A/N: Happy 2019! And look, here's a new chapter! Thank you all for your support and I hope you like this chapter :)

To Minako: I'm very happy to hear that you're enjoying the story so far :D I'm glad you thought Ash was on point and thank you for the recommendation, I'll certainly give it a look. And of course thank you very much for reading and reviewing!

To cake0108: And I'm happy with your review :D Glad you liked it and thank you very much!

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or the picture used as cover (though I did edit it).

Days

The day in a cave

Paul

Saturday, December 14th

"We can wait," Paul said, as gently as he could, trying to remember how Reggie had treated him when he was sick. It had been a long time since he had been at home and sick, but he remembered tea and soup, biscuits, warm comfortableness in bed, and even longer ago, stories told and songs sung by his mother-

Paul shook those thoughts away. They didn't have any tea or biscuits, and this cave they had managed to get lost in was everything but warm and comfortable. And he definitely wasn't going to sing.

Paul didn't cringe when another retching sound came from Dawn's direction, though his Magmortar shifted uncomfortably. He started to very slowly pack up their things, their fire still burning happily in the damp cave and casting shadows on the walls. Dawn's silhouette was visible on the edge of the circle of light, and further lit by the flames of her Quilava.

They hadn't planned to be here. They had been on their way to Oreburgh City, because Dawn had decided that she would rather try her luck with another Gym and besides, there would be a Contest soon in Oreburgh City.

They could still make it, but they'd have to get out of this cave soon. And hope their bikes hadn't been stolen.

Their predicament was mostly Dawn's fault. He would blame her (and had done so yesterday) but found it hard to do that now, when she was throwing up some ten meters away from him. It was probably karma. He'd rather have them find a way out of this cave.

Her plan hadn't been so bad at first. She had suggested to rent bikes to travel Route 206, because it would be much faster and considering that it was absurdly warm for a Sinnoan winter right now, it would be a comfortable ride. The first day had gone well, and they had stopped early and entered this cave, because Dawn had wanted to practice her skills on Rock Pokémon. They had left their bikes at the entrance, thinking that they would be back soon.

They had then proceeded to get lost.

Paul let out a sigh, and rubbed his face. That had been the day before yesterday. Yesterday had been spent wandering through the cave and they had probably only gotten deeper in instead of further out. It wasn't called the Wayward Cave for nothing.

Paul finished packing his sleeping bag and attached it to his bag, before sitting down by the fire. Some time later, he could see Quilava's flames moving closer, Dawn following behind. She still looked shaken and pale, though she was grinning brightly.

Even he wasn't going to fall for that one.

"Alrighty, I'm ready, let's go!" Dawn said, moving to roll up her sleeping bag. Paul hesitated, watching her cringe and pause when she had moved too fast.

"I haven't finished my breakfast yet," he said, and Dawn stopped to look at him. He quickly rummaged through his backpack and pulled out a half-finished can of cold beans.

"Oh, okay," Dawn said, and Paul thought he heard a tone of relief. She abandoned her work of rolling up her sleeping bag and sat back down on it. Quilava watched her carefully and she gave the Pokémon an encouraging smile.

An awkward silence descended on them, while Dawn watched Paul slowly eat the beans he had intended to finish later.

"…Do you want some breakfast?" he finally offered.

"I... uh, no, thank you," she said, looking away. Paul nodded, before returning his attention to the beans.

Silence fell again and it was only broken by the soft crackling from the fire and the shifting of their Fire Pokémon. He was surprised when Magmortar gave him a slight nudge, and the Pokémon glanced at Dawn before looking back intently at Paul. It shouldn't have been a surprise, because all his Pokémon had taken a liking to Dawn in some way, whether it was because she offered new challenges or because she was genuinely nice.

Paul swallowed a sigh, and feeling decidedly uncomfortable he asked, "How are you feeling?"

Dawn looked up from her staring at the fire. "Fine, fine, I'm fine!" she quickly replied and smiled widely at him. A fake smile again, he realized with some surprise. He supposed that travelling with her for so long had made him more observant.

And besides, not even Dawn could be happy after throwing up.

Okay, fine, if she didn't want his sympathy... He put the lid on the can and put it back in his backpack, just as Dawn took a careful sip of water. She gave him that same smile again, and he looked away. Stupid girl.

"Are you ready?" he asked, already moving to get up.

"Yes, yes, I'm ready," Dawn said, also getting up, and hurried to roll up her sleeping back while Paul doused the fire.

