The first time is the time she likes to forget about. It was back in that damned ballroom. She remembered arriving and the moment she saw him. She had been going through, searching, she didn't know what she was looking for but she knew she had to find it.

She would be lying if she said it was Toby. Of course she wanted to find Toby. But as soon as she laid eyes on him, that was it. It was him. Of course it was.

If he ever asked she'd lie. Because he didn't deserve that from her. Not then. Maybe later yes, but not then, never then. But there's something else she'd never tell him about that moment. When he lowered his mask and looked at her – it was at that moment she was truly frightened. Nevermind the firies or the cleaners or exceptionally smelly bogs. The way he looked at her, she saw what it was really about. It wasn't about the baby, it wasn't about Toby at all anymore. She looked at him, mask off, and saw Jareth.

She thought he was going to kiss her while they were dancing. She was wrong. He didn't kiss her. He just laughed at her. But that was the other thing, as frightened as she was by the way he looked at her, that was his biggest mistake. She knew how to win right then and there. Because that was it. It wasn't about the baby. It was about her. So she would use that to her every advantage. She was not about to lose.

She likes to forget the entire ballroom, but she never can.

The second time happened nearly eight years after the first. She'd been living in her new apartment for about six months, freshly graduated from college. Her friends had visited her since the day she left. But Jareth waited six months after she moved into her own place to greet her.

Hoggle had warned her he'd be coming. He'd warned her to be careful, but he'd afforded the Goblin King a little bit of courtesy. He passed on his request.

"He's sayin' he'd like to visit yous," Hoggle had explained one evening after Ludo and Sir Didymus had travelled back through the mirror. "He specific asked me to asks you."

"Yeah but what for? Can he visit me if I say no?" she said wringing her hands.

"I don't think there's much he can'ts do if he don't wants to," Hoggle said nervously. "I needs an answer Sarah. I promised him I'd asks and I ain't gettin' bogged for this."

Sarah raked her hands down her face.

"Okay, tell him…tell him I'll think about it and let him know."

She didn't sleep much that night. Instead she sat facing that mirror, just waiting for him to show up. He didn't.

The next night she poured herself a glass of red wine, drank it, and then poured another. She then made a pros and cons list and promptly chucked said list into the trash.

She moved her mirror to the kitchen. She knew where this was going. She'd known for months and probably years now. Sir Didymus had told her once he wasn't a bad guy. She didn't believe him. Ludo liked him. That was…less hard to ignore. Hoggle still hated him, so at least he was on her side. But when she was nineteen Sir Didymus had told her something that had sat in the back of her head ever since.

He had been keeping her abreast of the changes in the Labyrinth and had mentioned the restructuring of the inner Goblin City had finally been completed, four years after she'd brought it crashing down.

"After your heroic charge through the city my lady, many goblins lost their homes to the great valor of war!"

"They lost their homes?" She had asked startled. She didn't really imagine anyone ever actually living in the buildings.

"Indeed. His majesty personally opened up the castle to them until their homes could be repaired."

"I'm surprised he cared frankly," she had responded distractedly. She was still focused on the thought of what she had done to that city.

"My lady, I think you misunderstand. The great challenge of his majesty is that he cares too much."

It took her a while to get Sir Didymus' meaning. Jareth didn't care. He was selfish, cruel and unyielding. These were things she'd seen. These were things she knew.

But Sir Didymus was right. Just because Jareth didn't care about her, didn't mean he didn't care. Why should he care about her? According to his friends, she'd sacked his city. Granted, she did it to rescue her brother who he had taken, but she could no longer deny a real role in that either. But her friends had not been punished for their part in her little adventure and they were still able to visit her afterward.

So she stood in front of her mirror and muttered something about second chances for a few minutes, hating that she was supposed to be the hero in this story and therefore filled with forgiveness and compassion. Well she had neither of those, but she did recognize she had a total lack of common sense which is what led her to eventually relent.

"Fine Jareth, fine," she grumbled grabbing another bottle of wine.

Her mistake was, of course, turning her back on the mirror. She felt a gloved hand on her shoulder that stopped her cold. She turned around to face him.

She had forgotten what staring into those eyes could do to a person.

He leaned in slowly and Sarah felt her breath catch. He stopped and instead whispered into her ear.

"Thank you Sarah."

Then as quickly as he appeared, he stepped backwards through the mirror and back into the Labyrinth.

"This may have been a mistake," she said to the now empty kitchen.

The third time she was pretty sure she was going to kill him. She was pretty sure he, on the other hand, was going to kiss her.

