A.N.: Wow, you guys really came through on the reviews, I was super flattered. More than that, it let me know that I was on the right track for this. So, enjoy the last section of author's notes (at least until the end), and the peachy goodness that follows. You guys are awesome.

Jareth's musical tastes do not reflect those of the author, and the selection (both of music and cars) was solely due to what I could find was popular around 1989. But seriously, I think you guys can probably figure out what I like by now.

I swear to God I once had a dream I owned a cafe called "Coffee Corner." My dream-business ran about as successfully as this last one did, and mine didn't even have Goblin Kings wrecking shit up for an excuse.

So, how come more fics don't have Merlin in them? Merlin's awesome! Team Sheepdog! Also, pagers, huh? Who remembers that!

The Riddle: The Girl With the Blaze in Her Eyes - Part Two

OvO

"Sarah!" Toby had launched himself at his big sister, arms wrapped around her waist, both legs around her thigh, so that he clung to her like a koala in a branch.

The young college girl nearly fell over with the weight of him – except that Jareth's hand had wrapped around her upper arm, holding her steady and observing the scene with some interest. Sarah would have been observing him right back, confused as she was, but she was rather distracted with her half brother wrapped around her leg. "Toby!" she smiled, tousling his hair. "You know Karen doesn't want you doing that."

"Toby, you know I don't want you to do that!" Karen was hurrying down the steps of the old Victorian, shaking her finger at her young son. She sighed, hands on her narrow hips as the boy slid down with a thwarted, guilty expression. "You're going to knock someone over someday and they'll break their heads open, and then how would you feel?"

"...bad?"

"Inside." The boy stomped theatrically up the steps, the shaggy dog Merlin waiting for him in the doorway, tail wagging appreciatively. Seeing his mistress, however, the old sheepdog bound across the threshold, jumping around her like he was still a puppy.

"Oh, Merlin!" Sarah knelt and hugged him close to her around the neck as his tongue gave her sloppy kisses. "I missed you too, boy." Jareth eyed the animal with a cool, displeased expression. Merlin, it seemed, felt similarly, for as soon as he'd been satisfied to get his smell all over his girl again, he gave the Goblin King one quick, peremptory stiff – and stiffened nose to tail before growling low in his throat.

"Merlin!" Karen was scolding, clucking her tongue. "Bad dog, behave!"

Merlin had never minded Karen's threats at the best of times. Now, he was as determined to protect his herd as his ancestors had been against wolves in the shadows. And this one definitely smelled like a wolf. "Woof!" His bark was low and proud, refusing to go near Jareth, barking like mad. "Woof, woof!"

"Merlin!" Karen was scolding. No, still barking. Growling now, too, hackles raised. Sarah briefly felt nervous. Jareth made a, "tsk," sound in his throat, picking up Sarah's abandoned bag and tipping his beak-like nose into the air. "Bad Merlin, garage!" He began to whine.

"Karen, no, he's just-"

Nope, still no mercy for the mutt. "Garage, Merlin." With a most pathetic whimper, the poor, defending beast dragged himself from the front yard, looking downcast the entire way to the garage door. Karen rang her hands with entreaty. "I am so sorry, Jareth!" she sighed. "I hope you won't let that dumb dog bother you while you're here."

"Merlin's not dumb!"

"Please, Mrs. Williams-"

"Karen."

"Karen," he purred, taking her hand and kissing it in greeting so that she giggled like a school girl again. Sarah groaned and rolled her eyes. "Perish the thought. I am dying to see your lovely home."

"O-oh!" she blushed, the kissed hand to her cheek. "Well! Come inside and we can take a tour and get you settled, I'm sure you're tired from the trip!"

Karen had already disappeared back into the house when Sarah made to follow – before Jareth caught her by the elbow, yanking her back to whisper in her ear even as she made a strangled noise of surprised protest. "I see your fluffy friend remembers me from the park, even in a...change of attire."

"Aren't dogs supposed to be an excellent judge of character?" Sarah hissed. The King actually grinned at her, which unsettled her deeply.

"Run away if you're scared, little girl. Or maybe..." He pulled her in closer by the elbow, so that his words drifted across her temple. "You like dangerous men."

She grimaced, struggling against his grip. "I admit you did scare me – but I'm tougher than even you think I am. So come on, keep the sexy threats coming, Goblin King."

His feral grin became a scowl. "You know, you're not half as cute as you think you are."

"And you," she snapped, at last yanking her elbow free. "Are not half so charming. Now, are you going to go wow my parents or do I have to make more wishes to get you to go away?"

"Sarah?" Karen's voice calling form the still open doorway. "Are you two coming inside?"

Jareth smoothed back his hair, settling his shoulders, and a glamor of calm, luxuriant elegance washed over him. A charmer fit to sweet talk the stars out of their paces; Sarah honestly was not sure how she felt about that. "Just keep your mongrelaway from me."

"Oh, don't you worry your fuzzy little head, Merlin will leave you alone – he only sleeps on my bed."

"Sarah!"

"We're coming!" Before Jareth could stop her, she'd snatched back her carry-all and stormed back up the stairs. Sarah took an appreciative look around. It felt strange to know she'd been gone from home for so long now, the longest she'd ever been away. There was a slight pang in her chest as she felt Jareth take his place slightly behind her; if he had his way, would she ever return again? Giving the hall a once over, Sarah asked, "Where's Dad?"

"Oh, he'll be down!" Karen assured, leading her step-daughter and her gentleman companion into the comfortably set living room, cups of hot apple cider steaming on a porcelain tray (Toby was already inside, helping himself to the snacks on the tray). "He just had to finish a few calls before the holiday weekend, you know." Brow furrowed in frustration, Karen did tilt her head over the stair banister. "Robert!" There was a muffled cry from upstairs in Mr. Williams' office, and his wife grumbled as she returned to the sitting room, smoothing a smile back over her features. "He will be right down," she insisted.

"Toby," Jareth was beginning, pulling an object from his pocket wrapped in paper napkins. "I have a gift for you." Sarah began to choke on her cider.

"Oh dear, Sarah?" Karen asked, looking concerned. "Are you alright?"

"Hot," she coughed. "It's just...hot..."

"Blow on it first, silly."

"A present? For me?" Toby's shy nature never appeared around the Goblin King, Sarah noticed. What on earth had happened while she was busy dragging herself through the Labyrinth? Boldly, the little lad pulled himself onto the sofa next to Jareth, bright blue eyes curious. "What is it?"

Jareth pushed aside the paper napkins with a flick of his fingers. "A turkey cookie, I've been told."

"Wow!" The little boy's eyes were wide, one finger delicately tracing the smooth, white icing over the bird shaped confection. He gave his mother pleading eyes. "Can I, Mom?"

Karen sighed. "I suppose...but you have to eat all of your vegetables at dinner." While this usually would have prompted severe protests, it was apparently worth the trade to Toby, and he immediately stuck the creature's head into his pink mouth. "Really, Jareth, you're spoiling him! He took that glass paper weight you gave him to show and tell."

"I'm just happy someone likes my gifts, Karen," he smiled, resting one long arm along the back of the couch so that his fingertips brushed Sarah's shoulder. She glared at him over her steaming mug of cider.

"It's gingerbread!" Toby cried with muffled happiness, spilling crumbs all over his lap.

"Toby! Don't talk with your mouth full!"

"What? I was given to understand it would taste of poultry."

"No!" Toby was giggling, trying to swallow down the gingery mush in obedience to his mother. "You're funny!" Jareth was...smiling at Toby. Not even smirking, actually quietly smiling, like he was happy. Sarah felt a knot in her stomach. Oh crap. She knew he stole babies for a living, but that had not translated in her mind into an actual enjoyment of children. She wasn't convinced that's what it meant, but...but he looked so...Her heart started to pound-

No. Knock that sentimental shit off right now, he is so playing.

