Chapter 3

A/N: Thanks again for the reviews. Things will clear up in this chapter.

Penny POV

Penny woke up with a big headache. It was already past 10 and she was meeting Raj at noon. She didn't know what he wanted and she wasn't comfortable being around him right now, all things considered. She got up and took a comforting shower, washing the sleep away. She wanted to talk to Leonard so much. Things just kept being bad and she didn't even know what to tell him. It was a mistake? Clearly. But that still doesn't take away the fact that she did it and she would have to live with it for the rest of her life. How could she do that to Leonard? Her best friend before all this stuff with Priya and Raj. She wished she could turn the clock back to where Leonard had told her he loved her. They were so happy, but she was also so scared of how things were going. Not because she didn't love Leonard, but she wasn't ready to put herself out there again. The emotional scares from her previous relatioship still stung deeply. If she had just told him they could have been much further in a relationship now. Instead here she is, hoping that Leonard will come around and actually forgive her. Which still wasn't enough for her. She wanted more. She knew Leonard was the guy for her. How she have wasted this last four years, except for the time they were actually together which was until he said those words, the happiest she had been in her life. A guy that not only was everything she wanted bedroom-wise, but also as a person she could trust and actually be herself with. He was tearing down her walls from previous experiences, but that last one with the "I love you" she just didn't handle well and with what that guy Will Wheaton told her, it was too much and she got scared and decided to break up with him.

If only... But now was the case to actually get him to talk to her without getting upset and angry at her and Raj. She got ready to leave, putting on something nice but casual and left her apartment.

Leonard POV

Leonard woke up and checked his phone. He had a message from Raj saying he should come by a little after noon as he had something important to tell him. He wondered what on earth that could be. Was he and Penny an item now? Was that the news? He really hoped not, that would be the worst feeling ever. Not only had Penny slept with him in his bed, but the thought of them becoming a couple was sickening. He pushed those thoughts away and got dressed and headed out to drive to Raj's place. He stopped by a store to buy some bearclaws as he thought he would get hungry soon anyway. He still though couldn't shake the feeling that going to Raj's place was a bad move.

Penny POV

Penny stood in front of Raj's place still thinking if she should do this or not. But figuring she was already here and it is too late to backed out, she knocked on the door. Raj opened and she could see he already had a grasshopper in his hand, which made him able to talk to her.

"Hey Raj. So I'm here. What did you want to talk about?" She asked getting right to the point.

"Well Penny. It turns out that in the last couple of days, I've had this memories about what happened with us.. u know" He looked knowingly at her.

Great, the one thing I do not wanna talk about. Why would it matter anyway?

"Okay Raj, what could possibly be important enough that we need to talk about it?" Penny was nervous because she didn't want or need to know details about their night together. It was already bad enough as it was.

"Well I remember us getting handsy and getting into Leonard's bedroom. I remember that we both got under the covers before we got naked." He paused to see any reaction from her.

"Okay, this is embarrassing." Penny was curious now.

Raj took a deep breath. "It turns out you gave me a handjob and I well.. sort of came early and we both fell asleep right after." Raj looked down ashamed of himself.

What? I gave him a handjob and we didn't have sex?

"Really? So we didn't actually have sex?" Penny asked and Raj shook his head from side to side.

Penny released a breath she didn't even know she held. Thi is good news. It was still bad but nowhere near as bad as she had thought up until now. Raj spoke again.

"Can you forgive me Penny?" I'm sorry." Raj had a pleading look on his face.

Penny smiled and quickly gave him a hug. "Of course I forgive you Raj. That is the best news I have received in a while. Thank you." She smiled while hugging him and didn't notice the other presence in the room.

Leonard POV

After waiting for over a minute, Leonard decided to just see if the door was open, which it was, but what was transpiring in front of him was not something he wanted to see. He felt his stomach turn and he regretted eating those bearclaws now. Penny was here and he had just walked in on them hugging and Penny stating that it was the best news she had received in a while. It was like a punch in the gut and the world was toying with him. But he was both sad and angry at the same time and needed to get things of his chest so he started yelling.

