Chapter 10: Issues

Jareth woke early. The sun was just beginning its descent. He pulled his gaze from the bright windows, allowing his eyes to adjust before he turned to gaze down at his bedmate. The boy was fast asleep still, his mouth falling naturally open against his pillow in sleep.

The Goblin King watched for a few moments longer before stretching and rising. He didn't have time to stare at his prey, he needed to get a few things done. He relieved himself, washing up just enough to wake himself up. He looked in the mirror on the door, smirking. His hair was disheveled and his pants barely on at all, pubic hair slightly exposed. This image, he knew, would have an effect Tobias, and that thought alone pleased him. For this image of himself was without magic or adornment. His young guest was taken with him in the most genuine way.

Shaking his head, Jareth exited the little room without his morning bath, going to the corner of his bedroom where his chests of clothes rest. He tried to keep his eyes from lingering on the form in bed, concentrating on dressing. He left his same, gray pants on, deciding on a reddish-brown vest of unusually soft leather, tight on his torso, buttoning on the side, the shoulders exaggerated, with a black shirt to go under - the sleeves tight before fairing out in a waterfall of lace at the wrists. He lifted his necklace from underneath the layers of cloth and positioned it so that it lay in plain view on his chest. Straightening his hair was a cinch with the help of a little magic. Lastly, he pulled on his knee-high black boots. There, all done.

Which brought him to his next task. He'd whispered to Tobias in that other world, sent the boy dreams and silent messages, but knew little of its current appearance and styles. He remembered the many visits before, however, during his time with Sarah. How much could have changed? He walked around the bed, lifting the little folded pair of jeans from the floor. He held them up admiring the small waist. He imagined his young guest wearing black jeans and formal black slacks and form fitting T-shirts and button up dress shirts. Most of the images were in dark colors, for that was what the boy liked as well as what he looked best in, with eccentric cuts and angles to add a bit of Underground style to them. Jareth didn't bother with picturing under things, there would be time enough for that, thinking instead of boots and little bits of jewelry and leather jackets and vests and few other choice garments and accessories. The magic would hold the shape well enough but he should call the castle's seamstress sooner or later - his prize would have the best wardrobe imaginable, no expense to be spared and only the best would be given.

He turned, his lips pulling into a pleased smile at the sight of an extra chest near his own, certainly filled with all necessary items. Tobias would be pleased as well.

With that done, Jareth turned back to the boy, noticing suddenly that a line of skin was visible where the large shirt had ridden up and the blanket had scooted down. It was the loveliest three inches of pale flesh the Goblin King had laid eyes upon in awhile, low on the boy's back just over some rather choice parts that for the moment were hidden rather rudely beneath the covers. He leaned over and chastely kissed this exposed place, willing an intimacy to deepen between them. He felt it stronger and stronger, the bond he was gently forcing between them, this one act so important.

Jareth pulled back, turning to leave. Not another moment! If he lingered longer he'd be inching the blanket down further for a better glimpse and then who knew what would happen? Tch, ah well, an exercise in celibacy would be good for him. He snatched up his ledger on his way out, deciding to get a bit of work done in his study. There was no way he was going to get any work done in the boy's presence, he'd use his study for once instead.

Upon reaching his destination, he found a little surprise. A piece of parchment rest on the desk, a drawing, clearly Tobias' work. It was an image of himself sleeping in the throne room. Jareth stared at it, noting the fine detail, storing away the knowledge of Tobias' artistic capabilities. He was learning more and more things about his guest. Selfishly, he wanted to know everything. Carefully, he set the drawing aside, lighting several candles before taking a seat.

He got very little done, not that there was much to do this time of the year - crops were good, mischievous behavior was low, everyone seemed relatively happy, and there weren't any pressing events. His thoughts came back to Tobias, sleeping all but nude in his own bed. The boy's beauty was enough to drive him mad, but it was more than that. Tobias was the only one to ever have escaped him, thanks to Sarah, and in a way he was truly thankful. Had things gone his way… No, he shook his head. Sarah had rejected his offer and Tobias was no goblin and would never be.

He had initially wanted Sarah as a slave, a possession, a beautiful thing to cherish him. But she had been so much more, charming him at first with her beauty and then disarming him with her sweetness and practicality, and at the end had flitted through his grasp sending parts of his kingdom crashing down around him. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply, seeing her in his head as she had appeared all those years ago, 13 years old and already the practiced coquet. He had hungered for her in a way that he hadn't felt for years - sitting alone in his kingdom surrounded by every luxury for longer than he cared to think on, everyday melding mindlessly into the next and then, to him through the babe, had come Sarah. Plain child, and wildly beautiful, standing before him so honestly. To the rest however she had become a legend in the Underground, the little girl who had braved the delights and terrors of the Goblin King and lived.

