SIX

"He wants to WHAT?!"

Shauna called Serena around five that afternoon. Before then, Serena was listening to the message Augustine had promised to leave her, and she was in the middle of reciting the details out loud when her friend's holographic image appeared from the Holo Caster.

"Dinner. And dancing. And staying up late, doing . . . I don't know what." Serena shrugged, although she had an idea of what could happen if she stayed up late with Augustine. "I'm supposed to meet him at Restaurant Le Wow at eight thirty, and wear something nice."

"Wear that lacy blue dress – anyway, oh my gosh! You and him! Sure, he's our former mentor, and at least ten years older than you, but you've been hoping for this for how long now?"

". . . I lost track of how long," admitted Serena, feeling her face get warm.

"I always had a hunch you were his favorite. Don't tell Calem I said that."

Serena laughed appreciatively. "So . . . how are things between you and Calem?"

"They're good," said Shauna casually. "I mean, he's really bummed out about not being able to go to Hoenn. I don't see him during the day since I'm volunteering at the Pokemon Center in Cyllage, but last night we sat in his apartment after the party and watched some cheesy movies. We'll probably do the same tonight when I'm done here and he's done training for the day."

"Hey, if it takes his mind off his troubles," said Serena.

Shauna turned her head and said something unintelligible to the person behind her. "Well, looks like break time's over. Call me later and tell me all about your date with the Professor! . . . on second thought, don't. Bye!"

Shauna's holographic image shrank back into the Holo Caster. Serena set the device down on her nightstand and crossed her bedroom to the closet to begin digging for the blue lacy dress Shauna had mentioned, all the while singing to herself.

"I'm going on a date, I'm going on a date, Team Flare is back in town, certainly up to no good, and I'm going on a date."

The cab that was ferrying Serena arrived at Restaurant Le Wow at eight thirty-three. As the cab pulled up to the curb, Serena looked out the window and saw Augustine waiting outside the entrance to the restaurant, looking up and down the street. He was wearing the same waistcoat and slacks from the party the previous night, but with a light blue dress shirt and no tie. In his hand was a single pink rose.

Serena paid the driver, took a deep breath, and opened the door to step out of the cab. The moment she poked her head out and stepped away, she heard Augustine call to her and raise his arm.

"Hi!" she called back while prancing up to him.

Augustine didn't respond; he smiled at her, but then scanned up and down her body before stopping on her face. The lacy blue dress, which clung to her curves just right to show her figure, was evidently doing the trick.

"Did someone give you a flower on your way here?" she asked him jokingly, gesturing towards the rose in his hand.

"Oh – no! No, this is for you," he said timidly, handing the flower over to her.

"Thank you. It's beautiful," she remarked, holding the rose by the stem in one hand and using her other hand to stroke its petals.

Augustine smiled as he placed an arm around her shoulders and guided her into the restaurant. As the two of them followed the hostess to their table, he saw one restaurant patron having a quick, small-scale battle with their waitress.

"Ah, I forgot this was a battling restaurant as well!" groaned Augustine. He pulled out a chair at the table and gestured for Serena to sit down.

"Don't worry. I've got this." Serena said confidently as she sat down.

Indeed, the battles were far too easy for Serena's taste. Since they were in a confined space, she used Meowstic and Ampharos in a Double Battle before the serving of each new course. Each of her opponents' Pokemon was taken out after a few hits from her own. In addition, it didn't take long for a small crowd to form around their table; people were taking this opportunity to watch the Champion battle in person.

The poisson course was soon served, and Serena turned back to the table to eat. She and Augustine caught one another's eyes, and they smiled nervously at each other.

"Some date this must be for you, just sitting there and watching me battle," she said apologetically.

Augustine shrugged. "The night is young. Opportunities for one-on-one time will present themselves. Besides, I love the way you work with Pokemon. You make it look so effortless."

Serena looked down at her plate and cut off a piece of her food. "Is that why I've been asked to help you handle Pokemon on and off over the last three years?"

"Like I said the other day, you are the best trainer I know. And it was an excuse to spend time with you."

"Well, Augustine, I'd be lying if I said I didn't look forward to those occasions when they arose," Serena confessed. She popped a small bite in her mouth, chewed, then swallowed. "Since they usually ended in you laid out on the floor, being jumped on by some rambunctious Squirtle or Fennekin." She smirked at the memory.

"And it took you two whole minutes to get them off me!" Augustine reminisced, laughing himself.

"Can you blame me? It was cute!"

