One year and one month later
The perfume of roses permeated the air even here in May's prep tent. Serena and I, along with May's mom, had been working on May's hair, makeup, and nails for the last three hours. Finally, the last curl was swooped into place and we all stood back to look at our work. May was wearing a dress that looked like a modern take of a beautiful old English dress with sleeves that fit her upper arms like a second skin but at her elbows, they billowed out and draped nearly to the ground, reminding me of beautifly wings. The dress came down in a loose square neck, showing off her beautiful necklace that was a string of delicate crystal roses that Drew had given her as a gift with matching earrings. The body of the dress hugged her down to her hips where it flared out and it was all made out of lustrous silk that looked almost like the ripples of water as she moved.
Her hair had all been curled and most of it had been gathered up in an elegant bun at the top of her head, but large loose curls were left down to frame her face. Everything about her looked delicate and ethereal and I just knew that Drew's mouth was going to fall to the floor when he saw his normally blunt and energetic girl looking as elegant as the roses he loved.
I had to chuckle as I remembered when May called me six months ago and told me that she was going to take things into her own hands. With the help of me and Serena, we all secretly bought a plot of land in a gorgeous area outside of Petalburg City. May grilled Drew about everything he was looking for in his fantasy rose garden that he had in mind for their wedding day and we all got to work. Paul and Ash had done most of the heavy labor of getting all of the rose bushes packed and over to our plot of land, and we never would have gotten the water fountain with the statue that Drew had described if Paul hadn't used his particular skills in intimidation while negotiating with the contractors.
It had taken months of hard work and there were so many times when we thought we were going to be caught, but everything was finally ready by late February. When May had brought Drew to the garden I had been shocked to see him actually shed a tear as he looked at his perfect rose garden. Now here we were, May 1st in the middle of the most magical rose garden I had ever seen and May and Drew were finally going to get married.
"Oh honey, I am so happy for you!" May's mom said, tears spilling from her eyes.
May took one of her hands in her own and I couldn't help but feel a shot of pride as I saw the delicate lace gloves that I had found for her. Serena came over and wrapped her arm around my waist, sighing happily, and I rested my head gently against hers.
May asked us both to be her bridesmaids since we helped so much with the rose garden. Even though Serena hadn't been able to do too much work on the planting because of her duties as Kalos Queen, she had painstakingly handmade our maid of honor dresses. I glanced in the mirror and couldn't help but smile as I caught a glimpse of us in the mirror.
Serena had somehow crafted dresses out of delicate pink satin that perfected copied the effect of rose petals. From our waists, large "petals" billowed out over what seemed like dozens of layers of the petal-like fabric that ended a few inches above our knees. The top of the dress, in the same pink color, was tight and she had used the same technique from the skirt to make it look like the sleeves of the dress were made up of rose petals. The dresses were over the top and absolutely fantastic in every way.
Music began playing and I could hear the sounds of people chatting beginning to lessen as they took their seats in the lawn chairs set up on either side of the aisle that would lead to the temporary stage where Drew would be waiting for her in just a few minutes. May jumped up and would have run out in her excitement if Serena and I hadn't sprung in front of the tent door and blocked her.
"Not yet, May! We have to wait for the wedding march to play!" Serena gasped frantically.
May chuckled and blushed, stepping back and letting her mom drape the train of her dress so that the audience would be able to get the full effect of the gorgeous dress. I walked over and picked up the bouquet of red, white, and pink roses that Drew had designed himself and handed it to her. She took the flowers in her hands and I noticed that they were shaking slightly.
"Are you excited or nervous?" I whispered to her. Her chocolate brown eyes widened for a moment before she let out a shaky breath.
"Both, I guess? I kept pushing Drew to hurry up and decide because I was sick of waiting... But now that the day is finally here I actually feel a little nervous. I don't really know how to act like a married woman," May admitted.
Her mom laughed quietly and looped a stray hair back into her bun expertly.
"Drew doesn't want you to act like a married woman, May. He wants you to be exactly who you are," she said wisely. May's shoulders relaxed and she smiled at her mom, her glittery lip gloss catching the light prettily.
