A/N: Thank you all for your support! The reviews make my day and it's lovely to see new readers joining the ride. I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or the picture used as cover (though I did edit it).
Days
The day with dresses
May
Friday, December 20th
"What about this one?" May asked, pulling out a dress from the pile that had been dumped outside Iris's fitting room.
It was, of course, a wedding dress. This one was a white strapless one with a big flaring skirt with some lace at the top, and while May thought it was prettily done, she could already see Iris frowning from the corner of her eyes.
"I don't like strapless ones," Iris said, leaning against the wall of her fitting room, still dressed in a light pink dress with a mermaid skirt. "It's hell with bras."
May nodded in understanding, discarding the dress. "True. Still…" She picked another one from the pile. "We're in the biggest bridal shop of Unova, we'll find you a wedding dress."
Said biggest bridal shop of Unova (appropriately called Beautifly's Bridal Paradise) was located in Nimbasa City, where they had arrived just this morning after a flight on Iris's Dragonite and Cilan's borrowed Tropius. The cold that had held Unova in its grip had relented, though they had still gotten rained on during their flight.
Still, after changing clothes in their hotel room and eating a bite, they had started dress hunting with renewed enthusiasm. Only, after about a dozen rejected dresses Iris's motivation now seemed to be waning.
"This one?" It was another white one with short sleeves and wide skirt with fake diamonds scattered along it, and even though Iris frowned, she accepted the dress and closed the curtain of the fitting room.
May hummed while waiting, her own enthusiasm as fresh as when they started. It would just be wonderful to see everything for the wedding come together, as she had already helped quite a bit, if she did say so herself.
Together, Iris and she had found them a location in Striaton City – nothing spectacular, as they were working with a tight schedule, but it was a nice foyer in a medium sized hotel which could be decorated to their wishes. Cilan would take care of the legal stuff and the wedding official, while they would continue to work on the decorations, catering and music. They had sent out the invitations yesterday, and now the dress had to be taken care of. Here the tight schedule played a part as well, because it limited their choice in dresses to the dresses available right now, which had to fit Iris perfectly, since there would be no time to make the dresses in Iris's size.
The curtains of the fitting room opened again and Iris stepped out, a thoughtful expression on her face. May nodded approvingly at the dress, which seemed to fit Iris just right.
"What do you think?"
Iris didn't reply, her eyebrows furrowed slightly.
"Iris?"
"Hm?" Iris looked almost surprised at May, and the brunette gestured to the dress.
Iris shrugged in response. "Oh, uh, it's fine, I suppose."
May looked skeptically at her friend. "What were you really thinking about?"
"Well…" Iris said slowly. "I was actually thinking about the Gym. I mean, I thought that maybe I could add a challenge to it. It's rather boring now, don't you think?"
"Well, uh, I'm not sure…" May said. Her Dad's Gym looked almost precisely like Iris's, and well… "Maybe it is, but you're only just starting. You still have time to think of something cool."
"Yeah, exactly." Iris nodded, and she even seemed a bit relieved that May had agreed with her. "I would like to add something to the Gym. I mean, the outside battle field is fine, but…"
There was some silence as they both thought about the problem, before May realized that they had more pressing matters.
"Anyway, we can talk more about that later. What do you think about the dress?"
Iris shook her head slightly before looking at the mirror. "It does fit well," she said. "But I'm not sure about the diamonds."
May smiled a bit. "Why don't you just go in your normal clothes?"
It was half a joke, and Iris's eyes brightened for a moment, before her shoulders sagged in an overly dramatic fashion.
"Yeah, I don't think that would be appreciated," she said with a grin. "Cilan loves to make a party out of it. Do you know what you're going to wear, actually?"
"Well, obviously I didn't bring anything with me," May said. "But I was thinking of going back home for Christmas at least and then I can take a dress with me when I come back… I mean, I don't think I can… I can actually afford a new dress."
May swallowed heavily, her previous excitement suddenly nowhere to be found. She knew she was sort of avoiding her situation by being here in Unova, and it were moments like these that brought reality close again.
