"Paul? Paul, are you awake?" 

Blinking slowly I felt a smile grow across my lips as Dawn's voice floated through the closed door. I hadn't locked it and I was half surprised she hadn't tried to open the door. Thinking back to yesterday I could hardly even believe that I actually told her I wanted her to stay with me. As I rolled off the bed and debated whether I should put my shirt back on to see what Dawn's reaction would be if I opened the door without it, I couldn't help but grin contentedly. 

Who knew being in love felt like this, I thought, feeling a little embarrassed at the thought.

"Hello? Paul?" Dawn's knocks and tone were sounding more and more concerned so I pulled on my deposited shirt on the ground and walked over to unlock the door. I pulled it open just as Dawn was raising her fist to knock again and I tried not to feel guilty at the relief that flooded her face as she looked up at me.

"Something wrong?" I asked quietly and she heaved a sigh.

"I woke up and was a little scared that I had dreamed yesterday... You do still want to be my boyfriend, right?" Dawn asked, nervousness creeping into her voice and expression. I reached out and took one of her hands into mine.

"It wasn't a dream, Dawn. And yes, I want you to be my girlfriend," I said firmly. Dawn squeezed my hand as an angelic smile lifted up the corners of her eyes.

"Thank goodness," she said with a relieved sigh. I smirked and leaned casually against the door frame.

"If you're worried that I'll disappear you could always stay in my room," I suggested teasingly and tried not to show my delight as a light blush crept into her cheeks. 

To my surprise she let go of my hand to fold her arms and took a small step closer to me, tilting her head so her bangs almost fell into one of her eyes.

"Well, maybe I will," she retorted teasingly. Amusement rose in me and I folded my arms in an imitation of her stance.

"No one's stopping you," I said blandly. 

Dawn's eyes widened and her blush deepened. She smiled faintly and then laughed, shaking her head.

"Who are you and what did you do to Paul?" she asked, relaxing her arms from their folded state and I felt myself smile.

"You have no idea how much I held myself back when we were traveling together. You are way too fun to tease," I said with a grin and she quirked one of her thin eyebrows at me.

"Is that so?" she asked. 

I reached out and ruffled her hair, causing her to yelp in annoyance and push my hand away as she took off her beanie and smoothed her hair.

"Have you eaten yet?" I asked.

She shook her head so I quickly got changed and we went down to the cafeteria area together. A large group of trainers was all crowding around the registration desk in the lobby and I was glad that I had come early so I didn't have to deal with that. Dawn's hand squeezed mine as she lengthened her stride and pulled me towards the line for breakfast crepes.

I looked at our entwined hands and wondered at the peacefulness that surrounded me. When I had thought of being with Dawn as a couple I imagined that I would constantly be worrying over her and myself in case I did something to hurt her. I was surprised that I just felt a quiet, happy contentedness. It was as if I had found the place I belonged when Dawn was next to me.

Normally the day before a pokemon league I would do some last-minute training, but instead, I spent the day with Dawn. We talked about what we had done while we were apart, the training we did, people we saw, and the moves we taught our pokemon. I was impressed when Dawn said that Olivia, Akala Island's Kahuna, had offered to train her personally and that she had the island captains help her out with their specialties.

"Hey, Paul," Dawn said as we crunched through the snow. 

We had been walking around the top of the snow-covered mountain to check out the venue of the pokemon league. At some point I had pulled her hand, clasped in mine, into one of the oversized pockets of my jacket to keep it warm and to keep her close.

"What is it?" I asked and she looked up at me with a glint in her eyes.

"Do you want to make a new bet?" she asked with a confident smirk. I quirked an eyebrow at her and tried not to smile.

"What kind?" I asked, without giving away any emotion. Her eyes twinkled with a brief look of challenge and then she smiled.

"Whoever wins a battle against each other gets to choose where we travel to next," she said firmly. 

Narrowing my eyes I regarded her for a second before letting out a chuckle. "Why bet? You know I'm going to win," I said arrogantly.

My heart flipped as she wrinkled her nose cutely and pushed her bottom lip out in a pout. Why are her angry expressions so cute? I wondered absently as she tried to pull her hand out of my grip.

"Excuse me, but I have been practicing like crazy and I am confident that I have a chance at beating you," she rebutted with annoyance. 

Swiftly I leaned down and pressed my lips against hers, placing my free hand at the back of her neck and holding on firmly to her hand in my pocket. To my surprise and delight, Dawn responded immediately, stepping closer and slipping her arm around my waist. When I felt her tongue ghost over my bottom lip I had to deliberately stop myself from reciprocating and opening my mouth to allow her access.

As much as I wanted to lose myself to the feeling of kissing Dawn, it was getting colder and I didn't want her to catch a cold. Slowly I pulled away from her and she opened her eyes, which looked slightly glazed for a second before they focused. She looked like she couldn't decide whether to smile or frown at me. I chuckled at the conflicted expression and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead.