There was nothing quite like opening your front door to find yourself halfway between Central and Park lane and the Bog of Eternal Stench. Living with goblins for the better part of seven years had done wonders for her reaction time – that alone kept her from tumbling head first into smelly oblivion.

Carefully stepping around the edge of the bog and into her apartment she finally noticed the Goblin King appraising the situation with a slightly bemused expression on his face.

"Ah excellent. I see you've noticed the little problem we seem to be having."

"Problem?!" Sarah sputtered. "The damn bog is in my apartment! My apartment! Which is still located Aboveground last I checked! Which I pay rent on. Which I didn't invite you to lounge in Jareth AND WHICH IS NICE!"

Jareth gestured to the couch next to him.

"Why don't you sit."

"No!" Sarah threw her bag down as angrily as she could while trying to be careful to avoid the bog. "It's my apartment and my couch. You don't invite me to sit on my couch. It's my couch!"

Jareth pursed his lips in amusement and moved so sit on the other side of the couch.

"Alright – are you going to sit?"

Sarah glared.

"Yes, but it has nothing to do with you."

"Of course not my dear."

Sarah sat down and looked expectantly at him. Jareth seemed to neither notice nor care.

"Well? Are you going to explain what the hell is going on and more, yeah much more importantly, how you're going to fix it?"

"Hmm? Oh yes. It seems all that hopping that has been going on around this apartment and the Goblin Kingdom has caused it to become a bit blurry around the edges. Overuse of portals and all that. There's a reason there are restrictions on these sorts of things you know."

"That doesn't make any sense," Sarah said confused. "I've had visitors for years. Pretty much consistently since I was 16 or so. Why is this happening now?"

"Well all those other locations you've called home never saw the levels this apartment is getting. You only lived in your universities' accommodations for a year before moving from room to room, hardly enough time for any problems to develop, and I did try and keep the them reigned in while you were still living with your parents."

"Yeah the situation with Toby and the 'no Karen that definitely looks like the neighbours' dog, definitely not a goblin' while Toby is rode it around the kitchen was not one I wanted repeated."

"There's also the simple matter of myself."

"Of course," Sarah rolled her eyes.

Jareth continued ignoring her.

"I bring things considerably more out of balance as I am a much stronger being than your warty little friend and the talking fox."

"You know everyday I wake up. I look at my face in the mirror and I think. Ah yes, this is the moron who decided to let the Goblin King enter her life again. This is the face of regret."

"Unfortunately my dear as you know what's said is said –"

"Watch it," she said pointing a finger accusingly at him. "So basically the magical boundaries got all muddied and jumbled and now parts of the Labyrinth are here and wait…does that mean parts of my apartment are there?"

"Yes. As much I enjoy your taste in décor, your bureau does look rather out of place in my throne room. Though the goblins certainly enjoyed the contents of your underwear drawer."

Sarah put her face in her hands.

"If you say one word, one pervy word about my underwear, I will send the goblins covered in bog with instructions to rub themselves over every single goddamn frilly shirt you own - am I clear?"

"Like a crystal Sarah."

She felt him brush her hair away from her face. Slowly she lifted her head to see him staring intently at her.

"What?" she said warily.

"This is a serious problem Sarah. Your underwear is the least of my concerns when the spacial reality of my kingdom is at stake. This distortion is dangerous. I have it contained for now but I have to create a more permanent solution to ensure it doesn't happen again. Creatures can and will get caught in between and I…I am unsure what would happen to them."

"Okay," Sarah said carefully. "I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking straight. Obviously I don't want this happening any more than you do though. So how can I help?"

Jareth looked at her consideringly.

"What would you say if the only solution was to give it all up. To never see your friends or our world again. To close off the link that you share for good."

Sarah felt a level of panic beginning to well up inside her.

"Would I be able to…what if I moved? I could move apartments."

"You would move every year for the rest of your life? What happens when you want to settle down? Have a family?" Jareth's eyes flashed and Sarah thought she caught a glimpse of something there, but it was gone too fast.

"I mean, I could do it for a while. Just until we come up with a better solution. I don't want to give this up. I don't want to give any of it up."

Jareth leaned in closer towards her.

"Including me?"

She was almost certain she was going to say no. That he didn't matter and it was her friends who were her concern. She was almost certain and yet, found she couldn't say anything at all.

Jareth gave her the briefest of smiles and tilted her head towards him. "Sarah, should you want for my assistance in remedying this situation you need to only do one thing."