Both Serena and Augustine laughed briefly before continuing to eat and make small talk about his research or her upcoming projects at school. When conversation died down, Serena looked at him tentatively as he looked down at his plate to scoop up another bite of food. She told herself that later, while they were dancing, she had to run her fingers through that wondrous thick hair of his.

Augustine took a bite, and then his gaze met hers. Both of them quickly diverted their eyes, and Serena smiled skittishly.

"Can I confess something, Serena?" he asked her.

"Yeah, go ahead," said Serena as she reestablished eye contact with him. She reached for her glass to take a drink, but then someone tapped her on the shoulder.

"Excuse me," said a young man who was holding a notepad and a pen, "I hate to interrupt you, but I would you please give me your autograph? My sister's a huge fan of yours."

"Um, sure," she said, trying to hide the annoyance in her voice. After she gave that young man an autograph, she turned back to Augustine and smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry," she said. "I keep forgetting I'm famous. Anyway, what were you saying?"

Augustine finished looking around the restaurant at the other patrons. "Uh . . . it can wait for later."

She shrugged and nodded in acceptance, but her curiosity was piqued. He could be ready to profess his undying love already, for all she knew.

A couple of minutes later, another person came up to her for an autograph, followed by a woman who wanted Serena to take a picture with her kids. All the while, she obliged her fans and gave Augustine the occasional apologetic look, while not showing how increasingly agitated she was becoming. Augustine took the interruptions in stride, quietly eating his food and offering a supportive smile whenever Serena turned to him.

Finally, a young man who appeared to be a few years older than her approached the table. His hair was shaped into spikes using far too much product and he reeked of cheap cologne.

"You know, I was Champion of Kanto once. Only for five minutes though, but that's only a minor detail. I like watching you battle, Serena. We should have a match sometime. But first . . . how'd you like to join me for coffee tomorrow?"

Serena scoffed. "Excuse me?" This was the final straw for her.

"We'd be quite the power couple. Name's Blue, by the way. Same color as those gorgeous eyes of yours."

"I don't care," snapped Serena. "See this gentleman here?" she pointed to Augustine. "I am on a date with him right now. An actual date, with fancy dinner and dancing and staying up late doing who-knows-what – Oh God, why did I just say that? He even gave me flowers, he's such a sweetheart. Anyway, since you don't even have the basic decency to leave alone two people trying to enjoy one another's company, I'm not going to even consider ever being the other half of your dream power couple. Now scram."

Once again, she had caught the attention of everyone at the restaurant. Serena felt all eyes on her, judging her and boring into her.

"Fine, sheesh. Smell ya later, I guess." Blue raised his hands in defeat, turned to walk away, but then looked back at Augustine. "You could do better. He doesn't even look like he has any Gym Badges."

"Go away!" Serena half-shouted. She turned back into the table and let her head drop into her shaking hands.

The waitress returned with the fromage course, a Skiddo in tow.

"Thank you for waiting. Here is the fromage course, a –"

"Excuse me," Serena said suddenly as she rose to her feet and stormed away from the table, grabbing her purse on her way out. She felt people staring at her, and their whispering amongst themselves made her skin crawl. Once out on the sidewalk of Hibernal Avenue, she heard footsteps bounding behind her, coming closer, until they halted.

"Serena," said Augustine softly, grabbing her shoulders and turning her to face him.

"I'm sorry," she blubbered. "I really am. You were probably really excited for this evening, and I blew it."

"No. That guy was way out of line. Don't worry about him."

"It's not just him! There were the people watching my battles with the owner and the garçon and the waitress, and everyone else who wanted my autograph and pictures – I can't even enjoy a meal in peace, Augustine. Are you sure you want to go out with me? Because you'll get caught up in all of this too."

Augustine slid his hands down from her shoulders, all the way down her arms, until he reached her hands, taking them in his own. "Yes. You're too wonderful and amazing to be constantly surrounded by people and attention yet feel so alone."

Serena smiled weakly. She raised herself up on the balls of her feet, leaned forward, and gave him a small kiss on the cheek.

"Merci," she said. He smiled in return. "Shall we go finish our dinner?"

"Actually, I was thinking we could move on to the next portion of our evening," said Augustine.

"Dancing?" Serena asked, excited and nervous at the prospect.

"Yes indeed," he replied. He let go of her hands and offered his arm to her.

"Where did you have in mind?" continued Serena as she linked her arm around his and began walking alongside him.