We all waited until the familiar sound of the wedding march started. Serena and I gave May one last hug. May's mom had already slipped out of the tent to take her seat with Max so we turned, picking up our own simple bouquets of red and white roses, and then walked out of the tent as we had practiced.
We walked slowly down the aisle and as I looked up I felt my breath catch as my eyes instantly found Paul's. He and Ash were standing to Drew's right along with his other groomsmen and I realized that I had never seen him in a full tux before. He smiled quietly at me and for a second I wanted to forget about tradition and go insert myself next to him so I could cuddle up against his strong arm. But I refrained and turned away from his handsome face to follow Serena and take my spot on the stage.
I couldn't keep my grin from spreading as I looked over to see that Drew's eyes were as wide as silver dollars and he was staring at May as her father walked her down the aisle. Her veil, which had delicate lace roses woven into it, was draped beautifully across her face and fell down to the ground behind her. Drew immediately stepped forward, offering his hand to May before she began to climb the steps and I felt a flush of happiness rise into my face as May took his hand with a look filled with undiluted adoration and love.
The ceremony was beautiful and I could hardly believe it when it was time for Drew and May to exchange rings. As the classic, "You may kiss the bride" line was said May tossed aside her elegant demeanor and practically tackled Drew, throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him deeply. Drew wrapped his arms around her waist and picked her up, spinning her around as they kissed and the whole audience cheered.
A familiar arm wrapped around my waist and I smiled happily up at Paul as he leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss against my temple. We walked off the stage together and whenever we could we stood next to each other during the pictures. After we were excused from picture duty Paul led me to the large clearing in the middle of the rose garden where guests were chatting happily, enjoying the refreshments and the beautiful scenery.
"It's strange to think that a couple of months ago this was just an empty patch of ground," Paul commented as we looked around at the rose garden we had helped create.
"I'm sorry I had to leave so often while you were working on it," Serena said sadly, walking over with Ash is tow.
Even in a tux, Ash looked roguishly disheveled with his spiky hair and the slightly untucked shirt. Pikachu had left him to go and visit with the other pokemon who were all congregating by the water fountain.
"Don't worry about it, Serena. I know you're super busy," I said soothingly and she smiled gratefully at me.
"This is the first wedding I've been to. It seems like a lot of work for one day," Ash commented with a frown and Serena winced as if he had just struck her.
"Of course it's a lot of work, Ash! A wedding is a super important day for a couple!" Serena said passionately and I noticed that there was some sadness in her eyes.
I knew that Serena had been hoping that working on the garden and talking to May would have given him a hint about their own relationship, but Ash hadn't ever shown any interest in changing their relationship status.
"Usually it's the girl that's fussy about the details of a wedding. I've never seen a guy so uptight about his wedding day," Paul commented dryly.
I elbowed him in the side lightly and he jerked away, shooting me a grin to show that he had said it to annoy me on purpose. I tried to stop myself from grinning by pressing my lips into a line but his twinkling eyes showed me that I hadn't hidden it very well. Even though it was weird, I actually loved it when he teased me, because it meant that he was thinking of me.
"How do you even ask someone to marry you?" Ash asked thoughtfully.
Both Serena and I froze, looking at each other with slack jaws in absolute shock. Paul shook his head and sighed.
"You don't do it on a whim," he replied firmly and I looked over at him with interest. Paul and I had talked about marriage several times, but things had been so busy the last year it hadn't seemed like a priority.
This last year we traveled through Sinnoh together. I finally won the Sinnoh Grand Festival and became a Top Coordinator, and he won the Sinnoh Pokemon League for the second time. His battle against Cynthia had been tense but she had eventually won and he had actually told me after the battle that he was wondering if he even wanted to be a pokemon champion. Being in Sinnoh for a year had been great, but we both were itching for another adventure, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to be stuck in one region for the rest of our lives.
"Well, it doesn't matter. It would be hard on Serena to be Kalos Queen and get married," Ash said with a shrug.
Serena's mouth snapped closed and her eyes widened, moisture beginning to form in the back of her eyes. She took a step closer to Ash while Paul and I both naturally took a step back.
