How to Woo Properly
Author's Disclaimer: No, I still do not own Labyrinth; all rights go to their respective owners. Nor do I own the rights to any of the games/jokes/songs mentioned, or a motorcycle. I just like playing those games, and the Biker Jareth idea comes from startraveller776 ( u/1643426/startraveller776) , from Attack of the Vicious Plot Bunnies (amazing story, you should read it if you haven't). Just trying to spread the idea around more, as it deserves more attention. Also, if you see words in bold, then those are Sarah's personal thoughts, as she tells the story. If words are italicized, then it is a conversation that happened in that past that Sarah is telling. If the words are normal, then it is the conversation between Sarah and the bridal party. Anyway, Jareth is up to his usual tricks as he tries to reinsert himself in Sarah's life, and Sarah rather enjoys this part of the story. Enjoy!
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Chapter 6: Small Battles
"In the past, the coffee shop used to be my favorite place to chill and do read because I always felt so comfortable there. That quickly changed after Jareth decided to join me."
"How could it stay that awkward, Sarah? You were both trying to get to know one another."
"You see, Karen, I think normally it would have worked out on its own, but Jareth is Jareth, so occasionally, things happen that you don't expect."
Often. And then Jareth brushes it off as though it is the most normal thing in the world. Definitely the goblins' fault there.
"It doesn't help any that Jareth likes to just appear whenever he feels like it, but at least once, he got what was coming toward him."
"What did you do?"
"Gee, Jessie, why so accusatory? You make it sound like I had something to do with it, when it was entirely Jareth's fault. I just happened to have an open cup of coffee."
"Sure, it just happened that way."
"It really did! I was just about to turn around and head to my seat with my cup of coffee when, suddenly, Jareth was right there! I was a little startled. As always, Jareth was grinning at me."
"Hello, Sarah, how nice to see you here!"
"You, too, Jareth."
"Why don't you seem as enthused as me?"
"Probably because I just spilled hot coffee on your white shirt, ouch! I'm so sorry about that."
"What?"
"After several moments of staring blankly, Jareth finally realized what I had meant, and looked down to see the dark brown stain now on his white shirt. I will fully admit that his face in that moment was priceless. However, it still made me feel bad for ruining the shirt. I was using all of the napkins I could get my hands on as I tried to wipe his shirt and apologize , without trying to show how awkward it made me feel."
"Really, Jareth, I am so sorry. I am not usually this clumsy, but you were right behind me! And you surprised me by not announcing yourself, which is not wise to do when I have a large cup of coffee here. Good thing I hadn't picked up the cookies yet! How else can I help?"
"Enough. It's fine, Precious. I understand that you meant no harm, and I didn't mean to frighten you."
"But, but-"
"This is easily fixed. You forget who I am. It's alright, dearest. Let's go find a seat, shall we? Then we can continue talking at last."
It was bad enough that he decided to take both of my hands in his and kiss them gently to quiet me, but it was another to turn around and pick up the cookies. Suddenly, his shirt was white again, and my cup was miraculously full, as though nothing had happened. But I knew better, and it didn't sit well with me.
"That's fine. I usually sit over here so that I have a nice view as I read."
"Good. I fear you shall be a little more distracted from your reading today."
"He totally earned the look I gave him then. I put the book away once I sat down so that we could talk fully, as though he expected me to do anything else when he was around. It was a little weird at first after the spill incident, but it got easier over that hour. We just kept talking, and at the end, he asked if I was planning to come tomorrow, to which I said I was. We shook hands upon parting the first time, as I was not yet ready for another of his hugs. "
"The next day, I turned around to find Jareth already sitting at the same table as yesterday, smirking and patting the chair next to him. I just shrugged my shoulders and joined him."
"It's so good to see you again, Sarah. I'm glad we could talk so soon. We don't often talk when we see each other."
Probably because we are too busy dancing to think of anything else.
"Sometimes, a companionable silence is all that is needed. But, I'm glad we are talking now. I miss it."
"As do I."
He tried to put his arm around me, as though we were on a date, so I disabused him of that notion quickly by moving my chair. Not quite, Jareth, not quite yet.
"So, what do you want to talk about today?"
"How about our working life? I'm curious to hear how you get on in what you do."
"You have a better idea compared to most. I'm always busy with one silly thing or other. But, you know about me, whereas I know nothing about your career."
"Children's books for me."
"Writing them?"
"Yes, writing and illustrating. I really enjoy it. I used to tell stories to Toby, but now I don't have as many willing subjects."
"I can think of several dozen who would love to hear anything that you create, if you are interested."
"Really, you think they would?"
"Oh yes. They ask about you."
"In that case, I definitely will at some point in the near future. Thanks."
"And that conversation continued in safe waters until Jareth made some more hints regarding dating, and then we got quiet again."
More like I made a flippant remark about enjoying the single life, and Jareth responded with a little too much sarcasm. That was the beginning of sarcasm in our relationship.
"We decided it best to stop while ahead, and I didn't see him again until I was in the library, this time doing some actual work. Jareth distracted me now and then, but mostly, he kept quiet and would bring me more coffee as I ran out. At the end, he mentioned how excited he was to be having steak the following night, which surprised me. But, remembering he was friends with Dave, I made that connection soon after, and then I left with him."
