Disclaimer: No, I don't own The Labyrinth or the characters in the movie. Connor, Lili and the plot are my creations.

A/N: Whoops! Sorry guys, I made a little error so I had to delete and re-add the chapter- sorry about the additional emails.

Wow… I didn't expect all this feedback from you guys! Thank you so much! I hope you'll enjoy this chapter. Also, I'd like to note that Irene Sharda has given me wonderful ideas and that I shall adapt them to the story- so I'd like to credit her for giving me an idea about Connor that you will see sometime in the future.

Within

Chapter Nine: The Offer

In the spotless apartment near a desk adorn with scattered papers sat Connor. His eyes were glued onto the computer screen before him. With each stroke of a key, lines of words emerged and no sooner than a minute later were deleted. The blank screen cried out to be filled, but Connor just couldn't do it. She was on his mind. Talk about writers block. 'Why is she so…' the right words couldn't even pop into his head. His most recent novel was about her and specifically included parts of their meeting in real life. The emerging leafs of paper in the book with all the warnings and copyrights was purely a lie when it came to that whole spiel about any persons being similar to a character in a book being completely coincidental.

Yet, this is similar to how it had always been. He would find a girl and love her secretly- always the friend never the boyfriend. This is how it had been since he first set foot on this side of the world- banished from his own.

Despite her stomach groaning for flavorsome food, Sarah ended up making pancakes. "There," she said out loud, "Four should be enough." After flipping the four pancakes on a plate, she turned to grab another, but was stopped in the process by a voice.

"So much food for yourself?" he teased.

Though she knew he was joking, her lips still tightened into a small frown. She eyed him from head to toe. He was wearing all black this time. It was a loose shirt with a very low neckline. If anything, she felt like it intensified his looks.

"Well, since you've decided to grace me with your presence…" she started sarcastically until she realized the opportunity given to her, "would you like some?" After all, four was much, and she originally made extra incase he showed up around then... 'Damnit,' she cursed herself for thinking of him like that. No matter what, she didn't fully approve of herself being so friendly and open to him.

"What?" her response caught him off guard. Yes, he expected her initial reaction because he loved to rile her up, but what surprised him was her invitation.

She sighed, grabbing a plate and a bottle of syrup. "I said, 'would you like some?' They're going to get cold…"

He made no facial expression as to what he was thinking; he just simply pulled out a chair and sat in it, staring at the round, flat, brown-ish thing in front of him.

When she saw him like that out of the corner of her eye, a small smile crept on her face. After placing two pancakes on his plate, she handed him a fork, then began to pour syrup on her own pancakes. It was clear to her that if she didn't do it for him, he would just sit there idly staring at his plate. "There," she said as she finished drizzling the syrup for him.

Her heart stopped while she watched him put a small piece in his mouth. 'It shouldn't matter what he thinks,' she thought still feeling worried.

Finally he spoke, "What is this?"

"Pancakes," she informed him while taking a bite. Jareth simply nodded in response.

'Are they good?' she wanted to ask, but instead an awkward silence filled the air as they ate- well that's what it felt like to Sarah. She was too focused on her pancakes and her thoughts to notice that Jareth had finished and left his seat.

"They were delicious," he whispered in her ear. She jumped a little in her seat, and cursed herself for daydreaming so much. He was behind her now, his left hand placed on the table while the other rested on the back of her chair. She turned to get a look at him, "Thank you," she smiled.

"You know," she began changing the subject. She continued when she could look at him better, "I still haven't forgiven you." Sarah decided it best to keep that last part vague; for there were many things she hadn't forgiven him for just yet. The one particular moment on her mind was from last night. He didn't say anything- 'He's probably wondering what I meant by that,' she thought, proud of herself for his speechlessness.

She wondered what to do as his eyes shifted to a somewhat sorrow filled regretful look… well that's what she thought she saw reflected in his eyes. His thoughts were unclear to her, but she had a feeling that he was thinking of past events from oh say, eight years ago. The urge to point him in the right direction overcame her. Plus it would be a nice way to confirm without asking any questions. 'I hope I wont regret this…' she prayed silently.

Sarah concentrated on his features. If anything they helped encourage her to carry out her motions. His thin lips were curved down and challenged her to correct their position. No more than a second later, Sarah placed her lips on his. When it seemed as if he wasn't reacting to her, she draped a hand on his neck to coax him.

Finally, after what felt like so long- his lips parted and he deepened their kiss. It was during this moment when Sarah was flooded with emotion. Relief? Passion? Whatever it was, it felt good- no great. But, as they say-too much of a good thing…

Jareth slowly pulled away from the lips that welcomed him so eagerly. He had a smug look about him, which normally would have turned her off, but for some strange reason it intensified the wild imagination within her and it didn't seem wrong at all. That's when she caught herself. 'No Sarah… at least not for now.'

"You just left…" she explained with her eyes glued on him. This moment was the first in a long while where her gaze did challenge his. True, her emerald eyes were consumed by fervor, but it was as if they were saying, 'Now what are you going to do to make it up to me?'