"Ash... is that why you haven't talked about getting married? Because you thought it would be hard on me?" she asked quietly. I couldn't help but grin when Ash's cheeks colored slightly and he shrugged.
"I mean, May has been nearly killing herself working on this garden. There's no way you could do that as Kalos Queen," Ash mumbled under his breath.
Serena let out a jubilant laugh and threw herself against Ash's chest, squeezing him tightly and he looked down at her in confusion. Paul squeezed my hand and jerked his chin towards the refreshment tables. I nodded and we left the two alone to talk.
We perused the selection of cookies, fruit, and little finger foods available and after we tried a little of everything we heard several people begin to clap. Turning I watched as May and Drew walked towards our gathering area and I joined in with the clapping. They looked striking next to each other and they were both smiling radiantly. To my surprise Paul pulled me by the elbow over towards them, weaving his way through the crowds so we could be one of the first to congratulate them. May gave me a huge hug and I whispered my congratulations to her. Drew hugged me tightly and thanked me again for my help with the rose garden.
"We need to go now," Paul whispered into my ear and I frowned, looking up at him in confusion.
"Why? There is still dancing and they'll be serving dinner in a few hours," I whispered back. Paul shook his head and squeezed my hand.
"It's a surprise," he said with a small grin.
I cocked my head to the side, wondering why he would have planned a surprise on the same day as May's wedding. But eventually I shrugged, since I knew that May and Drew were going to be so preoccupied with each other they probably wouldn't miss us too much. I quickly found my mom, who was sitting with May's parents and gave her a hug goodbye. Serena and Ash were nowhere to be seen, so I made a mental note to send her a message apologizing for skipping out early.
Paul herded me out of the rose garden and I blinked in surprise when he reached behind a bush and pulled out both of our travel backpacks. Ignoring my incessant questions of 'where are we going?' he guided me to the main road and I felt my mouth drop open when I saw a random taxi waiting patiently on the side of the road. Paul pushed me towards the taxi, opening the door for me and letting me slide in first before slipping in and nodding to the taxi driver. A wicked grin was plastered over Paul's face as I continued to pester him but he stubbornly remained silent as the taxi driver drove us past Petalburg City.
Finally giving up I turned and watched the scenery fly by us for the next hour or so. My eyes widened as I saw a glimpse of the ocean out of my window. Within ten minutes the taxi driver had taken us to a pier where several large cruise ships were docked. Paul jumped out of the taxi and ran to my side where he opened the door for me and offered me his hand, helping me out of the small car with my poofy skirt. I watched as Paul paid the taxi driver and my eyebrows shot up when he pulled out a wrapped rectangular box from his backpack and handed it to me with a smile.
"Change into this, our ship will be leaving soon," he said with a grin. I glanced at the cruise ships at the end of the pier and furrowed my brow in confusion.
"We're going on a cruise?" I asked in confusion.
Paul didn't answer but lightly pushed against my shoulders, directing me to the ticket office bathrooms. Shrugging I decided to go along with it and I tried not to feel silly dressed in my elaborate bridesmaids dress as I entered the bathroom and locked it behind me. Getting out of the dress was difficult but I was able to safely stow it in my clothes storage compartment before opening the gift box Paul had handed me.
I gasped in amazement as I lifted the lid of the box off and saw the beautiful dress inside. It was a one-shoulder dress with a strap for a sleeve in a beautiful pale purple color and there was even a marbled white belt with veins of pale pink and silver running through the white in the box with it. I quickly slipped the dress on, surprised when it fit me perfectly, and I smiled when I saw that even though it was a one-shoulder it covered me completely. Paul was surprisingly conservative when it came to the clothes that I wore and I was surprised that he had chosen a dress that hit slightly above my knees instead of his normal insistence that I wear full skirts or pants at all times.
I positioned the beautiful belt at an angle across my hips and I was glad that I wouldn't have to change my shoes since the pale pink low heeled shoes matched the pale pink in the belt. After a second's hesitation, I let down my hair from its elegant updo and let the soft curls fall down my back and in front of my shoulders. Once I was satisfied with how I looked I felt excitement run through me and I wondered why Paul was being so secretive.
