"I'll finish out the contract, I'll go to the ball on New Years Eve. But I think it's best for us both if we stop this after that."

From the corner of her eyes, Sarah could see Jareth's face darken like the sky before a storm. She took a deep breath and forced herself to look out the windshield to avoid seeing the temper there. When he spoke, his voice was colder than the weather outside.

"I see."

Two words just dripping with anger, but not looking at him, there was something under that tone that caused her heart to twist with pain, again. She swallowed hard, chewing her lower lip, trying to ignore the nerves."

"I don't expect you to understand. Most people don't."

"Oh, I think I understand quite well, Sarah."

The way he dropped the affectionate tone was like a dagger in her heart and she flinched. She turned and looked at him, seeing the storm in his eyes, the temper and rage and that something else she was afraid to identify because it would make her guilty of something terrible.

She loved his eyes, she realized. Even so filled with anger, they were beautiful. When he looked like this, it was easier to remember that he wasn't human, that he was a fae king and she'd basically dumped him. Again.

She felt the urge to beg his forgiveness, to grovel, but her throat had stopped working and her hands were holding the steering wheel to keep herself from reaching towards him.

"Shall I explain it to you?" The snarl in his tone quickened her pulse, but like the night before she couldn't tell if it was from fear or arousal.

Her words were still trapped in her throat, refusing to leave her, so she nodded her head, trying to tear her gaze from his.

"You're afraid."

She closed her eyes, shaking her head, looking away from him. "I'm not scared of you."

That was only partially a lie, right then. She wasn't scared he'd hurt her, even though right then he was being intimidating as hell.

"I never said you were," he growled, and this time his voice was close and she looked back, finding him leaning towards her. There was a sneer on his face. She shifted, pressing her body back against the door of the car, sucking in a surprised breath. "You see, my dear, your family weren't the only ones asking questions. I had plenty of opportunity to ask my own. So I'm very aware that you aren't afraid of me. You'd have never let me touch you in the first place if you were, wouldn't have agreed to the contract I wrote up. Never mind last night, if you were afraid of me, we'd have never reached this point in the first place. You're afraid of yourself."

Her breath rushed out of her, and she started to shake her head. Then, he shifted, his safety belt loose, and he leaned over the console between them. Now he was leaning over her, his face so close she couldn't see anything but his eyes. They were a ring of blue surrounding an abyss, right then. Her hands lifted, and she wasn't certain if she wanted to grab him or push him away.

"It was easy, wasn't it, when it was just a walk-away? No heart or feelings involved, just trick your parents into thinking you're in a relationship, and that's fine. The problem is, my dear, feelings got involved and that scared the fuck out of you, didn't it? You panicked, because you think that this is win or lose. Unfortunately for you, someone else made a deal with me while we were there." She blinked and saw a smile on his face, a taunting smile that reminded her, again, of when he stood above her eighteen years ago. "Your father asked that I keep looking after you, not leave even if you're difficult or push me away."

She couldn't argue any of that, because it was all true. Then, her brain caught his last words, and she sputtered. "You -?!"

He inclined his head, that taunting smile still in place.

"Oh, yes. I agreed to it. Shook his hand over it, even. You see, he told me that you would panic, that you were so certain that you couldn't have a relationship while you finished school that you'd inevitably try to shove me away. I was wondering how long it would take for that panic to set in. So tell me, my dear Sarah, should I back out of a deal with your father because you're getting skittish?"

She opened her mouth, false-starting, and shook her head. This maneuvering little bastard -

"You think you're becoming inconvenient for me, precious thing. But you don't get to make a decision like that for me. You're running scared, because you're starting to want me. I wouldn't have set hand on you, last night if I didn't think that was the case, and if it wasn't you wouldn't have let me."

She wanted to deny it, even started to do so. Then, he leaned that last inch between them and caught her lips with his.

Whatever she'd been going to say was tossed right out of her head, and she lifted a hand, catching the crisp collar of his shirt, holding him there, unable to stop her instant response. Deep in her brain she groaned, because she'd played right into the bastard's hands, but he didn't pull back to taunt her. She heard the click of her seatbelt, and then his hands found her waist and she was pulled from her seat until she was in his lap, straddling his thighs.

She jerked back, staring at him through wide eyes.

He looked up at her from under his brows, his pupils so wide, they almost swallowed all of the blue of his eyes. "You're charging a head, making decisions without discussing anything with the other party involved. I don't like that, my dear. So we're going to talk through this. If you can give me a reason that's less stupid than you becoming a hypothetical inconvenience to me, I'll walk away after New Years Eve with no questions asked."

