Sarah had wondered if her friends would find her now she had her own place.
It was only a small house on the outskirts of the city… she'd managed to scrape together the money from inheritance and keep it with the wage she earned as a councillor in a local school network; it seemed she had an affinity for children who had experiences adults couldn't understand… go figure.
The eve of her birthday saw her clearing the boxes to the outskirts of her living room, preparing for Hoggle, Ludo, Sir Didymus et all!
A little breathless, she was pleased with the space and headed for her room to ready herself.
While she had managed to salvage some of her memories of the Labrynth and bring them to her new home, for the most part… her new home was a little more modernised and less sentimental.
She thought this as she looked toward her bed and felt a drag in her heart.
After all this time, the memories of Jareth were still sharp; still painful.
As they lay there, in the heat and comfort of each other… they spoke about the chances they had to see one another again…
Jareth was unwilling to give up what he had in the Labrynth; he still hoped to lead the goblins and repair their world.
Sarah was unwilling to give up what she had in the real world; she still hoped to live and build a future.
Didn't matter that the thought of being without him left a hollow feeling in her stomach.
Didn't matter that it felt she would never truly be without him in her life.
This was something they both had to do. And so; they both stepped away.
It hurt.
But there was no chance in hell she was going to beg the ex-Goblin King to be with her if he was not willing to be.
So they had dressed; he had kissed her cheek… and she had never seen him again.
That was five years ago.
Sarah chose to move forward. There was no other option – life rolled onward.
She had finished her studies and began a life away from the thought and reach of Jareth.
In the beginning they had managed to send messages to one another… but there had come a point where they both recognised their relationship was closed to evolution.
It was true; she thought of him often. But life didn't stop for want of him.
Sarah pressed on with a career, friendships and family.
And while it was true she was determined to move on… Sarah had not been on so much as a date in three years… she had tried. Perhaps not as hard as she could have… she did meet a few of the less repellent characters she'd encountered through the dating sites but the dating scene had left her even more empty than thinking of Jareth's smile or the gentle touch he would lay on her skin.
Nobody seemed to hold her interest.
She fooled herself that she was focused on work. Told everyone she didn't have the time as she cared for her parents or helped Toby with his studies.
The clock began to strike seven Sarah felt herself pull away from those thoughts and turn into the celebrations.
Ludo had been brewing hooch which served very well indeed in inebriating all celebrants. And when the last of them had weaved their way back to the Labyrinth and Hoggle had bid her goodnight, Sarah began the task of clearing the debris.
It wasn't until she made her drunken way to her undecorated box room that she noted the storm drenching the garden outside the bay window.
For a drunken moment, Sarah was startled by the similarity in this night and one so many years ago, when a young and innocent girl angrily cursed her screaming baby brother.
The wind howled past the window; lightening cut along the black sky.
And she felt a tempting pull…
"I wish…" she slurred, looking out to the night sky, "I wish…"
And for the slightest moment she could have sworn the lightning streaking across the night sky revealed an audience of goblins watching her in the reflection of her window… the thunder cracking as they excitedly urged, "Go on… go on… say the words…"
But it was all too much as she shut her eyes against the madness… "No…" she protested to the empty room, "No… that was another wish in another time…"
And she turned her back on the spectacle to retreat to the hallway…
…
Yet there was the faintest glimmer…
The shadow of hope…
And she dared the universe to say, "I wish the Goblin King would come and take me away," as the flicked the light of to finish, "Right now."
At once the door handle beneath her hand morphed into the gloved touch of him as their fingers intertwined and she met his gaze.
And if she was expecting some comment, a quip of a blazing hot statement… it never came.
Jareth simply sighed… and continued to gaze at her as though she was the most captivating jewel in the universe.
Sarah felt a familiar pull toward him.
This wasn't how ex-lovers or long-lost acquaintances looked on one another.
Even after five years there was still that intensity between them.
Finally, he whispered… "What took you so long?"
"I just wanted to check you were listening," she heard herself reply, coyly.
With the slightest tug of his hand, she was brought closer to him, noting only a slither of air between them… "Always."
In the back of her mind, she noted their breathing had fallen into sync as the heavy thud of her heart threw heat out toward him and he was clearly sensing it.
Jareth grew taller as his presence encompassed her; his eyes darkened as his lips parted… the air seemed to still between them, each particle electrified.
Jareth gasped in a breath of air.
But they remained statuesque.
Neither reaching toward nor moving away.
It was thrilling; how they both ached for each other.
The want was paralysing.
Jareth seemed captivated, swaying slightly toward her before the haze in his eyes cleared and he took a deeper inhalation of air before shifting his gaze and stepping away from her.
Sarah felt everything in her still… that had been hot… and dangerous.
