Greetings once again, Earthlings! This is my very first attempt at a RHPS multi-chap. It was supposed to be a one-shot, but now I think it will be at least a three-shot. I wanted to write some Eddie and Columbia since I primarily ship her with him (though I can't resist a little bit of Frank in the beginning and even some Riff-I can't help it; she's so shippable!) So here it is-reviews would be greatly appreciated! I've only written for each of them very briefly in my music shuffle challenge, which had little dialogue and no real concept to it. Even though the genres are "Drama" and "Romance", there is some humor too. There will be some Frank later on and possible Riff and Magenta. Oh, and I got stumped for a title, which is what resulted in the lyrics from Rose Tint My World. I own nothing; all characters belong to the wonderful Richard O' Brien!
With one quick circling motion around her head, Columbia sprayed the fine mist from her large can of hairspray evenly throughout her reddish-pink bob to hold it in place. She carefully went to secure the cap back on when her elbow knocked the palette of purple eye shadow to the tiled floor with a loud clatter. "Shoot!" She seethed through her teeth, retrieving it quickly and taking a second to make sure there were no footsteps outside. Finally able to relax, she turned to applying her lipstick. Moments later, a loud knock at the bathroom door jerked her hand upward in a nervous reaction and smeared the orangey color up onto the tip of her nose. She quickly covered her mouth and tried not to breathe too heavily, certain that she would hear Frank's voice come booming through the paneling any second, demanding to be let in. But her fears were soon alleviated when a much softer and American-accented voice whispered instead.
"Columbia? You in there?"
She sighed in relief and slowly turned the knob on the bathroom door, opening it to find Eddie, her accomplice in this plan, and of course; secret admirer from the Frankenstein Place. Tonight was huge for her. She would be performing a tap routine for a variety show at a dance hall in Denton, and Eddie planned to come and watch. If Frank knew any of this, he would be enraged and put a stop to it immediately. It was the first time they had attempted any kind of "date" outside the castle walls.
"Eddie, look what you made me do! I thought we agreed on a code knock! You scared me half to death!"
Eddie tried to hide his smirk upon seeing her smeared lipstick.
"Sorry dollface", he mused while reaching out a thumb to carefully wipe the excess lipstick away. "But you know, ya still looked foxy anyway", he adds with a sly wink. Columbia blushes, thankful to have already applied her heavy rouge. "Aw, you big hunk, come here!" She can't help but hide the slight squeal to her voice this time, even while whispering, and grabs hold of Eddie's ivory scarf as he cups the back of her neck. Their lips meet for a soft, but deep- and quiet- kiss. As they pull away, Columbia now stifles her own laughter, realizing she has left quite a bit of the fresh orangey tint on Eddie's mouth in the process.
"What?" he asks, eyebrows raised.
Columbia slowly opens the bathroom door so that he can see his reflection in the mirror.
"Consider it payback!" She whispers playfully as she grabs a tissue and begins to wipe it off.
"'Lumbia, I can't get past Frank with your lipstick on!" Eddie hisses, now concerned and trying to help her wipe with another tissue lying on the sink.
Columbia momentarily furrows her brow in worry, but succeeds in helping remove the color.
"There, it's all gone. See?" She motions back to the mirror, where they both automatically glance at their reflection. Eddie sighs in relief, and runs a hand through his outermost wave of coiffed jet-black hair for good measure. Columbia is relieved to find that her black silk bathrobe is still tied tightly enough to hide her costume for the big show later on. She didn't want Eddie seeing it beforehand. She hooks her arm in his and leans her head against his leather jacket sleeve, still staring straight ahead at the couple before her.
"We make a pretty good team, dontcha' think?" She inquires with a slight and brief smile, not breaking eye contact from her reflection.
Eddie stares for a second at the tiny young woman next to his hulking frame and her distant expression. She almost seems sad. And he knows why. The circumstances between them were anything but ideal. It wasn't exactly orthodox for two essential prostitutes being used and paid by the same person to date each other, much less have to sneak around in between these frequent sessions past the extremely cunning duo that was Riff Raff and Magenta. Eddie had his own room on the second floor, so he had it much easier than Columbia-she was always making excuses for leaving her and Magenta's room early or arriving late; usually saying that Frank had requested her presence or had kept her much longer than he had planned. Eddie wondered if the Domestic actually believed it. Columbia was not a good liar. And Eddie avoided Magenta and her brother like the plague, usually only seeing them at dinner and struggling to not make eye contact. But he and Columbia had devised a system that worked-so far, anyway. It was to their advantage that the castle was so monstrous and had eight floors, each with several rooms, and stairs that lead to each floor, which alleviated the noise caused by taking the elevator. So far, they had never met in the same place twice. They came up with strict rules for these meetings: only whispering (which, unfortunately had put a halt to many a romantic advance; but it had only been a month, after all-and the constant string of foreplay seemed to make their involvement even more intimate and anticipatory), no personal belongings left anywhere or with the other, and always change clothes; if not shower as well, after leaving. This made sure that Frank wouldn't be able to detect the scent of either of them on the other at any time in the future. They had thought of everything.
