First off, I don't own The Big Bang Theory and no profit is being made from this story. Second, I would like to give a huge thank you to my beta reader RiStark.
The car ride home from work with Leonard was a quiet one. Sheldon couldn't help but feel angry on Penny's behalf when he thought about Leonard forbidding Penny to do anything. Penny was an adult, not a child, and therefore no one should forbid her to do anything. He knew that if anyone tried to forbid him to do anything he would get angry and rightfully so.
Sheldon was so deep in thought that when Leonard stopped at Siam Palace he was confused. "Why did you stop?" he asked.
"It's Thai food night. You do want your mi krop and chicken satay, don't you? Because if you don't we can always have something else," said Leonard irritably. He looked upset.
Sheldon realized that he was walking on thin ice with Leonard so he took a deep breath and cautiously said, "Don't be ridiculous. It's Monday so of course we're having Thai food."
The silence resumed until they reached their apartment. Just as Leonard was about to unlock the door, Penny exited her apartment, closed the door, and walked over toward them.
"Hey, guys," she said cheerfully. "Thai food tonight?"
"Penny, it's Monday," answered Sheldon grumpily as Leonard opened the apartment door. "Of course we're having Thai food." He wished that he could be more excited about his Nobel Prize, but the whole situation with Amy weighed heavily on his mind.
"For someone who just found out that he won a Nobel Prize, Sheldon sure doesn't seem too happy," Sheldon heard Penny say to Leonard after they entered the apartment.
"He and Amy broke up," answered Leonard, as Sheldon put his keys in the bowl.
"Sheldon, what did you do?" asked Penny as Sheldon put away his messenger bag and hung up his jacket.
Sheldon felt that he really hadn't done anything wrong, so he said "I didn't do anything wrong. I was simply doing you a favor and Amy was completely unreasonable about it."
Sheldon heard Leonard snicker and so he sent a scathing glare at him in response.
Sheldon saw Penny's eyes narrow at him so he hurriedly continued his explanation as he sat down at his spot on the couch. "I merely informed Amy that I was going to take you to Stockholm for the awards ceremony instead of her. You were sick when Leonard was going to take you to Switzerland so I assumed you would be more deserving."
Penny sat down next to Sheldon and said, "Sweetie, that's very sweet of you to think of me, but it really would be more appropriate for you to take Amy."
"Penny, I can't take Amy because she is on a no-fly list so we would have to take a boat. I can't take a boat. What if I get thrown overboard? I don't know how to swim."
"Oh, Sweetie, I really appreciate it, but I still can't go with you. I'm with Leonard." Sheldon saw Penny look discretely at Leonard as she said this. He quickly glanced over at Leonard and noted that he looked particularly perturbed.
"Penny, don't worry about it," said Leonard, distributing the food, napkins, and utensils. "I already explained that to him and I told him that I forbid him from taking you."
Sheldon saw Penny glare at Leonard before he heard her say, "Wait a minute! Leonard, you can't forbid me to do anything!"
"Penny, you're my girlfriend! You can't go to Sweden with Sheldon!" he said defensively.
Sheldon did not like all the yelling so in an attempt to put a stop to it, he said, "Leonard, Penny's right. You can't forbid her to do anything. Penny is not a child."
"Thank you, Sheldon," said Penny in what did not sound like a sarcastic tone to him.
"Stay out of it, Sheldon!" snapped Leonard.
Sheldon picked up his chicken satay and began to eat.
"You know, Leonard, just because of your whole attitude, I think I will go with Sheldon to Sweden!"
"Not as long as you're my girlfriend you won't!"
"I guess I'm no longer your girlfriend then!"
Penny started to cry as Leonard picked up his food and stomped off in the direction of his room.
As much as Sheldon didn't like physical contact, he felt that should do something to try to calm Penny down. He put down his chicken and then wrapped his arms around Penny in an awkward hug. The hug wasn't as bad as he had expected. He was surprised to note that it was much more pleasant than hugging Amy. Also, Penny's hair, which smelled like cherry blossoms, smelled better than Amy's hair ever did. Maybe it was because Amy only used dandruff shampoo? Sheldon decided that he would analyze the hair issue later and focus on Penny right now.
Sheldon, having once snuggled with Amy when she was upset, decided that this situation was similar enough that Penny would want to snuggle. Surprising himself with the intense desire to make Penny feel better, he said "There, there. I'm here if you feel the need to snuggle."
"Sheldon, are you actually asking me to snuggle?" asked Penny sounding disbelieving.
"Well, I wouldn't be completely opposed to it." He leaned back and prepared himself for a long snuggling session with Penny.
They had been snuggling for twenty two minutes, and Penny's tears had long since dried up, when he heard Penny ask, "I know Howard and Bernadette are on a date, but where's Raj?"
"Raj has opted to spend time with Stuart this evening," said Sheldon, wondering whether it would be socially acceptable to ask for a break from snuggling to put the food away.
"Thank you," said Penny, sounding sincere. "Oh, Sheldon, by the way, congratulations on winning the Nobel Prize."