...but what if he wasn't?

"Alright, sorry about that." Robert staggered into the room, looking very weary. He seemed none the better for taking notice of his daughter's incorrigible suitor. "The Henderson account, you know..." he muttered to no one in particular, eyes set on Jareth the entire time he spoke.

"I do hope it's nothing serious," Jareth murmured in an easy going reply, strange eyes half hooded.

"Nope, nothing at all! Everything's under control." Mr. Williams was wringing his hands so tightly, the sinews of his wrist could be seen against his skin. "So. Pleasant trip?"

"Yeah..." Sarah hesitantly replied, deciding against sharing details, watching her father. "You okay, Dad?"

"Mhm! Couldn't be better!" Robert sank next to his wife on the loveseat, shoving small pastry appetizers in his mouth to keep from saying something about, oh, how this Jareth King was too old for his daughter, or that he didn't approve of his hand on her knee like that, or why in the hell hadn't he gotten bigger pants yet? For her part, Karen sighed. Bless his heart, he really was trying. How Sarah would appreciate that, she felt sure, if she only knew. Not unlike his son, Robert said around a mouthful of filo dough, "How were midterms, pumpkin?"

"Good, I think...But now I have to read about this group of people who think caves make girls pregnant, and-"

"Topic change! Anything else, please. Jareth!" Surprised, the fey looked back at Robert seated across the coffee table from him as his prospective father-in-law clutched his knees with white knuckled desperation. "Tell me you follow sports, I will literally accept any sport over this thread of conversation."

"Ah..." For once, even the Goblin King was caught off guard. "I have always been fond of the Afghan game buzkashi."

"Booze...what now?"

His lips formed a grin over sharp teeth. "Buzkashi. It's rather like polo. Only instead of a ball, one uses the stuffed head of a goat-"

"Cool!" Toby shouted around a mouthful of cookie.

"-and opposing players are allowed to whip each other with-" The Goblin King suddenly went silent, half rising form his seat on the sofa. Karen and Robert shared a concerned glance.

Sarah quickly leaned over to hiss at him, unsure whether she was glad he'd stopped that particular story or not. "What is it?"

"Someone's wishing," he muttered, eyes glazed and focused on something far in the distance, features set.

"What's that? Wishing?" Karen asked, leaning forward to see if she could help.

"U-uh," Sarah stammered, sitting up and almost wishing she'd accepted Jareth's offer of a weekend in his bedroom, if only to spare herself this nightmare of a trip home. "Not wishing! Um...f-fishing! It's...our pet name thing?" Jareth found this startling enough to pull him out of his otherworldly focus and stare at her, slack jawed.

Even Karen was staring. "It is...?"

"Ahaha, totally..." Calling on all of her talent as an actress, even more than had seen her through her midterm, Sarah seized Jareth's face with one of her hands, the other holding the sharp point of his chin. "S-someone's fishing for kisses, baby!"

Jareth gave a weak laugh in reply while Toby pulled a face. "How right you are, precious thing...but I think my...pager is going off."

"Oh, I can show you where the phone i-"

"I'll do it!" Sarah jumped to her feet and grabbed her supposed lover by the wrist, dragging him the rest of the way off the couch and hurriedly down the hall.

Everyone left in the living room sat staring at where the young couple had disappeared through the door – everyone but Toby, he was helping himself to the rest of his sister's cider. Karen finally moved to clear away the snack dishes, and Robert gave a low cough. "That story about having to read about caves getting girls pregnant...you don't think she was hinting, do you-"

"Robert Williams." Karen shoved the tea tray into his hands, looking quite cross. "If you don't stop your paranoia about Sarah and her boyfriend this instant, I'll put you in the garage instead of Merlin."

Whatever her father's paranoia, Sarah was wise enough to know the frantic, hushed conversation they were having in the hallway would have done nothing to comfort him. "Wishing?" she demanded. "Where!"

"I don't know," he hissed. "But I have to answer it."

If Sarah thought about arguing with him on it, the notion was a brief one. "They're going to notice if you're gone! Will it take long?"

"No, of course not." Jareth waved one hand dismissively while the other he held to his temple, seeming quite physically taxed by his call from elsewhere. "I'll issue the challenge, have Hoggle lead them into an oubliette, and sit out the rest of the thirteen hours here. Oh, what," he snapped at the fierce scowl she was giving him, her arms crossed over her chest. "Do you have a better idea?"

Sarah huffed: it wasn't that she liked encouraging his gobliny nature, but it did seem the better option than fielding a lot of questions about where her "boyfriend," had disappeared to so hurriedly. "...what am I supposed to tell Dad and Karen?"

"I don't know, something that doesn't involve fish?"

"You were talking about goat heads! I had to say something!"

"And you call yourself an actress..."

"Just...you're sure you won't take too long?"

A grin slowly spread over Jareth's features again, a proud, maniacal one. With two elegant fingers at her chin, he purred. "Why, precious...are you jealous?"

"Just go," she growled, shoving him away – and then immediately grabbed his arm again. "No, wait!"

"What? The Goblins are running riot, time is of the essence!"

"Take the car!" she hissed. Jareth looked at her like she was mental. "They'll notice if you're gone and the car's here."

The King smiled more conservatively this time, running his thumb along the edge of her chin. "You are a clever little thing, aren't you?"

"Go already!" With no more ceremony than that, Jareth had disappeared, leaving Sarah to converse with the empty air where he had been not a second before. Oh what a tangled web and so forth...dragging her feet a little, she carried herself to the kitchen, figuring she could at least help get dinner on the table.

Karen was peeling vegetables when she walked in, and watched her step-daughter with quiet interest. "Everything alright?"

"Yeah, he had to go into town real quick, see some...constituents?" She hope that sounded more convincing than it felt.

"I didn't know being a lobbyist required such odd hours."

"Well, you know..." Sarah muttered, picking up a vegetable peeler to assist in tackling a line of colorful squash. "Politicians..."

"Mm." Karen nodded and for a little while, affable silence reigned, excluding the wet slice of peeler on vegetable skin. "He's awfully pale."

"Huh?"

"Jareth. He's quite the palest man I've ever seen. He's not sick, is he?"

"British..." Sarah muttered, gaze burning imaginary holes into the squash she was flaying.

"Ohhh," as if that explained everything. There was another long pause before Karen put her vegetable peeler down. It startled the girl somewhat, but she refused to take her eyes off her vegetables or stop peeling. "Sarah?"

She spoke with such intensity, the girl had to drop the tool, shaking slightly as she met that gaze. Please don't ask about Jareth, please don't ask about Jare- "Yeah?"

"You know I've never tried to replace your mother, even though I have tried to be a stable influence in your life."

For some reason, this did nothing to stop Sarah's shaking. "Y-yeah, I know..."

"I know it's only been five years since your father and I married, but there's something I want you to know as well."

Sarah gulped – hard. There was no way this could go well. "What is it?"

Suddenly, Karen's hand was covering her own. Sarah stared at it, stared at the smooth fingers and the ring her father had placed on the third finger of the left hand; she thought, briefly, of how every glint of the diamond used to send Sarah into a personal tizzy, and she thought of how suddenly that had changed, when she had been forced to grow up. "I can never replace your mother, and I don't want to. But I do want to tell you I couldn't be prouder of you if you were my own daughter, and I honestly couldn't be happier to get to be a part of your family."

Sarah had not stopped shaking. "W-what brought this up?"

Karen was smiling in an easy, affable way. "Well, tomorrow's Thanksgiving. Time to say what you're grateful for, right?"

Without any warning, without any prior knowledge on her part, Sarah found her arms wrapped around her step-mother. She wasn't sure why, but she was definitely still shaking.

