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3rd Person POV
{When Pastor Jeff came over with his wife—probably named Selena—there was a high probability she was giving my brother those lovey-dovey eyes.} – Adult Sheldon
Young Sheldon lay weakly on his bed, eyes fixed on the ceiling. His nose was red and stuffy, and every breath felt like a struggle. The clock on the wall showed it was just past one, and sunlight poured gently through the window, casting a golden warmth over his room.
{I am not a love doctor. Or a romantic person. I don't even fully understand how the heart works—well, biologically yes, I do. But emotionally? How love becomes this complicated, inconvenient phenomenon… it's beyond me. So, I got out of bed and went to the one person who might actually know something about it.}
Wrapped tightly in his blanket, Sheldon stood up, his small body pale and fragile. He stepped out of his room with slow, shuffling feet, and quietly made his way next door—to Georgie's room.
Maybe it was the fever, or maybe he just didn't think it was necessary, but he didn't knock. He gently pushed the door open and walked in.
Georgie was lying on his bed, still wearing his shoes, arms sprawled as if he'd just flopped down from a long day. The room was dim, comfortable in a messy teenage kind of way.
Sheldon's mind felt hazy, like everything was wrapped in cotton. He didn't pay much attention to the clutter, or the fact that Georgie didn't even notice him come in.
He walked slowly toward the bed, blanket still draped over his shoulders like a cape. He stopped at the edge and looked down.
"Brother…" he whispered.
Then he reached out and poked Georgie's arm with his small, cold finger.
Georgie stirred, groaning as he cracked one eye open. When he saw Sheldon standing there, sick and bundled up, something softened in his face.
Without getting up, Georgie stretched out an arm toward him, offering silent comfort. A faint smile played at his lips.
Sheldon blinked, then slowly, instinctively, began to climb up onto the bed. He didn't say a word. He didn't need to.
He nestled himself carefully into the space beside Georgie, and before he even realized it, found himself wrapped in his big brother's arms.
Sheldon lay tucked in Georgie's arms, the warmth of his brother's embrace slowly easing the chill of his fever.
"Brother… you're warm," Sheldon murmured, his voice muffled by the blanket and his stuffy nose.
"…Good," Georgie replied with a small smile, still not opening his eyes. "What's wrong?"
There was a pause. Then, in a voice quieter and more hesitant than before, Sheldon asked:
"…How does love work?"
Georgie cracked one eye open, just barely, and glanced down at Sheldon's pale face. His nose was red, his cheeks dull, but his eyes—though foggy—were serious.
"…Your heart beats faster when you see her. You think about her all the time. And when you have to choose… she's your first choice," Georgie said, then closed his eyes again, his voice soft and a little dreamy.
Sheldon blinked. His brows furrowed as his brain, foggy from the fever, tried to connect the dots.
"...So... Miss Selena doesn't love Pastor Jeff?"
That made Georgie's eyes snap open. He stared at the ceiling now, suddenly wide awake.
"I… I don't know. Why?" he asked, this time alert and genuinely curious about how Sheldon asking about it.
"Because… she was flirting with you. Right?" Sheldon said, frowning, like he was trying to solve a math problem with missing variables. "At first I didn't understand it, but then I thought about it. And now I'm pretty sure. I think… Missy noticed it too."
Georgie turned his head slowly to look at him, a bead of sweat forming on his temple. "...Buddy, I think your fever's messing with your brain."
Sheldon shrugged. "Statistically possible. But not impossible."
There was a pause.
Then Sheldon squinted up at him again. "Why do you even want to be Baptist? You even made that whole religious song. I don't get it."
Georgie sighed, recognizing the subject change instantly. "Well… Mom's happy. So, why not?"
Sheldon frowned. "So you don't actually want to be Baptist?"
Georgie smirked, flashing that signature grin that always made Sheldon a little suspicious.
"I mean, I don't really care either way. I'm not that religious, am I? As long as I'm good to people and protect my family, I figure I'm doing okay."
"But why do something important like baptism just to make Mom smile?"
Georgie ruffled Sheldon's hair gently, which earned a grumble from the sick boy.
