To HachimansKitsune : Awww, thanks! : ) My hormones also talk to me like that, lol…I think it's pretty much a common symptom throughout the Labyrinth fandom

To notwritten: Thanks much! : )

To TrashedXandXScattered : Why thank you! : ) I always like to hear people say they like my goblins since they're my lil brain children. And yes, surviving Phantom while sitting next to the Goblin King….Sarah's will must be strong indeed.

To Pixaria : No, no it won't, hehe. : ) I have also heard the Wicked movie rumors and I am totally psyched for it, hopefully they don't get too many fancy ideas and decide not to use Cheno or Idina Menzel.

To The Silent Hunter : No one can work the pants like Jareth! So glad you're enjoying it : )

To Lis : Yay, I'm glad you're liking it! : )

Thanks to all of you who have added this story to your alerts/favorites! The notifications always make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. : )

Disclaimer: Henson and company own Labyrinth. I don't.

There was a collective gasp from the Underground contingent as Raoul fell beneath the water.

"Raoul! NooOOoooO!"

"I can't watch 'un!" Grunch hid his face behind Sarah's elbow.

"It's alright, Grunch. Look." Sarah whispered to the goblin cuddled next to was a universal sigh of relief from the majority of the goblins. Murpl consisted of the minority not relieved by the vicomte's escape from drowning. The Phantom had won the little blue goblin's unwavering devotion after an impressive display of pyrotechnics.

"Maybe the Phantom'll do some more exploding and keep Raoul away." Murpl said hopefully.

"Numskull! Raoul's the hero!" Smidge smacked Murpl upside the head. She had migrated to the armrest of the chair next to the goblin side of the couch.

"Yeah!"

"Idiot!"

Grunch sniffed haughtily and snuggled closer to Sarah, moving further away from his villain-supporting compatriot.

"Quiet!" Jareth barked imperiously. "I can not hear over your idiotic chatter."

Silence reigned once more in the room as the audience stared spellbound at the finale unfolding before them on the screen. Sarah snuck a peek at the King sitting next to her while the love triangle sang their hearts out. The planes and angles of his face were just visible in the dim glow of the television as he stared at the drama before him. She felt his eyes flickering to her own face and quickly cemented her gaze back on the Phantom as he belted out his passionate ultimatum. Somehow she felt it when his eyes focused back on the movie, lost in the story once again.

'This is a fairly normal reaction to being in almost darkness. It's just like being in a movie theater, you become all used to everything around you in the dark that you notice if the people around you move all of a sudden.'

Sitting next to an arrogant Goblin King, who just happened to be wildly attractive and who Sarah just happened to be wildly attracted to, had turned a normal reaction into practically a hypersensitivity. The gradual shift of Jareth's arm throughout the saga of opera and high romance so that the tips of his gloved fingers now just barely brushed her left shoulder had been felt by Sarah with excruciating awareness. Forcefully ignoring the sensation of a fingertip just barely touching brown cotton, she focused on the tragic scene before her.

'Poor Phantom.' Onscreen, tears began to trickle down the musical genius' unmasked face as Christine sailed away with Raoul. 'If he'd been a little less psycho in his game plan and not gone all crazy murderer-you belong to me-marry me or die then he would have gotten the girl. Compared to him, Raoul's a pansy. A little 'hey Christine, I'm not the spirit of your father and I'm totally in love with you' at the beginning would have cleared everything up. But then we wouldn't have our epic musical.'

There were appreciative murmurs from the audience, Murpl in particular delighted by the cacophony of glass splintering at the hands of his hero, as the shattered mirror revealed a hidden passageway. Silence fell over the room once more.

"The Phantom lives!" Murpl hollered in delight, as the close-up of the rose entwined in black ribbon bearing Christine's ring filled the screen.

"Well of course he lives, dummy!" Smidge gave another smack of retribution. "Didn't you see him escape?"

Murpl cradled his arms around his head protectively, warding off any future Smidge-smacks. "I saw!" His eyes turned dreamy as he recalled the Phantom swinging a blunt object into the glass. "It was almost as good as an explosion."

