Disclaimer: Labyrinth does not belong to me and probably never will. It belongs to Jim Henson, George Lucas, Brian Froud, David Bowie, etc.

Author's Note: Wow, it's been a long time since I updated this story. Between finals, work, and another WIP, I've been swamped and I can't thank you enough for sticking with this story through it all. Big thanks to those of you who have read, reviewed, or made this a favorite. It means a lot, particularly with the inconsistent updates. Please, R&R, I love hearing your thoughts, comments, and opinions. Warning: This chapter does factor into the M rating, although I edited it to better comply with FanFiction's guidelines. Fair warning though.

"Three Little Words"

"It all began ten years ago when a beautiful young girl made a selfish decision," Jareth said quietly, his pupils dilated to the same size in the half-light, "she was the first human in ages to believe the tale of the goblins and their roguish, witty, handsome king…"

"You forgot humble," Sarah interjected at the sight of his smug face, just daring her to tell him off.

Jareth shot her a look.

"Sorry, go on," she said.

Jareth took a deep breath, more of a shudder than anything else, the slight movement caused candlelight to dance across his face, hollowing cheekbones and defining his brow. Sarah had never noticed how tired he looked, or hesitant. That hesitancy and terrible trepidation were written all over his sculpted features. It's going to change everything, she repeated internally with a lurch of fear in her chest.

"As I was saying, she believed purely, entirely, and chose to invoke an ancient power, a power that she didn't fully understand," Jareth explained, not quite looking at her. "The power of a wish, backed by wholesome, sincere belief and she made the wish selfishly."

Sarah studied him as he paused, a sinking feeling in her stomach. She had accepted that she had been a bratty teen long ago as something she had put behind her. Hearing it from Jareth's lips somehow struck more deeply than when her parents had said the same words.

"The King of the Goblins granted her wish, and came for her brother in compliance with the rules of old written within him and written in his kingdom," he continued. "Rules which bound him. She was allowed a run of the Labyrinth, a chance to reverse the wish, to regain what she had lost, and she took it. She was very brave, very bold, and very childish. Despite this, the girl displayed valor and independence of a remarkable sort. She was more than a child, she stood on the verge of womanhood. She challenged the Goblin King in ways he had never been before, and though she was young, and selfish, and a bit pig-headed at times—"

"Watch it, Goblin King," Sarah said in warning, but gave him a smile which he warmly returned.

"You know it to be true," he said, the smile dropped as he continued. "Despite these flaws, if you may call them that, he could see her. The King could sense the woman she was, the woman she would grow to be, and she captured his cold, lonely heart." Jareth's eyes flickered to hers as he continued, "She was the only thing in this world or any other that became precious to him. The only thing that he loved more than himself."

Sarah's heart flew to her throat and pounded wildly within her. The suspicion she had held for years, but never dared to dream was true, had been confirmed. Even if he hadn't said the words, she would have known by the look in his eyes, piercing and sincere. Jareth was in love with her. He had always been in love with her. Sarah's heart swelled with the knowledge. It was perhaps the most breathtaking thing she had ever heard, heady and all-consuming.

Jareth let out a short laugh. "Let's just say, it was something of a revelation. A rather humbling and life altering revelation..."

He looked to her again, waiting, wanting. Sarah was still frozen, still in awe, she opened her mouth once and shut it. Once Jareth realized she could not get out the words, he continued.

"By becoming not only a champion of the Labyrinth, but the champion of his labyrinth, of this," Jareth caught her hand across the table and brought it to the exposed skin above his heart so that Sarah could feel the thundering tattoo of it against her fingertips, "there were consequences."

"What do you mean?" she asked softly, her eyes transfixed on her fingers brushing his smooth skin before dropping back down.

"I mean that in becoming his champion, she became the Labyrinth's champion as well, in a way unlike the other, very few victors," he explained and reached across the table to grasp her hand. "Now, Sarah, you must listen to me. I did not know. I had my fears, I had my uncertainties, but I denied them. I told myself that it wasn't true, that it couldn't be true."

"What couldn't?" Sarah asked him softly. "What has you so afraid?"

