DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything…but I would snog Jareth within an inch of his glittery life if given half a chance!

A/N: This story will get better with more fluff and snogging. But this first volume covers age 15-21…so we must first lay the groundwork for how the relationship seen in "Science-Fiction Double-'Fae'Ture" came about. Hang in there! For those needing a fluff injection, watch for "Life with a Goblin King: What Happened After" which tells their story, POST-RHPS. For those of you that are lost, go read SFDF first, and you'll get to know the Jareth and Sarah for this story.

Unexpected Birthday Drama

Sarah didn't sleep well the night before her birthday, and with good reason. After arriving home, courtesy of the Goblin King, she laid awake for several hours, contemplating the two crystal spheres Jareth had left with her. On the one hand, she really wanted to see her friends, and having a bit of an adventure in the Underground for her birthday would be far more interesting than sitting home alone all day. On the other hand, she wasn't completely sure she could trust Jareth, as she couldn't really understand why he all of a sudden showed up and wanted to be friends. Her dilemma was also colored quite significantly with curiosity – she was curious about what Jareth wanted to show her.

Shortly before three am, Sarah made her decision – she was going to take Jareth up his invitation. True, it meant she had to trust that the crystals did what he said they did, but she really had no evidence that suggested his motives were anything other than what he had stated they were.

One would think that having stayed up so late, Sarah would then have slept quite late, however she was so nervous and excited about the adventure of it all, that she woke up at 7am and couldn't get back to sleep. So, instead of laying in bed tossing and turning, she decided to get up and get ready.

Sarah was standing wrapped in her towel, staring into her closet, when it occurred to her that she had no idea what to wear – After all, what did one wear to tour the Goblin Kingdom? This situation was not covered in the cotillion classes Karen insisted that she take before starting high school.

Jareth had said he wanted to show her some things, but that could mean anything at all. After considering it for several minutes, she decided to go with something comfortable, but not too casual. Humming quietly, she pulled on a long flowing skirt of brown cotton and lace, her favorite pair of broken in suede boots and a rust colored peasant blouse, embroidered with a gold knot-work pattern. Wrapping a gold metal link belt around her waist, she finished the outfit off with a small red velvet pouch that she tied to the belt to hold the red crystal should she need it.

Peering into the mirror, she braided part of her hair, pulling it back with a jeweled barrette, a smirk teasing the corner of her mouth as she thought of Hoggle, knowing he would love to add the clip to his collection of jewels.

When she was ready, she took one last look in the mirror, tucking some gloss in the little red pouch. Then, picking up the green crystal in her hand, she looked at the clock – 8:00am – perfect.

Taking a deep breath, she held up the crystal and said, "Take me to Jareth."

Jareth woke up with a start, grunting painfully as something heavy fell on him from above. Feeling the weight of it shift, he jerked upward and half out of the bed, preparing to defend himself. Jareth peered blearily at the falling object, only to be greeted with wide green eyes, before the morning peace was shattered by a blood-curdling scream as the owner of the green eyes went flying from his bed through the nearest door, chocolate colored waves streaming behind her as she fled from the chamber.

"S-Sarah?" he asked, rubbing his eyes and trying to figure out why she had apparently jumped on him, and more pressing, why she fled screaming like all the demons of hell were hot on her heels. Then he looked down.

"Well, that explains some of this," he said to himself, chuckling softly as he realized he was barely draped in his silk bedsheet. The night before had been quite warm, so he had elected not to wear anything to bed, since he didn't expect to be rudely awakened by Sarah landing on him. Throwing a brocade robe around his body, Jareth untangled himself from the sheets, before knocking on the door Sarah had fled through.

"Sarah, that is my bathroom," he said smoothly, trying not to laugh at the frantic noises coming from the other side of the door. Apparently she had tweaked to the fact that she had not exited his chambers as she was probably trying to do, and had in fact, only succeeded in barricading herself in his bathroom.

"Please come out," he tried again, "I'm dressed now."…. 'At least covered,' he thought wryly.

"I can't believe you did this," she wailed from the other side of the door. "You did this on purpose! Why would you have me come to your bedroom! How could you? I trusted you!"

Running a hand through his hair, Jareth tried to figure out how this particular situation had gotten out of control so quickly, and how best to restore Sarah's faith in him. From the other side of the door he heard her muttering then a sharp, "Damn!"

"Problem, Sarah?" he asked, frowning slightly as he tried to figure out how best to coax her back out of his bathroom.

"I forgot the red crystal," she moaned through the door, apparently thumping her head against the wood, judging from the rhythmic pounding that followed her statement.

Jareth couldn't hold back the laughter any longer. Chuckling, he leaned against the wall next to the door, shaking his head as he laughed.

"Sarah dearest, you hardly need to flee for home just because you arrived in my bed chamber. If you would just open the door, you would no longer be trapped in my bathroom."

"I am not going to be in your room, alone with you," she spat adamantly. "I am not that kind of girl! I knew you couldn't be trusted."

Shaking his head, Jareth tried again, "I assure you dearest, having you land on my chest while I was sleeping was not part of my plan for today. What did you say to activate the crystal when you left home?"

"Just what you told me to say, 'take me to Jareth'," she replied with an exasperated sigh. While she waited for his answer, she paused to check out the bathroom in which she was currently trapped. It was as big as her bedroom, with heavy wooden floors, and a large copper clawed bathtub the size of a large hot tub. Above the tub was a large stained glass window of the labyrinth, the colored pieces of glass casting rainbows of color into the water and bubbles that filled the tub. Being a teenage girl, her favorite hedonistic pleasure to this point in her life, was a luxurious soak in a bathtub, and she couldn't help but imagine how lovely it would be to lounge around in a tub as big as the one she was currently looking at.

