AN: If there's an unusual amount of sappiness it's because this was written
to the tune of 'Wild is the Wind'. And bloody hell that's a sappy song.
*sways to 'wild is the Wind' oh god, this is so tragic. Tragic, in the way
that's I'm swaying and singing in my bedroom, alone, and writing labyrinth
fanfiction *sobs* this one's for you guys who reviewed! *goes on swaying*
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Divine Strangely: Chapter Twenty Seven: Hasty Admissions
*
There were to many questions running through Jareth's mind. He hated feeling like this. Like he was subject to something bigger and more powerful then just his own self. It was changing him in a way that he definitely did not like. Or maybe he did like it. Maybe it was a good change. He didn't know. The Goblin King was not used to having unanswered questions, or indeed, to be n the dark about anything at all.
His hand slipped down the heavy oak door to the crystal handle. With the slightest twitch of his wrist it locked out anything that could possibly try to get through. He stood up and pushed his hair out of his face, it immediately swung back into his eyes but Jareth ignored it.
He sighed.
Sarah had sat herself on the edge of the large marble tub and set about taking off her other shoe. Her left ankle was starting to swell and a rather unattractive bruise was forming too. Oh well, a sprained or broken ankle was not a serious injury considering she might have been dead or Queen of the dead otherwise. Sarah dropped her Jimmy Choo stiletto to the fluffy cream bath mat and looked up at the High Prince.
"Jar---" she started to say but he cut her off.
"What happened?" his voice was cold.
"What do you mean?" she ventured, touching her ankle and wincing when exploded under her fingers.
He turned to look at her and crossed his arms. "To the crystal? Why did it not work?"
"You mean why didn't your magic work?" she frowned. Why was he being mean? Sarah knew she should have expected nothing less, he was the Goblin king after all. But still---
He gave a short nod.
"Because I ripped it off my neck" she said simply
"You ripped it off your neck" Jareth repeated incredulously, his eyes growing wider. "What on earth for, you stupid girl? None of this would have happened had you had left it"
"Oh sorry!" Sarah said, sarcasm tingeing her voice as she glared at him. "Generally when mortal boys give me jewellery it doesn't cause--- well, whatever it was that was happening!"
Jareth sneered, "I very much doubt you've received many enchanted pieces from mortal boys"
"Hey, and isn't it funny that I've never before been kidnapped by evil dead guys when I was involved with mortal boys?" Sarah moved to stand so she could be on even footing with him but sat down immediately as pain shot through her leg.
"So you think this is my fault?" Jareth's lips curled cruelly and his voice was smug and arrogant. All things Goblin King. "You blame me?"
Sarah clenched her teeth, "No I don't blame you" Her wet nylons were beginning to make her feel like paper maché so she started shimming out of them while glaring at Jareth all the more forcefully. "But it's obvious you blame me"
"Well, Sarah" he sneered "You did take off my necklace"
"I couldn't breath!" she yelped. "What was Dacian doing to me?!"
"Most likely summoning you with an extraordinarily crap black magic spell" Jareth said coolly "You were being pulled in two different places and your body wasn't--- up to it" he glanced down at her hands, moving her nylons down her legs and then jerked his gaze back to her face. "How much did you tell your friends?"
Sarah tossed her stockings to the side and glared at him. "You took Fiona's baby. What was I going to do? Tell her she was imaging it?"
