A/N: Please enjoy Chapter 24. Review and enjoy as always!
The Passage of Time
It had been four months since Jareth had proposed. The wedding was in June, only two months away. We had moved into a larger apartment, this one with a loft above us that Jareth used as his art studio. He had taken classes at a local art school and decided to become an artist.
He now went to school part-time and painted the rest of it. He had a gallery show downtown in a few days. Mostly he drew the Labyrinth and the creatures that resided there. I could tell that he missed the Underground but he never said anything about it.
He would paint a few things on commission, but mostly he drew the Underground. For my birthday he had given me a painting of Hoggle, Ludo and Didymus. It was now hanging in our living room.
I had finished my book about the Labyrinth and was waiting to hear back from the publishers I had sent it to. Instead of wringing my hands however, I started a sequel. It began when Jareth had shown up in my apartment.
Jareth and I made time to eat dinner together each night and went to bed together, but we hadn't spent a lot of time together. He had been busy getting ready for his gallery opening, and I had been writing the Labyrinth and planning the wedding.
He had been helping with that as well; in fact he was an eager participant when he had the time. The day after the opening we were supposed to try wedding cakes and register for gifts. These two months were going to be busy.
"Sarah, where are my shoes?"
"Under the bed!"
I heard bustling from our bedroom.
"Thanks, I found them."
He came into the living room, his tie crooked and his hair unkempt.
"Sit down."
I walked over to him and forced him onto the edge of the bed while he put his shoes on. I fixed his tie and brushed his hair, making sure he looked good. It was his first gallery show and he was nervous.
"What if they hate it?"
"They won't! They'll love every piece."
"Thanks love." He kissed my forehead before taking my hand.
We lived near the gallery so we decided to walk. The air was warm and there was a gentle breeze. Jareth had told me to dress 'spring casual' because it wasn't a formal showing. He himself was wearing black dress pants, a white button-up and a red skinny tie with black dress shoes.
I was wearing brown wedges, a yellow sun-dress and a cropped jean jacket. He held tightly onto my hand as we entered the gallery. We walked straight to one of the rooms in the back where all of Jareth's paintings hung.
The room was full of chattering people, all walking and examining his work. The gallery owner, Jeremy, walked up to Jareth and clapped him on the back.
"Big offers, big offers! People are practically throwing money at me!"
He walked into the commotion before Jareth could respond.
"Well he's excited."
"Would you care to stroll through the gallery with me?"
"I would love to."
I took his arm and we walked around staring at his work. My least favorite was a painting of the dead Goblin King lying in the arms of his lover. It was too real, and though beautifully done, brought back too many powerful memories. Jareth also let a small frown appear. It wasn't his favorite either, but he had been compelled to draw it.
My favorite painting was one of the Goblin King and his Queen dancing in a crystal ballroom. They both wore masks and were surrounded by the people, wearing masks as well.
Jareth led me over to his favorite painting. It was of a teenage girl racing through a Labyrinth. The Labyrinth had been drawn with darker browns and blacks, while the girl was done with all light colors.
Jareth stood behind me and wrapped his arms around my middle, resting his chin on my head. I leaned back into him, craving his comfortable touch.
"I've missed this."
"I know; we've both been so busy lately, and I feel as if I've neglected you."
"No, we've just been busy. We'll have all day tomorrow to spend together."
"When is Toby coming home?" he asked.
"A week before the wedding; he's excited to be your best man."
"I couldn't think of anyone else it should be."
"He's been talking the other patients' ears off about how he'll be learning to juggle crystals."
"I'm sure he'll be a good student."
There were many things about Jareth that I had thought to be tied to magic, however he had stayed just as good-looking, could still sing, and was still able to work with crystals. The only things he couldn't do: he couldn't transform into an owl, materialize somewhere in a cloud of glitter, or procure a crystal out of thin air.
At first he had been said that he could no longer fly because it had been one of his favorite things to do. He had stayed sad until I promised to get him flying lessons. He was excited to start them after we got back from our honeymoon.
"Let's go home. Jeremy can tell me how much we made tomorrow."
"Are you sure you don't want to hear more people singing your praises?"
"I've had enough for the night."
Waiting outside our door was a thick envelope from the publishing company. I picked it up and carried it inside.
"Open it!" Jareth looked about ready to burst with excitement.
