AUTHOR'S NOTE: PLEASE READ! Alright guys, this is the LAST installment in this series so please don't ask for a continuation. I'm sorry it took me so long but I was honestly having trouble figuring out what to do for this. I still wasn't sure until I was about halfway through the story.

As such, I promise nothing with this story. Like I said, I had some trouble writing this one so if it doesn't measure up please don't kill me. Suddenly being back in school after over two years can do bad things to the creative side of your brain.

That being said, I own nothing!

Leather, The Date

Christine glanced up from her laptop to once more check the clock on the wall. 12:01. One minute after she'd checked it the last time. She gave the clock a baleful glare, deciding that the lack of movement had to be its fault (she was ignoring the fact that her impatience was making her cranky). The clock stared back impassively; knowing that to show fear was to be destroyed. Again.

Sarah had forbidden everyone in the building, under pain of being thrown into the Bog, from following them this time. Jareth had agreed with her and said he would cheerfully Bog anyone who interrupted them on their date. Hence, Christine's bad mood. She'd consoled herself with expectations of the date not taking very long since Sarah was already predisposed against the whole thing and would more than likely try to find a way out of this quickly.

Christine had fully expected that Sarah would be back by now, fuming about whatever calamities had befallen her on her night out, railing at Jareth and blaming the poor Fae for some conceived wrong that he had supposedly done. It had yet to happen.

With one more glance at the clock (12:02. The clock cringed as it awaited its fate), Christine begrudgingly let herself believe that the date might have actually gone well and settled in to try to finish her homework. The sound of a key in the door had her sitting up straight and staring in anticipation at the door as it opened (the clock gave a sigh of relief at the averted crisis which would have ended with its various parts strewn about the room). However, to her shock (and a bit of disappointment), Sarah simply walked through the door and went about her regular routine of setting things down. Of Jareth there was no sign.

Christine was just about to venture a comment when Sarah plopped down on the couch across from her. It then became obvious that Sarah had been running on autopilot. It was something she did when she had a problem that was giving her some trouble and she wasn't quite sure how to handle the outcome. Christine let her be for the moment; knowing from experience that it was better to wait for Sarah to return to the world of all the regular mortals on her own instead of trying to force her attention.

Christine winced at the memory of a time when Sarah had come home like that while Erik had been there. Getting worried at Sarah's ignoring them, he'd gone over to try to get her attention to see if she was okay before Christine could stop him. She was glad Erik had quick reflexes or else her new boyfriend might have lost something important. He hadn't tried that again.

Sarah's eyes cleared and focused on Christine. The two stared at each other for a moment before Sarah finally said, "It went really well."

Her tone betrayed her disbelief that such a thing had happened and Christine couldn't help but agree. With the collection of people they had in this building things rarely went well or even as planned.

"Ok," Christine said slowly.

Sarah's lips twisted into a wry smile.

"Yes, I know exactly what you're thinking," She said, "I lived through the experience and I still don't believe it."

Christine speared Sarah with a look that clearly said Sarah wasn't getting off that easy. She wanted details and she wanted them now. Sarah sighed as she realized she wasn't about to get to bed anytime soon. Slowly, she started at the beginning when Jareth had come and gotten her, then proceeded on. Hopefully Christine wouldn't have too many questions.

Erik started as the door to the apartment slammed open. He peered out his bedroom door as a certain excited Fae came dancing and singing (shedding glitter all the while and Erik felt his lip curl in disgust) into the apartment. Apparently the date had gone well. James and Javert also peered out their doors at the excited Fae (also curling their lips at the excessive amount of glitter) and came to the same conclusion Erik had.

Erik, Christine, Javert, and James (along with several others) had finally gotten tired of Sarah evading the issue and Jareth moping so they'd locked her in a room with the glittery, tight-panted Fae until terms for the date had been decided upon. It had taken several hours (the first few with Sarah screaming, pleading, and begging to be let out while Jareth gloated in the corner and only the last hour or so with the two of them actually negotiating) but they'd finally gotten done and the time was decided on for that weekend. Since Valentine's Day was that Thursday they'd thought it was appropriate (No mention was made to the fact that the last date had happened around Valentine's Day as well). Sarah hadn't been talking to anyone once she'd been let out so they'd had to get the details from Jareth.