"I think it would have ended nicely, but as we walked out, Jareth put on his leather jacket that he always brought with him. I always assumed that he just brought it with him because he liked leather, and then I saw him hop on a motorcycle. Honestly, I was shocked. I know my mouth gaped for several moments, and that was all it took for Jareth to notice, smirk, blow me a kiss, and then ride off."
I tried so hard to not think about him the whole rest of the day. That failed miserably. Secretly, I really wanted to just ride on the bike with him, just to know what it felt like to be on a bike. I'm still shocked that I dreamed that night about us dancing, and not riding the bike together. That's Jareth for you.
"After having those talks with Jareth, I finally got a chance to talk with Jessie about Jareth and Dave when I came over for steak night. Jessie, do you remember that little chat?"
"Oh yes, I remember it well. You seemed so surprised by them talking."
"And somehow you weren't, despite never mentioning it to me anytime that we hung out during those months I wasn't with Jareth."
"I didn't want to bring it up, as it might be awkward, and you might think I did it because Jareth suggested it."
Even though Jareth did on several occasions, much to his chagrin. I felt better after learning that from Jareth.
"Either way, we discussed it so that I could learn how it happened."
"Are we expecting Jareth tonight, too?"
"Of course. He loves steak. He has a healthy appetite."
"How do you know that?"
"Because he was here twice before this for dinner, including the one time you couldn't make it for steak night. Once he started talking to Dave more, he was invited. They get along so well together, and Dave knew you were supposed to come for steak. Jareth was so upset when he found out that you weren't going to make it."
Oh, I bet he was. He probably even bought a new pair of leather gloves to prepare properly.
"But, he really enjoyed the food - complimented me and everything - and then he went off to talk with Dave, as they always do. I still can't believe that he studied Political Science of all things."
"Well, he does work for the government, now."
"True, but still. He seems fit for greater things."
You have no idea.
"It wasn't long after that when Jareth arrived. Of course, we all heard the motor bike before we saw him, so I had a few moments to compose myself before he arrived. Once he came in, he and Dave immediately started talking about their "manly stuff", letting us girls finish the food. Dinner was civil for the most part, and then, since we had four people, it was decided that we could have a game night."
"Game night with Dave and Jessie is no ordinary event, as you all know. They own so many games, and Dave is very competitive. As long as there are four people around, seeing a game appear is highly likely. The only problem, of course, is that Jareth is equally competitive. Thankfully, we were to have more game nights over the course of the next few months, with the number of people playing varying, but usually four."
"When it was just the four of us, Settlers Of Catan was the first choice, as Jareth caught on fast. He even went so far as to say that he would beat me at my own game, so I made it a habit whenever I played that game with him to always build on the opposite side of his resource so that I could block him as much as possible. He figured it out eventually, and then took delight in placing himself in odd places so that I put myself at a disadvantage, but I didn't care. I was too stubborn and defiant to care. Of all the times we played, he only won once, because he kept moving the robber onto my stuff, forcing me to trade with him."
I'm sure the dice just happened to be seven three-quarters of the time he rolled that game. I'm still not sure if he was telling me or the dice to not defy him. If I "accidentally" slammed the door in his face that night as I left, he certainly didn't tell me.
"When we didn't play Catan, we also tried Trivial Pursuit a couple times, but it was decided that the game was too boring with boys versus girls, since the girls won easily every time."
It probably didn't help any that every time we girls got one right, we would sing "Another One Bites the Dust", just to needle the boys more. I thoroughly enjoyed myself.
"The boys tried valiantly, but they were hindered by Jareth. Jareth does not know anything about current events, and even less about sports, despite all of the "manly talks" the boys shared, so we moved on to Cranium. That was interesting."
"As you also know, prior to Jareth coming to game night, Jessie and Dave were an unstoppable team who refused to have any other partner. This left me with Jareth on my team, who seemed happy with the arrangement."
Biggest understatement of the year.
"Jareth assured me that we would beat them, and he was right. We actually made a great team. Jareth has a wonderful voice, and so anything with humming was great, and we both had fun with charades. With words, I was a natural, and Jareth did well. Trivia was left to me. I had drawing down well, and somehow, whenever Jareth was drawing, I just knew what he was creating, even when he was blinded."
Somehow, I kept getting mental images in my head, of the object or of the action as Jareth did it to me. That was different, albeit wrong in several ways.
"Because of all that, we soon developed a rhythm together, and we easily won. As we kept on winning, we played that game less as well."
"When we had larger groups, we always played Apples to Apples. Those were great nights. I will always remember the first green card that Jareth won by my choosing. Jessie, don't ruin it."
"But, Sarah, it wasn't fair! He was playing to the judge."
"He just got lucky."
Not really. He was just really smug and wanted to push it in my face.
"I'll say. You had some pretty good choices, too."
"Yep. The green card was "sexy", and with six playing, along with the random one added, I had lots of choices."
"And now the moment you all have been waiting for, the final seven! Sexy is best used to describe….math."