I opened it slowly. I was consciously aware of the ticking of the clock as the glue came apart from the paper. I closed my eyes and pulled the paper out; opening them, I slowly began to read.
"What does it say?" Jareth had covered his eyes with his hands so he couldn't peek.
"It's getting published."
What?" his hands flew off his eyes and he stared at me.
"I'm going to be a published author!" I yelled, beginning to jump up and down.
"This calls for a celebration."
He got out a bottle of champagne and poured some into glasses.
"To our success." Our glasses clinked and we drank it down in a single gulp.
"Come on, we have an early day tomorrow."
I dragged him to bed where he collapsed, exhausted. He had been working so hard at the gallery. I snuggled into his arms and fell asleep, listening to the rise and fall of his breath.
"Do you like this one?"
"No, its disgusting." Jareth spit out the piece of cake and wiped his mouth with the napkin.
"That's a bit dramatic."
"I hate banana's."
"Well how about this one?"
I handed him a bite of red-velvet and watched as he chewed thoughtfully. We had already registered for our wedding gifts. He had wanted to ask for silly boy things like a robot dinosaur or a lava lamp. I conceded on the lava lamp considering he hadn't really been Aboveground, and now he was supposed to live the rest of his life here. I only hoped that someone took pity and made it a small lava lamp.
"This flavor is good, but not worthy of a wedding where I marry my one true-love."
"Well your one true-love is getting tired of eating cake."
"Does this mean we shall have a non-traditional wedding and instead eat gummy bears?"
"No."
After buying him a package of gummy bears at the store, he had been drawn to their 'strange glowing color', and had become obsessed with the things. It was very quickly becoming his favorite food, right after chocolate-covered bacon. How he could tolerate the flavor, I would never understand. He seemed to have a very strong sweet tooth.
"Why can't we just have a red-velvet cake?"
"Because it isn't worthy enough!"
"What is it with you and your quest to find a worthy cake flavor?"
"It must be worthy of our love and our sacrifices."
"It's just a damn cake!"
"Sarah! How dare you use such language in a public place."
"Oh shove it! I'm sick of eating cake."
"Now I've gone and made you angry."
He drew me into his arms and I sighed. I could never stay mad at him for very long, even if he was insufferable.
"I just didn't get enough sleep last night."
All of the other women sighed and glared at their fiancés. I had to admit that I was very lucky with Jareth. He could be very romantic without trying.
"I'm sorry darling; I shouldn't have snored last night."
"It's OK, you can't help it."
I placed a quick kiss on his lips before going back to the cake testing. He kept one arm around my waist as the lady explained to us about how important flavors were. Jareth shot me an I told you so look but didn't say anything.
After another hour there we finally settled on a chocolate espresso wedding cake. Jareth had deemed it perfectly stimulating and an inviting flavor. Every woman in the room had immediately agreed with him and bombarded the shop with cake orders.
"Why do other women find you so appealing?"
"Well you can't blame it on magic love. I'm just naturally attractive I suppose."
"Do you miss it?"
"At times. However I'd trade it all away in a heartbeat if it mean being with you. You're more important to me Sarah, much more important. Besides have I not been a normally functioning adult?"
"Besides the one time you freaked out at the water park? Or how about when you got into an argument with an old lady over a can of green beans because you were 'born first'?"
"Well I was, I just don't look it."
"I know you are, but in the real world you're twenty-eight. Remember that."
"Right, twenty-eight."
We walked down to a floral shop, discussing floral arrangements with the owner. After ordering bouquets and extra flowers Jareth picked up a bunch of orange blossoms and handed it to me. Paying the shopkeeper we walked down the street arm-in-arm.
"Do you know what an orange blossom signifies?"
"What?"
"Eternal love, marriage…fruitfulness."
"Is this your way of saying you love me forever, you can't wait to get married, and that you want kids?"
"I suppose."
"Yes, to all of the above."
We kissed in the middle of the sidewalk as people parted like the red sea for us. I held his hand all the way back to the apartment. We worked on wedding planning for the rest of the day. We still had yet to pick out a dress, but I had a feeling that Jareth was working on that and he wanted it to remain a secret.
That was just fine with me; it was one less thing that I had to worry about. I kissed him as I snuggled into his arms and we fell asleep, visions of flowers and cake dancing in our heads.
A/N: Still not done! A few more chapters to go! Please review so I can write faster!