18th March 1992
Sarah came home from her Wednesday classes early, and as she went to unlock the door, she heard the TV blasting. She opened the door and grinned as she saw the increasingly familiar sight of the Goblin King lying on her bed watching TV.
"Hello again, your majesty!" Sarah called out, removing her jacket and kicking off her shoes. She padded over to the bed, and sat down on the edge to see what Jareth was watching. She realized he was watching some kind of Spanish soap opera. "Seriously? You're watching telenovelas now?"
"Si, senorita." Jareth said, picking up the remote and turning it off. He was familiarizing himself with technology remarkably quickly. "However, you're here now so I'll pay attention to you instead. How was your day?"
"Fine. How long have you been here anyway?" Sarah asked suspiciously; he certainly looked very comfortable. He was barefoot and ungloved, in the casual attire he always wore when she saw him.
"Five hours." He shrugged, stretching his arms out and wriggling his toes. Sarah was tempted to tickle his feet, just to see how he'd react.
"I didn't give you my schedule so you could come in here while I was gone, you know." Sarah said scathingly, getting up and wandering over to the kitchen. Jareth got up too, loitering by her bookshelf. He was always fascinated by the trinkets she kept there; he loved sparkly things, just like a magpie.
"Do you want something to drink?" Sarah asked, peering into her refrigerator. "I've got beer, wine, juice.."
"I'm fine, thank you." Jareth said, and Sarah looked over her shoulder to find him reading a book from her shelf. When Sarah saw the cover of the book in his hands, her stomach dropped. "My, my Miss Williams, what do we have here?"
Sarah turned beet red, dashing over to pluck the book from his hands. Jareth was too quick for her, and as she reached out, he vanished.
"Not quick enough, it would seem. Goodness me this is racy." He said, tutting at her from across the room. His eyebrow was raised, his hand pressed to his mouth as though he was mortally offended. He turned the book over to look at the title. "Lust on the High Seas. Little Sarah Williams, I thought you were so innocent. You do find ways to surprise me."
"Give me the book back and nobody gets hurt." Sarah said through gritted teeth. Jareth grinned at her, shaking his head.
"I'd like to finish reading if I may. Who knows, I may even pick up a few invaluable tricks." He said innocently, licking his thumb and turning a page. If Sarah didn't know better, she'd say that thumb lick was entirely suggestive.
"I hate you." Sarah said, marching over to him. He vanished again, and Sarah cursed herself for making friends with a jerk who didn't know when to quit.
"He pinned her down, hitching her skirts up roughly. With a ruthless grin, he entered her." Jareth read from the book, as Sarah willed the ground to open up and swallow her whole. "Well really, that's not the way to do it. No foreplay? Sarah, I do hope you aren't taking advice from this worthless tome."
"Jareth, I am not discussing my sex life with you. Give me back the book or you are officially banned from my apartment." Sarah said firmly, and he merely laughed in response.
"But you'd miss me once I was gone, Sarah." He said lightly, looking back down at the book. He flipped a few pages and began to read aloud again. "Claudia took her lip between her teeth as she saw the size of Rodrigo's throbbing- oh honestly Sarah this is hilarious."
"It was a present." Sarah hissed, finally getting close enough to him to grab the book from his hands. She snatched it away, and shoved it under her shirt.
"I suppose you think I wouldn't go in there to get it back?" He asked her, his eyes flashing dangerously. Sarah felt her heart race, her cheeks flush with colour.
"Not unless you want a swift kicking." Sarah said with a grin, turning her back on him. "Now, if you're finished going through my private things, do you want to go out today?"
"Out?" Jareth asked suspiciously. "Where?"
"I don't know. I thought maybe you'd like to see some more of the city. My cramped apartment isn't really the best New York has to offer. I need to run some errands anyways, and it'll be nice to have some company."
"Alright." Jareth said warily. "I'll apply my glamour. I just ask that you stay by my side. I'm not one to admit fear, love, but I haven't much experience with Above. I tend to steer clear if I can help it."
"It'll be fine, I promise. I'll be right beside you the whole time." Sarah said, walking over to the door and grabbing her jacket. "Does your glamour include clothes? Because I am not going out with you naked."
"Why, are you worried I'll be no match for Rodrigo?" Jareth asked, trying not to laugh. Sarah took a shoe and threw it at him, grinning as it hit him square on the forehead. "No need for violence, Sarah."
"There is every need for violence. Come on, let's see it."
"See what?" Jareth asked wryly, and Sarah groaned in horror as she realized what that sounded like.
"No! Not that!" Sarah said in a strangled voice, before closing her eyes and composing herself. Jareth just stared at her in that way he always did. "Your glamour. Please."
"Very well." He waved a hand and Sarah blinked. Standing before her was Jareth, but looking entirely more human. His markings were gone, his hair was significantly shorter - though it still reached past his ears. He was even wearing a pair of rounded horn rimmed glasses. He looked like the perfect nerd, some kind of distinguished college professor perhaps.
In fact, he looked rather delicious.
