Author's Note: Sequel to 'Bond of Sun and Moon'. Definitely read that first.
Author's Note 2: We're back! And Jareth has quite a few surprises for us. The same warnings still hold for rape, angst and torture, but this time I also have something different- Mpreg!
"You're being ridiculous," Toby snorted, sitting up in bed and laughing.
Sarah looked indignant. "I am not," she protested, "Think about it..."
"I'd rather not," Toby quirked, "Let's just say it's still not something I'm used to. And no, having my own valet is not quite enough to entice me back there."
Sarah sobered up as sadness flickered into the blue eyes. It was a momentary gleam only and Toby had been in good spirits for most of the day, but it was still too much of a reminder of everything that had ever gone wrong in her brother's life. She sighed, patting a thin hand and wishing she could help. But it was not her battle, and like Jareth, she had been forced to let go.
"Sarah, don't pity me."
Green eyes blinked at the sudden quiet statement. "I wasn't," Sarah protested, "I don't pity you."
"I'm glad," another voice joined in, "Pity really is such a waste of time."
From the look of Toby's beaming face, there was only person who it could be. That, and no one else managed to sound quite so smug in a gravelly English accent. She stood up and turned to glare at the fairy standing prettily behind her, a smirk on his pale face. "You," she said carefully, "Should learn not to creep up on people!"
"I don't creep; Toby's nerves wouldn't stand it. For you, my elf- a present."
Toby grinned and shook his head, accepting the crystal with the enthusiasm of a child on Christmas morning, not quite bouncing on his bed in excitement, but obviously eager to open it. He held it in his hands and turned it over, trying to see what it was he was supposed to do with it. He made a silent wish but nothing happened. He shook it- nothing again. Damn, Jareth was getting good at this game!
Jareth sat down and watched him, a small smile on his face at the deep concentration. It had become one of the highlights of his day to give Toby a 'present' every morning when he arrived. It had quickly turned into a game to see how inventive Jareth could be, and how ingeniously Toby could get the crystal to yield up what it was meant to. So far, Toby had managed it every time.
Sarah silently left the room, leaving them alone to go get ready for work. There was no need any longer for her to stay. Besides, everyone got the feeling that Toby would rather spend a morning with Jareth than with anyone else, so they pandered to his wishes and smiled in private. Except for Harold, who glowered every time he laid eyes on the Goblin King. But since Jareth seemed quite as uncomfortable with the man, they both had the decency to stay out of each other's way.
"Well?" Jareth asked, leaning back comfortably with his legs outstretched.
Toby waved briefly to his companion and then went back to his crystal. Perhaps there was a word that unlocked it? He tried every significant word that Jareth had ever said to him that he could remember but none of them had any impact. The crystal remained annoyingly closed. Mismatched eyes continued to gaze steadily at him, infinite patience in their impatient depths.
"You're a contradiction," Toby murmured unexpectedly, "That's what Mom called you yesterday."
Jareth raised an exotic dark brow and felt the corners of his lips twitch into a smile. But he kept silent, guessing that his elf was in the mood to ramble and quite content to listen to him for a while. The strength had not yet returned to his voice and Toby still sounded far too uncertain of himself. There was time, Jareth reminded himself coolly, and there would be time enough for him to grow surer.
Toby did not need to look up to know that his bond mate was listening. Sitting in bed with a crystal turning absently in his hands, he felt more peaceful than he had for a long time. "She said," he continued softly, "That you were far too nice to be so cruel. I told her you were very cruel and that nothing was ever what it seemed. She laughed."
"She should," Jareth replied, "It was rather a thoughtless thing to say."
Blue eyes glared up at him from behind a curtain of tangled blond curls. "Thanks! And here I thought I was defending you!"
A rich chuckle and then Jareth sat beside him on the bed, long legs tucked neatly away in the tiny space and a white hand stroking the contours of a golden arm. "You were, luv; and for that I thank you. But statements like that... you need to speak them with experience, not for effect. For example, I could tell you that black were white and you would only laugh at me. But if I tell you that nothing is ever as it seems, you will believe me. I know appearances, Toby; I have lived them and lived through them. Life is a never-ending masquerade ball; we each have our masks and our pretty costumes. And that is all we have."
"If that's all we have, then why bother?"
Ah! Now that was something Jareth had been hoping to talk about for quite some days now. Gently he pried the crystal from stiff fingers, lifting a palm to drop a kiss into it. Then the crystal began to roll and writhe upon long fingers. "Do you remember the last dream we shared?"
