Easter wasn't as quiet an affair as Christmas. In the few months they'd been away, Matthew had learned several fun new words since "mama" and "dada". Several of them told her that her brother was at least listening to her, because she knew the toddler had learned them from his father. She also thought the boy was repeating them because he thought the surprised look on his grandmother's face was funny. Emily had started scooting across the floor, chasing after her little brother. Both of them had an eye for shiny things, and would rush towards them as soon as they were set down.

Mariah was visibly pregnant, and couldn't chase after the children any more. So Toby had no choice but to step up, because his wife couldn't keep up. Jareth quickly grew annoyed with Toby relying so heavily on the women of the family to do the heavy lifting when it came to caring for the children. Rather than lashing out at the now twenty year old man, he took Toby and the littles outside.

Sarah didn't know what Jareth had said to him, but Toby stepped up, after that. She didn't know how long it would last, but seeing her lover have a positive influence on her brother was both interesting and entertaining. Especially when Toby told Mariah to go take a nap, bundled her up and tucked her into bed.

In short, the brief time Jareth was with Toby on Saturday was doing more for his confidence as a father and a husband than being married for two full years.

Mariah, however, watched Jareth whenever they were in the same room, her expression one of suspicion and speculation. On Sunday, while the others were outside helping the littles hunt for eggs, Sarah drug her sister in law into the kitchen, and got them both a cup. Sarah got coffee, Mariah got decaf tea.

Mariah looked disappointed into her cup, and then looked at Sarah. "You wanted to talk?"

Sarah gestured towards the back door with her chin. "Did he do something to piss you off?"

Surprise on the other woman's face. Then she leaned against the counter next to Sarah, giving a quiet sigh and then shook her head. "It's not that. He said something at Christmas that has been puzzling me since then."

"What did he say?" she asked, lifting her coffee and taking a sip.

"He said the right words start with 'I wish', but he didn't say anything other than that, so it's been troubling me."

Sarah choked on her sip of coffee, looking at Mariah in surprise. Then, she glanced towards the door and exhaled slowly through her nose. She'd almost forgotten the conversation she'd had with her sister in law before they'd left. She rubbed her forehead with one hand and set the coffee next to her on the counter.

"Well, he'd know, wouldn't he?" She muttered, shaking her head. Some warning would have been nice.

Her sister in law looked at her, confused.

Sarah heaved a sigh through her nose and turned the coffee cup on the counter while she considered, for a long moment, how to explain this. "Come on. If we're in the living room, we can keep an eye on the doors so that no one else overhears this."

She led a baffled Mariah into the living room and tucked a pillow under the woman's feet as she groaned down onto the couch. "I said Jareth would know. You remember the story I told you at Christmas?"

"Of course."

"Jareth was the one who took Toby when I was fifteen."

Her sister in law jackknifed up into a seated position, staring at her in shock. She seemed to turn this over in her head, as well as what she knew of Jareth and of her, and a frown pulled at her lips.

"You're dating the king of the goblins?"

Sarah gave a bit of a shrug, cradling her cup between her hands, keeping an eye on the back door so she could keep an eye for when the others were coming in so she could cut the conversation short if she needed to, or move it to another room. "If we're going to talk about recent stuff, I'm going to make you swear to secrecy. If Toby or my parents find out about this, it's going to be a headache that I really don't need."

"Then I swear, because I'm not going to sleep for weeks without details."

Sarah gave a bit of a grin, and decided that much assurance was enough. "So, I'm sure you noticed that I don't tend to have much in the way of relationships. When I tried, they'd fall apart fairly quick. Most guys wouldn't tolerate me not giving them the attention they wanted. But I hate disappointing my parents. So I lied and told them that I had a boyfriend. Before the twenty first, I didn't. On the evening of the twentieth, I bought a bottle of vodka and got very drunk, and I ended up wishing myself away to the goblins. I woke up the next morning with a massive hangover and Jareth in my apartment. Naturally, I don't remember much of anything that happened. He told me what I'd done and told me that they don't provide that particular service."

Mariah snorted a little into her tea, and Sarah grinned in response.

"Apparently, I'd asked him to be my boyfriend for Christmas." Mariah sputtered again, and Sarah grinned at her. "Yeah. So, he made me breakfast, and then told me what I'd said, and said that there was a situation that he needed a plus one for. We decided to have a fake relationship for the holidays."

"You two didn't act like you were faking anything. The sexual tension was so thick, you could have cut it with a knife. I thought it was because you two weren't doing hanky panky in your father's house."