"It was all tinkly and sparkly." A goblin commented from the chair near Jareth.

"Oh, lord, no!" Jareth muttered under his breath, visualizing the goblins trying to 'explode' a mirror. "If any of you so much as think of trying to replicate that stunt, I will have you in a suitable oubliette before you can blink." He stated in a louder tone.

Sarah rose from the couch and flicked on the light switch, smiling widely in amusement. The light revealed Murpl and several other would-be mirror smashers with shoulders slumped in dejection. "So what did you guys think of the mysterious affair of the Phantom of the Opera?" She quoted lightly.

"It 'un beautiful!" Grunch enthused.

"Nice!"

"Was pretty!"

"Perdy!"

"Music almost as good as King singin'!"

"Yeah, almost! Have fleer like King!"

"I think the word you are searching for is 'flair'." Jareth corrected.

"Yep, flair!"

Sarah rolled her eyes as she ejected the DVD, not needing to look back to know there was a vain expression on the Goblin King's face. She couldn't deny the statement, however. 'He certainly does have flair.' She agreed, reflecting on his taste in fashion and love of dramatic entrances. 'And he knows it, too.'

"Christine shoulda chosen the Phantom." Murpl complained, quickly raising his arms up defensively. "He's got flair!"

"Raoul's her true love, moron!" Smidge walloped Murpl's raised arm.

"True 'un love!" Incensed by this declaration against the force of true love, Grunch sunk his teeth into Murpl's other arm.

"Yeeouch!" Murpl exclaimed, bringing his arms to his chest and nursing them protectively.

"Up to a point, I have to agree with Murpl." Jareth commented contemplatively. His voice effectively silenced all discussions. Smidge's fist froze in the air above Murpl's now exposed head, and all eyes turned to the Goblin King, including Sarah's. She, DVD in hand, paused from replacing the movie in the cabinet of the entertainment center and gazed with interest at the blonde-haired King, intrigued to hear what he had to say.

"So Raoul ain't her true love?" A burly goblin asked, bewildered.

"In the end, yes, he was. Love -real love- is after all not an easily transferable commodity. In the beginning, however, Christine was clearly attracted to both men. If the Phantom had refrained from going on a murderous rampage and desisted from attempting to jealously intimidate the lady, she would have undoubtedly reciprocated his feelings. The man had definite flair, but his behavior gave his rival the upper hand in winning Miss Daae's love."

"Not to mention he didn't actually tell her he loved her until it was too late, and Raoul had told her long before that." Sarah added, delighted to find that Jareth shared her soap box. One of the many differences in opinion Sarah shared with her step-mother was Karen's unequivocal belief that Raoul was Christine's true love and that the soprano felt nothing stronger for the disfigured man than compassion.

"Probably because his disfigurement and resulting traumatic childhood made him feel as if it was impossible for another to love him. Tragic, really, but that is-"

"What makes it an opera." Sarah finished. "That's what I've always thought!"

Sarah and Jareth had remained alone in the discussion while the goblins caught up with their thought process, some taking longer than others. Some had given up the effort and were happily playing with the cutlery.

Grunch shook his head sadly. "Poor 'un Phantom."

Murpl nodded his head in agreement. "Christine chose wrong."

Smidge delivered her own particular brand of justice. "Idiot!"

"Stupid-head!"

"It's the Phantom's fault!"

"Killin' is wrong."

"He did have fleer though."

"That's 'flayer'!" A tiny goblin corrected, abandoning the fork he was fondling in his sureness.

"No, it's 'flarr'."

Jareth covered his eyes with a hand and shook his head.

"I think he's right. 'Flayer' sounds right!"

The Goblin King peered at Sarah over his gloved hand with a look that clearly said 'do you see what I have to put up with'. Sarah smiled bemusedly at him.

" 'Flarr' is right."

" 'Fleer' is 'fleer'!"

" 'Flayer' is right!"

