Special thanks to CTR69 for his suggestions. This work, and expecially the first chapter, wouldn't have been the same without his precious help.
"See? How long did that take me...like a minute?" she exclaimed.
"That's an impressive idea... Thank you for opening my mind. I mean it"
"Aw... You welcome, sweetie"
He stared at the board for several seconds. It had been a long time since they spent some time together all by themselves, and he had the feeling it would get less and less in the future now that they were seriously involved with other people. This might likely have been his very last chance to break this path, this script that seemed to have already reached a point of no return. Even though he didn't like change at all, he would have definitely made an exception for his Penny, so he turned around facing her and started speaking in a completely different tone.
"If I have to be honest... When I talked about string theory I was actually referring to you. You're my string theory, Penny. You're beautiful, remarkable, elegant, and I never stopped thinking about you. Even if you didn't finish college, Amy just can't compare to you. She was a mistake, or a rebound if you prefer so. Exactly like dark matter"
Penny looked at him, a fairly shocked expression in her face.
"Wolowitz and Koothrappali set me with her, and everybody kept saying how cool she was and I thought sure, I'll give her a try" he went on, walking towards the bar stool where she was sitting "don't get me wrong, I enjoy her company and I think she's the smartest person I ever met... Beside myself, obviously... But I'm not in love with her. Never was and never will. There is only one woman I want to spend the rest of my life with... And that's you"
Penny just couldn't believe what she just heard. The shock of the moment nearly made her fall off the bar stool. She had to find a more comfortable spot, so she sat up and sank herself on the couch.
"Bazinga?" was the first thing she managed to say.
"Couldn't be more serious. I wanted to tell you that from a very long time" he said as he sat on the couch to her left.
She sighed deeply, then waved her left hand in front of his face, meaning to direct his attention on her wedding ring.
"You... Know what this means, right? I'm married to Leonard, Sheldon! This is the craziest thing I ever heard from you, and you say crazy things all the time!"
"Do you love him?" he asked, feeling very self-confident.
"What? Of course, I... Yeah... Of course" she started her sentence quickly but had to stop abruptly in the middle.
"I don't think you do" he said
"Oh, that's great! Now Dr. Sheldon Cooper is an expert of other people's feelings" she yelled, quite annoyed.
"That's not the point, Penny. The point is, if even I noticed you are always bored when you're around Leonard, then it must be true"
"Yes, my life is quite a routine, so? It doesn't mean I don't love Leonard, I..." she was nearly starting to cry.
She took a deep breath. "Yes, I'm not enjoying my marriage like I thought I would. Happy now?" she was finally being honest not only to him, but mainly to herself "But probably it's normal. We've been married for 2 and a half years, and together for more than 6 years, so... I guess every couple's life gets boring after a while"
"Now you are the one who's saying crazy things" he pointed out. "When you decided to quit your job at the cheesecake factory, I totally supported you. But Leonard... He had to bring out all of your insecurities, because that has always been the only way for him to feel secure. Leonard always loved the idea of you... That isn't real love"
She was listening in silence to every word coming out of his mouth, and she knew all of these were true.
"Tonight you've showed more interest in my work than you ever did with Leonard's" he continued "When that bully stole all of my World of Warcraft save games, you kicked him in his balls! When Leonard was at the North Sea, you kept company with me every single day, with no exception. And when I had a panic attack at my birthday party and hided in the bathroom, you came to me and made me calm down. Why did you do all these things, Penny? Why!?"
"Because I love you!" she finally admitted, crying out. Before she could do or say anything else, he quickly leaned towards her and pressed his lips to hers. She instinctively pulled him off "we can't do this. It's too late now. I'm married, you're engaged and... This is just wrong"
"No, leaving the way we don't want to live is wrong" he sighed "People always liked to say we are like siblings, and we even agreed about that when we did that stupid love experiment"
"I was engaged that time, I thought marrying Leonard would have made me happy for the rest of my life even if I had feelings for you... But I never managed to get over you. Every time I see you with Amy, I get jealous of her."
"Same as I feel every time you kiss Leonard. Your wedding was... though. But it doesn't have to be that way anymore"
"I'm scared... what if we just mess everything up?"
"We'll make it work. Trust me..." He kissed her again. He cupped her face with his hands, deepening the kiss. It was just a few seconds later when she started to kiss him back, and he slipped his tongue inside her mouth. They made out on the couch for like a minute, moaning softly, his hands now caressing her long, beautiful hair.
By now they were both completely consumed by desire, focused only on each other, the thoughts of their partners completely gone. They straightened up and walked towards his bedroom (that used to be hers), never breaking the kiss, her hands on his upper back, his palms on her lower back and ass, completely lost in the sensation.