The Stomping

                                    

                                          
Penny POV
                          
I hear Simon before I see him. I hear him slam the door. I hear him throw his boots against the wall. I hear him apologize to the coat rack for throwing the boots. 
                          
I walk over and give him a reassuring hug. He looks startled to see me.
                          
"Why are you still here? Your mum and dad's car is gone."
                          
"I stayed to talk to you. You seemed really upset earlier."
                          
"Yeah, I am upset. Where is everyone else?"
                          
"Shepard is receiving a tour of the house from Daphne."
                          
Simon looks more than a little alarmed.
                          
"I know, but we're in so deep, Daphne talking to him can't make things any worse. She's so sweet, to everyone. I'm sure he's perfectly safe with her."
                          
"I really don't care about Shepard right now, Penny."
                          
"Okay, well, Agatha has gone also. She and her parents couldn't wait to get out of here. They didn't even finish their tea. They said goodbye right after you left to look for Baz."
                          
Simon grimaces, tilting his head back in what I recognize as his special blend of exasperation and embarrassment.
                          
"Did you find, Baz?"
                          
"Yes, Penny, I found him."
                          
"And?"
                          
He still won't meet my eye, so now his gaze turns to the floor. "And in the ultimate display of how terrible I am at relationships, I tried to end our relationship unsuccessfully for the third time."
                          
"I'm sorry to hear that, Simon."
                          
"You should be. You're the one who kept interrupting me."
                          
I roll my eyes at him. "No, Simon. I'm not sorry that you and Baz are still together. I'm sorry that you haven't worked things out." 
                          
Simon looks over at me now, agitation only growing, "Penny, we aren't going to work things out! Working things out is not what I do. Fighting things, breaking things, ending things. That's what I know how to do."
                          
I reach my hand out for his shoulder. "Simon, that's not true. You've been my friend for a decade now. That's not the track record of someone who only knows how to destroy things."
                          
"That's different, Penny!" He tail is whipping around now, knocking into the coat rack. Simon apologies again. To the coat rack. He busies himself setting it straight.
                          
"Yes, it is different, Simon. You know how to be my friend. You know how to give me hugs when I'm sad. I know how to bring you scones. We know how to work on homework together. We both know how our friendship works. We've had 10 years to figure it out."
                          
"Well, Baz and I don't know how our relationship works at all! I don't know how to talk to him. I don't even know if I'm gay. I'm in love with him, and I don't know how to make love to him. I am terrible for him, Penny. I can't stand what I'm doing to him." 
                          
I pause for a moment let Simon hear the words that just came tumbling out of his mouth. I've never heard him tell Baz that, and Baz has practically lived in our flat for the last year. He didn't mean to say it just now. His lower lip is trembling, and he rubs tears from his face with his sleeve.
                          
"Simon, you just said that you love Baz. Out loud. You already know everything you need to. You know you love Baz. You know that you need to figure out how to be with Baz because it's different than your other relationships. If you love him and he loves you, you can figure out the talking and the sex. Though maybe start with that second one."
                          
"Penny!"
                          
I can't help but giggle at the scandalized look on Simon's face.
                          
"It'd be easier to live in the flat if you two weren't drowning in sexual tension. I can only roll my eyes so far into the back of my head before I won't be able to see straight."
                          
Simon's giggling, but he's turning red and clearly wishes to change the subject. "Penny, you shouldn't be lecturing me. You lied to me. About Watford."
                          
"Yes, and I'm very sorry about that. I panicked, and I made the wrong choice. It won't happen again."

                          
"Good, because I don't want Shepard to be my only friend left."
                          
Baz is still your friend too, Simon."
                          
Simon just shrugs, his tail drooping sadly behind him. He turns to walk away.
                          
"Where are you going, Simon?"
                          
"To my room. The room Vera set me in."
                          
"That's the other direction, Simon."
                          
"This house is a damn maze!"