"'Cause sometimes, when you love people, you do stuff that doesn't make sense—like writing a country song about Heaven when you're not even sure what it looks like."
"That does sound illogical," Sheldon muttered.
Georgie chuckled. "Yeah, welcome to love, little brother."
Sheldon pulled the blanket up to his chin and closed his eyes again.
"So… Miss Selena wasn't flirting with you?" he asked softly.
"No," Georgie replied flatly, squeezing his eyes shut.
There was a pause.
"Brother, your heartbeat is really fast. Are you sure you're not in love with Miss Selena? But you're dating Veronica… right?"
Georgie groaned. "Just go to sleep. I think your fever's frying your brain."
Sheldon opened one eye. "Technically, a fever raises body temperature, not brain temperature. If my brain were literally frying, I'd be having seizures, not conversations."
Georgie sighed and turned his back to him. "...You need to recover your body, the World needs you."
Sheldon blinked once, then nodded slowly. "Alright then," he whispered, and finally closed his eyes.
—-----
*3rd Person POV – Future
Leonard walked Lesley to the apartment door, both of them still smiling from their surprisingly smooth evening.
"Well, I'd say this is a good start, right?" Leonard said, a hopeful glint in his eyes.
Lesley nodded. "Yeah… Probably because none of your friends were around to sabotage the night."
She glanced toward the empty hallway—clearly referring to Sheldon.
With him flying somewhere above the clouds en route to Texas, their dinner had been, for once, free of whiteboards, sci-fi rants, or arguments about seat cushions.
There was a brief pause before Lesley added, her tone matter-of-fact:
"Are you still comfortable postponing intercourse until we pass the viability phase of our relationship?"
Leonard straightened up, looking her directly in the eyes. His voice dropped to an almost heroic tone.
"Don't worry. I'm extremely skilled at postponing intercourse."
Lesley gave a satisfied nod. "Good."
"Well," Leonard said, smiling that unmistakable geeky smile, "I guess I'll call you and we'll set up another evening."
Lesley nodded. "Yes. But I believe protocol dictates that you wait a minimum of 18 hours before calling, so I'm not repulsed by your cloying eagerness."
Leonard blinked. He wasn't sure if she was joking… or worse, completely serious.
And even worse—she was right. He had been planning to call her in an hour.
"…Sure," he muttered.
Lesley opened her mouth to say something else, but both of them paused when they heard footsteps on the stairs.
"No, it was an experiment. Designed by a guy named Schrödinger," came a familiar voice echoing up the stairwell.
Leonard turned, eyebrows raised.
Penny appeared at the middle of the stairs—chatting with a tall guy next to her.
Leonard's eyes scanned the stranger. Not particularly handsome for he thought… but tall. Very tall.
A surge of insecurity flared in Leonard's chest.
But then the guy frowned and said, "Umm… like from Charlie Brown?"
Leonard couldn't help it—he smiled. That familiar geeky grin crept back across his face.
Penny sighed, clearly trying to explain again—but as she looked up and saw Leonard standing with Lesley, her words stopped mid-sentence.
Her eyes flickered—first to Lesley, then to Leonard's smile. Something unreadable passed through her expression.
When she reached the hallway, she gave a polite smile. "Leonard. Lesley," she said warmly, giving them both a friendly nod before walking to her apartment door.
The guy she brought with her remained blissfully unaware of the sudden change in atmosphere. He was just a date. For one night. Nothing more.
Leonard's eyes followed them, and just as Penny reached her apartment door, she turned around.
Their eyes met.
Leonard.
Penny.
A pause. A breath held in limbo.
"Psst," Lesley whispered, nudging Leonard gently.
He turned toward her, startled, his eyes wide.
Lesley wasn't the type to get sentimental over lingering glances. Whatever unresolved thing existed between Penny and Leonard—it wasn't her problem. She was here for Leonard. A relationship that felt controlled. Measured. Not... messy.
Leonard caught her look and gave a small nod, shaking off the moment.
"Okay. Well. Goodnight," he said awkwardly, stepping closer to Lesley.
He leaned in to kiss her, softly. Hesitantly. One hand resting on her arm, testing the waters—just in case Lesley pulled away.
She didn't.
