I do not own Pokemon, nor any affiliated properties or characters or references in this work of fiction.

Puzzles

Dawn had always liked jigsaw puzzles. Even as a child, she quickly devoured every one that her mother set in front of her. She loved how so many small pieces could come together to form something so much bigger than themselves. You just had to orient them properly, find out where and when they could go together, chaining miniscule victories between bouts of defeat before finally assembling the satisfying whole. Like coordinating, it was the product of experimentation, dedication, and observation. And the end result was a sweet taste of satisfaction at time well invested and a new perspective gained.

Which was why she poured so much time in solving the puzzle that was Paul.

Ever since her departure from Ash and Brock, Dawn had struck out on her own; eager to pursue her lofty dream of attaining the title of Top Coordinator as her mother had. The task lent itself well to Dawn's nature of overcoming obstacles and creating new and innovative ways of showcasing her Pokémon and their inherent beauty. She journeyed to Hoenn, with only a brief detour to Unova to meet up with Ash for the Junior World Cup Tournament, followed by yet another quick trip to Johto for the Wallace Cup that came soon after. It was only when she resumed her trek through the warm island region that she had a chance encounter with an old acquaintance of hers.

Evening was quickly turning to night as Dawn finally arrived in Slateport City, eager to find the Pokemon Center for a good night's rest so she could rise nice and early to prepare for the contest she had feared she might miss. Thankfully, she had made it to the city in time, having been delayed in a torrential rainstorm that pounded the area for the day and a night prior without mercy.

Yet, her intention of finding a place to sleep vanished from her mind as she saw a flash of mauve hair pace down the steps of the Pokémon Center she had only just found. She squinted across the distance that separated them, and for a moment, she saw him pause.

She could almost swear he shot her a glance before resuming his brisk pace and moving on as though nothing had occurred at all.

"No way..." Dawn uttered to herself in disbelief.

She jogged lightly across the open square, now only lightly occupied by the locals in the dying light of day. Dawn's aqua hair swished wildly behind her as she pursued the young man she was almost certain she had identified correctly.

"Paul!" she called out in a cheery voice.

The purple-haired teen kept moving.

"Paul!"

He didn't slow, but his consistent steps took a slight wobble for a moment.

"Paul!"

Now only meters from him, Dawn slowed to a pace to match his. Though, it ultimately proved unnecessary, as the trainer halted at the third use of his name.

"Yeah? What do you want?"

Though she really knew she should have expected such a gruff greeting from him, she still felt taken slightly aback by his sour tone.

"You remember me, right?" Dawn inquired.

"You're not going to flare up on me again if I don't... right?" he coolly responded, his dark eyes flashing with only the smallest spark of amusement.

Immediately, Dawn was flung back in her memories to her rather hot-headed behaviour at the Oreburgh Gym. She grew nervous and it showed in her reply, "No... no. I'm just wondering if you-"

"I do," he supplied, quickly growing tired of the directionless conversation and resuming his path south from the Pokémon Center.

Dawn, forcing her legs to match his brisk speed, realized that she had not really considered what to say to him. In fact, just approaching him and addressing him seemed natural. But after that, it was uncharted territory. The two had barely shared more than a few sentences before the Lily of the Valley Conference, and the short conversation they shared there had only raised more questions than answers for the blunette. Much the same as it was now.

"So... what brings you to Hoenn?" Dawn asked, trying to maintain a casual atmosphere.

"I could ask you the same thing," Paul retorted.

"Well... I'm-"

"But I didn't ask, did I?" Paul interjected suddenly.

Dawn scowled at him and ran her eyes over him. Paul was being elusive and stubborn. But this was nothing new. Yet, for all its regularity, the way he acted towards her – no, everyone – was so perplexing. It just seemed to nag at her. Not nagging in a bad way, per se, but in a way that seemed to bolster her curiosity. She didn't understand. But she wanted to understand. She felt compelled to.

"You don't want me to ask?" Dawn persisted, moving from her position behind him to his side, though she kept a comfortable distance between them.

"I don't see what business of yours to know what I'm doing. Works both ways," Paul grumbled, his gaze flickering over to her before restraining itself back to the paved street ahead.

"What if I want to tell you what I'm doing?" Dawn pressed.

"That's up to you. But I couldn't see why you'd want to," Paul muttered, finding himself growing weary with arguing with the inquisitive girl next to him.

"Well, I'm here for a contest," she announced, watching him carefully to see what his reaction would be.

"You're a coordinator. Of course you are," Paul stated dryly.

Dawn face contorted into an annoyed grimace as she realized her plan failed. She hoped by volunteering information, he would do so in turn. Clearly such tactics did not work on him. And for a moment, she could almost swear she saw a smirk of satisfaction on his face for outwitting her.