She felt the walls she'd built around herself starting to crumble. Swallowing hard, she lowered her head, trembling. A breath shook out of her and she bit her lower lip, hard. "Why are you doing this? Why are you fighting me on this?"

"Because, Sarah," he said, and his voice was as quiet as her own. "I enjoy spoiling you and talking with you and sharing meals with you. I want you. If you can say with an ounce of honesty that you don't want me, like I said, I'll walk away at the end of this contract, no question. But you can't do that, can you?"

She couldn't but there wasn't a chance she was going to admit that. She shook herself, remembering what he'd said before. Her head hung, and she felt his forehead against the crown of her head. She curled her hands into fists against his shoulders. "You said you didn't want to get involved with a human when this all started. Why change your mind, now?"

"That's true. As it happens, however, you complicated things from day one when you stepped out of the dressing room before the Yule ball, whether you intended to or not. I, for one, haven't found any of those complications particularly problematic."

She shook her head, trying to think. "I have my paper, Jareth. I can't do the relationship thing -"

"And I already understood that. I won't come between you and it." His hands found her face, lifting it up and she looked at him, swallowing her comments when she saw the look in his eyes. "This doesn't have to be all or nothing, Sarah. You are allowed to have more than one thing that is important to you in your life. I'm not asking you to set it aside in favor of me, I haven't put the work in to even joke about something like that, and I know it."

Not fair, she thought. She'd been thinking that too often, lately, and always when he was involved. She curled towards him, hiding her face against his shoulder so he couldn't see it. Her breath hitched and for a moment, she thought she'd cry. She felt his hands stroking over her hair, down her back, leaving a warm trail in their wake. She bit her lower lip hard, trying to think.

"I don't know if I can do this, Jareth."

His lips brushed her ear when he spoke. "You've been doing just fine, so far. You don't need to stress yourself over this. I'm not asking you to dive in headfirst into bed with me, or to set aside everything that matters to you. I'm simply asking that you not try to jump ship when there isn't even a problem. You can focus on your paper, and let me keep focusing on you. As I've mentioned once or twice, you have all the time in the world at your fingertips. You need only ask for it."

She swallowed hard, sitting up and searching his eyes for a long moment. "This is scary."

"Yes," he agreed, not diminishing her fears. His hands found her face, cupping it and not letting her hide in his shoulder again.

"You aren't human."

He gave a nod, acknowledging that as well.

She blinked her eyes hard, trying to keep herself from crying. "You'll get tired of me."

"I sincerely doubt that," he said, inclining his head.

"Based on what, Jareth? I've seen every relationship I've ever had fall apart because I'm just…" She bit her lip hard, and his thumb worked to tug it free from the pressure. "Even before the paper was an issue. I'm not good at any of this."

He gestured and she saw he had her novel in his hands again and she felt heat rush to her face. He was smirking at her, that look in his eyes again. "Based on this, for a start. I mentioned before, finding someone this compatible with you increases convenience, not reduces. I admit I found that a bit of a surprise, and I've been checking from the start if my instincts were correct. And you've quite lived up to my expectations."

She tried to grab for the book and he pulled it just out of her reach, still grinning at her. "Jareth, that's -"

"I mentioned to you last night that I'd noticed this several times. You liked me taking care of you and even if you thought I was being a bully, you never once told me to stop. You liked that I was observant enough to do so, successfully as well. Your pulse quickens when I trap you, eyes dilate, face flushes. It arouses you."

She groaned in embarrassment and would have hidden her face again, but he caught her chin, not letting her.

"Finally, my dear, last night you could have told me to back off, that you didn't want or need that sort of assistance from me. Instead you said the one word that I would need for permission to do exactly what I said I would. And between us, you made quite eloquent your enjoyment."

She was certain she was the same shade of red as the flowers on her sweater. She looked at him, her breaths hitching in her chest, because even as matter of fact as he was being about it, his words were turning her on.

His hands slid along her arms until they found hers, and she felt him working her fingers loose. He laced their hands together and she watched him press a soft kiss against the back of each. "You are so afraid that this won't or couldn't work out, Sarah. But we have a compatibility that your family already made note of. The only person involved who thinks that this is failure waiting to happen is you. I'm not walking away."

"The contract -"

"Can burn for all I care. Have we stepped outside of the bounds of it, simply by the relationship becoming a real one, as opposed to a false one? Does it being real make it less advantageous?"

She heaved a long sigh, and looked at him again. "I can't think."