"Ah" he nodded, and leaned against the marble counter behind him. His expression was one of extreme superiority. "This is the same girl who, as I recall, you feel is a waste of space"
"I don't think she's a waste of space!" Sarah shouted at him. "You took her daughter and it's probably the reason she's so fucked up now. I know *you* have no compassion, Goblin King. But I do"
"Are we back to that?" Jareth shook his head, feeling suddenly very angry with her. "How many times must I tell you that I don't take children for sport or pleasure, but I would rather not do it at all. You are exhausting me Sarah, and I haven't the patience for it now"
"I know that" she spat viciously, her temper rising to meet his "But that doesn't make you any less of a heartless bastard"
"Oh yes" he said sarcastically "A heartless Bastard, that's why Fiona's daughter is a Princess and my niece. I should think you are the heartless one, Sarah"
Surprise flashed across Sarah's face. At both the revelation and the accusation. "Your niece---" she shook her head. "How am I heartless? I'm the one whose life is being tossed about. I'm sucked out of my world, then I'm kidnapped by vampires, then I'm hiding you in my world, then back to being kidnapped. Really, it's been a picnic knowing you, Jareth"
"Your highness" he sneered suddenly and moved to stand in front of her. "This is my kingdom and I am high prince, that is what you will call me"
Grasping a bath towel rail for support, Sarah balanced on one foot and stood level with Jareth. She was perhaps only an inch or two shorter and could glare into his eyes easily. "I will not call you anything, Jareth. But enlighten me. How exactly am I heartless? How am *I* the bad one in all this?"
"Playing the victim, Sarah, it's always been your forte, hasn't it?" His voice was low and dangerous "You couldn't fathom someone else getting hurt"
Her eyes widened and anxiety grabbed at her stomach. "And you couldn't fathom getting hurt" she said at last.
The tension melted out of Jareth's mismatched eyes and he stared at her with confusion for a moment. "I don't know what you mean" he said
"I mean--- oh shite!" The bath mat slipped and Sarah's foot went out from under her. She lost her grip on the rail and pitched forward.
Jareth grabbed her around the middle just in time and lowered her to the floor where she let out an impressive stream of curse words and held her left foot away from herself.
"What happened?" Jareth sighed, exasperated.
"I fucking broke my ankle, what do you think?" Sarah yelped,
He shot her an amused look "When?"
"When I was running away from that nutter, Dacian" she muttered.
"Oh" he nodded
Sarah stared at him expectantly "Well, *fix it*" she said emphatically
"I can't" Jareth said patronizingly, his gaze was nearly taunting, "You don't trust me, it won't work as well. We may as well call a healer"
"What?" Sarah blinked "This is the first I've ever heard about trusting you so you can do magic"
Jareth sighed "It's more complicated then that. Of course I don't *need* your trust to do magic. There are just some things I can and can't do that will be easier or harder depending on how much faith you have in me" his voice was dull and monotone as if he was reading this from a text book.
She shook her head "I don't understand, you've healed me before and you've read my mind before and you've vanished me all over the bloody place. You've done it to others too---so---" she kept herself from asking if he was just afraid of botching it up, as she was sure that wasn't the case anyway.
"Yes" Jareth agreed, as if he were talking to a child. "And now you are being hostile and obstinate with me and I, personally, do not want to expend the energy"
Sarah gapped at him for a long time. Then she called him a very rude mortal word that made him raise his eyebrows in amusement.
"Oh really?"
"Yes" she muttered scathingly, tucking her damp dark hair behind her ear.
As she did so Jareth looked down and noticed for the first time, the wounds to her throat that were most likely Dacian's doing. His eyebrows narrowed and concern filled his eyes. He touched her collarbone and ran his thumb over her throat softly.
"He did it again" he mumbled.
Sarah's heart started beating hard in her chest as Jareth touched her and she got the distinct feeling of being violated. "Yes, don't feel like expending energy to fix that too?"
Jareth shot her a look. "Don't be so difficult" he murmured, "Why are you all wet?"
"Don't be a hypocrite" she countered, ignoring the posed question.
He raised an eyebrow and allowed a soft grin that showed his crooked teeth. He didn't want to fight with her, he realized suddenly. As much as Jareth wanted to blame her for the destructive feelings he was experiencing, he knew fighting with her wouldn't help. Although, the other instant apart from fighting with her, kissing her, wouldn't help much either.
"Why are you all wet?" he asked against, his voice soft and not at all antagonistic as it had been before. Jareth traced the two holes on her throat until they vanished under his fingertips.