OvO

The family dinner was almost over when Jareth stumbled into the dining room, his face drawn and pale, his casual clothes slightly mussed, his hair no longer slicked back on his head. Up until that point, things had seemed almost normal (with the exception that Toby willingly ate his vegetables), the Williams clan chatting about work and school like they always had before Sarah had gone away to college.

She couldn't have said why, but seeing the Goblin King fussed up like that set something off inside Sarah, and she put one of her fists to her hip, fixing him with a sly look. "So, how was this one? Young, beautiful? Positively grateful?"

"The politician was young and grateful?" Robert repeated, looking very confused.

Jareth dropped into a chair next to Sarah, helping himself to what remained of dinner. "He," the fey king corrected, not meeting her withering glance in the slightest, and not caring to. "Was young, yes, and spotty faced, and even less grateful than you were, precious thing."

"What is it that you do as a...child lobbyist, Jareth?" Karen asked as she passed him different dishes, just as baffled as her husband.

The strange man took a long, deep drink of red wine before sighing and meeting Mrs. Williams' eyes with a tired smile. "I...lobby on behalf of children who need to be placed in other homes."

"You haven't done anything untoward," Robert was protesting with real alarm, "to make Sarah assume a young woman would...express gratitude inappropriately over this – have you?"

Jareth smirked, at last looking Sarah dead in the eye with his mismatched gaze. She tried to meet him look for look, but felt a kind of curling sensation between her hips and squirmed slightly under his stare. "Never, Mr. Williams," he assured. "My Sarah is jut more of a jealous Queen than she likes to admit."

"You wish."

"I do – most fervently, every night when I say my prayers before bed." He sighed, seeming to find a little energy from the food. "It's a wonderful meal, Karen, your talents are only surpassed by your beauty."

"J-Jareth," she laughed while Robert glowered. "I'd say thank you, but Sarah helped a good deal."

"My Sarah?" he replied in mock surprise. "Working like a little scullery maid? Well now." Before she could stop him, Jareth had reached over and seized her right hand, turning it over between his fingers so he could stroke her open palm. "Precious thing – you've gone and cut yourself, right here." He touched the wound and Sarah hissed.

"I just sliced it when I wasn't paying attention, that's all."

"Nonsense...let me make it better." His whispered this in a low, husky voice, and brought Sarah's index finger to his lips, letting his kiss linger there – far longer than was appropriate. The tip of his tongue tasted the injury, he sucked lightly at her finger. Sarah suspected Jareth was well aware of the fact her father's face was turning an eggplant shade of purple at this salacious display, and suspected just as fiercely that he didn't care. She did, however, and yanked back her hand quickly.

But damn, she could feel the pounding of her pulse between her hips. That was just not fair.

And stupid Jareth just smirked at her from across the table, quietly finishing his meal while her father and Karen had to make awkward small talk no one was listening to.

"Well!" Robert was standing up, struggling to keep his temper in check. "You both look tired. How about we get you settled?"

"Yes, please, Mr. Williams." Jareth grinned again. Sarah kicked him under the table.

"This way, please..." the father muttered in reply, eyes dark with private observances. Wordlessly, Jareth stood from the table and followed him, catching Sarah at the elbow as he did so; he seemed determined to keep her close by, and she struggled lightly, blushing a bit. Robert made light conversation as they went up the stairs, pointing out linen closets if he needed more blankets or towels, or just speaking generally about the last time they'd had the place painted. Jareth nodded his head politely the whole time, occasionally making small sounds of feigned interest, but otherwise said not a word. In fact, he barely seemed to notice when Mr. Williams stopped outside a door – a door that was not Sarah's. "And here's the guest room."

"...I'm sorry, what?" The Goblin King at last was paying attention, standing up straight, fingers digging into Sarah's elbow.

"The guest room...for you..."

"...separate rooms?"

"G'night, Dad," Sarah quickly interjected, going on tip-toe to kiss her father on the cheek. "It's been a long week, so I'm going to tuck in. See you in the morning." She was relieved Robert made no more protest than that, slinking silently back downstairs with a pointed look. Jareth, however...

"Separate rooms?"

"Well, yeah...what did you expect?" No answer. Which was, quite possibly, worse than his most sarcastic, cruelest ripost. "Um...I'm going to go get ready for bed. Night, Jareth." Still no answers. Sarah decided against disturbing him, hurrying back to her bedroom and shutting the door behind her.

Gods above, what a day. The finals, her roommate's boyfriend, the cafe, all of that had been enough to pack into one week, let alone one Wednesday, but none of those things were what Sarah was bothered by at the moment; no, that particular issue was one that centered around squishy feelings that she hadn't wanted to confront now, or really ever in the near future. Having laid out pajamas, Sarah turned out her bedroom light and shut the door as she padded off to brush her teeth, still deeply absorbed in thought. First of all, did Karen have to go and blindside her with her...affection like that? Even all these years later, Sarah was still struggling to balance her sense of devotion to her father and the family he had created, and her mother and her star-studded life. It would not have been easy in the best of circumstances. Sarah had walked a fine line of neutrality between her two families, but if she were to be honest, Linda was not quite the mother Karen was: she was short tempered, dramatic, selfish – all the things Sarah had been before she ran the Labyrinth. Which was not to say Karen was perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but...she put her family first, which Linda did not, could not, do.

Spitting into the bathroom sink, Sarah fixed herself with a critical stare in the mirror. She looked just like her mother – the same long, dark hair, the same flash of green eyes. Well, her button nose was more like her dad's. And yet...she didn't feel like either of her parents. She felt uniquely like herself, which she supposed she ought to be grateful for, but she thought, for just a moment, that if she wasn't so damn special, maybe she wouldn't be dealing with this other emotional problem.

Jareth. Her stomach lurched at the thought. A magical king was courting her, was putting almost his entire world on hold to spend a weekend with her family. Maybe we was just doing it to win, to seduce her, to prove a point – but damn if it wasn't working. He was argumentative and brazen and completely frustrating – but he was also charming, and alluring, and he would look at her the way no one on earth had ever looked at her, like no one else ever could. Damn it, it was getting worse, every day! Her knees were turning to jelly the more she thought of his lips on her mouth, his hands at her waist. This was how the devil seduced little girls away, but Sarah could not stop herself from drawing nearer and nearer to her strange tormenter. She just...didn't want to.

She sighed, left the bathroom, walked carefully back down the darkened hallway. There was always the faintest of possibilities that Jareth wasn't the liar he'd always appeared to be; that his promises of an eternity of love were genuine, and this was not just another conquest for him, a notch in his belt. It could be that she really had beaten a Goblin King, and for that, he had fallen in lov-

Wait. A soft, pale light was pouring out from under her door, when she was sure she had turned it off when she'd left to brush her teeth. With a sense of foreboding, Sarah set her hand on the doorknob, turned it, opened the door-

There was Jareth – or rather, there was the Goblin King, standing in the middle of her bedroom, holding a crystal in taught, gloved hands. He was not the man she'd seen five minutes ago, dressed in a jacket and tie. He was in full Goblin regalia, a leather breastplate and shoulder piece clearly demarcating that he was prepared for battle. A tattered cape of black silk whipped about him like there was a steady breeze in the breathless atmosphere of her room. And his face...his features were set with the hardest, coldest expression imaginable, and he stared at Sarah as she entered the room.

"Time to go, love. The Underground awaits us."

Quickly, Sarah shut the door behind her, her back pressed against it. "Jareth, what are you doing?"

"Waiting for my Queen to be ready for her journey home."

"I am home, Jareth, this is my home."

