A/N: Post Intimacy Acceleration. Pretend the tag never happened, so Penny didn't tell anyone about his birthday and the surprise party never happened. Cuz yeah.

I may or may not write a follow-up, but as of right now it's completed.

Sheldon stood at Penny's door with freshly baked banana bread in one arm and his other across his throat. He had just knocked his signature knock at 11:00am on the dot.

Sheldon was a touch nervous, and not just about possibly waking Penny and incurring her wrath. The last time he approched her like this she rejected him outright. Hopefully the banana bread helps; Penny usually responded well to free food.

Ever since their intimacy experiment Sheldon and Penny had become closer. Much of it was simply realizing how close they already were: they came to each other for advice, took comfort in each other.

Penny opened the door in her sleepwear, although it was clear she had been awake for at least thirty minutes. "Hey, Sheldon. What's with the...baked thing?"

"Banana bread," he supplied. "I have baked for you in an attempt to 'break the ice,' so to speak, and to perhaps gain your favor prior to engaging in a potentially embarrassing discussion."

For once she saw right through his excessive words with little effort. "You're bribing me with banana bread?"

Sheldon held her gaze with his own. "That depends, is it working?"

Penny stepped aside and gestured for him to come in. "Let's try it first, then we'll go from there."

She stepped around the couch, over the pile of laundry she had been sorting, and into the kitchen where she grabbed two plates and forks. As they each took a bite, they kept their eyes locked. Since the experiment they found it easier to maintain eye contact, but only with each other. Penny broke the silence, but held his gaze.

"You said something about an embarrassing discussion?"

Sheldon broke away and swallowed, staring at his plate of banana bread. "I would hope that given our increased intimacy that no discussion would be embarrassing, but I am also aware of our history. I wish for there to be no misunderstandings, and I want to be sure that no matter what, none of what we discuss here leaves this apartment."

Penny fidgeted nervously with her fork. She could promise that she would say anything; after all, she'd kept his birthday a secret and that was screaming at her to be let out. However, she couldn't promise that whatever was said wouldn't be embarrassing or uncomfortable, and she told him as much.

"Very well," he nodded. "May we adjourn to the sofa, then?"

"Sure. Sorry about the clothes, I was trying to sort clean from the dirty."

Sheldon closed his eyes and breathed deeply through his nose. He gingerly sat on the left side of the sofa and started sorting her laundry by color and delicacy. "If you do not know which is clean and which is dirty I suggest you wash it all."

Penny sat as well and started a pile of blues. "I thought about that, but that's so many quarters that I could be spending on other things. Like washing my car, or buying groceries. Or an emergency change fund. I figured if I could sort out what was obviously dirty from what was obviously clean and just kind of use my nose for the rest I'd be alright for a while."

Sheldon hesitated for a moment, then continued sorting. "I thought your new job provided much more financial security for you. Was I wrong in this assumption?"

"No, it does," she deflected. "I just...keep the penny-saving habits in case this Penny needs saving." She pointed to herself. "It's stupid. I know I don't need to skimp out on laundry just to pay the electric bill anymore, but some habits are hard to break."

"I understand."

She really looked at him then, and could see the weight of the words on his body as if they were truly pulling him down. "I know."

They sorted in silence for a few minutes, but went to reach for the same shirt and their hands brushed, causing them to pull apart like similarly polarized magnets.

"Penny-"

"Sheldon-"

Their eyes were once again locked. Penny couldn't remember what she was going to say and Sheldon looked like he was about to burst if he didn't speak soon.

"What did you come here to say, Sheldon?"

Sheldon focused on the brown fleck in her iris and summoned every ounce of confidence he could muster. Slowly, he spoke. "After our experiment, we were both confident that we hadn't fallen in love, correct?"

She didn't expect that, but answered as honestly as she could. "Yeah."

"On a separate previous occasion approximately four years ago I asked you out on a date and you turned me down, siting my relationship with Amy as your reason. You did not wish to be used as a ploy to make her jealous."

Penny was truly confused now, but remembered the conversation. "Uh huh."

"I was not the guy."

She shook her head. "No, Sheldon, you were not the guy."

He bowed his head, as though afraid of her seeing his vulnerability. Or perhaps he was afraid of seeing her. Instead he chose to examine his hands as he continued. "I... I believe it would be wrong of me to say this, given our current romantic situations, but I also feel it would be detrimental to keep it to myself." He took a deep breath and let it out slowly through his nose, then raised his head to meet her eyes, once again focusing on the formula one fleck. "I believe, after weeks of reflecting upon our interactions during and after the experiment - and even before, if I'm being completely honest - that I have, indeed, developed, or perhaps realized, romantic feelings for you."

Sheldon watched as a myriad of emotions flicked through his friend's eyes, only some of which he truly understood. She opened her mouth to reply, but he held up a hand to stop her. "I don't expect these feelings to be reciprocated, or even acknowledged, in truth. I merely felt the need to tell you so I did not experience the same regret you did." He returned his eyes to his hands and picked at the nonexistent dirt under his nails. "I intend to push these feelings away and continue our friendship as usual if you are not opposed." A quick glance told him she was still uncertain as to how she should feel.

He rose to his feet and turned toward the door. "Please keep this to yourself." With a hand on the door handle, he added, "And do your laundry." Then he was gone.

Penny was completely bowled over.

She was the girl.

Balls.