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3rd POV — Future
Sheldon walked slowly into the cafeteria, where people were quietly enjoying their not-so-appetizing food. He sighed in relief — at least Missy's employee had gotten him a packed lunch.
That night had been a wild one. Once again, he'd gotten drunk over something he hadn't fully understood. He hadn't noticed that Penny hadn't meant it when she kissed him in her drunken state; it seemed it was a moment of weakness, not affection.
Sheldon believed she liked him — just as Paige had when she kissed him — although, this time, his own heart remained numb. There were no sparks, no rush, nothing.
He glanced around and saw his friends — Leonard, Howard, and Raj — deep in a conversation about whatever seemed important to them. Sheldon sighed and walked toward them anyway.
"Sheldon, over here!" Raj called, raising a hand to get his attention. Leonard turned and looked up from his seat, eyebrows raised.
"Where have you been, Sheldon? You weren't home last night." His tone was firm — nearly accusatory — and from the dark circles under his own eyes, it seemed Penny had kept him up by knocking on their door past 2 a.m., asking if Sheldon was back.
Sheldon remained unfazed by the rebuke in his voice. He walked over and sat beside him quietly.
"…I got drunk." Sheldon said softly, not intending to elaborate. He hoped his friends wouldn't press him further.
"Why?" Naturally, the curious one — this time it was Raj — asked anyway. Sheldon sighed.
"I fell back into a Paige episode… all over again. So I went to Honky Tonk to drown myself in that 'evil water.' That's what my mom calls it." Sheldon opened his lunch box. Inside were neatly prepared food — the kind you'd find in a nice restaurant — a delicate blend of meats, vegetables, and more.
"Okay… I want to ask you about 'Paige', but I'm more interested in what you're having for lunch." Howard nodded toward the meal.
Everyone knew not to mess with Sheldon's food — not just because it belonged to him, but because touching it seemed to drive him… well… more crazy.
"This is my lunch." Sheldon said quietly, tilting his head in confusion, as if it were ridiculous to state the obvious.
Howard pressed his lips together in disbelief before Leonard stepped in. "What Howard meant is… Why are you bringing your own lunch now? And who made it for you? It looks… really delicious."
"Oh." Sheldon nodded, then glanced at Howard once more. "You should be more precise when you ask questions… or you'll confuse me." With that, he turned back toward his food, ignoring Howard's dramatic sigh.
"Missy came by the bar. That bartender is my brother's employee and she told my brother about me." Sheldon said with a mischievous smirk. "She seemed to think it'd be that easy for him to come over."
Leonard furrowed his brows. Sheldon hadn't explained why Missy had gotten him this meal, or where it came from, but he remained silent and waited for Sheldon to explain — because Sheldon never left their questions unanswered.
"Missy gave me this for lunch. I don't know why she did it… but she rushed off afterwards." Sheldon paused briefly. "Of course, she didn't cook it herself. Her chef made it."
"She has a chef?" Howard said in disbelief. "I had a chef once… and two maids at home." Raj nodded, trying to boast alongside him.
Sheldon remained silent; for him, the explanation was finished. There was no need to say more.
"Penny came by last night, looking for you. She was worried, Sheldon." Leonard tried to steer the conversation back to something more serious.
"Oh." Sheldon said quietly, turning his attention back to his food in an effort to avoid the subject.
He remembered Georgie's words — 'A gentleman never kisses and tells.' Whatever had gone on between him and Penny was their business, not his friends'.
"Would you like to explain it to me?" Leonard said quietly, unable to hide his curiosity — and a hint of concern — since Sheldon hadn't offered a single word about why Penny kept looking for him.
"No." Sheldon said, then after a moment, glanced back. "Did Penny say anything?"
"If she did, we'd have told you already." Leonard sighed. "But she kept knocking on our door, even in the middle of the night, while I was sleeping!"
Howard fixed Leonard with a deadpan stare. "As if you weren't delighted by Penny's midnight visit," he said, dripping with sarcasm.
Sheldon blinked in confusion. "Yeah, Don't you like it when she drops by? Why are you complaining?"
"…Not when it starts feeling possessive." Leonard said quietly, trying to stay cool about it.
He was tired and in need of rest, and sure — a visit from Penny was normally a nice surprise — but this time, Penny hadn't come to stay; she'd come looking for Sheldon and then rushed off again. Still, that was something he kept to himself.
Sheldon fell silent and turned away, not adding another word.