"I was out in the rain" she said at last, ignoring his hand. "What are you doing here? I thought the portal only worked at thirteen o'clock or whatever. I've not been gone *that* long"
"Oh," he sighed callously and placed his thin hand on her shoulder "Re- ordered time again" he gave her a pointed look "For you again. My father's not to pleased with that"
"Why?" Sarah tried to move out from under his hand but her pressed her into the wall. The wainscoting was digging into her lower back and her ankle was throbbing but she ignored it.
"Why is he angry?" Jareth cocked his head to the side and raised his eyebrows "Or why did I do it for you?"
Sarah ducked her head so she wouldn't have to keep looking into his mismatched eyes. How had this happened? They *had* been arguing; now he was coyly backing her into a wall again. How did he do that? How did he turn it around like that? Jareth was kneeling next to her and looking at her with an interesting expression. "Yeah--- why is he angry" she mumbled
"Because it buggers up a whole load of things that he has to do paperwork for now" Jareth grinned "Besides that I'm quite good at it, and he's quite bad at it. And that makes him rather unhappy as well"
"Uh huh" Sarah shifted away from his hand finally. "Why are you so good at it?"
She was stalling and half expecting him to answer with something like 'I'm good at a lot of things'. Instead Jareth pulled away from her and placed his hand on her ankle. " don't know. Same reason that I'm not very good at healing, I suppose. We're all good at different things"
In her mind's eye, Sarah imagined her foot falling off and Jareth saying 'opps'. She pulled her leg away from him, accidentally giving him a view up her skirt as she did so. She pulled her knees together blushing and stuttering "Perhaps I'll just wait for the healer"
"Don't be stupid" Jareth rolled his eyes and pulled her foot into his lap. "I'm not that incompetent. I'm saying if you had a broken neck or half your brain was on the floor or something, then I probably couldn't do anything"
"That's reassuring" Sarah muttered, her lips tweaking into a grin.
Jareth shot her an amused look and caught her gaze. Instead of looking away Sarah stared back resolutely this time. His hands were warm against her cold skin and moved in light circles around where it hurt until the swelling went down and she was good as new.
"There." He dropped his eyes away and let her foot fall to the floor suddenly. "Done, why don't you stand on it"
Sarah placed her hands on his shoulders without thinking about it first, and used him to help propel herself to her feet. "Yeah" she agreed "It's fine."
"Good"
He was kneeling in front of her and Sarah realized there was probably some sort of deep meaning that she wasn't grasping in that. She bit her lip and moved her hands from his shoulders to his hair, letting it fall softly through her fingers. "Thanks" she murmured.
Jareth looked up at her slowly, unsure what was happening again. She was touching his hair, and touching his face and he moved his cheek into her palm like a kitten or a child would. He reached out and grabbed a handful of her wet ruined dress and pulled her towards him until he was pressing his face to her abdomen and he was hugging her tightly.
"Jareth" she whispered, still playing with his hair. "Remember what you said before I left"
Jareth's hands moved around to her hips. He leaned back and gave her a long appraising look before rising to his feet. The Goblin King's heart was hammering and his mind was racing. He knew it had been true then, it was true now, and it had been true since he'd first laid eyes on her.
He touched her face. "I love you, Sarah"
Sarah wanted to scream at him. Because this meant that she had been right, and she loved him too. She didn't think she wanted to love him--- but maybe. maybe she did? Sarah didn't know anymore. Everything was confused now. She wanted to run out of the room and kiss him all at the same time.
She gasped in a breath and released it with a stream of words spoken so quickly she wasn't sure if Jareth understood them "I can't do this, Jareth. You're the Goblin King and I'm Sarah and we aren't supposed to fall in love and you're supposed to be evil and I don't even know what's happening anymore"
Jareth licked his lips thoughtfully and put is hands on her shoulders. She was shaking and he tried his best not to give away how very glad he was that she was alive, let alone standing in front of him saying she might love him too. The last time he'd mentioned love, she had promptly shot him down and won the Labyrinth.
