Gladion was a man of science, and love, in essence, was a scientific process.

From neurotransmitters, to hormones, science had proven from time-to-time again that love was merely the human body seeking reproduction. A chain of chemical reactions. A connection through the senses.

Love was scientific, and love at first sight wasn't real...

Or so Gladion thought.

It was his first time at the ground-level cafe, a place he typically avoided due to the fact that all the Aether employees under his jurisdiction would stop by here. And the evidence of their lollygagging was clear as the line he was standing in was moving at a Slowpoke's pace.

A tsk escapes him as he glances down at his watch, 10 minutes have passed. He could leave and accept his faith, but his willpower to push through the day was long gone. After several lengthy meetings and frustrating board members, he needed resurgence, a will to live, he needed coffee like his brain needed oxygen, even if the line to obtain his source of life would be his undoing.

But it's when he lifts his eyes that suddenly time doesn't seem to run so dreadfully slowly. By the order window was a girl, maybe a year or two younger than him, as assumed by her choice of clothes. Her short black hair fell in the most precise of ways as it adorned her soft facial features. Her nails had a slight glitter to them that caught the sun's reflection as she flipped through a magazine. Her mouth absentmindedly chewed on a straw that made her coffee, from this very shop, seem like the best coffee in all of Alola.

Could that drink really be that good, Gladion whispers when his train of thought is interrupted by clear, gray eyes locking onto his. In a quick moment of panic Gladion looks away, flustered and overwhelmed, as he rubs his sweaty palms alongside his pants. Silently berating himself he steps forward, noting the line had moved slightly up, before he finds his head turning towards her again.

"Excuse me sir-"

She had changed positions. Her head resting on the palm of her propped arm as she casually continued to read. Gladion could feel his heart increasing in pace as the desire to just talk to her grew-

"President Gladion-"

His head turns towards the cashier who was giving him a smile, albeit a forced one, before saying in a practiced customer service voice, "would you like to order?"

' Oh. Right. Coffee…' Gladion recalls as he steps forward before opening his mouth and realizing. He didn't actually know what to order. He mutters a quick apology as his eyes glance towards the menu, fighting the temptation to glance at the stranger right beyond the propped sandwich board.

"Her name's Moon."

Gladion looks at the cashier with a furrowed brow, unsure of what he, Hau as written on the nametag, was referring to. "The girl to my left. The one you're entranced with. Her name's Moon," he repeats with a more genuine smile. "She works morning shifts before me."

It took every fiber of Gladion's being to not hastily deny his claim, to not scoff away the hint given to him by an overly friend stranger. ' Friends, probably ,' Gladion assumed as he finally came to and brushed aside Hau's hint to place an order. Iced Americano, like her. Large, two extra shots, for his own good. $6.50 plus a 50 dollar tip Gladion threw in for good measure.

But as he picked up his drink he glanced at her once more, noting her own eyes on him and the blush gracing her features as she looked away hastily.

Love at first sight wasn't scientifically proven, that was for sure, but maybe Gladion could do something to change that starting with Moon and a cup of coffee.