"So, Sheldon… are you going back to the Renaissance Fair?" Howard asked, trying to lighten the mood.
"I'm never going back to the Renaissance Fair." Sheldon said flatly — much to Howard's visible relief.
"Oh no… all right then, we'll represent you there." Howard nodded in an exaggerated, dramatic way.
Raj glanced at his phone and nodded, "Ouh." His eyebrows rose in surprise. "Sheldon, is your brother's name Georgie Cooper?"
"No. His name is George Cooper Jr." Sheldon said quietly, ignoring him once again.
"That's odd..." Raj mumbled, staring at his phone. "This says… during Taylor S.'s concert at the Houston Astrodome, Georgie Cooper hopped on stage and sang alongside her —HEI!"
Before Raj could finish, Sheldon snatched the phone from his hands.
"What?" Howard and Leonard exchanged confused glances. They turned back toward Sheldon, who was staring at the phone, his jaw tight.
"That's why Missy left in a rush..." Sheldon whispered under his breath. He sighed and handed back the phone. "Sorry, Raj."
"It's okay..." Raj said quietly. "So… this is your brother?"
"Yes." Sheldon nodded briefly, quickly packing up his lunch and stood up. "I need to see Dr. Gablehauser." Without waiting for a response, he turned and walked away.
"Watch it, dummy!" Leslie said, nearly bumping into him on her way in.
"Sorry, Dr. Winkle… it's urgent." Sheldon rushed past her and out of the cafeteria.
Leslie glanced back, eyebrows raised, then walked toward their table. "So… what's going on with him?"
Leonard remained silent, unsure what to say. His friends were the same.
Leslie sighed and turned toward him. "Leonard… I need to talk to you."
Leonard nodded reluctantly. "W-what is it, Leslie?"
Leslie nodded toward Howard and Raj, signaling them to clear away. "What?" Howard said in disbelief. "But we were here first!"
"Go!" Leslie said, more forcefully this time.
"Holy frak, you don't need to shout." Howard sighed and followed after Raj who already walking away. "Hey buddy, want to find out what Sheldon's up to with Dr. Gablehauser?"
"So, Leonard… I heard from my sources that your relationship with Barbie crashed and burned." Leslie said casually, piercing him with her gaze.
"Wh-who… what are you talking about?" Leonard stuttered. "We just went on a date once and kissed. It's not like she dumped me..."
Leslie raised an eyebrow in disbelief but chose not to pursue it further. "Anyway… now you're single. Maybe we can reconnect."
"Are you suggesting… stress release again?" Leonard asked quietly, unsure if he wanted more of the physical without the depth. He was looking for something real — not just sex.
Most of it, anyway. But a little physical release wouldn't hurt, if it meant feeling close to someone again.
"No, I'm done with that. At least for now, I'm fully committed to a traditional relationship." Leslie said quietly, taking a sip from the soft drink she'd brought with her.
"Oh… Why?"
Leslie was blunt and fiercely independent; she didn't care much for other people's opinions for her and struck back with her sharp wit. That was what made her strong. But at the end of the day, she was a woman too. She felt things, just like everyone else.
"Well… I think there comes a time in a woman's life when she wakes up in a strange bed with a different man each night." She paused briefly, then added quietly, "I want something more. A real relationship."
Leonard listened, eyebrows furrowing in disbelief. "Really? …Different man—never mind." He sighed and nodded. "So… what are you suggesting?"
"It's simple." Leslie said matter-of-factly. "Chinese food dinner at your place, a rented movie, a little making out… without coitus." She raised her hands afterwards, adding, "But you're the man here. I'm not going to judge your decision."
Leonard's lips twitched slightly; this seemed like a wonderful opportunity. Maybe this was his chance at a genuine relationship with someone. "That's really thoughtful. Alright then."
Leslie nodded, smiling faintly. "Great. Send me a message when we're going to do it."
"We can start tonight." Leonard responded immediately. "I'll grab dinner and a movie."
Leslie raised an eyebrow. "Wow, Leonard… I thought you were better at slowing things down."
Leonard couldn't tell if it was a compliment or pure sarcasm, but from her tone, it seemed more like the latter.
"What about your friend, the doctor dumbass?" Leslie asked, referring to Sheldon in her own charming way.
"I'll talk to him. Lately, he's been a bit more… human. I think he'll get it." Leonard nodded.