Sarah winced a bit, not aware she'd been projecting so bad then. "Well, I've always been attracted to him, but he's not human. I even tried to call it quits right after because I knew I was getting tangled up. For whatever good that did, my dad liked him enough that he made sure Jareth wouldn't let me back out."

"So he's here because you two are fake dating? That's a long time to maintain a fake relationship."

"At this point, there's nothing fake about it," she admitted, biting her lower lip and looking into her coffee cup. "Before we left here, I was already getting emotionally twisted up, and by New Years, he made sure I knew that even though it had started out fake, it wasn't any more." She shrugged, and sighed. "We work well together. He's good at making sure I take care of myself and balance rest and work. I ended up falling in love with him, and said it just after Valentine's day. He's still sorting out himself, I think. He hasn't said anything back, so I've been...emotionally preparing myself for him to not feel the same."

"But he's here," Mariah said, her voice quiet.

"Yes." And even now, Sarah wasn't certain what to make of that. But she was glad of it, because she slept better when he was there, and was more at ease, even when she was so uncertain.

The two sat in silence, sipping their drinks, and then Mariah looked at her from under her brows, seeming to think for a long moment. When she spoke, her voice was quiet and pensive.

"He knew, then, didn't he. That you were telling me what happened back then?"

"Yeah." Sarah nodded. "He showed up at the door right before I told you and he nodded, and stayed by the door until you left to make sure our conversation would stay private. He's the reason I know that not every child is wished away for selfish reasons. That for some, it's better for the child and the wisher if the child isn't there, anymore."

The young mother slumped back into her seat, shaking her head. "Your life seems so much more complicated than mine."

"Yours is plenty complicated without adding fae suitors to the mix, Mariah," she said, grinning a bit. "I can't even begin to tell my parents some of the things I've done. Even just the last few months. You know I had to rewrite my entire dissertation because a shitty ex-boyfriend stole mine? Jareth made sure that happened, and made sure that the ex wouldn't profit from my hard work."

"What?! How did you manage that?!"

"I have a lover with magic that literally gave me all the time I needed to finish the work, and made sure I stayed on task, focused, and cared for while I was doing it." Sarah rolled her mug between her hands, giving a quiet sigh."

"You two seem so good together. I can't believe that you started out like that."

She lifted her face and smiled at her sister in law. "It's on him, now. He knows how I feel for him. Now I just have to be patient while he sorts out how he feels."

Sarah couldn't stand the sympathy on Mariah's face. It wasn't her sister in law's fault, but it made her heart twist in an uncomfortable way. She got to her feet and shotgunned the last of her coffee, and offered Mariah a hand so she could get up. "Come on, let's go save my little brother from the kids, and my lover from your husband."

Mariah gave a laugh and nodded in agreement. "Let's."

Everyone ate lunch out in the yard, and Sarah noticed as the afternoon drug on, Jareth seemed to be getting withdrawn and thoughtful, so she decided to cut the afternoon a bit short, giving the excuse of the long drive to get them out of there. Jareth drove them to the same rental shop he'd initially picked the car up at, dropping it off, and the keys in the slot, before transporting her and their luggage to the castle entrance. Goblins took the luggage away, and Sarah quietly hoped it all got put where it needed to be.

"So, you wanted to talk?"

His jaw clenched a bit, and he set a hand at her lower back, gesturing for her to enter the throne room before him.

The first thing she noticed was that the room was pristine. She'd never seen it look like this. She didn't even see a random chicken feather on the floor. Goblins were bustling around, behind a large tarp that surrounded the dais that the king's throne sat on. She stepped away from her lover, turning around as she took everything in.

Goblins peaked out and saw her and ran away with shrill giggles, as if they had secrets they had to go tell the others.

"What's going on?" She turned towards him, confused.

"Come along, there's more to see," he said, and gestured towards the arch that led down the hallway. She remembered it, because it was the one she took to the Escher room during her first trip. More goblin giggles, and scurrying as they walked through the halls to the large double doors that led into his office. Everything along the walk was just as clean as the throne room, as if the halls had been scrubbed and dusted until they shone.

Inside the office, Sarah paused. His desk had been shifted, and another, smaller desk had been fitted into the space where the couch she often read on had once been. The couch had been moved further back, and there were new bookcases.

What on earth, she wondered, looking back at him. The second desk was smaller, more feminine in design, and there was a chair that looked just as comfortable as his own set behind it. Unlike the king's desk, it was bare of anything, as if waiting for someone to come in and add personal touches to it.

