Penny cut off the engine and she and Sheldon arrived in front of his apartment. "I'm sorry for... being inappropriate," she told him.

"Apologizing will not undo it, Penny," Sheldon replied matter-of-factly. "But I accept your apology." He twisted his torso in order to face her. "Although, there is one question that I need to ask."

Penny smiled. "Ask away, sweetie."

"Why not tell everybody about the divorce? It has been almost a year since it was finalized." He asked.

She sighed as she faced him. "Because if I did, people will be spreading rumors about why we were divorced, and most of them false."

"Rumors are false." Sheldon replied.

Penny groaned. "I meant that people are going to say bad things about Leonard, and I don't want him to, well, look bad."

Sheldon took a moment to process this. "Why?"

"Because," Penny replied. "Leonard is a good guy, and he doesn't deserve to be badmouthed."

He was silent for a few seconds. "You are a good person, Penny. Leonard was lucky to have had you." He blinked before talking again. "Do you still love him?"

Penny bit her lip, memories of her and Leonard flashing through her mind. Good memories, bad memories... Even if she didn't have an eidetic memory, she remembered them all.

She touched Sheldon's hand. "No. I don't love him anymore. Maybe I never did."

Penny didn't know why, instead of returning to her new apartment in LA, she accepted Sheldon's offer to just stay in apartment 4A. Maybe it was the alcohol from the victory party. Maybe it was because she was too tired to argue. Maybe because she secretly wanted to.

So she laid on Sheldon's bed, because he said that he doesn't think being in Leonard's old room would make Penny feel relaxed. He was right, she knew, but even in Sheldon's room she felt uncomfortable. She looked at the clock and saw that it was already four in the morning.

"Oh, my God," she groaned as she put a pillow over her face. No use of sleeping now, she thought to herself. She stood and made her way to the living room, where Sheldon was awkwardly sleeping on the couch.

She knelt on the floor beside him and smiled. "Thanks for being my friend," she whispered, not knowing that Sheldon was half-awake and hearing her. "I know we don't always treat each other well, but you really mean a lot to me." Before she realized it, a tear ran down her cheeks.

"I know that you have feelings for me Sheldon," she wiped at her tears. Sheldon tried hard to stay still. "Leonard told me himself. He said that in your own way, you tried to prevent me from getting married to him." She swallowed. "We talked just minutes before I said "I do," why did you let me go?"

She was wiping at her tears with her sleeves now, trying not to wake him up. "You were such an ass, Sheldon, you know that?" She laughed softly through her tears. "Yet for some crazy, stupid reason I felt happier with you than with Leonard. Man, was I stupid."

Penny sighed. "Oh, that was such a long monologue," she smiled. "I guess what I really just want to tell you is that I love you, Sheldon, probably from the very start, but there's a piece of me that has made me believe that I was too worthless to ever be with you." She sniffed, and Sheldon, realizing that she was crying, couldn't help but open his eyes. "Penny," he whispered.

"Oh, God," she muttered. "You heard that?"

Sheldon smiled at her. "Every single word." Penny buried her head in her arms and Sheldon sat up. "Sit beside me." She did as he asked. He was sitting on the middle cushion, so she reluctantly sat on his spot. "I am not very good in conveying my emotions, Penny. You know that."

"I do," she replied. "Why am I sitting here? I thought this was your spot."

Sheldon looked at her through the darkness of the room. "All along I thought that I had a tangible spot, but I was mistaken. I have realized over the course of time that my real spot was not the end of this couch; I have realized that my spot is the one right next to you."

Penny smiled. Sheldon may not be very good in conveying his emotions, but his last comment was enough for her to know that he loved her as well. She wiped the remnants of her tears and leaned forward to kiss him, and, to both their surprises, he kissed back.

AN: This chapter is dedicated to the people-my readers and my friends-who are in the Philippines, which was just hit by a really big typhoon. Hope you guys are okay! I've seen how resilient you guys are, and I believe you're all gonna be able to bounce back from whatever comes your way. Stay safe!

To everyone else, hope you guys are alright, too! :-)

I don't own anything!