Disclaimer: I don't own RHPS, it belongs to Richard O'Brien. All I have is this humble fic, which is my love-letter to him

Together they go back to Riff and Magenta's room. Janet is lying on the foot of the bed, curled into the fetal position. Riff-Raff is sitting next to her, working on repairing his invention. Neither one takes any notice of Brad. Magenta cuddles up with her brother.

"Maybe I should call Mom. She might know what to do," Janet suggests.

"What if she doesn't wish to remember? Forcing her would be unwise," Riff advises. "No, we'll have to wait until we have you girls sorted out before we contact her." He smiles down at Magenta, tracing her face, "And you're not helping things there."

"How can I help?" She asks earnestly, "I want to be me again, even if I do frighten the locals." She holds the device steady between her legs and holds a magnifying glass over the open part. Janet turns and sees Brad in the doorway, before ducking her head to hide her face.

"Hey, don't. Look at me, Janet. Please look at me," he coaxes. He cups her jaw in his hand, tilting her chin up. "I'm sorry I said those things. This has been a lot for me to take, understand? I'm still willing to stick it out. I didn't mean to be hurtful, but this is crazy!" Brad's attempt at being understanding topples as frustration takes hold. He looks down for a moment, the minute he stops and actually thinks about the situation he's in he finds himself thoroughly out of his depth. But he's helpless, and in love, and that fact once again wins out. He looks back up at her, drawing a finger down her cheek and down her neck as she shudders with desire. What neither of them currently realizes is that Transylvanians by nature are impossible to resist. Without knowing it, Janet draws her fiancé as the moon draws the tide. With a look of sheepish apology he finds himself lost in her otherworldly eyes. "Dammit, Janet, I love you," Brad whispers. Hearing him repeat the words of his proposal is all it takes to break Janet's resolve. She laughs in relief as Brad joins the trio on the bed, content that all is well between them.

A moment later there's a knock at the door, bringing them all back to reality. Brad gets up to pay the delivery guy and returns with a brown bag of Chinese. He hands around the cardboard cartons, Riff and Magenta exchange looks.

"It's all right. I think you'll like it."

Again, their eyes meet significantly, giving Brad the impression that they can read each other's minds. He fumbles with his chopsticks and eats out of one of the containers, proving it isn't poisoned. Magenta copies him, dipping her fingers into his container and bringing them to her mouth. Her face instantly lights up and she digs in for another handful of noodles. She giggles in pure rapture.

"Riff, try it!"

"You're sure it's safe?" He asks cautiously.

"It's like Grandma Drusilla's frog guts!"

At this, the other two Transylvanians grab at it, knocking Brad off the bed again. He watches them fight, as they end up feeding each other, cackling madly.

"Frog guts," he mutters to himself in wonder at his strange new family. Janet reaches over and pulls him back up with the rest of the party. She cuddles up to him, as their laughter fades to homesickness. He holds her tightly, listening to her melancholy sighs, stroking her hair, smoothing it down.

Riff and Magenta begin to curiously investigate the remaining cartons. While none of the rest inspires such an emotional response as the first, it all goes over well. After it's all gone the four of them cuddle some more.

"Oh, Brad, I vas so vorried. I thought you didn't love me anymore. And…I vas kind of scared that you'd like Magenta better…especially…" Janet indicates her appearance. Brad doesn't answer; instead he scoops her up in his arms and carries her to his bedroom. He drops her down on the bed; she hops back up and undresses, changing into one of the nightgowns Brad had picked up from her place. Brad watches with interest, torn between arousal and uncertainty. Janet guesses his train of thought with a wicked grin, and she lets him off the hook.

"I don't think ve should tonight. You may not be up to it; you've vorked hard enough today."

Back in Riff and Magenta's room, they've turned out the lights; Magenta shifts restlessly, letting her brother spoon behind her. Since this is largely how she'd spent her day, naturally she isn't going to settle down right away. She looks around the room, all cast in bizarre shadows from the pale glow of the moon. After an hour of finding shadow shapes as one might watch clouds creep across the sky, she drifts off to a light sleep. When she wakes again, the moon is hidden and the room is completely black. Magenta stiffens in surprise, drawing a breath of discovery. "Riff-Raff! Riff! Wake up!" She reaches behind her and shakes him insistently.

"Hmm?"

"I can see in the dark!"

"Mm, couldn't you before?" He yawns.

"No," she whispers earnestly, "not in this body anyway. She was turned into a human, remember? She would have been blind!"

"I see. Good thing I fixed it. Bet Majors won't be pleased."

