QueenBookDragon: You know what I said about Fanfiction or stories almost being like a journal? That's kind what I mean when I talked about Sarah saying that people don't give as much encouragement when you're older as when you're young. It's rough man. I think that'll be my New Year's Resolution, trying to be more kind and encouraging. Thanks about the date comments! I myself went ice skating once and almost broke my ankles LOL but in my mind I'd like to think that J and S are better at it! I also enjoyed writing nice Linda instead of crazy jealous lady LOL and I'll try to keep your expectations high with Jareth and Sarah being a couple.

Enjoy this chapter and leave another review, thank you so much!


December 29th

Sarah huddled in front of Jareth's parent's house. Hoggle had just dropped her off and she felt nervous. Holding a basket of pumpkin scones in her arm, she hoped that his family would like her and the scones as much as he did.

She went to knock on the door but it flew opened, surprising her when a certain fae king enveloped her and kissed her deeply.

"Ah, Jareth!" She squeaked, feeling elated but a little worried about his family seeing for she was much more conservative around her own.

"You came and brought scones!" He licked his lips and put a hand on the small of her back, leading her in. "My two favorite things."

"I'm a 'thing' now?" She raised an eyebrow and play smacked him.

Jareth was about to give a witty answer when a beautiful, blonde woman with knowing grey eyes came into view. She looked at the two fondly and Sarah blushed crimson at Jareth's hand on her back and tried to move away from his touch but he wasn't having it.

"Well you must be Sarah!" The woman took Sarah's hands. "Pleased to finally meet you. I'm Evelyn, Jareth's mother."

Sarah instantly relaxed. She was so warm and sweet, very genuine. She was so kind and Sarah felt a major difference between her and whatever moms of her exes that she had known. "It's nice to meet you too!"

Jareth was pleased at the way his mother relaxed with Sarah. He hardly took a lady home and his mother, while always polite, looked at every one of them critically. He could tell that just like himself and his subjects, she was overtaken by Sarah's charm.

"Come, come! Let's sit and eat some food. And what is that I smell?" She referred to the basket.

"Oh! Some dessert I made. I'm not sure if you'll like it or not but they're called scones." Sarah looked excited to share them.

"There's this fair Aboveground where Sarah lives." Jareth explained. "And she sells them out quite fast!"

"Well how lovely of you to share with us!" Evelyn declared. "They smell divine."

She gestured to a couple of seats, having Sarah sit right next to Jareth. She peaked outside and called for her husband and daughter. "Gavin! Jasmine! Sarah is here and it's time for dinner!"

Sarah saw a man who was stockier than Jareth but with identical eyes. The girl was short but pretty. They both sat down.

"Just took care of the horses?" Jareth asked them.

"Yes. Patty is such a whiner sometimes!" Jasmine said. She saw Sarah and her eyes lit up, sticking her hand out. "Hello! Jareth tells me this is how humans greet each other. I'm Jasmine."

Sarah grinned and shook her hand. "Sarah, and while it does vary from culture to culture it is a recognized greeting all over the world." She liked this girl already.

Jasmine turned to Jareth. "I like her!"

"So do I." Jareth put his arm around Sarah.

"I like her more than you!" Jasmine grinned.

Jareth stuck his tongue out.

Gavin beamed at Sarah. He had never seen Jareth ever look so comfortable and proud to be by anyone more than Sarah. He was himself, fully. He did not need to feel all prim and proper but he was a little calmer, a little more changed to be a better version of himself.

"I'm Gavin, that ridiculous king's old man." He winked at Sarah.

She laughed. She could see now where Jareth got his flirting game from. "That's one way to describe him!"

"You all are going to kill me with all your insults." Jareth joked as he helped his mother place food on the table.

Sitting down, Gavin asked Sarah so many questions about the Aboveground and technology. Sarah tried to give answers as best she could and even showed him her camera.

"This is ingenious!" He flipped it around. "How amazing. That's one thing humans have that we don't; they are more resilient and more open to change as we live forever and they constantly have a fresh new generation."

Jasmine was very interested in Sarah's major, asking her questions about the brain. "Wow, so electrical signals would travel to tell your body what to do?"

"Electrical and chemical, yes." Sarah held up some salt. "It's why we need to have salt and potassium in our food, to create these signals."

"Wow!" Jasmine listened intently. "Jareth, why don't you know this stuff? She's so much smarter than you!"

Jareth rolled his eyes but was pleased that she found Sarah smart. "I told you, Sarah is quite knowledgeable."

Sarah blushed at his admonition.

Evelyn was curious about Sarah's family life. "Jareth tells me you have a younger brother."

"Yes, he's really little still." Sarah smiled thinking of Toby. "He hasn't hit that stage where he's annoyed to see me yet. In fact he still brings his friends over to meet me because I'm 'cool' according to him."

"That's very sweet." She smiled. "Unlike those two horse heads, always having to argue with each other." She pointed at her children.

"Mother." Jasmine pouted.

"You and Jareth always get into such silly fights when he's home." Gavin agreed with his wife.

"She annoys me first." Jareth defended himself.

"Then she must get it from you." Sarah quipped.

