Author's Note: Well, I am floored by your feedback. It seems you actually like this little story of mine. Lovely. I'll make a deal with you: you keep stroking my ego and I'll keep feeding you pieces of story. Sound fair? ("I ask for so little...")
Disclaimer: you know where I'm going with this...
Matt was waiting for them outside the banquet hall. He looked angry at first, but that was quickly squelched when Jareth asked,
"How did you enjoy my Labyrinth?"
Truthfully, he had only managed to get out 20 minutes earlier, and that was with the help of another lost couple. He was furious that Sarah had left him in that damn maze, but he wasn't about to admit his failure to this smug-looking man escorting HIS girlfriend to dinner - their second mean together for the day, he noted.
"It was a piece of cake, actually" he told Jareth.
Sarah smothered the urge to giggle as she imagined Jareth sending the Cleaners after him. But when she saw the glares the two men were giving each other, she quickly sobered. Grabbing Matt's arm and leading him to the door, she tried to smooth the situation over.
"Mr. King has asked us to join him at his table. Could you get me a drink from the bar please?" She was definitely going to need a drink to get through this evening.
"Of course, dear" he said sweetly, kissing her cheek before heading to the bar.
"You know, I've seen dogs mark their territory more subtly than that." Jareth remarked dryly. "And I did not invite him, I invited you."
"Well he's still my boyfriend, I can't ignore him all night. Now please don't be rude."
"I can be civil if he can." he told her.
She just rolled her eyes. The two of them seemed determined to fight each other for her attention. It was going to be a long night.
As the evening progressed, the two men kept trying to one-up each other in order to prove who was the bigger man. Jareth, reaching the table first, held out Sarah's chair for her and tucked it in. Matt, upon returning from the bar, was sure to mention he'd gotten Sarah's favorite drink before kissing her cheek again. Sarah, for her part, tried to include both men in the conversation, never giving one more leeway than the other. Whenever Jareth managed to win the discussion, Matt would retaliate by snaking his arm over Sarah's shoulders or placing a hand on her thigh. The real problem started when the food was rolled out. The past two times Sarah had been to one of these dinners the food was served to them. This year it was, in fact, a buffet table. "Geez, these things get worse every year" she muttered. Jareth immediately got up to hold her chair for her, but Matt quickly jumped in.
"Oh don't worry Mr. King, I'll fix a plate for Sarah. I know what she does and doesn't like."
"Then I'm sure you realize she doesn't like being treated like a child. Some of her more recent choices may surprise you." Jareth said pointedly.
"Thank-you, both of you, but I am perfectly capable of serving myself." she told them, exasperated with their verbal sparring. She walked to the buffet table with both men in tow. She noticed as she went along they both put the same things on their plate that she did. 'Hope they weren't on diets' she thought, amused. Past experience had taught her that the few safe foods at the Mayor's banquets were deserts, and Sarah's plate was loaded with chocolate and pastries. When Matt commented on her choices Jareth was sure to mention,
"I imagine she's still full from lunch. After all, you ate that whole lobster didn't you Sarah?"
Matt's face turned red with anger at the thought of Jareth having such an extravagant lunch with his girlfriend and shot back with, "That reminds me Sarah, when we go home I wanted to make a new recipe for you one night. Well actually," he lowered his voice as he nuzzled her ear, while making sure he was loud enough for Jareth to overhear, "If I make it that evening it should be ready in time for breakfast."
Now it was Jareth's turn to grow red in the face at the suggestion of Sarah actually spending the night with that boy! It went on like that for the rest of the evening until finally Sarah could escape to the relative privacy of her room. Of course, Matt tried to go with her, but she stopped him at the door, too frustrated with his over-possessive behavior to even consider sleeping with him. Thinking she had escaped for the night, she breathed a sigh of relief until the velvety voice behind her said
"Well, that was unpleasant."
She whirled around on Jareth, ready to hit him if he was close enough. Unfortunately, he had taken up residence on the end of her bed, grinning like the cat that ate the canary at her obvious discomfort.
"You! What was all that at dinner?" she yelled
"I told you I would be civil if he was. Personally, I think I was more the gentleman there. Imagine discussing private affairs at dinner like that. Quite tasteless, I must say."
"Well it's your fault! You egged him on!"
"And were he a true gentleman he would not have retaliated. Really Sarah, I thought you had better taste than that." he said, gesturing towards Matt's room.
"Argh!! It's bad enough you two make me sick with all that sugarcoated bullshit at dinner, but I'm not going to sit here and listen to you insult me on my choice in men. Yes, Matt has his faults like everybody else, but don't drag him into this. It's not his fault he's not you!" she clamped her mouth shut after that, furious with herself for allowing that angry outburst. Jareth's face also flashed surprise at what she had let slip out, but it was quickly covered with his most sensuous smile.
"Well I can take care of that right now if you wish." He rose gracefully from the bed and was walking towards her when she raised her hands to stop him.
"Hold it right there. I'm going to go in the bathroom and change. When I come out you'd better be gone. I've had enough for one night," she said while grabbing her nightclothes and storming into the bathroom. When she emerged Jareth was gone and she threw herself in bed for a restless night's sleep.
