"Wait."
Mal's heart clenched guiltily. Gods, he was so bad at this. He touched Penny's shoulder gently, stopping her from dressing. "Penny, I did want to hear what you think. As much as this-- this scares me, it's not really just me here. We're...sorta in this together."
Cheeks red, he glanced down and muttered, "When I said...this...I meant--" He blushed a little deeper and cleared his throat. "It-- it doesn't have to be, ah...what we've been doing. We can be...together...with a lot less risk to you."
He sighed and dropped his hand. "I'm sorry. I must seem like I'm flip-flopping all over the place, I'm just...bad at talking about this, I guess," he grumbled. "Penny, I care about you. A lot. And I don't wanna hurt you. I want you to be aware of the-- the risks that come with being with...someone like me."
He sighed again and shrugged almost despondently. "But if...if that's something you really want-- you're sure you want-- I can...make it work. It won't necessarily be like before, but I...want you to be happy," he mumbled finally.