After a moment, his hand came to rest on her lower back again and she jumped a bit, turning towards him. He gestured for her to leave the room, first, and escorted her further down the hall. In all the time since they'd left the throne room, he hadn't said a word, and his face showed little expression. That did nothing to alleviate her confusion.

Their next stop wasn't his bedroom. It was a set of doors just down the hall from his, and when he pushed those doors open for her and stepped aside, so she could examine the space.

The room was open and airy, with large windows that overlooked the Labyrinth. She could see a balcony that stretched beyond them, outside. The space was occupied with a massive bed covered in pale linens, with a canopy of sheer fabric to let the light pass through. There was a small table and chair near the fireplace, a wardrobe that was made of light wood and a vanity beside it. The floor was covered in plush rugs, and there was a small door to the side. Her own nerves were jumping from his silence, but she moved forward, opening the wardrobe, and she found beautiful gowns hanging inside of it. A few caught her eyes immediately, due to recognition.

Green chiffon silk and lace, with dark green beads sparkling to catch the eye. Blue silk and lace with beads that looked like the night sky. Pink and dark purple chiffon silk. Shoes to match the gowns, and gloves in a small drawer that matched them as well.

They were gowns Jareth had provided her for the parties she'd attended with him. She turned towards him, but a jewelry box on the vanity caught her eyes, and she moved towards it, opening it. Carefully displayed in each drawer were the same beautiful, timeless pieces he'd provided for her. Emeralds and diamonds and sapphires. Platinum, gold and pearls.

She felt her lower lip quiver and she bit it fiercely, before turning, finding him still standing by the door to the room, watching her and waiting.

"Jareth, what is all of this?" She asked, not wanting to make any assumptions.

When he spoke, his voice was low and quiet. "My answer to your confession."

Her breath caught in her throat and she stared at him.

A room for her, with things he'd gotten for her, a space for him to work alongside him in his own study. Something being built on the dais where his own throne had been. Something added. Everything cleaned top to bottom, until the place was almost unrecognizable. Before she said a word, he started speaking again, his tone still low and quiet.

"I will understand if it's not something you want. I started all of this without speaking with you, first. In honesty, I hadn't planned to ask until after your commencement." He looked away from her, shutting the doors to the room behind him, keeping his back to her for a long moment before he spoke again. "I realized when I saw you a week ago, that this wasn't something I could put off discussing with you any longer."

"Jareth," she breathed, unable to speak any louder than he had.

"I've been preparing the kingdom for the arrival of the woman I have wished to be my queen." He turned, looking at her, again. "You, Sarah."

Her knees gave out and she managed to catch herself on the table and dump herself into the chair near her. He started walking towards her, his face so serious it almost hurt. "You're the only person I've ever known who has been able to meet me on equal footing, both in wit and in bed. For a very long time, I'd resigned myself to a marriage of convenience, both political and personal. Things like marriage seldom require heart to be involved. And then, you called me back into your life."

She stared up at him, feeling tears on her cheeks, but she couldn't find any words. Her hands lifted, covering her mouth, her shock silencing her.

"You were so worried about getting tangled up with me, and it turned out that I ended up just as tangled up with you. I love you. And I wouldn't just be honored, I would be overjoyed if you would consent to being my queen, Sarah."

Her throat had closed, but he had extended his hand to her. She blinked her tears back, reaching towards him and gripping the hand he offered her as tight as she could. Her breathing hitched in her chest, and she almost sobbed as she pressed her face against the back of his hand. She still hadn't managed to get an answer out, but he just stayed there, holding her hand and waiting. When she finally regained some control, she nodded, sucking in deep breaths, trying to not burst into tears again.

"Yes," she whispered back, unable to speak any louder than that at the moment. When she lifted her face, she saw his restrained emotions fraying and she nodded again, saying it louder a second time. "Yes."

A smile curved his lips and he crouched down in front of her chair, pulling her from it and into his lap, holding her close. He didn't speak for a long moment, either. His face pressed against her hair as he held onto her like she might disappear. Then, he shifted, and she felt him pull something from his pocket.

She sat back a bit from him, and saw he was holding a ring in his hand, between them. Like everything else he'd given her, it was simple and elegant. The stone in the center was deep red, with pink hues in it, surrounded by white stones, and then pink ones.

It was breathtaking, and she stared at it in wonder.

"Shall I put this where it belongs, then, love?" He asked, a bit of mischief in his voice when he spoke.

