This is a creation out of my appreciation for all the fantastic Ikarishipping stories over the years. A big influence to the characterisation of Gary and Leaf come from I am Lu and subsequent stories TAC I and TAC II, which I can safely say have kickstarted my Pokémon love. Thank you to my beta for reviewing my work, and I hope to contribute to the Pokémon fandom in the future. AU where Paul and Dawn have never formally met and are currently adults.

He thought it was a scam at first.

When the first buzz vibrated from his phone, he lifted his head up briefly from his analysis over the research paper. The numbers ignited no recognition, so he swiped the text up into the void where it would be long forgotten.

He turned his attention back to his work, eyes darted back to the more important subject at-hand; as he peered over the data from the experiment. The sample size was passable, but the abstract needed more work. A red pen circled the criticisms, the plastic lid tapped onto the paper as he pondered on what sentence would be the best replacement for the awful opening statement Oak had written. As much as it annoyed him to admit it, Gary Oak was good.

Too good at times.

Yet.

At times, enthusiasm would cloud the Pokémon Researcher's brain, and the guck of letters and strings of incomprehensible sentences would often mangle the success, and often importance of his research. 'Two heads are better than one', Oak's flashy words served as a reminder why the paper was in such dire need of a second opinion

That, and Paul owed the other man a favour. A short sigh escaped from his mouth.

The vibration continued. Odd.

The papers flapped onto his lap, the cream-coloured stapled booklet dropped neatly onto his dark trousers as Paul picked up his phone, now curious to what this unknown number wanted. His personal phone number was hard to procure, not an accident in any case, since he vehemently defended his privacy.

His phone buzzed for the third time. And a fourth. It shook with every text as he gripped it with tight fingers. The fifth one seemed to fuel his brain into doing something.

Irritation pricked his skin.

Whoever it was, they needed to cease immediately.

His finger swiped over the latest message, and his lock screen transitioned from the default image the phone came with, to the message page where multiple speech bubbles greeted him from the nosy newcomer.

[Unknown] : listen, you need to stop doing this

[Unknown] : this thing, whatever you're doing to her needs to stop

[Unknown] : the stupid silent treatment is childish and you need to grow up

[Unknown] : she has made her peace, and you need to do the same

[Unknown] : don't make come over there and smack some sense in you or so Arceus help me i will

Vague accusations that were thrown around sparked no interest in him. At least he confirmed it there was no way it could possibly be directed at him, since none of the women in his life were involved in any conflicts that he knew of. His fingers tapped the keyboard, as he aimed to end this confusion and curtly direct this Unknown number to find their actual target.

[Unknown] : oh no you do not get to furret your way out of this Gary Oak, you can't just type an apology

Paul clicked his tongue. Whoever this was, they certainly did not allow any wiggle room for Oak. A sour mood bled from the new screen of an oncoming call, as he hypothesized that the threat this person established would be in the form of a verbal spat. He supposed it was like ripping off the bandaid quickly, rather than slowly tugging it off skin.

With a resigned intake of breath, he clicked the accept button.

"-I can't believe the nerve of you! You're acting like a ten-year old kid Gary Oak. You are not allowed to waltz out of her life like that. Without an explanation like that as well. For Mew's sake, if you don't apologise to her this afternoon I will get on a plane and personally kick your as-"

"If you're done with pointless threats, I would like to interrupt and let you know you have the wrong number." Paul cut through the high-pitched babble with a level voice.

His revelation was met with silence. With the contrast of the fury of words poured over him in the previous moment, the absence of any noises from the other caller made the conversation almost comical if Paul had a funny bone in his body.

Which he didn't.

"I-I'm...sorry what did you just say?" The other person, a woman, judging from the pitch of the other end of the line.

Flecks of frustration clawed out of his throat. He had very little patience in dealing with Oak's life, even more when he been unwillingly dragged into it.

"You. Have. The wrong number." He pointly jabbed out in a gritted tone. "Do you understand now or are you still too angry at Oak to think straight?"