Sarah closed her eyes. It was too much.

"What's that?"

"Trust me."

She felt a sharp flick to her nose.

"Ow! What the hell?"

She opened her eyes and he was gone save for entirely too much glitter on her couch.

The bog stayed for a week, her dresser returned the day after. The underwear was never seen again.

The fourth time happened on Valentine's Day.

It had been a rough winter. Sarah always felt there was something magical about the season but not this year. This year she only felt cold. Her heat had not been working for the better part of a month and every time her landlord thought it was fixed it only seemed to break again the next day. It was too cold to do much when she came home except crawl under a bunch of blankets and pray for death.

Wrapping her comforter around her Sarah went to the kitchen to make yet another mug of tea. That and some hooch were the only things that warmed her. But admittedly a green tea with ginger and gin was not a bad combination.

Clutching the steaming mug between her hands she sighed in relief. At least the kettle still had her back. The bell over the mirror ringed behind her and she wasn't altogether surprised to see a thoroughly pissed off looking Jareth.

"Sarah, what on earth is going on here?"

"I'm having gin and ginger tea. Can I offer you a mug?" she didn't wait for his answer before handing him hers. It was already starting to cool anyways.

"No," Jareth replied taking a long sip from the mug. "I am referring to the frozen tundra that seems to have occupied your apartment. Why are you determined to freeze yourself to death?"

Sarah rolled her eyes and added the tea bag to the boiling water.

"Yeah cause I'm definitely doing this on purpose. Nothing I love more than sleeping in my winter coat. Dillhole."

Jareth took another long drink from his mug.

"I was unclear if this was some new fashionable trend. Keeping your fingers blue for winter. You do have those utterly bizarre electric sun rooms designed to mimic skin damage."

"Wait you mean tanning beds? Fine, whatever, I can't explain that one. But no, this is not some fun style I'm trying. My heat is broken and my landlord cannot seem to get it fixed. The only thing I have going for me at this point is fifteen space heaters and the fact that I don't have to pay rent this month. Though, is this why I haven't seen you for weeks?"

Jareth scoffed and attempted to look indignant but ended up shivering slightly instead. Sarah laughed and took his now empty mug from his hands and began to refill it.

"You would be a baby about the cold. But careful, I'm a notorious over-pourer."

"Yes the drink is rather delicious," said begrudgingly. "But why didn't you just ask me for assistance?"

"Alright a couple of reasons," Sarah said sitting down at her kitchen table. "One, my apartment has electric baseboard heating. You're not too good with the electronics. Let us not forget the incident with the dvd player."

"Preposterous machine," Jareth said sitting down next to her. "Designed to fail."

"Yeah something tells me it wasn't designed to explode in a puff of purple glittery smoke but moving along. Two, because even if we just went the whole straight magical heating route, how on earth would I explain that to my landlord when she wonders why my place is so toasty but the heater is still clearly broken? Finally, I don't ask you for favours Jareth and you know it."

Jareth suddenly stopped looking entertained and began to look genuinely angry.

"You don't ask me for favours?"

"No I don't. It didn't go so well for me last time," Sarah reminded him.

Jareth just stared at her for a moment before standing up to make another mug of tea.

"You know," he said with his back turned to her. "I always knew you were stubborn but I never thought you'd let yourself freeze to death because of it."

"Jareth, come on," Sarah said exasperated. "I live in the human world. With human people who encounter human problems. I can't go expecting magical solutions every time something goes screwy in my life. Especially because every time something does go screwy it's usually because of magic in the first place!"

Jareth came and sat down next to her and looked longingly at the comforter in her lap. Sarah sighed and scooted over to drape the blanket over both their legs.

"You shouldn't be afraid of asking me for help Sarah. I wish to help sometimes. We are friends. I help my friends."

"We're friends?" Sarah said smiling.

"Yes, you are my friend," Jareth said stubbornly. "Though I would have you for more if you would let me."

She pushed him away playfully.

"Come now," he said waggling his eyebrows suggestively. "Have you never been curious?"

"Jareth, I think you're a bit drunk," she said moving to take the mug away from him.

"Nonsense I am fine," he said pulling it out of her reach. "Besides I know you have."

"Oh you know do you?" Sarah laughed but felt the heat rising up her collar. Certain dreams she'd had briefly flashed through her mind. But those were totally subconscious and she could not be held responsible for them. She was only 90% sure he couldn't see her dreams and wasn't really interested in testing out the other 10%.