Magenta rolls over in his arms, facing him. "He'll live with it. It doesn't affect him. I'm so happy she'll have that back. I hope her complexion improves, she's so pink!"

"Magenter, dearest? Shut up." And he goes straight back to sleep.

Brad isn't finding sleep any easier than Magenta; he lies awake thinking about his and Janet's situation. "Why didn't I see it before?" He asks himself. Even her behavior at the castle should have made it clear what she is. When they'd first arrived and rang the bell she'd been extremely apprehensive, and when Riff-Raff had answered the door he and Janet couldn't take their eyes off of each other. Her terrified scream at Frank's arrival would be considered an overreaction, unless she'd somehow known him sometime in the past. So many things pointed to a fact that had to be spelled out to him: the woman he loves is an alien. Her spontaneous applause at Frank's creation speech, down to how she'd navigated the castle so easily, even in her distraught state. "Why didn't I see it before?" Brad demands of himself, secretly ashamed that to a small part of him it still matters. She'd assured him that nothing important had changed, still he wonders. What would they do if anyone found out? Brad tries to get that part of his mind to shut up, when, unbidden, he remembers the words she'd sung at the floorshow. Hers were words of exultation while he could only sing of his confusion. Finally, sleep steals upon him, sweeping him into an unsettling dream:

He and Janet stand together in a tunnel with a blue light shining through one end. Janet is wearing a corset with a garter belt, fishnets, and 5" heels. She smiles brightly and tries to pull him along towards the light.

"Come! Come with me!"

Brad hangs back, trying to pull her back to him as well, "No, stay with me."

"It's all right, Brad! Come on! It'll be fine, come with me!"

"Janet, no…stay, please stay!" Everything goes black, leaving him alone in the dark. "Come back!" He calls into the void, "Come back, Janet, don't leave me."

In the waking world, Janet hears Brad talking in his sleep. She wraps herself around him whispering in his ear. "I'm here, I'm right here, Brad." She kisses his neck, waking him up. He comes face to face with Janet, still bearing her sister's appearance. He flinches with a disoriented gasp. The room is enshrouded in total darkness, he asks falteringly,

"J-Janet?"

She takes one of his hands and presses it to her cheek. "Yes, it's me."

He twists around in the direction of her voice, still haunted by his dream. "Brad, don't look at me like that. It's still me, understand?"

"You…you can see me? I can't see a thing."

Janet chuckles softly in Magenta's low, almost sinister laugh. "Night vision. This is vonderful! I haven't been able to see in the dark for years. You look frightened. Vas it a nightmare?" She runs her hand through his hair, cuddling up to him. He reaches over and turns on a lamp, temporarily blinding them both with the sudden light. Brad slips on his glasses, blinking away spots while Janet is still covering her face.

"Brad, please…" she gasps, nursing her sensitive eyes. He sits up, blocking the direct light, curiously pulling one of her hands away. She slowly removes the other, and finally she looks at him. . "The light…hurts my eyes," she whispers, "I'll be all right, just give me a minute."

"Sorry, I should've known. I wasn't thinking."

"Don't vorry, there's no reason you should have known. This is all new for both of us."

"And you like it." It almost sounds like an accusation.

"And you don't." She sits up with him, fidgeting in her nervousness, "I don't vant this to be normal for us, Brad. Alvays vondering if you've had enough. Alvays afraid something vill make you stop loving me. I hope…we can be together on this. I can't help what's happened to me, what's still happening to me, but nothing is so critical that is should come betveen us." She stops, covering her mouth; Brad had been flinching at every 'v' sound to cross her lips. "I can't help it."

Brad steadies himself with a deep breath, traces her bottom lip with his thumb with a faltering smile. "I know, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you think that. I don't want that for us either. Everything is just so…different. It just takes time to get used to. Can you see all right? Is it better now?" She nods, now with a hungry look in her eyes. She scoots closer to him, leaning in to kiss him while he reflexively moves away.

"Do I scare you?"

Brad kicks himself for being so stupid, and closes the gap between them, kissing her on the mouth. She stiffens for a second, then flows into it, intensifying it. Her sudden rush of lust is a palpable essence, drawing Brad in further. She guides his hands over her body, moaning in delight. Before they get carried away, however, Janet cuts it short. They gaze at each other, mystified.

"What was that?" they ask in unison.

Brad looks her up and down, her hypnotic spell still lingering on his brain, "Did…you do that?"

She shrinks back, suddenly ashamed and frightened, as is becoming her habit when accused of doing something 'alien'. "I…I think so. Did you like it?"

"Like it?! Janet…just turn it off if you can, whatever that is. I can't think straight."