He caught her chin, again, leaning close and giving her a slow, thorough kiss that absolutely didn't help her think a wit better. Then, he leaned back, again, his eyes searching hers.

"For now, you don't need to, my dear. For now, I think you should move your adorable backside back to the driver's seat and we should get you home. If needed, I could transport the car and everything in it, including us, however that sort of heavy lifting will leave me largely useless to you."

She took a steadying breath and nodded, then did as he said, buckling her belt and leaving the gas station she'd pulled into, continuing the drive, and doing her best to not overthink or look over at the passenger.

As before, Jareth kept the music playing, giving her something to focus on other than the man beside her. On occasion, his hand would brush against hers. Sometimes, she would cling to his hand, as if scared he'd just vanish, and other times, she'd pretend she didn't notice, and moved her hand away. It took most of the drive with her fighting herself to decide that she was panicking, like he'd claimed. She wasn't sure if she liked that he had her that figured out in such a short time. But if he was really okay with her, with them, she really didn't have a good excuse to object in the first place.

It still scared the hell out of her.

When they got back to her apartment, she didn't bother worrying about what was in the trunk. She barely took the time to get her coat back on before she walked upstairs in a daze. She grabbed a glass, and the vodka from her freezer, pouring herself a full glass of it. Right before she lifted it to down the contents, Jareth put his hand on the glass, holding it against the kitchen counter.

She heard the door shut, and stared down at his gloved hand, then followed it up his arm to his face. He'd released the magic that held his glamor. Feral eyes looked into hers, and his expression was leaning towards the bossy, bullying side and she could tell. For a moment, she wondered why she was so good at reading these changes in his expression.

"This isn't a situation that you can drink your way out of, Sarah." He slid the glass away from her and she swallowed hard. With a gesture, her luggage appeared in her apartment living room.

Her nerves were scratching at her, and she looked up at him. "Jareth, I'm not any good at this sort of thing."

"Nor do I expect you to be, darling." His voice was very quiet. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder, guiding her down the hallway to her bedroom. "For now, you're going to lay down and rest. This isn't a negotiation. You just had a very long drive, and you need it."

She blinked, looking at him in confusion. "What?"

He opened the door to her room, walking in with her and shutting it behind them. "Besides you taking a nap, I have to go back to my kingdom and check on things there. Including the goblin that was wished away yesterday morning."

She turned, confused and looked at him for a long time.

"You were thinking that I was going to throw you down on your bed and have my wicked way with you?" The smile that curved his lips was all sharp teeth and amusement. "Right now? In the middle of the day? No need to answer, darling, I can see it on your face."

She knew he could, the bastard, she could feel the blush on her cheeks. She sputtered, unable to find the words she needed to tell him off.

He stepped towards her, again, his hands coming to rest on her shoulders. She looked up at him, wide-eyed at the sudden shift from teasing to serious.

"You can ease into this. We both have our own responsibilities that we must give our focus. Right now is one of those times for me." He leaned forward, and his lips brushed against her forehead, then her mouth, just a brief caress. "Take some time and think what I said over. Without drinking yourself into a stupor over nothing. You'll thank yourself later."

She shook her head, trying to clear it. "Does this mean you want to be my boyfriend for real?"

"If that word makes you comfortable with the matter, then fine. However, don't expect me to use it. We can work on that, later." He sighed, shaking his head. "My goblins have been left to their own devices for too long, and have no doubt been getting into trouble. So I must go."

There was a pause, and he seemed to consider something for a long moment.

"Unless you'd care to come along, darling?"

The suggestion surprised her. Not a date, she thought. This amounted to him inviting her over to his place. She gave it serious thought, and he waited with patience. Finally, she gave a tentative shake of her head. "Not this time, I think."

"Hmm," he said, lifting a hand and brushing his fingertips against her cheek. "Perhaps next, then."

She half-expected him to just disappear, but he seemed to hesitate a moment, his hand still curved against her cheek. A smile curved his lips and he leaned close to her ear, his breath teasing against it.

"Miss me a little bit, alright?"

She didn't have a chance to answer, because he vanished and all that remained was a trace of glitter hanging in the air in front of her, dropping to the carpet where he'd once stood.

She stared for a long moment, at where he'd been, turning his words over in her head. She thought for a long moment about doing what he'd said, about laying down and trying to nap. But he hadn't put a sleep spell on her, this time, and with her brain and heart a snarled mess of emotions, she didn't think she'd sleep a wink if she tried.