Eddie snaps back to reality and turns to face his best-kept secret. "The best," he says as hid hands move down to her hips and pull her into his chest, her arms squeezing around his back in a tight embrace. Soon his hands go even further and he lifts her up to bring her to eye level. Columbia can't help but squeal slightly as she wraps her legs around his back and arms around his neck. Their foreheads meet, knowing that the debacle with her lipstick was enough to almost cause suspicion.
"Are ya suuure you don't want me to see that costume yet doll?" Eddie begs with the tone of an impatient child.
"I'm sure! Wait until the show, huh?" Columbia smilingly whispers as she pulls back to speak to his pouty expression. "You're gonna love it", she adds with a wink.
"Oh, I never doubted that, babe!" Eddie says with raised eyebrows as he leans back in. He carefully presses a kiss to the side of her neck, then her jawline, her cheek, her ear, and finally, her forehead as she sighs in delight. "You're gonna knock 'em dead out there," He says sincerely as he lowers her back to the ground in her sock feet, glancing over at the sparkly tap shoes sitting in the corner, waiting to come to life.
"But first I have to finish getting ready!" Columbia insists, holding up her gold reflective tube of lipstick before turning to re-apply it. Eddie watches her precision application for a moment, taking in her beauty. When she finishes, she looks up to find that he has vanished. Confused, she sticks her head cautiously out of the opening into the narrow, dimly lit hallway and sees him, leaning casually against the door frame and holding a bouquet of a dozen pink roses sprinkled with multicolored glitter. Perfect for her.
Columbia gasps slightly and her eyes widen at the sight. "Eddie….they're beautiful!" She puts a hand to her chest and blinks back any tears that threaten to surface. No guy had ever gotten her flowers before. Not even Frank, back when she was a person to him and not just a toy. But she didn't want to look like a sap in front of the king of cool.
"Thank you!" She exclaims as quietly as possible while tentatively taking the bouquet, as if it might disappear into thin air if she touched it. "But I thought we agreed no presents? To be safe?" She asks.
Eddie runs a hand through that same lock of hair and shrugs. "I know, but I couldn't let my starlet go on tonight without a good luck gift!" Columbia looks at the floor, blushing again, incredulous at how utterly sweet her tough, biker, rock-n-roll boyfriend was being. But…was he really her boyfriend? He had never referred to himself as so, or to her as anything but Columbia, 'Lumbia, or any of the plethora of pet names he used frequently. So…what were they?
Columbia snapped out of her wondering trance and smiled back down at the flowers, smelling them. "I'll hide these somewhere in one of the back rooms, okay? I'd take 'em with me and show 'em off, but I don't wanna drop any petals." Eddie nodded and the pair stood silent for an awkward moment, looking around at nothing in particular. "Well..." Columbia started. "I'll see you in an hour, okay? Make sure to come in the back way at the hall. And remember, if you see Frank, Magenta, or Riff on the way out-"
Eddie then cut her off. "-Tell them I'm going to fix the pickup truck like Frank asked me to a month ago. Have to take it to a mechanic. Friend of mine."
"Right," Columbia nods. And what about me?
"I saw you earlier in passing and you were really sick. Something catching. You're gonna bed up in one of these rooms up here tonight."
"Exactly", she says. "Frank is terrified of human illnesses."
Eddie glances down the hall at the dusty clock on the peeling wallpaper. If it's correct, it is now 8:37. With a slight sigh, he glances down at his Columbia, cradling the flowers like a baby.
"You'd better get going. Don't leave anything in there. And hide those good," he says, gesturing to the bouquet. "Uh…break a leg, or whatever it is you stage people say," he adds sheepishly, taking her hand in his. "See you up there, doll." He presses a kiss to the back of her hand and turns to go.
"Wait!" Columbia whisper-yells." Eddie turns back around just in time for her to attach to him like a leech, hugging tightly. "Be careful!"
"I will", Eddie responds. He absent-mindedly leans down for a kiss.
"Lipstick!" Columbia exclaims, earning a signature groan from her leather-clad prince. She giggles lightly. "Later, I promise." Eddie smiles down at her as she turns to go clean up the bathroom and blows him a kiss.
"Later", he echoes, sliding around the corner and heading to the top of the stairs. All he had to do now was get out of the house safely and over to the dance hall. And make sure Columbia did the same. Tonight was so special to her. It would be easy…right?