Sorry for all the trouble, guys! I accidentally published this early because I hit publish instead of save, but here it is in full.

This one's for XxHeroOfTruthxX. Thanks for the request! :D

Sorry that this is a little less than lovey-dovey... first meetings and stuff, and beginning relationship fluff. Unbeta-ed and proofread when tired. Any mistakes are my own. (I don't own Pokemon, by the way).

Brendan grinned and squinted into the bright Kalosian sun. This had been such a fun vacation so far! Lumiose City was gorgeous and there was so much to do! He'd have fun exploring this city and maybe venturing beyond its borders in the coming days. But where to explore first?

In answer, his Sceptile's stomach growled. "Oh, you're hungry! What a coincidence, so am I!" Brendan found the map of Lumiose City he'd picked up from the tourism office in his pocket. He unfolded it carefully and traced a finger along Centrico Plaza, where he currently was, until he found Cafe Soleil. He'd read about it, and apparently it was a friendly establishment with especially delicious pastries. That's where I'll go, Brendan thought.

Humming a tune to himself, Brendan walked briskly down the streets of Lumiose City, navigating only by map. Eventually, he came to the place where Cafe Soleil was, according to his navigating skills.

Brendan looked up from the map for the first time in about an hour. In front of him sat a lonely looking building. The red paint covering the building was faded and peeling, and the light inside flickered every few minutes. Brendan looked at the little sign next to the door. The first few letters had peeled off, leaving behind only an"E CAFE". Brendan's stomach growled again. He shrugged. So what if this wasn't Cafe Soleil? It probably still had nice food, right?

Brendan opened the door, causing chimes to tinkle sadly, and entered the shop. Sceptile followed after him. 

The inside of "E CAFE" was not much better than the outside. The room was lit by only a few candles, which were burning low. The floor and counter were covered in bits of garbage, and only a few lonely customers sat at the tables. 

Brendan blinked a few times, adjusting his eyes to the dimness of the cafe. He approached the counter, trying to keep a bounce in his step and a smile on his face. It was hard--- the atmosphere of the cafe seemed to push every bit of happiness out of your body. The barista looked at him as if he were an alien, and said, "Welcome to Cafe Triste. How may I help you?" His tone and expression were similar to those of a funeral-goer. 

Cheerfully, Brendan ordered a coffee and a sandwich for himself, and a couple Pokepuffs for Sceptile. The barista made the coffee and food--- drooping while he did so--- and handed the items to Brendan.

Brendan wanted to look out on Lumiose while he ate, so he made his way to the table closest to the single grimy window in the cafe. A boy his age was already sitting there, staring into his coffee. He had black hair and a cheerful red hat that didn't match his forlorn expression. Maybe it was the way even his hair drooped, or the way his beautiful grey eyes shimmered with sadness, but Brendan suddenly found himself determined to cheer the boy up. 

"Hi," Brendan said as brightly as he could, slipping into the seat across from the boy. "I'm Brendan! Who are you?!"

The other boy eyed him suspiciously. "Why do you want to know?"

"Don't worry, I'm not here to stalk you, or kill you, or anything like that! I just... I thought you looked sad... so I wanted to cheer you up!"

"Cheer up! You've got ulterior motives, I bet. Crazy superfans, always wanting my stupid autograph and my stupid friendship."

Fan? Brendan had never seen this boy in his life, though he certainly would make a good pop star. He was undeniably attractive--- he could definitely be a lot of people's heartthrob. "Sorry. I've never seen you on TV or anything. No offense," Brendan added. He didn't want the sad boy to get sadder.

"No? You really haven't heard of me?" 

Brendan shook his head.

"I'm the Champion of Kalos. Ya know, Calem Xavier? Savior of Kalos?" 

Most people would make a scene if they learned the sad, handsome boy they'd just met in a cafe was a Pokemon League Champion, but Brendan wasn't most people. "Ah. Cool. Yeah, being Champion can be tough. One of my friends is a Champion, and May talks a lot about escaping the paparazzi."

"May... she's your girlfriend, right?" For some reason, the boy looked a little annoyed at the prospect.

"What?! No!" May his girlfriend! What a silly thought. The whole of Hoenn knew that May was dating Wally and that Brendan was definitely not into girls. But then again, Calem wasn't part of the whole of Hoenn.

"Good, I guess." Calem said. He took a sip of his coffee and Brendan followed suit. He shuddered. This stuff really was disgusting. "So, if you really don't have ulterior motives... er... what do you want to talk about?"

Brendan pondered for a moment. "So... why do you need cheering up, exactly?"

They talked. They talked for hours. Brendan learned a lot about Calem: how he had a strange obsession with finding weird ways to die, how he was deathly terrified of Beedrill, how he thought his friend was in love with him but he didn't feel the same way. Brendan told Calem things, too: how May and Wally pranked the League last year, how he was in Kalos for vacation, how his dad was so busy with professor stuff and they hadn't had a real conversation in about a year. 

"It's getting late," Calem said, after a few solid hours of talking. "I think you should probably get going." Brendan stood up, but Calem grabbed him by the sleeve. A blush was slowly spreading across Calem's face. "Er... before you go, Brendan... well... you seem pretty cool, and you're fun to talk too, unlike some people, so...how about we meet up some time later? At... Cafe Soleil... like a... like a... like a..."

"Like a date?" Brendan asked. Calem nodded, his face becoming even redder. "Sure thing! I'd love to get to know you better! See you at Cafe Soleil tomorrow at..."

"10 at night would be nice."

Brendan grinned widely. It wasn't everyday he got asked out on dates by handsome strangers he met in sad little cafes. "It's a date!"

Kalos was certainly a wonderful place.