Edited: 31/8/2017. Minor edits to the details, but the tone remains the same.

Original summary: Dawn was foolish to fall in love with Paul, allowing her life to be so intricately linked with him. Deep down, she prayed for a miracle, holding on to the tiniest of hope. But there was no hope to hold on to, and she can't take it any longer. So she does the one thing she knows is right - she ran away from the altar. [Ikari] Three-shots based on Dawn's, Paul's and their son's POV.

Quick notes: italics means thoughts

bold italics means emphasis.

Whirlwind

I. Dawn

Dawn fell in love with him before she could stop herself. It hadn't begun that way, she was sure. He annoyed her and made her so worked up. Every. Single. Time. And on top of that, he doesn't even bother to remember her name until much later.

But somewhere between all that, she fell in love with the stony, emotionless boy. From absolute hate, to curiosity, to butterflies and wham. Suddenly she can't get the purple-haired boy out of her mind, and she knew then that she has fallen hard.

She tried to control it, to not let it show. Worse of all, she doesn't want him to know, because how much more pathetic can it get to want someone who doesn't want her back. But I failed, she remembers with a jolt. She remembers everything. How she threw herself at him one day, how he resisted her for a moment, and how glad she was when he responded afterwards.

They kept things up, making out in secret every now and then, keeping it from everyone they know. He made it clear, that he's doing it because he can't control his hormones, and not anything else. Tells her that he doesn't feel for her in the same way. But she lets it all pass, because it was enough to know that he wanted her, whatever the reason it may be. She lets herself believe that this was his way of showing affection, of showing love.

She told him one day she's pregnant. "Okay," he had responded, but he didn't say any more. No negative comments, no lashing out at her, nothing. The lack of response feels like a slap to the face, and Dawn wonders if she would prefer it if he had been angry at her. But Dawn lets it all slide, taking his response to mean that he doesn't mind, that he would be responsible for it.

But he didn't. He lets her tummy grow big, leave her to explain to her mum alone, lets her endure the ordeal alone. But he had smiled, when he saw the tiny bundle in his arms. A small one, but Dawn knows him enough that it was a big deal for Paul Shinji.

The baby cries, refusing to stop even as his parents take turns to rock him. "Jake," Paul said, as he tried once more to comfort the crying child. To her surprise, the baby stops crying, and she gave a small smile. "Jake Shinji." she said, testing the sound of the name on her tongue. "Yeah, Jake is a nice name."

His patience with Jake surprises Dawn, for he never showed the same patience with her. She feels a little jealous of the boy, their son, but she pushed them all away. No, that's not what a mother should feel, she scolded herself. Mother. The word feels foreign to Dawn's mind, even as Jake grew from a baby to a toddler who can walk and waddle around. But she loves her son. That much she was sure, perhaps as much as she loves his father. But her own insecurities haunt her. Maybe, just maybe, I'm not cut out to be a mother.

He asked her to marry him. Actually no, he didn't. He found her one day and announced through gritted teeth that they are going to register their marriage. It wasn't anything romantic, not by a long shot. She doubted if there was any romantic intentions at all, since all he was concerned about was to get his females fans off his back. She's not surprised; afterall, he is the new Sinnoh Champion, and no one can deny that he's hot. She blushed a little at the thought, remember the feeling of butterflies in her stomach when she was young and in love with him. Somewhere deep inside her, she's glad that he lets her brand him and her own.

News of their engagement travelled far and wide. Dawn still remembers the tabloid headlines, and how pleased she had been. "Prince Champion engaged with former Princess Coordinator." Prince and Princess. She liked the sound of that. It sounded romantic, sweet, hopeful. Like a fairytale, she mused.

She ought to have known that she shouldn't have kept her hopes up. Two simple signatures and they got married legally. But nothing changed. They still lived separately, and he only stopped by once in a while to see Jake. And just Jake, barely acknowledging her when they met. But still she played the role of the dutiful wife, to take care of the son, to take care of the husband. When he's around.

And then the tabloids got worse. "Princess not good enough for Prince?" screamed one cover, insinuating that there were issues with Dawn that led to the state of their marriage. Like it was her fault they didn't hold a wedding, her fault she had a son born out of wedlock, her fault that they don't live together. Dawn doesn't know why she read them. But she does it anyway, and each time she finished, she feels her heart getting hollower, her soul emptier.

Paul hadn't like the tabloids news. Bad publicity for his image as a Champion, he had said. So he made changes, arranging for a wedding, arranging for them to live together after it. And throughout all that, Dawn was hardly consulted for her opinion, too tired then to contest what was expected of her - expected to listen, expected to follow his plans, which was for the good of all of them.

Everyone else was happy for her, happy that she finally got the chance to wear a wedding dress, that she can proudly proclaim her status as a wife. Her mum was beyond relieved, relieved that Dawn finally got out of this ambiguous situation she doesn't have a name for, having been nothing but worried for her daughter. A voice nagged at the back of her head. Isn't this what you wanted?

She stands in the waiting room, in the wedding dress that had been picked out for her. Once in a lifetime, people had said. Her hands brushed across the fancy lace of her dress, and she wonders how other women felt when they are about to get married. She looks at herself in the mirror. A girl stares back at her, and she wonders what the reflection sees. Her make-up is thick, courtesy of her coordinating friends, who had been so eager to make her look beautiful on her special day. "This is going to be the happiest day of your life," they said. Are you happy? she thinks.

She doesn't recognise herself anymore.

The altar awaits her. Any moment now, her mum would open the doors and tell her it is time.

She turns back to her reflection, staring at the bride in the mirror one last time.

And then she made her choice.

A/N:

Got inspired by angsty Ikarishipping stories and the idea came to my mind. I like the many ways this ship can be represented, and the angsty ones are so tragically beautiful. Hope I don't sound like I'm sadistic or something.

Hope you enjoyed this little story. Will do 2 more chapters, one from Paul's POV, and then final one from their son.

Don't ask me why I named their son Jake. I was sort of name hopping. I contemplated Dusk initially (which I think is a beautiful name for a boy), but it doesn't sound like a name that Paul would name his children. Especially not when it's the opposite of/related to Dawn. If he was more romantic then he might have, but he isn't in this story. Jake just sounds like a nice neutral name that not only sounds nice with the surname, but isn't out of place with the other characters' name.

Let me know what you think by reviewing! I would love to hear what you have to say.