"Are you freaking serious?" At his voice, they were both startled at his presence. "Not only did I have to witness you two shacking up in my bed but to walk in on you two hugging and making goey-eyes at each other? Just go to hell." Leonard turned around and slammed the door shut ignoring Penny's calling out his name.

Penny POV

Her eyes widened at she let go of Raj right away. There was Leonard walking in on them hugging and now he was yelling at her and Raj. This did not look good at all. Of course Leonard would misunderstood this. Before she had time to respond, Leonard had already slammed the door shut so she got up quickly. "Leonard wait." She shouted. Turning towards Raj she apologized for leaving so abruptly. He clearly understood.

She pulled the door open in a hurry and started running after Leonard calling his name.

He watched him get into his car but she ran in front of it making him unable to drive away.

"Leonard stop. Get out of the damn car before I make you." Penny was both pissed and tired of this back and forth and never actually talking.

Leonard got out the car and slammed the car door close before walking up standing in front of her.

"Are you outta your mind Penny? I could have run you over." Leonard was still upset about everything.

"Well, what choice did I have? Every time you see me you run away like an idiot."

"Wow, now I'm an idiot too? What do you want from me Penny?" He answered back.

"You, you stupid idiot." With that she crashed her lips on his and kissed him with all the love she could muster. It took a while before Leonard responded but he then showed her back.

"What do you think you're doing Penny? Not only have you just slept with Raj and you still think you could jump me like that? What is wrong with you?" Leonard didn't know what on earth was going through Penny's head right now.

Penny took a few seconds so she could calm herself down a bit. "Okay Leonard. I need to tell you something."

"What could you possibly say to me that hasn't been done through actions already?" Leonard had calmed himself down a bit but was still in shock over what was happening right now.

"I rather we talk somewhere private, can you please come inside again? It's better that you hear it from Raj." She pleaded.

"Hear what exactly?" Leonard crossed his arm not letting Penny's pleading get to him right away.

"What really happened that night. It's not what you think."

"You expect me to believe that Penny? You came out of MY bedroom of all places with him looking all guilty."

"I know Leonard. It looks bad, but please, just let him explain." She grabbed his hand and dragged him inside again.

Leonard offered a little resistance but it's not like it could get any worse now could it?

Once inside again, Penny dragged him over to Raj's chair and sat down on the couch.

"Raj, please tell Leonard what you told me." Penny pleaded.

Raj looked at Penny. "No way, I told you that in confidence as in not telling anyone."

"Tell me what exactly? It's not like it can get any worse." Leonard was ready to storm out again.

Penny got angry at Raj. "Fine, if you won't tell him, I will. Leonard, me and Raj did not have sex, apparently I gave him a handjob and he couldn't hold himself and we both fell asleep right after." Penny blurted out, she didn't care about Raj at this point.

Raj looked at Penny in shock. "How could you? I will never talk to you again." Raj stormed into his bedroom.

Leonard had some problems keeping himself from smiling a little at that information. "Are you serious?" Penny nodded. "That's hilarious." Leonard burst out laughing and Penny joined him.

After laughing for several minutes, Leonard stopped. "Okay, that was a relief to hear, it could have been better, but it could be a lot worse too." he admitted.

Penny smiled and followed up. "Yeah, it felt like a huge weight was off my shoulder."

Leonard then suddenly remembered something. "Oh by the way, what did you mean when I asked you what you wanted?"

Penny froze, she was not ready to really tell him all about that right now.

"Leonard, how about we get out of here and find somewhere else to talk first?" She smiled and hoped he would agree.

"Yeah okay, good idea. We haven't talked much lately except from screaming and shouting at each other. How about we go back to my hotel and talk?" Leonard said not realizing what that must have sounded like.

Penny's eyes widened. She wasn't sure if that was a good idea but they needed to really talk so she agreed and he gave her the address so she could drive there with her own car.