A few seconds had passed before Jareth's brain registered his current situation. It seemed as if the tables were turning and Sarah was slipping from his grip -perhaps not Sarah herself, but his ability of exercising control of some sorts over her. Not to mention that it wasn't in his nature to apologize.

Seeing as how she wasn't getting anything out of him, she started to stand causing him to move out of her way. The almighty King of the Goblins then placed himself against the kitchen doorframe and watched her in silence, taking in as much of her image as he could.

"So you're here to play twenty questions, right?" she asked cleaning the table of its dishes.

"Twenty questions?" clearly he wasn't familiar with what she meant.

"You know, ask me twenty questions and… well we aren't playing that, I just meant that we're asking questions…" her voice fades toward the end of her explanation as light embarrassment hit her.

"I see. Well then, shall we begin?" Jareth suggested with a grin on his face.

Sarah gave him a nod. "I've got a few things to finish up with in my room, so we can talk there," she half lied. 'Or rather, I'm just feeling a bit uneasy with you here just in case Toby and everyone else comes back.' She explained to herself mentally.

Jareth was surprised to see the clutter of boxes placed about in her room. They weren't there previously- not to mention everything else was barren.

Sarah's sigh drew Jareth's attention away from the area. "You can sit there," she motioned to her bed, the only surface available.

She was about to take steps further into the chaotic forest of brown boxes when his gloved hands grasped onto hers and pulled her to him. "Come with me to my castle?" he said.

She couldn't tell if it was a question or a command. "I don't know, its just…Theres so much to do..." her eyes shifted to the boxes lying about. It was a half lie- she did want to go back to that strange land where nothing was as it seemed, but not forever. Or maybe just not with him… truth be told, she didn't know her reasoning. Sarah knew he was thinking something that made him feel awfully clever. It was clear as soon as that smirk crept onto his face.

"Well, well, you have grown. What happened to the Sarah that would always run away from her real world to go to her fantasy land?"

It took some time to think of a response. When she thought about it, during the time she spent packing her boxes, she was able to reflect upon many things- in particular, her thoughts about him from her teenage years. It was true that she didn't fully forgive him because her lasting impression of him was a ruthless man who would do all he could to win. On the other hand, her now, much older brain went against her teenage one saying, 'Wouldn't you do that for love? Wouldn't you give that person anything they desired and do whatever you could to win them over?' It was then when she concluded that he wasn't such a bad figure after all. Still, the Goblin King, just like any other person, would have to earn her complete trust.

A smile crept onto her face, he eyes burned with intensity, "She grew up, just as you said, Goblin King. That Sarah that you speak of realized that living in fantasy and dreamlands is something that just can't be done. Your labyrinth helped her understand that she couldn't be a child forever, but there was no rush to grow up either." The smile on her face was filled with a longing for the past, but she wasn't sure if he caught it.

With each word she spoke, he felt her slowly slipping away. "Would you still refuse… if I offered you your dreams again?"

He didn't expect her to smile.

"How do you know what my dreams are?" she teased, knowing he was fully serious. "What it they have nothing to do with the underground?"

Jareth felt some sort of relief. He thought she would have taken the sarcastic route, but this was new. Surprisingly, she also didn't mention anything like, 'What if they have nothing to do with you?'

Sarah was being defiant like how he so often would describe her, but she was avoiding confrontation-if that was even possible.

His expression didn't change at all. His eyebrows were curved in a manner indicating intensive thoughts. His lips pursed together and tightened. The Goblin King's expression was difficult to make out except for the fact that he seemed to be anything but happy.

"I can't imagine what it would be like there…and what I'd miss here if I went. There are so many questions on my mind about things like that." She attempted to explain. "I need to hear a few things from you first and maybe we can negotiate."

"This isn't a treaty, Sarah." He sighed. "For the second time, I have offered you something that you seem to be tossing away." Jareth's voice was stern as he spoke.

"Why do you toy with me?" her head cocked to the side. The mood changed instantly. "Your intentions have to be more than what I think they are. What do you want from me now?"

At first, he said nothing. "Tell me Sarah, have you been happy with your life here? -with that stepmother of yours?" he asked stepping away from her, venturing further toward her desk where a lone book caught his eye. Before picking it up, his eyes shifted to observe her. "Would you be happy with them? With those fools that call themselves men and try to pursue you even though their efforts are futile?" he waved the book at her.

'No.' was the first word to pop into her head. However, after consideration, there was at least one thing that would make her happy here. "But," she began to answer.

Jareth's lips curved downward. "You can't even comprehend it? I want to give you the happiness you deserve." With a twist of his wrist, a crystal formed in his palm. "Yes, you conquered my labyrinth of which so many have failed- and only when you were fifteen. You amaze me and defy me." He held his palm out toward her. "Sarah, I am offering you your dreams."

A/N: Ahhhh!!! I hope this was …enjoyable. Again, thank you for sticking with this story! Please don't forget to review for me! I love your feedback!

Special thanks to those who reviewed the last chapter: aaanderson, animetvgirl, bra4goten, carrie132, Ginabella59, HappyDepressive, hazlgrnLizzy, The Hot Mage Aeris, Irene Sharda, Madamoiselle La Lune, notwritten, and SuicidalAphrodite.