"You're Sarah and I'm the Goblin King" he repeated "I'm evil, the villain, your nemesis." He lowered his head until she had nowhere else to look but his eyes. "Right?"
Sarah swallowed, "right" she whispered
Jareth nodded. "Right"
He moved his hands slowly and deliberately from her shoulders to her waist. His palms moving over her ribcage and around her breasts so that Sarah nearly moaned. She yelped in surprise when he grabbed her roughly and shoved her into the wall hard enough to knock the wind out of her.
Jareth gave her a simpering look "more like this then?" he purred, lifting her up and pressing against her. Sarah's arms and legs went around his lithe form instantly, as if on their own accord. She swallowed heavily, realizing that she's hurt his feelings. Jareth's lips curled as if he'd heard this thought. He grasped roughly at the edge of her ruined dress and shoved it up high enough that her knickers were showing.
Sarah's eyes widened and she found herself wondering what he was going to do. Would he shag her up against a wall? Would she mind? Did she *need* some big ceremonious love making session? And more importantly if she did need said ceremonious love making seesion, did this mean she really did love him?
Jareth's mouth found her throat and he was making it very hard to form a conscious thought anymore. Sarah's arms tightened around his neck and she squeezed herself closer.
So it was true then.
She pulled his head up to hers and pressed her lips to his ear like he had done so many times to her. "I love you too" she whispered
Jareth's mouth stopped its trail of kisses and he set her down immediately. His air was almost business like. "Do you?" he asked
Sarah left her arms draped around his neck. She watched his face for a long moment for any emotion other then this stony blankness that had taken over. She hated that. There had to be something beneath that. Perhaps, she wondered, this was an emotion in itself and not blankness. Perhaps this was just what he looked like when he was unsure.
A hug smile broke out across her face. She nearly giggled. Instead she raised herself up on her toes the slightest bit and kissed the tip of his nose with a loud smack. "I do"
*
Gwendolyn and Ilareo had taken to sitting on the bed staring at the bathroom door. It had been quite a long time since they'd gone in there. Not a sound was to be heard. Ilareo suggested that they were conducting rather un-bathroom activities but Gwendolyn disagreed.
"Why is that the first thing you think of?"
"Because it's one of my favourite things" Ilareo admitted, snaking his arm around her waist.
"Stop" she muttered, trying to shove him off. "What if they come out"?
Ilareo sighed "One more week and Jareth can't condemn me to the bog for it anymore"
"Bloody hypocrite" Gwendolyn mumbled.
That's when the heavy bathroom door opened slowly and Sarah and Jareth slipped out, both looking flustered, nervous, and simply ecstatic.
"Well?" Ilareo asked. "Are you getting married yet"
Jareth sent him a dirty look. "Don't make me throw you in the bog" he threatened.
"I knew you'd say that" Ilareo nodded, getting to his feet. "well, your mother will want a word, no doubt"
"About what?" Sarah asked
"Uh," Ilareo shrugged "Revoking the heir to the Nosferatu Kingdom's title, re ordering time, sending the royal guard to the mortal world, telling mortals about the underground, marrying you and cutting his hair, most likely"
"Marrying me?" Sarah paled and she glared at Jareth "I said I loved you, I didn't say I would marry you"
He ignored her and looked at Gwendolyn "Where's Gaeton"
She folded her hands. "A few of the ancients have graced out presence. He and Dolan are with them and the stones, attempting to move them to their original place" Gwen rolled her eyes "Aislinn's all bent out of shape because they're going to become part of the view from her room and it just won't do"
Jareth sighed. Back to how it always was, he supposed.
Sarah tugged on his sleeve. "Sorry to interrupt" she said unapologetically "But I'm not marrying you"
"I'm not marrying you either" Jareth told her
"Er--- so what *are* you doing, now that's you've confessed all these deeply rooted feelings for each other" Ilareo asked
They both had the grace to look uncomfortable and Gwen nudged her fiancé for being so tactless.