Iris seemed to be thinking the same thoughts, because she hesitantly asked, "What are you... planning to do? You know, with the… situation?"
May took a shaky breath, forcing her tense shoulders to relax. Damn those hormones!
"Sorry, forget I asked," Iris hastily said. "Let's talk about something else. Give- give me another of those dresses…"
"No, it's fine," she said slowly. "You don't have to… It's just, I prefer not to think about it... And that's stupid, I know, but-" Her voice grew shakier and she took another breath, determined not to cry. Iris scooted closer, putting a hand on May's lower arm.
"It's not," Iris said, "It's not stupid."
"I should think about it, I have to make plans, and I still haven't talked with-" May swallowed again. "I still haven't talked with Drew about the baby... It's still his child..."
"Yes." Iris nodded. "He should pay child support, and you have to discuss the legal issues, and things like that."
It was not exactly where May's thoughts had been going, but the fact felt like a cold punch to the gut. Her financial situation was definitely an issue she would have to think about more. And Drew would play – pay – a big part in that. Or perhaps not. She wasn't sure how she felt about being partly dependent on Drew's money when she just really, really wanted to forget about what had happened between them.
"I- I don't know yet… I want to be independent, but... I don't know how I'm going to do this," May said while Iris squeezed her arm. "I don't- I really don't know... I mean, I have a job, but instead of making money I'm here, not doing anything, not looking for a suitable house, not looking into legal things, not-"
"May," Iris interrupted her forcefully. "Listen to me."
May blinked back tears and Iris pulled her in a quick hug, before looking at her sternly. "You don't have to do all those things right now. You only know you're pregnant for what, three weeks? And you and Drew had been dating for five years or something and you just lost that. Even if he was an asshole, that's still really long."
May tried for a shaky smile but Iris wasn't done yet. "You gotta allow yourself some downtime. You took a few weeks off from work, enjoy them. Relax, get together with your family, spend some time with friends, get your mind back on the right track again, do some things for yourself. Yes, you have to worry about the future, but... you don't have to do it all right now."
She smiled weakly but couldn't help but point out, "You asked what I was planning."
Iris cringed. "Yeah, well, I sometimes tend to think too little." She gave sheepish grin, before adding, "And you think too much."
"Yes, but…"
"Uh-huh, no buts," Iris said, already taking a random dress from the pile. "This is what we're going to do. We're going to find me a wedding dress. Then we're going to have dinner wherever you want to go. And then we'll figure out your financial picture, like what you're making and what you have and what things are going to cost you. Alright?"
May started to nod while Iris continued with "And after that we're going to watch a movie and eat ridiculous amounts of candy. Agreed?"
May laughed a bit. "Since when did you get so sensible?"
Iris rolled her eyes. "Since I'm getting married in less than three weeks. Now, let's see how this disaster looks on me, alright?"
She held up the dress she had picked, a cream one with long sleeves and a straight skirt, and May nodded, smiling gratefully. "Alright. Although I do like the one you're wearing now, really."
Iris hummed non-committedly as she went back to the fitting room. May stared at the curtains in thought, still half-smiling. She blinked, before calling, "Iris?"
"Yes?" It sounded from the fitting room.
"Thank you."
There was a beat of silence, then, "No problem."
May's smile widened, and then turned her attention to the pile of dresses. Time to find Iris's perfect dress, and everything else would come later.
A/N: Thank you for reading! The wedding is getting closer, so time for some preparations. I hope it was a bit realistic, because my experience with wedding dresses extents as far as Say Yes To The Dress and no further :P And the same goes for wedding planning haha. But still, I hope you liked this chapter, and please review!
Thank you!
Recommendation:
Hobbit: Beneath Stone and Sky by ChasingPerfectionTomorrow. FFN. A sadly unfinished story about an AU in which Smaug doesn't exist, and where Prince Kíli of Erebor is forced to marry Princess Tauriel of Mirkwood for the sake of a political alliance. Very promising but sadly not updated in a long time.
Recommendations are welcome!