A/N: Hey guys, thank you all for the support! I'm very sorry this chapter is terribly late, I've been sick, busy and distracted, plus this chapter wasn't easy to write. Buuuuttt… it's here now :) And I'll do my best to catch up with my update schedule! Thank you and I hope you enjoy this long chapter :D

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or the picture used as cover (though I did edit it).

Days

The day of the wedding

May

Saturday, December 28th

"You look beautiful," Iris's father, who had been introduced to May as mister Stevens, said to his daughter.

Iris nodded, smiling tightly. She stood in front of a full-length mirror, all ready for the wedding that was to happen in a few hours. At the moment they were still in the hotel room in Striaton City where she and May had spent the night, but soon they would have to leave for the photographs and then the real ceremony.

May grinned widely as she watched her friend. Iris wore a simple, white dress, with long lacy sleeves, and a white veil in her intricately braided hair. It had taken the hairdresser the better part of the morning to pull Iris's luscious locks into braids, but the result was stunning.

Yes, she did look beautiful, May thought to herself, although a bit bleary-eyed. She blamed herself for the last part.

After having finished decorating the hall yesterday, they had flown back to Opelucid City, where they had surprised Iris with a bachelorette party. 'They' being May and Misty, who had set it up, and were joined by Brock's wife Lucy. And seeing that apparently Iris had no female friends besides them, they had also invited the female members of the Unova League.

Due to Lucy and May both being pregnant, alcohol had been voted out, and they had enjoyed themselves with a lavish dinner and a bowling game. Of course it had gotten too late, they still had had to drive back to Striaton, and then today they had had to rise early to get ready for the big day.

It was no wonder Iris looked as if she had had no sleep, but the make-up did a lot to hide it.

"Thanks, Dad," Iris said, gingerly touching her braided hair.

"Are you ready for the pictures?" May asked when it became clear that neither father nor daughter were going to say more.

Iris nodded slowly, still looking in the mirror. "Yeah, I'm ready."

May grinned and clapped in her hands. "Alright, let's get going, we have more than enough to do today!"

With a bounce in her step she went ahead of Iris and Mr. Stevens to the room where the photographer had set up his equipment. May knew he was an old acquaintance of Iris and Cilan and that he was doing this as a special favor to them, because they had needed a photographer on such a short notice.

May couldn't stop smiling even when she wasn't the one being photographed. Many, many pictures were taken, with many different combinations of the guests, the Pokémon and the happy pair. The whole session took more than an hour, and since May's facial muscles were hurting from the exertion, she could only imagine how Iris must be feeling.

After the session May noticed that Iris did indeed look worse for the wear, and May said, "Alright, come on, let's catch a quick break before the real ceremony."

She saw how Cilan was pulled away by his brothers as well, and she ushered Iris back to their hotel room upstairs. It was incredibly handy that the whole wedding was taking place in the same building.

Iris gave her a weak smile when she plopped down on the bed, and May let out a stifled squeak at the wrinkles appearing in the dress.

Iris jumped up, glared at the dress before carefully smoothing it out, and then sat back down on the bed with a sigh.

"Here, let me redo your make-up a bit," May said, grabbing the blush to tentatively put some color back on Iris's face.

"Thanks, May," Iris said quietly.

"Don't worry, that was the worst part," May reassured her cheerfully. "Now it's only the real ceremony and then it's party time!"

"Yeah…"

May worked in silence as she applied the eyeliner and lipstick again, and then stepped back to admire the result. Even though Iris didn't smile, she did look better than before, May decided.

"Much better," she said to the bride, and then pulled out her phone to look at the time. "And perfectly timed, too. We have a few more minutes and then we should be getting back downstairs for the ceremony."

Iris blinked at her, seeming to be pulled out of her thoughts.

"Right. Yes. The ceremony… just a few more minutes…" Iris licked her lips and took a deep breath.

"You ready?"

"Uh, yeah, but, um, why don't you just go ahead," Iris said. "I just need… a few minutes to myself. I'll be right behind you, okay? Please?"

May frowned a bit, but at seeing Iris's wide eyes she nodded in understanding. "Of course. Take your time." She smiled warmly. "It's normal that it's all overwhelming and stuff…" she started in reassurance, before realizing that she had zero experience with marriage and weddings. It would undoubtedly take some more years before she herself would finally get to experience what Iris was now experiencing.

Her smile dropped before she forced it back and she shrugged. "Well, that's what they say, anyway. But I'll go on ahead and I'll see you in a few minutes, alright?"

Iris gave a sharp nod and with a last reassuring smile, May left the hotel room. It was undoubtedly normal for brides to want a moment alone, especially since Iris had not been properly alone with her thoughts since yesterday, May realized when thinking back.

Even if she herself would have been jumping with joy if it had been her own wedding day, May accepted that not everyone was the same and that Iris was simply more thoughtful and contained.

Pushing those thoughts away, May hurried back downstairs and she quickly fell into the rhythm of helping people find their chairs and making sure that everything was in place for the ceremony.

After a while almost all the seats had been filled, only a few of the guests still milling about, and Cilan took his place by the ceremony master at the wedding arch.

Upon seeing that, May hurried to the small side room where Iris and her father were waiting, for just a last check-

"Where's Iris?"

The room was only occupied by Mr. Stevens, who looked at her in surprise, a frown creasing his thin eyebrows. "I thought she was with you, you took her back up to the hotel room, right?"

