Title: Inflation
Author: Shadow/Phantomness
Pairing: Championshipping (Lance x Red)
Fandom: Pokémon
Theme: #14, Inflation
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Pokemon belongs to Nintendo and Shogakukan Comics. This non-profit, non-copyright infringing fanfiction belongs to me under international copyright laws and taking it is plagiarism. Thank you. *Phantomness bows*

Notes: <> for telepathy, ** for thoughts, italics if a pokemon talks

Warnings: AU, het, prostitution

 

            Red never tells the Madame this, but there’s only one customer she really likes to service. After she saw Yellow starved and beaten for two weeks for her refusal to take an old man, she knew to keep his mouth shut. It was very instructive.

            Besides, all of the other children had to work harder to make up for the loss in profits when the customers found their favorite plaything gone, so no one really likes Yellow much.

            Red doesn’t want to end up in the same position.

            But in any case, her family needs money somehow, and as the youngest child it’s all right if she’s sent out – they have two older boys who need the cash, and since Pokemon Journeys are so expensive she’ll never be able to leave.

            Honor. Pride. Duty. They rankle, and worst of all is the fact that daughters are worthless because they cannot carry on the family name. Her family needs to save face, and who cares about girls anyway?

Those are awful words. Red hates them, because she thinks of her brothers getting fat off her blood, and it really makes her so angry.

            But having the Champion around makes it better.

 

            The Champion always pays for her, usually for a week at a stretch, and takes her away, which is nice, because she really hates the brothel. It smells of strong perfume and lots of other things she doesn’t want to remember, and the bright garish decorations hurt her sensitive eyes.

            The Champion will wash her hair, and it’s almost gentle, and it makes her cry, because she’s always afraid that one day the Champion will turn out to be just like the others, and hurt her terribly, but it hasn’t happened yet. And then the Champion will dress her in comfortable clothing that doesn’t show off all her skin like a cheap whore, and they’ll have lunch, and she will have the afternoon to herself, to do whatever she wants, and after dinner the Champion will take her.

            The Champion has pretty Pokemon, lots of them, and Red likes to play with them, and sometimes, she pretends that they’re hers, too, and she wonders, what things would have been like if money wasn’t so dear and journeys so expensive.

            She doesn’t like to think about it too much, because it makes her sad. And crying doesn’t help at all, because she’s still dirty.

 

            The Champion is a handsome man, compared to most of the others. He has long hair like a girl’s, dark red, and Red likes to run her fingers through it. He has eyes that are beautiful gold, and he’s nice. He even makes it not hurt, though she isn’t quite sure how.

            Sometimes, he takes Red outside, to different places, and she will get to pretend for an afternoon that she’s just an ordinary child. They go to the beach, and to carnivals, and she’s always enthusiastic afterwards.

             None of the others ever did anything like this.

            If this is all the kindness a slut can have, she’ll drink in as much as she can. Maybe, this is even love, as much as someone can love her kind.

            She’s not sure, but she feels just a little bit better now.

 

            One night, Red is lying in the Champion’s arms, almost asleep, when someone climbs in the window with a gun, and Red panics, and the Champion slips out of bed calmly and as the moon peeks out from behind a cloud Red recognizes her older brother Jeffrey and feels anger.

            … Especially when Jeffrey tries to hurt her man!

            Red isn’t strong, but she picks up the alarm clock, and takes aim, and manages to hit Jeffrey, who falls down. The gun goes off, but it doesn’t hit anyone, and then the Champion whispers something and his pretty dragons fly in through the window, and then they eat Jeffrey.

            She rather wishes she didn’t see that, but it turns out to be all right. The Champion comes back to bed, and holds her close, and the next day, terminates her contract with Madame.

            Without Jeffrey to support, Red no longer has to work there, and she’s happy. The Champion holds her close and kisses her, and Red responds eagerly, because now – now she can stay with him by choice.

            And Lance smiles, and runs his fingers through dark hair, and wonders.

            And the next day, he marries her.

 

End Fic

Completed 1/7/07

Edited 6/1/09

Inflation is an increase in the overall level of prices in the economy (Brief Principles of Macroeconomics, 4th Edition by N. Gregory Mankiw)

 

I credit MidKnight2501, who wrote an Untitled Snape/Harry fic that involved prostitute Harry for inspiring me.