"Oh no, you're not," he snarled in response, grabbing her by the wrist and yanking her against the hard leather of his armor. "This is not home – not anymore. You're to be the Goblin Queen, with a pantheon to attend to your every whim, and a throne next to mine, and servants and gowns and-"

"Stop it, I don't want any of that stuff!"

"What, and you want this?" The hand holding the crystal gestured wildly about her room, at the shut door. "This bland domesticity is infuriating! Enough, I will have what is owed me. If a trade is necessary, then here, take it." With a vicious snarl, he shoved the crystal at her chest, making Sarah step back at the force of his hand. "Your dreams, as promised."

The girl began to shake, taking another step back even as he held her by the wrist. "You said you weren't going to do this..."

"And you said you would be the Goblin Queen."

"I fucking did not!"

He pulled her forcefully to him again, ignoring her cry of pain at the sharp tug. "Every night," he hissed into her ear, breathing in the scent of her hair with an aggressive gasp. "Every time you opened your window and pulled me in, each time you seared my mouth with those frantic kisses, you gave your feelings away, my love." He bent his head and nipped at her ivory throat and Sarah gasped beneath him. "When I put you on my thigh and rocked you back and forth until you could explode, your lips begged to be mine." He bit harder and she cried out, her fingers going to his shoulders and digging in of their own accord. "Do you deny it?" Sarah was biting her lip so hard, she thought she might have pierced the skin already. Growling at her stubborn lack of response, Jareth cupped at one of her breasts, pinching lightly but firmly with his thumb so that she cried out, buckling against him, her green eyes glazed with need; an ancient need, a need only he could satisfy in her, a need for him-

Suddenly, the bedroom door opened. "Sarah?"

Sarah gasped, found herself suddenly out of Jareth's embrace, yet flushed to the tips of her hair. "T-Toby?" she stammered, feeling like she ought to be covering herself up, even though she was fully clothed. "You know you're supposed to knock!"

"I'm sorry," he murmured, wide eyed in the darkness. "But I saw the light was on, so I thought..."

"It's okay," she gulped, shaking her head and trying to banish the intense feelings of arousal that were riding rough shod over her abused nervous system. "Did you have a bad dream?" The boy nodded. "You can come in."

Toby did so, shutting the door behind him, and his face lit up. "Jareth's in your room!" Sarah gasped, wheeling to face the bed – God no, Jareth, the Goblin armor, what would Toby-

"Indeed I am, young sir." Jareth was stretched out across her small bed, his hands tucked behind his head over the pillows, legs crossed at the ankle in indolent repose. He...wasn't in the Goblin armor. In fact, he looked like he'd merely stepped out of the guest bedroom, in tight jeans again. No sports coat, though, no tie, just white shirt sleeves that complimented his lithe figure exceedingly well. "A nighttime debate with your infuriating sister."

"What's that mean?" Toby asked, tottering over to the bed.

The Goblin King swung his legs over the side, sitting up and pulling the lad next to him. "It means that she's being mean to me." Toby gasped and stared up at Sarah, shaking his head in disapproval.

"What?" she asked, tone going dry. "You're taking his side already?"

"What are you two fighting about?" Toby asked, looking up at Jareth with his innocent blue eyes.

"Well..." the fey sighed, smoothing out his hair and carefully selecting his words. "I want to play a game with Sarah, and she doesn't want to play."

"Ohhh..." This seemed to make perfect sense to the boy, and he nodded sagely. "Sometimes, my friend Frankie wants to play farm animals, and I don't want to play farm animals, but Teacher Angela said it's good to take turns!"

Jareth fixed her with a smokey stare. "See?"

"You are not going to use my brother against me in this."

"But," Toby was quickly amending, very pleased to be providing such wise advice in this matter. "She also says no one can make you play games you don't want to play." Sarah gave a barking laugh of approval while Jareth continued to glower.

"What if your friend is really nice to you, and really patient, and plays all the games you want to play first?"

"...I don't know," Toby admitted, seeming very thoughtful at this. "Teacher always just says people can't force you to do things."

Jareth gave a huff, putting a hand on the young boy's shoulder. "I just don't think Sarah's being fair with me, Toby."

This got his attention, and he fixed his wide eyes on his sister at the scandalous rebuke. "Oh, be fair, Sarah."

"Yes, be fair, Sarah."

Rather than rising to that horrible manipulation of her baby brother (that he had stolen in the first place!) Sarah set her fists at her hips, nose high in the air. "I wonder what your basis for comparison is," she replied in a mocking, sing-song voice.

The Goblin King narrowed his eyes at her. "You sly little min-"

"What game do you want her to play?" young Toby interrupted, looking up at his new best friend again.

"Ah..." Jareth hesitated momentarily, smoothing back his hair. "An grownup-type game."

"What's that?"

"Well...when two post-pubescent adults enjoy one another's company, they engage in a type of touching that-"

"Oh no!" Sarah shouted, grabbing Toby and dragging him off the bed. "That stops right there!"

"What's pubescent?" the little boy repeated.

"It's when your-"

"Jareth!"

"Well, he's going to have to learn sometime, Sarah."

"He's four."

"Is this one of those things Mom sends me out of the room for..." Toby muttered, small blond eyebrows scrunched up.

Jareth smirked a little bit. "It may be." The young boy yawned dramatically, rubbing tired eyes. "It seems your nightmare has passed, and you're ready for bed again."

Toby nodded, Sarah squeezed his shoulder. "Whatever happens, kiddo, you'll be safe, alright? I promise."

He gave her a tired smile, small, round arms stretched out for a hug. "I love you, Sarah."

A pang in her chest, she wrapped her arms around her baby brother and kissed his forehead. "I love you too, Toby..." Jareth watched the exchange with hot, even embittered and envious eyes. "G'night."

"Goodnight..." The boy tottered back off to his own room, and Sarah shut the door behind him with a dramatic sigh, turning back to the Goblin King still sat on her bed.

Jareth was out of both his "street clothes," and his Goblin armor, instead in the open white shirt and grey breeches she knew him best in – and he still held that crystal in his hand. "Well, Sarah? I've been more than generous, even you must see that. I'll give you everything you wanted."

Sarah stared at the crystal, remembered all the many times he'd offered her her dreams before...thought about all the times she'd wanted so badly to say yes – and she was still able to shake her head. "No."

Jareth shot to his feet, about ready to pace like a caged predator. "Come now, this stubborn impudence of yours grows tiresome! I happen to know what you want, so why do you continue to refuse to just admit it."

The girl laughed a little, which seemed to gall him all the further. "You don't, you really don't know what I want."

"Don't I?" He held the bubble closer to her, so close she could hardly help gazing into its depths, seeing all the beauty and the glory held within...just a touch away, if she'd only say yes... "You may be courageous and you may be vain, but I have power yet you cannot even begin to fathom."

Sarah tore her gaze away from the crystal and up into his face; in fact, it wasn't even that hard. With the same determined look she had worn in the Escher room thirteen seasons ago – perhaps even more determination, grown and aged as she was – she pointed to the door and quietly replied, "What I want is what I have."

For a quiet moment, Jareth simply gawked at her. A moment was all it was, though, for he advanced upon her with the crystal still in his outstretched palm, intending to back her against the door; yet Sarah didn't budge. "Don't be ridiculous, Sarah!" When she made no response, he tried to insist. "Your Tonys, your Oscars! I can give them all to you, they're right here. All the love and adoration you ever wanted and it's in your grasp, why won't you take it!"

"None of that matters." She shook her head with an insight well beyond her eighteen years. "Don't get me wrong – I still want all that stuff...but if I never got a staring role on Broadway...if my name were never in lights, if I weren't on all the covers of all the magazines, but I still had my family – that would be okay. If it were the other way round...I couldn't stand it."