"Yeah," Toby growled, "You got pissed and scared the hell out me!"
The other hand began to stroke the golden hair, fingering strands as if learning every last nuance of feel. "That is true. Did you know that I was scared too? You asked me if the Labyrinth was more powerful: no, it is not. But it contains more formal power than I ever will. The Spirit of the Labyrinth comes to my call and submits to my management of its boundaries; but the power I own comes from its essence and without the Labyrinth I would be severely at a disadvantage."
Teeth bit at the full lower lip, worrying the soft skin as Toby tangled his fingers in his t-shirt and thought about that. It was not something very complex to understand. In fact, it was singularly easy! Yet there were the finer points to it that left so much doubt. Jareth obeyed the Labyrinth... and the Labyrinth obeyed him?
"I asked you to break the crystal for the truth," Jareth resumed, placing the crystal back in Toby's hands, "I put conditions on our relationship and I am sorry. The gift this morning, my elf, is a promise- you can trust me."
"So I get to keep this one intact?" Toby asked archly, smiling a little. Closet romantic? Jareth was more likely a mansion-worth of romantic! It was oddly amusing and very sweet. Of course, Toby would not admit on pain of anything at all that he thought someone was 'sweet', but there it was. Jareth, he exulted, was a sweetheart.
"Well, unless you like wanton destruction of pretty things..."
Toby stuck his tongue out, but hard fingers caught it before he could pull it back.
"Such rudeness," Jareth smirked, "However will I punish it?"
Toby narrowed his eyes and looked sulky. His bond mate only laughed at him, bloodless lips curved in a genuine boyish grin, wild hair tossed and tousled, the green poet-sleeved shirt a welcome change from the usual black and white. Toby was uncomfortably aware of his own skin all of a sudden, and the fact that there was nothing but a fragile layer of clothes over him.
The laughter died down as something else began to flicker. Jareth tilted his head, absorbing this feeling so slowly, almost as if it was pushing through him with elusive force. He wondered wistfully where he now stood with the boy. There was so much left unsaid, so much he wanted to say but simple contact just drove the thoughts from his head. How was it Archer phrased it- 'obsessive intimacy'? Yes, that was it. Toby, as he liked to put it, was the drug in his veins.
The wet muscles rolled beneath his fingertips as Toby unconsciously swallowed. It roused him from his thoughts, made him remember what the hell was going on. And he let go very hurriedly and stood. Which was probably quite the wrong thing to do because his shirt was not quite long enough and his blood had rushed from his head straight to his groin. Toby's jaw dropped at the sight and then a blush stained the cheeks and nose of the mortal as he turned his head.
"Excuse me." It was a command, not a request.
Toby huddled beneath his blanket as he raised a hand to cover his eyes. God, would none of this ever end? Why the fuck did everything have to be so hard? He sniggered bitterly at the unintended pun. The crystal lay next to him on the bed, radiating a kind of warmth as if it sensed his pain.
And it did. For Jareth had woven a complex spell into it in lieu of their bond's shortcomings. He stood with his back against the wall and stared at the closed door of Toby's bedroom, steadying himself with deep breathes as Toby's confusion washed through him.
"I could go to him," the fairy mused softly, "Or I could stay here. I certainly can't leave him alone in the house... shouldn't be leaving him alone at all." And there it was- he had promised never to leave! But he didn't know how to stay.
The sound of the door opening startled him and he raised unguarded eyes to blink at Toby walking slowly from the room, favouring his still-sore stomach and his small face unreadable. "I thought staying in there would be a bad idea," Toby muttered, jerking his head in the direction of his bedroom, "Let's go to the kitchen. I'm hungry anyway."
Jareth nodded and let him lead the way. Toby hated contact now at the best of times, suffering touches only if he instigated them or trusted the person implicitly. Jareth was trusted; but sometimes that trust broke temporarily. This was one of those times and though he longed to sweep the small figure up into his arms, he stayed his hands and let things pass. There would be no touching until Toby was ready.
The kitchen, thank goodness, did not inspire either of them to romantic thoughts. It was bright, cheery and vastly practical. Toby dropped into a chair near the wall with a tired sigh. Walking could be hard when one had no energy.
"How do you feel?"
"Like I've just walked from my room to the kitchen."
"I see." The Goblin King didn't, but he let it pass. It was not his business anyway. He set about raiding the fridge with business-like aplomp, looking so out of place in this typical suburban home that Toby grimaced at the sight.