"That would be the problem then. I was not expecting you to arrive so early. I assumed, being a high school student on your own for the weekend, that you would sleep in and arrive closer to midday," he said, running a hand through his hair, fluffing up the wispy blonde mane that had matted in places due to sleep.

"Now, please come out of my bathroom, Sarah. I promise you, I have no ulterior motives and am now clothed," he continued, shaking his head at the absurdity of it all.

Opening the door a crack, Sarah peeked out and seeing that he was wearing a robe now, finally opened the door fully and moved out of the bathroom. She glanced about uneasily, unable to look at him as she spoke.

"I suppose I should be glad that I arrived when I did and not while you were in the bath," she said, blushing furiously as she indicated the waiting bath tub full of bubbles and hot water.

Jareth couldn't help but disagree with that assessment of things, as he rather liked the idea of Sarah sharing his bath someday, although at this stage of things, that was not a desire he wanted to own up to, as she would most definitely not be receptive to the idea.

Moving toward the door leading to the hall, Jareth held it open for her, his lips curled in amusement as he surveyed the flustered face of his Champion. He had to admit, she did look lovely when she was flushed, and he hoped to have many more opportunities to see her in such a beguiling state.

"You can wait in my study while I get ready to show you around," he said, his tone lilting softly as he chuckled at her discomfort.

Sarah scooted through the door, trying to keep as much distance between herself and the robed Goblin King as possible, even wanting to avoid brushing against the deep black brocade of his robe. She blushed hotly when she caught herself thinking about the fact that he slept nude and was therefore nude under his robe. When Sarah realized she had landed not just on Jareth's bed, but on him, it was a shock, but that shock was nothing to the shock she got when he hurled himself half-way out of the bed and she realized he was naked. Seeing his taut chest, bare except for the sheet wrapped around his hips and the golden amulet, made her heart race and her throat threaten to close over.

She followed him into the room across the hall, biting back a gasp as she saw the floor to ceiling bookshelves full of books. In front of the balcony doors stood a large, heavy desk, the front panel covered in extensive carvings. The top of the desk was littered with stacks of parchments, quill pens and several pots of ink. Sarah smiled slightly at the sight of a large leather wingback chair in front of the fireplace. Next to the chair stood a small table, with an open book on it, beside an empty wine glass. She could just see him lounging in that chair, his legs tossed casually over the arm, while reading his book.

"Feel free to explore the balcony or the bookshelves, but leave the contents of the desk alone. My private secretary will be along later to take care of the correspondence while I am showing you around," he said, smiling at the look of wonder on her face as she looked at the many books in the room. "I won't be long."

Sarah didn't even hear him leave, as she was already reading the titles of the books on the shelves. She was vaguely surprised by how diverse the selection of books was. Jareth had first editions of Aboveworld classics, and more modern fantasy stories by the likes of Terry Pratchett. Mixed in with the fiction, he also seemed to collect books on politics, science, medicine, history and music. In addition to the Aboveworld books, several of the book shelves were filled to bursting with ancient looking tomes in a language she couldn't understand, the empty spaces of the shelves stuffed with dusty scrolls of parchment. Sarah pulled out a heavy book bound in purple leather, with lovely golden script embossed on the spine. Laying it on his desk, she flipped the pages slowly, amazed by the pages filled with tight, flowing script.

Returning to his study a short while later, Jareth was pleased to see she had found a way to amuse herself. She was so engrossed in the book she was reading, she didn't even notice that he had returned. Leaning lightly against the doorway, he watched her, an indulgent smile playing over his angular features. She was lovely when he had first met her, and the past year of maturing had only enhanced her beauty. Now, she sat curled in his favorite chair, looking as if she belonged there, and deep down he hoped one day she would.

Sarah had one foot tucked under her skirt, so that the skirt draped over her leg and the front of the chair, while she flipped the pages of a heavy, leather bound book. His mismatched drank in the sight of her, as she absent-mindedly twirled a lock of hair around her fingers while scanning the pages of the book.

"I'm quite pleased to see that you've made yourself at home," he crooned, chuckling as she looked up, her eyes wide in surprise.

Sarah blushed deeply as if she had been caught doing something she shouldn't, and jumped up from the chair, staggering under the weight of the heavy book.

"I….I'm sorry. I didn't mean to disturb…" she stammered, struggling to return the book the shelves.

Jareth moved to help her with the book. Taking the it from her, he paused to see what she had found so interesting, before sliding the book back onto the shelf with ease, despite the weight of the tome.

"Sarah, you do not need to apologize, I gave you leave to explore my books and you merely did as instructed," he asked, his gloved hand lightly caressing the spine of the book she had been reading. "So did you find the history of my kingdom interesting?"

"Well, I didn't get to read much of it, but what I read was interesting," she replied, looking at him fully for the first time since she had arrived.

He was now dressed in tight black breeches, with knee high black leather boots, and a flowing shirt of deep burgundy that was unlaced along the chest to show off his amulet. Over this, he wore a low-cut, black leather waistcoat, with a black leather cape draped across his shoulders. Although she was sure he could make anything look good, what he now wore seemed to make his regal air more powerful. She wondered if he had intentionally mirrored her own color choices. Sarah blushed at the nearness of him, his intensity making her body tingle, yet she did not want to draw away from him.

Turning to her, the Goblin King smiled and nodded as he held out his arm to her.

"Have you eaten yet this morning, my Sarah?"

Sarah shook her head as she lightly placed her hand in the crook of his elbow, as she had seen the ladies do in his enchanted ballroom. She gasped softly when he laid his other hand over hers as it rested on his arm, the feeling of his hand on hers making her tremble inside.

"Then you shall join me for breakfast, and we will start your birthday surprises then," he said, his voice soft and reassuring as he led her out of the study and into the stone corridors of the castle.