For several tense seconds, Jareth stared at her, a range of emotions she couldn't even begin to guess at playing across his pained eyes. At last, he broke out into a pained laugh that seemed to be hiding a sob, stumbling back away from her, bringing the crystal back in close to him. "That's it, then, is it? You've decided once again your family is more important than your dreams...and still no room for others in your perfect little life, is there."

Sarah's eyes closed as he spoke. "I didn't say that."

An unfamiliar sensation nipped at the Goblin King's heart – hope. "...what?"

She had to take a deep breath in order to gather up the necessary courage to open her dark, green eyes. "Jareth, you stole my brother, you tormented and teased me mercilessly in the Labyrinth, you've refused to leave me alone for weeks and you're an insufferable dick – but apparently I'm just a moron because...I-I don't want you to go away."

The crystal disappeared; he advanced upon her and seized her hands in his own gloved ones, eyes intense. "Go on. Keep speaking."

"I know I shouldn't trust you, I know, b-but..." He put his palm against her cheek, and she had to look up into the intensity of his eyes. Oh God, those eyes... "Is it true?"

"Is what true, precious thing." For once, he wasn't mocking her. He stroked her cheek and her hands and spoke very quietly, very soothingly.

"Did Fate...really plan all this?"

He smiled a little – a genuine one, but very small. "As much as I talk, I'm afraid I can't promise to know the mind of Fate quite that thoroughly...but I have felt it since the moment you left the Labyrinth."

Sarah began to shake under his caresses. "I-I know this could all be about winning to you...b-but the more I see you, the more I want you...and you're here, in my house, and no one really made you...you didn't have to be..."

"I wanted to."

"Why!"

That look again – a look that said she really should have known the answer. "Because you're here, Sarah." Her knees began to buckle, he caught her up in his arms and held her in place. "I am thoroughly ashamed of myself, as weak and pathetic as you have made me...but what else can I do? You're here, and so I must be as well."

Damn it, that did her in. She tilted her face to his, and he did not hesitate to claim her lips with his own, run his gloved hands over her waist. This was, probably, the worst mistake she'd made in her life since wishing Toby away to the Goblins, but Jesus Christ, what did the world want from her? She'd resisted him this long, surely a little leniency was in order! His tongue was so hot and full in her mouth, it made her grow weak in his arms and whimper against his mouth, and he swallowed each sound she made and kept it, kissing her with an intensity of passion that would have burned other girls to ash. Sarah gasped when their lips finally parted, her face more flushed than it had been all week. "J-Jareth..."

"Yes..." He looked like talking was the last thing on his mind, his swollen lips very near to hers and ready to begin yet more kisses.

"You said you'd make me eighteen forever..."

"And so I shall, little girl."

"But what about my family?"

He paused, quiet at this turn of the conversation. "What about them?" he at last allowed, eyes losing some of the fog of lust.

"What will they say...when they grow older, and I stay the same."

The Goblin King sighed, leaning his chin into her smooth shoulder. "There are a few options...It had been my intent to let you live your life until your lack of progression became obvious, and then arrange an...'accident,' as a convenient excuse to slip away and to our immortal life."

"And leave them here? Never knowing, with all that pain?"

"There's no way to avoid pain, Sarah, no matter what you choose. Don't look like that," he said in a firm, not-quite-cool voice. "I am not saying these things because I wish to inflict pain upon you, but because they are the truth. As insane as those people are, I do not wish them pain because I do not wish you pain." His hands on her shoulders tightened. "It's true that I can be cruel, but your unhappiness..." A sigh. "Rends me apart. It's a weakness I despise, but I can not – and would not – give you up. Even to spare your family."

She could not quite meet the intensity of his look, insisting, "I can't do that to them..."

He sighed, but did not move from her embrace. "It is possible...that with time and study, if you have taken enough of the magic of the Labyrinth with you, that you could become proficient in using glamors and lend yourself the appearance of age-"

"That!" Sarah pulled away to look into his face, which carried a very mildly amused expression. "Let's do that one!"

Jareth smirked a little. "You'd have to spend a great deal of time with me as my...pupil. Are you ready for such a commitment?"

Another blush, Sarah tried to look at anything but his face – but found this was a losing endeavor. "I-I..." she hesitated before summoning her courage and straightening her posture, able to look him dead in those ethereal eyes of his. "I'm ready to take the next step." It was said quietly, but with a force of commitment that made the fey king's pupils dilate and his hands tighten on her.

Voice low and husky, his breathing seemed to come a little faster. "Are you certain? I'll only ask once."

Was she...? Sarah bit her lip, noticed he watched her slightest movement with a deep interest that made her insides feel molten. God yes, she was certain. "Yes," she nodded, despite her mild, private misgivings. It wasn't that she didn't want it – everything within her did, despite how hard she had tried to fight against it. It was just...a big step. And knowing what she knew of him...If she didwant to say no, now was the time; Jareth had crossed to her door, quickly turning the lock before backing her towards her little bed, eyes hungry, lips parted. "J-Jareth, wait!"

"How much longer do I have to wait?" he hissed, pulling apart the few buttons of his silk shirt before discarding the garment entirely. He could hear the breath catching in his little lover's throat, he could see the way those green eyes of hers drank in his slim, muscled torso. Oh, she could protest, but she wanted, poor little girl. But the Goblin King could be generous, he'd satiate her...

"M-My dad's right down the hall!" she quickly blurted out, still unable to take her eyes off of his naked chest. "He'd hear everything."

"Hmm, there's my practical little girl..." With a flashing flick of his wrist, a crystal had appeared in his still gloved hand, and he tossed it rather harshly at her door, where it burst and fizzled in a dusty cloud of light and glitter. Sarah squeaked a little and watched it. "There. All better."

"What is it?"

He smirked a bit before running the tip of his tongue over his teeth and lips, still watching her. "Just a little magic. No one outside this room will hear a thing."

"No way."

"What, you don't believe me? Have I ever told you a deliberate falsehood? Watch." With no more warning than that, the insane fey trickster launched himself at one of her walls, pounding with a gloved fist loud enough to surely wake the entire house. "Mr. Williams! I am going to take your daughter and ride her to the gates of passion until she screams fit to wake the Underground! Speak now or forever hold your peace!" His shouting speech was interrupted by Sarah frantically throwing a pillow at him, which hit him between the shoulders. The Goblin King merely chuckled.

"Are you out of your goddamn mind?"

"And yet," he purred, turning and scooping up the pillow in one easy motion, "I hear no crash of footsteps signaling my inevitable doom...could it be your father remains blissfully unaware?" He approached her again in a slow, strutting gait, gently tossing the pillow behind her onto the bed. "And now, my Sarah...let's finish what was begun."

She gulped a little as he drew her into his arms, his skin even hotter to her touch now that he was without the shirt. God, he was so smooth and firm under her hands...With a little moan, her fingers unconsciously traveled downward to feel the muscles of his stomach and sides, drawing in a sharp breath as Jareth lay hot, languorous kisses at the soft skin of her throat. Sarah could hear herself whimpering as his hands entwined with her hair to hold her head back, giving him greater access to her throat and collarbone, which he licked and nipped in merciless turns. It felt like he was going to set her on fire! His fingers drew back from her hair to run along her cheeks, her closed eyes, the tip of her nose, her lips. Sarah shuddered under the light touches, they made her skin tingle and cry out for more. Briefly, she entertained the idea of pulling off his gloves very gently with her teeth, could just imagine the look on his face...but she wasn't feeling quiet that courageous yet. Besides, if things went well...there'd be time to try out new tricks later. Opening her green eyes and locking his gaze, she very carefully pulled the smooth silk gloves from his hands, breaths shorter and heavier. His hands were so warm, so elegant...she kissed each palm as she laid it bare and pressed herself close to his body, trembling uncontrollably.

