"Sarah, you look like a flasher."

"Do not."

"Do too."

"Do not."

"Do too."

"...Ok, maybe a little bit."

She did look a bit like a flasher, though she could have gone a while longer without admitting that. Not wanting to waste time changing out of her costume, she'd simply thrown the first coat of a convenient length over it. Which just so happened to be a black men's trench coat that went down almost to her knees. The costume boots didn't help much, either.

"Why do you have that, anyways?" asked Jareth skeptically.

"I happen to sometimes get paid for dressing up in costumes and going around yelling at people," said Sarah primly, stuffing her hands deeper inside the pockets, "Also, it's fun."

Jareth gave an understanding nod, "Can't say I can argue about hobbies... I did mean the coat, though."

"Oh," said Sarah, "My ex never collected his stuff. Said he found a better option and I haven't heard from him since."

"Ouch. That's rude of him."

"Wow. Good job stating the obvious."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

The two walked in silence for short while. Traffic whizzed by. The city lights glared all about them, from billboards and streetlamps and the skyscrapers in the distance. Pedestrians were scarce, at least on their side of the street. It was all rather quaint. Romantic, almost. Well, as romantic as it can really get with the sewer stench coming up from uncovered manholes and a polluted sky blessed with a suspiciously magenta color long after the sun had set.

"I'm sorry," said Jareth, breaking the silence.

"For what?"

"Asking about the coat."

"It's alright. I'm not bitter about it. It happened a couple of months after we graduated, which is almost the distant past at this point."

"Good for you. I was going to ask if maybe I needed to buy you more coffee as an apology."

"Damn. I should have played the wounded heroine."

"Too late now."

"What about you?"

"What?"

Sarah rolled her eyes, "Do you have anyone?"

Jareth gave her a sidelong glance, "Sarah, if I had anyone I'm pretty sure you would have met them already."

"So what Anne said...?"

"One too many overly enthusiastic mothers and a hasty explanation as to why I had to rush off so quickly."

"So you said you had a girlfriend?"

"Yes. I said I had a date I was running late for and that I didn't want to ruin my chances."

"Wouldn't those bloodthirsty cougars be all for ruining your chances?"

Jareth raised an eyebrow, "Bloodthirsty cougars? Anne really must have gotten to you... Well, yes they would have, but my coworkers are all surprisingly invested in my nonexistent love life. Which they will now think is very existent. Especially after Anne shares all the juicy tidbits about the young actress I'm enamored with."

"...You've used the girlfriend excuse a lot, haven't you?"

"I have to admit, it sounds a lot better than, 'Terribly sorry. Got to run. I've been working on this new pole dancing routine, you see, and it's premiering tonight at a rather seedy strip club in downtown.'"

"'I have a date with my girlfriend,' does sound a lot better," conceded Sarah.

"I'm not sure my coworkers would be too thrilled to find out exactly the things I do to make some money on the side," sighed Jareth.

"Exactly how many jobs do you have?" asked Sarah.

"Let me think..."

"Oh, that can't be a good start."

"Shut up. You're the one who asked. Well, I teach kindergarten by day because that's what mummy always wanted for me..."

"Momma's boy, then?"

"Not especially. But my parents do have a lovely selection of items I'd love to inherit when they die, and with that comes a certain level of propriety."

"Jareth!"

"Excuse me for thinking ahead! Plus, I love children. They're rather sweet when you get past all the... unsavory parts. Like bones and teeth and eyeballs..."

Sarah let out a disbelieving laugh.

Jareth smiled.

"Anyways. I'm a teacher by day, stripper by night... Shit. That sounds rather Hollywood. Anyways. It's good exercise. I'm also a drag queen because I'm good at it and I look stunning in a dress," he winked at Sarah, "And during the summers I do magic tricks at birthday parties."

"Pole magic tricks?" Sarah asked, waggling her eyebrows.

"Juggling magic tricks!"

"I see."

"And, if I'm feeling like it, I sometimes busk. Juggling or guitar playing and singing."

"If you feel like it? You do all of that for fun?!"

"Now that I have a proper job, I do," said Jareth, smiling slightly, "That used to be all I did until... Well, doesn't matter. It's always good to have more than one job, just in case something goes awry. What about you?"

