Oops, I had this one written a while ago, forgot to share it here.
Penny paced in the tiny excuse of a bridal suite as she waited to be summoned by one of the Elvis showgirls. Her heels clacked on the linoleum from one wall to the other as she whispered to herself.
"This is just commitment phobia, Penny," she muttered under her breath, her plastic bouquet cutting through the air, punctuating her words. "Leonard is good for you. Marriage will be good for you. It's time to grow up." Her body seemed to rebel against the words, a pit forming in her stomach, her nerves buzzing up her spine and in her hands. She shook first one hand and then the other to dispel the tingling.
A knock came at the door—three short raps—and for a split second, she expected to hear her name. For that split second, anticipation replaced anxiety. One second turned into two as Penny waited in suspense for something, and then the door opened.
"They're ready for you," said a voice before a face peeked through the entrance. A brightly made up woman with some kind of feather contraption on her head peered at Penny expectantly, jolting her back to reality.
"Right!" she exclaimed. "Let's do this." She squared her shoulders and marched out of the room.
As Penny entered the main part of the chapel, the pit in her stomach turned into a tightly clenched fist in her gut. A creeping sense of dread weighed down her steps as she walked toward her future. Was it because her father wasn't here to walk her down the aisle? That had to be it, right? Her dad always supported her relationship with Leonard, and a part of her felt guilty that she was taking that rite of passage away from him.
Maybe eloping in Vegas was a mistake.
Too late now, she thought, as Leonard beamed at her, dressed in a slightly oversized black tux. No doubt from the same chapel closet as the simple knee length white dress Penny was wearing.
There is your future, she coached herself, concentrating on her breath to stem the tidal wave of panic building in her chest. She was determined to ignore her feelings and plunge forward with the wedding, knowing her future self would be happier than she was right now.
"You look beautiful," Leonard breathed as Penny stood before him. Relief flooded her body as his awed expression soothed some of the anxiety away.
"Thank you," she mouthed, and then they turned their attention to Minister Elvis.
Things were off to a rocky start as Penny's thought strayed during the minister's opening speech. Panic and determination warred in her mind, fighting for control over her feelings. Was this the right thing to do? Or were they making a mistake? Would her family be disappointed with the elopement? Should they have waited to do it properly?
And what about Amy? No doubt she would have wanted to be maid of honor. Penny might have an upset bestie on her hands. She groaned internally at the potential for passive aggressive comments, or worse, the guilt trips and sob stories of how Penny was her first real friend. A sigh escaped at the thought.
The minister paused in his speech, and Leonard shot her a look of disbelief. Penny's eyes widened as she realized that sigh was out loud. "Sorry!" she blurted. "My mind was-" She cut herself off, realizing how tacky it sounded to admit being distracted. "Please, continue."
"You okay?" Leonard asked.
Penny put on her brightest smile before answering, "Yup! Just wanna be married already." At Leonard's wary expression, she redoubled her efforts. "You know, so we can get to the honeymoon part," she added with a smirk.
He finally smiled, and Penny sighed again, this time with relief. She returned her attention to the minister.
"Now this is the part where you repeat after me," he said to Leonard.
"Oh, actually, I wrote my own vows."
Penny blinked in surprise. "You did?" she squeaked as her heart began racing, and not with affection.
He gave her a sheepish grin. "Yeah, I kinda wrote it a while ago." He reached inside his tux and pulled out what looked like a worn piece of paper, dog eared and wrinkled with age.
Penny couldn't take her eyes off the paper. "How long is 'a while'?"
He shrugged, wincing with embarrassment. "It's not important." He cleared his throat and began reading.
"Penny, from the first day I met you, I knew you were my destiny. You stunned me with your beauty, and then you captured my heart with your kindness. I declared on that day that our babies would be smart and beautiful, and it brings me so much joy to see that wish finally come true."
He continued reading his vows, but Penny was again distracted by her inner thoughts. She was busy trying to think of what she would say, because of course he would expect her to reciprocate. It would have been nice if he had given her a heads up. Just once on the entire four hour drive would have been sufficient. She could have written something on the car ride. Now he was putting her on the spot. Sure, it was probably unintentional, and he probably thought it would have been a sweet surprise, but she wasn't at all prepared. Suddenly, Sheldon's discomfort with gift giving made a lot of sense.
Leonard finished talking, and was looking at her expectantly. With a deep breath, she shook off her thoughts and smiled at Leonard, pulling out her acting skills to look touched at his words. She even threw a hand over her heart to sell the emotion, and he smiled as a tender expression filled his eyes.
Was she a terrible person?
"Do you have your own vows?" the minister asked.
"Sure. I mean, yes." It was a lie, she hadn't come up with anything, but she decided to treat this like an improv exercise.
"Leonard," Penny began with a smile, "I love you. And I can't wait to be married to you." She opened her mouth to continue, but no other words came to mind.
She froze.
The seconds passed, slowly turning awkward as Leonard's expression went from happy to wary in increments. He blinked, and the joy in his eyes dimmed at her silence. The smile slipped from genuine to fake, and his eyebrows pinched in confusion.
"Penny?" he prompted with trepidation.
The pit-turned-fist in her stomach became an all-out war zone of nausea. Sweat popped out on her brow as the silence stretched beyond the point of discomfort, and tears pricked behind her eyes as dismay clenched her heart. Why couldn't she speak?
"S-sorry," she stammered, before fleeing back up the aisle toward the bridal suite.