With a skip in my step, I left the bathroom and I quirked an eyebrow when I saw Paul leaning against the wall, looking towards the entrance of the ticket office. The clack of my shoes must have alerted him to my presence because he turned before I could call out to him and smiled. He had changed out of his black tux and was now wearing a gray dress shirt with the top button left open and black slacks. Before I could comment on his formal wear he walked over to me quickly and took my hand in his.
"Come on. Boarding started a few minutes ago," he said with a grin.
I let him drag me through the crowds and towards a large cruise ship where a line of people was boarding. We followed the crowd and Paul asked me if I enjoyed the wedding. I couldn't help but gush excitedly about how beautiful the ceremony was. Paul listened with a quiet smile as I told him all about getting May ready and how she admitted to being nervous to be getting married, even though she had been waiting for over two years.
Before I knew it we had boarded the ship and Paul guided me through the cruise ship expertly, as if he had been here before. I looked all around me, wondering what made Paul want to plan a cruise trip for us like this. Pulling out a card key from his pocket Paul stopped in front of a door and swiped the card, causing it to ding quietly. He pushed it open and I gasped.
The room was huge! There were two queen-sized beds in the room with fluffy white pillows and blankets and the walls of the room were covered in tropical flowers of every shape and variety. A large TV was set up on the wall facing the beds and peaking through the door nearest the entrance I saw a huge bathroom with a jacuzzi tub.
"Wow, Paul, this is amazing!" I gasped in excitement.
Shivers ran up my spine as Paul gently brushed my hair to the side then leaned down and pressed a kiss to my bare shoulder.
"I'm glad you like it," Paul murmured next to me ear, before letting go of my hair and stepping around me.
He took my backpack from my hands and deposited it on one of the beds, leaving his backpack on the other one. I began walking over to him but he smiled and made a shooing motion at me.
"There's something else I want to show you," he said with a teasing grin.
I smiled, feeling a little confused, but followed him happily as he took my hand and led me away from the gorgeous room. Paul walked silently as he led me down the hall and towards a set of stairs. Normally we would always take the stairs since it was an easy form of exercise, but today he bypassed the stairs and pressed the up button next to the elevator then smiled down at me.
"Seriously, Paul. What is this about? I love surprises, but did we really need to leave on a cruise tonight?" I asked as the elevator dinged in front of us and the doors slid open.
Paul gave me a small smile and pulled on my hand, leading me into the elevator, which was surprisingly empty. When the doors closed I squeaked as Paul suddenly whipped around, placing his hands on either side of my head, and looked at me with his eyes dancing with amusement. I blinked in surprise and then let out a small chuckled, leaning against the wall of the elevator and quirking one eyebrow at him.
"What is with you today?" I asked with a silly grin.
He didn't answer, but he leaned down and gently kissed me. Torn between rolling my eyes or tickling him, I decided to just go with it. A ding signaled that someone was going to get on the elevator and I tried to pull away, but Paul just moved closer, trapping me against the wall and pulling my bottom lip into his mouth where he nibbled it playfully.
Embarrassment made my cheeks heat up like crazy when I heard a quick gasp from whoever was on the other side of the elevator doors. After a few seconds, the doors closed without anyone else getting on the elevator and I reached out to poke Paul's side to make him let me go. He was not having any of it though. My muffled sounds of protest were swallowed up in his kiss as he snatched both of my hands, moved them behind my back, and then maneuvered them so that he was holding both my wrists in one of his oversized hands. With his other hand now free he gently ran his hand up my bare arm and then snaked it around my neck, deepening the kiss even more.
Not entirely hating this development I decided to just let him have his way this time. In the year that we had been dating, he'd never once acted overly selfish or said no if I asked him to do something I knew wasn't his cup of tea. If he wanted to have a hot, uninterrupted kiss in an elevator then I could do that. Paul let go of my wrists when I began to respond more to his kiss and I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him even tighter against me as I ran a finger up and down the back of his neck.