"Really?" Naturally, Leslie remained unconvinced, although when she'd called him 'dummy' earlier, Sheldon hadn't fought back; instead, he addressed her respectfully as 'Dr. Winkle.'
Before Leonard could respond, Howard and Raj walked back in. "Hey, Leonard, there's some good news—" Howard paused briefly and then continued, "actually, two good news!."
Leonard furrowed his brow, waiting. "We were looking for Sheldon in Dr. Gabblehauser's office, and while we were waiting, we overheard something. It was about a supercomputer… and him asking for a day off."
Leslie eyebrows knitting together hearing that, "Wait a minute… Did Sheldon ask Dr. Gabblehauser for access to a Mainframe of Buckman 204?"
"That's what we thought at first, so we waited for him to come out and we asked." Howard nodded, with Raj following suit.
"It turns out, Sheldon is asking for time off to go back to Texas to see his family. And the supercomputer thing? His big brother is buying him his own — a supercomputer that only he, or anyone he lets, can use." Howard said with a huge smile.
Leslie sighed after hearing Howard's remark. She was still using the Mainframe for her own work, and the last thing she wanted was Sheldon interfering with it.
Howard, Raj, and Leonard were a different story. They were his friends, and they were already thinking that, naturally, Sheldon would let them use it.
"Aw, that's really great!" Leonard said, ignoring the bit about Sheldon going back to Texas. "Alright, Leslie, I'll get dinner ready for tonight." He stood up, smiling broadly.
"You've got a date with Leslie? Nice!" Howard called after him, and then walked away alongside a beaming Leonard.
Leslie glanced at their departing figures and sighed. "What a beautiful friendship." She stood up and left the cafeteria with sarcasm hanging in the air.
Meanwhile, in a back room at The Cheesecake Factory, Penny kept staring at her phone, checking if any messages or emails had come in, or maybe a call. She felt it was her responsibility to clear things up with Sheldon — to explain that there was nothing more between them — and she hadn't gotten the chance to do it yet.
Sheldon had gotten her a small acting role, and Penny didn't want to come across as ungrateful — Sheldon was her friend, after all. She was even willing to "sacrifice" herself by driving him around… for a year….. Well, maybe just a month — for that opportunity.
"He's a changed man… but it's still Sheldon." Penny sighed quietly. With no messages from Missy or Sheldon, she called Leonard instead.
"Leonard! Did you see Sheldon at the office?"
Penny listened to his answer. "Uh huh… Texas?! What's he doing there?! …What do you mean you didn't ask?! …What?! I hadn't read the news yet!" Penny quickly hung up and started searching for the news Leonard told her.
"Holy shit! This is huge!" Penny said after reading it and immediately tried calling Sheldon again. "Come on, Sheldon!"
She listened to the phone ringing for a long time until the other side answered it.
"Sheldon! Where the hell have you been?! You haven't answered me once!"
"…What do you mean you're on your way to Texas?! Where are you right now?! Did you already call your mother?"
"Of course it's a good idea! You stupid!" Penny said emotionally. She hadn't meant to get this riled up. "No! It's not my time of the month!"
"…You bastard! Shut up. I know your IQ is high, and I don't care, but we need to talk!"
"Call your mother first… What the hell do you mean it's too late?" Penny said in exasperation. She could hear a pilot's voice in the background. The phone went silent until there was a click. Sheldon hung up.
Penny sighed and pressed Missy's number.
"Hello Missy, are you still in Texas with Georgie?"
"...Of course I know; it's huge news everywhere." Penny sighed again. "Anyway, Sheldon's on a plane back to Texas… ugh… I knew it. You're already gone, aren't you..."
"...I don't care about him, Missy. Besides, I have a date tonight." Penny tried her best to keep her voice calm.
"Alright… you owe me a drink!" Penny said and hung up. She sighed, quietly wondering, "What's wrong with me..."
"What's wrong with you?" a small voice came from behind her. Penny turned and saw Bernadette — tiny in stature, blonde hair, wearing glasses — smiling weakly.
"Nothing's wrong, Bernadette." Penny forced a smile. "Thanks for asking."
Bernadette nodded. She wasn't particularly close to Penny, but as the new girl trying to find her place, it made sense to be nice.
"Alright." Bernadette said softly. "Could you teach me again how you take so many orders at once?"
Penny sighed and nodded, ignoring her own worries. It hadn't been her best day… or her best week. But it seemed the root of all her frustration was, once again, Sheldon.
She didn't know what she'd do when she saw him again.