A/N: Happy New Year, everyone! Sorry it took even longer than I had planned, NaNoWriMo was even more exhausting than I had expected, plus the holidays were of course busy busy busy. But now I'm back, and with good news! Yes, people, NaNoWriMo was a success, and the rough draft for this story is now finished! Yay! :D It still has to be rewritten, of course, so no quick updates just yet – for now, two weeks should be doable – but as soon as I've finished rewriting, they'll be coming quicker, promise :)

Anyway, thank you all so much for your reviews, follows and favorites, I hope you've had a great Christmas, and I wish you a very happy New Year!

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or the picture used as cover.

Leave It To Brocko

Chapter 23

"I'm going to bed."

Paul's announcement rang through the relatively quiet common room, and he didn't wait for us to wish him goodnight as he disappeared into the corridor leading to the bedrooms.

Disappointment seemed to flicker across Dawn's face, and I sat up a bit straighter. Had it been an isolated incident, I might've passed if off as my imagination, but with the proof I had gathered during the evening I was pretty sure it wasn't. During dinner, Paul had been silent – as usual – but Dawn had seemed to purposefully try to engage him in a conversation.

Admittedly, Ash had tried too, as had Misty, and myself as well, but Dawn was the only one who had managed to get more than one-word responses.

She got one-sentence responses.

Not that much of an improvement, but still, it was an obvious difference to anyone who paid attention to such things. Even though his reactions were still… lacking, I could see he was trying to be at least polite. He had answered all of our questions, instead of ignoring them, and the only one who got the leave-me-alone glares was Ash. And Ash got those from most people at some point in his life, so it wasn't that unusual.

Yes, dinner had definitely been interesting in that regard.

Back to the situation at hand. Before Paul's announcement, the only sounds in the room had been the rustling of paper, the buzz from the TV and the sloshing of the sea against the boat. Both Dawn and Paul had been reading – Coordinators' Weekly and An Extensive Guide to the Pokémon of Hoenn, respectively – sharing the dark green couch with more than respectable distance between them. At Paul's end, another couch was placed right-angled, so it was facing the TV. Said device had currently both Leaf and Gary sitting on the edge of the couch – and less than a respectable distance between them – as it broadcasted some sort of action movie.

More set-ups like this – TV and couches – were spread around the small common room, but they were all unused with the exception of ours and one in a far corner, seating an elderly couple. I myself was sitting on the ground, sorting through my backpack and inventorying our supplies; I needed to shop once we got in Slateport City.

Ash had disappeared outside not too long ago – Misty hadn't been inside since dinner, too enthusiastic about the Water Pokémon, and probably avoiding Leaf as well.

And now they were outside. Together. At night. Watching the sea. Together.

Hmm. Yes. I'd check on them later.

Again, back to the situation at hand. Jeez, I really need to work on my attention span.

Dawn had focused her attention back on her magazine, and she only looked up when I slid into the place Paul had been sitting before. She gave me a short smile in greeting, before looking back at her magazine, intent on continuing her reading.

I wouldn't let her.

"Hey Dawn," I responded to her smile.

She looked back up, expectantly, waiting for me to continue.

Only I wasn't quite sure how to continue.

For a moment I considered the art of subtlety – Dawn was sure to understand that – before remembering that she already knew I was a matchmaker, and that there was no sense in pretending otherwise.

Okay, blunt and straight-to-the-point then.

"You like Paul."

You can't get any more blunt than that.

For a moment, she seemed to tense, but it passed so quickly that I thought that I had imagined it. Dawn didn't reply straight away, just blinked at me.

"Yes, I like Paul. He's not that bad, as long as your name isn't Ash Ketchum, of course." She laughed slightly, though there was a hint of confusion in her face.

I blinked back at her. Was she really pulling an Ash on me?

"I meant… romantically." I stressed the word.

"Oh." She cocked her head slightly, as if wondering how to respond to that.

That was not the reaction I was hoping for. I had wanted to see blushing, stuttering, or quiet agreement, or even outright denial – it all would've proved the things I had seen.

"I don't know," she said, looking almost apologetically. "I never really thought about it… He doesn't seem like the type I would want a relationship with."

Silence.

"Oh," I finally said in a flat voice.

More silence, and Dawn shifted awkwardly. It was catching, and I too started wringing my hands together.

