6The girl shivered in the cool night air, but it wasn't just the breeze that caused this reaction. She wore only a red tube top of flimsy material, along with a skirt that barely covered anything. Of course, its job wasn't to cover much of anything; at least her legs weren't too cold, since her boots went up to above her knees.
The chill wasn't the worst part of this, she reminded herself. She kept forgetting the reason she was out here. Or maybe she was just shoving it away, into the back of her mind. She shifted uncomfortably, unconsciously pulling on her skirt to try and get it to cover more of herself.
Headlights flashed as a car rounded the corner, and she felt her heartbeat quicken. She started to pull herself into the shadows, to avoid being seen, before she remembered that the whole purpose of this was to be seen. So she swallowed and stepped a little closer to the street. She forced a smile onto her face and placed a hand on her hip.
The car slowed and pulled up alongside her. As the driver's window rolled down to reveal a middle-aged man, she felt her mouth dry out.
"Hey there, Sweetheart," he said in a thick, sugary voice. "You free for a coupla hours tonight?"
"I—I. Y-yes, I am," she managed, her already-high voice rising in pitch.
The man laughed. "Ah-ha, a newbie, hm? Newbies are my favorites…" he leered at her, and she self-consciously put a hand up to touch one of her short blonde braids. "So, how much for a coupla hours, Sweetheart?"
"T-two hundred…"
The man smirked. "Sounds fair, especially for such a pretty young thing such as yourself." He gestured for her to climb into the back seat, which she did quickly, before she could change her mind.
She needed the money, she reminded herself. This was the only way to keep her family out of the poorhouse. For them, she would do anything, including give up her innocence.
It was a nice car, fairly new and very clean. It was warm inside, and her bare legs stuck to the leather seats soon after she had seated herself. The man didn't talk to her as he drove, but she could see him watching her in his rearview mirror, a hungry look in his eyes.
She shivered again, and this time it certainly wasn't from the cold. She could do this. She had to do this—her family was counting on her, whether they knew it or not. She had to do it, for her parents, and for her little sisters…
The car ride was short, and they were soon pulling up alongside another sidewalk, in a neighborhood fancier than any she'd be likely to ever live in. Though night had fallen a few hours ago, the neighborhood seemed to be wide awake. Lights were on in nearly all the houses and, when the man opened the door, she could hear laughter and music.
If she'd been here under different circumstances, she would have found the joyful sounds pleasant, but as it was, they just made her feel even sicker than before.
The man took her arm and pulled her none-too-gently to her feet. "What's your name, Sweetheart?" he asked, pulling her to his chest.
"I-I'm Lilli," she replied, attempting to keep her voice level.
"Hmm," he hummed, pressing hungry kisses along her jaw. "What a pretty name…well, c'mon, girl, time's a-wastin'."
She was half-dragged, half-carried up the driveway, the man ravishing her flesh with his lips. As they ascended the steps to his front door, she squeezed her eyes shut and let out a whimper. She couldn't do this! She couldn't do it! There must be some other way to help her family, something else that she had yet to try! Something that wasn't this!
The man mistook her whimper of fear for one of pleasure. "You like that, huh?" he asked, nipping at her neck. "Well, don'tcha worry…there's plenty more where that came from."
"No," she whispered. "I-I can't do this." She started to pull away from him, pushing against his wide chest with her tiny hands.
"No? What do you mean 'no,' girl?" The man glared at her, tightening his hold. "I paid you, didn't I? You can't back out now, you little whore!"
"I—I'm sorry! Here!" She handed him the two bills. "Here's your money back! I'm sorry, I just can't-!"
He knocked the money out of her hand. "Shut up," he growled. "You agreed to come with me, and now we're going to fuck, whether you like it or not!" He gripped her chin and pulled her lips to his, kissing her forcefully and biting her lip.
She beat at him with her fists, screaming into his mouth and flailing her limbs in an attempt to break away. She'd thought she could deal with this, thought that she could do anything for her family, but she was wrong.
"Stop struggling!" he growled into her ear as he paused for breath. "You'll enjoy it as much I will, y'know!"
"No! No, stop! Please!"
"HEY!"
They both stopped and turned toward the source of the new voice. A young blond man stood in the middle of the lawn, breathing heavily. "Let the girl go," he said, glaring at the man.
"Or what?" the man asked, smirking. He leaned in to kiss Lilli again, and she cringed away with a small cry.
"Or this!" The blond man reached into his coat and pulled out a pistol, cocking it and aiming directly at the solicitor's head.
He released her quickly, throwing his hands up in surrender, and she stumbled back, nearly tripping and falling over the side of the porch. Lilli caught her balance and flung herself away from him, accidentally kicking the money on her way past and sending it fluttering to the bottom step.
The blond man waved her toward him, never once taking his eye—or his gun—off of the man. "You're shit, Mansfeld. Utter shit." Once Lilli was safely behind him, he lowered his gun. "Shooting you would be a waste of bullets." He turned to Lilli and frowned. "Are you okay? Did he hurt you?" His voice had taken on a somewhat softer tone.