Taking a deep breath, she went and got her vodka and her dissertation. She dug out a red pen from her messenger bag and sat at the dinner table, doing her best to concentrate on the paper. She was doing her best to forget how big this damned apartment felt when he wasn't there. She spent her evening sipping the vodka, rather than chugging it like she still felt like she needed to. She worked through a fair bit before she realized she was doodling his name in the margins of the paper, and she gave a heavy sigh, smacking her head against the table.

She was thirty three years old. She shouldn't be acting like a teenager with her first crush.

But that was the rub, wasn't it. He had been her first crush.

She turned the glass in her hands, giving a quiet sigh of discontent. Was she running without a reason? Her distraction, tonight had more to do with the thoughts she'd managed to leave herself to chew on. Spending time with her didn't seem like a particularly difficult task for him, and she liked spending time with him, too. He was charming and thoughtful, and he took interest in what she was interested in.

She wasn't sure being in a relationship with a fae king was going to be easy. She'd already come to understand that he had his own responsibilities, so he'd hardly smother her, and he was insistent that he wouldn't pull her away from her own work. He understood how important this was to her.

Eventually, her nerves were fuzzed enough that she felt sleepy. She crawled into her bed, expecting to fall straight to sleep, but she found herself tossing and turning. Realizing that sharing a bed with him had made hers feel too big made her grumpy, and she grabbed her blankets, and set herself up on her couch.

She woke to coffee in the machine, but Jareth wasn't there. She made herself a thermos of coffee and decided to go to the library. Before she left, she took a moment, penning a note and leaving it by the carafe. She hesitated for a moment, and then lifted it, kissing the paper, leaving a bit of her chapstick behind. Then, she scooped up her bag and headed towards the library.

She started working on the edits she'd made, there, relieved that she could still focus on it. On occasion, her mind drifted to the sound of his laugh, the curve of his lips when he smiled, the sharp flash of his teeth. But for the most part, she managed. She worked most of the day, drinking the coffee he'd made for her, until she headed home at seven at night.

As she watched fat, fluffy snow started falling and she wrapped her coat around herself, looking up at it without the malice that she had just a few days ago. Had it really been only a week, she wondered.

She picked up some take out from a Chinese place near her apartment, and when she got home, she found the note she'd left on the counter was gone. She felt a little twist of disappointment because she must have missed him, but she sat at the table and dug out her paper, picking at her dinner while she worked on the next set of updates to work on the next day.

She slept on the couch again, and woke to find the blankets tucked up around her, and coffee in the pot, again. A sigh was wrung out of her, and she started another day's routine, wondering if everything was okay on the other side of the veil. Maybe he had just gotten tired of her, but then why would he still come by, even when he wouldn't see her? Why would he have taken her note with him yesterday?

She left him another note, and went back to the library, ready to repeat the previous day. She was glad she had the paper to focus on because it was probably the only damn thing that kept her from dwelling on the Goblin King. Still, rather than closing the library up late, she forced herself to go home a little earlier, knowing that she was hoping that she'd see him there. Around five, she stumbled through the door, and looked around, giving a quiet sigh. She could see in the dusk light, that her apartment was empty.

She hated admitting that she was disappointed, but she found the carafe emptied, cleaned out, and the note she'd left him was gone, again. In its place was a return note in his clear hand, letting her know her milk would turn soon, and that she should pick up some more. She traced her fingers over it, a quiet sigh leaving her. Rather than complaining, she pulled out her leftover Chinese, picking at it while she kept working.

She wasn't aware of how long she'd been working, but her eyes started to feel strained in the dark. She was ready to go turn on the light when it clicked on, and she blinked, wincing in the sudden brightness. Lifting her gaze, she found Jareth standing by the light switch, leaning on the wall and looking at her with that affectionate exasperation in his gaze.

She shot to her feet, surprised to see him there. He walked towards her, and she noted that he looked like himself, no glamor in place, dressed like he'd walked out of a fairy tale. The closer he got, the more she noticed that he looked tired, and she wondered if anything had happened while he was gone. She stepped around the table towards him, finding a strange worry gnawing at her that she didn't want to admit to.

"Are you alright?" The words escaped her, even if she didn't want them to.

He gave her a smile, the weariness in his eyes worrying her. When he sank into the chair, she noted the bags under his eyes, and she stepped towards him.

"I would apologize for the hour, darling, but it seems you haven't been to bed, yet, either."

"No," she agreed. She set her hand over one of his gloved ones, biting her lower lip. Words seemed to stick in her throat and she swallowed hard. Then, she stepped towards him, drawing his head against her chest, stroking her fingers through his downy hair.

