So, I'm extremely happy, because this marks my third update. Out of five today. Yes, you heard that correctly. Five updates. At once. I think I might just explode from sheer excitement. Sorry it took so long to update this particularly story, but here it is. Only one more chapter left, and then maybe an epilogue. The last chapter will, of course, be contestshipping (yay!). But for right now, here's some cute, fluffy Paul and Dawn.


"Okay, so this day sucks, right?" May asked, sitting down on the bench beside Dawn. Unwilling to watch as the beautiful decorations that she had designed were stripped, Dawn had wandered out into the hallway, staring at the rain pounding against the windows melancholy.

"It's not exactly my idea of a perfect wedding," she agreed, shrugging.

"Yeah, well, as bad as things were before," May said, wincing, "they're about to get a lot worse."

"Why?" Dawn asked warily, but before May could answer, a tall boy with electric blonde hair came sprinting into the hallway.

"Dawn! There you are," Barry said, grinning. "I've been looking everywhere for you!"

Dawn felt like screaming. She and Barry had dated briefly, but she'd broken up with him months ago. Apparently, Barry wasn't good with social cues, because he had continued to text her and ask her out on dates. Dawn had finally had to block his number. May smiled sympathetically at her as she got up, patting the bluenette on the shoulder. "I have to go find Drew and make sure everything's taken care of. Come find me later, okay?"

"Sure," Dawn grumbled, staring cautiously as her ex approached.

"Can we talk for a second?" There was a mischievous glint in Barry's eyes that Dawn couldn't quite place.

"Um, yeah, I guess," Dawn said, unable to think of a good reason to say no. "What's up?"

Barry just grinned. Slowly, he got down on one knee, drawing a little black box from his pocket. "Marry me, Dawn."

"What?" Dawn froze, staring at Barry like a deer caught in the headlights.

"I want you to be my wife."

Dawn just stared at him. "You can't be serious.

"Of course I am," Barry replied, standing up. "I love you."

Dawn felt like she was going to hyperventilate. This was too much. "Look, Barry—"

"I know," Barry interrupted, "but Dawn, I've never felt like this before. Think about it. We can go back to Sinnoh. There's a little house I've had my eye on for a while. It's perfect; it's not too big for just the two of us, but there will still be room for the kids."

"Kids?" Dawn almost choked. "You really have this planned out."

Barry shot her a winning smile. "Of course. This is our forever." He held out the ring again, the stone glittering atop of a red velvet cushion. Dawn felt slightly nauseous as she looked at it, realizing all that it implied. Taking a deep breath, she stood, pulling Barry up off his knees.

"Barry, I'm not going to marry you," Dawn said firmly.

"But . . ." Barry didn't seem to be able to process her words. "But I love you."

I don't love you. Dawn bit her tongue to keep the words from tumbling out of her mouth. There was no reason to be cruel.

"Barry, I broke up with you," Dawn said, smiling sadly. "I'm sorry things didn't work out, but . . ."

Barry looked crushed. "I thought . . ."

"You're a really nice guy, Barry, you really are. But I just don't think . . ."

"So you were leading me on?" Barry asked, suddenly angry. Dawn stepped back in surprise.

"Wha—no, I just—"

"You little bitch." Barry stepped forward and grabbed Dawn by the wrists. "I was willing to marry you, and you say no?" It was frightening, really, how quickly Barry had shifted from gentle and adoring to angry and violent. The dramatic mood changes had been one of the reasons Dawn had broken up with him in the first place. And for good reason. She knew, especially now, trying to pull herself free from his iron grip, that if she had stayed with him, it would only have been a matter of time before Barry turned on her.

As it was, Dawn's eyes narrowed into slits. "You were willing to marry me? Excuse me?" Barry shook her hard, and Dawn yelped as pain shot up her wrists. "Get off of me!" Dawn brought her stiletto heel down on Barry's instep. He screamed in pain, his grip on Dawn's wrists lessening. She shook him off and brought her knee slamming into his groin. Barry collapsed, groaning, while Dawn stared at him in disgust.

"Holy shit."

Dawn whirled around to see Paul standing there, looking shocked. His jacket had disappeared, and the top few buttons of his dress shirt were unbuttoned. His cuffs were rolled up to his elbows and his hair was tousled, giving him a lazy, disheveled look. Dawn's stomach lurched violently, and she had to keep herself from kissing him right there.

"What are you doing?" she demanded instead, trying to keep herself from staring too obviously.

Paul held up his hands, his eyes wide. "Um, May sent me to rescue you. Only it doesn't really look like you need any help . . ."

