Fic: Soft Puppy (Sheldon/Penny)
Title: Soft Puppy
Fandom: Big Bang Theory
Pairing: Sheldon/Penny
Words: 769 (yes, I know it was only supposed to be 500, but I wasn't doooone XD)
Rating: G
Notes: For cb_wolf who responded to my entry in the sheldon_penny community by signing this petition and also linking to it in her own journal. The prompt: "Something to do with Sheldon liking his belly scratched." I hope you like it, cb!
After Penny and Leonard decide to remain just friends and stick with the decision, Sheldon is relieved by the promise of order and consistency. He absently notes over pad thai one evening that the turn of events is a clear indication of personal growth, and hypothesizes that this growth could be a key factor in “Penny’s average rate of dating lowering conspicuously as compared to past statistics.” Penny drops a spoonful of her own food onto Sheldon’s.
“Penny, that’s one stri -”
“I didn’t touch your stupid food, Sheldon.” Sheldon twitches noticeably as Penny stalks out before he can retaliate, and she’d found a good loophole in any case.
Something about the conflict sticks though because Sheldon says surprisingly little about it when Penny becomes enamored with the new puppies her friend Trisha’s dog has. Leonard caught Sheldon “pondering over the detrimental need for companionship that plagues the majority of society” just after they ran into Penny in the hallway with a bag of new dog toys she couldn’t resist at the pet shop.
Penny didn’t have the time or the place for a dog, and she knew it. Still, she was allowed to help name some of the puppies and unfortunately became extremely attached to Spock. She named him on the grounds that he was the most socially challenged puppy she’d ever seen, so of course he reminded her of Sheldon. The physicist gave one of his small, genuinely pleased smiles when he first heard about her choice.
Penny agreed to puppy-sit for Trisha regularly and got into the habit of giving them little pats while she read over scripts for auditions she had coming up. It was just reflex when Sheldon squirmed restlessly on the couch in the midst of a frustrating portion of a video game that Penny reached out to soothe him absentmindedly. She retracted her hand after a couple of seconds, crying, “Oh my god, I’m sorry, Sheldon!”
“It’s fine,” Sheldon brushed off the words absentmindedly, still apparently focused on his game, “I am not completely adverse to the sensation of belly rubs, although I suppose if you were a stranger it would be a different matter.”
Penny left soon after that, feeling awkward.
Spock was inevitably sold to a good home and Penny was a mature, sophisticated adult about it. That is, until she found a forgotten chew toy in the corner of her apartment and burst into tears. Only Sheldon was home when she went storming into his and Leonard’s apartment, and he was extremely perturbed by the sight of the flailing, puffy-eyed, incoherent Penny as she gestured with the chew toy and then finally slumped into a resigned heap on the couch. There was a long pause, and as usual Sheldon could only think to say: “There, there.”
This only seemed to exacerbate Penny’s distress and Sheldon tensed up even further, frozen in a tight and uncomfortable state of helplessness that seemed all too common when Penny was involved. Sheldon very tentatively reached out to pat Penny’s shoulder, but that’s when he remembered.
“Penny, I know that I am no proper replacement for Spock the puppy, being a homo novus possessing mental faculties near-immeasurably greater, but you may still scratch my stomach if it will help to fill the void for a time.”
Penny stared at him for a long moment before sniffling and wiping her nose. “Oh, sweetie, you’d really do that?” Sheldon blanched and recoiled.
“Dear lord, woman, blow your nose and wash your hands first!” Penny turned a blank stare to the living room in front of them.
“I can’t believe I actually think this might help.” After washing her hands as directed, Penny curled up on the couch with a blanket wrapped around her, scratching Sheldon’s tummy with one hand and holding on to the old toy with the other.
“Sheldon?”
“Yes, Penny?”
“...Sing ‘Soft Puppy’ to me?”
“Penny!” Sheldon turned sharply to her, appalled. “You know that’s not the song!”
“Please, Sheldon?”
Sheldon squirmed and made a face at her imploring gaze. “Very well - but just this once!” He paused, and then almost seemed to choke the words out: “Soft puppy, warm puppy, little ball of furr. Happy puppy, sleepy puppy -” Sheldon cut himself off, and from his expression Penny could tell that he was going to get stuck if she didn’t intervene.
“Grrr, grrr, grrr.” Penny supplied softly.
“Yes, well.” The physicist shifted restlessly, muttering. “You’re not even sick...”
But he closed his eyes, clearly ending the conversation, and Penny smiled.