"But did you like it? Tell the truth."

"Well, yes, I did. But--"

Janet puts her hand over his mouth with a reassuring smile, "You like it? Oh, good. I'm so happy you said that, Brad. You see? Not everything different has to be scary. Some changes are nice." She presses herself into his arms, keeping a lid on her irresistible charm. "You're not angry, are you?"

"No, I'm not angry. Just promise me you won't use…whatever that was unless it's called for."

"You think I'd use my 'powers' against you?"

"I wouldn't call it a power, Janet."

"All right, how about old world charm?" She giggles into his neck, writhing against him as she deals a more controlled dose.

Now that he knows what to expect, Brad's on to her this time. "Janet...s-stop it. Come on, that's not…fair," he forces out with effort. He moans pleasurably and gives in to her strange new influence. "We're going to have to talk about this," he murmurs languidly, kissing down to her navel. Janet senses the seriousness of the situation and slackens her hold on him, sliding back to neutral mode. She sits back up, playing with Brad's mussed-up hair.

"This does explain a few things about that night. How he vas able to draw us in so easily. I promise I'll never use it like that. He must have found a vay to…I don't know, concentrate it or something. Use it like a drug to lure humans…that must've been how ve ended up on that stage. I remember…I couldn't stop myself, I remember being under his control. Looking back, it's frightening, but at the time it felt…so right, just perfectly natural. Such a strange happy feeling. Vas it like that for you?"

Brad sits back up, shaking his head in self-disgust, grateful in a macabre way that Janet had still been a statue during his little solo. "No. And it wasn't like…with you, either. I was fighting it as hard as I could at first, but like you said, I couldn't stop myself, and I gave up soon enough. Things get foggy at that point, but what I do remember isn't exactly flattering."

Janet cuddles up to him, with her head against his chest, "Do you trust me? Not to do that to you, I mean."

Brad looks at her with a dry chuckle, "You're comparing yourself to Frank? Don't be silly. Look, I want you to know this now, in case I forget sometime: I love you, and it doesn't matter what planet you come from, or what you look like, or any of that. You're not a monster, Janet."

"I hope we can both remember that," she adds.

A worried frown darkens Brad's expression, "So, you're expecting more things…to change?"

Janet straightens up, giving him a mournful look. "I don't vant to frighten you. Although it might be a bit late for that. I promise, whatever happens, it's still me. Try to understand. I don't expect you to right away, but you're doing better."

"I am trying."

"I'll probably lose some color, and I'll be more light-sensitive. That's how we evolved; Transexual is a virtually sunless planet. It receives the warmth from the sun, but we're always in shadow."

"Magenta told me you'd get the day off school on days the light reached you," Brad recalls. "Your version of a snow day."

"Yes," Janet laughs softly at the comparison, pleased that Brad is looking for similarities between their races—and finding them. "It didn't happen too often, usually it was vintertime on days it did. It always made Mother anxious. It was our job to secure the drapes throughout the castle, she vould be afraid that ve'd get burned. In a vay, that made it kind of fun."

"I guess scaring your parents is a universal pastime for any kids," Brad admits, relaxing somewhat. Janet and her family may be aliens, but certain things cross cultures. "So, what else do you think will…be different?"

"I can't think of anything, although I don't know everything for sure. That, a moment ago, my…"

"Old world charm?" Brad supplies.

"Yes, that. That vas unexpected. Of course, vhen I vas captured, I vas too young to have gotten it. I'd just turned 14; I probably vould have developed it vithin that year if they hadn't…done that to me."

Suddenly Brad is struck by a feeling of injustice on behalf of his fiancée, hearing it from her perspective makes it clear how violated she and her mother had been. And he'd been friends with the man who did it to her, that part makes him sick! He'd looked up to him, stayed in contact with him, even after high school. Hell, he'd been the one who'd set him up with Janet in the first place! Had there been a more sinister intent there? Had Dr. Scott hoped his loyal former student would keep an eye on his old pet project? Well, he could count him out of that equation. Unconsciously, Brad pulls her closer, protectively. He's so lost in his thoughts he hardly hears what she just said.

"Brad, are you listening? I said there might be a little surprise…once I'm me again," she alludes with a beguiling smile. "I hope I get it, anyway. It's nothing bad, just different. I hope you like it." Janet yawns and lies back down. "Let's get some sleep, okay? Things should be better tomorrow."

Instead, Brad gets out of bed, switching off the lamp. "I can't, not yet. I'm too awake. I'll just step outside for a little while; I'll be right back in a few minutes." And with that he zips his jacket up over his pjs and goes out on the porch.