And now there was Tobias . . .

While just as beautiful as his older sister, Tobias was a completely different being, believing in magic and evil and, unlike his sister who has eventually drowned under the pressured of reality, continued to trust in it. Tobias' heart had dark corners filled with passion, and that artistic eye! An exotic creature indeed, nothing of the purity he'd despised in Sarah. Not to say he was naive, he amended to himself thinking back to last night, but there was a passion that lurked just beneath the surface that did not know its self. No, he was quite sure that under the right hand the boy could be shaped into opening up and revealing that enigmatic quality that made Jareth shake to think on it.

A knock on the door pulled him from his thoughts. He looked up to see Merik standing tall in the doorway, "I'm surprised to see you in here, Sire."

Jareth gestured for the young man to do away with the formalities, "I couldn't concentrate at my desk."

Merik laughed out, "No wonder why!"

Jareth sat up, "You entered my chamber?"

Shrugging, "The door was ajar. I didn't realize he was sleeping in your bed."

"You should have." Jareth said through a smirk.

Merik entered the room further, fingering the dusty shelves and their contents, "Yes, I'd forgotten your habit of bedding anyone beautiful, only… I don't remember you ever bedding a man… Or boy."

The Goblin King sat back in his chair, crossing his legs, "Is that what this is about, Merik? While it's none of your business, I'd have you know that I've bedded many males, even Trei once, long ago."

Merik's eyebrows rose high, he hadn't expected that. The young General was certainly not the type for such an act, "Our Trei?" He asked, thinking of the young man he sat next to at dinner.

Jareth's teeth showed in a cruel grin before he laughed out, holding his stomach to try and contain his amusement, "Long ago, my friend. Don't bother Trei with these things. And speaking of long ago, you yourself haven't been here long enough to have seen too much so I wouldn't bother with comparing past affairs."

Merik shook his head, "Anyway, though I mind little… It matters that he's male, and he's from Aboveground. The ladies at court won't stand for this, not to mention Wren."

Jareth asked, a single brow raised in confusion, "I've had many such lovers."

Merik shook his head again, this time with a knowing smile, "There's a new look in your eyes, my friend. We all see it. The other's have been talking, even the servants. We all know you haven't taken a lover like /that/ in some time."

Jareth sighed, not liking this already. The Court was going to be trouble, it always was. The rumors spread every time he took someone to his bed. He reminded himself that it was all a game that they'd played to help pass the time. Nothing to do with eternity, laugh and smile, nod when they wanted but it was all a big game for the playing. An endless waltz where none of the players rested. But Tobias was better than that, and he wasn't going to keep the boy a secret, not with the possibilities he sought. He knew it was forbidden to take one from Aboveground, but if things turned out like he was hoping, he would do so. The hell with The Court.

The Goblin King rose, "Never mind all that. I'll speak more on it at dinner."

Merik nodded, noticing the drawing set aside on the desk. He turned it slightly to better see, "Your young guest do this?"

Jareth turned, his smirk returning, "He did."

Merik's smile fell away, his expression suddenly serious as he looked to his king, "It's rather good, a very realistic image of you, Sire."

Jareth nodded and left the room. He reentered his bedroom, depositing his ledger on his cluttered desk. Turning, he noticed Tobias' eyes blinking into wakefulness, "Did I wake you?" He asked.

The boy shook his head, rubbing at his eyes, "Why's it so dark?"

With a mere thought, all the candles in the room were lit, "It's night out, child."

"That's right… Sleep during the day, up at night." Tobias mumbled, seeming to have only noticed his state of dress.

Jareth watched as the boy struggled to pull his shirt down, "I've arranged for some more clothes for you, something more suited to your tastes. I'll leave you to dress. I must attend to some matters, I'll meet you in the kitchen." He waited for the boy to nod, never tiring of the blush, before leaving the room, securely closing the door this time.

His strides were silent despite his slight heels and the stone floor, a work of magic. He could simply appear in the throne room if he so wished, but he felt like walking, the slight breeze in the corridors brushing his hair back from his face as he hurried down the hall. As expected, the throne room was busy with goblins, most simply yearning for his presence, others with reports to make, and still others with disputes. They remained noisy and busy as he strode through them, gracefully falling into his throne. He dealt with them silently as he most often did, speaking directly to their minds, his eyes closed to better concentrate.

