:The Guy:

Penny stirred her noodles carefully and tried her best to look calm. Sheldon was too observant, watching her carefully. Her heart was thudding so hard in her chest she was certain he could hear it from just a few feet away. "What?" she asked in a voice far too high pitched for her liking.

Sheldon tilted his head slightly and took a couple of steps closer. "I said, I'm the Guy. The one in your story. It's me you regret not telling how you feel."

Penny tried to laugh it off. "That's ridiculous. Me in love with you?" She turned to drain the water from her over-cooked noodles. She was going to need more than the one bottle of wine she owned to get through this night.

Penny jumped as a hand landed on her shoulder and turned her around. Sheldon towered over her, his body so close she could feel the heat coming from him. He was staring at her with an intensity she usually only saw him express for his theories.

"Penny, please tell me the truth. Am I the Guy?" he asked gently.

Her vision wavered as tears filled her eyes. "Please don't be mad," she whispered.

Sheldon jerked with surprise. "Why would I be mad?"

Penny brushed at her wet eyes and looked away. "I know what you think of me," she mumbled. "You've said it many times. I'm not smart like you. You've compared me to a prostitute or porn actress more than once. You only put up with me because I live across the hall."

Sheldon flinched and looked at her with horror. "I hurt you."

Penny shrugged and moved around him to get some breathing space. "You were just being honest."

It was silent in the apartment for almost a full minute. Sheldon sighed and his shoulders slumped. "No, I wasn't," he admitted.

Penny sniffled and looked up at him from beside the couch. "What?"

Sheldon walked over until they were only a foot apart. "I have lied to you," he repeated. "I do not think you are stupid or a prostitute. I think you are a loyal and caring woman who makes me very unsettled."

Penny looked at him with confusion. "Unsettled? I make you uncomfortable?"

He nodded and reached out to carefully pick up a lock of her hair. "You make me very uncomfortable, Penny. You always have. When you are around I find it harder to breath. My heart rate increases. My mouth dries out." his voice dropped to a mere whisper. "You scare me, Penny."

Penny's breath hitched in her chest. "What are you saying, exactly?" she asked. "Plain English, Sheldon. None of your million dollar words that I could never understand."

Sheldon wasn't brave. He liked to pretend he was. He often wished he was, but he wasn't. He could take a lot of punishment, physically and mentally, but emotionally, he was weak. So, it took every ounce of courage he actually possessed to not run from Penny's apartment.

He dropped her hair and placed his hands on her shoulders gently. "I have spent years trying to unravel you. To place a label on you that would cease to make me uncomfortable. Friend. Neighbor. Roommate's girlfriend. None of those worked, Penny. You defy my every attempt at rationalizing you."

He closed his eyes briefly. "I have spent my entire life scheduled, controlled, and planned down to the minute. Then I met you. You are the epitome of flightiness and chaos. I should hate everything about you, Penny, but I don't. If I don't see you every day, I miss you. I trust no one else like I trust you."

He shuddered and reached up to wipe a tear from her lashes with his thumb. "You are the only person besides my Meemaw to ever believe in me so completely. You have always defended me, protected me, comforted me, and supported me. You are important to me, Penny."

Penny shivered lightly and wet her lips. "What about Amy? You can't deny you came here tonight because you're jealous of Stuart."

He nodded. "You're right. I am. She is my friend, Penny. I have had Amy's companionship to myself for several months. You know how much I hate to share anything. But just because I dislike sharing Amy's friendship, that doesn't mean I want her romantically."

Penny took a step back from him and wrapped her arms around her waist. "Sheldon, I don't understand. It seems like you're telling me you like me, but how can you? I annoy you all the time. I'm definitely not smart enough for you. All I have is what you see. This is it, Sheldon! I have absolutely nothing to offer you!"

"What makes you think I am any better?" he asked softly. "I know nothing about relationships, Penny. I do not know how to be in one. This is frightening to me, too."

"So what do we do?" she asked.

Sheldon took a moment to square his shoulders and smile slightly. "I came to ask if you would like to go out on a date with me."

Penny studied him carefully for several seconds. Slowly she smiled. "Then, yes. I would like to go out with you, Sheldon. Just…not to a prize fight, okay? You pass out when you see blood."

Sheldon grinned and nodded. "Dinner and dancing it is, then."