PART III

Chapter I

"Sarah?"

"In here!" She called, doing up the zipper on the dress she'd quickly slipped into as the first tell-tale tingle of magic had breezed through her hair. Jareth appeared in the doorway to her bedroom, poking in his head cautiously before his eyes landed on her clothed form and he stepped in, stopping short just steps away from the bed, where she sat on the edge of the mattress as she slipped her feet into a pair of shoes.

"Hey," She smiled brightly, eyes shining as she took in his relaxed appearance. Wild hair, undone shirt that revealed the amulet glinting on his chest, tights that she was pretty sure had to be illegal somewhere in one of the worlds and nothing more. He was staying for the day. "I thought you weren't coming today, since your parents are visiting and all."

He held out an unnecessary hand to help her up as she rose to her feet and she placed her hand in his, comfortable with his touch after nearly a day of going without it. She dropped his hand after a moment and rummaged around the tangled sheets and discarded articles of clothing on her bed before triumphantly plucking out her bag. Jareth grinned and leaned against the wall nearest to her.

"My mother has decided to redesign the gardens and my father is currently wandering the Labyrinth." At her raised brow – he'd shared quite a few tales of his father, all mighty and powerful ruler of the Underground, High King of the realm, getting lost in the maze a fifteen-year-old had conquered – Jareth quickly elaborated. "I sent for Hogbottom this morning. He'll fetch my father before the sun sets."

"Hoggle!" Sarah rolled her eyes, a long-suffering sigh escaping smiling lips that teased. They were both privy to the fact that Jareth was well aware of his gardener's name and Sarah's half-hearted protests were always ruined by the laughter in her voice.

"Yes, yes," Jareth agreed dismissively as Sarah led him out of the room and watched, from the center of the living room, as she made her way around the apartment, turning off switches and electrical appliances as she went. Out for the day then, he deduced and met her by the front door, holding up the light spring coat she had been about to reach for, waiting for her to turn her back on him before he helped her into the outerwear. Sarah murmured her thanks as she smoothed down the skirt of her dress and he brushed back wayward strands of hair that had escaped from her ponytail, drawing her attention. "You look beautiful, precious," He smiled, gratified by the slight flush in her cheeks as she thanked him again. "Now just where are we headed to on this fine day?"

Sarah stepped out into the hallway of her apartment building and watched as Jareth transformed his appearance with a wave of his hand, stepping forth in a white shirt (top three buttons undone, as usual), dark denim and his customary boots. A slightly shorter haircut completed the Aboveground ensemble and though he looked just as he always did when they left her home, Sarah could never quite get used to the sight of him this way. At least his hair was longer this time, the ends hovering just above his shoulders. He waited patiently as she locked the door behind them, having called for the elevator, and escorted her in with a hand around her waist as she dropped her keys into her bag. She turned to him with a playful smile then and he wondered just what she was up to.

"Well, I was on my way to a dreadful dinner party hosted by Karen's good friend and an ex-boyfriend's mother, and since you're here for the day, you get to be my plus one and hero." She said brightly, clearly pleased by how the day was turning out. Jareth laughed, amused by the satisfied little grin Sarah wore on her glowing face as they exited the elevator and she led him to her car.

"And am I to play the charming friend or the perfectly charming boyfriend?" He teased, holding open the door to the driver's seat as he ushered Sarah in before walking around to the other side of the car and getting in.

"Walk the line, will you?" Sarah requested, eyes focused on the road as she pulled away from the curb. She shot him a pleading smile as she made a left turn and merged into the traffic. "I really need to get her – and her son – off my back but the family's going to be there, so…"

So they didn't want her family to get the wrong idea. Or in Karen's case, to get her hopes up. The woman had practically been planning her stepdaughter's wedding since the day Sarah had first brought Jareth home for dinner. It had made for an awkward first visit, to be sure, with Karen's enthusiastic gushing and Robert's wary looks. Toby had excused himself halfway through the meal and Karen had fussed over him and brought him up to his room, leaving Sarah caught in between a suspiciously polite and good-natured Jareth and her brooding father – she'd never brought a guy home before and even though she insisted that Jareth was just an old friend, her parents were understandably suspicious. At least Toby didn't have any issues with Jareth. Far from it, her brother practically worshipped his big sister's oddly familiar friend, and so did his friends once they happened to meet Jareth at a barbeque the family had hosted five weeks later. Jareth's entire demeanor had brightened up when Sarah had told him, a week after the barbeque, that Toby's friends had been calling on the house quite frequently, hoping to run into 'Mister King'. (He'd gotten quite a laugh out of the last name, that was for sure.)

"Her son?" Jareth echoed once his mind picked up on the implications of Sarah's words. "Your former... boyfriend," He used the word reluctantly, having found no suitable replacement, "will be joining us?"

Sarah muttered something under her breath that sounded an awful lot like "not if he wrecks his car on the way there" and Jareth waited for more, his curiosity piqued by Sarah's hostility.

After a brief pause during which her skin prickled with awareness – Jareth's infamous heated gaze always drew the same reaction out of her – Sarah sighed heavily and gave in. "It's Jack."

Jareth's eyes flashed. "Jack Meyers, the bastard who accused you of – of-" He could barely bite off the words as his rage flared. Sarah had recounted the tale of this particular idiot just weeks ago and he'd threatened to bog the pathetic child, much to Sarah's amusement.

"Of being mentally unstable because I kept getting lost in my daydreams and told the entire school I was nuts." Sarah finished the sentence, a bitter edge to her voice. "Yeah, that one."