"Let's go." He threw the last bit of gathered earth over the fire. He marked the wall with a piece of chalk he kept specifically for this purpose, as they had done with the previous turns and paths they had taken. They had found a few vague marks from people who had gotten lost before them, and since they hadn't found any skeletons, Paul was hopeful they would soon find their way out.

Without looking at Dawn, he started off, Magmortar hastily following him and Dawn and Quilava closing the line.

Wayward Cave was not considered that big or dangerous, and they had already been in here for a whole day. He was hopeful that they would find their way out today and kept up a brisk pace. He recognized several paths they had already tried, and took a turn they hadn't investigated yet.

There were the occasional sounds of Pokémon scurrying away from them and the steady drip of water dripping from ceiling, but other than that the cave was silent. Their footsteps echoed around them, and it were only those sounds that reminded him of Dawn's presence.

Which was odd, because usually she wouldn't stop talking. Or get him to talk.

Still, he supposed he should enjoy-

"I'm sorry!" Dawn burst out, and Paul almost jumped. He whirled around, adrenaline racing, but found no danger.

Dawn had stopped walking, staring at the ground and clenching her fists at her side.

Paul had no clue what was going on. "What."

"I'm sorry," Dawn continued, her voice rising in pitch and Paul almost stepped back when he realized she was crying. Arceus no. "I'm sorry for getting us lost and slowing us down all the time, and I'm sorry we lost our bikes and I'm sorry we're now going to miss the Contest!"

He had, in his whole life, managed to avoid the experience of being in the presence of a crying girl.

Well, there was a first time for everything, he supposed. Damn.

"Please don't be angry! I'm really so- sorry." She hiccupped, and Quilava put a comforting paw on her shoulder.

Feeling lost in this unknown situation, he quickly latched onto what she had said.

"I'm not angry."

And he wasn't. He had no idea what had made her think that. Frustrated, perhaps, because they had gotten lost, and maybe somewhat irritated that she- Right, maybe that was what had given her the impression.

"Wha-what," Dawn stuttered out, finally looking up and Paul almost grimaced at her tearstained face. Great. That was it. No more travelling companions for him. And definitely no women.

"I'm not angry. I am... frustrated because we're lost," he said, and seeing the expression on Dawn's face, he hastened to add, "But there's no sense in blaming anyone. We should be looking for a way out."

"…it's still my fault, though," Dawn said quietly, and Paul resisted the urge to rub his forehead.

"Yes, well, do you want me to be angry with you?" he asked. He had been, yesterday, but he doubted this was the right moment to say that.

"No, but- you're really not angry? Really?" she asked, looking at him with wide, still teary eyes.

"Yes, really."

Women.

He made an effort to smile in what he hoped was a comforting way. Dawn smiled back, shakily, and wept away the tears.

Right. Now hopefully that was fixed… "Are you ready to continue?"

"Yes, yes." Dawn nodded, and added with a sheepish smile, "And uh, I'm sorry for getting emotional."

Maybe she was blushing, but it was difficult to see with only the light of their fire Pokémon.

"Find us a way out and it's fine," Paul said, and maybe it came out a bit harsher than he had intended.

Dawn smiled (and this was a real smile, he thought), and nodded. "Thanks, Paul." And with that, she took the lead, her Quilava following behind.

Paul watched for a moment, feeling satisfied in an odd way, though mostly confused. Magmortar nudged him out of his thoughtful daze, and he quickly walked after her.

His Pokémon snorted in amusement behind him, and Paul shot him a glare.

Right. No more female companions for him.

A/N: Thank you for reading! Paul is slowly thawing… sort of XD I liked writing this chapter, and I hope you liked reading it! Please let me know what you thought about it! Until next week!

Thank you!

Recommendations:

Pokémon: Everything Else by I am Lu. FFN. If you enjoyed the Ash Connection, then you'll enjoy this. It's a completed side story focusing on Zoey as she reports the birth of the democracy in the Pokémon world, and very much recommended for fans of the Ash Connection series.

Pokémon: He'll Be Back At Christmas Time by xblueflowerx. FFN. This is a PokeShipping one-shot, featuring Christmas as the title might suggest. It's a very cute and well written family story.

Harry Potter: Really Gone by Alohaemora. FFN. I'm warning you guys: this is a tearjerker. It's about George and Arthur talking about the first Christmas since Fred died, and well, it's just really sad. Beautiful, though.

Recommendations are welcome!