Duties as a Husband

It had been a rather odd sort of day, Jareth reflected. Sarah lately had been saying odd things, such as, 'Do you know what date it is?' and 'So should I keep the rest of my week open?' He had cautiously answered no, while secretly wondering why she should need to keep the rest of her week open, or indeed what she would ordinarily be doing that might interfere with whatever it was that she was going on about.

Today, she had been… edgy. She kept on glancing at him surreptitiously with such an expectant, hopeful face that was quickly schooled away whenever he looked at her. As the day wore on and he went about his duties, he noticed how the hopeful look faded to a gloomier one, and the cryptic things she was saying increased.

"So, it's just another day, right?" She had asked. "Just a day like any other in the Underground, yep…"

"I suppose," he had answered. Perhaps, he had thought, she was growing tired of life with him. But up until very recently, they had been happy. Very happy, in fact. So why the sudden turn around? He thought that it might have something to do with that 'PMS' she had mentioned whenever she got moody and cranky, whereupon shortly after she would attempt to eat her own weight in chocolate, both of the solid and ice cream variety. Yes, he had thought, that must be it. Still, he didn't like the look of the frown that formed after he agreed with her.

Thankfully he had not had to stick around to find out why; her friends came to visit her. Jareth was always polite to them, for Sarah's sake, and them to him, but neither he nor they were going to kid themselves; they would never become friends. Those three were just so… common. And weird. Jareth had stood quietly when they entered and civilly welcomed them, and then he quickly made his exit. He had better things to do then exchange pleasantries with those three. He just hoped they would cheer up his wife.

Some time later, while he was amusing himself weaving crystals between his hands sitting in the window, he had heard his wife enter. He had turned to smile at her, and while she had been smiling before, when she saw him it faded into a hurt look. It was quickly masked and she moved away, expressionless.

Just what exactly was going on, he wondered. Maybe, a little goblin of his mind whispered, her friends were turning her against him. Maybe they had pointed out that he could be oh so very cruel sometimes, and that really she deserved so much better than him… He shook his head against these negative thoughts though; Sarah loved him, and he her, no matter what anyone else said. Still, it was hard to ignore that little goblin…

They were getting ready for bed and Sarah had progressed from hurt to silently seething. She was angry, but he still did not have a clue about what. She was throwing back the covers rather more forcefully than usual and was very tensely getting changed, her movements stiff and abrupt.

Jareth couldn't take it anymore. "Sarah, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," she said, in a tone that definitely suggested something was wrong. She folded her clothes with more care than usual and shoved them into a drawer.

"Well there must be something," he said, frowning.

"Oh must there?" That look in her eye was a dangerous one. "Why must there?"

"Because you are being all…" He trailed, looking for the right word.

"Being all what, Jareth?"

He was treading on dangerous grounds here. "You seem mad…"

"And why would I be mad?"

"That's what I'm asking you."

"You're my husband; you should know," she said coolly. He thought that was rather unfair; being a husband did not make one a mind reader. He felt it was better not to point this out, though.

"Evidently, I don't," he said, his annoyance starting to taint his voice.

"Well that's not my problem," she said, taking out her earrings.

He growled in frustration. "This conversation is not getting us anywhere."

"Oh that's right," she snapped, fixing her eyes on his. "Give up because it doesn't even matter, does it? If it's not to do with you and your well-being then it's inconsequential, isn't it?" She glared over at him across the bed.

"What are you talking about?" He asked, exasperated.

"You know what, Jareth? I'm going to sleep in one of the guest rooms tonight, because I honestly think if I stay in here with you one of us will end up dead," she said walking to the door.

"Sarah!" He called after her, starting to follow.

"No, Jareth!" She sighed from the doorway, not turning to look at him as her head dropped into her hand. "Just leave it, will you?" Her voice was quiet and made him unsure, which Sarah used to her advantage and slipped out the door.

AA

Jareth sat on her side of the bed, staring into the crystal in his hand. Within it was the image of his wife, finally having settled after crying herself to sleep. For the first time he considered that this might just be his fault. But how could he fix things if he didn't even know what he had done wrong? Though he hated it, there was only one option left to him. He really didn't want to have to do this, but he wanted the woman he loved back where she belonged; with him, in his bed and in his arms.

With a sigh he stood and his clothes changed. He hoped the late night hour would not sour the person he was going to see.

AA

Of course person, Jareth thought looking at Hoggle, was such a lose term. Hoggle was a dwarf and an underling, but if Jareth wanted to know what was going on with Sarah, Hoggle would more than likely know, especially since he had only visited her just today. He hated to think the gardener might know his wife better than he, but he did not know what else to try.

Hoggle had not been impressed when he found the Goblin King at his door. It was thirteen o'clock at night, for crying out loud. Didn't a dwarf deserve a little peace? However, his annoyance was equal to, or perhaps even outweighed by his fear, for the king was still the king; a terrible man who would stop at nothing to get what he wanted and would tear down any who stood in his way.

"What do you want?" Hoggle asked, putting on a bravado. He felt fairly confident that the king would not harm him, not unless he wanted to incur Sarah's wrath. But still, he kept the king where he could see him.

Jareth raised a brow at the insolence but let it pass; he wanted answers from the dwarf that would be more easily gained with kindness rather than force. "You came to see Sarah today," he stated, watching the little man.

Hoggle frowned and said, "Yes, what of it?"

Jareth paused for a split seconds hesitation, wondering if he really wanted Hogbrain knowing about his and Sarah's private life, but reminded himself that this had to be done. "She is mad at me," he said, testing the waters. He said it as fact rather than a question, but they both heard the 'why' implied in his voice.

Hoggle grunted. "I ain't surprised."

Jareth gritted his teeth; the pustule was not going to make this easy for him. "She confides in you, does she not? Tell me; why is she mad?"

"You do know what date it is today, don't you?" Hoggle said, raising one eyebrow at the king.

'Of course," he said irritably, "it is the twelfth of December. What of it?"

"The twelfth of December?" Hoggle said, hinting. "It's a day that comes but once a year, different from all other days for Sarah?"

Jareth frowned and was about to demand the dwarf explain himself when it suddenly hit him. "Ah," he said, realisation dawning. "Oh no…" He felt the blood drain out of his face and the realisation not only fully dawned but beat down on him with a vengeance.

"Right," Hoggle said, enjoying the moment more than he thought he would. He tried not to let it show though, for fear of repercussion. Not that Jareth would have noticed right then. He had just realised that he had completely forgotten his wife's birthday.

Silly me, I thought 'I know, I'll post this on Jennifer Connelly's birthday.' Then I look it up and find out I only have five days in which to write something good enough. Ah well, at least I could post it fairly quickly.

There is a part two coming up to this, which will be up, um… soon. Ish. After all my peer assessments…