.

-The Little Things-

April of 2041. Late Morning. Hearthome City, Sinnoh.

Paul liked to think that he was a simple person. It didn't take much to keep him happy: A day out training, dinner with his family, or a quiet afternoon with a book was all he needed to be perfectly content. And up until now, he had been peacefully enjoying the latter.

Had been.

"Hey, Mr. R."

Paul liked to think that he was a simple person—but sometimes it felt as though the littlest things could push his buttons, and Skylar Ketchum was the master of pushing every single one of them.

He had told her time and time again, "Just Paul is fine", but for whatever reason she insisted on continuing to call him "Mr. R". It was a little thing. So little, in fact, that he highly doubted something like that would grate anyone else the way it grated him. But he gritted his teeth and bared it.

Letting out a short breath, Paul closed his eyes. "What?" he asked, shutting the book he held between his hands.

Skye smiled, the irritation in Paul's voice going unnoticed. "I was watching your Champion League battle with Cynthia the other day, and I noticed something." There was a gleam of excitement in her eyes.

"Mm?"

"Near the end of the battle, you had your Torterra use Frenzy Plant to make a barrier so you could block Garchomp's Dragon Rush." She clenched her fists as she leaned toward him just the slightest. "And I coulda sworn it looked a lot like the counter-shield technique my Dad uses in some of his battles!"

Opening an eye, Paul glanced at her. Her eyes were still sparkling as she eagerly awaited his response. Paul almost wished that Skye could be like any other seventeen-year-old and have her face glued to her phone screen rather than attempting to make small-talk with him. After all, small-talk with Skye was never just small-talk.

Huffing, Paul averted from making eye contact with her and focused his attention onto the wall in front of him instead. "Because it was," he finally responded.

Skye's face lit up. "Seriously?" She grinned and tapped her fist against her palm. "I knew it!"

Paul's eyes flicked towards Skye. He waited with expected caution, and when some seconds had passed by, he decided that the conversation wouldn't be taken any further. Reopening his book, Paul began to read once more.

"So, do you take inspiration from my Dad a lot?"

Paul's eyes glazed over and he clenched the book in his hands. The endless questions were yet another one of Paul's many buttons that Skye seemed to press. His eyes shifted towards her. The look on his face was tired, but Skye sat beside him, smiling patiently as she waited for his answer.

Sighing in resignation, Paul looked back to his book. "It's normal for rivals to occasionally use techniques they've learned from each other," he responded, partly dodging the question.

Skye blinked a few times at his response and glanced towards the ceiling thoughtfully. Then, she lit up and looked back to him. "Yeah! I guess you're right," she said, pounding a fist to her chest. "I mean, thanks to Lizzie I feel like I'm always thinking of new ways to up my battle skills!" She punched her fist forward. "I've totally developed some new strategies after seeing the way she works with her Pokemon." Putting her fist down, she looked to Paul with a lop-sided grin. "I guess that makes you and me kinda similar, huh?"

Paul looked to Skye before quickly averting his gaze, a little flustered.

This went unnoticed by Skye as she held up a finger with a smirk. "But, I'd say Lizzie's learned a thing or two from me, too," she stated matter-of-factly. Paul deadpanned as Skye crossed her arms with a confident nod. "I gotta keep her on her toes. No rival of mine is gonna get lazy."

Letting out an unamused huff, Paul focused his attention back onto his book. "She's lucky to have you," he remarked dryly.

Skye snickered and rubbed her nose with a finger. "Maybe." She gave a pause. "But I actually think it's kinda the opposite—I feel like the lucky one." Her eyes shined. "After all, I wouldn't be half the trainer I am now if it wasn't for her!"

Paul eyed her, somewhat taken back by her comment. He hummed slightly in agreement before returning his focus to his book.

Skye watched with a smile before looking forward. She leaned back against the sofa's cushion as silence fell between them. Finally, the questions, the small-talk, all the little things that Skye did to grind Paul's gears had stopped. The two sat in complete quiet, and Paul took relief in that for however long he could.

"…But, battling aside, I'd say I'm pretty lucky in general," Skye said suddenly.

Paul stopped his reading and turned his head to look at her. She was staring at the ground, her hands clasped together and a smile on her face.

"I guess I never really thought someone as awesome as Lizzie is would really bother with someone like me too much," she continued. "I used to get angry a lot, I'd let my emotions get the better of me, and I'd jump into things without thinking about the consequences." She gave a short, light laugh. "Sometimes I still do." Her expression softened. "But Lizzie always helps me to keep my head screwed on right when that happens. And I think I've become a better person because of it—I'm happier because of it."

Paul continued to stare at her. He was almost surprised to hear Skye say something that he might normally consider to be uncharacteristic of her, but the look on her face was sincere, making him certain that her words were completely genuine. Perhaps he really didn't know her as well as he assumed he did.

"That's why I've gotta do my best to make her just as happy as she makes me," Skye continued. "She used to be so sad all the time… So I just hope I can do a good job of making her smile now."

It was then that Skye felt Paul's heavy gaze on her, and she paused. Realizing what she said, she quickly sat up and looked at him, inhaling sharply as her face flushed. "B-but…!" she started, waving her hands in front of her. "I-I mean, you probably think all this sounds kinda weird! I didn't mean to ramble like that, I just…"

Paul watched on as Skye took a deep breath. There was a slight firmness about her awkward expression as she looked him in the eye. "I just want you to know that Lizzie is really important to me!" she stated before quickly letting her shoulders relax as she scratched her cheek. "That's all."

