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3rd POV – Future
In the laundry room, Sheldon stared at the corner of the room where his brother had planted a bug, wondering what kind of secret plan required such surveillance.
Oh no, he had completely dismissed what Leonard had said earlier. As far as he was concerned, it was simply 'Leonard being wrong.' Until Leonard apologized, Sheldon had no intention of speaking to him.
"Hey!" Penny entered the laundry room, noticing Sheldon intently observing something in front of him. Dressed in short jeans and a fitted t-shirt, she looked effortlessly casual, reflecting her laid-back and youthful lifestyle.
Carrying her laundry basket, Penny glanced at Sheldon. "Are you looking beyond the wall?" she joked, following his gaze.
"No. If I had that superpower, I would count how many bottles of wine you chug on a daily basis through my bedroom." Sheldon replied, giving her a sidelong glance. "It is dangerous and not recommended to consume more than two glasses for men and one glass for women per day."
Penny stared at him with a deadpan expression. "Do you think I drink wine every day?"
Sheldon returned her stare with an equally deadpan look. "Aren't you?"
This time, Penny averted her gaze and mumbled softly, "Yeah." But Sheldon, with his keen hearing, caught it.
He snorted and went back to folding his laundry. "FYI, the hot water in the washing machine isn't sufficient, so only use it for colored clothes. Machine number four dispenses fabric softener too soon—avoid it for other loads."
Penny glanced at the washing machines, noting what Sheldon had said. "Oh, alright." She shrugged and opted for a simpler solution, heading straight for machine number one, which, according to Sheldon, had no issues. She dumped all her clothes into it.
Sheldon sighed and walked over to her. "Penny," he said, receiving an innocent smile from her. "You don't have to live like this."
Penny's smile dropped, replaced by an annoyed expression. She was about to retort, but Sheldon beat her to it, "First, you need to separate your laundry—whites, darks, and colorful clothes should not be washed together to prevent color bleeding." As he spoke, he reached into the machine and started pulling out her clothes.
Penny glared at him. "I know! But I want to get this done quickly!" she snapped, grabbing her clothes back and shoving them into the machine again.
Sheldon's face twisted in frustration. "You can't do that! You'll ruin your clothes!" He pulled them out once more.
"It's my clothes!" Penny shot back, stuffing them in again. This time, she quickly shut the lid and hopped onto the machine, sitting on it triumphantly.
Grinning, Penny watched Sheldon, knowing he couldn't retrieve the clothes now.
Sheldon narrowed his eyes at her. She was sitting there, grinning as if she had just won a battle against him.
But Penny hadn't expected what came next.
She assumed Sheldon would give up and leave her be, but instead, he reached under her arms and effortlessly lifted her up.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Penny shrieked, staring at Sheldon in shock as he carried her with ease.
"Getting you off the washing machine," Sheldon stated matter-of-factly before setting her down. Penny, still wide-eyed, watched as Sheldon smirked at her, clearly pleased that her victorious expression had disappeared.
She continued staring at him, stunned. Meanwhile, Sheldon casually pulled her clothes out of the machine. "Good lord, woman, this is a disaster! Colorful, white, black, denim, soft fabrics, and lingerie all mixed together?!" he exclaimed while sorting through her laundry.
He glanced back at Penny, who was still staring at him with wide eyes. "Oh, you're not that heavy. I was strong enough to lift you easily." he added, assuming that was the reason for her shock.
Penny blinked rapidly, shaking her head to clear her thoughts. "Alright! I give up!" she sighed, raising her hands in surrender and walking over to him.
Sheldon scoffed and looked at her disapprovingly. "I know you're not rich, or you wouldn't be working at The Cheesecake Factory," he remarked bluntly. "You need to take better care of your clothes."
"Was it necessary to bring up my wealth in this conversation?" Penny shot back, glaring at him.
"No, but I need to remind you to stay grounded so you can take care of yourself," Sheldon replied, continuing to sort her laundry. "Alright, here's the thing." He ignored Penny's glare and proceeded to explain the proper way to do laundry.
Penny already knew how to do it—she just didn't always care to follow the proper steps. But she let Sheldon babble on and listened anyway.
"Do you get it?" Sheldon asked, turning to her. "You're not some country bumpkin washing your clothes with a rock, right?"
Penny scowled at him. "I know how to wash my clothes, Sheldon!" she huffed and begrudgingly followed his instructions.
Sheldon nodded approvingly and resumed folding his laundry. "Good. I don't want to see you do that again."
Penny shot him a scowl before refocusing on her laundry. "Sheldon, can I ask you a question?" she asked without looking at him.
Sheldon paused and turned to her. "Penny, this is not a classroom where you need permission to ask something that's on your mind."
"Alright, I heard a 'yes.'" Penny smirked, stepping closer to him. "Has Leonard ever dated a normal woman?"
Sheldon's expression soured. "Leonard, huh? I don't know."
"Really? Haven't you known Leonard for a long time?" Penny pressed but then noticed Sheldon's demeanor shift. "Wait… did something happen? You don't look happy."
Sheldon scoffed. "They call me a robot, but look at you now… Alright." He mumbled but stopped when he saw Penny's angry gaze.
He sighed and began recounting what had happened earlier, starting from Missy's visit. "That's why I'm not speaking to him until he apologizes."
