RATING: T
GENRE: Humor
SUMMARY: Sarah's having a little problem, and unfortunately, Jareth is the only one who can help.

MAGIC

It was everywhere, stuck to everything. In her hair, seeping into her skin. No matter how many times she washed her clothes, she could smell it, feel it.

Everything she touched glittered with a luminescence only she could see. She didn't notice it at first, not for a few years. She had been so relieved to make it out of that place alive and with her little brother in tow, it had never occurred to her there would be consequences—even for winning.

By the time she was twenty-five, when she looked in the mirror, she glowed so brightly that it was impossible to put on make-up anymore. She tried wearing sunglasses, but trying to put on mascara had been a complete debacle. She gave up after that. Au natural it was.

When her hair started glowing, however, Sarah decided it had reached past the point of ridiculous. Sighing, she faced her vanity, wearing extra-dark sunglasses and, with resignation, said one name: "Jareth."

As soon as the word left her lips, the air around her constricted as if the world held its breath in anticipation. There was a faint pop and a breeze stirred her hair.

"Well, if it isn't Sarah Williams."

She spun around, pulling off her sunglasses, to find the Goblin King lounging on her bed, one booted leg crossed over the other. He was just as she remembered him—but wasn't at the same time. There was the aura of mischief about him, maybe slightly villainous, but he seemed more complicated that a mere nemesis. And while she had thought him handsome as a teenager, as a young woman, she could appreciate, grudgingly, his smoldering danger. It was as if everything about him dared her to come have a taste. She stepped back in unconscious defiance.

He cocked his head, studying her with piercing eyes. "Hm. I can see why you called."

Sarah crossed her arms. "Yep. Care to explain, Goblin King?"

Jareth stood, closing the short distance between them. He cupped her face in his hands, tilting her head from side to side. His hands were warm, even through the gloves. His thumbs caressed her cheeks, hitching her breath.

"Why did you wait so long?" he asked, making no move to release her, his expression severe.

She wanted to back away from his touch; it felt too intimate coming from her childhood antihero. And yet, the cells in her body tingled, reaching toward him, aching as if he had been her lover long parted.

"Forgive me for hoping it would go away on its own." She narrowed her eyes at him, even as goosebumps slid over her skin. He splayed his fingers through her hair, pulling a lock to his nose, and inhaling deeply with half-lidded eyes.

He glanced up at her with a smirk. "Afraid to call on me?"

Her jaw clenched. "Of course not." She tried to back up, but the vanity blocked her escape.

His smile broadened. "No?"

"No." She reached up, wrapping her fingers around his wrists, intending to pull his hands out of her hair, but somehow the memo got lost between her brain and her arms. "You have to admit, though, you don't have the best track record for being nice."

Jareth snorted. "Oh, yes. Always the villain in your eyes." He flipped his hands and was now holding her wrists.

"Can you blame me?" Her voice was a little breathless. Inside, a battle was mounting. Her rational mind begged her to side-step him and run; he was wild, crafty. Something deep and primal wanted to crush her lips to his, to make him hers.

He gave her a half-shrug, but didn't answer her question. Instead, he dropped one of her hands, inspecting the other as though it held the key to the mysteries of the universe. He turned it over, massaging her palm with his gloved fingers.

"You want a cure." He glanced up at her.

Sarah nodded. "Only if it doesn't mean another run through the Labyrinth or something."

His lip twitched into a half-smile. "No," he said, amusement tingeing his voice. "Wouldn't want to risk you destroying my castle again."

She smiled in spite of herself. "Yeah, I'm dangerous like that."

"Hm." He raised a brow, still stroking her hand. "Indeed."

Again, she felt her entire being strain to touch him. No, more than that—to consume him, to be consumed by him. She shook herself. Jareth grinned, his eyes searching her face as if he was aware of the internal war she fought.

"There is a cost, precious." He drew the pet-name out, the word seeping into her skin.

She took a deep breath, stifling the tingles growing in her middle. "What would that be?"

He didn't answer for a moment, his unusual eyes locked on hers. Everything became still as she waited.

He released her hand, bringing his fingers to her face again. "I have a secret for you." He leaned forward, placing his cheek against hers. The contact was electric. Sarah closed her eyes, breathing in his peculiar scent—a mix of loamy earth and spices.

"I am the villain," he whispered. "I did this to you."

Sarah's eyes flew open. "No!" She shoved him away.

He gripped her shoulders. "I always play to win, Sarah—no matter how long it takes." He stepped back, pulling her with him.

"How?" She struggled to break free, but he was immovable.

"Don't you recall," He said, grinning, displaying his pointed teeth, "the words of your little red book? 'And he gave her certain powers.'" He set her on the bed as if she weighed nothing. Her acute awareness of his strength sent a wave of cold chills down her spine, mingling with the warm desire still spreading throughout her body.

She shook her head. "But I didn't ask for them."

"Aw." He gave her an exaggerated pout as he stood over her. "Are you going to say it isn't fair?"

She glared up at him. "If the shoe fits, Goblin King."

"Oh, indeed. It fits quite comfortably." He let out a sharp laugh. "I could take them back. All you need say are five little words—such a small price to pay."

"What words?" Why did she still want to kiss him?

He picked at his gloves, his expression bored. "These: 'You have power over me.' Harmless, really."

