"Stop your worrying," he sighed as he was forced to sit down by impatient hands. "It's nothing but a scratch. I've gotten plenty of these."
Dawn, the one responsible for forcing him back inside a Pokémon Center after he tried leaving with a nasty gash in his arm, was true to his words, worrying. "That is more than a scratch, Paul," she scolded as her Piplup shrilled in agreement. "Your jacket is stained straight through!"
Paul's dark eyes just squinted as he watched her carefully roll up his sleeve to inspect the wound. He wished that she wouldn't yell so loud. They were currently sitting in the lobby of the Pokémon Center, which gave every stranger who walked in a chance to hear his business. He did not like that.
After the young coordinator removed his sleeve, she gasped at the large gash on his arm. Piplup pretended to faint at the sight of it. "Paul," she growled, her hands now rummaging through her bag for any signs of her first aid kit. "How could you leave something like this alone? It could get infected!"
"It's just from Weavile," he scoffed. "It won't get infected. Don't coddle me."
Dawn lifted her eyes from her bag and Paul couldn't stop himself from meeting her gaze. Her blue eyes were suddenly soft, brining a strange sort of ease to the boy's chest. "Helping someone isn't coddling," Dawn told him softly. She busied herself with cleaning out the gash with a warm cloth and some iodine. "It just shows you care about them."
The boy with purple hair watched her in silence before gaining a faint smile on his face. His heart swelled with gratitude. It felt nice for someone to care about him like this. It made him breathe a little easier. He sat like that for a while, just watching Dawn clean his wound and then wrap his arm with a soft, breathable gauze that wouldn't restrict him from still training.
He waited until she had finished before calmly taking her hand and rubbing his thumb along her knuckles, earning her gentle gaze once again. "...Thanks, Dawn," he told her, not even caring if the strangers milling about heard him. The girl just smiled before taking a step towards him and resting her forehead against his for a brief moment.
"Anytime, Paul."
Author's Note: This was a request from Silver BlackQuills on Tumblr. The prompt was Ikarishipping with patching up wounds. It's been centuries since I've written for these two.