It has been a long time, and there is no excuse. I won't say sorry, there's no point. But here is another chapter for you. I don't own The Big Bang Theory, I just use these characters for my own enjoyment. I do not have a beta, all mistakes are mine.
Howard was not happy with Leonard, and didn't know how to deal with him. Or his own feelings towards Penny. He had tried thinking of some romantic gesture to show her how he felt, but had come up with nothing. He was racking his brains, not really concentrating on what he was doing at work, when Leonard came into his office. 'Hey, mind if I sit?' Leonard asked, his face the picture of innocence. Howard just glared. 'Ok, I know you're not happy because of my reaction to you going out with Penny,' he said, wringing his hands, 'But, to be fair, she is my ex girlfriend. Isn't that what guys do? Get jealous about their exes going on dates with one of their best friends? You can't really blame me. I mean, I love Penny, there's no one else out there for me. She's my soul mate, Howard!' He looked like he was pleading with the shorter man, and Howard didn't like it one bit. He knew what Leonard was like; he knew that he wasn't good for Penny. So he stopped what he was doing, and sat down.
'Leonard, you do not love Penny. Let me make this very clear. You do not love her. You love the idea of having a very beautiful woman on your arm. You love that she isn't as smart as you, because that means she can't get one over on you, she can't criticise your work. You two broke up for a reason. She didn't want to be with you anymore. You take her confidence away from her by treating her like she is stupid. You're not good enough for her.' Howard could see that he had hit the right nerve; Leonard looked very upset. How dare he? I'M not good enough for Penny? Like HE IS? I love Penny, I deserve her, and I've waited long enough! Leonard got up and stormed out, only to bump into Penny.
To say Penny was shocked by Leonard's outburst would be a lie. She was simply shocked he would say all of this to Howard. She had kept herself out of the doorway so as not to be seen, but only just; she really wanted to give Leonard a piece of her mind.
When he had come storming out, and bumped into her, he looked at her with those puppy dog eyes she knew he had perfected as a child. The same puppy dog eyes that had, at one time, made her give in, that made her do things she was not proud of. Such as sleeping with Leonard when she didn't really want to do, allowing him to touch her body even though she knew he could not satisfy her. She knew it was unfair, but those puppy dog eyes had been difficult to ignore. But now, now she could say no. And she would say no. 'Hi Penny, how are you? Wanna go for lunch?' his tone was happy, but she knew that he felt it brooked no arguments. 'No thanks, Leonard, I wanted to talk to Howard, actually. We have some things to sort out.' She responded coolly, and watched with glee as his face dropped, and walked into the engineer's office, closing the door behind her.
Leonard was angry. Fuming, even. He stomped through the corridors, huffed in the line at the cafeteria, and all but threw himself into a chair next to Raj, who promptly made up some ridiculous excuse to leave that went unheard by Leonard. Sheldon, however, acknowledged it, and left right along with him. And so, Leonard spent his lunch hour alone, unaware that Raj and Sheldon were talking about him back in their office.
Penny was nervous, and the butterflies in her stomach were starting to make her feel sick. She didn't like this one bit, but she had to tell Howard. She just HAD to. To his credit, Howard stayed where he was, as if he knew just how Penny was feeling, and didn't want to spook her. Just like the horses on the farm, she thought. It was only when she was three feet away from him that he stood, and she took her hands in his. She looked at his eyes then, green meeting blue, and she started to speak,
'Howard, I am so sorry. I'm sorry about Leonard. I'm sorry that he's treating you this way. I'm sorry for the way I've treated you in the past, for the things I've said,' his face held a curious expression, one that she couldn't analyse yet. 'But most of all, I'm sorry for not being honest with you.' His face fell then, thinking that this would be the rejection he feared would come. He opened his mouth to reply, but she cut him off. 'I'm sorry for not being honest with you, Howard, because I have feelings for you. I don't know when it started, but I've been denying it for a while now. If you don't feel the same, then that's ok, because I don't and won't expect you to. But I had to tell you, because it was starting to eat me up inside.' He could see the tears in her eyes, and he knew that she also feared rejection. Well, that just won't do, not anymore, he thought, as he leaned in to kiss her.