0 Days to go.

Johanna Berlitz smiled, making her way down stairs and into the kitchen to prepare breakfast for the two teenagers were obviously still sound asleep up stairs. Dawn had arrived back home at eight the previous night, bringing a boy called Paul Shinji along with her. Johanna was obviously elated and accepted him into her home with open arms. That wasn't the first time she'd heard of the boy however; Dawn had complained about him all throughout her travels around Sinnoh with her original travelling buddies, Ash and Brock. She'd smirked knowingly every time; her daughter would never go on about anyone like that unless she unknowingly had special feelings for them.

Flash Back.

There was a knock at the door and Johanna went to answer, already knowing who it'd be. To her surprise however, she was met with not only the face of her sapphire eyed daughter, but also another, more unfamiliar person.

"Mum, this is Paul," Dawn explained with a blush, causing her mother to smirk. She smiled warmly up at the boy, and he gave her a quick smile back. "Would it be alright if he stayed with us for Christmas?" Her daughter asked nervously. Johanna grinned, pulling both teens into a bone crushing hug. Paul's eyes widened while Dawn grinned back and returned the squeeze.

"Of course he can!" She exclaimed, shutting the front door behind them to keep the cold air out. "Just go and set up the spare bedroom dear, I'll start making dinner!"

End Flash Back.

Johanna shook her head, smiling to herself as she began to stir the pancake mix. Today was Christmas morning, and so she decided to let the other two sleep in a while longer. She was rather excited as this would be the first Christmas in a very long time that her and her daughter had spent with another person.

Footsteps could be heard rushing down the stairs, and a few seconds later, a very excited Dawn poked her head around the door, her hair a mess and her pyjamas still on.

"Mum, it's Christmas!" She yelled excitedly, practically jumping up and down with the excess amount of energy she seemed to currently possess. Johanna chuckled; every Christmas Dawn got like this and it was near impossible to calm her down.

"I'll go wake up Paul!" she exclaimed, dashing out of the kitchen and back up the stairs.

"I wouldn't… never mind," her mother said with a sigh, shaking her head and smiling, feeling awfully sorry for the boy in question.

Dawn slammed the spare bedroom door open, rushing in and looking down at Paul. He looked extremely peaceful when he slept, and Dawn was suddenly questioning whether she should just leave him and wait. She then shook her head fiercely, her face turning slightly red.

"No, this is Christmas!" She said to herself enthusiastically, pumping her fist in the air. "Paul," she called gently, shaking his shoulder. He grunted but continued to keep his eyes closed. "It's Christmas Paul!" She said a little louder, becoming frustrated quickly.

Suddenly, his arm snaked around her waist and she was pulled onto the bed with him. She let out a shrill squeak, her face exploding in colour as she was pressed against his chest, his firm grip holding her in place.

"What do you want, troublesome?" he mumbled, his eyes still remaining shut. He waited for a few moments, yet there was no reply. He eventually opened an eye, squinting down at the bluenette. He smirked as he saw her beet red face and wide eyes. "Come on, speak up silly girl," he said gruffly, his smirk widening as her cheeks darkened.

"It's- it's Christmas," she finally managed, wriggling in his grasp. Paul sighed, his grip faltering as he allowed her to get up.

"Fine, I'll be down in a moment," he sighed, rubbing his eyes tiredly. "But only for you, my love," He added, emphasising the last two words. Dawn's eyes widened and her previously recovered face turned as red as his Magmortar once again. Paul laughed whole heartedly, loving how it was so easy to make her feel so embarrassed, although he'd never admit to anyone that he thought it was rather adorable as well. "Nah, I think I'll stick with troublesome, it suits you better," he stated matter-of-factly, sitting up in his bed while Dawn stuck her tongue out at him and scampered back out of the room.

A few minutes later, all three people were sitting around the Berlitz's dining table eating a breakfast consisting of pancakes and waffles, topped with a mass of maple syrup, ice-cream and strawberries. They talked about a lot of things, like when the two started travelling together and what they were doing the passed few days and Dawn's recent contests. Even Paul contributed a lot to the conversation, telling the two girls all about the Unova region and what badges he's earned.

They eventually moved to the living room and by the sparkling Christmas tree which had been decorated beautifully by Johanna and her pokemon. The woman had made everyone put their gifts under it the night before as this was the tradition her and her Daughter lived by. Dawn had received quite a few from her other friends, like Kenny, Barry, Ash, Brock and the girls.

Both Paul and Dawn had received matching blue and white woollen scarfs from Johanna, she explained that she'd hurriedly made Paul's the night he'd arrived, and chastised her daughter for not telling her about his arrival sooner. The presents made Dawn blush, as always, although even Paul went slightly red, and Johanna laughed, continue to tease the two.

Both Dawn and her mother received gifts from Paul, much to their surprise.

"I got them when I went out to grab supplies yesterday," he explained as they began to unwrap the presents. Johanna received a big box of chocolates while Dawn received a beautiful, purple poffin case with delicate black embroidery. The girls hugged him thankfully, and he opened the present Dawn had given him the previous day. He gave her a quick smile, knowing that the ultra balls he'd received would certainly be useful.

"Hey Paul," Dawn said once they'd all unwrapped everything. "Didn't you get something off Reggie?" She asked. Paul sighed, wishing that the girl had forgotten about that. Unwillingly, he reached for the grey backpack which was lying on the sofa and removed the rather large gift.

