Title: Different Faces of Freedom
Fandom: Rocky Horror Picture Show
Characters: Riff/Frank, Magenta
Prompt: 053. Earth.
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Ritz and Fox own all.
Frank's expression was remarkably passive as he turned from the window and threw the paper down on the table. "You wouldn't happen to have anything to do with this, would you?"
OUT WITH THE OLD, IN WITH THE NEW…
…CROWN OUR FRANKIE KING!
DOWN WITH THE OLD QUEEN!
"Ah, not me personally, but…" Before he could finish his sentence, Frank was kissing him, stealing the breath from his smoke-ravaged lungs. They both broke apart after a few seconds, gasping, and Frank was laughing, the life back in his formerly cold eyes. Riff reached up to wipe the familiar dark lipstick from his mouth, fought in vain for control of his legs, and had to sink down into the nearest plush chair. "It's a bit overly dramatic for a getaway, I suppose, but we'll make do with what we've got. I'll give you an hour." He glanced at the clock, "The main hanger all right?" Riff nodded vaguely, and Frank was gone, but Riff could hear him whooping with delight as he rounded the corner and disappeared.
He smiled. If anything was overly dramatic, it was the man he was doing all this for, but Riff supposed he could forgive that, if kisses like the one he'd just received were any part of the bargain.
Magenta was leaning on the banister outside Frank's study, humming an old Transylvanian lullaby under her breath. Riff hurried to her side, and whispered, "An hour. Is that enough time?" Magenta swore and muttered something about what Riff would ask her to do in the name of his love, before replying, "Of course, brother." Kissing the top of her head and promising himself that he would make it all up to her once they were away from here, he hurried to the main hanger to check that their ship was still in the docks.
Once there, he was more than a little surprised to see that there was a group of fellow Transsexual citizens waiting for him, chanting slogans that could only be in favor of putting Frank on the throne. As soon as they saw Riff Raff, they burst into fresh cheers, and Riff felt himself flushing. Perhaps his persuasions that Frank should replace his mother had been a bit too effective. Really, all he had meant to do was stir up supporters of the Old Queen, so that Frank would have an excuse to leave the planet, but it seemed that Frank himself still had a few faithful followers.
Ah, well. It didn't really matter in the end, he reasoned silently as he attempted to pass them on his way to the ship. Sadly, a woman with black hair that seemed intent on sticking out in every direction stopped him, a white-gloved hand on his shoulder. "Where are you going?" she shouted, "Are you and the True King going somewhere?" Damn.
"Er, yes." He admitted; there was no point in lying, was there? The men and woman gasped as one, and the woman turned toward him with eyes flashing, "Then we're coming, too…If our King is fleeing this lovely planet, how can we stay?" Riff sighed; things were getting more complicated by the minute. How the hell had they even known?
He addressed the whole group, making an effort to raise his voice beyond its customary indifferent murmur. "We're going to need larger ships, then, if all of you insist on accompanying us. Any ideas would be most appreciated." The woman responded almost immediately, "Oh, don't you worry, sir." He winced at the formality, but she ignored him, "We've got it all figured out…Don't we?" The rest of the citizens made various noises of agreement before allowing her to continue, "Come with us, and we'll show you the perfect vessel for flying our brave King from cruel persecution by his fellow countrymen!"
Biting his tongue to keep from chuckling at how many things were wrong about that one sentence, he kept pace with the woman's eager stride straight out of the hanger and down a dingy back alley. Riff wondered idly why a ship would be stored in such unsavory conditions, but he didn't have to do so long, for they soon arrived at their destination.
He looked around, and after a moment was forced to ask, "And where is the spaceship, then?" The woman burst out laughing and in a not altogether unkind manner replied, "The house is the spaceship…Or I suppose you would call it more of a transport device. And I, regrettably, haven't the faintest idea how it works, so it would be up to you to run it. Won't you come inside?"
Despite his wariness, she bowed him inside, and led him to a room full of devices that looked as though they could perhaps be coaxed into allowing the house to break free of the gravitational pull on Transsexual and drift off into space.
"It is a bit overly dramatic..." He began, grinning as Frank's words came to him again, "But we'll make do with what we've got."
Magenta and Frank both followed him willingly enough, each lugging various items that they couldn't bear to leave behind on their home planet. As soon as they were all beyond the threshold and standing on the threadbare carpet of the foyer, the door swung shut behind them on screeching hinges and Riff hurried back toward the first room.
The controls weren't terribly difficult to work, once you got right down to it, and Riff was able to ease the house off the ground without trouble. He supposed that the house's destination had already been determined, and so all he could do was wait and see where they would end up.
It took him a relatively short time to find Frank, his lithe form draped casually across what could only be his throne. Except that it wasn't his. Carved in the chair's scalloped back, Riff knew he would find the insignia of the Great Furter, the Old Queen.
"You've got no right—" The words out of his mouth before he thought, and Frank raised a dark brow, as if daring him to continue. He swallowed. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean…" Words fled from him as Frank came down the steps toward him, arms crossed across his chest, and his voice was as dark and emotionless as the void of space that spun by outside the window, "I've got every right, understand? My mother isn't here, and that gives me, and only me, the right to plant my own arse in her chair. Understand?" Riff nodded, instinctively shrinking away from Frank's disconcertingly serious glare. He took the first opportunity he got to back out of the room, clenching his teeth against the rebellious words that threatened to spill from his lips.
Perhaps fleeing Transsexual hadn't been the answer, he thought grimly as he stared out the window at the blue speck that the house was plummeting towards. But then again, how did one solution solve this many problems?