Title: Loss
Author: Shadow/Phantomness
Pairing: Championshipping (Lance x Red)
Fandom: Pokémon
Theme: #38, Unemployment
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. Game-verse

Warnings: AU, het

 

            The sound of breaking glass reached Red’s ears as he entered the room, and he winced. Lance was in a bad mood again, and it was always safe to stay on the sidelines. He could never be quite sure how the Dragon Master would react, but he was fairly sure Lance wouldn’t hurt him on purpose. Still…

            He blinked as she stalked out, with an armful of crystal goblets. His wife’s eyes were a furious, blazing gold, and Red stared, torn between fleeing or … oh Mew, but Lance was hot when she was angry…

            Although, now was probably not the best time to bring it up. She might throw something at him as well.

 

            “They fired Lorelei!” Lance hissed. She punctuated each statement with a glass thrown in the direction of her office. Red interpreted it as anger towards President Goodman, and he nodded. “They fired her, Red! Why in Lugia’s name would they do that? She’s a much better trainer than Bruno, that disgusting prick, but maybe he and President Goodman are shagging. It would certainly explain why he always seems to avoid trouble.”

 

            Red choked, not liking the mental image, and briefly wondered who would be on top before he sighed. “Is it that bad?”

            Lance shrugged. “Well, she is my cousin. And I daresay I have some… prejudices towards the fighting type Trainer.” Her lip curled up in a contemptuous snarl, and Red nodded. He had to agree that he shared them.

            “Well, at least you weren’t the one that got fired, ne?”

            She sighed. “Yes…”

            “And besides, I don’t think you want to spend the rest of the afternoon picking up shattered glass. There are better things to do.” Red prompted.

 

            Lance smirked. He had a point, there. “Are you offering yourself, Champion?”

            “Perhaps,” Red purred.

            “Well, in that case…” She flicked her fingers, watching as blue light spread over the floor and pooled in the next room, shattered glass reforming into perfect glassware once again. Having psychic power was so handy, and she was one of the most experienced, though it was not common knowledge.

“Perhaps we should adjourn to the bedroom?”

 

            Red grinned and hugged Lance tightly. “I’m sorry about Lorelei.”

            “It’s not your fault.” She sighed. “I didn’t hit you by accident, did I?”

            He shook his head.

            “Then why don’t you just dispose of Goodman?”

            “Too much trouble,” She drawled. “Besides, I’d rather remove Bruno first.”

            He nodded. “He keeps staring at us. That’s really disgusting.”

            The Dragon Master nodded, half-listening, as she pushed the door to their bedroom open. She kissed her husband, who squirmed happily, before they made it to the bed and things took off from there.

 

            The next morning, President Goodman was quite stunned when he found three resignation letters sitting on his desk. They were all coached in very polite terms, but the fact that he had just lost his Elite and Champion was devastating.

            Had firing Lorelei been a mistake?

            He wasn’t sure, and though he was marginally grateful Bruno had remained, the man truthfully was the weakest of the Elite Four. Now what would he do, without their power to control?

            Goodman cursed fluently, poured himself a large measure of brandy, and gulped it down.

 

            “Yes…” Lance whispered, watching the security cameras in Goodman’s office. “Feel the despair. The end will come for you soon enough.”

            Red smirked. “I hope his liver rots.”

            “Oh, it will,” Lance grinned. “And it is only what he deserves.”

            And he agreed. 

 

End Fic

Completed 1/20/07

Edited 9/29/09

I’m not even sure why I chose to do this theme, except that it’s one of the chapters on my final… *Glare* Anyways, Unemployment = the Natural Rate of Unemployment, the normal rate of unemployment around which the unemployment rate fluctuates, that never goes away in the long run, plus the Cyclical Unemployment, which is short-run fluctuations around the natural rate caused by business cycles. (Brief Principles of Macroeconomics, 4th Edition by N. Gregory Mankiw) Of course, the other definition for unemployment is being out of a job, and there will always be some Frictional Unemployment in an economy, because it takes time for people to find a job they like. Also, Structural Unemployment is caused by wages being above the market equilibrium price, which lowers demand and causes a surplus in the supply of workers. Good grief!