Penny stared at him in disbelief. "Oh my god! Really? Is that why you've been acting differently since Missy visit?" she exclaimed, completely missing the part where Leonard had insulted Sheldon's brother.
"I suppose. Well, not really. Since starting high school, my brother and I have become very close. Georgie taught me how to be more 'human,' even to this day." Sheldon said, and Penny listened attentively—he was talking about Georgie after all.
"'Family comes first.' That's what Georgie instilled in both Missy and me. So I don't want anyone, even Leonard, my best friend, insulting my family." Sheldon said seriously.
Penny nodded. "Well, I'll talk to Leonard about this. But…" She looked at Sheldon intently. "You need to see Leonard's side of things. He's really scared about this. Alright, sure, he said something inappropriate about your family, but no one wants to be spied on."
Sheldon scoffed, but Penny continued, "Even you felt the same way. You've been acting weird lately because of what Missy said, right?"
Sheldon glared at her. "I know what's happening with me, Penny. I'm not crazy or stupid. I have an IQ of 187—I understand what you're saying." He returned to folding his clothes.
Penny grinned. "Alright, I'll talk to Leonard." Then she hesitated before asking, "So… what I originally wanted to ask—you know who Leonard has dated, right?".
Sheldon glanced at her. "Yes, I do."
Penny hesitated but decided to take the plunge. "Do you think if I dated Leonard, he'd get bored of me?"
"No." Sheldon answered immediately, without a second thought.
Penny's eyes widened. "That fast? Why?"
Sheldon looked at her. "Well…" He glanced at her from head to toe before continuing. "Penny, we're losers who still love comic books. We don't argue about politics or which celebrity got pregnant or abused by their boyfriend. We debate about who can lift Thor's hammer in Marvel comics."
Penny chuckled at that. "Why the look?" she asked, referring to the way Sheldon had scanned her from head to toe before answering.
Sheldon, feeling embarrassed, quickly averted his gaze and focused on his clothes. "I'm sorry about that. But like I said, a pretty little thing like you would never bore Leonard."
Penny blinked in disbelief. "Really?"
"Yes." Sheldon affirmed.
Penny kept blinking. "Did you just call me pretty?"
"…Get over it." Sheldon muttered, clearly annoyed that he couldn't lie to her.
Penny laughed at his grumbling but then brought up another issue. "Even after I lied about graduating from community college?"
Sheldon gave her a puzzled look. "Why did you lie about that?" Then, after a brief moment of thought, he nodded in realization. "Oh… I get it."
"…..Get what?" Penny asked, worryingly.
"You feel insecure about your education," Sheldon stated matter-of-factly, immediately understanding Penny's concern.
"Wow" Penny said, her mouth falling open. She never expected this day to come—where Sheldon actually understood human emotions.
Sheldon sighed and looked at her seriously. "Penny," he called her name, making sure she was listening. "From the time I was nine years old until now, my brother has always taught me about human emotions. Even though I didn't want to learn about them and thought it was a waste of time, my family kept guiding me on the subject."
Penny listened intently, her expression serious. "I know you feel insecure about this, but I don't see why," Sheldon continued.
"Why? Because you guys are all doctors!" Penny exclaimed, frowning. "Status—that's what concerns me. He keeps going on and on about college and post-graduate degrees. I don't want to look like a dumb loser in front of him. Being an actress-slash-waitress isn't exactly a prestigious job."
She walked back to her washing machine, her shoulders slightly trembling.
Sheldon observed her closely. "That's not really a concern. Well, it's Leonard, anyway—he has plenty of insecurities himself. Like his lactose intolerance or his asthma. But…" Sheldon placed his neatly folded clothes into his basket. "He's a good guy. Leonard just says what's on his mind. Like I said, we don't care about who attacked who or who got who pregnant. Leonard just wants to impress you. He didn't mean to belittle you—he just wants to make you think highly of him."
Sheldon spoke seriously as he tidied up his laundry, he forgot that he was angry with Leonard earlier. But then something unexpected happened.
"Uhmm… Penny, I don't hug people." Sheldon muttered, looking down at Penny, who was suddenly hugging him tightly.
"Thank you. I feel better now," Penny said before pulling away. She grinned at him. "That's my whackadoodle cowboy!"
"…..I need to shower now." Sheldon announced and hurriedly left.
Penny just laughed as she watched him run out of the laundry room. She turned back to her clothes, humming and dancing slightly as she worked on her clothes.
"Hey," a familiar voice interrupted her. The very person she and Sheldon had been talking about had just walked in. "What's the occasion?" Leonard asked with a smile.
Penny turned to him, her expression turning serious. "We need to talk."
Leonard, sensing the shift in tone, looked at her carefully. He had just run into Sheldon, but because of their previous awkward encounter, he hadn't greeted or spoken to him.
He knew this was about Sheldon. And he knew he needed to apologize. But his ego held him back—after all, what Sheldon's brother had done wasn't right either.
"You need to apologize to Sheldon," Penny stated matter-of-factly, making Leonard slightly irritated.
Penny began recounting what had happened and relayed her conversation with Sheldon.
Leonard… he was just jealous of Sheldon. But he had kept it a secret.
And Penny cracked it wide open.