"What about me?"

"Are you just an actress? Or is there more to the great Sarah Williams?"

Sarah shrugged, "Just acting, mainly. I'm good enough so that that's mainly all I have to do. When it's not enough, I do paperwork for the children's theater over that way," she waved vaguely towards the suburbs, "And waitressing. That always has openings."

"Much like the oldest profession."

"Don't tell me you're a hooker, too."

"Would you think less of me if I was?"

"Only if you didn't buy me a coffee."

"Fantastic."

Sarah and Jareth walked in amicable silence until they finally reached the tiny Starbucks, tucked away between an antique shop and a lingerie store. A gaggle of college students burst out went on their way, and our pair quietly slipped in through the still open door.

"So, what would you like?" asked Jareth the moment they were through the door.

"Coffee. Largest they got. Hot."

"What, no white girl frilly caramel vanilla explosion?"

"Jareth, you're more of a white girl than I am."

"Ooh. Burn."

"Are you goin' to flirt or order?"called a bored looking young man from the counter, glaring at them from over a pair of round glasses, "You've ten minutes 'till we close. So make it quick. The sex shop next door's open 'till much later."

"Advice is noted and appreciated," said Jareth, rather sarcastically, "Now what are your sizes?"

"Well, I'm about-"

"Drinks, dumbass," interjected Sarah.

"Oh, well, we have, from smallest to largest. Demi, those are espresso shots, Short, Tall, Grande, Venti, and if you want to die of caffeine overdose, the Trenta."

"Two coffees, Trenta, both of them, black," said Jareth, sliding a twenty over the counter.

"Black?" said Sarah with mock surprise, "What about your weird white girl drinks?"

"I take my coffee black," sniffed Jareth.

"Like your men?" called the barista.

"Sometimes," grinned Jareth, "I have many preferences."

"TMI," yelled the barista.

"No, no, continue," Sarah, waved the barista's words aside, "I'm intrigued."

"Men, women, in between," shrugged Jareth, "Doesn't really matter in the end, does it? Is the coffee ready?"

"Yeah, two black coffees comin' up. Now get out, I need to close up."

Sarah grabbed her cup and greedily inhaled the bitter smell wafting up from it.

"Oh, the things I'd do for coffee," she moaned, taking a gulp.

"Hm," said Jareth, watching her over the top of his cup.

"What?"

"So if, for instance, I was to call you up for a favor to get me away, and I'm quoting you here, 'bloodthirsty cougars', you'd accept payments of coffee?"

"Yes," said Sarah, without hesitation.

"So then, it's a deal?"

"It's a deal," said Sarah firmly.

xxx

Coffee long gone, the two sat, side by side, at the bus stop, too lazy to head home just yet.

"Jareth?"

"Yes, love?"

"I probably would've done it even without the coffee."

"Oh?"

"Helping a bro out," drawled Sarah in an inner-city accent.

"Never speak like that again."

"What, dawg? You wanna piece of this? Huh? Huh?"

Jareth hid his face in his hands, shoulders shaking in quite laughter, "Stop, that's terrible!"

xxx

When it got too cold to simply sit and chat, the two got to their feet and trudged home. When they finally got to their floor, won the fumbling battle with their respective locks and keys, Jareth turned and smiled at Sarah.

"Sarah?"

"Yes?"

"I'm not a hooker."

"Good night, Jareth."

"Good night, Sarah."

Author's Note:

Thanks so much for your kind words, everyone! I'm flattered you like it!

The next chapter's going to be Valentine's Day themed, even though that's come and gone already. To tell you the truth, I have no idea where this fic is going, but its developments have been a pleasant surprise for me.

After the next chapter (which will be quite amusing, trust me on that, I'm looking forward to writing it), I think I'm going to try writing some longer installments, although I don't know how well that's gonna work out. It'll probably end with more shorter chapters instead of longer ones. I don't know. We'll see as they come.

I don't know how often I'll be updating this after Sunday (school's starting up again), but I'll try for maybe a chapter or two a week, depending on how it goes. The short ones are easy to write. So yeah. Thank you for reading.