There was a Valentine's party being held at a local hotel and Jareth was determined to go. Since Sarah just wanted out of the room, she readily agreed (maybe not being as thorough in gathering details in her haste to get out as she usually was). Jareth (taking advantage of Sarah's oversight) had neglected to mention to her that the party was being hosted by the Fae monarchs of the different kingdoms in the Underground. Apparently, several of them had expressed an interest in meeting Sarah. With or without Jareth around. Jareth decided it would be more prudent to be present when these meetings occurred. Though, he wasn't sure who he was protecting: Sarah or the other Fae monarchs.

Regardless, once Sarah found out what exactly this party entailed, she was less than pleased but she had agreed to go and she was a person of her word. Christine had been ecstatic that the party was a Fae party and she planned on grilling Sarah all about once she got back.

Jareth, who knew the contents of Sarah's closet almost as well as Sarah herself, declared that she had nothing suitable and promptly ordered a dress be made for her. Sarah argued this point with Jareth hotly; stating that she could "buy her own damn clothes." Jareth argued right back that she had no idea what was appropriate dress for a Fae party and what wasn't. She knew he was right but that didn't stop her from arguing with him right up until the moment when the dress arrived.

The dress was a sleekly layered confection of different shades of reds and pinks. The bodice had a sweetheart neckline that plunged into a split skirt in the front to show a cream underskirt. Intricate beading and stitching created patterns and made the material shimmer. What was unusual was that sheer fabric had been sewn to the top to give it sleeves and a collar up her neck. Jareth explained that Fae were very sensitive to touch (which explained why he always wore gloves) and so as much skin as possible, as well as, the hands, were covered. So saying, he produced a pair of deep red gloves that would come to just past her wrists and a pair of cream slippers to complete the ensemble. Jareth had discreetly left as Sarah and Christine cooed over the dress.

To say that Sarah had been a vision when he'd come to collect her later would have been a gross understatement. The dress hugged her curves just as he'd known it would while her hair was done in a style similar to when they'd dance together while she was in the Labyrinth; just not as poofy. Jareth made a note to thank Christine at some later point. Her time at the Opera had certainly come in handy. The reds of the dress contrasted with Sarah's eyes to make them seem brighter while the light makeup she'd applied highlighted them. All this had been topped of with a pearl necklace and earrings. Jareth couldn't say anything for a full minute. Sarah got impatient.

"Well?" She said; exasperated, "Is it suitable?"

"What?" It took the Fae king a moment to catch up, "Yes! Yes, very suitable Precious. I shall be the luckiest man there."

"You're not a man," Sarah replied flippantly but she was secretly pleased, "How are we getting there anyway?"

"Why the normal way, Precious."

Sarah's eyes narrowed at Jareth's entirely too innocent Cheshire grin.

"Wait. Normal for you or-"

She never got to finish as they were suddenly gone in a swirl of glitter; leaving Erik and Christine staring at the spot they'd disappeared and sneezing at the glitter that got up their noses. The two had then decided to wait for their respective roommates in their own apartments since neither one wanted to miss a minute of when their friends got back (Erik and Christine tended to get…distracted if they were left alone for too long).

So here was Jareth, obviously in a very good mood and not shy about showing it. The Goblin King did one last spin before flopping down in one of the chairs set in front of the television. Javert, James, and Erik waited a few minutes to let the glitter flying about disperse a bit before cautiously making their way out their doors.

"So I take it things went smoothly," James said airily as he flopped down sideways on the brown leather sofa. Erik swatted his legs down to make room for himself before venturing his own comment.

"Of course it did," he said dismissively with a wave of his hand, "He wouldn't have been shedding this much glitter if it hadn't."