"Oh yeah, you are like the math student, and I am the math book, because you will solve all my problems."
"Such a groaner. Moving on. Something else that can be described as sexy is…. Sean Connery."
"Can I have him with extra butter?"
"Maybe. Depends on the other choices, as I know of a few that would beat him. Let's see, the next card is….my body. Really, guys, really?"
"But Sarah, you are really sexy."
You just had to go there, didn't you Jareth, with that seductive grin and suggestive waggle of the eyebrows. Let there be catcalls.
"Anyways, moving on. The next one is….high school. I would almost laugh, but I can't."
"It seemed like a good idea at the time."
"Try again. Okay, so the next one is…..Michael Jackson. I approve."
"Yes!"
"But I don't know if he beats Sean Connery. Let's see two left. The next one is….. a trampoline!"
"That's random. Is it polka-dotted, too?"
"Doesn't say, but let's move on to the last one. The final one is….. David Bowie!"
"Not fair! That is so playing to you! Everyone knows that you wrote that one in yourself, so of course you are going to choose it."
"Well, David Bowie is an automatic win for me, so whoever it is got really lucky. Alright, who lays the claim?"
I should have noticed the odd, more masculine slanting of the words on the card, but I didn't, not right away at first. I quickly learned my mistake.
"Right here, Precious. I'll take that as a personal favor, saying that you think I'm sexy."
"I said no such thing!"
"Ah, but you just gave me the card, no?"
"Just take it."
I grumbled a lot until it was my turn again, determined not to pick Jareth's anymore, but that didn't happen. He won all but one of my cards that night, and almost always did after that. I know he knows me well and all, but not that well! I tried kicking him under the table once, but when he started winking at me and wanted to know if we were going to play footsies more often, I just gave up.
"Did you only play board games when you were all together?"
"Almost always, yes. But, once in a great while we would go and meet somewhere. One time, we went bowling. The night was great because I got to ride with Jareth on his bike, and while bowling, Jareth's balls kept going in the gutter. Jareth alternated the blame between me and the gremlins."
"It was you the whole time, Sarah."
"I was not! I only sashayed once in a while, or tried talking to other men while he was bowling so that I could not go over and try to distract him."
"Sure, Sarah. Just as Jareth didn't cheat in Apples to Apples. You could have tried to follow my advice to just stay put."
"But the whole point of that, as you made it a point to do often I might add, was so that I could give him hints as we waited to play. You were trying to set us up!"
"It was only for your own good! I saw how much he liked you. And, I bet he would have loved having you guide him."
"I'm just going to give up on this argument, and move on. I'm not going to win, clearly."
"You are marrying him for a reason, dear."
"Don't I know it."
"So how long did these game nights go on before something else happened, Sarah?"
"Like I said, several months. It was after one particular night of Apples to Apples when I gave him "addictive", "clever", "hot and bothered", and "talented". It was not my best night. Jareth, however, took that in the best way possible, so after giving me another ride home on his bike, despite my feeble protests I might add, he asked me out on another date. He wanted a second chance, and I was finally ready to give it to him."
The kiss was long and warm. That night, I dreamed of Jareth in a lot of leather on his motorcycle. Happy thoughts indeed.
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Author's Notes: *innocent eyes* It's all smooth sailing for Jareth now, right? Well, I can try, can't I? Not all dates are created equal, but as Sarah is willing, what could go wrong? Also, I really enjoyed thinking of words to use for Apples to Apples. My initial list for "sexy" had twenty-two on it, and then I began narrowing. My other top picks included dancing (realistic, for Sarah), leather and lace (it was hard to remove this one, but only Jareth would truly appreciate it, so no, sadly), nuclear power plants (this is just me, because I am a nuclear engineer), crystal balls/peaches (another pun at your expense, you are welcome), and pirates (naturally!). I chose the ones I did because high school and math are hilariously wrong (unless you actually enjoy math like me, and then math is sexy), Michael Jackson because he was almost in Labyrinth, Sean Connery because he is hot (as James Bond!), and trampolines are truly random. There are plenty others that I am missing to describe sexy Jareth (with both red and green), so feel free to mention any :-D Thanks for reading and commenting!
Sorry, no beta this time, as Kyndsie needs sanity, and plenty of time to write her own stuff. I am still truly thankful for everything so far.
SVJohnson8721: Awww, thank you! That comment really made my day. I'm glad you liked it! Oh, really, a spin-off? That sounds interesting! I'm curious about where the holes will come in, but I guess I will have to wait until I read the rest of your story to find out. Unless, you somehow get more time and figure out a way to fill in the holes. Whichever is easier for you. Thanks for commenting!
Labyrinthlovers5: Yay! It had its moments of fluff, and this chapter will hopefully live up to those expectations for fluff and general silliness. Thanks for continuing to tell me what you think!
BrittanyMariie: Thank you dear! I'm glad I have your smile of approval! It gives me encouragement to want to write more. Thank you for the review!
Buggus264: Yes! Let there be more fluff! Personally, I can't get enough of the fluff, so I just want to insert it anywhere I can. The world needs to be fluffified, and I intend to help! Thank you for the comment!