Howard opened the door carefully, peeking at Leonard, who was still asleep on the couch. He knew breaking into the house was a felony, but hey, at least he didn't literally break into the house. He picked the lock with a bobby pin.
He stopped when his footsteps creaked on the wooden floor, and Leonard let out a loud groan. "Good morning, Howard." Leonard sat up, just realizing that Howard was in his living room. "Howard?!"
"Uh, yeah...?" He hesitated. "Hey, buddy..."
Leonard was suddenly aware of the pounding in his head. "What time is it? What happened yesterday?"
"One in the afternoon and you got drunk and told Penny you wanted a divorce." Howard replied.
"Right." Leonard rubbed his temple. "Where is she?"
Howard hesitated again, unsure if he should be honest. "She's..." He sighed. "At Sheldon's."
"Of course she is," Leonard replied. "I think I did the right thing."
Howard sat on the love seat at the end of the couch and faced Leonard. "Can I ask just one question?"
"Yeah, whatever." Leonard shrugged.
Howard pursed his lips. "You knew that there was something... different... about Sheldon's and Penny's relationship." He exhaled. "Why did you pursue her anyway?"
Leonard laughed bitterly. "Because I'm a mean person who thought that if I could get her to be with me, she will eventually fall in love with me."
Howard thought about it for a moment and replied, "Huh. Even I didn't think of that during my bachelor days."
"Told you I was a mean person." Leonard replied, then got up to drink water for his pounding head.
"So what are your plans?" Penny asked Sheldon as she poured herself a bowl of his cereal. "Oh, dear Lord. I got the one with the highest fiber content."
Sheldon stared at her. "My cereals are arranged according to fiber content. Left has the high-" Penny glared at him. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. What are your plans?"
"Well..." He paused, then shrugged eventually. "Nothing, really."
Penny laughed. "Right. Well, I have work today. Will you be okay by yourself?"
Sheldon looked confused. "Yes. Why wouldn't I be?"
"Riiiiight." Penny replied. She finished her cereal and stood. "Look, sweetie, thanks for letting me crash here again."
Sheldon smiled. "No problem."
Penny looked at the tall, lanky man washing his cup in the sink. She knew she shouldn't, but she walked over to him and put her arms around him. "Thanks."
"Penny..." He muttered, feeling both comfortable and uncomfortable at the same time. "You're welcome."
After Penny's exhausting day taping the remains of her movie, she stopped by her house, not really sure what she was doing there. Just the thought of still calling it "her house" made her feel weird and awkward.
She used her key to open the front door and sat on the couch. In about ten minutes, Leonard would be here. Then they could talk about yesterday night.
"Hey." She heard Leonard's voice and smiled. "Hi, Leonard."
Leonard swallowed and sat on the couch beside Penny. "I have apologies to make," he said humbly.
"Yeah, me too." Penny said as she shifted to look at him. "Did you really mean what you said last night?"
Leonard nodded. "Sometimes things just aren't meant to be." He smiled. "Like us."
Penny sighed. "I love you, you know. I really do. It's just... The love I have for you is not the forever kind of love."
"Yeah, that makes sense." Leonard smiled. "Sheldon... He loves you. A lot."
She shakes her head. "No, he doesn't. We three have all been together for a long time now. If he loved me he wouldn't have let me marry you."
Leonard shrugged. "He actually did; he did it in his own, crazy way." He caught Penny's expression and continued. "To be honest, he was a better best friend to you than I was a boyfriend... and a husband."
"Don't say that," Penny replied, clutching his hands.
"Well, he was," Leonard replied. "Look, Penny, I'm sorry I was a jerk." He sighed. "I... Manipulated you. Made you think that you were worthless so that you'd come running to me. I know that you have this constant need to feel important to someone because of some things that happened during your childhood, so I'm sorry I took advantage of that."
Penny shook her head. "What are you saying?"
"You know what I'm saying." Leonard smiled. "Sorry."
Penny put her head on her hands and sighed. "Oh, God." She lifted her head and looked at him. "I... I don't know what to do right now." She said awkwardly.
"Just... be happy and move on with your life?" Leonard suggested.
"Look, Leonard," Penny replied. "You're not a jerk. You're a good guy. And someone someday is gonna love you with just as much love that you give her." She gave Leonard a hug. "I thought marriages were supposed to last forever," she chuckled sadly.
Leonard hugged her back. "The right ones do."
AN: Apologies. We all have something we wish we should have apologized for. :-)
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