"Of course things went smoothly," Jareth said happily, "I employed the services of a certain angel and devil to make sure they did."

The others gave the Goblin King sharp looks at that but he ignored them; humming softly to himself as he gazed into a crystal he created. Javert leaned forward from the chair opposite Jareth's to get a better view of the crystal and saw Jareth and Sarah dancing across what appeared to be a hotel ballroom dance floor. Jareth gazed at it a moment longer before dismissing the crystal.

"So you got Az and Crowley to help out," Javert said, "There had to have been something that went wrong even a little bit."

"Nope," Jareth smirked cheerfully, "Everything went exactly as planned. Even the kiss."

"So she did go through with it," Erik remarked, "I did wonder."

James made a sound of agreement as he lounged back on the arm of the couch. Jareth threw the two of them a dirty look at the implication that Sarah wouldn't do as she promised.

"Sarah gave her word," Jareth shot back hotly, "The night went exactly as planned with no surprises whatsoever. At least, none that Az and Crowley or myself couldn't handle."

"So what of all these other monarchs that wanted to meet Sarah?" Erik asked after a pause.

Jareth waved his hand dismissively, "Oh I took care of that."

The other three glanced at each other warily.

"And how exactly did you do that?" James asked carefully.

"Sarah and I discussed it and, even though she didn't like it, she allowed me to claim that she was under my protection (which wasn't too far off the mark); which got rid of anyone who had any designs on her. Anyone left after that was just curious and wanted to meet her for legitimate reasons," Jareth explained, "And while it was an open statement and can be interpreted in several different ways, we decided it was better to keep the announcement general so it would have the least amount of repercussions."

"And that, my son, is entirely the problem," Said a voice from behind them. Everyone turned to find the Erlking in his human form staring at Jareth with something close to exasperated admiration, "You left it open to give her more freedom but everyone interpreted it as the two of you being engaged."

"What?" Jareth said softly. He felt like a bucket of cold water had just been dumped over his head.

"People are starting to talk about when the wedding will be and what they're going to wear," The Erlking continued as if he hadn't heard his son. James, Javert, and Erik were all giving Jareth pitying looks and he sat up straighter in his chair. They all knew that Sarah was going to be pissed once she found out.

"What?!" He said a little louder; now sounding slightly panicked. As much as he would love to be engaged to Sarah he didn't think she would take this too well and he whimpered at the pain he knew would probably be in his near future.

"Jareth," The Erlking said sounding exasperated, "You made the announcement at the Valentine's Day ball in full view of every monarch in the Underground, including your mother I might add; you hit most of the traditional high spots bringing her to this ball and making that announcement. I will give you that most of those traditions are rather archaic and haven't been used in years but that's not the point. The point is you gave your mother ideas which then spread to everyone else."

Seeing the others' confused looks he explained while Jareth wallowed in self pity.

"We are creatures of magic and as such we are governed by certain rules. In making such an announcement the magic that governs us decided that the two of them were engaged. As such, come hell or high water, the two will be married. It may not be today or tomorrow or even next year, considering who the lady is, I wouldn't be surprised if it took many more years but, eventually, Jareth and Sarah will be wed and not even death will stop it from happening."

Jareth groaned as the others glanced at him sympathetically but the Erlking wasn't done yet.

"And your mother has decided to go congratulate your new bride-to-be."

Jareth's head shot up and he stared at his father in dawning horror.

"WHAT?!"

Everyone jerked but it hadn't been Jareth who uttered the word.

"Well," the Erlking sighed, "At least you didn't kiss her so there may be a way out of this."

Jareth turned towards his father with a stricken expression.

"About that," He muttered.

"Ok so they had real fairies strung out as lights?" Christine asked in wonder.

"Uh-huh," Sarah said excitedly. Now that she'd gotten over her shock she was describing everything about the ball to Christine and she was having a hard time containing her own excitement and wonder. However, there was one thing Christine really wanted to know about.