"I-" A straggled splutter of confusion was the woman's response. Well, it could have been a girl, but he wasn't particularly perturbed at the semantics. "Do you have to be such a dick about it?"

"I'm the dick?" Paul incredulously replied. "You're the one who keeps spamming me. Check that you have the right number before you start blowing up a stranger's personal phone."

With more force than was required, he ended the phone call and left it at that. He entertained the idea of blocking the Unknown girl but decided it wasn't worth the hassle.

With a shake of his head, he resumed his review of Oak's paper.

[Unknown] : what time was the appointment sorry?

Paul picked up his phone, water droplets splattered on the screen as he fumbled with a towel to clean up the mess he made.

[Paul] : You still don't check who you're texting do you?

[Unknown] : huh, sorry what do you mean?

He threw the towel around his shoulders, water dripped from his wet hair and caught onto the white singlet he had on.

[Paul] : This isn't Gary Oak's number

[Unknown] : well i hope not, because last time i checked, gary can't do my nails

[Unknown] : unless he suddenly got a beautician's degree in a week since i last talked to him

Now that was an amusing image of Gary preening over intricate nail art and boasting of a new certificate to bolster his curriculum vitae.

[Paul] : You actually got his number right then?

[Unknown] : yeah

[Unknown] : oh sweet merciful uxie, are you the guy i called who i thought was gary?

[Paul] : I am

He paused, a little surprised by his own willingness to be dragged along with the conversation. It was annoying, and decidedly would serve little purpose, other than killing some time before he was expected at the office.

But he responded. Typed words out. Thought about a neutral comment he could make that might start off a civilised discussion, if not slightly awkward.

[Unknown] : Gosh, i'm so sorry! It was really unfair of me to rant at a complete stranger. I feel so bad about how i talked to you

[Unknown] : and sorry about calling you a dick. My anger made me think only of sticking it to gary-mofoing-oak

Paul, with all the gracefulness he embodied, coughed into his hand.

[Paul] : Is that his official full name, Gary Motherfucking Oak?

[Unknown] : oh my arceus, you haven't seen him bust it out when he's supeeer confident

[Unknown] : like the time he thought he could beat Ash to Pallet Town and then right after, he tripped down the hill. all the way

[Unknown] : Gary obviously lost

[Unknown] : even though he rolled pretty far

[Unknown] : it was pretty funny, i wont lie

[Unknown] : Leaf made sure he would never forget about it

[Unknown] : ugh, poor leaf. She can't take a break at all. Her adoptive brother goes missing, and then gary throws his tantrum. He still won't talk to her about the blow-up at the diner

[Unknown] : ah, damn, damn. i'm doing it again

[Unknown] : sorry for me blurting out all these stranger's problems

Paul felt stumped. He rarely felt that emotion.

[Paul] : I know Oak. We've worked together before

As soon as he sent the message, an odd sensation blossomed.

[Unknown] : Oh! So you guys are friends?

[Paul] : Colleagues

[Unknown] : right right. So you do know some of the people i've talked about..?

[Paul] : I know Ash. Vaguely

That was a half-lie. He knew of Ash. He knew because of Oak's constant stories and recollections. He knew of Ash's exploits from the glimpses of Oak's photos that occasionally the brown-haired boy liked to show off whenever he found anything fascinating.

Which was most of the time, if Paul was honest.

But, Paul understood his idea of Ash was built on a mismatch of stories with embellishments and half-truths, with twisted words and fogged memories.

[Unknown] : wow! Small world huh

[Unknown] : do i know you?

At this question, Paul mulled over what his response could be. While he begrudgingly would admit his conversation with Unknown wasn't necessarily as bad as an Ursaring's claws on a chalkboard, he was still beyond his normal comfort-zone.

[Paul] : Unlikely

[Unknown] : hey you never know! Maybe we've run into each before and never realised even though we have all these mutual friends

[Paul] : I doubt it

He glanced at the time. Ten minutes had passed so quickly it almost gave him whiplash.

[Paul] : I have work.

[Unknown] : oh sorry! I didn't mean to keep you busy for so long. Well have a good morning/afternoon/evening not-Gary

Paul quirked an eyebrow.