She couldn't look at Jareth; scared he may not have felt the same but equally scared if he did.
"I believe you wanted to be taken away," Jareth said, a strength returning to his voice.
Despite herself, Sarah turned toward him, seeing his hand outstretched and noted how easily she reached to him.
And as his fingers curled around hers the world warped into a warm vanilla lightened dance hall of Venetian masks and hazy laugher.
Her dress was suddenly familiar, as she had been here before.
They were in the bubble ball from so many years ago…
Music floated down on them as misty euphoria dusted her skin.
Sarah was vaguely aware of their reaching the dancefloor, step-in-step, shoulder-to-shoulder…
The goblins around them were exalting her return, rejoicing in wine and revelry but they faded into the background easily as Jareth span her about to fit comfortably in his arms for a lazy, close and heated waltz.
Their eyes met like two waves crashing together.
Time paused while they existed there in each other's arms.
Everything in her told Sarah this made sense; this feeling was what she had missed in all those other failed romances.
Energy met energy.
The music began.
Their bodies pressed against each other with snug familiarity; they fitted one another.
It caused an almost static charge between them.
Everything melted into the sound of her heart drumming in time with the rhythm of the music.
Step fell into step as they whisked along the dance floor, his embrace firmly holding, lightly guiding… they were almost entirely unaware of any others in the room save for the fuzzy background laughter.
Years melted away in their embrace; had they ever been parted?
It was so easy here in the Labrynth… in Jareth's arms.
Too soon, the music swirled them to an end where a tantalising moment drew them close before they parted in a sedate courtesy and bow to end the moment.
Flutes of champagne were thrust their way.
"Happy birthday, darling," Jareth intoned.
Their glasses met with a clink, but the sound resonated with an emptiness.
"Didn't you want to be here?" He asked, looking confused and slightly hurt.
"Well… yes… here…" Sarah agreed, finishing her drink which was instantly replaced by another…
Jareth shook his head, at a loss…
Was it so hard for him to understand?
So, she moved back into the circle of his arms and reiterated… "Here."
The fuzz in his eye deepened for a second before the clouds parted and he seemed to finally realise what she wanted… a smile curled his lips.
"Shall we?" He asked.
Sarah took his outreached hand without a second thought and followed him up the mis-matched stair of the Labyrinth castle
Jareth's dark eyes danced in the candlelight as he asked, "Are you alright?"
Breathless herself, Sarah nodded in an attempt to summon words that never came.
And before she knew it the light tug of her hand led her into a darker alcove of the stairwell and out of the sight of the remaining goblin-folk.
It wasn't until her back hit the wall that she realised her heart was hammering.
Jareth was all around her; his scent, his heat… she noted how easily his arms encircled.
His lips parted slightly; Sarah felt her heart thud a rush through her veins in one, heavy pulse leading straight between her legs as Jareth closed the distance between them; encasing her in his frame with encircling arms and a strong thigh between hers.
Another warm pulse issued through her at the feel of him, their flesh separated only by thin materials.
The steady rhythm of their breathing fell into step with the distant music of the ballroom as the bass thrummed through them; her whole being pulled toward him, yet she remained pressed between the cold, hard stone and the warm, firm hold of the man before her.
And that's when her eyes met his…
At once, Jareth's confident gaze melted as his pupils darkened; the confident smile on his face faltered as he gazed down on her, gasping an enchanted intake of breath…
Sarah felt the air around them still as he beheld her; were they the only two people in the world at that moment?
"Sarah," he breathed, whispering air across her lips.
God, how she had missed him.
"Tell me…" he pleaded.
God, how she wanted him!
"Please," he sighed, closing his eyes.
Sarah leaned toward him, feeling the pressure in the air between them as she parted her lips and he gave a ragged, helpless breath.
"You have no power over me…" she sighed…
He whimpered, almost shaking…
"But for tonight… I want you to."
With that revelation he surrendered; surging forward to capture her lips in a desperate caress that led from sedate to devouring with elating speed.
Jareth lifted her slightly higher, tilting her head further into his kiss and giving Sarah the perfect opportunity to allow him to take her weight and wrap her legs over his things.
They slid together with a delicious bump.
Sarah heard herself groan, making Jareth freeze.
"Are you alright?" He whispered into her mouth… watching her…
Quickly recognising the alarm in his eye, Sarah soothed, "No… no… it's good…"
And the boy learned, lifting and releasing her to nudge them together once more.
And again – earning a squeak as warmth rushed through her.
He looked captivated by her flushed appearance and pressed against her, straining to touch her, aching to feel her… she knew because she felt the same.
"Not here," he panted, "not here…"
Well, she wasn't complaining about a change in venue… "Ok," she agreed, "take me to bed."
And with that, she was in his arms listening to the ballroom music fade with each footstep.