"Hey, who's side are you on anyway?" He raised an amused eyebrow at her.

"The side of the person who's right." Sarah winked and took a sip of the sparkling apple cider.

"You fickle woman." He poked her shoulder and comfortably put his arm around her shoulders.

After dinner, they played a card game, one that Sarah picked up quite quickly. It was so much fun playing these games with his family for she found them just as playful and competitive as Jareth. They often got animated and yelled their heads off and Gavin knocked his chair over at one point. The object of the game was to get as many points as possible.

She eyed Jareth's pile, seeing the large stack. Looking at her hand, she saw that she could challenge him a few times over, guaranteeing her win. She held her cards and gave Jareth a smirk, placing a jewel card down.

"I want your pile of jewels." She looked at him with confidence.

"Hmm." The king said. He fingered through the cards in his hand and slapped another jewel on the table.

"Ooooh!" Gavin, Evelyn, and Jasmine slapped their hands on the table, hooting loudly.

Sarah raised her eyebrows and slammed down another jewel.

Jareth showed her his gold wild card and leaned back, putting his feet on the chair next to her.

Sarah gritted her teeth, decided whether to keep going or not. His smile could mean either way.

"Don't do it Sarah!" Jasmine his behind her cards. "Is it worth it?"

"Jareth could also be bluffing." Evelyn said. "Maybe you should take that chance before he protects that large pile.

"I don't like that look on your face, son." Gavin laughed.

Sarah thought for a moment and shrugged. She put down her gold wild. "Go big or go home."

Jareth raised an eyebrow, frowning.

Sarah gave a very obnoxious smile and went to take his pile of cards when he slammed down a gold wild.

"WHAT?" Jasmine yelled. "I can't believe YOU HAD THAT WILD!"

"That's not fair!" Sarah looked at her cards with dismay that Jareth was keeping her very valuable wilds.

"Precious, you say that so often. I wonder if you have a b-"

She put her hand on his mouth to cover it, much to the delight of his parents who laughed at seeing Jareth be put in his place which was so unlike him. They shared a look with each other, knowing that this Sarah must be very special for he never let anyone boss him like that without getting mad.

Sarah kept her hand on his mouth as Jasmine took her turn.

Then she felt something warm and wet on her palm.

"Ew!" She smacked his shoulder, Jareth throwing his head back and letting out a loud laugh. "Did you seriously just licked me?! Gross!" Sarah wiped his spit on his shoulder.

Jareth just kept laughing.

"You have no sense of decorum." She shook her head, a bit embarrassed at his parents seeing him be so physical with her.

"Why you choose to like him, I have no idea." Jasmine said. "You're too good for him."

"That's probably one of the few things I agree with you about, little sister." He ruffled her hair, much to her annoyance.

"Just because your hair is a hopeless mess doesn't mean you have to make mine that messy." She pouted.

"Stop harassing me and maybe I'll stop messing with your hair." He gave Jasmine a knowing look.

"Do you know what he did?" Jasmine said to Sarah. "Once I had to go to a winter's ball and he made my hair turned blue!"

"That's awful!" Sarah scolded him. "You're so mean."

"Well, she turned my pristine white shirt pink." He shrugged.

"But that's her HAIR!" Sarah said, holding back a laugh.

"Jas needed a new look anyway." Gavin joked, earning a swat from his wife.

"Father!" Jasmine yelled.

After that game (to which Jareth won big time), they decided to have a chess competition. Everyone played with each other for a long time, sharing stories about their lives and getting to know Sarah. Sarah found it so interesting that Evelyn was a retired knight and she was no longer allowed to be one since she was married to Gavin.

"Prevents favoritism as Gavin is a Prince." She said. "I teach hand to hand combat sometimes."

"That's wonderful!" Sarah said. She had seen female knights in Jareth's army sometimes, glad to know that they employed those who were talented and strong enough despite species or genders.

As a prince, Gavin made it his mission to expand education to his people. He was a teacher in magical studies, opening up options.

"I'm still figuring things out." Jasmine said. "I have school first."

"As you should. You know, you love learning so much that you can be a scholar." Sarah said. "Forever learning sounds great!"

In the kitchen, Evelyn and Gavin were putting away certain things while Jareth and Jasmine gave Sarah a tour of the house.

"She is so lovely." Evelyn said. "Such a sweet girl."

"She has fire and defiance. No wonder Jareth is drawn to her." Gavin replied and kissed his wife. "He looks so happy with her."

"She is wise, she is kind, but maybe a bit too caring of what others think of her." Evelyn mused and put her arms around Gavin's neck. "Which would make being queen difficult."

"That's very true, but she is strong. I mean, to beat the labyrinth!" Gavin gestured roughly towards the castle. "Wow."

"She is a good match for Jareth. Oh I do hope he keeps her. I've never seen him so relaxed with a girl before. He doesn't need to lure her in with his charms. He got her by being himself and I bet Sarah is the same." Evelyn said fondly.

"He loves her, doesn't he?" Gavin peeked into the living room, seeing Jareth laugh at Jasmine's joke and sneak in a kiss for Sarah when his sister wasn't looking.