"Is it so bad to open up to someone else, Paul?" Dawn asked flatly. She was clearly done with her roundabout attempts ending in fruitless attempts to illicit a reaction. It was time the direct approach.

Paul stopped and whipped around to confront her at last and bit, "I don't know why you find me so interesting that you have to keep asking me all these questions."

Dawn was surprised at how readily he had shifted from an almost apathetic stance to a combative one. But she quickly recovered and simply told him, "I like answers."

"You won't like mine," Paul groused, turning away from her and returning to his course, which now was clearly in the direction of the Slateport beach.

Dawn had to take a moment to process his answer. Paul was unlike anything she ever encountered. He was a riddle that changed its lines. A jumbled mass of pieces that shuffled every so often, and routinely offered feints by allowing certain parts to fit together, even when they truly weren't related. Her every touch to the conundrum forced a reaction: either a barb that lightly punished her for a mistake, or a shift that only seemed to confuse her further, regardless of the action being right or wrong.

She shook herself from her contemplative mindset and pursued the mauve-haired trainer, continuing her pseudo-interrogation, "How do you know that I won't?"

He let out a resigned sigh and told her, "Because I know what you are. And I know what I am. We don't mix. We're like oil and water."

It was only appropriate that the subject of water entered the conversation as they finally arrived on the beachfront, greeted by the sounds of lapping waves.

"Then tell me who I am," Dawn demanded, growing irritated herself at Paul's idea that he knew her better than she did.

Paul shrugged and asked quietly, "Do you really want me to say it?"

"Of course!" Dawn confirmed without hesitation.

The trainer let out another hefty sigh and turned towards her, taking a slight pause as he fully took in the sight of her standing on the beach, with the ocean at her side and her form cast in moonlight. He mentally shrugged off whatever 'that' was and proceeded, "I'm looking to become stronger. And I'll do whatever I have to do to reach that goal. Ash showed me one thing. That my method isn't perfect. But it's how I do things, and I'm going to fine tune it until it is. You've already shown that you don't like how I treat my Pokémon by agreeing with Ash. I doubt you've changed your mind. And you are a coordinator. Your focus is flash and appearance. Mine is everything but that. Moreover, you can't bear pain. I live with it every day. My Pokémon live with it every day. If they can't take it, they can find someone like you who'll treat them how they want to be. Someone like you whose view of the world is perpetually optimistic and focused on everything that is good and cheerful. I'm... not like that."

Dawn was mesmerized by his explanation. Not just because of how deeply it spoke of his own issues, but because it was likely the most words he had ever heard him speak in succession.

Paul saw her expression and added bitterly, "If that's so hard for you to understand, then you know why I didn't want to tell you in the first place. Waste of my time."

Paul turned on his heel and strode down the beach leaving Dawn in his wake.

The coordinator was still stunned for a few seconds more before she regained her faculties and shouted out to him from across the beach, "Do you always want to be like that?"

Paul paused in his steps yet again. His fist clenched instinctively, but relaxed a moment later as his face screwed up into a visage of conflict. But he quickly overcame it and merely grunted a neutral-sounding response to the young woman standing a stone's throw from him.

The lack of definitive response only served to deepen her curiosity and confusion as the trainer stalked off into the distance, leaving only footprints as evidence that he'd ever been there. Dawn backtracked through the memories of the conversation that had just swept by. Even on review, Paul's words left her with more questions than answers, only serving to deepen the mystery that was now laid out before here. Even more, Paul had managed to turn the tables on her; making her the question needing to be answered. And he had asked some good questions. Why was she so intent on gleaning some sort of insight into this awkward teen?

It was a while after the events on the beach, when she took to her bed in the Pokémon Center, she realized that it was not only the prospect of solving a puzzle that seemed to engage her interest in Paul, but the fact she felt like he was more than just a puzzle. Paul was not only the challenge: He was the prize at the end. He was the reason she wanted to solve it. The revelation at the thought stunned her momentarily, as she pondered why she could ever want to have an unsolvable rubik's cube as someone to care for. But in the end, she realized that she found it challenging. A mystery that would take years to unravel. A puzzle that would never be completely solved. A puzzle that, in equal measure, made her recognize the strange enigma trapped in her own mind.

A puzzle that solved her back.

A/N: This was largely a challenge to myself to write a pairing that I was both unfamiliar with and not intensely invested in as others I've written for. Regardless, I gave it a solid effort and I hope that any Ikarishippers out there who read this are pleased with the product.

Special thanks to Kasuria for generously allowing me to use her very lovely work of art as the cover image for this story. She has a profile here on this site that I highly recommend, as well as a Tumblr blog under the same name where you can find a treasure trove of artwork that's a feast for the eyes.

Thanks to all of you who've taken the time to read this. I hope you enjoyed my brief experiment.

Happy Reading,

~ UndercityRezident