The word almost had her bursting into sobs again, but she swallowed them and managed to smile for him, nodding her head. "Yes."

His hand took hers, and he slipped the ring onto her finger, holding onto her hand once it was in place. They both sat there staring down at it for a moment, before she bit her lower lip and threw her arms around his neck, squeezing him as tight as she could. His arms slipped around her, and he held onto her just as tight as she held onto him. She felt his face press against her shoulder, just holding onto her for a long moment.

When he finally spoke, his voice sounded rough from his own emotions.

"Thank you."

She drew back and cupped his face between her hands, giving him a shining smile and an enthusiastic, generous kiss. She felt the smile that curved his lips, and pulled back again enough to look up at him.

"Is this what took you so long to say it back to me?"

He hesitated for a moment, and then shook his head.

"I wish I could say that were the case. But I started all of this long before you said those words to me. I began arranging this when you were working here, with me, on your paper. I knew, then, that I wanted you to be my queen. We work too well together for me to not consider marriage to you in a pragmatic, sensible way, first. I cared for you, and knew I wanted to keep caring for you. Marriages here are often for practical or political reasons, and even enough feeling to care is uncommon. My parents aren't the rule, they've always been a serious deviation from tradition, one that the courts did not necessarily approve of."

She blinked, looking up at him in surprise. That meant he started this before he knew her feelings for him, and still wanted her. She lifted her hand, cupping his cheek and searching his gaze, feeling her brow furrow a bit.

"Jareth," she murmured, and his gaze lifted, looking at her from beneath his brows.

"I knew, from watching how hard you worked then, that you could handle the burdens and responsibilities of the title of queen. At the time, I thought that would be enough. When you said you loved me -" He stopped himself, seeming for a moment like he was at a loss for words, just thinking about that. She'd never seen him like that, ever. "I realized then that no matter how well we worked together, you'd never agree if I didn't feel the same for you. I wouldn't even have the right to ask you if I wasn't certain. And because I knew the weight of those words from you, I knew I'd have to be certain of my own before I dared."

She bit her lower lip, hard, resting her forehead against his. She felt his thumb tug her lower lip from her teeth and met his gaze from under her brows.

"I can't sleep when you're gone. I worry about you too much to relax enough to do so. When you withdrew from me, emotionally, it hurt. I understand why you did, but I won't lie about how that felt. After I dropped you off at your parents' house, I was a mess. I couldn't focus or rest. In the end, I went to my parents house, to ask them how they knew for certain about their feelings for one another." He gave a quiet huff, looking at her. "They told me they'd never seen me like this over a woman. I certainly never brought anyone before them for them to meet, so I suppose they're right. I never lost sleep over a lover before. In the end, they gave me their blessing."

He stopped talking and looked at her, and she could see that even with her answer, his nerves were scraping at him. That's what he'd been hiding since before they left her parents' house, when he'd been showing her around the castle. A smile curved her lips and she found his hands with hers, climbing out of his lap and tugging him to his feet. She looked up at him for a long moment, searching his eyes and then she stepped back, grabbing the hem of her shirt and pulling it over her head, looking him in the eyes as she dropped it beside her. She reached for his hands again, lacing her fingers with his and lifting his hand to her cheek, holding it there.

The breath that escaped him was heavy, as if he'd been holding it. One of his hands slipped behind her neck, pulling her close and kissing her. The kiss was tenderness and warmth, the passion inside of him burning under the surface. As his tongue slipped between her lips and tangled with hers, she wrapped her arms up around him, holding him close. His other arm wrapped loc around her back, holding her flush against him, so she could feel what kissing her was doing to him.

She slid her arms around him, finding the line of buttons on the front of his shirt and opening them until she could slip her hands over his back, enjoying the opportunity to actually have her hands on him. Most of the time, he took that option from her, but he did nothing to stop her, this time.

The kiss broke, and he drew back for a moment, freeing the cuffs, and tossing the shirt off into the room somewhere. His hands found her cheeks, and he drew her towards him again, kissing her just as deep as before. The sound he made when their lips touched again was like that moment apart had been too long. Relief and need and desire.

With a groan, she reached back, finding the clasp of her bra and unhooked it, shifting so it fell between them, and then she could feel his skin pressed against hers and she wrapped her arms around him just as tight as before, clinging to him.

