Disclaimer: Oh, wait. I do own Ronald. So, ha.

A/N: Whelp, this is it, guys! Thanks for reading this aaaall the way through, and hope you all enjoy the grand finale.

i.

His first surprise came in the odd form of Hoggle. A fortnight after Sarah left, the dwarf hobbled into his throne room. Bog stench emanated from him in suffocating waves, and Jareth was about to send him away when the stinky thing opened his mouth.

"I don't want ta be here anymore than you want me here," Hoggle shuffled his feet and rolled his eyes. "But I 'ave a request from Sarah."

Jareth stood from his throne. "Well?" His left foot tapped impatiently.

"I don't want ta show you this."

"Show me what?" He was purposefully not getting to the point, and the entire throne room now stunk. Poetic justice, the King supposed.

The dwarf made an awful attempt at hiding his grin. "Somethin' special."

Jareth sent some magic down his arm and into his hand and waved the smell away. He refrained from gritting his teeth. "And where is this special item located?"

Hoggle grunted, quite unimpressed with his King's trick, but at least this hurried things along. Somewhat. "Come wit' me."

The stubby creature got one last laugh in by refusing to tell Jareth where they where headed, forcing them to walk. More time wasted. Were all his subjects such brats?

"'S'right here," Sarah's pestilent friend brought him to a mirror.

The ordinary-looking glass revealed his stunning image, of course, but nothing else. "Listen, Hogwart, I am not in the mood for you to waste my precious time."

"Now just 'old on one second, Your Royal Highness. Look again. Really look."

The King smirked but really looked this time (whatever that meant), and something finally stirred in the reflection.

Sarah. "Hello, Jareth."

His smirk stretched into a brief smile. Sarah grinned back, and Hoggle pretended not to notice before shuffling from the room.

ii.

His second surprise came in the form of a letter. He found it on the desk in his bedchamber, and he still had no clue how Sarah had delivered it. Or how long it had been there.

He never used this desk. Why would he use a desk? That's what magic was for.

And honestly, a letter? What an archaic way to communicate. Why hadn't she just sent Hoggle so they could talk through the mirror? After knowing he could actually see her and hear her own voice, a letter felt a tad belittling to him.

Then it struck him. Like a barrel of goblins.

She wasn't coming back, and she was too afraid to tell him to his face. The coward.

He picked up the letter with two gloved fingers and snapped it into flame. He didn't need her. And he would continue to remind himself of this until he believed it.

iii.

His third surprise arrived on Sarah's birthday. He was sitting on his throne. Accomplishing some of his kingly duties, namely sulking. His goblins had tried singing some stupid song they'd made up in a vain attempt to cheer him up. Until he bogged a gaggle of them; the rest disappeared almost as quickly as those magically vanquished. So now it was just him. In his throne room. Was there ever a better time to sulk.

"You didn't read the letter, did you?"

Jareth blinked at the woman before him. Her sudden presence flummoxed him, and she looked older. But still his Sarah. And she was here, in his throne room. In the Underground.

"Of course, you didn't. You don't even use that desk, do you?"

This time he heard what she said and drew some quick conclusions. "Oh, I burned it."

"You burned your desk?"

"No, the letter." Was she being intentionally difficult?

"Why?"

"I didn't want it to exist," He shrugged and looked up at the ceiling. "So I burned it."

To his surprise, she laughed. Not a cute giggle one would expect to come from such a petite thing, but a full-on, stomach-toning laugh. He was growing testier by the second, and the sound grated on his ears. Her words did nothing to ease his temperament. "Since you obviously didn't read it, what on earth did you think it said?"

"Why are you here?" He looked at her again. This time making eye contact.

Her green eyes glistened. "I'm back." This time she shrugged, and the odd gesture caught his attention. Not quite defensive. But hurt. Definitely hurt.

This was the letter's fault.

And maybe, slightly his own ego's fault. He probably should've read it before burning the thing, and he would rather keep his initial interpretation of the letter. a secret

Because he had obviously been wrong; after all, here she was. Uncomfortable in her own castle. He had been the coward, not her. "I thought it said you weren't coming back." He hadn't meant to just blurt it out. How undignified.

But it was worth it. Her stance immediately relaxed. "You're an idiot."

She smiled as she spoke, though, and walked forward. Pushed him into a sitting position and settled next to him. The Goblin King blinked down at her. An odd panic rose in him as he realized that even after all their mirror chats (which abruptly stopped after the letter incident), he was still woefully unprepared for this. Courting. Love. It had been a game before, something to pass the time, but now it mattered. And he didn't want to be the one who messed it up.

She grinned impishly up at him, "So. Wanna hear what it really said?"

"Why not?" Jareth decided to do what he did best - fake it. Pretend this was normal and just go from there. He rested a tentative cheek on Sarah's dark-haired head. "We've got time."

"Plenty of it," His Queen replied primly. "But we've also got a lot to do. First off, the babies, Jareth. I know you have to take them, but perhaps—"

He smiled into her hair. He and his poor Labyrinth had no idea what Sarah had in store for them.

But he was terribly excited to find out.