Laundry Night
Sheldon has a schedule he clings to. Saturdays are laundry night. His life has been in upheaval for over a month now, and strict adherence to his schedule is essential. Leonard was threatening to move out. Raj and Howard avoided him. Despite the truth being known, many of his colleagues still snickered behind his back, enjoying his discomfort. Leslie Winkle made it a point to run into him each day and make a whirring noise as she passed by. He thought about telling her that the noise she was making sounded nothing like a can opener, but he found he just didn't have the will to fight her.
He turned the corner and entered the laundry room. Penny was sitting on one of the washing machines in the corner flipping through a magazine. He looked around, but all of the machines were empty and her basket was nowhere in sight.
He separated his whites and darks and filled up 3 machines. Once they began, he turned and faced her. She was smiling at him. After a moment he found himself smiling back. Penny was the one ray of sunshine in his world right now. She had been amazing at the gala. Having her defend him had eased some of his pain. Movie night had been an eye opener. The discovery that she had come to mean a great deal to him was surprising.
Penny is lively, bubbly, chaotic, emotional, beautiful and utterly incorrigible. He is none of these things. He isn't even comfortable with those things. So why does it seem so right, so perfect that she is his friend?
"How's it going, sweetie?" She hopped down from the far washer and moved over to the one beside him. "How's work?"
Sheldon crossed his arms in front of him and glanced at her. "Much the same as last week. And the week before," he replied. "I am attempting to review all the data from the…trip," his voice hardened slightly over that word, "to see if there is anything salvageable. So far there is little I can use. But I am hopeful that even my initial negative results will yield something."
His arm twitched slightly as Penny laid her head on his shoulder. "I'm so sorry you have to go through this, sweetie," she mumbled.
His nostrils caught the faint vanilla scent of her shampoo and he sighed. He slid an arm around her waist tentatively and hugged her. It felt good, he realized. Just two friends relaxing in the laundry room.