Lilli nodded—shook her head—nodded again. Tears crept out of the corners of her eyes, and she felt her lip quiver.
Ignoring the incoherent protestations of the man on the porch, the blond man put a gentle hand on her arm and led her away. "It's okay now," he said soothingly. "He can't hurt you. I'll take care of you, I promise. Tell me where you live, and I'll take you home."
"I—I—thank you," she said, swiping at her face as she felt her heavy makeup run. "You didn't have to, but—"
"It was the right thing to do. You can't just leave a fellow human in a situation like that." He looked down. "Not without becoming a monster. Here, this is my car. I'll take you home, if you want." He opened the passenger-side door of the old beater for her.
Lilli hesitated. Maybe this man wasn't really a hero…maybe he wanted the same thing as that man had. She glanced at him, and his brow furrowed. Gently, he placed a hand on her shoulder.
"I'm not going to hurt you," he said in a stern, yet calming voice. "My name is Vash, and I don't know why you're here, or what your situation is, but I just want to help you. Okay?"
She looked into his eyes and, despite the darkness, she could somehow sense that they truly held no ill will toward her in their green depths. She nodded once and slid into the car, carefully crossing her legs to hide anything that might show.
As he started up the car, he saw him glance at her out of the corner of his eye. "Where am I taking you?" he asked.
"U-um…I live on Bradford Street," she said. She glanced away. She should have gone through with it. Two hundred dollars! That would have fed her family for a few days, and they would have been able to pay off some of their debt! She bit her lip in worry before pulling back, remembering how that man had done the same thing. She couldn't have gone through with it! But she should have. I'm just cowardly and selfish…
"You know," said Vash suddenly, breaking the uneasy silence. "Like I said before, I don't really know your situation…but I'm sure there's something else you could do, couldn't you? Something besides selling yourself on the streets?"
She felt herself blush. "I…I tried other things," she said, her voice a mere whisper. "When my family fell into debt, I tried to get a job at the café near our house…but they wouldn't hire me. I tried other places, too, but none of them wanted me there. I tried selling flowers at the farmer's market, but no one would buy them.
"And then my father started talking about putting my little sisters up for adoption. He said we couldn't afford to take care of them anymore. But I couldn't let them separate us! I'd never see them again!" Her voice rose just slightly at that. "…And the only thing left for me to do was t-to go out on the streets. It was my last resort, but…I had to do it." Lilli felt her eyes fill with tears again, and she angrily swiped at them. "But I couldn't do it…I couldn't even go through with it, because I was too scared and I was too selfish!"
It was quiet for a while longer, with just the rattle of the engine and the clicking of the turn signal. Then Vash said, "It's not selfish to think about yourself sometimes. Think about it. If you had gone through with it, then you would have made a habit of it. You would have been out on the streets every night, hopping from one man's bed to the next." Lilli flinched at the thought. "Your little sisters wouldn't have been able to look up to you, and you would have taken that away from them. In the long run, your decision to run was for the best. You should never be afraid to flee if the situation's too tough." He smiled slightly at her, and then looked back at the road. "This is Bradford Street. Where do you need me to pull up?"
Lilli looked up from where she'd been staring at her hands folded in her lap. "Oh…right there, in front of that little yellow house." She gestured at the smallest house on the street, its yellow hue bright even in the darkness.
Vash parked the old car in front of the house and got out, opening the door for her again. As she stood, carefully avoiding his eyes, he gently took one of her petite hands in both of his. "Your name is Lilli, right?"
She nodded, feeling one of the marks on her neck stretch painfully.
"Okay, Lilli. Take this." He pressed something into her hand, but she couldn't tell what it was, as he still held onto her. "I know it's not much, but it's all I can do for now. I know how it is to feel so desperate and poor, and I promise you that you will get through this. I'll come back soon. I want to help you through this, okay?"
She looked at him, startled. "Why…why are you doing this?" Did he want…compensation? He'd said that he wouldn't hurt her, but maybe he…?
"I told you. It's the right thing to do." He released her hand and gently touched her swollen lip. "No one should go through this kind of thing alone."
Her eyes filled again, but this time she didn't brush them away. They were tears of thankfulness, tears of joy. "Thank you," she whispered again. "Thank you, big brother." She leaned forward and shyly pressed her lips to his cheek. "Thank you."
He smiled again and pulled away. "You don't need to thank me. It's what any human would do. Goodbye for now, Lilli. I'll see you soon."
She stared after him in the darkness, long after his taillights had disappeared, feeling, for the first time in a long while, a bud of hope bloom in her chest. She looked down at the $20 bill in her hand and smiled.
Her family would be okay. With the help of her new big brother, everything would turn out alright.
AN: My second Hetalia fic...and this one's not comedy! :o
Anyway, this was an AU I thought of while watching the English version of Hetalia (I'd previously only watched the Japanese version and WHOA the differences!). I guess it was mostly due to Liechtenstein's being in an alley...and what happens in allies?
Feel free to write something for this AU, because I'd love to read them! There really needs to be more SwissLiech anyway, whether it's romance or not.
I think I'm done with this story, but I might write more at some point, if anyone would be interested...
Please review! Let me know what I can do better!