He took a step back, bringing her with him as he went. She stumbled a bit as she toed out of her sneakers on the way. When they reached the bed, he wrapped an arm around her waist and lifted her, turning and setting her back against the blankets. The muscle control and skill that move required to be so smooth left her breathless. She swallowed hard, flipping the fly of her jeans, and starting to kick them off. He found the waist of them, sliding them and her panties down with one movement. He was less patient with his own clothing, kicking his boots off somewhere into the room, and shoving his pants out of his way before he climbed onto the bed with her and wrapping his arms around her before he kissed her again.

Another moan escaped her and she arched against him, sliding her hands over his back, clinging to him to remind herself that this wasn't a dream. He was real and here, and he loved her. He really loved her.

He lifted his head for a moment, looking down at her with awe and wonder in his expression and a smile curved her lips. He looked like he'd thought the same thing she had.

She lifted her arms up around his neck, drawing him down and giving him another warm kiss, pressing herself up against him in invitation. He came to rest against her, and she sighed at the weight of him over her. She felt one of his hands slip from her hip, up along her ribs until he cupped her breast and she sighed, pressing up into the touch. Each caress was firm and with purpose, none of the teasing from the previous times he'd been in bed with her.

As he drew back, she caught his lower lip between his teeth, looking up at him from beneath her brows. He looked carnal, dangerous, but the darkness that she saw when they played was tempered. She wondered, for a moment, what she looked like to him, right then.

He didn't let her wonder about that for long.

He shifted down her, pressing an open mouth kiss to her neck, lifting off of her just a bit as he moved. The next kiss fell on her shoulder, and the one after that was pressed over her heart. His lips lingered there for a moment. She looked down at him and watched as his eyes closed and he pressed his forehead there for a long moment. She ran her fingers through his feathery hair, embracing him and holding him there while his nose brushed her skin.

Then, he was moving again, pressing another open kiss between her ribs, then on her stomach below her belly button. He pulled a quiet groan from her when his lips found the hollow of her hip, and she felt the wet swipe of his tongue on her skin. Her eyes closed and she arched into his kiss, shuddering with arousal. He shifted between her thighs and then his lips brushed through the hair on her mound, before they found her folds. She bit her lips, pressing towards him, her legs falling open for him. His hands wrapped over her thighs as his lips parted and she dug her head back against the pillows as his tongue ran against her.

"Jareth," she gasped, one hand finding his hair and she had to fight the urge to curl it into a fist, to pull him tighter against her.

He made a sound she'd never heard from him before, and his mouth fit against her more tightly as he tasted her over and over, until she thought she'd go mad from wanting him. When he finally lifted his face and looked up at her, she used her grip on her hair to pull him up until he was stretched out over her, again. She pulled his face to hers, kissing him desperately, tasting herself on his lips as his tongue slipped out and tangled with hers. She lifted her thighs around his hips, feeling the tip of his cock brush against her, and she curled her hands against his back, pressing towards it.

One of his hands shifted between them, and she broke the kiss, looking down between them as he shifted towards her, filling her in a slow stroke. She arched against him, scratching her nails along his back, and biting her lip to keep from crying out to him. When his hips finally came to rest against hers, he stayed very still for a moment and she lifted her head.

He was looking at her, his gaze piercing hers. Then, he smiled, and his forehead came to rest against hers, one of his hands coming up to caress her cheek. Then, he moved against her, rolling his hips against her and she pressed up against each thrust. The instinctive urge to beg rose to her lips, but she bit it back, cupping his face and looking up at him between slow, drugging kisses.

Each kiss she graced him with seemed to spur him on, and before long the slow, artful movements grew faster, harder. She gasped against his lips, only realizing her eyes had closed when she dragged them open and found him looking down at her. His eyes were so filled with emotions, more than she'd ever seen, and it shattered the last of the walls she'd kept around her heart.

Her own pleasure and need condensed, and she felt him thicken and that pushed her harder. She wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tight against her, giving a quiet whimper as she came.

Her lover swore soundly against her shoulder and she felt the faintest prick of his teeth against her, as if he'd only just stopped himself from biting down like he had the other times they'd been in bed. She tilted her head to the side, inviting the sweet pain, even as she felt him throb inside of her, each thrust of his hips spiking her own fading orgasm. She gave a desperate laugh, curling her hand into his hair to hold onto him.

They lay like that for a long moment after their lovemaking ended. Then, he lifted his chest from hers, looking down at her with his beautiful, brilliant eyes shining. He looked positively luminous, otherworldly and perfect. A smile curved her lips, and she lifted a hand, caressing his face.

"I love you," she whispered.

His forehead came down to rest against hers again and she watched as his lips curved into a warm, genuine smile.

"I love you, too."