Author's note: Much as I adore Sarah and Jareth, I swear if I read one more fic that features Sarah as a grown woman who still acts like a petulant teenager, I'mgoing to scream. One more fic in which she gets angry at him and slaps him across the face, and I'm probably going to get the dry heaves. Please, people, if you're going to feature an adult woman, at least have the decency to give her some maturity!

This story features a grown-up Sarah and a grown-up Jareth, and shows how they might act toward each other as adults rather than twelve-year-olds in adult bodies.

Chapter 2: A Painfully Honest Conversation

And waited.

And then the wind came up and blew the papers off Sarah's desk and she heard the sound of feathery wings beating in the early evening twilight. The owl flew in her window and as it landed, its legs elongated and the rest of it changed form until the Goblin King stood before her.

But not the Goblin King. Gone was the high-collared cloak, the wild, spiky hair, and the aloof demeanour. His long blond hair still hung loose over his shoulders, but it was softer now. He still wore the high boots, sinfully tight breeches and vest, and a loose-fitting white shirt, but his expression was different; his smile was less intimidating and more humourous, and his voice was not cutting as he greeted her, but warm. "Hello, Sarah."

Determined to start off on a better footing this time, Sarah stood up and inclined her head. "Your Majesty," she said.

He frowned. "Jareth, please," he said. "If anyone in the world has earned the right to use my name, Sarah, it's you."

Sarah raised her eyebrows at the compliment. "Thank you," she said in surprise. She sat down on the edge of her bed. "Jareth, then. Would you like to sit down?" She indicated her desk chair.

He nodded and pulled it around to seat himself directly in front of Sarah, so close their knees almost touched.

"Now, to what do I owe the pleasure?" she asked lightly.

He smiled. "How kind of you to pretend that my visit is pleasurable," he remarked in a dry tone. Sarah began a polite protest but he laughed and held up a hand to stop her. "No, no, I appreciate it," he assured her. "As for my reason for coming, it's quite simple. There is a state event coming up in a neighboring kingdom, for which I would like your company."

"A state event?" Sarah echoed in confusion.

He nodded. "A wedding," he clarified. Her expression did not clear, so he explained further. "The king of the Dwarves is taking a bride a fortnight from now. It will be the first royal wedding the Underground has seen in centuries, and I would be honoured if you would come as my guest."

Sarah was stunned. She made a couple of false starts before she could speak. "Let me see if I understand you here. After ignoring my whole existance for twelve years, you show up out of the blue because you need a date for a wedding?"

"Twelve years! Has it really been so long," he mused. He looked more closely at Sarah, noticing the fine lines around her eyes, the maturity in the shape of her face and figure, the poise that she had definitely lacked as a teenager. "I guess it has," he said. "But it can hardly be called 'out of the blue.' I did sent you a letter, after all. But essentially, yes: I am here to ask if you'll accompany me to the Dwarf King's wedding."

Sarah, agitated now, got up and paced around the room. "Why me?" she asked. "Why not some Elf-princess or some other sort of noblewoman from your own world?"

He blinked. "Sarah, no one in my world was worthy," he said in surprise.

"But I'm no one special," Sarah protested, sitting down in front of him again. She took a deep breath. "I'm just an overaged college student who has less debt and more weird experiences than most."

Jareth leaned forward and took one of her hands firmly between his gloved ones. "No one in the Underground was worthy of such an invitation, Sarah. You're the only one in both worlds who is my equal. Never, ever say you're no one special." He gave her hand a slight squeeze and released it. "Plus, there would be serious political ramifications if I brought any of my other acquaintances to such an important event. She would have certain… expectations of me that I would probably be reluctant to fulfill." He sneered a little and dismissed them with a scoffing gesture. "Social climbers, the lot of them." For just an instant the old Goblin King was back, and then he disappeared again leaving only Jareth who leaned back and smiled. "You defeated me, Sarah," he reminded her. "You solved my labyrinth, but even in my defeat you kept us on an equal footing."

Sarah frowned, remembering. She quoted slowly, "My will is as strong as yours; my kingdom as great."

"Exactly." He nodded. "As strong, but not stronger. "As great, not greater." He hesitated a moment, then spoke slowly, not looking at her. "I should have thanked you before now, for leaving me what power you did. As long as you remained strong in this world, so did I in mine. You have my gratitude."

Sarah blushed, remembering what a brat she'd been. Feeling as if she had to set the record straight, she told him, "I… I probably wouldn't have, if I'd known." She looked up at him. "I was just a kid then, Jareth. I didn't know anything about, well, anything. Certainly nothing about dignity or compassion for others. I'm a little embarrassed about how I acted to you then."

He took her hand again. "Don't be. I keep forgetting how short your human lifespan is. For one of us it would take sixty years to mature as much as you have in twelve."

Sarah chuckled, relieved of her embarrassment and teased, "So how old are you, then?"

Jareth grinned. "Casting aspersions on my level of maturity, are you? Just remember it was you who summoned the Goblin King back then, instead of just asking for Jareth! If you wanted clever conversation instead of threats, you should have used my name and not my title that night!"

"I didn't know until tonight that there was even a difference."

"Yes. I don't know if the Goblin King is part of me, or if I am part of him, but we are very different in spite of being the same person."

Sarah shook her head. "I won't even pretend to understand that."

Her companion asked, "And what of my request? Will you be my guest for the Dwarf King's wedding?"

Sarah did not hesitate. "Yes. I'd be honoured." Then she grinned. "Especially as you laid on all that lovely flattery so thick. It would be a pity to have wasted all that effort, after all!"

He laughed. "Indeed!" He eyed her with amusement and stood up, taking her hand and drawing her with him. "I shall look forward to seeing you again soon," he said, conjuring a crystal. He bowed over her hand in a courtly manner.

"Uh, Jareth?" Sarah said, seeing him about to depart. He stopped. "What, exactly, does one wear to an Underground wedding? What should I bring? How should I act?"

Jareth smirked. "Sarah, Sarah, you worry too much, my dear."

Sarah decided to be frank about her concerns. "You do realize that I'm a poor college student who subsists on a diet of instant noodles and coffee, and can never afford to buy more than $5 worth of gas at a time, right? I mean, I'm not exactly used to being the King's date!"

Jareth said nothing, but conjured two more crystals. One he hurled out the window and the other he dropped negligently on the floor. It rolled out the door and Sarah heard the ring of it bouncing down the stairs. "If it will relieve your anxiety, I could arrange to return before then and give you a brief preparatory course in court etiquette." His eyes twinkled.

"You might be glad you did," Sarah retorted. "Or else I might show up in sweat pants and drink from the finger bowls!"

Jareth chuckled at the image. "Very well. You may expect me the next time your roommate is absent for a few hours. I shall leave now, though; I hear her coming in." He bent and pressed his lips to the palm of her hand and, still smiling, disappeared.

So...click that special little blue button below, and tell me what you think so far. Thanks!