Disclaimer: you know where I'm going with this...
Matt was waiting for them outside the banquet hall. He looked angry at first, but that was quickly squelched when Jareth asked,
"How did you enjoy my Labyrinth?"
Truthfully, he had only managed to get out 20 minutes earlier, and that was with the help of another lost couple. He was furious that Sarah had left him in that damn maze, but he wasn't about to admit his failure to this smug-looking man escorting HIS girlfriend to dinner - their second mean together for the day, he noted.
"It was a piece of cake, actually" he told Jareth.
Sarah smothered the urge to giggle as she imagined Jareth sending the Cleaners after him. But when she saw the glares the two men were giving each other, she quickly sobered. Grabbing Matt's arm and leading him to the door, she tried to smooth the situation over.
"Mr. King has asked us to join him at his table. Could you get me a drink from the bar please?" She was definitely going to need a drink to get through this evening.
"Of course, dear" he said sweetly, kissing her cheek before heading to the bar.
"You know, I've seen dogs mark their territory more subtly than that." Jareth remarked dryly. "And I did not invite him, I invited you."
"Well he's still my boyfriend, I can't ignore him all night. Now please don't be rude."
"I can be civil if he can." he told her.
She just rolled her eyes. The two of them seemed determined to fight each other for her attention. It was going to be a long night.
As the evening progressed, the two men kept trying to one-up each other in order to prove who was the bigger man. Jareth, reaching the table first, held out Sarah's chair for her and tucked it in. Matt, upon returning from the bar, was sure to mention he'd gotten Sarah's favorite drink before kissing her cheek again. Sarah, for her part, tried to include both men in the conversation, never giving one more leeway than the other. Whenever Jareth managed to win the discussion, Matt would retaliate by snaking his arm over Sarah's shoulders or placing a hand on her thigh. The real problem started when the food was rolled out. The past two times Sarah had been to one of these dinners the food was served to them. This year it was, in fact, a buffet table. "Geez, these things get worse every year" she muttered. Jareth immediately got up to hold her chair for her, but Matt quickly jumped in.
"Oh don't worry Mr. King, I'll fix a plate for Sarah. I know what she does and doesn't like."
"Then I'm sure you realize she doesn't like being treated like a child. Some of her more recent choices may surprise you." Jareth said pointedly.
"Thank-you, both of you, but I am perfectly capable of serving myself." she told them, exasperated with their verbal sparring. She walked to the buffet table with both men in tow. She noticed as she went along they both put the same things on their plate that she did. 'Hope they weren't on diets' she thought, amused. Past experience had taught her that the few safe foods at the Mayor's banquets were deserts, and Sarah's plate was loaded with chocolate and pastries. When Matt commented on her choices Jareth was sure to mention,
"I imagine she's still full from lunch. After all, you ate that whole lobster didn't you Sarah?"
Matt's face turned red with anger at the thought of Jareth having such an extravagant lunch with his girlfriend and shot back with, "That reminds me Sarah, when we go home I wanted to make a new recipe for you one night. Well actually," he lowered his voice as he nuzzled her ear, while making sure he was loud enough for Jareth to overhear, "If I make it that evening it should be ready in time for breakfast."
Now it was Jareth's turn to grow red in the face at the suggestion of Sarah actually spending the night with that boy! It went on like that for the rest of the evening until finally Sarah could escape to the relative privacy of her room. Of course, Matt tried to go with her, but she stopped him at the door, too frustrated with his over-possessive behavior to even consider sleeping with him. Thinking she had escaped for the night, she breathed a sigh of relief until the velvety voice behind her said
"Well, that was unpleasant."
She whirled around on Jareth, ready to hit him if he was close enough. Unfortunately, he had taken up residence on the end of her bed, grinning like the cat that ate the canary at her obvious discomfort.
"You! What was all that at dinner?" she yelled
"I told you I would be civil if he was. Personally, I think I was more the gentleman there. Imagine discussing private affairs at dinner like that. Quite tasteless, I must say."
"Well it's your fault! You egged him on!"
"And were he a true gentleman he would not have retaliated. Really Sarah, I thought you had better taste than that." he said, gesturing towards Matt's room.
"Argh!! It's bad enough you two make me sick with all that sugarcoated bullshit at dinner, but I'm not going to sit here and listen to you insult me on my choice in men. Yes, Matt has his faults like everybody else, but don't drag him into this. It's not his fault he's not you!" she clamped her mouth shut after that, furious with herself for allowing that angry outburst. Jareth's face also flashed surprise at what she had let slip out, but it was quickly covered with his most sensuous smile.
"Well I can take care of that right now if you wish." He rose gracefully from the bed and was walking towards her when she raised her hands to stop him.
"Hold it right there. I'm going to go in the bathroom and change. When I come out you'd better be gone. I've had enough for one night," she said while grabbing her nightclothes and storming into the bathroom. When she emerged Jareth was gone and she threw herself in bed for a restless night's sleep.