"The word is 'flair', guys." Sarah interposed gently, clearly enunciating the problematic word.

"You're sure it's not 'flayer', Lady?"

"Positive." The minute goblin looked rather crestfallen over having his vocabulary claim disproved. With a hand that engulfed his entire shoulder, Sarah patted him consolingly. "You were very close though."

Feeling a familiar gaze upon her, Sarah looked up to find Jareth smiling upon the scene before him in amusement. She returned his smile and his turned into that grin that showed off his canines. It was a wicked grin, a mischievous grin, a grin that promised to make her dreams come to life, a grin that whispered that as soon as possible he was going to corner her and kiss her like she'd never been kissed before, a sinful grin that provoked sinful thoughts. In a rare moment of personal harmony, Sarah's heart, brain and hormones unanimously voted that grin as her favorite of Jareth's facial expressions.

'I bet he tastes just as good as he smells. If not better.' She bit her lower lip and almost swallowed it when his tongue emerged to briefly run over his thin lips. A little guiltily her eyes flickered up to his and the teasing, pleased glimmer she saw there was enough to convince her that he knew exactly what she'd been thinking about.

Clearing her throat, Sarah ruminated that two could play at that game. Inspiration struck. "If you guys will pick up your dirty dishes and follow me to the kitchen, we can have dessert."

"OooOooo!"

"Sweets!"

"Is it popcorn?" Murpl inquired excitedly.

"Personally, it's something I like even better."

The blue goblin was justifiably skeptical over anything that could be better than exploded food- if there even was such a thing- but he proceeded to stack up his dinnerware as the Lady was instructing them to do. Sarah gathered her own soiled flatware together, as quickly as possible to prevent her Jareth-proximity trigger from going off and causing her hormones to rush her brain with the thought that it would be a good idea to jump onto the Goblin King's lap and make-out with him.

'Not that the idea isn't without some merit.' Sarah admitted, carefully placing her respective dishes in a different areas of the sink for stacking purposes. "Would you guys please make a line and hand me your dishes one at a time?"

"Sure thing, Lady!"

"OK!"

"Yes 'un, Lady!"

The image of Jareth's tongue briefly running over those definitely kissable lips assailed her as she began to methodically take and stack plates, bowls, glasses and cutlery. 'If Jareth feels the same about me then that idea is becoming a reality the second I find out.' She thought decisively to the loud approval of her hormones, placing a plate on the pile and realizing that no more dishes were being handed up to her. Her eyes widened a bit and she jumped a little in surprise when the last of the dirty dishes floated in from the right to land gracefully on their respective piles.

Rolling her eyes, Sarah turned to find the Goblin King sprawled in a chair with a smug expression on his face. She shook her head at him, wondering if he'd been sitting there levitating dishes the whole time she'd been at the sink, but smiled anyway. 'It's going to be your turn soon, your majesty.' Sarah thought slyly, giving him a rather coy look that had him arching an upswept eyebrow at her.

"We're having ice cream!" Sarah announced cheerily as she distributed the freshly cleaned bowls that the goblins normally used for movie snacks.

"Woo-hooo!"

"Yippee!"

"Yay!"

"Uhhhh...Lady, what's ice cream?"

"Cream made out of ice?"

"Does it need to be exploded?"

"Is it good?"

"Do you eat it with a fork?" The tiny goblin had become rather fond of the multi-pronged eating utensil.

Sarah counted out the appropriate number of spoons from the silverware drawer. "It's a dessert made from ice, milk, sugar and flavoring. It doesn't need to be exploded and you eat it with a spoon. It's delicious!"

Jareth sat back and admired the view presented by Sarah on her tiptoes rummaging in the top of the refrigerator. 'That outfit is rather fetching, but it would be nice to see her in something more queenly.' He tilted his head and pictured her in raiment befitting a Queen. 'Something in green to match her lovely eyes, perhaps. I'll have to pay a visit to a seamstress soon and commission a wardrobe.'