It took little time. He wasn't completely finished, but the room had cleared considerably. This was the only room the goblins were allowed on the second floor of the castle. Later, closer to morning, the room would be full again.

Long ago, when he had been young in form but not in mind, he'd been given his curse, the Goblin King. He'd been the bastard son of the Great King, and the Great Queen had not been pleased with the news of his existence. And so he became the guardian of unwanted children from both worlds, a mocking nod of the head from his step mother as she had given him the keys to his kingdom before everyone else - a fool's crown of thorns. Those from the Underground held their form while those from Aboveground were transformed into goblins. Few respected the beings from above, those who'd sealed their world away, creating two separate places as apposed to the one grand and the bitterness was taken out on the children who fell through the cracks into this never never where from high above.

From the very beginning he knew it was intended to be a particularly cruel curse from his step mother, a special hell she had crafted just for him with a few hidden corners filled to the brim with horrors only he and a few others understood the particulars of. Over the years however, the reason for his position had lost its scandal and the minds at court, now hungering after new gossip to fill their days had begun to look upon him with a bit more pragmatic view. He was a king in his own right with a vast kingdom and an impenetrable labyrinth, the goblins were great in number providing an army vast enough to defend his kingdom several times over through sheer numbers if need be. And, gradually over the years more and more of his kind had come to his kingdom of their own will - seeking employment in what was a relatively young kingdom that was by all accounts fairly wealthy and as far beyond the rule of the main court as one could desire. A few, such as Surazal and Talbot had even left other more respected Kingdoms to find their way into his employ giving even more weight to his growing power and he had remained ever grateful to them. For others such as Trei, it was an opportunity to establish a place of merit through pure strength of will and accomplishment - something that would never have been possible in an older palace more set in its ways.

And beyond all of the politics and intrigue there were always the affairs. Older women sick of their husbands, youths in crisply cut fashions, boys and men of all ages, the young women in astringent fashions. He had always been favored - first because of his youth and looks and later as some sort of romanticized figure, cast out into a no man's land, that had continued to garner him private and not so private invitations into certain beds come time and time again. The Court had few bachelors these days, his kind living unnaturally long lives and bearing few children. And while few let the admission slip from their lips, without the mixture of those from Aboveground, his kind would eventually die out. But that was thousands of years away, nothing to worry about really, they laughed. Best to let a wound bleed its self dry than admit to needing stitches, now, if you would please, no more vulgarities. And so they continued on one party after the other, but always wasting empty on the inside having even having lost the way to hope that enough Champaign and silk could fill up the ever growing holes inside.

What nonsense it all was.
He let the thoughts slip away, opening his eyes to watch his loyal goblins and their silly antics. Their presence calmed him, they weren't monsters at all as most perceived them, they would always be children at heart. No, the real monsters wore more cleverly disguised masks and danced with each other at balls each night - he had attended enough to be able to tell the difference.

Having enough, Jareth disappeared and reappeared in the kitchen, leaning against the doorframe, his presence yet known.

Tobias was wearing black pants and a matching shirt that had been cut to reveal his arms.

Lyn wiped her hands on her stained apron, "The others ate much earlier."

"They eat breakfast here in the kitchen?"

Lyn nodded, "Most of the time. Someone's always hungry, coming through my kitchen for something, be it a servant or the king himself."

Tobias brushed his hair back behind his ears. Jareth noticed again how strange those eyes appeared in the half light of the kitchen.

The boy leaned over the table, resting his head on its surface, "I wish I understood what was happening to me." He said through a sigh.

Jareth stepped forward then, allowing his heels to click on the stone floor, "What don't you understand?" He asked, watching as he jumped up and turned his way. When Tobias didn't answer, Jareth decided on a different question, "Were you waiting long?"

Shaking his head, Tobias gestured to the food still on the table, "I ate a little. You hungry?"

The king dismissed the idea with a wave of his hand. He didn't feel like breakfast this day, "I thought we'd take a walk."

Tobias stood, nodding, "Okay." He noticed, as they made their way through the corridors, that the king's footsteps were silent. It was strange, he'd heard the stride before, hadn't he? He shook his head, listening instead to his own steps. They didn't speak, and it was more than awkward, Tobias simply following the king's lead.

They ended up in the courtyard. The air was cool out, the full moon lighting everything brilliantly. Tobias sighed, remembering this scenery. It made him nervous. How had he come here? Was this a place in his head? He remembered everything being so dreamlike that first night. He turned to Jareth then, "Am I crazy?"