"Jareth, why did you save me?"
There was no indication of Jareth answering him. Instead boots padded noiselessly over the floor as Jareth opened a cupboard for a glass. The click of the wooden catch was far too loud, reminding him of other sounds, reminding Toby of woods and trees and agony beneath the stars. It made him angry. Angry enough that he stalked to the fairy, grabbing the glass of milk away and throwing it in one furious moment to smash against the floor. Shards of glass rained under their feet but Toby could not have cared one jot.
Instead he grabbed Jareth's head and pulled it down, drawing it close enough to kiss, close enough to bite. So close... "I wanted to die and you didn't let me. Why the bloody hell couldn't you leave me be?"
"Because you were never meant to die," Jareth snapped back, gripping the slender wrists and feeling the fragile bones shift under the thin skin. Far too fragile. Sturdier bones had been broken that night and the boy was much too easy to break apart! It drove Jareth to match anger for anger, fear for fear. "Don't be stupid. Do you think I would have left you to die? To bleed out in a public park?"
"I was raped!" Toby shouted, "You think I want to live for that?"
"That's all over," Jareth hissed, controlling his temper as the hands tangled in his hair began to tremble. "He won't come back for you. I won't let him touch you..."
"How? You promised me this before Jareth and it happened again. You can't protect me," the violent torment was so strong Jareth could feel it start to choke him, "You brought me back to nothing but pain."
"I brought you back to life, where you belong."
"Here?" Toby let go so fast that he stumbled, pulling viciously away when Jareth tried to steady him. He whirled in a circle with his arms out, throwing hysterical glances through the sunny room. "A place I don't belong? Living with my mommy and daddy in a world I hate with my heart in little pieces? You brought me back to misery and Goddamn you, but I love you for it! You know that? I fucking love you for that!"
Jareth held his breath, blanking all expression from his face. This had needed to be said. He was dimly aware of ribbons of pain. More than that, he was queasy and hoping not to retch all over Karen's clean floors. "I wanted to give you happiness," he sighed, "I want to give you the world, but it's such a hurtful, hateful place that you can't hold it without burning your hand. I am sorry you hurt, but I will not let you die in such a way."
"Then you're selfish," Toby said, "Look at me, Jareth. I've been raped and broken and torn; I'm not fit for anything now. What do you want me to do here- go back to school? Go to college? I never fit in anyway. How do I tell people my own age that I'm bonded to the Goblin King and madly in love with him? You don't see it but I do: I'm- I'm not going to survive if I have to stay here. And I can't hurt Mom and Dad and Sarah, so I'll have to leave. I must. And then he'll come back for me and there'll be no one."
"There will always be someone. You can always call on me."
"I could. But why? I wanted you to touch me, to hold me, to take me. But you won't! You stand there and I just know you're going to tell me that you can't let me be involved with you. And then to call you when I'm... like that! It'd kill me. I don't even know which side is up any more. The only place that makes sense is the Underground. And I understand it a little, which makes me sound insane and I know you don't believe me but it's true- I feel at home there."
"Toby, you are only sixteen! You have so much life to live, so many things to see. Why the devil do you want to give all that up for a life tied to one person? I cannot give you friends. I cannot give you anything you've grown up with. I cannot even give you freedom to roam because there are dangers for you in my land that has nothing to do with insane rapists. Do you want me to take you to that?"
"Jareth, I want you. If that means in the Underground, then yes. If you hate the Goblin Kingdom so much, then why not give it up? Live with me in the Aboveground. We could travel the world." Toby moved closer, hungry lips parted and pleading. "I would make you happy..."
"I will not give up my Kingdom." The growl was final, irrevocable and a sworn oath so certain that Toby knew better than to argue.
"Then let me live with you. Please, Jareth," to the Goblin King's infinite shock, Toby fell to his knees before him, "I'm begging. I love you and it hurts. If you love Archer, or if you want him, that's fine. I won't interfere with you. I don't want to rule a kingdom; you're the King, not me. I just want to love you."
White fingertips fluttered down over the flushed face, unexpectedly coated with leather gloves that burned over the soft skin. Glowing blue eyes, the wide mouth panting softly, almost groaning as the fingers dipped partway into that warm cavern and forced it to open wider. The other hand tangled in golden hair.
"You think you can stand that," the raw silk voice was mocking, soft to the point where Toby heard it in his head rather than his ears, "To love me is to desire me, Toby. How long could you stand to put up with that?"
"Forever..."
