Disclaimer: AHAHAHAHAHAAA! My mind is totally running away from me with this story… and yet, I still remember to point out that I only own Wren. Really. Even most of the secondary characters are based on people I know (don't worry, not the mean ones… those are my own evil creations!), so I don't own them. Jareth, most of all, is not mine. DRAT IT ALL!

Sanoru: Well, of COURSE my fic is worth more! Ah, wow, your reviews are so happy, they just... make me want to write more! Dear me... this fic is just running away with itself!

Anij: Yeah, I had to address the fanfic issue. Why? Well, two reasons: one, while interesting, so many are the same, and two, it seemed like a hysterically funny idea. Oh, and BTW, thank you for the kind words in the review for Danika's story… she's really the talent, I just throw out wacky ideas. I'm glad you liked it, though.

Sarahbella Raisands: Aaack! There really IS a disco-Jared fanfic? Oh dear. I just made an enemy somewhere... hee. Seriously, while I've seen a few 'Jared' ones, I just made that up! AHAHAHAHA! You dream of him? Lucky girl…

DanikaLareyna: Oh, dear me… you've given me a very strange idea for a chapter… There will be another chapter that deals with fanfics, I swear.

Notwritten: I'm glad you did.

Yami Moon: Sheesh... I have no clue as to how it is that I'm updating so quickly. Really, it's not like me much. I think I'm just so obsessed with Jareth, I can't help it.

A/N: Okay, a very nice reviewer made me realize that those fics I mentioned in the last chapter may actually exist! Dear me… for the record, with the exception of the Harry Potter fic mentioned, I made them all up. I was not referring to anyone's fics, personally… so don't fret. The Potter fic I only mentioned because it's one of mine. I hope I didn't upset anyone!

Also, I must say, this fic is just… well, it's a runaway train, isn't it? I've been mauled by solitary plot bunnies, one per chapter. They are lurking everywhere! In my desk at work! Under my bed! In the bathrooms! Ahhh! Beware the bunnies!

Gosh, but I get the feeling that you all don't mind them. They give you updates. YOU ALL SENT THE BUNNIES, DIDN'T YOU! AAAAAHHHHHH!

Well, just for that, I'm adding in a little action/adventure stuff into this chapter. Wait, would it be called trauma? Drama? Meh. Not quite so ha-ha funny. You can pick whatever word you'd like for it.

Work, as you all know, is rarely very interesting. I mean, I like my job and everything, but it rarely has anything exciting to it. Well… yeah, not very exciting. I think that's part of why I like it. It may be dull, but it allows me to know what to expect on a daily basis.

Besides, Jareth gives me enough excitement to spice up my life. I mean, when things can get a crazy as they do with him, I tell you, it's a little nice to have something that is constantly regular and boring.

So, anyway, you can imagine my surprise when the… attack? Yes, looking back on it, I guess it was an attack. I was mostly surprised that it even happened.

And even more surprised at what happened afterwards…

Okay, so let me back up and explain what was going on, and what the heck happened.

First of all, Jareth and I had been arguing. More than usual, I mean. This took place over the weekend, while I was painting parts of my room. He couldn't understand why I wouldn't let him help me, I said he could help if he didn't use magic, and yet magic was his definition of helping.

"Wren, I could finish this for you and then we could do what we like," he whined, looking terribly pathetic as he sat on the top of my chest of drawers that were shoved across the room so I could paint the wall behind where they usually were. I was painting the room white, planning on doing a green-vine stencil trim around the top when I'd finished.

"But Jareth, I do like this. I like to paint. You're free to help me, just no magic. We could have fun," I said, dipping my roller in paint and applying it to the wall.

He rolled his eyes, thinking I wouldn't see, "I would rather we spent the time together, Wren,"

I gave him an incredulous look, "And what, do you think I'd send you across the country to paint my room? We would be together; we'd just be painting while we're together!"

He sighed, "I meant something… interesting."

I gripped my paint roller, "This could be interesting, if you would give it a shot. I got an extra roller, in case you wanted to help me, you know."

I watched him finger a cuff on his wrist, "But you won't let me help you,"

"No," I snapped, "I won't let you finish the job for me with magic. I want to do it by hand, if it's all the same to you. It's relaxing."