The elevator announced that we had made it to the top floor and I could feel Paul's reluctance as he slowly moved away from me. I kept my hands loosely wrapped around his neck and he smiled with a familiar look of amusement dancing in his eyes as the doors slid open behind us. He sighed and straightened up, reaching up and removing my arms from around his neck but gave me a quick wink that made me laugh as we walked out of the elevator.
I readjusted my decorative belt as we walked around the deck of the boat. Something about the boat suddenly seemed familiar and I narrowed my eyes, glancing around as I wondered what it was that had caught my attention. I followed Paul around to the side of the deck and blinked in surprise when I saw a tent taking up a large portion of the deck with white ropes proclaiming the spot as reserved.
Paul approached the tent confidently and the cruise employee posted outside of the tent unhooked the rope, motioning for us to go through. I blinked in shock as Paul slipped through the opening that the employee held back for him and I followed mutely behind him.
My mouth dropped open in shock as the fabric fell behind me, cutting us off from the rest of the cruise passengers and I looked at the elegant setting in front of me. The tent only had three walls, leaving the side that had the railing and looked out over the ocean open so we could enjoy the view. Small lights were strung along the top of the tent and the single table that had spots set for two had a small candelabra with three candles lit.
I gaped in shock at the elaborate setting and then my head snapped around as Paul pulled my hand, guiding me gently over to the railing of the ship where he took both of my hands into his. His smile was borderline cocky as he grinned with a self-satisfied expression down at me.
"There was a reason that it had to be tonight, Dawn," he said teasingly and I blinked mutely. "Tonight was the only night that this boat was going to be in Hoenn for the next six months. And this just so happens to be the same cruise ship we took to go to Alola a year and a half ago."
My mouth dropped open in shock and my throat tightened with the emotion. Paul's smile slowly softened into a true smile of happiness and I watched in disbelief as he let go of one of my hands and slipped his hand into the pocket of his slacks. Slowly and deliberately he slid down onto one knee and tears began to gather in the back of my eyes as he looked up at me with adoration.
"Dawn. Ever since you knocked into me and made me spill my lemonade on you, you have been throwing me off what I thought was my life's path," Paul said with a teasing grin and I blinked desperately to keep my tears at bay. "We broke up before we started dating, we survived an invasion of ultrabeasts, and now we've had a year to get to know each other in normal, everyday life. But the weirdest thing is that when I'm with you, 'normal' doesn't seem to exist."
A nervous laugh escaped me as I continued to try and keep away my tears. Paul gripped my hand tightly, the first flash of nervousness going through his eyes before he pulled my hand to his lips and kissed my fingertips gently. Slowly he let go of my fingers and pulled his other hand out of his pocket, revealing a small oval box covered in blue velvet. I brought one hand up to cover my mouth and keep myself from sobbing as he slowly opened the little box to reveal a beautiful white gold ring with one large diamond and two smaller one's inset in a beautiful eternity swirl. My eyes flicked away from the delicate ring and up into Paul's amethyst colored eyes as he held up the ring box towards me, but met my eyes staunchly with his.
"Dawn. Will you spend the rest of your life with me... as my wife?" he asked quietly. Finally, it was too much and my tears spilled down my cheeks.
I nodded firmly before gasping out, "Yes."
Paul smiled, his eyes twinkling with a look of relief and triumph. I held out my left hand and he gently slid the ring into place. I looked down at the delicate, swirling design for a few seconds and then I dropped to my knees as well and threw my arms around his neck. Paul held me tightly against him and we both laughed happily.
Suddenly Paul's grip tightened and he stood up, pulling me with him and then spun me around. My legs flew out as he spun me and I laughed delightedly, feeling my tears finally stop as the wind whisked them away. Paul settled me back down on the deck and cupped my cheeks in his hand, once again smiling cockily at me.
"You had no idea, did you?" he asked with a self-satisfied grin.
I laughed and reached out to poke his stomach, but he grabbed my hand before I could with an amused glint in his eyes.
"Who would expect to get proposed to on the day their friend gets married?" I asked as I laughed. Paul shrugged but continued to grin.