"Yes, but she should have been right behind me… But she's probably still in the room, I'll go check!"

May practically ran back to the room, her dress fluttering around her knees as she did her best to ignore the weight in her stomach.

She first knocked on the door, but when there was no response, she pulled out her own key from her purse and opened the door.

"Iris?"

The room was empty, its one big window opened wide.

"Oh no…" May threw open the door of the bathroom, only to find it empty as well. "Oh no, oh no…" Frantically, May checked the closet and even under the bed, only to have to face the truth: Iris was not here.

May forced herself to take a deep breath. Maybe she was in the bathroom somewhere else in the hotel, or maybe she was just getting some air.

Feeling somewhat calmer, she took her phone from the purse and called Iris.

There were three rings before it was picked up. No voice answered, and there was only the sound of what seemed like rushing wind.

"Hello? Iris?" May said when she didn't hear anything else.

"May?" Iris's voice sounded shaky and was barely audible over the rushing sound.

"Are you okay? Where are you?" May's worry was growing with each passing moment and her hands were getting sweaty.

"I'm fine," Iris said, starting out quietly before bursting out, "I'm… I'm sorry, May, but I can't- I can't do this- I just- I can't-"

"What? Iris? What are you talking about?!"

"I'm sorry!" It sounded as if Iris was crying. "I'm sorry, I can't get married- I'll just- I'm sorry-"

And then Iris ended the call.

"Iris?!"

May quickly called her again, but it went straight to voicemail.

Her heartbeat sounded loud in her ears as she pieced together what had happened. Iris's tiredness and lack of enthusiasm were suddenly seen in a new light, and May could only conclude that Iris was gone, probably flown off on her Dragonite-

But why? How could she leave? Why, why, how could she do that?!

It was as if in a daze that May found Iris's father and told him, followed by a few more attempted phone calls. She didn't know what exactly they told Cilan, but she knew she would never forget the defeated and utterly heartbroken look on his face.

It brought up too many painful memories, and May felt the tears burning in her eyes. How could he have left- she, she meant she, she meant Iris, not Drew, this was not about her, this was about Cilan-

Cilan, who still hadn't spoken even as Cress and Chili were telling the guests that the wedding was canceled, just standing there, staring off into space with unseeing eyes, his arms wrapped around his Pansage-

"I…" May started, though she was not sure how to continue.

That seemed to snap him back to reality and he turned to look at her. His eyes were glassy and his face was pale, and his voice trembled when he spoke.

"I would- I would go after her, but I don't think she wants to see me," he said. He looked at her pleadingly.

May nodded sharply, at once understanding what he meant. "I'll find her."

The sagging of his shoulders spoke of his relief and it hit her like a punch in the gut, pushing the tears away and instead fueling a rush of anger, because how could he still care about her when he had left her- No, wait, it was not like that, it was not May and Drew, it was Cilan and Iris, Iris, her friend Iris-

"I'll find her," May repeated. Cilan shoved a Poké Ball in her hands and May knew it was Tropius's.

"Thank you," he said weakly, his lips pulling a sad semblance of a smile, before he turned away from her with a hitched breath, clutching Pansage tighter to him.

May opened her mouth to say something, realized she didn't know what, and then strode out of the side room to give him some privacy. She knew Cilan would be taken care of, he had his brothers and parents and many friends. Iris, however…

Iris's father stood alone in a corner, joined only by a man May recognized as Drayden, Iris's mentor. Ash and Misty walked over at the same moment as she did.

"I'm going to find her," she told them before anyone had the chance to speak.

"I'm going with you," Ash said immediately, but Misty put a hand on his arm and shook her head.

"I think it's better if I go alone," May said tentatively, looking around the group.

"Yes, you've been with her these past weeks," Misty said, and with a glance at Ash, she added, "And we have to leave early tomorrow, it's better if May goes."

May was grateful for Misty's explanation, because she doubted she could have worded it better. She just knew she was the best person to find Iris.

Ash looked as if he wanted to protest, but nodded after a moment. "Alright."

When May looked at Drayden, he nodded readily, and Mr. Stevens agreed as well after a few more moments of hesitation.

"You know her best," he said quietly.

May did not share those feelings, because shouldn't she have suspected something, but she accepted his decision with a grateful nod.

Drayden handed her a piece of paper on which he had written down his phone number. "Just let me know if she's safe."

Mr. Stevens added his number as well with the same request, and Ash nodded at his words.

"Keep us updated," Misty said, and then gave May a quick hug. Ash followed Misty's example and May could see how torn he was about the whole thing.

"I'll find her," she reassured him. "Keep an eye on Cilan, alright?"

He nodded solemnly, and after some last goodbyes, May left the group. She hurried back to the hotel room she and Iris had shared, and after dressing warmly and grabbing her Poké Balls, she left the building.

Now to find the runaway bride on a Dragonite.

A/N: Thank you for reading! And sorry for the chapter… I had tried to hint that this was going to happen in the earlier chapters, so I hope this wasn't too much of a surprise… But hey, at least we have drama now, right? XD I hope you still somewhat enjoyed the chapter, and please let me know your thoughts!

Oh, and as for the next chapter, I'll do my best to update as quickly as possible, to make up for the long wait for this one :)

Thank you!

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Pokémon: Oh, Brother by C3L35714. FFN. This is a drabble featuring Dawn, who is contemplating her potential boyfriend material. Pretty funny and with a good conclusion.

Recommendations are welcome!