I do not own Pokémon or any of its characters.

"Ugh. What did I do to deserve this torture?" Paul grunts followed by an exasperated sigh. Today was clearly not Paul Shinji's day. After being chased around by a herd of Tauros and getting lost in the vast forest of the Kanto Region, he didn't think his luck could get any worse. Of course, it had to rain heavily.

Curse this Kanto climate.

"Oh come on Paul. Stop being so negative. Aren't we getting a little too old to be whining?" a certain blue haired girl sitting beside him replied.

Oh, and did he mention he ran into Dawn in the midst of his little Tauros run? Of all the people in the whole Kanto region that he could run into, it had to be Dawn. He thought he'd be rid of the many unexpected run-ins with the cheeky coordinator if he travelled south to Kanto, but apparently he was dead wrong.

"There is a difference between being negative and being realistic."

The two of them were cooped up at the far end of a cave. It was deep enough for them to not get wet by the water spluttering from the pouring rain at the cave entrance, and high enough for Dawn to stand up straight. Paul had to crouch. They were sitting closer than their natural dislike for each other allowed them to, but looking at how things were, Paul could either listen to Dawn talk about things from coordinating to shampoo products or continued on in the rain, soaked and lost.

Paul was starting to think that the latter was a better choice.

"And there's a difference between exaggeration and actuality," Dawn replies, a tad bit irritated.

"And so I repeat. What did I do to deserve such torture?" Paul tilts his head up until the back of his head touched the rough stone wall that his back was leaning against. Closing his eyes, he heaves another sigh which doesn't really help the tense atmosphere between the two.

Other than Dawn's non-stop chattering, whenever Paul opened his mouth to say something, an argument would almost immediately start. Not like there was anything out of the ordinary with that. They have been like that ever since they were ten. But this time, for some reason, a different kind of sensation lingered in the air. It's not like they haven't seen each other for quite a while now too. They did run into each other in Veilstone City six months ago when Reggie invited Dawn to his wedding. Paul wasn't too thrilled that time too, but between the arguing and insults, they might have drank a couple of glasses more than they should have in the later hours of the reception; and he may or may have not kissed her once or twice before she pukes on his shoes.

"Hey! It's not like I planned to be chased down by a herd of Tauros or get stuck in a cave in the middle of a rainstorm," Dawn replies, puffing her cheeks as she rests her chin on her crossed arms over her folded knees.

"Yeah, you don't have to plan stuff like that because it comes naturally," Paul says in a matter-or-factly way. "Troublesome," he mutters.

That must have struck a chord with Dawn because the moment she heard him say that name, she felt the world pause for a long second—her muscles tensing, her jaws tightening, and the irritation she felt intensifying into a fit of anger.

"What is wrong with you?!" Dawn snaps, looking at Paul with angry eyes. Paul looks back at her, a bit surprised at her sudden outburst, but his face reverts back to his usual stoic non-caring visage.

"Nothing. What's wrong with you?"

In an instant, Dawn's eyes widens and her breath hitches. She looks as if she's come into another realization.

For a moment no one spoke. The next couple of seconds were spent just staring at each other, her sapphire eyes looking desperately for something, anything, in those cold grey eyes. But she doesn't find anything. Nothing.

Almost immediately she felt her anger dissipate and quickly replaced by a sense of hurt and hopelessness.

What was wrong with her? This is Paul Shinji that she's talking about. There was no way that he had felt anything. They were both a bit too plastered to be held responsible of the things that transpired in that short moment of intimacy. That's all.

She was stupid for looking forward to the day when they met again, hoping that things would be different, and turning a blind eye to the most obvious outcome of it. He would never look her way, and she was aware. She had invested so much in a game that she knew well she would lose.

Dawn felt so pathetic.

"I…"

Trailing her eyes down to the cave floor, she brought her head back to rest on her folded arms. She could feel Paul's gaze slowly removing itself off her skin and back to the cave ceiling up above them.

"Do you really detest me that much?" She didn't want her questions to sound so desperate, but realizing that she knows well what his answer will be, it became unexpectedly hard for her to bear the emotions ambushing her into a sob.