On the floor, Barry groaned, reaching out to grab Dawn's ankle. She yanked her foot away in disgust and stomped down the hall. Paul looked slightly amused as he followed her out into the main church.

"Where are you going?" he asked when she made a beeline for the door.

"Outside," Dawn said shortly, suddenly desperate to get away from him. She couldn't take being so close and not able to touch him.

"It's pouring."

"So?"

"You'll get pneumonia."

"Good," Dawn snapped, stepping out into the downpour. Despite the fact that it was the height of summer, the rain was cold, little shards of ice stinging against her face and soaking into her dress. She trudged down the front steps, heading for a little garden around the side of the cathedral.

"Dawn, you're being ridiculous," Paul said, grabbing her on the arm. Instinctively, Dawn jerked away, losing her balance as her heels got stuck in the mud. Paul tried to catch her as she feel, but she had too much momentum. And since it was apparently Dawn's lucky day, they both landed in an icy mud puddle.

"Oh, come on," she screeched. For a second, her fury at the universe kept her from realizing that Paul was practically on top of her, pinning her to the ground. He chuckled, his dark gray eyes softer than Dawn had ever seen them. "Why are you laughing?" she snapped, glaring up at him. Paul only chuckled deeper.

"You're funny," he said. Dawn shifted slightly, but Paul made no move to get up. Her entire body was tingling with energy, and the feeling of him pressing into had Dawn's heart in her throat.

"Why?"

Paul shrugged. "You just are."

"Well, thanks for clearing that up," Dawn said sarcastically. "Now can you please get off me?" Their faces were exceedingly close, and Dawn was afraid that if they stayed like that one second longer, she was going to do something stupid.

"Why?" Paul asked, cocking his head. "I kind of like this."

Dawn just shook her head. "Yes, because sitting in a mud puddle in the middle of a rainstorm is so much fun." She felt her breath catch as Paul leaned forward, allowing his lips to brush against hers lightly. They were so very, very close.

And then Paul pulled away, getting to his feet and extending a hand down to help Dawn up. Hesitantly, she let him pull her to her feet, conflict raging in her chest. They stared at each other for a second, oblivious to the rain still coming down in icy sheets around them.

Then Paul looked down and cleared his throat. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have . . . not after you just got done with Barry and everything."

"Yeah, no, I get it." Dawn lied. "It's really . . ."

An awkward silence followed, and Dawn suddenly became painfully aware of how cold it was without Paul's body pressed against hers.

What the hell, she thought, stepping forward and pulling Paul into a kiss. He responded immediately, wrapping his arms around her. Dawn felt as though all of the air had gone out of her, but she didn't break the kiss. If anything, she deepened it, letting her tongue lightly trace the edge of his lips. Paul groaned and thrust his tongue into her mouth, drawing a deep moan from Dawn.

It shouldn't have been romantic, making out with a guy in a rainstorm. Especially not when they were both covered in icy mud and who knew what else. But Dawn couldn't stop herself. She wanted him, badly, and nothing short of being struck by lightning was going to make her stop.

Lightning, or oxygen deprivation

Finally, the need to breath overwhelmed them, and they broke apart, gasping for breath. Dawn rested her forehead against his shoulder, trembling slightly. She'd never felt such an intense attraction to anyone before, and if the shuddering breaths she felt rattling around in Paul's chest were any indication, he hadn't either.

"That was . . ." Paul seemed at a loss for words.

"Uh huh." Not that Dawn could really talk.

"So . . ."

"Yeah."

"We should go back inside," said Paul, deliberately avoiding Dawn's eye. For a second, she considered this. It would be easy to back inside the church, pretend that they had just had an unfortunate run in with a mud puddle. They could pretend that the kiss had never even happened, and life could go on. Or . . .

"Or we could go back to the hotel," Dawn replied, shooting him a mischievous grin. "Get all this mud off." Paul just looked at her, his eyebrows shooting up his forehead. Dawn shifted uncomfortably. "I guess n—"

Paul cut her off with a kiss before reaching down and sweeping her into his arms. Dawn grinned, wrapping her arms around his neck as she kissed him back. As Paul tried to flag down a taxi in front of the church, Dawn let herself relax into the warmth of his body. It hadn't been a particularly great day, but Dawn was looking forward to a perfect night.


Dawn and Paul are just . . . ugh. I can't even. They're perfect. Also, if you've my other story, Chaos Theory, it will be apparent that I really don't like Barry. I don't know why, honestly. It just is. But it was really fun to write badass Dawn, so a jerk Barry shall stay. Anyway, thanks for reading, and if you want to leave a review, that would be great. Thanks!