"Will this do? Do excuse the glasses, my eyes play up a little when I'm in disguise." Jareth said apologetically, looking down at his outfit. It was a simple shirt and black trouser ensemble, something that Sarah had never imagined him in. His face was still extraordinary but the rest of him - well, he looked human.
"Um, yeah. That's, uh, just fine." Sarah said, clearing her throat. "Let's go then."
Despite his mature looks, walking around with Jareth was very much like having a toddler in tow. He was constantly stopping to look at things, and Sarah found herself talking to thin air.
"What happened to me staying by your side?!" Sarah said, dragging him away from a payphone. He had been punching the buttons with almost a childish glee. "You can't keep wandering off!"
"I'm sorry! I just wondered what that was. This place is entirely too noisy by the way. It was much quieter where you used to live." Jareth said, folding his arms and pouting. His glasses slid down his nose, and he pushed them back up. Sarah rolled her eyes.
"Let's not go over the fact you stalked me disguised as an owl, Jareth. I live here now and this is one of the busiest cities on Earth. It's not as safe as where I used to live, you can't just go wandering off. You'll get hurt." Sarah said sternly.
"I'm quite capable of looking after myself Sarah." Jareth said haughtily. Sarah knew how much pride he had, and for a moment felt guilty for patronizing him. Then she realised that it was totally justified - as he stepped out in the road and almost got hit by a bike. She screamed and yanked him back by his hand. She got him back onto the sidewalk, and shoved his arm furiously.
"Are you? Have you even walked around a human city before?" She asked in a panic. "You could have gotten killed just now!"
"No." Jareth admitted, refusing to respond to her hysterical scolding. "But I've been in enough homes."
"That doesn't count. Now you stay with me until I'm finished with my errands. I need to go grocery shopping." Sarah told him firmly, and she looked down. They were still holding hands, his fingers laced through hers and his thumb stroking the back of her hand lazily. She pulled her hand away, pretending not to notice Jareth's pout.
"What's that?" Jareth asked.
"You don't know what grocery shopping is?" Sarah asked, once again reminded that he was from a world entirely different from hers. It was easy to forget that when he looked so normal; it was strange looking out from the corner of her eye and not seeing sparkling eyes and long blonde hair.
"No. I know what a 'shop' is, but I don't do it myself. Everything I need is provided for me."
"Of course it is." Sarah replied irritably. "I need to buy food. So, you go into the store and pick the items you need, then you take them to the cashier - the person who works there - and they tell you how much you need to pay for everything. Then I need to go to the pharmacy, and then we can go home. Sound good?"
"Pharmacy?"
"Apothecary?" Sarah said, trying to think of a word he would understand.
"Ah, I understand. Are you unwell?" Jareth asked, his brow furrowing. Sarah shook her head, wondering how she could explain the fact that she need to pick up her birth control prescription.
"No, I just need to get my- look, it doesn't matter. Just stay with me."
They finally reached the grocery store, and Sarah picked up a basket. She was starting to regret taking Jareth out of the safe confines of her apartment. He examined every item on every shelf with a great deal of care. Whilst Sarah appreciated that this was a new experience for him, it did slow things down considerably.
She rolled her eyes as he examined a box of Captain Crunch.
"What is this?" He asked, holding the box up. Sarah noticed his hands seemed to be shaking, and the box rattled.
"Cereal. You eat it for breakfast. You want to try some? Put it in here."
"What is he a captain of?" Jareth asked with interest, placing the box in the basket. "It doesn't seem particularly dignified to have a military man on a box of food."
"Oh God." Sarah muttered under her breath, linking their arms and dragging him away. Jareth seemed to enjoy having her hold his arm, pulling her closer to him. "Okay so I need to get some milk and some apples and then I'm pretty much done."
"Then can we leave? I'm starting to feel a little dizzy." He said, reaching out a shaking hand to steady himself. Sarah wrapped an arm around his waist, taking his weight on her shoulders.
"You are?" Sarah asked, looking at him. Despite the air conditioning in the store, his forehead was shining with sweat. "Are you sick?"
"I'm alright." He said, shutting his eyes. "I just forgot to mention that I have a sensitivity to salt and iron. This place is full of the stuff."
"Why didn't you say anything?" Sarah asked, dropping the basket. "Let's get you back to my apartment."
"I can go by myself, I'll just see you there." Jareth shrugged, and Sarah shook her head.
"And have you reading more of my romance novels? I don't think so. Come on."
"I'm sorry about that." Jareth said as they stepped through the door. He removed his glamour straight away, and Sarah was almost relieved to have him back to his true self. "If you need provisions, I can summon some."
"Will they be Underground provisions? Forgive me if I don't rush to accept food from you. I remember that peach."
"You weren't supposed to, that was rather the whole point." Jareth said lightly. He stood close to her, looking at her with a soft smile. He reached out and brushed a hand down her cheek. It was an intimate gesture, and Sarah wondered if he would kiss her. "Come, Sarah. We're friends now. I would never harm you, surely you know that?"
Sarah nodded.
"I know."
A/N: I usually try to make my chapters at least 3000 words long, but I thought as I'm going for more of a one-shotty vibe than a proper story (although obviously it is a story..) the occasional shorter chapter would be okay. I hope you liked this one.