He wondered if that was what his number was saved as in her phone.

[Unknown] : (attached 2 photos)

[Unknown] : which dress would be a better choice?

Paul rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. He fumbled with his phone in the darkness. The sudden screen that lit up the black momentarily singed his sight and he hissed.

With some difficulty as he adjusted to the source of light, he typed out a reply.

[Paul] : whatever is cheaper

[Unknown] : um, may is that you?

[Paul] : wrong number

He rolled onto his back, his phone still held in his hand. It buzzed and he swore.

[Unknown] : oh noooo! I did it again

[Unknown] : i'm sorry! believe me, i didn't mean to mix it up again

[Unknown] : i just have been all over the place

[Unknown] : I spoke to leaf for almost 3 hours trying to get her to stop moping for gary

[Unknown] : she's really upset, but she just wants to make-up with gary before things get worse

[Paul] : Whatever. Some of us are trying to sleep

[Unknown] : Oh yeah, sorry. It's pretty late now

[Paul] : Next time don't wake people up at 2:54 am

With a grunt, Paul smacked an arm across his face as he breathed heavily.

[Unknown] : hang on, are you in Sinnoh too?

[Unknown] : because it's exactly 2:54 am

[Unknown] : well 2:55 am now actually

[Paul] : yes I am

[Unknown] : hey, whatdya know. Me too! It really is a small world here. Where are you?

[Paul] : Sandgem Town

In pure honestly, Paul wasn't exactly sure what fueled him to continue the conversation. It was late (well actually really early if he wanted to be pedantic), and the Unknown girl was not entitled to any answers.

Still. He pushed forward for some strange reason. Something that he still befuddled him whenever he thought about the conversations between Unknown and himself, weeks after the initial contact.

[Unknown] : oh cool! I'm in Hearthome City right now. I'm here to win my fourth contest ribbon

A coordinator. Well that would explain the fashion feedback.

[Unknown] : so, what are you? I'm guessing some type of researcher if you're working with Gary

[Paul] : A trainer. I'm taking time off to focus on expanding my research knowledge

[Unknown] : ooh, yeah. I get that. Gary used to that too, but it seems like he's staying as a researcher from what i've heard

[Paul] : Fascinating. If you're done being troublesome, it's almost 3 am.

[Unknown] : OK. Ok. I got it. Time for your beauty sleep. Goodnight grumpy-pants

Paul almost snorted. Almost.

Except he was too tired and instead left her on read.

'You look like shit."

The words came out of his mouth faster than he could stop them. Paul internally blanched.

"Thank you for your astute observation Paul. I'm glad we have our resident sunshine to grace us with his presence." The monotone quip from the slouched man clad in white coat bounced the observation right back at the plum-haired man.

"I'm not wrong. You even brought sunglasses into an inside area." Paul pointed out.

"Yes, yes. I know, total douchebag-vibes. I can take the hint." Gary tiredly replied. He fiddled with the accessory and stuck it into the mess that was his brown hair. Dark bags hung underneath the brunet's dark viridian eyes. His skin was a sickly pallor, nothing like his usual healthy glow.

"Here." Paul stuck out the papers into the brown manilla folder he had placed them in for safekeeping. "I've made comments on what things should be changed."

"Oh goody, more work." Gary snarked with no malice in his words. "Thanks Paul. I appreciate you for doing so."

"Not like I had a choice." Paul shrugged.

Gary ignored the jab, and pulled out the papers, his dull eyes scanned the red ink and absorbed the new information with lethargic movements.

"All-nighter?" Paul slowly questioned.

"Mmm. I guess you can say that. Leaf said she wanted to meet me during lunch but honestly," Gary took his gaze off his papers, "I'm scared shitless that she wants nothing to with me anymore."

"Ah." Paul struggled with an appropriate response. The Green crisis wasn't over.

There was a sudden vulnerability in Gary's expression. "Not like I would fault her. I haven't been a good boyfriend for the past month. It's just-" He slumped forward again. "I'm worried she's going to something stupid and hurt herself to find Silver."

