No updates on GSUV for the time being, so in reparation I offer you this little gem. It's Christmas... and I got to decorate our tree with my boyfriend... and somehow this fic was written without me even realising. Enjoy :)
"Really, Sarah, it is a little bit ridiculous the way you go on about your human rituals." His voice was dry, disapproving, but he knew that she knew him better than to take his words as said. He loved her little quirks, the stubborn way she clung to her own ideas.
"There's nothing ridiculous about Christmas," she replied gaily. "And the throne room needs brightening up. It's all gloomy and dark in there."
"It is not gloomy and dark. It is majestic and imposing."
"Same thing," she laughed, and his hands found her slender waist and pulled her towards him in an inescapable grasp. He crushed her against his chest and glowered down at her.
"Sarah, why do you constantly seek to defy me?"
"Jareth, why do you constantly give in to me?"
His mouth twisted with amusement. "I suppose you are right."
"You know I am." She reached up on tiptoes to press a kiss to his mouth, and he returned it, winding his arms closer around her and deepening the kiss until she had to pull back, dizzy.
"All right, all right," he said defeatedly, and she grinned up at him in that irresistible way she had: "You may have a Christmas tree in the throne room."
"Yay!" she squeaked eagerly, and tore herself from his unwilling arms. "The goblins are going to be so excited!" She was already running out the room, brimming with ideas. "Thank you, Jareth!" she yelled; the words came back to him faintly and he sighed. That girl was altogether too excitable.
His lips pulled upwards in a smile as he thought of the kiss. Perhaps he could put up with a little chaos. Just every now and then.
Getting hold of a tree proved fairly easy – it merely involved a little hip-wriggling and eye-lash fluttering so that Jareth would consent to glitter-poof one straight into the throne room from the human world – but moving it was an entirely different matter. Being Jareth, he had chosen a truly enormous specimen; a beautiful, proud monster of a tree that definitely had a regal air as it shook out its heavy branches and held its head high. And no matter how hard Sarah tried to push it, she couldn't budge it an inch. She tried with goblin-power, with ropes, and with Ludo, but to no avail: the tree simply would not move.
In the end she decided that it looked just fine where it was, and bent her energies to decorating it. For this purpose she gathered all her favourite people: the goblins, in squealing hundreds; her old friends, Ludo, Hoggle, and Sir Didymus; some of her new acquaintances from the Labyrinth, such as the water-nymphs (she'd had an indoor pond installed ever since making friends with them); and of course Toby. At eight he was beginning to be self-conscious about acting "childishly", but the moment he saw the tree and the mountain of decorations Sarah had assembled, he reverted right back into his animated five-year-old self and commenced shrieking with excitement as loud as any goblin.
Jareth had refused to be a part of the festivities, saying that he was far too old to enjoy such a ridiculously human tradition, but Sarah knew perfectly well that he was skulking around in the shadows on the balcony at the upper end of the throne room, watching her and smiling. She ignored him for the time being. He'd give in soon enough.
Operation: Decorate Christmas Tree began in earnest when Sarah sent Sprog up the tree with the star. It was tradition in the Williams family that the star should go on first, and though the one Sarah had tracked down (translation: gone on a shopping trip accompanied by invisible goblins for) was about twice as big as Sprog himself, he'd volunteered and she hadn't had the heart to refuse him. Fortunately he was strong for his diminutive size and managed to keep hold of the large, silver star as he clambered up through the thick branches. All the onlookers held their breath as he reached the top, where the trunk became thin enough to sway alarmingly under his weight. Undeterred, he reached upwards… and hooked the star into place.
The cheer that went up was so loud that Sprog, startled, lost his grip and proceeded to fall inelegantly down the length of the tree, crashing intermittently into the more resilient branches and eventually bouncing off the ground. Being a goblin, he was completely unhurt and in fact had rather enjoyed his little adventure.
Luckily the star was still up.
Sarah had detailed different members of the Labyrinth to be on different aspects of the decoration, so now everyone sprang into action and got on with their various jobs. Soon tinsel was being wound lovingly around every available branch, baubles were being handled surprisingly carefully and hung in strategic places, and candy canes were being tied wherever there was an inch of space. Everything went more smoothly than expected, with only a minor hitch or two: one of the goblins ate a candy cane whole, wrapper and all, and had to be patted hard on the back until it went down his throat; Sir Didymus thought that one of the baubles was looking at him aggressively, and had to be forcibly restrained from challenging it to a duel to the death; and Hoggle was discovered trying to tie fairies to the tree, and was given a quietly stern talking-to by Sarah. Other than that, and a tense moment when Ludo accidentally got tangled up in tinsel, the decoration was accomplished in a remarkably short time.
When it was done, there was much raucous rejoicing, all the more loud when Sarah announced that there was a table full of party food in the dining hall and all were welcome to stay and eat. The room emptied extraordinarily quickly. The feasts of the Goblin Monarchs had swiftly become famous throughout the kingdom of the Labyrinth, and for good reason.
Later that night found Sarah alone in the throne room, in the dark, staring up at the colossal tree. She didn't turn or start when two gloved hands slipped round her waist; she relaxed into Jareth's embrace, leaning her head back against his chest.
"What's the matter, precious one?" he murmured in her ear.
"Matter?" she said quickly. "Nothing's the matter."
"Sarah-mine, I know you far too well to be deceived by your inept attempt at lying. Tell me what is bothering you."
"Well – " she fiddled with her hair, a typical trait of hers when anxious – "it's just… it looks wrong. It should have lights on it. Christmas trees always have lights on them. Always. But I couldn't put them on, it's not like you have any electricity down here… It looks all wrong in the dark."
"Ahh, Sarah." He bent his head to her neck, buried his nose in the silky strands of her hair, and breathed in. She smelled of warm, sweet vanilla, like always, but with the unusual addition of fresh pine needles. He liked it. "My dearest Sarah. The tree is perfect."
"No it's not." She sounded close to tears. He loved how she constantly needed reassurance on everything, how she saw anything that went differently from the way she'd planned as a failure. He'd never loved her so much as the day he'd found her crying over a batch of burnt biscuits.
"Yes it is. But maybe it does need a little… something."
"What do you mean?" she sniffed, turning and looking up at him with eyes the exact colour of the tree. She was so beautiful. Even just looking at her made his heart stutter.
"Hush and you'll see," he answered her, leaning down for a brief kiss. When her eyes fluttered open again, she gasped, and he smiled, well pleased.
It had been a simple act of magic to set little orbs of light shining amidst the green branches: their radiance reflected off the baubles and Sarah's dark, shining hair, and lit up the darkness. She was right; they did drastically improve the appearance of the tree, making it look warm and welcoming. But that wasn't the only thing making her eyes sparkle with delight: it was snowing in the throne room, only it wasn't snow, it was glitter. It floated down gently and clung to every single branch until it shimmered and twinkled like a star.
Sarah turned to Jareth and smiled. She had glitter in her hair and dusted over her cheekbones and nose: she looked positively adorable.
"Thank you," she breathed. "Now it's perfect."
Jareth looked down at the girl who held his heart. He couldn't recall ever feeling happier.
"Merry Christmas," he breathed, and kissed her again.
And a Merry Christmas to all of you too! :)