Jareth laughed, approaching the boy and placing his hands on either side of his face, "Certainly not."

"But… Isn't that what someone from my imagination would say?"

A smirk pulled at his lips, "This is real, Tobias/I'm/ real."

He nodded, "I know. I believe in all this too much to think it's my imagination. It's just - I'm having trouble. Understanding, that is."

The king released the boy's face, turning to sit in a nearby bench. He patted the place beside him, "Come here."

Tobias complied, careful to keep space between them.

"Now, explain this dilemma of yours." Jareth whispered near his ear, letting his breath rush in its curves tickelishly carefully avoiding out and out contact.

Through a sigh, Tobias began sorting his thoughts aloud, "I'll admit I've been obsessed with getting here." His eyes flashed nervously up to Jareths and then back down before continuing. "And I'll admit I like you."

Jareth's smirk made another appearance, Tobias continued on before he could think too much on what he was saying, "I guess it wasn't too hard. Who doesn't love a mystery man right?" he laughed. "For a long time though I told myself that I wanted to be here because it was simply /here/ and not there where I was. I know you may not believe it but Sarah always used to talk about this place like it was the best place you could ever be and ever since I was little I wanted to come here and see the things she had seen. Do the things she had done."

"And now?"

Tobias shifted nervously in his seat before looking up to the king's mismatched eyes, "I love you."

Jareth was silent for a moment, giving him time to compose himself and after awhile Tobias nodded, "It's hard for me to understand that this place is on the other side of my world, but I believe you. So, I believe I know where I am, and I know /why/ I am, at least on my part. Once you called for me . . . once you called I couldn't have said no. Not even if I had had some reason for wanting to. But I really haven't received an answer as to why. I know you said you wanted me here, but last night you all but admitted it wasn't because you love me."

Jareth crossed his legs, moving perilously close, "I'm not sure I'm ready to tell you why I want you here. Is it not enough that I want you?"

Butterflies stabbed sticky fingers into his stomach, and he swallowed nervously, "But for how long?"

Jareth smiled, "Are you afraid to love with the possibility of heartbreak? I know you want me, I could read it in your heart when I came into your dreams." Jareth ran the back of his hand along the boy's jaw line, "So lonely." He whispered.

Tobias closed his eyes and shuddered, feeling the weight those last words formed around him like heavy syrup. Realized for a moment that the feeling hadn't come within him, enough so to worry, but as soon as he grasped for that fear it danced away from his reach. "Okay. I'm going to trust you, but…"

Jareth nuzzled the warm place behind the boy's ear, breathing the sweet scent of his raven locks, "But?"

"Please don't hurt me." Came Tobias' whisper as he turned his face to the king.

Without hesitation, Jareth accepted, pressing his lips to the boy's. A soft, sweet kiss. "Then you trust me? You are willing to stay here with me?" He felt the air around them become thick with static, the power behind the words building into a steady crescendo. Where Tobias couldn't see he smirked wickedly - he could /taste/ the acceptance, his victory almost tangible.

"Yes. I'll fall completely - as long as it's you, its alright."

The words snapped in the air as fierce as an electric shock to those who could see energy, locking the final seal to the contract he had been artfully weaving. He had the boys spoken word - from here on out there was no going back.

Jareth shifted, uncrossed his legs to move closer, holding the boy's face as he deepened the kiss, slipping his tongue into that unthinkable heat. And that taste! Already he wanted more. Slipping his fingers beneath the hem of the boy's shirt, he slipped his fingers under the hem and with practiced movements stroked the bare flesh of his side.

Tobias sucked in much needed breath as he turned his head to the side, taking hold of the hand attempting to move further up beneath his shirt, "Wait." He said.

The king sat back, "Not yet?"

"I don't mind a little, but…" Tobias blushed, averting his gaze, "I don't want to go too far until you love me too."

"As you wish."

Not that it mattered now, he had the boy's Word, and whatever happened from here on they could play it out as it pleased them. But why hadn't he taken the opportunity to say that he loved him when the mood had been right? Wouldn't it have been better just to lie to him and set his fears at rest? Frowning, and a bit more than perturbed Jareth swept the thought from his mind, uncomfortable that Tobias had been able to see such a glaring flaw in what had and had not been said when he himself had not. It would be easy enough to just say the words - so why had he skirted so unaccustomedly away from the subject?

Author's Notes for this story can be found at :

http://butterflyinfur (dot) livejournal (dot) com (backslash) 4679 (dot) html#cutid1

Part one of what was originally one long monster chapter but it was a little too long even for my tastes so I decided to split them into two. What do you think so far?