"Sarah..." the way he said her name – it was like a benediction. She felt herself shake harder. "Are you afraid of me?" She shook her head but kept her face pressed close to his chest, still trembling. "Of what will happen, then."

She was able to look up at that, green eyes wide in the low light of the bedroom. "I-I guess a little bit." She squeaked as he pulled her sleeves from off her arms, lifting her shirt clear off her body. The sight of her almost-naked torso seemed to overcome the fey king, for her groaned audibly and bent to kiss the uncovered tops of her soft breasts. Sarah whimpered and arched into his caresses.

She had been backed up to her small bed, but Jareth pushed her further now, so that she fell backwards with him looming over her like that. It ought to have been scary in any other circumstance, but right now it made her feel painfully aroused, her body beginning to throb with the promise of what he could and would do to her. It was frightening and thrilling to have him over her, to feel his bare hands undoing the clasp of her blue jeans, and she whimpered as he peeled them off her long, slender legs. "You needn't be frightened," he assured her with a kiss that forced her to press herself into the bed under his weight, intoxicated on sensation. "I would not hurt you – oh, maybe for a moment there will be a little pain." His warm hand pressed against her back, making her arch herself upwards and all the nearer to him. Sarah felt like she was going to lose herself here, and she did not want to stop it. "But isn't that a worthwhile trade? A moment of pain for a lifetime of pleasure?" She gasped when she felt him succeed in unhooking her bra from around her back, trying to cover herself as it slipped from her shoulders – but Jareth did not allow that, taking her arms and wrapping them around his neck. "I'll have no half measures, Sarah. I have wanted you for far too long, I'll hold nothing back..." She could feel his warm fingers hooking into the band of her cotton underwear and she whimpered a frightened protest (or was it an encouragement?) as he pulled those off her as well. Quickly, Sarah tried to scramble under the safety of her sheets, but Jareth seized them and yanked them back away from her as she yelped.

The Goblin King took a step back to look at her appreciatively, his hot gaze lingering over every inch of her milky skin. "J-Jareth..." Sarah protested, very much wanting to cover herself up. "At least turn off the light."

"No. I want to see you." As if this added to his consideration, he took a step forward, laying his hot hands at her bony knees. Deftly, he spread her legs apart – not by much, but enough that he could see her, see the damp evidence of her arousal begin to drip down her soft thighs. Ugh, it was almost a nightmare to be so examined, to feel the heat of his looks on her flesh; Sarah let her head fall back on the pillow, eyes squeezed shut as she was studied more intimately than had ever been done in her entire life. She could hear him breathing – his breath almost seemed to shake within him. What? Was he so undone? By...by her? "You are beautiful..." It was a whisper, a murmur, a sound of worship reserved for gods and treasured lovers. With the lightest and most delicate of touches, he barely ran the tips of his fingers over her swollen skin, and Sarah could not restrain a gasp, arching into the movement. His fingers came away slick where he had touched her, and with her eyes still closed, Sarah could hear him pull off the long, elegant leather boots, drop the thin trousers. And then there was the heat of his body...he wasn't on the bed, not yet, but she could feel his presence next to it, feel the heat radiating off his pale skin. "Sarah. Look at me."

"I can't...I really can't."

The fingers of his left hand gently grasped her chin and jaw, turning her head on the pillow so that it faced his body. "Look at me, Sarah." If it was an order, it was given with such passionate, desirous longing, she obeyed out of the wish to hear him speak like that again. He'd discarded the last of his wrappings, she could see them in a pile by the foot of the bed, and – okay, so his pants had not been exaggerating things. How in the hell was she supposed to...could that even fit in...Her eyes flickered up to his face. The King did seem mildly amused, but more than that, he seemed so completely overcome by desire for her that his skin almost glowed. She whimpered again as his hand ran softly, lightly, back and forth across her inner thigh, dragging her dampness across her leg as he pet. "Well?" he asked her, voice low, not moving from his spot beside the bed, not stopping in his petting.

"Well what?"

"Do you want me?"

"Don't be such a tease!" she gasped as his fingers moved closer, making her pull at her lip a little with her teeth. "You already know that!"

Jareth leaned his face close to hers so that she could feel his breath on her cheeks, but the bastard would not kiss her. "I want to hear you say it."

Oh, for the love of...well, she'd gotten this far. Being contrary now wouldn't really get her anywhere, and it certainly would not be satisfying enough to be worth dashing his hopes. Sarah closed her green eyes again. "I want you, Jareth..." she whispered, her entire being beginning to tremble with the admission.

Wordless, she felt the bed move as he crawled over top of her, felt the heat and weight of him resting just above her as he supported himself on his forearms at either side of her. Sarah gasped a little as his desire brushed against her own, her eyes shooting open. And there was that face, that haunting face that had loomed so large in all her dreams of this moment – only far more beautiful, far more seductive than any sleeping notion could have made it. "And you shall have me..." He kissed her slowly, firmly on her red mouth, made her part her lips to allow him better access. Sarah gave hungry whimpers as he kissed her, pressing into his every tormenting touch. "All of me..." Jareth assured her when he finally pulled his lips away, watching her face flush with emotion and desire. "No one else but me...ever..." Sarah gasped, cried out a little, as he bent to worship one of her breasts with his mouth, his sharp teeth grazing the tender point of her nipple. The licking, sucking motion was soft but insistent as he caught her flesh with his mouth, making her twine her fingers into the soft silk of his hair. He seemed determined to make her whimper and beg, his mismatched eyes occasionally glancing up to her flushed face to watch her desire mount as he worked. With no more warning than that, Jareth brought one of his fingers between her hips and slid it inside her, moving over her as she gasped and writhed at the sensation. He soothed her aching body with his tongue as she shook beneath him, voice low as she began to cry out and whimper. "Relax, precious thing...let it happen, it's a good thing."

"I-I-"

"Shhh..." His mouth moved to her other breast, leaving the first one damp and covered in gooseflesh as the air cooled it. "Relax...there's a good girl..." A second finger slid into the wet folds of her body, scissoring motions stretching her from the inside so that she bit her lip against the pain and pleasure of it. Jareth moved his mouth from off her bosom to kiss at her throat and lips again. "We're almost ready...I want to make this as easy as possible for you."

"Jareth." She couldn't stop herself, one of her slim legs wrapped around his hips, drew him in so that his breath caught in his chest a little. Sarah thrilled a little to watch his eyes dilate, to see how he struggled to retain that mask of practiced composure – and it was her tearing him to pieces, it was her riding rough shod over his self-control. It was a marvelous, heady sense of power and she felt as drunk on that sensation as the feeling of his fingers moving gently inside her body. "I-I want it..." she stammered out. She'd never allowed herself to be so wonton, so completely vulnerable. But what else could she do? It was the truth, and the intimacy of his body so close to hers made her trust him against her better judgment, made her want him desperately, want to be a part of him. "I want you."

His breathing was loud and labored now, and he slid his fingers from her in order to brace himself against the bed; Sarah moaned a protest at the loss of the pressure of his hand, but caught his eyes with her own as he positioned himself above her. "Ready?" It seemed very difficult for him to ask, to hold himself back at all – and she didn't want him to. Her other leg wrapped around him, her arms slid around his shoulders, and a dark, adult desire spread through her green eyes. Sarah nodded.

He pressed himself within her.

She hissed a little, arching her back so that their stomachs and chests touched on one even plain together, no indication of where his body ended and hers began. Lights were pulsing beneath her eye lids whenever she closed them, the sharp, aching feeling of pain slowly giving way to a heavenly sense of completeness she had never known before this moment. He seemed too much for her body to contain, and yet she took him well, would not have allowed any other possibility. Jareth wanted to own her, but so, too, did Sarah wish to own him. She was not weak or little or small – she felt, as he slowly began to move within her, his breathing ragged against her ear, she could take anything he dished out at her, the same as in the Labyrinth. Oh, but he was gentle...tortuously gentle, he moved very lightly and tenderly with shallow grazing of his hips within her. Sarah's soft, pleading whimpers were becoming louder moans of encouragement as she drew him deeper and her fingers dug into the smooth flesh of his back. "Ah...yes..."

