Leonard glanced over at Penny, standing at her door with a slumping posture, talking to Sheldon with her brow furrowed. Radiant, gorgeous, and untouchable.

Moments later Sheldon came flouncing back into the apartment, his words seething with anger as he muttered, "Darned Nebraskan man-handed..." and so on.

XXX

Leonard offered Penny a small wave as she stood leaning against her doorway, softly banging her head against the wall.

She straightened and blinked at him. Didn't even smile as she turned on her heel, and slammed the door behind her.

XXX

He frowned after her, waited a moment, then went over and knocked on her door.

It opened a fraction, revealing a frantic blue eye and a smudge of light hair.

"What was that all about?" he said, confused.

"What was what all about?" she repeated.

"Your whole performance in the hallway."

The eye narrowed. "Look, sorry Leonard. I can't talk now."

"Why?"

"Sick—" she said, then let out two weak coughs, the kind he did when his mother skyped and he really couldn't be bothered with her. "—see? Sick. Real sick. Bye, Leonard."

"Wait—"

The door closed.

XXX

Leonard muddled his way back to his apartment, his eyes casting over Sheldon, who was sitting in his spot with his laptop and expensive headphones.

"Sheldon?" Leonard said, closing the door.

Sheldon sighed. "AFK. What is it, Leonard?" he said, his mouth a thin, irritated line.

Leonard frowned. "Do you know what's up with Penny?"

Sheldon blinked. "Are you referring to some emotional affliction? Because if not, I don't have much more knowledge in the matter, but I think I need to douse myself in—"

"You're fine." Leonard said, stopping him short. Not that he really knew whether Penny was sick or not, but he did know that Sheldon would freak out far beyond what the situation called for, if he told him that she in fact, was. "Penny's not sick."

Sheldon's shoulders relaxed. "Then what reason could you possibly have for interrupting me?"

"Doesn't she seem... off, to you?"

Sheldon blinked at him.

"You're right. I really, really shouldn't be asking you that."

XXX

After his brief, strange encounter with Sheldon—not that any of them weren't odd in some way—he went back over to Penny's apartment and rapped on the door twice.

That blue eye blinked at him again. "What is it, Leonard?"

"I wanted to see how you were feeling." He said.

"I told you—" there was the sound of her blowing her nose, "—really off the weather."

"You seemed fine before," he said, shrugging.

"So I'm a liar now?"

Leonard's eyes flashed back to hers, or rather, the only one visible. It had narrowed to a slit, and her voice had lost any trace of the fuzziness that accompanied sickness—fabricated or not.

"No. No, I'm not saying that," he said with a sigh. "I don't really know what I'm saying—"

She interrupted him, and the stark alertness in her voice wiped away any doubt that she wasn't lying about being sick. "Well, Leonard, I'm not going to stand here and take crap from you, alright? I'm not going to be accused of anything—"

He sighed again. "Look, Penny, I'm sorry."

She blinked at him. Her voice had softened. "What?" she said. "God. Fine. Come in."

The door opened fully, and he realised with a fresh wave of something that he was having a hard time identifying, that it really was good to see both of her eyes.

XXX

He sat down on her couch, watching as she skittered off to the kitchen to rummage through her cupboards, poking at bags of flour and miscellaneous pots, but never actually pulling anything out.

"Penny." He said, and she stiffened, but eventually turned around. "Have I done something?"

Her face contorted into a bland smile and she flapped at him. "No. No, of course not."

"Really?" he said, his brow furrowing. "You're acting weird."

She sneezed into cupped hands. "I told you. Sick."

He shrugged. "Alright. Why don't you sit down?"

She blinked. Her voice caught. "Leonard—" she said, faltered, and slowly started again. "Sick. I'll make you sick."

XXX

He cocked his head and squinted at her, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't hear the real words, the ones she was supposed to say before she lied to him.

XXX

He looked at the couch cushions. "Alright."

She nodded at him and instead took a seat at the table by the window. "Where's Priya today?"

He flashed a grin her way. "Oddly enough, sick."

Her lips twitched, like she dare not smile back. "Funny."

XXX

He didn't know whether he felt hurt, or even offended, that she never smiled back.

He didn't know what he felt, but he felt something. It niggled, not at his heart, but rather off to the side, wriggling under his skin and beneath muscle, with no intention of leaving.

He didn't know what he felt, and that annoyed him.

But he wanted her to smile. He knew that.

XXX

"Listen, Penny,"

She looked at him, her eyes and hair glinting in defiance against the generous light embracing her frame. "Mmm?"

Radiant, gorgeous, and untouchable.

His words crawled back under his tongue as his previous thoughts struck inside his head.

Radiant, gorgeous, and untouchable.

XXX

He simply smiled at her, while she frowned.

"What? What is it?"

XXX

"Nothing. It's nothing."

XXX

He got up, and she was still staring at him, befuddled.

"I think I should go," he said, shaking his head. "But thanks."

She walked him to the door, her head angled down, ever so slightly.

XXX

She bid him goodbye, and he walked away.

Once at his own door, he risked one last glance, just to see if she'd still be there.

She was, standing there, almost wavering. Her arms were crossed, her eyes narrowed, and her lips still painted in that same frown.

He gave her a small wave as she retreated back inside, and repeated the words, because if he didn't, he wasn't so sure what would happen.

Radiant.

Gorgeous.

But untouchable.