"That she who believed so strongly, was loved so deeply, and gained knowledge of the Labyrinth so completely had the king and kingdom in full agreement. She would be the only one able to defend it. Because, what no one knew—"

"What no one knew is that the King of the Goblins had fallen in love with the girl and had given her certain powers," Sarah finished for him softly. "I remember."

"Yes, Sarah," he said, squeezing her hand. He brought their joined hands to his lips to kiss her knuckles, making her suck in a surprised breath.

Sarah was having a hard time finding her voice. Her heart beat loudly in her ears, her dress felt too tight. All she could do was squeeze back and meet his gaze. The adoration there was almost heart wrenching.

After a moment, she cleared her throat, but did not release his hand. "So what does that have to do with the changelings?"

"Everything," Jareth replied quietly, winged brows furrowing as if he were reluctant to go on.

Sarah stung with his silence. It's my fault, she thought, it has to be my fault.

"When you won back Toby, I offered you your dreams once more," he continued slowly.

"I know, I remember it," Sarah replied. Those last few minutes in the Labyrinth had been some of the most difficult and confusing of her life. They were the moments she had pondered the most in years since, the moments that haunted her in a way that she could not classify as either exhilaration or terror, but some place in between.

Guilt washed over Jareth's face. "I was rash, tired from hours of warring with you, my perfect adversary. My worthy match. I was in something of a hurry. You had won the challenge and once your time was fully up, you would be gone."

"So what—?"

"I've told you before, haven't I? The Labyrinth, the Underground, it's different than your world," Jareth interrupted her, leaning over the table and clasping her hand with both of his. "I have a place here, a role. I have a purpose. And so do you."

"I don't…" Sarah said softly, withdrawing her hand from his grasp.

"But you do, Sarah," he replied, looking almost guilty in the half-light of the candles. "When you refused me, you rejected your place here as well. The role you were chosen to play. The only trouble was—"

"There was no one left to fill it," Sarah realized with a sudden feeling of dread.

"Oh I tried for years," Jareth explained. "I pushed back the hungry forces that linger at the Labyrinth's edge, convincing myself a thousand other reasons why it had lowered its defenses other than the truth, but the effort was draining. That role is meant for the Keeper, the Champion. The Queen."

Sarah felt tears welling in her eyes. Jareth was there in an instant, kneeling before her, cupping her face in his hands.

To her surprise, he grinned. "Bard knew, he suspected it the moment I explained who you were, and all the while I still tried to hide from the truth. Then, at the gate. Well, after that, I just couldn't deny it any longer."

"The Light…from my dreams," Sarah whispered as a few thick teardrops coursed down her cheeks. "The Light that came from me, its my power isn't it? It came from this place."

"Yes," he replied softly. "It is the very essence of the Labyrinth and its being is a part of you as you are a part of it."

"The crystals," Sarah said slowly. "In the cave, when we..."

Jareth nodded. "It knows us, it wants us, and most of all, it trusts us. The Labyrinth, we are both tied to it, precious."

Sarah nodded and swallowed. She could feel it, deeper than a mere connection and more like a merging. She had felt it the moment she returned, the sickness that infected the land had become her sickness, just as it did for Jareth. Even now she could sense it, a strange dizzying sensation in the back of her skull. It's a part of me, she thought in wonder, her mind scarcely able to comprehend the idea.

"Eventually, the darkest things that waited hungrily at the barriers of this land broke in, bled in, and invaded. I was worn down and all the while that I tried to be sovereign and Keeper, they infiltrated and evaded my notice," Jareth said, his hands not leaving her face, caressing tenderly. "Because the power to keep them back is not mine, was never mine. That power, my beautiful, precious girl…" he lifted his head to kiss her, "that power lies with you."

"It's my fault," Sarah said shakily as Jareth's lips caressed her tears before returning to her mouth. She shook her head and raised a trembling hand to her lips in shock. "I did it. It's because of me…"

"No, Sarah," he spoke against her lips and shook his head. "Before I failed you, I failed my kingdom. The Labyrinth was content with keeping its own borders. Now its heart is a part of you, its powers are your powers. It lowered its defenses because I allowed it to feel that safety, that trust. The blame lies with me alone. The king foolish enough to love, knowing the ancient rule and understanding the absolute impossibility of being loved in return. I am the worst sort of monster, to curse you with a burden like this…"

Sarah brought her hand to his cheek and said through her tears, "You don't choose who you love."