Dawn was aware that she developed a little crush on Ash's rival somewhere along the way in their journey many years ago. Since then she had tried so hard to become closer to him. She'd scour her brain for something, anything, that the two of them could talk about, but in her desperate attempt she ends up blabbering non-stop. But she never really realized how strong her feelings towards him were until that moment when their lips touched for the first time—and the couple of times after that.

She probably loved him.

But that fact she will forever keep until this storm passes and they go their separate ways—until the many times fate decides to play with her and bring them together. Dawn never knew the feeling of heartbreak could spread like a virus—lethargic limbs, shallow breaths, cold fingers—it showed all over her body, other than her eyes. No, she refused to cry. She refused to lose what little pride she had left. She will not cry; not in front of him.

Another round of silence, and this time the sound of raindrops crashing down to the earth was amplified so loud that it filled Dawn's ears—clouding her mind, shutting down her system. The rainstorm momentarily detached her from the real world, her soul getting sucked out forcefully by her own will and floating around aimlessly—lost, indifferent, senses numbing from the cold.

"I don't."

And just like that her soul came crashing back to her mortal body. The feeling was so vivid that she literally shook from the sensation. In a snap, she was now back on Earth, back to reality. A reality where Paul Shinji doesn't detest her…huh?

Dawn turns her head back to Paul's direction and sees his eyes still on her. Instantly, a wave of doubt and a flicker of hope churned in the depths of her being. Was she wrong when she thought he'd stopped staring at her? Was she wrong in the many times she thought Paul never cared if she feels hurt after an argument? Has he been looking her way all along?

"What?"

And in a blink of an eye, his warm, soft lips were touching hers.

If there was one thing that Paul's friends and rivals could agree about with regards to his personality, it'd be that he's a total jerk. Sure he's changed from back when he was ten, especially with the way he treats his Pokémon, but there are just some things that he finds hard to change. He is well aware of it, but his inability to control it at important times was frustrating. Important times like the one he spends with Dawn.

Which is why he wanted to stay away from her as often as possible. He didn't want her getting upset over his unrestrainable poison tongue. Sure she could handle a couple of insults, but there would be times when he'd just make her snap—like in this situation for instance.

So when he saw the hurt in her eyes after his indifferent reply, he knew he had screwed up. And when she suddenly asked that question, sounding so sad—so broken—instead of the usual silent treatment until the tense atmosphere dies down, he knew he had totally screwed up, big time.

Obviously, Paul didn't know how to deal with things that had to do with feelings and relationships with other people. So in that instance before kissing her, he resigned himself to whatever his heart wanted to do—a thing he's never once done in his life.

And then he kissed her, and the moment she didn't resist, the moment she didn't pull away, he knew that he was on the right track.

Breaking the kiss, he rests his forehead on hers and closes his eyes. He feels for her hand, and when he reaches it, he pulls it in between them and holds it tight. Only the rain and their shallow breathing were heard in the brief moment of their silence. This was how he wanted that night to end up; with both of them sober and Dawn settled comfortably in his arms. But Dawn being Dawn, he knew something unexpected would happen eventually. She was troublesome that way.

Dawn slowly opening her eyes to peer up to the man who had just pulled her into a surprise kiss, again.

"Paul…?" her voice was faint and could have easily been drowned out by the sound of the rain pouring outside, but he didn't have to try hard to notice the questioning tone as he called out his name. He keeps his eyes closed, forehead on hers, and squeezes her hand.

He could feel in her gaze the pent up anticipation that's been building up inside her ever since that night at Reggie's wedding. No, this has been going on for a longer time, even before their drunk episode. With a sigh, he finally says, "Are you seriously going to make me say it?"

Paul's head moves together with Dawn's as she nods in agreement. "All these years I was certain you never even thought about looking my way," her words hit him like spears through the heart. She felt him tense against her and she pulls back.

"Paul, look at me."

He does, and Dawn doesn't cringe when he smiles sincerely and immediately smiles back.

"I have been looking at you, always."

PHEW! That's that. I wrote most of this for like an hour because I couldn't sleep. It took me quite a while to post it since I had a hard time thinking about how I should end it and along the way I made some revisions. While, in all honesty, I am not quite satisfied with the ending, I knew that if I let this one sit for too long in my laptop, it would never see the light of day, so here it is. Haha. Forgive me for any mistakes and reviews are always welcome. I hope you liked it! :D