Fin
Fandom: Big Bang Theory
Pairing: Sheldon/Penny
Words: 769 (yes, I know it was only supposed to be 500, but I wasn't doooone XD)
Rating: G
Notes: For cb_wolf who responded to my entry in the sheldon_penny community by signing this petition and also linking to it in her own journal. The prompt: "Something to do with Sheldon liking his belly scratched." I hope you like it, cb!
After Penny and Leonard decide to remain just friends and stick with the decision, Sheldon is relieved by the promise of order and consistency. He absently notes over pad thai one evening that the turn of events is a clear indication of personal growth, and hypothesizes that this growth could be a key factor in “Penny’s average rate of dating lowering conspicuously as compared to past statistics.” Penny drops a spoonful of her own food onto Sheldon’s.
“Penny, that’s one stri -”
“I didn’t touch your stupid food, Sheldon.” Sheldon twitches noticeably as Penny stalks out before he can retaliate, and she’d found a good loophole in any case.
Something about the conflict sticks though because Sheldon says surprisingly little about it when Penny becomes enamored with the new puppies her friend Trisha’s dog has. Leonard caught Sheldon “pondering over the detrimental need for companionship that plagues the majority of society” just after they ran into Penny in the hallway with a bag of new dog toys she couldn’t resist at the pet shop.
Penny didn’t have the time or the place for a dog, and she knew it. Still, she was allowed to help name some of the puppies and unfortunately became extremely attached to Spock. She named him on the grounds that he was the most socially challenged puppy she’d ever seen, so of course he reminded her of Sheldon. The physicist gave one of his small, genuinely pleased smiles when he first heard about her choice.
Penny agreed to puppy-sit for Trisha regularly and got into the habit of giving them little pats while she read over scripts for auditions she had coming up. It was just reflex when Sheldon squirmed restlessly on the couch in the midst of a frustrating portion of a video game that Penny reached out to soothe him absentmindedly. She retracted her hand after a couple of seconds, crying, “Oh my god, I’m sorry, Sheldon!”
“It’s fine,” Sheldon brushed off the words absentmindedly, still apparently focused on his game, “I am not completely adverse to the sensation of belly rubs, although I suppose if you were a stranger it would be a different matter.”
Penny left soon after that, feeling awkward.
Spock was inevitably sold to a good home and Penny was a mature, sophisticated adult about it. That is, until she found a forgotten chew toy in the corner of her apartment and burst into tears. Only Sheldon was home when she went storming into his and Leonard’s apartment, and he was extremely perturbed by the sight of the flailing, puffy-eyed, incoherent Penny as she gestured with the chew toy and then finally slumped into a resigned heap on the couch. There was a long pause, and as usual Sheldon could only think to say: “There, there.”
This only seemed to exacerbate Penny’s distress and Sheldon tensed up even further, frozen in a tight and uncomfortable state of helplessness that seemed all too common when Penny was involved. Sheldon very tentatively reached out to pat Penny’s shoulder, but that’s when he remembered.
“Penny, I know that I am no proper replacement for Spock the puppy, being a homo novus possessing mental faculties near-immeasurably greater, but you may still scratch my stomach if it will help to fill the void for a time.”
Penny stared at him for a long moment before sniffling and wiping her nose. “Oh, sweetie, you’d really do that?” Sheldon blanched and recoiled.
“Dear lord, woman, blow your nose and wash your hands first!” Penny turned a blank stare to the living room in front of them.
“I can’t believe I actually think this might help.” After washing her hands as directed, Penny curled up on the couch with a blanket wrapped around her, scratching Sheldon’s tummy with one hand and holding on to the old toy with the other.
“Sheldon?”
“Yes, Penny?”
“...Sing ‘Soft Puppy’ to me?”
“Penny!” Sheldon turned sharply to her, appalled. “You know that’s not the song!”
“Please, Sheldon?”
Sheldon squirmed and made a face at her imploring gaze. “Very well - but just this once!” He paused, and then almost seemed to choke the words out: “Soft puppy, warm puppy, little ball of furr. Happy puppy, sleepy puppy -” Sheldon cut himself off, and from his expression Penny could tell that he was going to get stuck if she didn’t intervene.
“Grrr, grrr, grrr.” Penny supplied softly.
“Yes, well.” The physicist shifted restlessly, muttering. “You’re not even sick...”
But he closed his eyes, clearly ending the conversation, and Penny smiled.
Fin