Fandom: THE BIG BANG THEORY
Title: Waffling
Word Count: 907
Spoilers: Episode 3.08 - based on spoilers for the episode
Rating: PG
Pairing: Sheldon/Penny, friendshippy
Summary: Leonard returns home and finds Sheldon making waffles... on oatmeal day.
A/N - Just a little niggling idea that wouldn't go away - it's something I'd like to see but am absolutely positive we won't. Still, I'm super excited for the episode! The title is AWFUL, by the way- sorry!
Waffling
Leonard had never been so glad to be home. Though now he'd have to admit to Sheldon that the camping had been a bad idea... he hated it when Sheldon was right. Which was most of the time. It just wasn't fair, really. He paused before unlocking the door, wondering if he should just go straight to Penny's... he quickly decided against it, as it was still early. Well, it was gone ten, but that was early to Penny.
He unlocked the door and walked into the apartment. "Ah, you're alive," Sheldon said, from behind the kitchen counter. "Well done."
Leonard frowned and dumped his bag on the floor. "Well done?"
Sheldon nodded, his eyes fixed on a mixing bowl in front of him, in which he was whisking something. "Yes," he said. "I calculated the odds of you perishing in the wilderness with Wolowitz and Koothrapali - they weren't in your favour."
Leonard rolled his eyes and dropped his keys in the bowl. "Right, nice to see you too, Sheldon," he said. He took off his jacket and draped it over the back of his desk chair, before wandering across the room to see what Sheldon was actually doing. He frowned when he saw the waffle iron out and ready to use. "Are you making waffles?"
Sheldon didn't look up. "Evidently."
"Isn't it oatmeal day?"
Sheldon finally looked up. "I've already eaten," he said. "The waffles are for Penny." He left the whisk in the bowl of waffle batter and went to wash his hands at the sink.
Leonard frowned again. "You lose a bet or something?"
"No," said Sheldon, with his back to Leonard. "My Mom always used to make me waffles if I injured myself."
It took several seconds for the implications of the sentence to sink in. "Injured - wait, did something happen to Penny?!" Leonard exclaimed.
Sheldon turned back round. "Didn't you get my voicemail?"
Leonard was starting to feel panicky. "No, I haven't checked my messages - what happened?" He demanded.
Sheldon started towel-drying his hands. "She slipped in the shower and dislocated her right shoulder," he said matter-of-factly.
Leonard's panic receded - that wasn't too bad. Still though - ouch. "Is she okay?"
"She's fine," Sheldon said. "The doctors reset her shoulder and gave her some codeine for the pain - which made her stir-fry crazy, by the way. She's probably still sleeping it off."
Leonard wanted to ask what Sheldon meant by stir-fry crazy, but before he could the apartment door opened and Penny herself appeared. Her face was slightly pale and her right arm was in a sling, but she was smiling.
"Hey Sheldon - Leonard!" She stopped when she saw him, surprised. Then she smiled. "You're back - see Sheldon, I told you they wouldn't perish in the wilderness," she said, talking over Leonard's shoulder at Sheldon. She looked back at Leonard. "Raj and Howard are alive too right?"
"Yep."
She looked back at Sheldon. "See?"
Sheldon looked unimpressed. "I didn't say it would definitely happen; I just told you the odds," he replied.
Leonard rolled his eyes at the exchange. "Are you okay?" He asked Penny, stepping next to her.
Penny smiled. "Yeah, I'm okay," she said. "It hurt like hell yesterday but today it feels more stiff than anything else. It still hurts to move it."
"The doctor said not to move it for twenty-four hours," Sheldon said.
Penny rolled her eyes. "I'm not," she said.
"Well clearly you did, or you wouldn't know it hurt to do so."
"I didn't do it on purpose," Penny said. "Back off Nurse Ratched."
Leonard decided to jump in. "Sheldon said they gave you codeine," he prompted.
Penny looked back at him, looking sheepish. "Er, yeah... that was pretty weird..."
Sheldon snorted. "And you call me whackadoodle..."
"Hey!" Penny protested, walking round Leonard and up to the kitchen counter. "At least my insanity was drug-induced. What's your excuse?"
Sheldon folded his arms angrily. "How many times do I have to tell you that I'm not insane? My mother had me tested!"
Penny was around the counter now, and looked ready to answer back before her eyes fell on the waffle iron. She frowned. "Didn't we have waffle day last weekend?" She asked.
Sheldon shrugged. "My Mom makes me waffles when I hurt myself," he said.
Penny's frown melted into a look of surprise. "Wait - you're making them for me?"
"Yes," Sheldon said, reaching out to stir the batter again. "Would you like them now?"
Penny was struggling not to grin, and Leonard watched, astounded, as she beckoned Sheldon closer. Sheldon looked very confused, but obediently lowered his head to her level. Penny darted forward and kissed him on the cheek.
"Thank you for taking care of me," she said, grinning as Sheldon quickly stood upright again. Sheldon looked down at her, and it seemed to Leonard like he was trying to decide whether to scold her or to smile.
In the end, he started stirring the batter again. "You're welcome," he said after a moment.
Penny watched him work, smiling, and Leonard suddenly felt like he was intruding on something. Which was ridiculous in all kinds of ways. He shook himself and sat down on one of the stools.
"Could I get a waffle?" He asked.
Sheldon started to spoon the batter onto the iron. "That's entirely up to Penny," Sheldon told him. "They're her waffles."
The End