"My place," answered Augustine. "It's far more private, and my music selection is better than anything you'll find in a club or hall these days. I have a few dance moves I'm good at – and some other moves I can show you, but they're not for dancing." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"Whoa now, this is only the first date!" Serena exclaimed through her giggles.

"I'm just teasing," said Augustine.

The two of them continued on down the street, past other people and Pokemon, the city feeling strangely dim without the usual glow of Prism Tower at night. Serena felt herself gravitating closer to Augustine as they walked, as if an invisible magnet was pulling her to him. While the evening hadn't gone exactly as she imagined it would, right now it was enough for her to be beside him, not saying much of anything, just enjoying each moment for what it was.

Augustine's apartment fell between Vert Plaza and Vernal Avenue, in a two-story building that was more modern-looking than its surroundings.

"Sorry, I forgot it's a mess," he said apologetically as they walked in. He reached over to the light switch next to the door and flicked it up, turning on the lights in the apartment. Serena was not at all surprised to see that this place was kept in the same state as his lab: messy, with dishes in the sink and various papers on every desk and table.

"I've seen worse," Serena shrugged. "When I lived in Kanto, I couldn't keep my room clean to save my life. Going on my Pokemon journey must have beaten orderliness into me."

"So if I had finished mine I would be able to keep my apartment clean?" Augustine feigned offense as he spoke. He guided her into the living area until they were both standing behind his sofa. Serena noticed a sleek-looking music player set up on a table along the wall.

"Perhaps," said Serena slyly, setting her bag down on a small table by the couch.

Augustine leaned over to his music player, turned it on, and pressed a few buttons until music started playing. The song that played had a soft but discernable beat, with guitar and piano in the background. After a few measures, a woman began singing in Kalosian.

He stepped back to Serena, took one of her hands, and placed his free hand on the small of her back. In turn, Serena put a hand on his shoulder. The two of them moved together, in time with the music, their bodies slowly gravitating closer to one another.

"Isn't this better than a noisy club?" Augustine asked softly.

"Much better," agreed Serena, "but at least at clubs they do the dishes."

He chortled.

Serena had been looking past his shoulder thus far, but now she diverted her gaze up to make eye contact with him. There was a look in his eyes, a mix of disbelief, wonder, and desire. She soon found herself matching that look, and scooting in some more so that only a small sliver of air separated their bodies.

"I meant to ask at dinner: what did Teleurac want?" inquired Serena.

"He offered me a job at the Department of Environmental Sustainability," said Augustine. "My job would be to develop applications for Mega Evolution outside of battling."

"Interesting," she commented.

"I think I'll take the job. The way the Department came down on us yesterday, this may be the only way to keep the lab fully operational. I'd be able to resume my current experiment but assign most of the work to Sina and Dexio while I work on whatever Teleurac assigns to me."

Serena nodded. "Are there any openings for research assistants?"

"There will be in the future," said Augustine with a chuckle.

"What's she singing about?" Serena asked about the song. After three years of living in Kalos, she had picked up the basics of the region's traditional language; however, she had a hard time understanding words when they were sung.

"The ocean, la mer," he said poetically before he started singing along. "La mer, les a bercés, le long des golfes clairs, et d'une chanson d'amour, la mer," He twirled her on the spot, caught her, and then pulled her back into him.

"A bercé mon coeur, pour la vie."

The song ended, and was followed by a few more slow-paced songs that were either instrumental or featured Kalosian lyrics. Serena and Augustine would sway back and forth on the spot, arms around each other and very little space separating their faces.

"Your hair looks lovely tonight," he said.

"Thanks. So does yours," she responded, relieved that her painstaking hour of curling her hair had not gone unnoticed.

Augustine chuckled.

"What was it you were going to tell me at the restaurant before my fans attacked?" asked Serena.

"Ah, yes!" Augustine paused. "I was going to tell you . . . that I've actually been enamored with you for some time now. I mean – I've always regarded you differently than Calem and the others, since we easily became good friends after you became Champion. And, um, we, uh – merde, this is harder than I thought."

"And all the times I helped you with your research led to you feeling something more," added Serena honestly. That had been her experience, at least.

"Exactly. I remember when you were telling me about the battle you just had with that Gym Leader visiting from Sinnoh, and – just – the way your face lit up as you were talking, how animated and excited you were – it hit me that not only are you the best Pokemon Trainer I know, but you're also the most passionate and brave and – and – all around wonderful, and that my life is so much better with you in it."

