The large, glowing moon against the whimsical curly hilltop was the perfect back drop for a very romantic scene; Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King, was embracing and passionately kissing his new found love, Sally Finkelstein. It had been a wild roller coaster of a night, leveling off with a serenade and Jack's delightfully horrible discovery of his feelings of love for the kind ragdoll. Jack pulled away from Sally with a soft sigh before quietly asking "Was that too... too forward?" She smiled simply and shook her head, leaning onto him.

"No, no... Not at all. Quite the opposite, in fact." She giggled lightly. "I've waited for so long for something I thought could never become... And there it was." She sighed blissfully, pressing her cheek against his ribcage. She glowed beautifully in the moonlight; every feature of her lovely face and every exposed stitch of her curvaceous body were defined in the warm glow.

Jack looked up into the beautiful moon and felt warmth from somewhere deep inside of him, a type of warmth he couldn't explain but was pleasant all the same (very much like being by a fireside in Christmas Land!). "I've just never realized. For the longest time, I've been too distracted by Halloween, and then Christmas... I-I apologize for being so blind, my dear Sally." One hand came up from her back to rest on and slowly stroke her yarn-covered head.

"It's alright, Jack. I've spent all this time, nearly all of my life, in realization of my feelings, and yet I never spoke up." She looked up at him from under her long lashes with a sweet smile. "Though I suppose it just matters that we know now."

"I suppose you're right." Jack opened his mouth to speak again, then cut himself off. How to phrase this...? "Erm, I do apologize, situations like this are not as easy as frightening people, after all, but... Erm, if I may, I'd like to stay here for a few moments longer, then take you home and... a-ask your father for permission to, erm... court you." The word 'court' came out somewhat strained and tight among his stutters. In truth (despite his centuries-long reign as the Pumpkin King, simply the most eligible and attractive bachelor in the whole town), Jack had never courted a lady nor had the most fleeting thought of doing so. For the longest time, his life had been Halloween, and then lamentations of boredom, and then a short, hyperactive burst of Christmas. Never women. "I'm horrifyingly sorry if this is too soon..."

Sally was slightly taken aback- not so much by his offer (she knew Jack really was a proper gentleman) but the fact that it brought her back down to reality. For the past few moments, she'd been drifting in a world of love and whimsy, but now, all sorts of troubling thoughts raced through her mind. 'What if daddy says no?' 'Jack does have authority over him, but he'd never want to force him...' 'What if I'm still locked up all the time?' 'What if daddy thinks it's not genuine; that I've seduced Jack or bewitched him?' How could she even begin to express her many concerns to Jack, who seemed to want to court her so badly?

"Well, Jack... M-My father is very protective and I'm not sure if he would..." She started, but then drifted off, awkwardly averting her gaze to a very interesting pumpkin (one that was certainly not Jack!). She cursed her inability to speak her mind clearly and assertively. She sighed before looking at Jack and speaking again. "I just don't know if he would be thrilled... Even when he finishes his new creation." Sally did not know that he already had.

Jack suddenly felt a trifle irritated. It was a perfectly fine arrangement; he loved Sally, and she loved him! Silly circumstances and suspicions shouldn't get in the way! But, at the same time, he still wanted to do things the proper and gentlemanly way. He felt frustrated but he may just have to cooperate. Or maybe not. "Sally, I do want to court you as any proper gentleman would want to, but... If Doctor Finklestein refuses or treats you badly because of it..." He thought carefully about how to phrase his next thought. "Well, no one can refuse a direct order from the Pumpkin King. No matter if I like doing it or not." He felt his irritation wane a bit after that statement, a smile returning to his face. "Of course, I want to have a good relationship with you and your father, so that is most definitely a last resort."

Sally wasn't sure if she should feel relieved or more anxious; in the end, she wanted Jack but she did not want them to have a estranged relationship with her father, especially because Jack took his gentlemanly way so serious. Though, perhaps it would turn out better than she thought it would; everything might go perfectly terribly! "We could leave now and go talk to him, if you want to." She removed her arms from around him and looked up at him questioningly. He did say he'd like to stay longer, but this was a very important thing taht needed to be tended to as soon as possible.

"Yes, I think that's a good idea." Jack started down the curving hill, before he stopped next to Sally. "Perhaps you'd like to..." His hand brushed her much smaller one, and she happily intertwined her fingers with his. He was marveled by how tiny her hands were in comparison to his skeletal ones. Why, she could probably fit both her hands into one of his, and he'd still have room for some candies as well! It was no bother to either of them, however, as they walked into the pumpkin patch, toward Sally's home.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Chapter 1 End

So I've had a boner to write a NBC fanfic for awhile. If you couldn't tell, this literally picks up from the second the movie ends and will basically go on as long as I want it to, be it 5 chapters or 50. Comments and constructive criticism are welcome. I may extend this chapter later; I'm already thinking it's too short.

Disclaimer: I do not own The Nightmare Before Christmas, or any of it's characters. I am most definitely not Tim Burton.

Edit: Fixed the indents and italics, etc... Added more fluffy details because I thought it was too short