"We haven't talked about it" Sarah mumbled
Jareth put his hand on her shoulder. "Gwen will you help Sarah get dressed. We'll be taking diner in my chambers tonight but first I must take a conference with my mother"
*
AN: Bah, that was quick. Okay, sorry. I just want to get It over with.
Remember to REVIEW
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Divine Strangely: Chapter Twenty Seven: Hasty Admissions
*
There were to many questions running through Jareth's mind. He hated feeling like this. Like he was subject to something bigger and more powerful then just his own self. It was changing him in a way that he definitely did not like. Or maybe he did like it. Maybe it was a good change. He didn't know. The Goblin King was not used to having unanswered questions, or indeed, to be n the dark about anything at all.
His hand slipped down the heavy oak door to the crystal handle. With the slightest twitch of his wrist it locked out anything that could possibly try to get through. He stood up and pushed his hair out of his face, it immediately swung back into his eyes but Jareth ignored it.
He sighed.
Sarah had sat herself on the edge of the large marble tub and set about taking off her other shoe. Her left ankle was starting to swell and a rather unattractive bruise was forming too. Oh well, a sprained or broken ankle was not a serious injury considering she might have been dead or Queen of the dead otherwise. Sarah dropped her Jimmy Choo stiletto to the fluffy cream bath mat and looked up at the High Prince.
"Jar---" she started to say but he cut her off.
"What happened?" his voice was cold.
"What do you mean?" she ventured, touching her ankle and wincing when exploded under her fingers.
He turned to look at her and crossed his arms. "To the crystal? Why did it not work?"
"You mean why didn't your magic work?" she frowned. Why was he being mean? Sarah knew she should have expected nothing less, he was the Goblin king after all. But still---
He gave a short nod.
"Because I ripped it off my neck" she said simply
"You ripped it off your neck" Jareth repeated incredulously, his eyes growing wider. "What on earth for, you stupid girl? None of this would have happened had you had left it"
"Oh sorry!" Sarah said, sarcasm tingeing her voice as she glared at him. "Generally when mortal boys give me jewellery it doesn't cause--- well, whatever it was that was happening!"
Jareth sneered, "I very much doubt you've received many enchanted pieces from mortal boys"
"Hey, and isn't it funny that I've never before been kidnapped by evil dead guys when I was involved with mortal boys?" Sarah moved to stand so she could be on even footing with him but sat down immediately as pain shot through her leg.
"So you think this is my fault?" Jareth's lips curled cruelly and his voice was smug and arrogant. All things Goblin King. "You blame me?"
Sarah clenched her teeth, "No I don't blame you" Her wet nylons were beginning to make her feel like paper maché so she started shimming out of them while glaring at Jareth all the more forcefully. "But it's obvious you blame me"
"Well, Sarah" he sneered "You did take off my necklace"
"I couldn't breath!" she yelped. "What was Dacian doing to me?!"
"Most likely summoning you with an extraordinarily crap black magic spell" Jareth said coolly "You were being pulled in two different places and your body wasn't--- up to it" he glanced down at her hands, moving her nylons down her legs and then jerked his gaze back to her face. "How much did you tell your friends?"
Sarah tossed her stockings to the side and glared at him. "You took Fiona's baby. What was I going to do? Tell her she was imaging it?"
"Ah" he nodded, and leaned against the marble counter behind him. His expression was one of extreme superiority. "This is the same girl who, as I recall, you feel is a waste of space"
"I don't think she's a waste of space!" Sarah shouted at him. "You took her daughter and it's probably the reason she's so fucked up now. I know *you* have no compassion, Goblin King. But I do"
"Are we back to that?" Jareth shook his head, feeling suddenly very angry with her. "How many times must I tell you that I don't take children for sport or pleasure, but I would rather not do it at all. You are exhausting me Sarah, and I haven't the patience for it now"
"I know that" she spat viciously, her temper rising to meet his "But that doesn't make you any less of a heartless bastard"
"Oh yes" he said sarcastically "A heartless Bastard, that's why Fiona's daughter is a Princess and my niece. I should think you are the heartless one, Sarah"
Surprise flashed across Sarah's face. At both the revelation and the accusation. "Your niece---" she shook her head. "How am I heartless? I'm the one whose life is being tossed about. I'm sucked out of my world, then I'm kidnapped by vampires, then I'm hiding you in my world, then back to being kidnapped. Really, it's been a picnic knowing you, Jareth"
"Your highness" he sneered suddenly and moved to stand in front of her. "This is my kingdom and I am high prince, that is what you will call me"
Grasping a bath towel rail for support, Sarah balanced on one foot and stood level with Jareth. She was perhaps only an inch or two shorter and could glare into his eyes easily. "I will not call you anything, Jareth. But enlighten me. How exactly am I heartless? How am *I* the bad one in all this?"