"Perhaps not, but neither do you," he replied.

That made her start. She looked him over, trying to comprehend the meaning behind his words.

When he caught sight of her confused face, he continued softly. "I would never have forced you, Sarah. I still won't, not even for the Labyrinth. I may be many things, some of them more terrible than you can hope to understand, but I will never be that man, never. You are too precious to me to break or bend to my will."

Sarah managed a strangled chuckle. "What happened to 'fear me, love me, do as I say'?"

Jareth grinned, a genuine, warm smile. "Willingly, Sarah, and you do forget, I would be your slave."

That did it. Sarah held his face in her hands and kissed him fiercely. He was only surprised a moment before rose to meet her, pulling her against him, his lips never leaving hers. Jareth's hands splayed across the small of her back. One torturous hand traced to her hips and rose to cup her breast over her dress, kneading softly. Sarah moaned and tangled her fingers into his soft hair as her hips arched toward his, sending ripples of pleasure through her body when she felt that hard, needy part of him against her. She shuddered at the intimate contact and her breath hitched.

Sarah pulled back and opened her eyes to meet his.

"Sarah, precious," he whispered, feathering soft kisses on her brow, her cheeks, her lips.

"Yes," she breathed and kissed him again. "Oh, yes…"

Sarah's hands slid up his chest to that soft shirt he wore, her fingers unsteady as she undid each button, just like the night he had flown back into her life. She drank in the sight of him, so bare before her, his pale perfect flesh marked only by a now healed scar and the lines of bone and muscle. She pushed the material off his shoulders and dropped her mouth to his chest, pressing soft, sweet kisses to his skin, her tongue tracing his neck before biting lightly on his jugular with blunt teeth, sucking gently.

She heard him gasp through his teeth and that low sound in his throat. Sarah grinned against him. Those soft sounds he made under her attention had her feeling triumphant, empowered. Free. Her hands slid to the waistband of his breeches, hovering there, caressing the valley between his hipbones once lightly, but making no move to remove them.

"Will you love me?" she asked quietly, her meaning unclear, even to her. Her eyes flickered to his, uncertain.

Jareth's fingers threaded through her hair and tilted her head back to kiss her. "Silly girl, you know I do."

"I know," she breathed out in agreement, unable to keep the still present astonishment from her voice.

Jareth's hands rested at the capped off-shoulder sleeves of her dress. Sarah nodded and swallowed as he pushed them down. The dress fell from her body, its soft, creamy material warm from her skin. Jareth swallowed as he took her in, clad only in her undergarments.

"Touch me," Sarah asked softly.

"Sarah," he whispered, staring at her as if in awe. It made her feel strangely humbled, the way he looked at her. The way he'd always looked at her. He loves me.

His hands were on her skin, hot through the flimsy material in a way that left her writhing. She was still partially clothed and Sarah felt herself already starting to come undone when he found her nipple with his thumb, the thin fabric barely a blip in her mind as she gasped and arched into his hand. Somehow, he knew just how to touch her in a way that no boyfriend or lover ever had before.

Jareth's mouth dipped toward hers as his fingers made deft work of the laces and stays that had been giving her so much trouble throughout their trip.

"You've got to teach me how to do that," she murmured against his lips as the constraining cloth fell away.

She felt the rumble of his laughter against her, a warm sound. "Of course."

The sudden presence of his very real hands on her naked skin made her breathe in sharply. She could feel his grin before she saw it. He knew just how good he was. Her body thrummed and ached as he lowered his mouth, pressing warm kisses along her collar-bone, his lips trailing her skin with languid kisses before he nibbled at her jaw. Sarah caught him in a kiss before he pulled back once more.

"I never dreamed I'd ever…" Jareth was able to say, his mouth lowering to her breast. He laved a nipple with his tongue, drawing delicious, desperate noises from her throat before turning his attention to the other. His fingers dropped to the waistband of her pantaloons, pulling at the laces there, his hands so close to that slick hot part of her that begged for his touch. She wriggled a little in anticipation, caressing and kissing where his neck met his shoulder.