He'd dodged her question, which she supposed was answer enough.

His arms lifted, wrapping around her waist and just holding her close. Then, he lifted his head, and the light in his eyes told her that he must be feeling well enough to be bossy.

"Have you eaten?"

She sighed, a smile curving her lips, and she saw her half-eaten left-overs still sitting largely untouched on the table. "I think I had a few bites of that."

Exasperation and the sharp edge of one of his smiles. He didn't tease her about it, didn't mention finding her asleep on her couch rather than in bed. Instead, he started to get to his feet.

She saw his muscle in his jaw go rigid and noticed he seemed to be having a bit of difficulty. She set her hands on his shoulders and pushed him back into the chair, looking him in the eyes. Temper flashed in his gaze, but she held him there, and she got ready to pit her stubbornness against his.

"I'll make myself something to eat if you promise to not get up, right now."

Surprise in his eyes, and his lips pulled into a grimace. Still, he relaxed against the chair, a smile finding its way back to his face. "Are you bullying me, Sarah?"

"Fair's fair," she said, trying for tart.

A laugh bubbled out of him and he looked up at her. "Very well, I promise I will not get up, right now."

"Do you want something, too?" She asked, as she walked around him to the counter, making herself a peanut butter sandwich.

He gave a chuckle and there was that dark, sexy edge to it. "Nothing I've the energy for. But if there's coffee left, I'll be glad for that."

She turned back to the counter and poured him a cup, and after a moment, made one for him as well. It wasn't too much work to make sure he ate something, too, she thought. She set the plates on the table, and the mug in front of him. He blinked, looked at the sandwich and then up at her. She gave him a smile.

"Can't refuse gifts of food, right, so you're going to eat it."

He gave a quiet chuckle, nodding in understanding. He picked up the sandwich, starting on it and she worked on hers, watching him over the top of hers. As she finished, she leaned back, taking a steadying breath. "What happened?"

She knew he heard the change in her voice, because he looked up at her, as though perplexed. "I don't follow, darling."

"You're exhausted. What happened?"

Understanding in his eyes and he gave a quiet sigh, nodding, and he took a long pull off the coffee.

"What usually happens during the holidays. Between several unexpected and uninvited guests, the goblins setting part of the Labyrinth on fire - don't ask me how - and four wished away children in a day and a half, I admit, I haven't slept a wink since I left here."

She blinked, surprised and touched, because even though it was obvious he was exhausted, he still came to see her. She swallowed hard, reaching a hand towards him, wrapping her fingers around his. "And I don't imagine you popping back and forth across the veil a few times a day is helping you rest."

"Touche," he said, and sighed, holding her hand in his. "I should return. I just wanted to see you."

Her heart ached and she gave his hand a gentle squeeze. "You could stay."

"Sarah," he said, and she readied herself to dig her heels in.

"You're exhausted, Jareth. I know coming here uses a lot of your energy. If you're so insistent on taking care of me, let me do the same when I can." She looked him in the eyes, the confusing snarl of emotions smoothing out a bit. "Stay the night, with me. We'll both rest better if you do."

She'd said that last bit to give him a little more reason to stay, because he'd be more likely to take care of himself if he was doing it to take care of her. She knew it because she was just as bad.

He closed his eyes, and when he looked at her, there was a smile on his face. "Haven't been sleeping well without me, have you?"

The tease was light, but it hit the mark. She felt a flush creep on her cheeks and she swallowed hard, stroking her thumb against the back of his hand.

"No better than you have."

He gave her a smile and reached across the table, brushing her hair from her face.

It took her a moment before she could squeeze out the words that had been trapped in her throat since she'd seen him.

"I missed you," she said, looking him in the eyes.

"Usually this is turned the other way for us, isn't it?" He teased, drawing her hand to his lips and pressing a soft kiss against it.

She nodded in acknowledgement of that. She took a steadying breath, looking at him, and trying to say what she needed to. It was hard. But she managed to get the words she needed to get out.

"I can't make any promises, Jareth. Not the way I am, my history won't let me. But I want to try, if that can be enough?"

He looked surprised, again. She wasn't surprised. He probably figured she was here overthinking. But she thought she'd made clear enough that she cared about him, tonight. He got to his feet, and pulled her to hers, drawing her close, looking her in the eyes.

"You're sure?"

She grinned at him. "The only thing I've ever been more sure about was my dissertation. And I've never had one of those blow up in my face, before. So, yes. I'm sure."