Paul nodded from the new knowledge being spilled. Nothing concrete. Just that Green's adoptive brother - Silver Soul - often toed the boundaries of law. There was a rumour that it was from his birth father's genes, although nothing had been confirmed.

"Well, nothing I can do. I'll respect her wishes if she wants me out of her life." Gary gave a weak smile before he returned to pour over his thesis.

Paul thought about the best response, matched possible scenarios and outcomes to the best of his ability to produce the optimal result. He settled on-

"Don't roll over and give up." Paul almost ordered.

Shocked, the other man swallowed heavily, his surprise-stricken face peered dangerously perceptively at Paul's own hardened expression.

"Green isn't easily shaken off, and nor are you." Paul continued. "From what I gather, she still cares about you. You just need to remind her that it's reciprocated and for a good reason."

"I-uh, what?" Gary puzzledly blurted out. "Since when did you remember who Leaf was? And when did you start noticing my love life?"

"Not out of my own volitation." Paul curtly replied. "But I've been unfortunately updated by a source."

"Do I know this source?" Gary raised an eyebrow and quizzically asked.

"I don't." Paul admitted. "But you do."

"Huh." Gary scratched his head. "Guess that's not something you hear about. Paul being up-to-date with my love life."

"Don't get used to it." Paul grumbled as he absently waved his hand in leave. He turned his back and briskly made his way out the door. But not before the other man could get one last remark in.

"You still better be coming to my conference lecture in two-weeks by the way! Or all your hard work would go to waste!" Gary yelled out in a joking manner.

[Troublesome] : hey, this might be a little odd

[Troublesome] : but are you going to be at gary's conference tomorrow?

[Troublesome] : I'm not sure if this breaches any boundaries, but I just wanted to know

[Troublesome] : no pressure if you don't wanna answer, or if you're not going btw!

[Paul] : Troublesome I'll be there

Instantaneously, a reply was shot off. The corner of his mouth quirked just the tiniest.

[Troublesome] : hey! My name isn't troublesome!

[Troublesome] : it's dawn as a matter of fact

[Troublesome] : Dawn Berlitz to be exact!

[Paul] : Do you usually shout your full name out to total strangers too?

Troublesome replied with a barrage of furious messages. Paul watched the period buffer hovering above his text message space as she continued to type.

Well, not Troublesome anymore he supposed. Dawn was her name. It rang a fractured memory of a woman with navy hair and cobalt eyes from a photo on Gary's phone.

[Dawn] : well we aren't total strangers. First of all we both know gary

[Dawn] : and second, we've been chatting for over a month now

[Dawn] : i say we're at least acquaintances :)

[Paul] : Three conversations over a month could not be considered enough substance

[Dawn] : oh shush, mr i have a dictionary in my head

Dawn seemed to have stopped on her side of things. Silence met the last quip and Paul was tempted to leave the conversation at that. However, it looked like there was still a final comment the determined girl was going to express.

[Dawn] : how about this

[Dawn] : at gary's conference, we can introduce ourselves for real

[Dawn] : like equipping a normal plate and everything, no stupid nicknames like not-gary or troublesome

[Paul] : You have me saved as not-Gary?

[Dawn] : well you saved me as troublesome so! We're even

[Paul] : I am definitely not a second-rate Gary

[Dawn] : well then, what should i call you then. You wouldn't want me to ask around for you as not-gary hmm?

Paul contemplated on an appropriate answer. He didn't mean for these conversations to go anywhere, but they ended up something akin to enjoyable. Not that he would admit it to anyone.

[Paul] : It's Paul

[Dawn] : huh

[Paul] : My name

[Dawn] : Ohhh! Cool cool, do you have a last name Paul…?

[Paul] : Guess you have to wait to find out

[Dawn] : ahhh, fine fine. Keep it a surprise will ya. No need to worry! I'll pull it out of you one way or another :D

[Paul] : Sure

Dawn Berlitz huh?

She might not have been a scammer, but she sure was persistent like one.