When the Goblin King and his fiancé returned home, the two of them collapsed on Raeya's bed. This day had been mentally and emotionally exhausting for both of them.
"I honestly didn't expect your parents to bring up children, Raeya mine." he sighed, closing his eyes.
"I don't know why it never crossed my mind before, but I know exactly why they asked. As you probably know, the concept of marriage for love is relatively recent in human society. It used to be nothing more than a way to gain status, form alliances, and ensure the continuation of royal and noble bloodlines. I think they assumed the Fae still followed the old customs." she explained, laying her head on his chest.
"That's a little insulting, I must admit, but I suppose it's understandable." he commented, wrapping his arm around her.
"I'm so sorry; I should've expected the third degree." she told him, hiding her face in embarrassment.
"You have nothing to apologize for, precious. As much as your parents love you, I would've been surprised if we had been interrogated any less." he responded, stroking her hair with his free hand.
"At least it's out of the way now." she stated.
"Yes, which means we are now free to focus on much more pleasant things." he purred, kissing the top of her head.
"True, I still need your input on the wedding." she agreed.
"That is not what I meant, love, and you know it." he replied.
"Yeah, but it's not fair if you're the only one who gets to tease." she remarked, grinning up at him.
"Your sense of fairness is going to cause me nothing but headaches, isn't it?" he commented, covering his eyes with his hand.
"Not necessarily, just think about it. I only give as good as I get." she said softly, running a finger down the center line of his torso.
"You little minx; I will most definitely keep that in mind, especially on our wedding night." he growled, pulling her up for a kiss and giving her rear a squeeze.
Raeya moaned, shifting so she was lying on top of him as she kissed him back. Jareth growled again, pinning her against him with one arm firmly gripping her waist and the opposite hand holding the back of her neck. She sighed contentedly, lacing her fingers into his silky mane as she ran her tongue along his lower lip. Her boldness surprised him, but he wasn't about to complain. He granted her request and slid his hand down from her waist to her lower back. She hummed in approval, but soon broke the kiss to nuzzle into the crook of his neck.
"Why did you stop, love?" he asked, being none too pleased with halting right when it was getting good.
"I told you it's not fair of me to keep testing your limits and expecting you to control yourself. So I'm not going to push your self-restraint anymore." she answered.
"That's no fun, precious. Besides, I told you I could handle myself just fine." he responded.
"You said it was getting harder to stop every time, and I have no intention of torturing you. I trust you, but I won't test your limits again until you don't have to hold back." she argued.
"Always so considerate, Raeya mine; you will be a wonderful queen. I must warn you though, going too far can be just as frustrating as not going far enough." he purred.
"Are you saying this is a no win situation?" she questioned.
"To a certain extent, yes; however, the sooner we're married the sooner it ceases to be an issue." he replied, grinning.
"Jareth, I'm not letting you rush our wedding." she told him.
"That is not my intent, but my patience doesn't last forever." he stated.
"I know, and I promise you won't have to wait much longer." she responded.
"Thank you, my love." he said, holding her close.
"You're welcome, and I want you too." she replied.
"Oh really, precious; does that mean you've conquered your fears?" he asked, wearing his sexy smirk.
"No, I'm still completely terrified. I've just decided to suppress the fear and keep telling myself that I trust you and I know you would never hurt me." she answered.
"I would never cause you pain intentionally, Raeya mine, but even so I will still cause you pain. Whether I like it or not, I will hurt you momentarily when we create our bond." he told her in a guilty voice.
"I know that Jareth, and I forgive you. You can't help it and neither can I." she responded.
"That's not all; what if we decide we want children? Their birth would put you through horrible agony, and that would be entirely my fault." he continued, his breath catching in his throat.
"If we have kids, it will be because we both want them. That means I'll have come to terms with and accepted everything that becoming a mother entails, including the unpleasantness of childbirth." she replied.
"You would truly exonerate me of all negative responsibility?" he questioned softly, almost in disbelief.
"Well, for the most part anyway; I can't promise I wouldn't vehemently curse and blame you while I was in labor." she confirmed, grinning.
"I'm not worried about that, love. Any man who's not an idiot knows a woman never means any of the nasty things she says while in labor." he stated, unable to hold back a smile.
"Good, but that's an issue we won't be facing for quite awhile. So let's get some sleep; I don't know about you, but I'm extremely tired." she told him.
"Alright my little angel, sweet dreams." he agreed, kissing her gently before disappearing to his own room.
That night, Raeya dreamed of a little boy with wild blond hair and mismatched eyes, and a little girl with wavy red hair who also had mismatched eyes. The boy had one green eye and one amber eye, while the girl had one green eye and one blue eye. She had to admit, they were absolutely adorable, but she still wasn't sure if children were really something she wanted.