The wedding, though thrown together in a few short weeks, was lovely. It was a sunny Saturday in May, not too warm but not too cold. The perfect spring day, with calm wind and green leaves.

Buttercup insisted that everything stay simple, and was reluctant to have her sisters help with anything. In the end, the three Powerpuff Girls collaborated for simplicity and elegance, resulting in an old fashioned influence with a modern twist. Nothing they chose was too girly for the bride's taste (she weeded through all of the books and samples in front of her with a critical eye), and the groom knew better than to comment on anything for fear of his beloved's wrath.

The wedding party was remarkably small, with Blossom and Bubbles the only bridesmaids and Big Billy, Snake, Little Arturo, and Grubber the only groomsmen. The boys wore black pants and whatever dress shirt they had on hand (resulting in a somewhat humorous mix of pale blue, forest green, pale yellow, maroon, and in Big Billy's case, bright pink), and the girls wore simple spaghetti strap satin dresses in their chosen colors of sky blue and rosy pink.

Ace did not have to worry; his fiancée's distain for formalwear rivaled his own, particularly those "stupid pinchy girly dress shoes" Buttercup had been ranting about for what seemed like forever, so she insisted that the entire wedding party wear low top Converse All Stars—white for the girls, and black for the boys. Bubbles wasn't particularly thrilled, and Blossom muttered something under her breath about a lack of class, but they tried to keep it under wraps for the sake of their sister.

There was never actually a formal invitation sent. The ceremony took place outside of city hall with the Mayor presiding, so that the event was open for anyone to attend. News of the Powerpuff's nuptials spread by word of mouth, and many people tried to clear out their schedules to make room for the happy event. Blossom set up several straight rows of metal chairs herself, leaving a wide aisle in the middle. The end-most chairs were adorned with small black and white polka dot bows with a large yellow rose in the center, the only decorations besides the bride's bouquet.

There were some who did not attend, like Ben Tennyson, who was busy dealing with the aftermath of a particularly nasty battle. Mandy, who was busy and never really a fan of sappy things like true love and happily ever after, avoided the wedding at all costs and found something to do. Others simply could not leave their assignments, instead sending their congratulations and well wishes for the young couple.

The bride herself looked beautiful, keeping things simple in a knee-length wrap dress in cream and white polka dots. Buttercup's dark hair curled to her chin, clipped out of her face by a fresh white rose. She won the fight against heels, and wore a simple pair of white Converse sneakers to match the wedding party. She carried a bouquet of pale yellow and white roses tied together with a white ribbon in her small hands, covered with lacy wrist-length gloves that managed to give a nod to old times and capture the bride's grungy style.

Dexter played a prelude on the piano as Professor Utonium walked his daughter down the aisle. The young genius was clad in a nice white tuxedo, but still wearing his purple gloves. The Professor smiled, holding on tightly to his daughter's arm. Those who were paying attention to his face noted his calm composure, as well as the tiny tears of joy trailing down his face. He did not willingly share his feelings, as he would not have allowed the wedding if he disapproved, but was reluctant to let his daughter leave him. But her happiness won out, and despite his hesitation, he had always dreamed of having this moment with at least one of his daughters. He had not expected it to happen so soon, nor did he anticipate which daughter it would be, but he was a content father of the bride nevertheless.

The ceremony itself was very brief, as the majority of those involved were either imaginary friends or under the age of twenty and plagued by short attention spans, and no one particularly cared to hear the Mayor talk any longer than they had to for fear that the vows would be skewed to mention pickles.

Kevin, who dressed up a bit by throwing a suit jacket over his jeans and black t-shirt, wasn't sure wear to sit, as he didn't know anyone very well. While he was thankful for Gwen's company, he wished Ben was around to make fun of things with him. It wasn't until Buttercup and Ace were reciting their vows that it hit him—these were some awfully big promises these kids were making.

The severity of the situation was astounding. Sure, the informality of it all worked with the juvenile shoe fashion to try and downplay how serious the whole thing was, but the brisk pace and solemn daze everyone seemed to have in their eyes really brought out how permanent this whole wedding thing was. Kevin hadn't been to many funerals (although, he had an awful feeling that he'd attend several by the end of the war), but he imagined that the "try not to think about what this means" vibe he was getting was exactly how they felt. At a funeral, people pretended it was a celebration of someone's life instead of a ceremony admitting that they were dead. At this wedding, they were ignoring that it was an act of desperation and how unbelievably young everyone was in favor of the pretty flowers and romance of the day.