"Let's get married at the end of the month," he said suddenly and I choked on my laughter. I coughed a few times to clear my throat and Paul let out a spluttering laugh.
"THIS month?" I repeated in shock. "There's no way we could plan a wedding in a month!" I exclaimed incredulously and Paul scoffed.
"All we have to do is send out invitations and buy you a dress. I've already got a tux and we can just use the rose garden since you own a third of it," Paul said with a shrug. I shook my head, reaching up and placing a hand on my forehead.
"Paul, Drew and May were engaged for two YEARS! The shortest we could plan a wedding for would be six months," I retorted. Paul huffed and rolled his eyes.
"Drew and May only took that long because Drew was being a drama king. If we hire a wedding planner to get everything done we could have everything planned and ready in a few weeks," Paul insisted stubbornly.
I shook my head again, but I could feel my lips curling up in a grin. "If we hire a wedding planner then MAYBE we could do four months," I retorted.
Paul quirked one eyebrow up and a slow, smug smile spread across his lips and he walked slowly over to me, reaching out his hands and gripped the top bar of the railing on either side of my body. I pulled my lips in between my lips to keep them in a straight line but Paul's smug grin broadened as he leaned in and our noses were only a breath away.
"One month," he said with finality.
I shook my head, leaning a little bit over the railing to try and get some air that wasn't full of the slightly spicy scent of the new cologne I had found for Paul. "One month," he said again, leaning after me and nipping gently at my earlobe.
My whole body shivered as he began kissing me down my neck but I shook my head and pushed his shoulders. I knew that if he was being stubborn he wouldn't have let me push him away so I was relieved when he moved back and gave me a self-confident smile.
"Can we at least do three months?" I asked. Paul quirked one eyebrow up at me without answering so I plunged on. "It's just that I don't know if I am going to find my dream wedding dress in so little time and the fitting and alterations can take months and.... I want to look beautiful on my wedding day."
Paul blinked and frowned slightly. To my surprise, he bowed his head between us and sighed. I stood still as Paul leaned forward and rested his head on my shoulder. I couldn't help but slip a hand up to his neck and into his hair, which had recently been cut so it was a little shorter than normal.
"How about two and a half?" Paul mumbled against my shoulder.
Affection rose up through me at the slightly boyish tone in his voice and I turned and kissed his temple gently.
"Is this about our wedding night?" I whispered softly.
Paul stiffened and I could almost feel him getting ready to deny it but slowly his body relaxed and he rested even more of his weight on my shoulder. I smiled quietly, reaching my other arm around his shoulders and rocking him slightly. Paul had been absolutely amazing this past year of dating. There was only one time when things had gotten heated and I had nearly thrown caution to the wind, but it was Paul who stopped us and I loved him for it even more.
"Two and a half months could be doable," I conceded with a small smile. Paul raised his head from my shoulder and narrowed his eyes at me.
"You're not going to be sad on the wedding day that I rushed you are you? Because I can wait if you really need more time," Paul said sincerely.
Love for this man in front of me who always put me before himself surged through me and I reached up and wrapped my arms around his neck. He smiled at me as I stood on my tiptoes so I could look at him better and casually looped his arms around my waist.
"The sooner I can tell everyone that I belong to you, the better," I said with a grin.
Paul shook his head and kissed my forehead. "You belong to yourself, Dawn. But I want to be with you for every step of our journey," he said.
I shook my head and playfully beat my fist against his chest. He laughed at the gentle tap and cocked an eyebrow.
"What was that for?" he asked with a grin.
"Why do you always get to say things like that?" I pouted.
He grinned broadly and then to my surprise he bent down, picking me up by my thighs and guided me so that I would wrap my legs around his waist. He looked up at me, now that my face was a little higher than his, and smiled broadly at me.
"Learn to live with it, lady," he said with a cocky grin.
I rolled my eyes but couldn't help leaning down and kissing him. I didn't know where life would take us next, but as long as I had Paul by my side I knew that it was going to be the happiest existence I could have ever imagined.
The End