I didn't know what to say anymore. All the things I had wanted to say, the thing I had prepared to say, suddenly made no sense anymore.

It had all been so obvious… right?

Deciding that this awkward conversation had been too long already, I spoke up, "I think I'll go outside for a bit."

Her shoulders slumped forward slightly, and there was a note of relief in her voice as she responded with an "Okay, I'll see you later."

I didn't move up to stand yet. Something about her reaction… Relief. Why would she be relieved that I was leaving?

Because that would mean this uncomfortable conversation is over, you dimwit! A voice in my head yelled, and for a moment, I felt inclined to agree with it.

But yet… I was missing something. I knew I was missing something, but I couldn't say what…

"Brock?" Dawn's concerned voice broke through my reverie – she was wondering why I hadn't gotten up yet, probably. I held her gaze, a hint of suspicion starting to form in the back of my mind.

A small, hesitant smile was on her lips, expressing both concern and confusion, and her blue eyes were open and kind, her eyebrows raised in wonder. She momentarily glanced away, almost anxiously, before the friendly concern was back, getting more and more pronounced.

"Brock?" she said again. "Are you all right?"

Another shift of her eyes.

She's a Coordinator. Relief was rising in my chest, and I felt my lips being tugged in a smirk. She's a performer. Dawn looked away again, though her concerned and confused mask stayed in place.

She's an actress.

And a damn good one at that.

"You do like Paul." I grinned, resisting the urge to cross my arms and look completely smug.

She stiffened, but tried to continue her act anyway. "I don't like Paul, I just told-"

"I know you're lying," I interrupted her, smirking and finally crossing my arms. "You like him."

"I do not," she hissed, her mask cracking as her face flushed.

"Riiiight. Sure you don't." I had her. She couldn't go back on her act now, and she knew it.

The reaction was mildly scary.

Her face was red, her eyes narrowed and her response was just a few decibels short of indignantly shrieking, "I do not!"

That got Gary and Leaf's attention, and questioningly, Gary rose an eyebrow at Dawn. If possible, she turned even redder, before making a vague dismissing gesture in their direction and turning back to me.

In a softer, though no more insistent voice, she repeated, "I don't like Paul, Brock. I do not."

I was not convinced, and that must've showed on my face, as she threw her hands in the air in frustration.

"Fine, believe whatever you want! It doesn't matter, he doesn't see me standing anyw-"

Her eyes widened, and she clapped her hands over her mouth.

I smirked. There you have it, the subconscious confession through all the denials. I knew it.

Dawn glowered at me, before averting her eyes and sagging in the couch, her hands falling in her lap.

Dropping my victorious pose in favor of a sympathetic smile, I patted her a bit awkwardly on her back. A defeated Dawn wasn't something I was used to dealing with.

Good thing that I had some information that should be able to cheer her up.

"I think you're wrong, you know."

She looked up curiously. "About what?"

"About Paul not seeing you. I think he does see you." I gave her an encouraging smile.

She stared at me, before rolling her eyes and shaking her head. "Funny, Brock. I know he can see me. He's not blind."

"That's not what I meant," I corrected her quickly. She thought I was joking, while I was being perfectly serious. "During dinner," I went on to explain, "you were the only one who got more than one-word replies. Didn't you notice?"

Dawn didn't respond, and I continued, "And this afternoon, on the deck with the Egg and Buneary and Weavile, he was staring at you."

The sparkle that had been growing in her eyes dimmed, and she shook her head. "He must've been staring at Weavile, Brock."

"No, no, I thought that at first too, but I checked, really. I'm sure he was staring at you," I quickly reassured her.

"And," I added when the silence stretched on, "when I said that you were such a great girl, he didn't disagree with me."

The conflict on her face grew. She wanted to hope, but at the same time, didn't dare to hope, not wanting to be disappointed.

I'd give her a hand.

"Don't worry, Dawn, I'll help you," I said, a plan forming in my mind. "I'll talk to Paul, and then we'll-"

"Oh no." Her eyes had widened, and she stared at me in alarm. "You want to play matchmaker for Paul and me, too, don't you?"

Her tone was accusing, and I found myself spluttering for a response, "Well, uh, yeah… er, maybe…?"

"Oh, Brock..." She sighed exasperatedly, rubbing her forehead. "I appreciate the help and all, but to be honest, you don't seem to be really good at this matchmaking thing. I mean, look at Team Rocket, it'll take you ages-"

"I'm a good matchmaker!" I defended myself. "I got Iris and Cilan together!"

