Dawn was beginning to lose count of how many times she had heard the phrase "Congratulations!" It had been a long evening. Barry's aunt and her fiancé had come all the way to Sinnoh from the Hoenn region on the basis that they wanted to have their wedding in Twinleaf Town of all places, something Dawn couldn't understand. Even stranger, she and her mother had been invited to the wedding. She guessed it was because she had met Barry's aunt when she was seven years old. Dawn recalled that the over-exuberant blonde woman had tackled her in a lung-crushingly tight hug and adoringly called her "Barry's little girlfriend."
Whatever the reason, Dawn was now sitting at a table sporting a white tablecloth in Barry's backyard, shifting uncomfortably in her lavender party dress. The newlyweds were making their rounds, hugging and kissing everyone. Her mother was off talking to the two of them, so Barry was the only one at the table with her. Aside from Barry, his parents, and a scattering of his close relatives, Dawn didn't know anyone.
"Heeey, you don't look very excited," Barry whined. The fabric of his black tuxedo was already wrinkled, and his shoes sported several tell-tale grass stains, proving that the boy couldn't keep still for more than ten minutes. The dark-haired girl shrugged and lifted another forkful of cake to her mouth.
"I hardly know anyone here. They're all your family, not mine."
Her friend pouted. "Well, that doesn't mean you have to be so... boring!" He grinned slyly when he saw her mouth drop open in indignation. "Well it's true! Do you just not like weddings or something. I bet you don't. You're probably just gonna never get married."
This time, Dawn glared. "I like weddings just fine! It's just that after everything we did before this, everything feels a little..." she stared down at her plate without finishing the sentence, unsure of what adjective to use.
Barry tried to supply his own word. "Lackluster?" he ventured, and got a nod in reply. "I guess. Compared to saving the world, a wedding really isn't that much. Of course, you were the one who stopped Palkia, so most of the credit goes to you."
"But if you hadn't healed my pokémon, I wouldn't have been able to beat Team Galactic!"
Stroking his chin, Barry suddenly looked like he was deep in thought. Then he burst out with "Yeah... Yeah! I did do that, didn't I! Hurray! I helped save the world!" He thrust his hands into the air for emphasis.
Dawn sighed. "Keep it down a little, you dummy."
The blond chuckled and said, "Oh, yeah. Sorry." He then picked up his fork and started in on his cake. The sun was setting now, and added a hazy orange glow to the landscape. The small table was quiet as the two ten-year olds ate. Dawn couldn't help but wish that she had her empoleon with her, or at least one of her team, but her pokéballs were in her bedroom. She decided to change the subject.
"By the way, I'm totally going to get married one day." Looking at her, confusion was apparent on Barry's face. "Huh?"
She continued. "You said I was probably never going to get married. Well, I'll have you know that I'm definitely going to."
With a chortle, Barry asked, "To who? Lucas?" Hearing that, Dawn blushed heavily.
"No! That would be dumb!" she stammered.
His mischievous grin returned. "I bet you will! "The both of you are gonna get married and have lots and lots of kids!" He laughed even harder at this image.
"Shut up! Who are you gonna marry!" yelled Dawn, trying to take the attention off of herself.
Barry stopped laughing for a moment. "Hmmm..." he looked like he was attempting to conjure up an image of a girl that he actually knew besides Dawn. "I don't think I'll get married. Too much stuff to do."
The girl frowned. "But you can do things even when you are married," she argued.
"Hmph! Says you. Once you're married, you won't have time to save the world anymore! That's no fun!" Barry frowned deeply and nodded his head a number of times, obviously agreeing with his statement. Dawn was puzzled. In her opinion, it would be great if she didn't have to save the world again, because that meant that the world wasn't in need of saving. Everything would be peaceful.
Well, then again, this wedding sure was peaceful, but at the same time it was so boring. She had to admit, the danger of facing down Palkia had been scary, but also exciting. It had been the kind of excitement most people only get one or two times in their entire life, if even that much. Dawn remembered how her heartbeat had been pounding a mile a minute, and how the hairs on the back of her neck had been standing on end. She recalled every detail of the battle between her and the Palkia, ruler of space. That had been true excitement.
"Maybe you're right..." she replied after a moment. "I liked saving the world."
"Of course! Everyone wants to at least once." Barry crossed his arms and smiled complacently.
Dawn mirrored his pose. "But I still want to get married!" she exclaimed, winking at him.
"You're such a girl!"
Their remarks turned into giddy laughter at this point. The other guests continued to talk, oblivious to the two children sharing their own special secret.
They would always be around if the world needed saving again.