Half an hour later they were both parked in front of his hotel. Leonard waited for her in front of the entrance. They didn't talk while taking the elevator up to the third floor. It was as if they were in sync and there was no explaining needed for why they were going to his room. That was one of the thing she missed with Leonard. Their way of communication.

They stepped out of the elevator and she walked behind him as he knew which room it was. When in front of the door she saw Leonard freeze and take a deep breath. She gently put her hand on his shoulder. "Relax Leonard, we are just gonna talk." That seemed to be effective and he opened the door and walked inside with her following. Although she was frightened herself about what was about to happen, she knew it was long overdue.

She looked around, the room was simple enough, it had a desk, tv and minibar, a couch in the corner and a bathroom. In the middle of the room was a big bed. She decided to sit down on the couch and Leonard joined her. He was obviously nervous as he was staring down at his hands that was in his lap. She took a deep breath and started. She had never been so nervous before, but it was now or never.

"Okay Leonard, time to talk. You know I'm not much of a talker and more a person of action. But this is not something I can avoid talking about so here goes...I love you Leonard." She saw his head whip up in surprise by her words. She had more to say so she decided to just keep talking.

"I know you are shocked now but hear me out." He nodded.

"I wanna be honest with you and I have loved you for quite some time now, I loved you before you told me when we were together. I don't know exactly when it happened, but when you and the guys when to the North Pole, I missed you terribly. Remember when you asked me what the long hug and the blanket I gave you meant?" He nodded. "It meant that I didn't want you to go." Leonard's eyes widened at this. "Leonard. I knew it was important that you guys went on this trip, so that's why I didn't say anything. I felt we were getting so close before you left and then Sheldon dropped that bomb on me. It took me by surprise. So when you guys were away, I had a lot of time to think about you and how I felt. Although I figured out that I wanted to be with you and that you made me feel different than any other guy. What we had was really special to me, so when you told me you loved me, I felt pressured to say it back, but I was not ready yet. So I thought the best thing was to break it off to avoid hurting you anymore. I realized afterwards that I was wrong, I handled it badly. I was so jealous when you got together with Priya and it hurt me so much when she didn't want me to hang out with you anymore. She felt I was a threat to her. I guess she saw how close we were even if we weren't together anymore." She watched him listen intently to her. "I struggled a lot when you two were together. I tried not showing it and you still cared about me and gave me food when we ate together. I always hated how she treated you Leonard. She seemed to want to change you, get you away from your nerdy side and get you using contact lenses and so on. I didn't like it, but it wasn't like I could say anything as I had to stay away. Anyway, the night before I spent in bed with Raj in your bedroom, I confessed to him that I still loved you and I guess I was feeling really down. I didn't know that you and Priya had broken up at this point, so we drank quite a lot and I kept talking about how you are such a great guy and that I should never have let you go. I guess me missing you so much and wanting to be with you, I just wanted to feel loved again. So that's why I ended up in your bed with Raj that night. Even though I regret the whole ordeal now, I just want you to see it from my point of view." She took another deep breath and looked at him trying to see any emotions on his face. It looked like he was about to cry.

Leonard finally said something. "Wow Penny, for a person that doesn't think she is any good with words, that was one amazing speech. I finally see things in a different light. Things are clearer to me. I have always wondered about all of the things you said now as you are pretty hard to read sometimes. I think I know you quite a lot, but you also really surprise me from time to time. This was definitely one of those times. But this really blew my mind. Penny, you are amazing. I have always believed in you. I know you are bound to me a Hollywood-star one day. I just hope when that day comes, you remember me, that dorky neighbor of yours." He let out a little chuckle.

Penny hated how he always put himself down. How couldn't he don't see how amazing he is? The way she saw him. Yes he was nerdy, but he was also the nicest, gentle and greatest guy she ever met. And she knew exactly the way to show him. The way she knew best. So she for the second time of the day crashed her lips on him and this time she would not let him stop her. Her tongue was begging for entrance and after he came over the shock of what was happening, she got her wish.

A/N: So things are finally looking well for our favorite couple. Next chapter will have this story changed from T to M-rated. Just an early heads up. :)