"Truly? I will take you right to the very abyss between heaven and hell and I force you further. It will hurt and you will not even have the excuse of rape. You will crave it until you agree to anything if only to have me touch you and I won't oblige until I am ready." He bent down, leaning forward to whisper in a straining ear- "I have a voracious appetite, my elf. And not only for sex. You will have no choices if you return with me."
Whatever Jareth was hoping for, he did not get. For though Toby shuddered he pressed closer, burying his face in the crook of shoulder and neck, nuzzling deeper and licking at the pale flesh. Warm, wet... everything converging to just that one simple erotic desire.
Grabbing the lithe body up, hauling him to his feet and lifting him, Jareth could not resist this. He desired it, needed it, and when Toby wrapped slender legs around his waist and pressed a dazed kiss to his mouth he tore it savagely from the boy. He demanded his needs be met. Toby did it willingly, moaning for more when Jareth bit harshly at his neck and drank down the taste of him.
"Please..."
Who was that? Jareth almost fancied it was his own voice but he didn't remember saying anything.
"Please..."
It felt like both or neither of them. But the simple sobbing words were enough to make him stop, to hold the child but withdraw his mouth.
Toby was sobbing. Crying desperately as he leaned his head against Jareth's shoulder, arms flung tight around Jareth's neck.
"Ssh... I'm sorry. Forgive me, my elf, I never meant to upset you." If anything, Jareth had now made his point. Toby would never be ready for what Jareth desired. And to help him prepare himself required so much love and trust that Jareth was certain it could not be done. Not after the severe beating and rape that his bond mate had endured. Arienne had forcibly reset the broken ribs and bones and poured quart upon quart of herbal tinctures down Toby's throat to stop the internal bleeding. What both of them wanted could exist now in dreams only. And there it would have to end.
"I'm not upset," the child gulped harshly, pulling away, "Look at me- I am not upset. I'm only... Okay, I'm upset. But not the way you think! Jareth, I'm just confused. I need a little time, but I do love you and- and I can do this. I just need a little time. Just a little. Please. A little time."
Jareth sat Toby down in a chair and then knelt before him. "Toby, you cannot ask me to understand any of this," he said honestly, "I'm not capable of it. It burns too bright and that's not in my nature. If I could, I would give you my world and everything in it but it will very soon cease to excite you. You will long to be released from it, to come back to the Aboveground. And that will only cause us more pain. This way is better."
Hands, small and golden and so very delicate, touched his chest. Three ornate silver buttons were undone and the forest green material pushed aside. A hand slipped gently over hidden skin to press soothingly over a beating heart.
"I love you."
The words were short. There were no frills, no declaration of forever and a day, no promises of sunshine and roses. Only the emotions.
Jareth was known to be impetuous. He was known to take a mad idea into his head and not listen to a word of reason as he followed it to the last letter. Many times had he harmed himself through his inability to think things through. But in this case, he had already been half-persuaded and trying very hard to talk himself out of it. But Toby was asking for it and Jareth wasn't inclined to say no once more. And yet he surprised even himself when he said- "Will you marry me?"
"What?" The golden hand stopped dead and Toby's jaw dropped in shock.
Jareth shrugged mentally and went with the moment. "Will you marry me?" he echoed, "I will be everything you have ever needed; I will move the stars for you."
"Jareth, we're guys, remember? We can't get married!"
"There is no distinction in the Underground for marriages between inter-gender or in-gender lovers. We can do this." Jareth was begging now. He could hear the pleas in his own voice. But Gods, to be able to wake up to this beauty! Or to see Toby reading quietly in his library when the day was too rainy to take him out! Jareth felt he might well kill for that privilege. "Please!"
Toby bit his lip, eyes full of hope and need and uncertainty. "What if you get bored of me? I'm not anything special and I can't give you kids."
"I don't want anything you cannot give me," Jareth snapped, impatiently pulling the fire-blond off the chair to kneel before him, tired of the crick in his neck from looking up, "I just want you. You say you want me. You say you love me. How can that bore me?"
Toby hesitated.
"I would keep you well," Jareth sighed, "I would be able to protect you because the bond would strengthen and no one would touch you again without my knowing it. You will be happy. Just fear me, love me, do as I say and I will be your slave."
The Labyrinth... Toby had heard this before- Jareth's relationship with the Labyrinth. They both served the other, and demanded certain needs that the other fulfilled. Could he be that way? Could he come running when called and let Jareth have final say in everything? In turn the Goblin king would make him happy, he knew that.
"Yes."