"Of course I do. I know that if I come a little bit closer," Jareth pushed his chair right up into hers so that his knees were straddling hers. "I know that if I lean in towards you like this," he said leaning closer towards her. "That you will wonder what harm one kiss could do. That one kiss has never been the end of the world."

Sarah felt her fists clench at her sides. She responded the way she'd always had where Jareth was concerned – with more confidence than she felt.

"Are you quite sure about that?" She whispered into his ear.

Jareth smiled and cupped her chin in his gloved hand.

"No. Would you like to find out?"

Yes! Her mind screamed. She'd like to find out very much. But the stronger more rational part reminded her that down that road lay madness. So she instead pulled her chair alongside Jareth and put her arm over his shoulder, wrapping the comforter around both of them.

"Come on," she said reassuringly. "It's too cold for this and you're drunk off my cheap gin."

Jareth rested his head on her shoulder.

"There may be some truth to that."

They sat like that for a long while. Sarah carefully sipping her tea and finding that this was the warmest she'd been in over a month. A month, she thought. It was Valentine's Day. She was about to ask if Valentine's Day existed Underground when she noticed the Goblin King had fallen asleep on her shoulder.

Sarah smiled and brushed a piece of hair off his cheek. Looking at him like that she could almost forget that he was an aggravating, baby-napping, havoc-wreaking and all around unpleasant house guest.

That was the only excuse she had for what she did next. Temporary insanity and forgetting just who exactly Jareth was. So Sarah leaned over and gave him a gentle kiss on his forehead. Jareth's eyes quickly opened and him being so close to her and looking at her the way he always did. Sarah forgot herself and allowed herself to kiss him gently on the lips.

Immediately she knew he was wrong. That one kiss could be the end of the world. That it could do very much harm indeed. He responded, eagerly, meeting her kiss with his. She forgot to keep her eyes open. She forgot that it was only supposed to be a quick kiss. She forgot a lot of things and just let herself enjoy a kiss that she swore was never going to happen again.

When she finally pulled back, her face was hot and her heart was pounding in her chest. Suddenly she wasn't quite so cold anymore.

Jareth looked at her, waiting to see what she'd do next. She stood up, throwing the blanket off her and walked over to the other side of the room.

"I think maybe you should go," she said gesturing to the mirror. She couldn't look at him just yet.

Jareth stood up and carefully walked over to her.

"So you did wonder," he replied running his fingers through his sleep-rumpled hair. "If you had warned me I would have responded with a better example. Hardly fair Sarah."

"Yeah well," she muttered. "That's just the way it is."

He chuckled and then suddenly, he was standing right in front of her.

"Ah, but there must always be," he wrapped his arms around her back. "A basis for comparison."

She thought he'd kissed her before. She was wrong. That was just a peck compared to this. With one hand wrapped around her waist and the other in her hair Sarah was putting a great deal of effort into not letting her knees give out then and there. She was also focused on kissing him back. Because like hell if he was just going to walk up to her and kiss her like that. Like hell if he was getting away scot free. She was going to give as good as she was getting and what she was getting was very very good indeed.

He tasted like fire, smoke and the night sky all wrapped together. It was the last breath of October's evenings with the crisp leaves and the damp earth. Like being caught up at a bonfire where her whole body was at the centre just burning. She was worried he could feel her heart pounding in her chest, but she could feel some things of her own.

It occurred to her that they had been circling each other for years. Just slowly getting closer and closer until there was little space left between them. That to speak was to brush their lips up against the others until one of them finally gave in and closed that last breath.

She just really didn't think it would be her. But then again, she was nothing if not reckless where Jareth was concerned.

After what felt like a million years and yet no time at all he slowly withdrew his lips from hers and stepped backwards to stare at her. She was pleased that he looked as rough as she felt. His eyes looked almost completely black with desire? Anger? Hunger? Sarah couldn't be sure but she knew that at least she wasn't alone.

"Well?" he said waiting.

"Well what?"

"Do you have your basis for comparison?" Jareth asked, some of the smugness returning.

"Yeah," she said nodding. "I do."

"Excellent. Then, until next time." Jareth gave a small bow and stepped back through the mirror to Underground.

She stood alone in her kitchen for another half an hour. Waiting to see if he would come back. When he didn't, Sarah knew she was right. There was a basis for comparison after all. A before and an after and they had certainly crossed the line into after. Right then and there she swore that would be the last time she kissed him.

Her apartment stayed heated the rest of the winter. When the landlord asked she just swore the space heaters were more effective than previously believed. The ice melted soon after anyways.