"I don't mind if you decide where we travel next," I admitted with a smile and Dawn flushed then frowned.

"But I've been practicing so hard. If there isn't a reward for beating you then I'll feel like it was all for nothing," she pouted with a small frown. 

Grinning widely I squeezed her slender hand that was still in my pocket and began walking back to the building we were staying at.

"Okay. If you win then you can ask me to do anything you want and I will do it," I offered and Dawn's eyes widened.

"Anything?" she breathed out excitedly. I grimaced slightly but then smiled.

"Yup. Even if you drag me into every mall we can hit in 24 hours I will do anything you want. IF you win," I said while raising a finger and touching it lightly against the tip of her chilled nose.

Dawn beamed up at me. She quickly raised herself onto her tiptoes and planted a kiss on my cheek.

"Okay! Then I guess if you win I'll have to do whatever you want, huh?" Dawn mused and I looked at her unconcerned smile out of the corner of my eye. 

A sense of responsibility rose up in me as I saw the absolute trust that was reflected in her sapphire blue eyes. I wanted to make sure that I never did anything to betray that trust that I wasn't sure I actually deserved.

We ate dinner together and Dawn invited me to her room where she cuddled up next to me on the couch in front of the small TV that was provided in all of our rooms. Dawn asked me to tell her more about my mom so slowly I told her all of the happy memories I could remember. After a few stories she asked a few more probing questions and to my surprise, I began telling her more about the sad times as well. I told her about how I would often find Mom on the ground with some kind of injury from cooking or just being clumsy and how I had felt like a non-certified nurse from how often I bandaged her up. Once her questions seemed to have been used up I was briefly grateful she hadn't asked about my papa since I didn't think I was ready to talk about him.

"Hey, Paul." 

I looked over as Dawn shifted, moving out from under my arm and turning to sit cross-legged on the couch. She met my eyes and I waited as she formulated the question she was searching for.

"You don't have to answer this if you don't want to but..." I watched her silently as she struggled to continue. "Well... You know that I haven't kissed anyone before you so... I was just wondering...." Dawn trailed off awkwardly, glancing down at her legs and I swallowed with difficulty.

"Are you asking me if I've ever kissed someone else?" I asked, trying to sound detached and unconcerned. 

Dawn nodded silently before glancing up at me. I could tell she was trying to hide her emotions, but I could still see her hope and nervousness slip through her calm mask.

"There have only been two women I have ever loved. My mom and you, Dawn," I said honestly and her cheeks turned slightly pink. "But I did date someone a few years ago," I admitted without emotion. I felt my stomach twist as disappointment flooded through Dawn's eyes. She was quick to hide it though and she scooted a little closer to me.

"What was she like?" she asked and I grimaced.

"Are you sure you want to know? It's not a great story," I admitted reluctantly and Dawn leaned back.

"Is it painful to think about?" she asked and I snorted, causing her to look up at me with surprise.

"Sorry. No, it's not painful," I denied firmly as I thought back to that time. "After I beat the Hoenn league when I was 16 there was a girl who was trying to make it big as an actress. I was getting a lot of attention from the press so she thought she could use me to get herself more exposure. While a couple of reporters were following me the day after I won the league she came up and kissed me in front of them all."

Dawn's eyes widened in shock and she pulled her legs up against her to lean her chin on her knees, giving me her complete and undivided attention. I looked at her expectant face and tried not to grimace as I continued the story.

"I hadn't kissed anyone before, obviously, so I just kind of stood there and she eventually stopped. The reporters pounced and she introduced herself as Celeste LaBoush. She spun this crazy tale for the reporters about how she had approached me the day before and professed her love for me and that we were dating now. I honestly didn't care what the reporters printed so I walked away since I still needed to schedule my battle with Steven, the Hoenn champion." 

Dawn chuckled and I was surprised at how her amusement made the annoyance that was coursing through me lessen. Smiling with chagrin I continued on.

"Celeste found me a little later and explained what she wanted. Normally I would have told her to take a hike, but the thought of having a noncommitted relationship was interesting so I told her I'd play along until my battle with Steven. It turned out that Steven was busy for almost a month so I followed Celeste around. She showed me off to all of her friends and if she wasn't working on a commercial or an audition she always seemed to find me and attach herself to me and... she liked to kiss. A lot." 

My stomach squirmed at the memory of the many times she had pulled me away for a makeout session. She'd been insatiable and at the time I had thoroughly enjoyed the physical aspects of the experience, but the excitement of the new sensations had quickly dulled.

"She showed up with the press in tow on the day of my battle with Steven. Everything was going well until he released his Metagross. Once it mega evolved nothing I had could touch it and I lost. The reporters were having a field day because I was the first challenger to defeat five of Steven's pokemon, but all I could think was that I lost three of mine to his Metagross." 