"Sarah..." He responded to her every encouragement as if it were an order from a goddess, kissing her throat, stroking her breast, worshiping her the way he'd promised since that night in the dark of the campus, with his entire being. So warm, so very warm, it felt like their bodies were catching fire as his movements grew a little faster, a little deeper, a little more desperate. Their skin was damp wherever they touched; Sarah seized his hair and pulled his mouth to hers in an aching kiss, needing to have him fill her above as well as below. Jareth was grabbing her more roughly now, giving her his gasps for breath in the heat of her mouth. Gods, the way her body cradled his...the intensity of tight sensation, the perfect fit of her around him...The Goblin King had had plenty of mind-blowing sexual encounters in his long millenia of existence, but this naive little school girl was burning all memory of them from his mind and from his skin, whether he wanted her to or not. Why did she always surpass his expectations of her, how was it even possible? She knew nothing of the adult ways of the world, and yet she moved beneath him with such a desperate yearning he felt as if the core of his body was catching fire. Her eyes, those deep, green pools of eyes were looking at him in such a way that he could not breathe. She was just an ordinary mortal girl, and yet Jareth found himself adoring her more fiercely than the most beautiful immortal being of the Underground – for it was Sarah that was the most beautiful, here in the half-dark, beneath and around him. The lilting music of her voice as she appreciated his tender ministrations, the perfume of her body, the scent of her hair...it was driving him to madness, and he could not care about what the cost might be. Not now, not with Sarah grabbing at him and pulling him closer, not when she begged for more, more, more – don't stop, please, oh God I want it, I want it, Jareth, I want you-!

So young, so small, it did not take her long to be overwhelmed by the pleasures he gave to her, and her gorgeous voice cried out, her entire body seeming to lift from the bed with the intensity of her climax. She contracted around him and he moaned low, the most open, honest sound pulled from his lips as she shook and spasmed beneath him, still clinging and pulling at his skin. Another night, he'd have been able to keep going, to build her pleasures higher and higher until she would have come beneath him again; he'd have left her exhausted and too satisfied to move. But tonight he could not. All of the waiting, all of the desperate longing for her had taken its toll on his discipline, and he shuddered at her demanding, worshipful touch, the kisses she was laying across his strong chest. Jareth groaned over her, arched his hips and closed his eyes in desperation as he poured himself within her, shaking as she encouraged him with her touches and her words.

There was a moment when the two were too overwhelmed to move, eyes locked, breathing labored. The Goblin King's arms gave way beneath him, and he rolled to the side to keep from crushing his lover. Sarah rolled with him, not allowing him to pull from her body for the moment, covering his mouth and jaw and the tip of his sharp nose with the most worshipful kisses he had ever felt in his long life. His strange eyes closed as she moved with him, his aristocratic hands coming to rest at the small of her back. With a deep, shuddering breath, he regained control of his senses and gave a long, slow, sly smile. "Say it now, Sarah."

"What?" She was hardly paying attention, nuzzling into the crook of his jaw and throat, her tongue flicking against the ridge of his Adam's apple.

Jareth's lips pulled back over white teeth in a terrible grin. Even the purest of little maidens eventually gave themselves up to these earthly pleasures where he was concerned. Sarah had been no different – was she so special, then? "Say I have no power over you," was the quiet, hot demand.

There was a pause; Sarah stopped her kisses and flicked her dark green eyes up at his face. For a very brief moment, the Goblin King felt a pang – perhaps it would have been worthwhile to allow her to continue...Yet where such a statement would have aroused within her more ire and hate than the worst villainy mere moments ago, the girl-turned-woman laughed low in her throat now, folding her palms over his chest and resting her chin there. This confused him, and he returned her looks. Why did she look so...amused? So happy? "Alright, Jareth," she replied with the most delightful, satisfied of smiles on her kiss-reddened mouth. Her dark hair was tangled around her head like a crown where his fingers had knotted it in desperation. "But first, you tell me that I have no power over you."

His entire body stiffened, his pupils becoming pinpricks in his unreal eyes. He gaped at her like a fish. Either oblivious to this or uncaring, Sarah lay her little head upon his chest with a sigh, breathing in his delicious scent, listening to the thrumming of his heart that beat like a lullaby in her ears.

Mere moments – heartbeats – later, she was in the deep sleep of heaven, her body rising and falling with his own as she lay atop him. Jareth held her in the warm circle of his arms and stared up at the ceiling.

OvO

Thanksgiving morning. The coffee dripped into its pot. Robert sat at the kitchen table, waiting for it, flipping quietly through the morning paper while Karen cut up fall fruit in the kitchen; a light breakfast to prepare the family for a day of feasting. The kitchen was warm, cozy and inviting, softly lit in the dark of the early morning. This was a routine the Williams parents often followed in the morning, quiet companionship before the hurly-burly of the day started. If they did not speak much, it was because they did not need to: Robert and Karen were better in-tuned with one another than he and Linda had ever been. This was why they knew, without needing to discuss it, that they were both surprised when Sarah's boyfriend quietly entered the kitchen without a word – fully dressed, hair slicked back, eyes...quiet.

"Good morning, Jareth." Karen was the first to speak, watching him from where she was cutting apples at the counter. "Did you sleep well?"

He seemed odd today – well, odder, in Robert's opinion; he settled himself against one of the kitchen counters, not really looking at them, rather watching the drip, drip, drip of the coffee, occasionally casting his eyes toward the hallway that led to the stairs. "I did not sleep as well as normally, no, Mrs. Williams – Karen," he corrected himself.

"Oh dear, I hope the bed wasn't uncomfortable."

"I have not a clue."

"What?"

"I mean..." He hissed slightly, running a pale hand across his hair and seeming to try to pull himself awake. "I mean to say that I have no clue why I would not sleep. Your accommodations are generous and perfectly charming."

"O-oh, well, thank you..."

Jareth's mismatched eyes went back to focusing on the hall. Robert shared a quick glance with his wife before addressing his daughter's suitor. "I don't think Sarah's up yet." Those strange eyes looked at him briefly, then went right back to looking at the hallway. "I didn't hear anything from her room when I got up this morning." The oddball began to laugh, a low chuckle deep in his throat. "What's so amusing?"

"Nothing – a private joke. Ah, it seems the coffee is ready."

"Hm?" Karen peered at the coffee maker, a bit confused. "That was...faster than usual. I wonder if I didn't put enough water in the– no, it looks exactly the same. How very odd..."

"Perhaps you just have a bit of luck this morning," Jareth offered with an outstretched palm.

"A strange bit of luck," she replied, pulling down a mug for him from a high shelf. "Would you like some, Jareth? Cream or sugar?"

"Today I will take black, Mrs. W- Karen."

"You don't usually?"

"Not generally, no," he replied, taking the steaming mug from her outstretched hands. "But I've had plenty of sweetness for the present." Karen exchanged a look with her husband; they were equally uncomprehending.

"Ahem, Jareth?" Mrs. Williams ventured, gently clearing her throat and watching as the gentleman sipped at the strong brew. "I know it's none of my business, but may I ask you a...personal question?"

"You are of course permitted to ask, whether I answer or not I cannot say beforehand."

"Um...yes..." She caught Robert's eye as he sat at the kitchen table; her husband shrugged. He was going to be of no help whatsoever. "Do you mind if I ask...are you serious about Sarah?"