"Playing the victim, Sarah, it's always been your forte, hasn't it?" His voice was low and dangerous "You couldn't fathom someone else getting hurt"
Her eyes widened and anxiety grabbed at her stomach. "And you couldn't fathom getting hurt" she said at last.
The tension melted out of Jareth's mismatched eyes and he stared at her with confusion for a moment. "I don't know what you mean" he said
"I mean--- oh shite!" The bath mat slipped and Sarah's foot went out from under her. She lost her grip on the rail and pitched forward.
Jareth grabbed her around the middle just in time and lowered her to the floor where she let out an impressive stream of curse words and held her left foot away from herself.
"What happened?" Jareth sighed, exasperated.
"I fucking broke my ankle, what do you think?" Sarah yelped,
He shot her an amused look "When?"
"When I was running away from that nutter, Dacian" she muttered.
"Oh" he nodded
Sarah stared at him expectantly "Well, *fix it*" she said emphatically
"I can't" Jareth said patronizingly, his gaze was nearly taunting, "You don't trust me, it won't work as well. We may as well call a healer"
"What?" Sarah blinked "This is the first I've ever heard about trusting you so you can do magic"
Jareth sighed "It's more complicated then that. Of course I don't *need* your trust to do magic. There are just some things I can and can't do that will be easier or harder depending on how much faith you have in me" his voice was dull and monotone as if he was reading this from a text book.
She shook her head "I don't understand, you've healed me before and you've read my mind before and you've vanished me all over the bloody place. You've done it to others too---so---" she kept herself from asking if he was just afraid of botching it up, as she was sure that wasn't the case anyway.
"Yes" Jareth agreed, as if he were talking to a child. "And now you are being hostile and obstinate with me and I, personally, do not want to expend the energy"
Sarah gapped at him for a long time. Then she called him a very rude mortal word that made him raise his eyebrows in amusement.
"Oh really?"
"Yes" she muttered scathingly, tucking her damp dark hair behind her ear.
As she did so Jareth looked down and noticed for the first time, the wounds to her throat that were most likely Dacian's doing. His eyebrows narrowed and concern filled his eyes. He touched her collarbone and ran his thumb over her throat softly.
"He did it again" he mumbled.
Sarah's heart started beating hard in her chest as Jareth touched her and she got the distinct feeling of being violated. "Yes, don't feel like expending energy to fix that too?"
Jareth shot her a look. "Don't be so difficult" he murmured, "Why are you all wet?"
"Don't be a hypocrite" she countered, ignoring the posed question.
He raised an eyebrow and allowed a soft grin that showed his crooked teeth. He didn't want to fight with her, he realized suddenly. As much as Jareth wanted to blame her for the destructive feelings he was experiencing, he knew fighting with her wouldn't help. Although, the other instant apart from fighting with her, kissing her, wouldn't help much either.
"Why are you all wet?" he asked against, his voice soft and not at all antagonistic as it had been before. Jareth traced the two holes on her throat until they vanished under his fingertips.
"I was out in the rain" she said at last, ignoring his hand. "What are you doing here? I thought the portal only worked at thirteen o'clock or whatever. I've not been gone *that* long"
"Oh," he sighed callously and placed his thin hand on her shoulder "Re- ordered time again" he gave her a pointed look "For you again. My father's not to pleased with that"
"Why?" Sarah tried to move out from under his hand but her pressed her into the wall. The wainscoting was digging into her lower back and her ankle was throbbing but she ignored it.
