#tbbt

Your downstairs neighbour was your worst nightmare. 

Some insufferable scientists with absolutely no sense of boundaries, at least one of them.

Like always, it started again.

Knock, Kno–

A sharp exhale left you as you shoved yourself up, storming toward the door. You didn’t even think before yanking it open, far harder than you meant to.

“What is it now–”

But it wasn’t the one you expected.

It was the other one…

“Hi.” he said awkwardly.

You blinked once, thrown off just enough to hesitate. 

Not Sheldon, thank god, but his roommate. Leonard Hofstadter. 

Your annoyance didn’t fully fade, though.

“What is it…?” you asked, arms crossing over your chest as you leaned against the doorframe.

Leonard visibly winced at your tone, his hand coming up to rub the back of his neck. He shifted awkwardly under your stare, clearing his throat like he was trying to steady himself.

“Could I… come in for a minute?” he asked, hesitant.

You looked him up and down, unimpressed.

“If Sheldon sent you,” you said flatly, “tell him I said fuck off.”

“If he didn’t… then yeah. Sure. Come inside.”

Leonard groaned at the mention of his roommate, shaking his head quickly as relief flickered across his face.

“Oh god, no. Nothing to do with him. Thank god…”

He slipped past you into your apartment, running a hand through his already messy hair like he needed something to do with himself.

“This has everything to do with you, actually.”

You shut the door behind him, unfazed, already drifting back toward your makeshift workspace. 

Your “kitchen table” was more paint-stained wood than anything functional, a half-finished canvas propped up. 

The window stood open, letting in a faint breeze, your cigarette slowly burning in the ashtray.

“About me?” you echoed, barely looking at him.

You picked up your pen again, continuing your sketch like he wasn’t standing there awkwardly in your living room. 

The cigarette found its way between your lips.

Out of the corner of your eye, you caught Leonard glancing at it, then back at you, a flicker of concern crossing his expression.

“Uh… yeah,” he said. “About you.”

He shifted again, weight moving from one foot to the other, hands fidgeting like he didn’t quite know where to put them. 

“I was just… wondering if maybe you’d wanna grab coffee sometime?” he said, the words tumbling out faster near the end. “Or a drink.”

His face turned pink almost immediately.

“N-not like… not as anything weird!” he rushed to add. “Just… y’know. Talking.”

You let out a quiet snort at that, almost a laugh, smoke slipping past your lips as you shook your head.

Leonard’s smile faltered almost instantly.

His shoulders dipped, and he looked down, fingers fidgeting with the sleeve of his sweater.

Yeah. He definitely thought he’d just embarrassed himself.

Despite trying to play it off, the blush on his cheeks only deepened.

You glanced back at him, catching the sudden silence.

“Shit– you’re serious?” you asked, brows lifting as you reached over to stub your cigarette out in the ashtray. “I thought this was like… some elaborate scheme to get Sheldon to plan my downfall–”

You gestured vaguely, like the idea itself explained everything.

“Yeah, I mean… of course we can grab a drink.”

For a second, he just stared at you.

Then something in his expression shifted… surprise first, then relief, then something softer. His heart practically jumped into his throat, and he couldn’t stop the smile that spread across his face.

“Really?” he said, almost disbelieving. “You’d be cool with that?”

You huffed out a small laugh at that, tilting your head.

“Alright, Hofstadter, calm down…” you teased lightly. 

You paused, then added with a grin, 

“I always thought you and Sheldon were like… y’know…” you mimed two people kissing with your fingers.

The reaction was immediate.

Leonard’s face went completely red, like, impressively red.

“No– no, no!” he stammered, hands flying up in frantic denial. “Me and Sheldon? No. No, definitely not. Oh god–no, never.”

He physically shuddered.

“We’re just roommates.”

That did it, you laughed properly this time, pushing yourself up from your chair, amused.

“I’m just messing with you…” you said, still laughing.

You pushed your glasses up your nose, glancing at him again.

“I’m free… even tonight, if you’re up for it.”

Leonard let out a small, breathy chuckle, the tension finally easing out of his shoulders.

“Heh… yeah, you definitely got me there,” he admitted, running a hand through his hair. Then he perked up a little, hopeful. “Tonight? Yeah… yeah, I’d be down for that.”

He checked his watch quickly.

“I could pick you up around eight?”

“Eight works fine fo–”

“Y/N L/N! Y/N L/N! Y/N L/N!”

A loud voice and three sharp knocks interrupted you.

“–I can smell the smoke through the vents, it is against property guidelines!”

Leonard’s expression dropped instantly, all warmth replaced by pure, exhausted annoyance. 

“Ugh,” he groaned, rolling his eyes. “Speak of the devil.”

Another knock.

Louder this time.

“Y/N L/N, failure to respond will result in a formal complaint!”

Leonard glanced at you, “I swear,” he muttered under his breath, already backing toward the door, “it’s like he has a sixth sense for whenever anything remotely good happens.”

“Right…” you laughed, as you reached for the door handle.

You opened it.

And there he was.

Sheldon Cooper stood in the doorway. Hands on hips. Chin slightly raised. 

Expression locked in bureaucratic disappointment.

His eyes flicked from you…

To Leonard.

“Is the stench of cigarette smoke coming from here?” he asked.

You didn’t even blink.

“Oh no,” you said smoothly, “Leonard was already coming back to your apartment because we are so done having filthy sex–”

Leonard made a sound. Not a word. Not even a coherent noise. 

Something halfway between a cough and a soul leaving the body. 

His eyes went wide, his face going an even deeper shade of red as he stared at you.

Sheldon physically recoiled.

“OH DEAR LORD,” he exclaimed, taking a full step back. “Why would you put that image in my brain?!”

You didn’t even try to hide your laugh.

Leonard opened his mouth again,but you were already stepping forward, patting his arm once like you were sending him on his merry way.

“Alright,” you said lightly. “See you later.”

Then, glancing at Sheldon, you added sweetly:

“Have fun thinking about that now.”

And you shut the door.

On the other side, Leonard stood frozen for half a second, still red-faced. 

Leonard stumbled along as Sheldon demanded they leave immediately, still flustered, still trying to form a coherent thought, but his eyes flicked back once toward your closed door.

There it was again.

That small, ridiculous smile he couldn’t quite stop.