He began to unwrap it, wincing as the gift began to take shape before them. He held it up with a sigh, making an attempt to hide the writing from the mother and daughter. It was a knitted black sweater, with the words 'number 1 bro' weaved along the torso area in gold. Dawn tried to stifle a giggle while Johanna gave him a warm smile.

"Your brother must love you very much," she said kindly, taking the sweater to admire the knitting skills Reggie obviously possessed.

"A little too much," Paul sighed with a roll of his eyes. Dawn grinned at him, poking him in the cheek.

"And you love him too!" She stated.

"Now that's debatable," the boy replied with a smirk. A few minutes later, Johanna had begun to prepare lunch. She suggested that the other two go out to get some air for an hour or so, and that's what they did.

"I know where we could go," Paul said, heading down the path and not bothering to wait for a reply. Dawn obediently followed, but stayed a small distance behind him. She realised that this was the first time they'd properly been alone after he'd kissed her the previous day, sure they'd walked back to Twinleaf together, but that didn't count because her mind had been in shambles. The colour of red slowly began to creep onto her face as she looked down at the ground, not daring to say a word.

"Keep up," he said as they walked through the various streets of Twinleaf town, seeing very few people on their way; it was Christmas after all. They soon arrived at the small forest to the south of Twinleaf, where the lake quietly sat in a clearing, completely frozen over as a couple of families joyfully skated over it with their pokemon.

Paul turned around and reached for one of Dawn's small hands, she squeaked in surprise, her face flushing again as she looked up at his face. He smiled affectionately down at her, pulling her along to a destination unknown to her.

"You've been awfully quiet," he commented as they stopped beneath a rather large tree. She shrugged, still refusing to say anything as she was scared she'd make a fool of herself. "So, Reggie and I used to come to this place while we were kids because our parents always used to rent a cabin out here. Basically, we found this tree and thought it was pretty awesome," He explained. Dawn giggled, finding it weird to imagine Paul as a kid, climbing trees.

Paul then proceeded to grab Dawn by the waist and haul her onto the first branch. She graciously accepted his help and waited for him to climb up with her.

"Get near to the top," He explained, beginning to climb himself. "And don't fall or your mother will kill me!" Dawn giggled at his remark.

"No need to worry!" She exclaimed with a grin, following him up.

"Please don't say that," he groaned, deciding to climb a few branches down from her so that if she was to fall, he'd catch her. Soon, they got near to the top and had to stop, due to the fact that the other branches were out of their reach.

"It must be here," Paul muttered to himself, sitting on the branch and making his way to the trunk. "Come here troublesome," he called, suddenly disappearing into the tree. Dawn followed, gasping as she found herself inside the trunk which had been hollowed out around that area to form a little room. "It was less cramped when my brother and I were kids," he chuckled.

Dawn blushed, realising the close proximity the two were currently in. She pulled her knees into her chest and looked down at the ground, not daring to look the boy who was sitting with his legs crossed opposite her in the eyes.

"You've been acting weirdly since we left the house," Paul observed, shuffling himself over so he was sitting adjacent to her. "Care to enlighten me with your problems?" Dawn shook her head, a small frown creasing her face.

"Nothing's wrong, in fact, it's all perfect. It's just that I'm not used to this," she explained, motioning around her with her arm. Paul smirked, pulling her into him and forcing her to look into his eyes, he gave her a quick kiss on the forehead before sighing and wrapping his other arm around her body as well.

"Well troublesome girl, I suggest you get used to this," he snickered as she hugged back.

"You're right," she giggled, nuzzling lovingly into his chest. "Although… you're going back to Unova tomorrow." she muttered sadly. Paul was silent for a moment, he simply looked at the wall of bark opposite him, deep in thought.

"Well…" he started, "Maybe you could come with me; you could compete in the contests over there, I know you've done Kanto, Johto, Hoen and for course, Sinnoh. So why not Unova?" Dawn frowned again; she really didn't see why she shouldn't.

"I suppose I could," she finally said, pulling away so that she could look at his face and give him a huge grin. She then took a hold of his face, bringing her lips forcefully down upon his. This time it was Paul's turn to be surprised, although he began to willingly kiss back within a few seconds, wrapping his arms around her back and brining her closer.

Dawn eventually, unwillingly pulled away. She gave him a kiss on the nose before she began to head towards the opening and climb down the tree.

"We'd better go now or Mum's gonna be worried!" She called, skipping the last few branches and leaping down. "Last one home's a rotten Exeggcute!" she yelled, dashing off into the trees. Paul rolled his eyes, hurrying after her; she could be such a child at times, but that was one of the reasons why the boy loved her.

Well, that's a wrap folks! I truly hoped you liked the story, despite the fact that some chapters were out kinda late hehe. I thank all of you for the wonderful reviews and support, and I give a special thanks to Tropicallight for continually supporting the story, but also to anyone else who'd stuck with it since the beginning. I love you all and appreciate every follow, favourite, review and visitor!

I hope I'll be seeing you all again some time soon, and I truly do hope that you all found the fic entertaining and fluffy! I wish you all the best for the new year, and I hope that you all had a very merry Christmas, just like Paul and Dawn!

I thank you all very much!

~X-Ray