"So," Christine said casually and Sarah stiffened at her tone, "What about that kiss?"

Sarah shifted uncomfortably and looked about to bolt but Christine speared her with one of her looks and she settled back down with a sigh.

"Well," She stopped and a glazed expression came over her face as she absently touched her lips. Christine just grinned at her friend's reaction. That was all she needed to know, "I don't think there are any words to describe it."

"Then don't try," Christine chuckled, "That look on your face is good enough for me."

A cold breeze suddenly blew through the room and the two girls turned dread filled expressions towards the door as Jadis blew through the door.

"Well I'm glad you enjoyed it," She said airily in her usual sneering manner, "As much as it pains me, I must do a mother's duty to that waste of space and come congratulate you."

Sarah felt dread settle over her but she had to ask.

"Why?"

Jadis stared at her a moment before an entirely too please expression spread across her face. The feeling of doom grew.

"You don't know? It wasn't intentional?" Jadis almost giggled in delight and Sarah knew she wasn't going to like the answer she was about to get to her next question at all.

"Are you going to explain or just stand there gloating," Sarah asked tartly. Christine sat wide-eyed staring between the two as she waited for the inevitable blow up.

"Why you being engaged to my worthless son, of course," Jadis said cheerfully.

"I'm not engaged to Jareth," Sarah denied hotly.

"Oh but you are," Jadis said and she proceeded to explain what the Erlking was even then explaining to the boys downstairs.

"WHAT?!" Sarah shrieked. Christine looked just as shocked as her friend.

"Yes my dear, you will soon be a part of the family."

"No! No way!" Sarah cried.

"And since you kissed him that just sealed the deal," Jadis continued with relish.

"I'm gonna kill him," Sarah growled as she headed for the door.

"Oh I'm sure there's no call for that," Jadis said casually, "My idiot son didn't realize what he did either. I'm sure his father's up there explaining his blunder to him right now."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" Sarah snapped.

"No," Jadis replied with a shrug before sweeping out the door, "Tata darling. I can't wait for the wedding."

Sarah stared at the door as it slammed shut. Christine just stared at Sarah. A subdued poof announced the presence of a certain persona non grata. Christine moved towards the door.

"I'll just let you two talk this out," She said cautiously as she hurried out the door and up to the boys' apartment to discuss this new development with them.

Sarah didn't turn to look at Jareth for a long while and Jareth didn't push the issue. All of a sudden Sarah exploded into motion and Jareth found himself grateful she was still wearing her dress since it restricted her movements. Sarah hit and kicked as best she could, which wasn't much, but eventually she stopped and simply glared murder at Jareth.

"I didn't mean to," Jareth said lamely. All at once the fight left Sarah and she slumped. She knew it wasn't completely his fault. After all, she'd agreed to most of it.

"Is there a time limit on this thing?" Was all she said.

"No," He answered, "It's just "one day.""

Sarah straightened her shoulders and stared him in the eye, "Well "One Day"'s going to have to wait a very long time.

So saying she scooted around Jareth and made her way to her room; firmly shutting the door to let everyone know that if anyone wanted in they'd better have a very good reason. Jareth stared after her for a moment before his trademark smirk once more took up residence on his face. She hadn't killed him, maimed him, or done any of the things he'd halfway expected her to do. There was hope yet and he firmly intended that "One Day" was going to happen.

Jareth transported himself back to his apartment and the worried stares of his friends.

"Now what?" James asked once he'd assured himself that no permanent damage had been done.

"Now," Jareth said with a slow grin, "Things get serious."

So saying he made his way to his room and shut the door leaving the others to glance at each other incredulously.

"He wasn't serious before?" Erik asked.

"I think we can safely say that things are going to get much more interesting around here," Javert said glumly.

Everyone groaned but no one bothered arguing. They knew it was true and that all they could do was weather the storm. A sudden yell had them all wincing at the headaches they could feel coming on.

"JARETH! GET THESE THINGS OUT OF MY ROOM RIGHT NOW!"