"You did?" She ignored my first comment, instead latching onto the second. "That's great, Arceus knows how long those two have been dancing around it!"

"Yes, they weren't easy-" I cut myself off, redirecting the conversation before Dawn could distract me with another topic. "But that proves I'm a good matchmaker."

Dawn sighed, her plan to distract me foiled by my unparalleled attentiveness.

"I don't know, Brock," she finally said. "Paul is very different from Cilan and Iris or Team Rocket…"

"Okay, fine, no elaborate plans, but let me at least talk with him," I offered, the comment coming out more pleading than I had planned. "I'll be subtle, he won't notice anything. He just needs a push in the right direction."

She was still hesitating, which was actually kind of offending. I wasn't all that bad at this, really! Iris and Cilan were together – together! – Leaf and Gary were sitting closer-than-normal-friends, and Misty and Ash were watching the sea together. I'll admit that Team Rocket was poor work on my part, but that would be fixed soon.

"It can't hurt to try, can it? I promise I won't mention this conversation to him," I tried again. "Your feelings are safe with me, I promise. I'll just talk to him, okay? Just talking, that's it."

For a few more moments, she hesitated, before finally nodding. "Okay, fine."

She still looked a bit unsure, and I grinned encouragingly at her.

"No need to worry, Dawn," I said, borrowing her catchphrase and she smiled slightly in response. Glancing back at the two brown-haired teenagers sitting in front of the TV, her smile faded and was replaced by a pensive look. Was she having second thoughts?

When she turned back to me, a knowing smile had appeared on her face. "You're trying to match them too, aren't you? Ash and Misty, and Gary and Leaf? Huh?"

I wasn't quite sure how her thoughts had jumped from her and Paul to this, but I wasn't going to complain. It was better than those second thoughts, after all.

"Yup," I said, pride evident in my voice.

Her reaction wasn't quite as I had hoped, as Dawn started laughing. "Oh Brock, really, you need a girlfriend."

I deflated, crossing my arms while letting out an "Hmph." I was doing all of this to help them, and yet she still had to poke at that one sore point.

Dawn seemed to notice my mood shift, and she patted my arm. "Aww, Brock, I'm sorry. It's really sweet of you, and any girl would be lucky to have you. I'm sure they'll realize that some time too."

I nodded, my spirit rising again. Dawn was right, I really was quite the catch.

"And until then," she continued cheerfully, "you're stuck with us!"

I grinned at her, and she smiled back. For a few moments, we sat in comfortable silence, before I noticed that Dawn was growing increasingly fidgety.

"When are you, you know... going to talk to him?" she finally spoke up, and the question explained her previous nervousness.

"I'll go to bed now, and with a bit of luck, he's still awake," I decided, getting up to follow through with my plan. Dawn straightened up, panicking, but I quickly reassured her. "Calm down, it'll be fine, Dawn." I smiled. "I promised, didn't I?"

"Right." She nodded half-heartedly, and sank back in the couch. "'Night, Brock."

"'Night," I replied, giving her another encouraging smile, but Dawn only sunk further back, her eyes blankly staring ahead.

Great.

Brocko, gotta love all the faith they have in you.

A/N: Thank you for reading! Mostly IkariShipping this one, but I rather like how Dawn came out. She was fun to write, at least :P Anyway, if you'd please let me know your thoughts on this chapter in a review, that would be very appreciated :D

Thank you!

Recommendations:

Pokémon: Blanket of Shadows by Writerdragon. A sadly unfinished, but really good WishfulShipping multi-chaptered story. It's an AU, and really dark at that, but very intriguing. But, like I said, not yet finished… Still, a story you won't easily forget.

Pokémon: Wishful Winter by JennaJayfeather. Again, WishfulShipping, but this one is just really sweet and funny. Christmassy fluff, now we're still somewhat in the holidays season. A cute one-shot, recommended when you just want to squeal :P

Star Wars: Of Questions, Dishes and Pathetic Life Forms by Yesac. Ah yes, this one. A really cute and incredibly funny one-shot. Anakin and Obi-Wan bonding when Obi-Wan is forced to babysit Anakin by Qui-Gon. Hilarious and oh-so sweet. Definitely recommended.