"Why is he angry?" Jareth cocked his head to the side and raised his eyebrows "Or why did I do it for you?"
Sarah ducked her head so she wouldn't have to keep looking into his mismatched eyes. How had this happened? They *had* been arguing; now he was coyly backing her into a wall again. How did he do that? How did he turn it around like that? Jareth was kneeling next to her and looking at her with an interesting expression. "Yeah--- why is he angry" she mumbled
"Because it buggers up a whole load of things that he has to do paperwork for now" Jareth grinned "Besides that I'm quite good at it, and he's quite bad at it. And that makes him rather unhappy as well"
"Uh huh" Sarah shifted away from his hand finally. "Why are you so good at it?"
She was stalling and half expecting him to answer with something like 'I'm good at a lot of things'. Instead Jareth pulled away from her and placed his hand on her ankle. " don't know. Same reason that I'm not very good at healing, I suppose. We're all good at different things"
In her mind's eye, Sarah imagined her foot falling off and Jareth saying 'opps'. She pulled her leg away from him, accidentally giving him a view up her skirt as she did so. She pulled her knees together blushing and stuttering "Perhaps I'll just wait for the healer"
"Don't be stupid" Jareth rolled his eyes and pulled her foot into his lap. "I'm not that incompetent. I'm saying if you had a broken neck or half your brain was on the floor or something, then I probably couldn't do anything"
"That's reassuring" Sarah muttered, her lips tweaking into a grin.
Jareth shot her an amused look and caught her gaze. Instead of looking away Sarah stared back resolutely this time. His hands were warm against her cold skin and moved in light circles around where it hurt until the swelling went down and she was good as new.
"There." He dropped his eyes away and let her foot fall to the floor suddenly. "Done, why don't you stand on it"
Sarah placed her hands on his shoulders without thinking about it first, and used him to help propel herself to her feet. "Yeah" she agreed "It's fine."
"Good"
He was kneeling in front of her and Sarah realized there was probably some sort of deep meaning that she wasn't grasping in that. She bit her lip and moved her hands from his shoulders to his hair, letting it fall softly through her fingers. "Thanks" she murmured.
Jareth looked up at her slowly, unsure what was happening again. She was touching his hair, and touching his face and he moved his cheek into her palm like a kitten or a child would. He reached out and grabbed a handful of her wet ruined dress and pulled her towards him until he was pressing his face to her abdomen and he was hugging her tightly.
"Jareth" she whispered, still playing with his hair. "Remember what you said before I left"
Jareth's hands moved around to her hips. He leaned back and gave her a long appraising look before rising to his feet. The Goblin King's heart was hammering and his mind was racing. He knew it had been true then, it was true now, and it had been true since he'd first laid eyes on her.
He touched her face. "I love you, Sarah"
Sarah wanted to scream at him. Because this meant that she had been right, and she loved him too. She didn't think she wanted to love him--- but maybe. maybe she did? Sarah didn't know anymore. Everything was confused now. She wanted to run out of the room and kiss him all at the same time.
She gasped in a breath and released it with a stream of words spoken so quickly she wasn't sure if Jareth understood them "I can't do this, Jareth. You're the Goblin King and I'm Sarah and we aren't supposed to fall in love and you're supposed to be evil and I don't even know what's happening anymore"
Jareth licked his lips thoughtfully and put is hands on her shoulders. She was shaking and he tried his best not to give away how very glad he was that she was alive, let alone standing in front of him saying she might love him too. The last time he'd mentioned love, she had promptly shot him down and won the Labyrinth.
"You're Sarah and I'm the Goblin King" he repeated "I'm evil, the villain, your nemesis." He lowered his head until she had nowhere else to look but his eyes. "Right?"