The goblins watched with attentive curiosity as a tub of chocolate ice cream was deposited on the table. Deciding that it would be appropriate to give the goblins roughly the same amount she gave Toby, Sarah pulled out the ice cream scoop from the silverware drawer. The lid was removed from the ice cream and Sarah ladled out dessert with the expertise of an older sister. With a little hesitation the goblins with filled bowls started in on their treat, while the Lady served those who hadn't gotten any yet.

"Wow!"

"Good 'un!" Grunch cried happily.

The goblin with the lopsided horn quickly filled up his spoon again and shoved it in his mouth. "Yummmmm!" His eyes closed in contentment.

Smidge threw the goblin with the lopsided horn a venomous look as she practically vibrated in place while Sarah filled her bowl. Joyfully she dug in as Sarah moved to Jareth, joining her fellow goblins in their enthusiasm.

"So this is a favorite treat of yours, Sarah?" Jareth inquired, watching her spoon the soft, dark substance into his bowl.

"Yep, chocolate ice cream is definitely my favorite." She handed the Goblin King a spoon. "Go ahead and try it." Out of the corner of her eye she watched him cautiously dip his spoon into his own bowl and gingerly take a bite as she scooped up her own serving of ice cream.

Surprised delight flickered across the Goblin King's face. He swallowed another spoonful, savoring the flavor.

'Perfect.' Sarah pushed the lid down on the almost empty container. She was pleased to note that like always, she'd managed to get some melted ice cream on her fingers. 'Do you like chocolate, your majesty?' Timing was crucial. "So do you like it?" From under her lashes she watched and waited until he looked up to answer. When he did, Sarah took the opportunity to slowly lick the chocolate off her fingers. 'Bet you like it better now! Sweet, sweet revenge...literally, hah.'

The sweet taste of chocolate still in his mouth, Jareth froze as he watched Sarah clean her hands with those lovely full lips and that luscious pink tongue. Promptly Jareth's imagination supplied a very queen-like outfit for Sarah composed of black silk and lace. It was the sort of outfit for a Queen that only the King ever got to see her in. In the midst of his very pleasant musings, Jareth noticed that Sarah was smirking at him. "I love it, precious thing." He purred, grinning at her. Then softly, so only she could hear, he added. "You clever minx."

Twenty minutes or so, and two jaunts up and down the staircase later saw Sarah back in the kitchen. There was a crystal cradled in her hands. It was smooth, pleasantly cool and tingled a bit where it touched her skin.

Sarah caressed the crystal with a thumb and smiled dreamily at it. Merlin, fresh from a long nap underneath her bed, whuffed sleepily at her. "Yeah, yeah, I know. I'm a silly human, aren't I?" Memory of the night's events came back to her - Jareth almost kissing her, pouting when they were interrupted, admitting to dreaming about her, grinning at her, teasing her, taunting her, eating ice cream in the kitchen and telling her he LOVED it. 'What did he call me? A clever minx.' She laughed softly and tossed the crystal at the sink. There was a small popping noise, and a small shower of gold glitter. Left in the crystal's wake were piles of gleaming, clean dishes - even the sink itself was sparkling. In awe and delight, Sarah put away the magically cleaned dishes.

"C'mon, boy, let's go to bed. I'll get a shower in the morning. It's late and I'm exhausted." As she clomped up the staircase with her dog, she mentally replayed Jareth's good-bye. He had thanked her for dinner - he was the last to leave again- and told her he'd enjoyed himself. Then he'd proceeded to lightly kiss the tip of each finger she'd licked clean. The crystal had appeared in her hand and he'd told her to throw it into the sink. And he'd told her, as she'd stood there still somewhat dreamily stupefied from the treatment her fingers had received, he'd see her tomorrow. Sarah pulled off her clothes and slid into an oversized night-shirt. Merlin crawled back underneath her bed. He'd really developed a penchant for sleeping down there-it was peaceful.

Sarah snuggled into the covers and sighed. Then to her empty room, sleeping sheepdog, and own self Sarah confessed softly. "I love him."