"He has been for years. It's so obvious." Evelyn kissed her husband.

Jareth showed her different places in the house from the library to the music room and even a wine cellar. His favorite rooms were showing Sarah his mother's armory where she kept her weapons for fighting and a study room for his father.

"As a king, I spar often but mother made it a point to really drive that home as a child to keep us safe and alert. Jasmine is a mean fighter." He rolled up his sleeve and showed her a scar on his bicep. "This was from a friend who hit me a little too hard and cut through my skin when I was an adolescent."

Sarah loved hearing stories about every part of the house. Jareth's eyes always lit up as one does when they think about something so ingrained in their long term memory. She touched the scar on his arm, seeing the white mark on it now. She wondered how she had never noticed before.

"It must've hurt for a while." She traced it down his arm, giving him goosebumps.

Jareth loved having her touch him lovingly. "It certainly did. But it's alright now."

To his surprise, Sarah gave him a small smile then kissed his scar, pulling the sleeve back and patting his arm before holding onto him again. "What's the next room?"

Jareth felt a surge of pride when she had touched him sweetly with her lips. What a remarkable person, his Sarah. He thought of how they were now exclusive and he found it delicious. He trusted her and didn't care if she spent time with other men as friends (now that he got over his dumb jealousy issue) but he was not going to simultaneously date her with someone else. And neither was Sarah.

After finishing showing her the rooms, Jareth took her back to Jasmine and his parents.

"Would you like to spend the night, Sarah?" Evelyn asked.

"Oh I couldn't impose." She said quickly. "And my stepmother is expecting me home as I've promised my brother to tuck him into bed as much as I can before my school term starts again."

"That's very sweet of you." Gavin said. "And won't you tuck jasmine into bed, Jareth?"

Jasmine rolled her eyes. "That's ridiculous."

"Only teasing you." He said.

The family bid Sarah good night and told Jareth to go safely back to his castle as the king said that would be back to see them the next day. Sarah promised to send them the recipe for the scones and Jareth took her to the front of her home.

"Good night, my Precious Sarah." He kissed her deeply.

"Good night, my goblin king." Sarah said as Robert answered the door.

After chasing her brother for an hour and finally tucking Toby into bed, Sarah brushed her teeth and went into her room and nearly jumped when she saw Jareth there.

"You scared me!" She scolded playfully. "What are you doing here? You should be in bed."

Jareth had on black silk drawstring pants with a deep crimson robe on, his chest exposed to show that he wore no shirt underneath but he did wear his pendant. He looked very cozy and Sarah was instantly aware of how intimate this was. Seeing him in his chambers were one thing when he was hurt but here he was in her room, and sitting on her bed.

"You left your purse." He held it out. "I just got here and was about to leave." He sighed a bit. He did feel tired.

"Oh that's so kind but you didn't have to." She took his hands and then leaned to kiss his cheek. "You're exhausted." He had a long day before dinner with his parents she knew, working out some conflict with something from the troll kingdom.

"Nonsense, I'll be fine." He reassured her.

"No it's not safe and there's no need to use up that energy." She sat next to him and rubbed his back a little, then massaged him.

Jareth made a satisfied groan. "That feels good." He fingers felt soothing on his hard muscles and the hairs on the back of his neck stood up happily when she reached to kiss his shoulder.

"I'm glad." She got the tight knots out. "Your robe is in the way though."

She didn't mean to say it that way but Jareth took this as an opportunity to shrug it off. "Better?" He asked her.

Sarah gulped but kept on touching him. "Yes."

She told him to lie on his stomach as she tracked lower on his back. She also did it to his neck and arms too, making him feel more comfortable than he had ever been.

"Now I can't go back. I'm as limp as a noodle." He flopped on his back on her bed.

"Then stay." She touched his soft hair. "I mean, not to do anything like that, uh, just-"

He smiled. "Sarah, that sounds wonderful. Just to sleep by your side and hold you. We won't do anything beyond what is innocent."

Sarah blushed and nodded. "Thank you."

"No, thank you, My Sweet Sarah." He caressed her cheek and lifted up the blankets to snuggle inside with her.

Sarah never thought that it would feel so, so good to share a bed with Jareth in this way. She had imagined cuddling next to him but the real thing was so much better. He hummed a few songs to her and massaged her scalp with his magical fingers. He moved to the base of her neck and she sighed in relief.

"Feel good?" He rumbled lovingly.

"Mmm Hmm." She sighed contently.

Jareth rolled on his side and held around her, nuzzling in her neck as she touched his pendant and kissed his exposed chest.

"I'll be gone early tomorrow." He yawned. "I had a great time with you, Precious."

"I love your family." Sarah said sleepily. "They're so sweet and fun."

He kissed her. "I'm so glad you feel that way. Now get some sleep. I'll keep you warm."

He breathed in her honey-lavender smell while she inhaled his peach-spiced scent, sated and comfortable until the morning.


Don't know if anyone has played or has ever heard of the game Cover your Assets which is the game they played here. It's simple but really fun! Anyway I hope they're cute with the cuddles and stuff. Love you all!