All Paul could manage to do was stare. It was clear to him that Skye was being earnest in the things that she was saying; and even though he may have not always wanted to admit it, there was truth in her words. Over the past few years, he had taken notice of the little ways his daughter was changing—how she was eating more, the way that she laughed when she spoke on the phone, how she slowly appeared more vibrant.

They were little things, but it was enough to make a difference in his eyes. After so many years of shutting herself away from the world, Lizzie was finally able to step forward and be herself again—and Paul knew that Skye being in her life was a large part of the reason for that.

Skye appeared as though she was beginning to feel uncomfortable under Paul's gaze, probably wondering if she had said the wrong thing. Before she got the chance to open her mouth, Paul finally said, "I know." He closed his eyes, shutting the book in his hands. "Thank you."

Skye was surprised by his comment, raising her brows and leaning back in her seat—not totally sure what exactly he was thanking her for.

"Sorry that took so long," a voice from behind cut in. "I'm ready."

Alarmed by the sudden interruption, Skye sat up and turned to see Lizzie walking into the room. Paul's gaze also flicked towards his daughter as she adjusted the bag hanging from her shoulder. Lizzie then stopped in her tracks when seeing a red-faced Skye sitting beside her father on the sofa. Unsure of what to make of the situation, she simply looked between the two.

"L-Lizzie!" Skye breathed, jumping to her feet and nearly tripping in the process. "H-hey!" She began to laugh nervously, rubbing the back of her head. "You're here!"

Paul was completely unfazed by the situation as Lizzie continued to glance between them. After a beat of awkward silence, she finally asked, "…Is something going on?"

"No, no!" Skye insisted, waving her hands in front of her. "We were just talking, that's all!"

Lizzie's brows scrunched at that, and she looked to her father. He was focused on reading the book he held in his hands, his expression unchanging. Looking back to Skye, Lizzie somehow found what she was saying hard to believe.

"…I see," Lizzie conceded, deciding to shake off the topic. "Anyways, I'm ready to go." She raised a brow skeptically. "Are you?"

Skye straightened out and managed to quickly shake off her nerves, cracking a confident smile. "You bet!" she said, bending down to pick up her backpack. "Now that you're done being a Slowpoke, we can have that battle."

Lizzie watched on with an unamused look as Skye slung the bag over her shoulders. She then let out a huff and closed her eyes. "I was just giving you time to prepare to lose, that's all."

Skye's eye twitched in mild irritation before she stuck her tongue out. "Please—every extra second you spent getting dressed gave me more time to think about my strategy."

Paul and Lizzie exchanged disbelieving looks at her response before Skye perked up again with a smile, saying, "I know—how about the loser pays for lunch?"

Lizzie blinked and then glanced towards the ceiling in thought. Closing her eyes, she smiled. "All right," she said with a shrug as she began walking in Skye's direction. "I hope you have your wallet ready then."

Skye grinned, placing her hands on her hips. "Yeah, but it's not like I'm gonna need it!"

Sighing, Lizzie pressed her palms against Skye's back and pushed her lightly towards the front door. "Are we going or not?"

Skye let out a small gasp and nearly stumbled over her own feet as Lizzie continued to push her forward. After she regained her footing, she held up a hand and smiled. "Yeah, yeah." But before Lizzie could completely push her out the door, Skye glanced back to Paul with a grin. "Catch you later, Mr. R," she said, offering him a salute.

Paul's eyes flicked towards her, and he took a moment before offering a nod. "Yeah." He noticed the "Mr. R" didn't seem to bother him as much now as it had a few minutes prior.

Lizzie looked to her father and took a step back from Skye. "We won't be out too late," she assured. "Let Mom know for us."

Paul nodded in acknowledgement, and Skye cracked a confident smile, throwing her fists into the air. "All right! Then let's get going!" she said enthusiastically, rushing out the door.

Paul watched as Lizzie let out a light laugh, stepping forward to chase after her. But then he furrowed his brows, tightening the grip he had on his book.

"Elizabeth."

Lizzie blinked in surprise, stopping in her tracks as she turned to face her father. "What?"

There was a moment of silence between the two, before Paul finally said, "Don't let her win."

Lizzie's brows rose in surprise as she let her father's words sink in. But after a beat, she gripped the strap of her bag and smiled confidently. "I wouldn't even consider it."

Closing his eyes, Paul gave a small nod of satisfaction.

"Hey!" Skye's voice called from outside. "Are you being a Slowpoke again, or are you really just that scared you're gonna lose to me?"

Lizzie's head quickly turned in the direction of her voice, and her cheeks flushed pink, flustered. "Don't be ridiculous," she called back, stepping outside. "I was just thinking about what I want for lunch since you're paying."

"Huh!? Liar!"

With that, Lizzie closed the door behind her, and the two made their leave.

Silence filled the room, and Paul remained seated on the sofa for a moment longer before slowly rising to his feet and walking towards the window. Looking outside, he could see Skye and Lizzie in the distance. He watched on as Skye waved her arms around excitedly about something, eliciting a laugh from Lizzie.

"That's why I've gotta do my best to make her just as happy as she makes me!"

Skylar Ketchum did all kinds of little things that got under Paul's skin. And yet, in that moment, none of that seemed to matter—because thanks to Skye, now Lizzie was able to laugh as she left the house. Now she would tell them about the time she spent out with Skye, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth as she did. Now she would stay up late, quietly talking on the phone. Now she would genuinely enjoy herself beside someone she loved.

He smiled.

Perhaps those were the little things that mattered most.

...And so it continues!