She smiled at him, finding herself at a loss for words. He smiled back, his eyes full of joy, and she took that to mean that no words from her were needed at that moment. The sweet scent of his cologne indulged her senses, and his touch – the way his fingers languidly dragged themselves along her waist – brought her some indescribable pleasure. Eventually, she would get around to raising herself up onto her toes and press her lips to his . . . .

She was jolted out of her trance by the beginning of the next song on his playlist, which started abruptly and kept a fast tempo. Thankfully, these lyrics were not exclusively Kalosian.

"I love this song! We danced to it all the time at university!" Augustine jumped back and began bopping around in time to the music. A loud giggle erupted from Serena's mouth as she watched him; any other man would look ridiculous, but Augustine's clumsy dance moves were adorable to her.

"Ever do the Scatterbug, Serena?" He held out an open hand, his other hand snapping fingers rhythmically.

"Yeah. Tierno taught us all how," she answered before taking his hand.

Truthfully, she had not had much practice doing the Scatterbug; she mostly kept her eyes on her feet, making sure she didn't step on his as they swiftly went from step to step. Augustine's skill at this dance became apparent as he effortlessly twirled her around, twirled himself around, and managed to keep their limbs from being entangled on several occasions. He put all of his energy into the dance, so when the song ended, he let his body fall onto the couch.

"Dance yourself to death?" Serena asked him playfully. She looked at him from the back of the couch, her own breath heavy and her skin flush.

"I'm not as young as I used to be," said Augustine, his chest rising and falling rapidly as he breathed.

"That's okay. I'm still having fun." Serena beamed. "But if you're tired . . . I should probably go and let you rest."

"Non, non, ma chérie," Augustine protested.

"It's almost ten," Serena told him after checking the clock mounted on the wall.

"The night is still . . . somewhat young. But if it's that late, I insist you stay the night."

Serena snorted. She leaned forward, resting her elbows on the back of the couch. "Then we'll have to think of something else to do that is less physically taxing on you."

Augustine whimpered in disappointment.

"I know," said Serena sympathetically as she walked around and sat down on the couch next to his head. She gently grasped a lock of his hair between her fingers and lazily twisted it around. "Perhaps we should make sure we want to be in a serious relationship before we go down that path."

Augustine shifted his head slightly so he could make eye contact with her. "You mean . . . you're not sure yet?"

"I- well – um . . . ." Serena remembered what happened at dinner, then took her mind further back to when she was first crowned Champion and the media frenzy that followed. Back then, a story circulated about her and Calem supposedly being an item, until she got Alexa at Lumiose Press to shut it down. Both she and Calem had been scrutinized by the media – the nature of their supposed relationship, and how it could have arisen from their friendly rivalry. She could see the tabloids in her mind's eye again, only this time Calem was replaced with Augustine and the featured story was accusing the Professor of favoritism.

"My mom always told me to wait until after a few dates before I consider committing. But if we did, we'd have to keep it on the down low," she finally said. "We'd limit how often we're seen in public together. No popular cafés, no fancy restaurants, displays of affection kept behind closed doors."

"Ah, the struggles of having a famous girlfriend – I can handle all of that, Serena." He reached up and grabbed her hand that was stroking his hair, brought it to his mouth, and gently kissed her palm.

The two of them sat like that for a few minutes; Augustine rested her hand on his chest, and Serena used her free hand to continue playing with his hair, twirling his soft, silky locks around her fingers. She cursed her mother's advice to her about waiting to commit to a relationship; if she really wanted to, she could rewrite some of her interactions with him as "dates": café meetings like the one a few days ago, private meals where they talked about Pokemon and meaningless things, the time she unsuccessfully tried to teach him to rollerskate. Augustine was perhaps the one man she would consider breaking her mother's rule for.

"You want to watch some movies?" he suddenly asked her.

Serena looked around the living room; there was not a television in sight.

"The TV's in my bedroom – don't look at me like that, Serena, I'll keep a good six inches between us at all times. I just thought that you would enjoy the 'Pirates of the Ever Grande' film series."

"They're the ultimate in good stupid fun," commented Serena.

"You think so?" Augustine sat up as he spoke. "Sure, they have their campy, cheesy moments, but I thought they did a good job blending those moments with mindless action and extravagant special effects."

"I have a hard time believing that the captain really escaped that desert island while riding on the back of some Squirtle – with rope he wove from his own back hair."

Augustine shook his head. "He didn't actually do that, you know."

Serena scoffed. "Really? What evidence can you provide to show he made that story up?"

"Come watch the movies with me and I'll show you."