"Me too, I've wanted this too," Sarah gasped out when he finally touched her where she craved him the most, setting her nerves on fire. Sarah's mouth locked on his, kissing him as he explored her slowly, reverently, his thumb finding the spot that made her moan and sigh and whisper his name, pressing gently, fingers sinking in. Each small noise of pleasure she made had him grinning in a proud way she found endearing.

Her hand trailed his thigh, caressing him once through fabric and earning a sharp breath before fumbling with the fastenings of his breeches. He moaned when her fingers reached inside and curled around him. Jareth surprised her as he shook his head and gently pried her wrist away, kneeling before her. Her breathing became ragged as Jareth pressed soft kisses to her stomach, dropping to the slight jut of her hipbones and the soft skin in between. She threaded her fingers back through his hair with a tremulous sigh as he pushed away her offending garment.

God, she loved his hair. "Jareth…"

Sarah dropped down with him, catching his lips with hers again, pushing his breeches off and away completely, the only thing left between them. She was impatient, she didn't want to wait. She was done waiting.

Jareth seemed so much like those creatures of children's stories. He was the wicked king who disappeared from time to time and whose return could never be predicted. But now, he was here, pushing her down onto the pillowed bed, knowing every inch of her with his lips, his tongue, and his fingers. He discovered how to make her shudder and sigh and cry out, her grip on his hair tightening as her body broke into trembles under his touch, coming undone.

She pulled him up the length of her body, kissing him hard as he settled between her thighs, brushing her right there.

"Sarah," he whispered her name. There was something questioning there, something unsure.

"I'm sure," she said in encouragement, stealing another kiss to take away his doubt. "I want this."

He nodded, his mouth melding with hers.

Don't disappear, she thought as he nudged her entrance, making her moan. Please, don't disappear.

Sarah spoke the mantra to herself silently as he pushed into her, making her grip on his shoulders tighten, her nails biting into him and her eyes screw shut with the sheer intensity of it. All the while different words fell from her lips as he began to move, creating wonderful pressure inside her, building up. They were words she barely knew she was saying. Words of encouragement, sounds of nonsense, or enraptured praise.

She was close, so close to the edge, teetering on the brink of it, his name on her lips. Jareth's body rocked into hers, heavy and warm and real above her. She met him thrust for thrust, and he met her word for word. He answered her pleas and encouragements with the same phrase each time, those three little words and her name. Always her name.

"Love...Sarah. I love you. Sarah, Sarah..."

Sarah breathed out his name in a soft gasp as she hit her peak with a cry, convulsing and writhing.

His name on her lips gave him his release. He braced himself above her with trembling arms to kiss her once more before rolling to the side, pulling her with him.

Sarah curled up against his body, pressing soft kisses into his shoulder, reaching up a hand to run through the wild tangle of his hair.

"Sarah?"

"Hmm?"

Jareth opened his mouth and closed it. He shook his head and pulled her closer. "Nothing. Nothing at all."

For a moment, Sarah wanted to press him, to ask what had left him so troubled. She resisted the impulse and ran her fingers through his hair once more.

"All right," she whispered, her hands still making their trek through the wild blond strands as she frowned. "Big fight's coming."

"Yes," he agreed sleepily.

"Soon?" she asked.

"As soon as we can," Jareth replied. "Once they have been told and understand the plan."

"Oh," Sarah murmured. "Soon then."

Jareth muttered in agreement. He was falling asleep. Good, Sarah thought, tracing a finger along the silken, shadowed skin beneath his eye, he needs to. How long had it been since he slept a full night?

As his breathing finally slowed and the tension left his body, Sarah decided. After, I'll tell him after. That way he would know it wasn't a goodbye, wasn't just giving him what he wanted to hear. She smiled at the sight of the Goblin King, curled beneath a twisted quilt amid assorted pillows, sleeping beside her.

"I love you," she mouthed against the soft skin of his cheek, pressing another kiss there before closing her own eyes and following him into sleep.