He let out a large breath of relief when the Mayor finally said, "You may now kiss the bride," and jumped up out of his seat the moment he saw people start to leave. He left Gwen behind, not looking back to see the shocked expression on her face.

Kevin scanned the area and found an empty alley nearby. He leaned up against the wall of what had been a government office building, but had been completely abandoned upon the dawn of the war. He shoved a hand through his hair and sighed.

Yikes, he thought. Why didn't anyone else see this for what it was? Everyone else seemed to be happy for the welcome break. They ignored the fact that there was a war going on.

He didn't even hear the shuffle of feet walk towards him. It was only when he heard her speak that he even realized that Buttercup was standing next to him.

"You too?" she said Kevin jumped a little, and turned to look at her. She looked as lovely as before, but there was something different in her expression.

"What's up with you?" Kevin snapped and as soon as he heard the way it sounded, he wished he'd have said it with a nicer tone. "How 'bout that wedding?" he added with a half-hearted smile, trying to save face.

She bit her lip, letting out a nervous giggle. "Yeah. About that."

Ouch, he thought. What was he supposed to say to that? "Well," he started, "Congrats, anyway. It was the most tolerable wedding I've ever been to."

Buttercup laughed for real this time. "That was the point. It would have been awful if I was miserable at my own wedding."

He cocked an eyebrow. "Then what are you now?"

Her bright green eyes widened. "Oh, no, it's not that. I just… I just needed some time to myself for a minute. I told them I had to get something… I just needed to breathe."

Kevin nodded. "Me too."

"It just kind of hit me," the newly wedded Powerpuff Girl continued, "when we were walking out, that everything is going to change. I mean, for a while, when I was trying to get everything back to the way things were, it was just us. Ace and… well, I wasn't really me then. Have you ever felt like you're supposed to be one way because that's the way people see you, but you feel like you're actually someone else? That's the way I felt when I was… When I was Belladonna."

"You have no idea," Kevin agreed. "I don't know if you know this, but I was a real bad ass when I was a kid."

She laughed again. Buttercup had a nice laugh, he decided—almost musical, without being too girly. It was a sincere laugh, and he liked that. "I've heard," she said.

"Well, sometimes, people can't seem to understand that nowadays, I'm usually on the good guys' side." Kevin shrugged, exhaling as his shoulders dropped.

Buttercup pondered this for a moment before speaking. "You understand, then," she explained as she saw Kevin nod. "And I feel like it's happening again. Everybody's thinking, 'She's too young,' 'It's only because of the war,' or 'They don't know what they're getting themselves into.' And maybe that's all true. But I think-and I haven't… exactly told anyone this…not even Ace—I would have married him even if we weren't in the middle of a war. He saved me, Kevin, and I don't… I can't imagine things ending any other way. I see you with that pretty redhead girl—Gwen? Ben's cousin? —And maybe you feel the same way about her. Maybe you understand."

"I do."

"That's what I said. And I was lucky, and he said it too. Today. Specifically today, but he also says it everyday in everything he does. And I know it seems totally out of character, at least for me, but… This feels right," she said, almost as if she was trying to convince herself.

"Then why are you hiding?" Kevin asked.

"You know," she said, and it was the first honest to goodness smile he'd seen on her face all day, "I don't remember anymore." She turned to leave. "Thanks for listening, Kevin. Are you coming to the reception? It should be… entertaining," she finished, smirking.

"Yeah, I'll be over then," he promised, looking at his feet.

"Hey," she added, placing a hand on his shoulder, "thanks. I'm sorry—I have to go. I'm sorry that I couldn't help you like you helped me. I'm not much of a listener. I'm a whiner. Ask anyone! But I'll tell you what—we should double date sometime, you and Gwen and Ace and me. It'll be fun."

She left Kevin alone with his thoughts. It'll be fun, she said. Oh, they were all so young!

But she was right. Which meant that he had to find Gwen and get to that reception. After all, how often did they have parties like that?