Leonard waited until everyone else was gone for the night before he turned to Sheldon. He wasn't terribly surprised to find Sheldon was avidly reading Penny's questionnaire. He couldn't help noticing the mix of exasperation and amusement in Sheldon's eyes. "Sheldon, I need to ask you something."

Sheldon tsk'd and looked up. "Can you believe this woman? She wrote that my favorite star is 'Jeremy Renner' and that if I was a super villain, my superpower would be "looking cute in a cape and cowl'."

Leonard watched Sheldon's cheeks turn a slight pink and his shoulders slumped. "You like her, don't you?"

He looked up with confusion. "She is an amicable person. I find her pleasant."

Leonard shook his head and took the papers from his lanky friend. "Listen to me, Sheldon. I need an honest answer. Do you like Penny?"

Sheldon's light blush deepened and he turned away quickly. "I do not know what…"

"I want her," Leonard said loudly. "I want to be with her. Kiss her, touch her, have sex with her." Leonard watched closely as the blood drained from Sheldon's face. "But if you like her, I'll forget all about it. If you want Penny, I'll never mention it again. But I want an honest answer. Do you want Penny?"

Sheldon was silent for several seconds before he slowly turned to face Leonard. "Yes," he murmured. "I don't understand this, Leonard. I have spent my life focused solely on physics. I have never wanted romance or a relationship. Yet, I cannot deny I am drawn to her. She is chaotic, and flighty, and never seems to sit still, but when I am around her, I feel… settled." He sighed and ran an agitated hand through his hair. "It is not logical!"

Leonard smiled and shook his head. "Emotions are not logical, Sheldon. You like her. It's obvious she likes you."

"She does?" Sheldon asked hopefully.

"Sheldon, she kissed you. Twice. She seeks you out all the time. She filled out a questionnaire just to be your roommate." Leonard shuffled through the papers and pulled out Penny's essay. He had been secretly reading it over her shoulder as she wrote it. "This is 500 words all about how much fun she has hanging out with you. She barely even notices me or Raj, and Howard was just saying earlier that she spends more time with you than him, and she lives there! He said that's all she talks about, too. She spends most evenings asking about you, or talking about you."

Sheldon sat down on a crate. "Leonard, I'm confused. I like that she likes me. I seem to like her. But I have no idea what comes next. Do I tell her? Do I wait for her to tell me? I am completely unschooled in relationships."

"Well, what about your parents or your sister? What were their relationships like?" he asked.

Sheldon shrugged. "My father was an alcoholic, and my mother is very religious. Until they divorced, they fought a great deal. My sister goes through men almost as fast as she goes through socks."

"Oh," Leonard said faintly. "Well, ok. Don't imitate them. Look, you're a genius. Just do what comes naturally."

Sheldon still looked uncertain, but he nodded. "Okay. How will I know if I make a mistake?" he asked worriedly.

Leonard rolled his eyes. "Penny's a woman. If you mess up, believe me, she'll let you know." He patted Sheldon on the arm and headed toward the door. He was almost there when Sheldon called his name. He turned to see his friend standing nervously, twisting his hands together. "What's wrong?"

Sheldon cleared his throat. "Leonard, thank you. For understanding."

Leonard nodded with a smile before leaving the apartment.

Howard grimaced as Penny flopped down on the bed beside him. He moved his comic book out of the way and looked over at her. "You enjoy doing that, don't you?"

Penny giggled and rolled over onto her back. "Seeing you panic? Absolutely."

Howard twisted over onto his side and looked at his friend carefully. "How deep are you?" he asked seriously.

Penny's expression turned serious and she stared at the poster of Starbuck on the ceiling. "He fascinates me," she admitted. "He's so controlled and anal, but there are moments when I see this playful guy peeping out from behind his routines, grinning at me." She closed her eyes, her hands behind her head. "He makes me smile, Howie. When I'm with him, I forget how lonely I am. I don't feel so lost and depleted anymore."

She opened her eyes and looked at her oldest friend. "The last two years have been bad, Howard. More so than I've let on. Kurt tore me down completely. He hurt me pretty badly. After I found out what he did, all the girls he was screwing, it knocked me for a loop. I've been struggling to trust anyone. Even you," she admitted softly.

Howard reached over and pulled her into a tight hug. "Oh, Pen. I'm so sorry," he whispered.

She sighed sadly and cuddled into him. "I trust him," she whispered. "I don't know why. It's not like I've known him for very long. Not even a month, Howie, but I do. I trust him."

Howard rubbed her arm and shrugged. "Sheldon is about the most honest guy I know. He's incapable of lying without twitching like a mad man. You can trust him, Pen. Just like you can trust me," he reminded her.

"I like him," she admitted softly. "I want to be around him. I want him to want me, too."

Howard smiled and kissed her temple. "Sheldon has never, in the years I've known him, paid any attention to anyone, male or female, like he does you. If you want him, go get him. Because he's too naïve to know to come after you. You'll have to be the pursuer here."

She giggled and hugged Howard tight for a second. "Wish me luck, Howie. I'm going to try to catch me a physicist."

Like I said before, no angst here. Leonard may have been a deluded idiot at first, but Sheldon really is his best friend here, and he knows that for Sheldon, this is something special and new. He's not about to hurt his buddy just because he has a crush on the girl Sheldon cares about.