Ch 7 A long-awaited conversation

"Well, I suppose you want to know what brought me here," he began. "I already told you, it was your wish to see me that make me come. I don't mean to embarrass you again, but I am aware that you have thought of me over the years."

Sarah pictured some of her not-so-innocent fantasies and found herself blushing yet again. "Damn it Jareth, how the hell do you know that?" She was a little peeved that he knew her dreams.

He gave a small smile, saying, "Don't worry, I can't actually see what your thoughts are. It's just more of a feeling I get when you think of me. I can sense you thinking about me, kind of like the feeling you sometimes get when someone is staring at you."

"Anyway," he continued, "I don't know what exactly you were thinking of over the years, but I knew it had to do with me. Your feelings were never strong enough to actually call me to you though. At least, not until tonight."

"But I don't understand," Sarah interrupted, silently thanking her lucky stars he couldn't see the pictures in her mind. "I wasn't even thinking that hard about you tonight. I admit, I was picturing you in my mind. There's no sense in denying what you already know. But it was more like a passing thought, not a wish to bring you to me."

Even as she spoke, she realized her words weren't quite true. She hadn't admitted it to herself at the time, but while she was visualizing him, she had felt a deep sense of longing to actually have him in front of her, to be able to see him in person, not just in her mind, and that was something she hadn't felt before during her daydreams.

Jareth was watching her carefully. "Regardless, tonight you wanted to see me. I felt a pull so strong, I couldn't ignore it."

Sarah decided to accept it. Something she had done had brought him here; there was no point in dwelling on it.

"Okay," she said slowly, sorting out her thoughts. "If it was you who felt a pull to me, why did someone else come with you?"

Jareth hesitated, not wanting to tell her the real reason he had brought his life-long friend with him. Because I needed someone there for support in case you rejected me, he thought. Out loud, he said, "Simply because I knew of your plans to be with your friend Julie tonight, and as Bayron was visiting with me, I brought him as a way to keep her attention elsewhere."

He grinned. "Plus, he was rather bored and was dying for something more exciting to do than play with goblins."

Sarah smiled back at him. "Well, he got Julie's attention all right. Is she going to be okay with him?"

"Why, what do you think he's going to do to her?" he shot back, feeling defensive of his friend.

"Well, probably nothing she doesn't want him to do," Sarah said, understanding his defensiveness. "Plus, I have the feeling if he's friends with you, he isn't the type to harm women for fun."

Jareth was pleasantly surprised at the unexpected compliment. "Thank you, Sarah. I assure you, no friend of mine would harm a friend of yours. I'm sure they're both enjoying themselves."

Sarah grinned, knowing her friend's healthy sexual appetite. "I know." She fell silent for a moment, feeling the need to finally explain her feelings to him.

"Jareth," she began hesitantly, "Ten years ago, I was really just a child. At fifteen, I might have thought I knew the way everything worked, but I didn't. I grew up the day I solved your Labyrinth. I know how I acted towards you, like I was an ungrateful brat, and I'm glad I'm finally getting the chance to say I'm sorry."

Jareth started to interrupt her, but she held up her hand and said, "No, please, let me finish. I've waited too long to tell you these things, and if I don't do it now, I might never do it."

He nodded for her to continue.

"Jareth, during those few seconds in the end when I forgot the words to say to win, part of me wanted to give up. Part of me didn't want to say the words, because I understood what you were offering me. I know it didn't seem like it then, but I did. I didn't want you to know how much your words affected me, because I had to save Toby. Don't you see, if I had given in to my dreams and stayed with you, Toby would have been gone. As soon as I wished him away, I realized it was a mistake, but it was too late. I grew up in that single moment when I defeated you, because I made the right choice, a mature choice. I couldn't worry about making myself happy, not when I had Toby's life depending on me."

She stopped to take a breath, trying to hold back ten years worth of tears, and Jareth took the opportunity to speak up.

"You don't need to explain yourself to me Sarah," he said quietly, seeing how distressed she had been all these years. "I knew that all along. In the beginning, I admit I found you to be immature. You seemed so ready for adventure, I thought you didn't really care about the child, you just wanted a chance at the Labyrinth you had been obsessed with for so long. But when you stood up to me in the end, I understood I had misjudged you. Do you not think I couldn't tell by the look in your eyes that you wanted to stay? I knew it, and I probably could have forced you to stay. But I admired the choice you were making, as much as it hurt me."

By now, Jareth had sat down next to Sarah and taken her hands in his. Looking deeply into her eyes, he decided to hell with the tough Goblin King act. "I loved you then, Sarah."

She took a quivering breath, trying to keep her emotions in check. "Loved me then?" she asked softly.

Jareth threw all caution to the wind as he said, "I loved you then as I still love you now."

Sarah was quiet. The silence was agonizing. Jareth waited, his heart pounding. He had put his heart on the line, yet again, to the woman who had broken it before, and she was silent.

Sarah burst out laughing.

A/N: I have a lot of ideas for this story, so it could go on for quite a few more chapters, or it could end very soon. It all depends on you, dear readers. If anyone, even one person, is interested in seeing this story go in, it will. Please review and let me know what you think!