Looking away from Dawn I glanced at my lap where I was clenching and unclenching my hands into fists as I remembered the humiliation of that particular defeat.

"Celeste tried to 'comfort me' but I was done with the pretending and I dumped her in front of everyone." Realizing how callous that must sound I glanced over to see that Dawn was looking at me steadily. I didn't see any judgment or surprise in her eyes and I grimaced slightly. "She didn't take it very well and after that, I told myself that nothing was worth getting involved with a girl... until you came along anyway," I said with chagrin.

Dawn finally cracked a small smile. She tilted her head, her chin still on her knees, and she looked at me with a contemplative expression.

"When... did you start liking me?" she asked quietly and I blinked in surprise at the change of subject.

"It depends on what you mean by 'like'," I replied slowly, wanting to be honest but not wanting to seem weird. "Physically I found you attractive from the moment you bumped into me on the boat." 

Dawn quirked an eyebrow at me and I shrugged

"What? Just because I didn't want anything to do with girls doesn't mean I don't recognize it when a pretty one pops up in front of me," I said easily and her cheeks became tinted with pink.

"Thanks," she mumbled quietly and then lowered her legs so she was sitting cross-legged again and inched forward slightly. "But when did you start liking me for my personality?" 

I grinned quietly for a second and shrugged teasingly. "Who says I like your personality?" I asked.

Instead of getting mad though a quiet anxiety filled her expression. Realizing my mistake I quickly searched my memories so I could give her a real answer.

"Uhh, I don't know the exact moment I started liking you as more than just an acquaintance or a friend," I admitted, a little awkwardly. "Little things about you caught my attention along the way. Like your natural kindness, the way you observed the world around you, and the way you interacted with your pokemon. They were all so different from the other girls I had seen and been around... This is going to sound weird, but I think the first time I really and truly saw you as someone that I could develop feelings for was at the first Akala trial site." 

Dawn's eyes widened and then narrowed suspiciously at me.

"You mean the one where I was standing in the middle of a pool of water with hardly any clothes on?" she asked sarcastically and I folded my arms, keeping my face calm even as I felt heat begin to creep up my neck.

"Seeing you battle wasn't what impressed me," I rebutted firmly, trying not to give her the wrong impression. "It was the way you reacted to me seeing you." 

Dawn blinked and furrowed her brow with obvious confusion. I sighed and rubbed the back of my neck, wondering how to describe it.

"Your innocence and shock at me seeing you like that was refreshing. I liked that you didn't flaunt yourself. But more than that, after the trial even though you were embarrassed you pushed past it and offered to feed my pokemon poffins that you made even though you didn't know if we would ever see each other again. That was the moment I realized that you just being you made me wish I was a nicer person. I realized that you were important to me and that's why I was so rude and tried to push you away."

An awkward silence descended between us and I looked over at the blank TV screen. Maybe I shouldn't have been so honest, I thought grimly to myself. 

I jerked slightly in surprise as one of Dawn's slender hands reached over and covered my own clenched fist. Glancing over cautiously I was surprised to see a quiet smile playing along the corner of her lips and relief flooded me as she moved her legs and moved over so that she was sitting close to my side.

"You make me want to be a better person too, Paul," she said quietly. 

My gut reaction was to scoff at the preposterous notion, but the sincerity in her eyes made me pause and eventually I smiled and leaned over to kiss her forehead.

"I guess we'll just have to stick by each other then, huh?" I whispered softly and Dawn smiled happily. Moving my hand from under hers I wrapped an arm around her shoulders and she leaned against me with a contented sigh.

"If I ever see that Celeste girl I am going to be very tempted to slap her. How dare she use you like that," Dawn grumbled against my chest and I chuckled, wrapping my other arm around her and squeezing her gently.

"I was the idiot who agreed to it, so it wasn't really her fault. Honestly, I don't think I would even recognize her if I saw her again," I said with all sincerity.

Dawn snorted as if she didn't believe me, but she didn't say anything else on the subject. After a few minutes of silence, Dawn's head dipped, resting against my chest. I looked down at her in surprise to see that she had fallen asleep.

Smiling quietly I stayed on the couch, listening to her even breathing for a few minutes before gently lifting her bridal style into my arms and putting her into her bed. I couldn't resist the temptation to press a tender kiss to her soft lips before I left her, turning off the room lights and closing the door behind me. Tomorrow was a big day and, no matter what, I needed to make sure I made it to at least the battle against Dawn.

"Let the fun begin," I whispered to myself with a grin as I started to think of what I would have Dawn do when I won our battle.

A/N Sorry, this is kind of a filler chapter and not exactly necessary to the plotline... But I just wanted to take advantage of their new relationship and have them get through some of the awkward conversations before the pokemon league :P Next chapter the league starts! I hope you're all excited and don't get bored of reading the battles :P