"Yes." Both parents were startled: he answered without a moment's hesitation, taking another sip of his hot coffee. When a hefty silence followed, Jareth sighed, looking at the pair of them. "Was that all you wished to ask me?"

"N-not exactly. How serious are you?"

"Are there levels to affection and commitment?"

"Well...yes."

"Ah. And what are they?"

Robert cleared his throat when Karen fixed him with a hard look demanding his assistance. "Well...there's being exclusive, of course, and being a devoted couple...there's marriage, a family..."

"Are you asking if I wish to wed your daughter?"

Robert looked at Karen. Karen turned to look at Jareth. "Well...I guess we are, yes."

"Then the answer is yes."

A startled, choking noise from Mr. Williams. "Does Sarah know that?"

"I have never made it a secret."

"And have you asked her?"

There was that weird laugh again, almost swallowed in the coffee cup. "'Ask' is, perhaps, not the most operative word..."

"But you do want to marry her...have children."

"Oh, most certainly."

"Jareth." Robert was speaking very firmly, fuzzy eyebrows set with consternation. "Sarah is very young to become committed in such a way-"

"You are right, Mr. Williams."

"...I beg your pardon?"

"No matter what I offer her, she will not say yes to me – not yet. She is too young. But I am a patient man, I can wait. I've waited this long, certainly." Jareth took a long drink of his coffee then, strange, dark eyes intense with a very odd emotion Robert could not place. "I told her I will never stop until victory is mine – it's a figure of speech," he quickly amended at the upset looks the couple were passing between one another.

"Er...how long have you waited." There was no response. "Jareth?"

There was no response – and nor would there be one. The man stood ramrod straight, eyes fixed down the hallway like a disciple with gaze on his prophet. There, at the foot of the stair, was Sarah; she wore a baggy sweatshirt too big for her, the sleeves dangling past her small, soft hands, and a close-fitting pair of exercise pants. If her brown hair had been brushed, it was not much, and it mostly framed her face in dark tangles. Her skin was pale, eyes heavy, as though she had had a fitful night of it as well – yet for all that, she glowed with a softness in her eyes and redness in her lips that bespoke a fullness, a richness, a wisdom beyond what she had held even the night before. Without another word to Karen or Robert, Jareth crossed to her in an instant, like there was no one else in the universe, let alone in the house.

Karen's hand went to her mouth to stop the little sound that tried to escape her lips as she watched them, eyes crinkled with emotion. "Oh, Robert, look!" The quietness of their voices did not reach the kitchen, but she could see their heads bowed toward one another, their fingers intertwined, a softness about them she well recognized. "They're in love!" Mrs. Williams turned to face her husband at the kitchen table. "Robert?" The poor man held his face in his hands, a restrained, choked sobbing sound slipping through his fingers. "Robert, are you crying?"

"No!" Was his muffled reply, still refusing to drop his large, dry, tired hands. "I just knew I should have bought a gun!"

In the sanctuary of the hall, Jareth and Sarah stood as if the kitchen were not there at all, speaking quietly because they had no desire to share their words with any other particle of matter but one another. "Good morning," he whispered, a quiet, fulsome pride and possessiveness shining through his blue-and-brown eyes. Delicately, he traced the backs of two of his fingers down the soft curve of her cheek. Sarah smiled up at him and it set his heart to pounding. "How are you feeling? Not too sore, I hope?"

"I'm alright," she shook her head, the soft smile not leaving her lips. "I thought you'd be there when I woke up this morning."

"I wanted to be," he admitted, pulling her a little closer, his breath ghosting gently over her temple. "But I did not wish to wake you, and I thought you might...want a moment to yourself."

"I'm okay. Um...but it was nice of you to think of me."

He kept looking at her like...like that. Like the light of the stars had gotten caught in his eyes. Sarah couldn't look away. "There's coffee – can I get you some?" She nodded. "How do you want it?"

"Cream and sugar, please. Jareth-" Sarah caught his arm as he went to fetch it for her, fingers digging into his soft sleeve and gently pulling him back. Quietly, her thin arms wrapped around his torso, and she buried her face in the warmth of his chest. "You said...you said you would take me and make me your Queen. Does that mean I am now?"

The fey lord quietly pressed his lips into her hair in a chaste and adoring kiss. "I did say that – but I was mistaken."

Sarah's arms shook around him for just a moment. "W-what?"

Carefully, he tucked his fingers beneath her chin and tilted her head up to face him; his smile was more gentle than she had ever seen it, sweeter even than last night. She had thought she knew him so well, but it seemed there were sides of him she had never had access to before now. It was possible he didn't even know they existed. "Fate created you a Queen, Sarah Williams, long before I ever knew a thing. I cannot make you what you already are." Sarah bit her lip; she was pretty sure that wasn't even a romantic thing to say, yet her insides trembled and melted under his hot looks, the warmth of his hands...not now, not here in her parents' hallway! "You need but say the word, and I will make the transition...more official."

"A-and until then?"

"Until then..." He bent his lips toward her own, his strong hands tightening around her trim waist. "I intend to continue to demand my rights, as your King."

Her eyes half shut at that, her soft smile growing more sultry and adult. "You should be careful, you know...if I have rights of you as your Queen."

"Madame, but name the time and place and I have already sworn to bend to your merest whim and pleasure..."

Jareth did not kiss her at that moment. This was because a small voice above their heads awkwardly cleared its throat, and the pair looked up. Sitting on the stair, watching them, sat Toby, his chubby late-toddler legs poking between the gaps in the banisters, his little hands clinging tight to the rails. "Hi..."

"Toby..." Sarah sighed, running her fingers through her hair, but smiled in spite of herself. "What's up, little man?"

Nervously, the child pulled himself from his perch, padding down the stairs with an object held behind his back. Jareth watched with an eyebrow arched in interest as he came to a stop in front of them, showing off the item: a blocky, grey plastic cartridge with a strange, colorful sticker on the front. "Jareth," he asked, all shyness, more his usual self, but not with the Goblin King. "Will you play Mario with me?"

Jareth turned to look at Sarah, expecting a translation. "It's a video game," she whispered. "He got it last year for Christmas. Go on and play with him, you'll have fun. I promised Karen I'd help her make pies anyway."

"Very well, Toby," the King nodded, one hand tucked behind his back. Before he could say another word, the boy had squealed with pleasure, grabbing his free wrist and pulling him insistently toward his most treasured possession. Before he could be dragged away entirely, Jareth caught Sarah's fingers with his, the thumb brushing across her nails. "This conversation isn't over," he said, eyes hot upon her, and she shivered with delight.

"Don't you worry, Goblin King," she returned in a soft, heady whisper. "I intend to enjoy this." He smiled at her with pointed teeth before being yanked out of sight, and Sarah watched the place where he had been a moment before with a bit of a full, happy sigh. She was insane, trusting her life and future happiness to the most vile, egregious, cheating man who had ever drawn breath.

She was okay with that.

Turning, Sarah walked into the warmth of her family kitchen. It was time to make pies.

The End

A.N.: Are you people satisfied yet?! Go read "Say When," it's actually meant to be multi-chaptered!

Obviously, I kid. I want to thank all the many people who reviewed, favorited, followed, etc (especially for part one. You guys had some really great things to say, some things I hadn't thought of, and others that made me go, "Yessss, I did it right!"). This was an amazing amount of fun to do, and that's largely thanks to you guys urging me to do more than I had originally planned. Though I did put off working on "Say When" to do this last chapter, which you can see took...a long time. Way longer than I anticipated – partly due to the fact I haven't had a day off work in a week, and tomorrow is my only precious day off this week. So on that note, I think I'll go collapse. Give me a few days respite before expecting anything from "Say When," k? Thank you to the Laby community, which continues to astonish me with its dedication and serious quality.