Sarah swallowed, "right" she whispered
Jareth nodded. "Right"
He moved his hands slowly and deliberately from her shoulders to her waist. His palms moving over her ribcage and around her breasts so that Sarah nearly moaned. She yelped in surprise when he grabbed her roughly and shoved her into the wall hard enough to knock the wind out of her.
Jareth gave her a simpering look "more like this then?" he purred, lifting her up and pressing against her. Sarah's arms and legs went around his lithe form instantly, as if on their own accord. She swallowed heavily, realizing that she's hurt his feelings. Jareth's lips curled as if he'd heard this thought. He grasped roughly at the edge of her ruined dress and shoved it up high enough that her knickers were showing.
Sarah's eyes widened and she found herself wondering what he was going to do. Would he shag her up against a wall? Would she mind? Did she *need* some big ceremonious love making session? And more importantly if she did need said ceremonious love making seesion, did this mean she really did love him?
Jareth's mouth found her throat and he was making it very hard to form a conscious thought anymore. Sarah's arms tightened around his neck and she squeezed herself closer.
So it was true then.
She pulled his head up to hers and pressed her lips to his ear like he had done so many times to her. "I love you too" she whispered
Jareth's mouth stopped its trail of kisses and he set her down immediately. His air was almost business like. "Do you?" he asked
Sarah left her arms draped around his neck. She watched his face for a long moment for any emotion other then this stony blankness that had taken over. She hated that. There had to be something beneath that. Perhaps, she wondered, this was an emotion in itself and not blankness. Perhaps this was just what he looked like when he was unsure.
A hug smile broke out across her face. She nearly giggled. Instead she raised herself up on her toes the slightest bit and kissed the tip of his nose with a loud smack. "I do"
*
Gwendolyn and Ilareo had taken to sitting on the bed staring at the bathroom door. It had been quite a long time since they'd gone in there. Not a sound was to be heard. Ilareo suggested that they were conducting rather un-bathroom activities but Gwendolyn disagreed.
"Why is that the first thing you think of?"
"Because it's one of my favourite things" Ilareo admitted, snaking his arm around her waist.
"Stop" she muttered, trying to shove him off. "What if they come out"?
Ilareo sighed "One more week and Jareth can't condemn me to the bog for it anymore"
"Bloody hypocrite" Gwendolyn mumbled.
That's when the heavy bathroom door opened slowly and Sarah and Jareth slipped out, both looking flustered, nervous, and simply ecstatic.
"Well?" Ilareo asked. "Are you getting married yet"
Jareth sent him a dirty look. "Don't make me throw you in the bog" he threatened.
"I knew you'd say that" Ilareo nodded, getting to his feet. "well, your mother will want a word, no doubt"
"About what?" Sarah asked
"Uh," Ilareo shrugged "Revoking the heir to the Nosferatu Kingdom's title, re ordering time, sending the royal guard to the mortal world, telling mortals about the underground, marrying you and cutting his hair, most likely"
"Marrying me?" Sarah paled and she glared at Jareth "I said I loved you, I didn't say I would marry you"
He ignored her and looked at Gwendolyn "Where's Gaeton"
She folded her hands. "A few of the ancients have graced out presence. He and Dolan are with them and the stones, attempting to move them to their original place" Gwen rolled her eyes "Aislinn's all bent out of shape because they're going to become part of the view from her room and it just won't do"
Jareth sighed. Back to how it always was, he supposed.
Sarah tugged on his sleeve. "Sorry to interrupt" she said unapologetically "But I'm not marrying you"
"I'm not marrying you either" Jareth told her
"Er--- so what *are* you doing, now that's you've confessed all these deeply rooted feelings for each other" Ilareo asked
They both had the grace to look uncomfortable and Gwen nudged her fiancé for being so tactless.
"We haven't talked about it" Sarah mumbled
Jareth put his hand on her shoulder. "Gwen will you help Sarah get dressed. We'll be taking diner in my chambers tonight but first I must take a conference with my mother"
*
AN: Bah, that was quick. Okay, sorry. I just want to get It over with.
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