Across the hallway, Penny saw it.
And maybe it was ego. Or pride. Or something she didn't want to name.
But she turned to her date with a bright smile. "Okay, well… goodnight."
She reached up, grabbed the back of his neck, and kissed him—deliberate, intense.
The poor guy froze, caught completely off guard, clearly not understanding what just happened—or why.
Leonard glanced sideways.
Saw it.
All of it.
Lesley noticed. She gently broke their kiss, placed her hand on Leonard's cheek, guiding his face back to hers.
"...That doesn't prove anything..." she whispered, with a calm smirk.
Then she kissed him again—this time with just enough passion to leave no room for doubt.
Penny was still mid-kiss, technically.
But her eyes had drifted—locked on Leonard and Lesley like they were an annoying pop-up ad she couldn't close.
Her brain whispered, "Seriously?"
Her ego shouted, "Oh, hell no."
So she upped the game.
She pushed herself harder against the door, deepening the kiss with exaggerated flair.
Her fingers slid into the guy's hair, ruffling it like she was starring in a bad romance music video.
The poor guy went along with it, confused but pleasantly surprised.
Leonard saw it.
And his pride kicked in.
He responded by pulling Lesley closer, turning their kiss from polite to passionate.
Lesley didn't resist. But her brow lifted slightly as if to say, 'Really? We're doing this?'
None of them noticed the footsteps.
Slow, steady, climbing the stairs below.
Because in that moment, they were too busy trying to win… whatever this was.
An invisible, ridiculous, utterly childish war.
Sheldon reached the top step.
His face was blank. Exhausted.
He looked up at the scene in front of him—Penny pressed against her door with a confused man, Leonard locked in a deep kiss with Lesley, the hallway practically vibrating with weird sexual tension and suppressed jealousy.
He didn't say a word. He just sighed.
That's when the others finally noticed him.
Leonard froze, lips half-parted.
Lesley turned her head slightly, intrigued.
Penny panicked. She shoved her date away so hard, the poor guy stumbled back and nearly fell.
"What the hell?!" he said, clearly baffled.
But Penny wasn't looking at him. Her eyes were fixed on Sheldon.
Still, Sheldon said nothing. He just looked at all of them—like they were aliens in a social experiment gone terribly wrong.
Then, slowly, Sheldon removed his cowboy hat.
He stood there for a beat, letting the silence settle like dust in the air.
He took a step forward.
Then another.
He walked right past Leonard, silent.
Penny snapped. She shook her head and called out, louder than she meant to.
"Sheldon! Why are you here?! I thought you were on your way to Texas!"
Lesley tilted her head, arms crossed, the usual smirk on her face.
"Yeah, dumbass cowboy—what are you doing here?"
But Sheldon didn't bite.
He turned to look at Lesley, eyes heavy, face pale, exhausted—and dead serious.
He didn't say a word to her.
Then his gaze shifted to Penny.
"I believe you were right," he said flatly. "I broke the rule. I stopped the plane from taking off… by pretending to have a heart attack."
Without waiting for a reaction, he turned and walked into the apartment.
Leonard stared after him, stunned. Then he looked at Penny—who was just as lost as he was.
"What's right? Sheldon—what happened?" Leonard asked, following him inside.
Penny didn't even hesitate. She turned and followed them, leaving her date behind—still standing, hopelessly confused.
Lesley stood in silence.
Something about Sheldon's stare had shut her down completely.
He didn't yell. He didn't even roll his eyes.
But his look said one thing:
'Shut up.'
So she did.
Without knowing why.
She opened her mouth to toss out another sarcastic jab—but something told her not to.
And that something wasn't fear. It was respect.
Maybe.
She stood there, alone now. Leonard was gone. Penny too. And she knew exactly why.
It wasn't about Sheldon.
It was about what Sheldon said… to Penny.
She sighed, turned to the only person still lingering—Penny's date, who looked like a lost tourist in a sitcom war zone.
"I'm heading to the parking lot. Wanna come with?"
"Uh… sure. Can you tell me what's going on first?"
Lesley shrugged as they started walking down the stairs.
"Just some childish nonsense."
"Oh... what kind?"
She didn't answer.