Is there even a ship name for Looker/Serena? Whatever it is, I just had to try this after playing the post-game content in XY. Not my main ship by any means, but it's fun to write. The chapters get longer as we go on, because I was aiming for just 1,000 words per chapter to force myself to be concise until I decided screw it. For all the Emma fans, she doesn't appear until a few chapters in.

Also, Serena's 23 here. You can guess the others' (Shauna, Calem, etc.) ages from there, but Emma remains 16. No idea how old Looker's supposed to be, but let's keep him at around his mid-30's for the squeamish ones. As for the timeline, Serena and the others finally kicked Team Flare ass when she was 21, and she became Champion at 22. Not sure how long their initial adventure started, but definitely more than a year since this Serena had a few distractions to contend with.

1 - Looker

Once, before the Kalos League Champion had won her title and she was only another face in the crowd, someone had said to her, Strolling around Lumiose's streets makes you feel like the heroine of a love story. Just being asked for directions can make you feel like meeting that person was destiny...

The bright-eyed newcomer's heart had fluttered at the thought—Romance, in Lumiose! How fitting!

Now, wading through the crowds in the North Boulevard, the young woman thought, Yeah, right.

Serena was lost, and there was no denying it. Her destination today was Rouge Plaza, but everything here looked the same! For all the fashion rules she'd had to imbibe upon her first arrival to the city, colors would never be her strong suit. Not to mention asking for directions was out of the question—she was constantly asked to take pictures with courageous fans who ran off too quickly afterward, and the only clue they gave her if they didn't was that the neighborhood in Rouge Plaza was a place frequented by only the most snobbish and affluent Lumiosians.

Ugh. Serena dreaded finding the place, then. Though nowadays she jetted in and out of Lumiose City with her Braviary, Flamiche, just to make appearances or to endorse clothing lines totally impractical for anything but sitting around and waiting for challengers at the League, she didn't have the time to waltz around the city. Even in the stories the magazines published, the Champion had only ever visited the labyrinthine city during her adventure for three things—Clemont's badge, the Professor, and...Team Flare.

The only thing she'd found worth travelling for were the Galettes, though.

And, she guessed she had to add (besides her father's cooking), the free croque-monsieur the folks at Café Triste insisted on giving her whenever she dropped by, like right now. Once the café was out of sight, she handed it to the Meowstic in her arms. Accepting her favorite sandwich, Cece munched in what appeared to be deep thought.

There was no pressuring her—reading minds made the Pokemon very hungry. So, while waiting, Serena had resorted to eyeing the multi-colored rock embedded in silver around her thumb. It matched the Key Stone on her bracelet.

A minute later, the Meowstic let out a small burp. Serena eyed her now properly-fed Psychic. "Anything specific yet?"

Cece paused, scanning the area, and gave her a visual from the mind of a cab driver on his lunch break. Serena still didn't get the directions, but Cece had always been their navigator and nodded.

"Finally!" she laughed, ducking into a smaller plaza before anyone else could notice. Not that she didn't appreciate the attention while walking around, either—it was why she didn't hire a taxi, instead. But her stomach was growling unhappily now, so it was time to pick up the pace. "Lead the way, Cece."

There was also the fact that her purpose here wasn't one that demanded something so easy as a car ride. She'd been sitting quietly back in Vaniville with her parents, watching Fran and Baltic, her Greninja and Seismitoad, care for Fran's newly lain eggs when this ridiculous Holo Caster message arrived. I only need a moment. Or perhaps three, said a gruff voice without a face. There is something I really need to talk about with you. Please come to the Looker Bureau. The building is close to Rouge Plaza. I can't say any more right now. I will expect to see you soon.

A little demanding for her liking, not to mention Mom said it sounded like just another fan (she would know) and Dad said it sounded dangerous (and he wouldn't, really), but the guy didn't sound like a man hell-bent on cleansing the world or giving her immortality, and that about covered all her limitations for new acquaintances. Besides, she could hold her own.

The locals had been right. This was the snooty side of the city. If she hadn't been the Champion, they'd turn their noses up at her denim shorts and black leggings. Some of them still did.

Which was all well and good—they made it that much easier to find the building. It was right across this fine dining place that sometimes hired Dad. It cost at least five figures a head, a price she could now afford what with all the Champion-related things that kept her busy, but she wasn't dumb enough to spend that much money on a dish her father could make at home. And her money was exactly the reason he'd allowed himself to find work closer to Vaniville.

The Looker Bureau distinguished itself with a dingy sign. Dingy not in that it was old and shabby, but for how simple it looked compared to the probably gilded ones in this general area. Again, not a bad thing. Serena entered with high hopes.

"It was good of you to come," said the gruff voice as soon as she entered.

Standing by the window, a man in a trench coat and a suit underneath turned around, brows knotted and hair straight, and approached. He looked like a cop.

"Yes," he said, as if to answer the question that was coming. "I need thirty seconds of your time. Or—three minutes only. Thirty minutes, maybe."

He definitely didn't belong in this city—her hair stylist would have said that his hair was long overdue for a trim—but at the same time, he kind of did.

His (code) name was "Looker." (Cece had heard him slip, stopping short of reading his mind.) The man was maybe a decade older than her, but she had to say—the name fit. Tall, broad shoulders, firm jaw, nice eyes...

Looker went on rambling. That easily broke the magic. Whoever said girls talked too much hadn't met all the men in her life. He mentioned having investigated her, which was all information he could have taken from anyone who owned a TV. Serena thought she'd heard enough speeches to last her forever and was about to make an excuse to leave, until...

He wanted her help with the detective agency he'd just opened, saying, even a heart that embraces the loneliness—his, she guessed he meant—can sometimes stumble, falter, doubt. Serena knew that, sometimes, whenever she realized two years had already passed. So she listened.

Until he called her a rookie when it came to that line of work. Her?

"What does your heart say, Serena?" he had the gall to ask, extending his hand to her. "Will you partner with me and fight crime?"

Was this guy for real?

Fight crime. Bring peace to Lumiose City. She hadn't thought in those terms in two years. It sounded...not so bad, actually. Couldn't hurt.

So, against Cece's better judgment, Serena shrugged and accepted his handshake. "All right."

I'd have added more of the game dialogue, but it would probably have just been Serena snarking at Looker's dialogue in her head.