The Goblin King seethed in silence for a moment before getting a grip on his temperament. Sarah had convinced him that the stupid boy wasn't worth his time and she'd gotten the last laugh, anyway, now that she was making a comfortable living off her 'stupid dancing fairies' and Jack was flitting from one job to another, unable to keep his mouth shut and his ego in check long enough to hold down an occupation.

"One word from his insolent trap and I'll have him trapped in an oubliette." Jareth muttered threateningly and Sarah shook her head, amused.

"Deal." She grinned as they pulled up to a red light and she removed one hand from the wheel to grab Jareth's. He'd skipped the gloves today, not wanting to draw attention with the extra accessories on such a warm day, and she knew that he'd be keeping his hands occupied - mostly by holding hers and occasionally winding an arm around her waist - to avoid shaking anyone's hand. There were a few he'd probably have to greet, of course, like her father, but the 'oops, static' excuse was viable for a few uses, at the very least. "But until he slips up, just focus on being perfect, okay?" Her eyes danced with mirth and he smirked.

"As always, I shall live up to your impossibly high expectations of me, precious Sarah." He said in a long-suffering tone with the air of the royal leader that he was and she thought he might've thrown in a little bow if they hadn't been in a confined space. She laughed then, unfazed by the blatant reference to their final showdown during her run through his Labyrinth so many years ago - I am exhausted from living up to your expectations - and though he remained silent, Jareth's lips quirked with unvoiced amusement too. The rest of the drive passed by in a blur of idle banter and by the time they'd pulled up to Sarah's childhood home, both were in considerably improved spirits, with not a single thought spared for Jack. Sarah allowed Jareth to open her door and gently pull her out, and they walked hand-in-hand down the street, attracting many curious looks and not-so-hushed whispers before they came to a stop in front of the familiar yellow-trimmed house Sarah recognized from many years of delivering casseroles and baked goods on Karen's behalf.

Sarah paused on the sidewalk, bringing Jareth to a standstill as she gripped his hand in hers. Childish laughter filled the air as the neighborhood children chased each other around the yard and Sarah's heart swelled as she caught sight of a familiar face amongst the crowd of children, laughing and playing and running just like every other child.

It was the first time she'd seen Toby with bright eyes and flushed cheeks zipping around on his own two legs since the accident. Sure, he was long healed by now and had probably been up and about for months but during the routine visits she paid her brother, she'd never seen him so whole and happy and healthy. So normal.

"Oh, Jareth," She sighed happily as Toby disappeared from sight, chasing after a boy who held something up in the air, taunting the other children to take it from him. "He's fine. He's really fine now."

Jareth, who had been studying Toby as closely as his sister had, turned to face Sarah now, a genuine smile on his face as he took in the sheer joy on hers. He had barely started speaking when she wrenched her hand from his and threw it around his neck along with her other hand, pulling him close as she stood on her tiptoes and pressed her lips to his.

Sarah was just as surprised as Jareth when her lips met his – she hadn't even paused, hadn't even thought anything through before she'd thrown her arms around him, so wrapped up had she been in that one perfect moment of happiness, such happiness that her first impulse had been to share it with Jareth. Jareth, the man who had turned her world upside down once before and then again when she had needed him, the man who had slowly carved out a place for himself in her life and in her heart, the man who had proved himself to be so much more than a villain and was now the sun to her previously lost and lonely existence. His hands rested on either side of her waist to hold her closer and she kissed him with all of the joy she felt in that moment, all of the contentment she felt now that everything had fallen into place and she knew this was where she belonged.

Jareth mourned the loss of her lips upon his as she pulled back minutely before he could even begin to comprehend all that she had given and told him in that one kiss, lips still so close to his own that he felt them curve against his as she smiled, hands buried in his hair as she remained pressed up against him, both of them safely ensconced in their little bubble of perfection.

"Tell me you still feel the same way," She murmured on borrowed breath, air she had stolen from him as she'd parted her lips to speak. She was not desperate and she did not beg nor did she demand - her words were a happy whisper, seeking reaffirment with a smile on her face, finally ready to hear the truth.

"Oh, precious," Jareth sighed even as his mind battled through a haze of confusion, trying to keep up with Sarah's sudden change of heart. His heart was pounding and his mind was racing but somehow, none of that mattered as the right words fell from his lips. "I never stopped."

And here come the eggs and tomatoes.

Yes, I suppose that might've been a bit of a letdown. I've had them flirt, share a bed, cuddle, almost kiss in the pouring rain hot on the heels of a subtle declaration of love (well, kind of – it was pouring, just outside) and this is how it happens. No build-up, no preamble, no sudden internal monologue in one of their minds… just a kiss, just like that. But hear me out!

We all love the passionate make-outs and first kisses that have them seeing fireworks and tumbling into bed. But this is my Sarah and Jareth, and the point here is that Sarah acts as if it's the most natural thing in the world. She's happy and she wants to share that with someone and Jareth is the one she turns to, because that is who he is to her now. An important part of her life, a person she wants to share everything with, the one she turns to with all of her joys and sorrows. She doesn't think twice about kissing him because she doesn't have to. And I hope you guys can appreciate that.

Or, you know, just be patient until I put up the third chapter of this part which includes the whole tumbling-into-bed make-out thing I was talking about. But you guys can fill in the blanks after that – this remains rated T, people. Rant and yell in the reviews.

E Salvatore,

April 2013.