that Penny had. When she ate it was bite, bite, napkin, drink. When she descended the stairs it was step, bounce, bounce, step, bounce. When she served them their food it was always in the same order. Howard, Raj, Leonard then him. Even her laundry had a pattern to it. Not the actual washing of the clothes, but the folding of them. She would actually sift through the clothes and fold in the order of shirt, pants, underwear, socks. If she had folded a pair of underwear, she would search through the load to find socks, rather than picking up whatever was on top.
In the six years he had known her, he had always equated her to chaos. He was beginning to realize there was an underlying order to Penny. Slowly his eyes drifted closed as he wondered what other patterns he had missed over the years.
They both began to waken, feeling warm and comfortable. Penny snuggled against the lean chest and wondered when Leonard had gotten so fit. Sheldon pulled the body in his arms closer, wondering how he was going to explain this when Penny realized it was him she was rubbing her pert bottom against. He also wondered when he had decided that her didn't mind having an armful of Penny.
Suddenly Penny gasped and scrambled off Sheldon's lap. Her skin flushed as she stared at him wide eyed. "Oh god! I'm so sorry, sweetie! I didn't mean to maul you!"
Sheldon stood and blushed as Penny's eyes darted to the evidence of human nature straining against his chinos. "I am pleased to see you have returned to your former dimensions, Penny."
She was immediately distracted and looked down at herself. Penny grinned widely and did a little jig. She flung her arms around his neck and placed a smacking kiss on his cheek. "Yea! I'm me again!"
Sheldon smiled slightly and nodded. "It would appear that the effects of Howard's shrink laser are not permanent. If you will excuse me, I am late for my morning shower." He headed for the door and paused before turning back to face her. "You were always you. No matter what physical changes you go through, you are still essentially Penny," he corrected softly. "For which I am glad."
He exited quickly, leaving Penny to stare after him with stunned awareness. She had to be mistaken. Right? Surely she had imagined the look of attraction in Sheldon's eyes. She remembered the feel of his arm around her, his morning erection pressing against her intimately. No, she was definitely imagining it. Just like she was imagining her own response to Sheldon. A response she was still feeling.
Penny headed to the bathroom to take a shower. She needed to put it out of her mind. That train of thought would complicate everything.
Sheldon stepped into the shower and relived the feeling of holding Penny. He was shocked to discover he wished he had stolen a kiss. He dunked under the spray and tried to put it from his mind. Nothing good would come of these contemplations. He had Amy. Penny had Leonard. End of story.
But…..what if…..