Sarah scoffed. "As if!" Harmless? Yeah, right. She leveled her gaze at him. "What 'certain powers' did you give me?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" He smirked.

She ground her teeth. The jerk wasn't going to tell her. She knew he wouldn't budge, no matter how she cajoled, begged, yelled or threatened. He didn't want her to know, which meant they were potent. She would have to try a different tactic.

"What would you do, if you had power over me?"

His smirk became licentious. "Oh, I have many ideas, Sarah dear. Shall I give you a preview?"

Her imagination supplied her with plenty of possibilities, none of which involved clothing. She scooted back away from him. "I'll pass, thanks." She almost couldn't say the words.

"Pity." His eyes traveled the length of her body, penetrating each centimeter. "Such a pity."

Sarah shivered. "Why me?"

"I could ask you the same." He leaned against the bed, his thigh touching her leg.

Sarah frowned. "Me? I never chased after you. I'm not trying to entrap you."

"Oh, you haven't?" He brought his knee up on the mattress. "You haven't thought of me? You haven't dreamt of me?"

Sarah's face burned as she remembered certain dreams. "Not when you gave me these supposed powers."

"But you did," he said. "Little Sarah Williams secretly wished the Goblin King would rescue her from her ordinary life. She wished him to show her a world filled with magic. She dreamt of him, even when she had no face to put with the name. She wanted him with all the innocence of her youth. She wanted a happily-ever-after with the being others would call villain."

He moved closer. "So, I ask you: why me?"

She stared back at him, remembering those moments as a little girl when she romanticized the King of the Goblins. She had imagined him to be beautiful and powerful. But she didn't still want him, did she? "I…I don't know."

Jareth sighed. "My answer is the same." He lay next to her, resting his chin in his hand. "But unlike you, I choose to embrace whatever force draws us together."

Sarah snorted. "Isn't that force you?"

"No." He twirled a lock of her hair. "Although, I might have enhanced it."

She batted his hand away, scowling. "You are a cheat."

"I suppose I ought to have wooed you, courted you like a gentleman." He wrapped his arm around her waist. "That's what a hero does, isn't it?" He pulled her next to him. "But you forget, I'm no hero. I'm not bound by any code of honor. My soul sings for you, and if I have to cheat to make you hear it—and to make you hear the song your soul sings for me—then I will cheat. I will move the stars. I will turn the world upside-down to win your heart."

Love? Was he talking about love? Was it possible for him to feel love? It was too overwhelming to consider. "So, you meant for me to glow?"

His expression grew flat. "That was an unforeseen side-effect."

She rolled her eyes. "Great. Nice work, Goblin King."

He pursed his lips. "I can't be brilliant all of the time. It's far too taxing." He dropped to his back, stretching like a cat. His shirt opened further to expose more of his pale chest.

Sarah swallowed, turning away. "I guess I get to glow for the rest of my life. Eventually I'll be blinded. Thanks for that."

"There is another way, though I'm sure you'll find it as agreeable as the first option."

She glanced back at him. "What is it?"

"We could merely consummate the bond." He dragged his fingers up her thigh.

"What!" she squeaked. She cleared her throat.

"Bond? What bond?"

He shrugged. "That is what I enhanced—the inexplicable bond between our souls. I…hurried it along."

Her mouth hung agape. "We're bound together?" Sarah wanted to stop the world and get off for a while. She wanted space to think, to make sense of this… this… What? She didn't know.

"Let me get this straight, the only way I get to look in the mirror without giving myself a retina burn is either give you power over me, or sleep with you." She laughed mirthlessly. "You win either way."

"Fancy that." He grinned. "What will you choose?"

"Right now?"

"You could wait, of course, but your aura grows brighter by the hour—the minute, in fact." He rose from the bed. "I wouldn't take long in deciding, if I were you." He smirked. "You only delay the inevitable."

"What? Making mad, passionate love with you?" Sarah snorted.

He smiled, shaking his head. "That is part of it, yes. But the forgone conclusion, precious, is a life together." He reached down, stroking her face. "Only forever."

He lifted her chin, and before she could react, pressed his lips over hers. Her body became a live wire with the contact, volts of pleasure, want, need, hunger swept through her, searching for grounding. Her skin prickled from her scalp to her toes. It was so intense, she thought she might die, and yet, she wanted more. She wanted to spend the rest of her life in this kiss.

In quick staccato, there was a series of pops, crashes, and through her lidded eyes the world dimmed. Jareth drew back, his face bathed in the moonlight streaming from the window.

"Perhaps our next encounter should be at my place." He flashed his teeth in a feral grin. "Your world cannot handle the magic we create together."

Sarah glanced around the room and saw the shards of glass from various light bulbs.

Jareth kissed her forehead. "And Sarah," he said, "do remember my name is Jareth." With a cloud of shimmering glitter, he disappeared.

She touched her lips with a quaking hand. Across the room, the vanity mirror reflected a supernova so brilliant it lit the room.

Was there a choice left to her? Had there ever been a choice, even before he had meddled? Sarah laid back in bed, groaning, her arm over her eyes. She silently cursed whatever deity had set this up.

"Fine," she murmured. "You win, Jareth."

A warm body pressed against the length of hers.

"Wise decision."

~FIN~

A/N: Thank you for reading this ridiculous thing. I'd love to hear your thoughts!