"No," he said, in a correcting tone that pushed me over my limit with him, "It's boring and dull drudgery that should be left to servants."

I turned my head to the side and raised an eyebrow at him, "So, what are you trying to say about me?"

"Nothing…" he met me with a blank stare, "But this just seems so… beyond you."

I was murderous. We'd argued over the painting of my room for the last couple of days. He'd wanted me to come visit the Underground, I told him I couldn't because I had something I needed to do. Then we'd had a huge argument over not getting to spend time together, and who's fault it was (according to him, it was my fault because it wasn't as though he could just give up being Goblin King, but I didn't have to waste my time in a dead-end job – to which I threw a shoe at him saying I liked my job and it wasn't dead-end). And so, as I still had to paint my room no matter what he said, I thought we could spend the time together painting and I'd gone through the trouble of getting him a roller to help me with, and he was complaining.

I blew up.

"GET OUT." I demanded with a crisp kind of fury, "You don't want to help, you're doing nothing but argue with me, and you're slowing me down. I have to finish this, no matter how much of a baby you act like, so GET OUT!"

My tone seemed to hit a hard chord with him, and his eyes glinted angrily. He threw his hands in the air and leapt off my chest of drawers, "Excuse me, Wren, but you seem to forget who you are speaking with here."

I threw a rag at him, "Oh, sure, throw out your status card on me. Let's not forget that you're the almighty Goblin King, and I'm only Wren, the little Aboveground peasant!"

"Yes, I am Goblin King," he said, incredulously, "And most people tend to show me a little respect!" He threw the rag back at me, harder.

I nabbed it up and threw it at his head, "Well, Goblin King, go back to your throne! I'm not one of your subjects, and as a person, I demand respect, too! I told you to get out, now go!"

He caught the rag in the air, throwing it to the ground and vanishing in an angry puff of glitter… which stuck to my wet paint… and stayed there.

I stood there, silent for a moment, before I simply sat down where I was and cried.

Strange things go through your head when you've had a fight with someone you really care about. Unable to finish my room the night before, I boarded it up and had slept on the couch. That, in turn, made me grumpy the next day for work… and I was already hurting.

I didn't like fighting with Jareth. Well, I did when it was our good-natured fights, but the way he'd left had hurt me. I wondered if we… if we were finished. That resulted in me coming in to work with red eyes.

I walked in the doors and made my way to my desk, feeling very low. Allie took one look at me (while I was logging in for the day) and grabbed my arm, pulling me back to that corner cube where I hide, from time to time. Pushing me around the corner, I thought about waltzing with Jareth in the cube and fought tears.

She put her hands on my shoulders and looked me in the face. "What's wrong?" she demanded in a hushed whisper.

I shook my head, trying to lie, "Nothing."

"Whatever, Wren. Tell me what's wrong. If you don't, I'll figure it out anyway."

I hung my head, "Really, it's… it's nothing…" when I raised my head, she was eyeing me strangely, her eyes narrowed and one eyebrow raised.

"It's Jareth, isn't it?" she asked quietly, "You guys had a fight."

Eh, what's the point in lying? I nodded my head. She hugged me instantly.

"Don't worry, Wren, it'll be alright," she said soothingly. "Be grateful he's… well, he's not like Donna's husband, you know?"

I frowned at her. Donna was another coworker of mine, who I really didn't know that well. She sat far from me, so I didn't really talk to her much, and she was fairly new to the team. Her cube was actually on the opposite side of the cube Allie and I were standing in. I knew there was an issue with Donna's husband, but I hadn't been listening lately so I didn't know what it all was.

"She'll hear you," I mouthed, motioning to the other side of the cube we were in.

Allie shook her head, "She's not in today."

"Is something wrong?"

Allie nodded, "Yeah – haven't you been listening lately? Over the last six months or so, he suddenly got severely possessive of her, and – well, according to her – he threatened to hurt her if she ever left him for another man. Now, she'd never cheat on him, but she's been living in fear. Last week, she went and filed for divorce, and her husband is getting served today. I mean, be grateful that Jareth isn't like him. From what Donna's said, he's rather vindictive."

My mouth fell open. "You're kidding! So… she's hiding, isn't she?"

Allie shrugged, "I assumed so. I really don't know the whole deal, but Lisa specifically told all of us that he, according to Donna, freaked out. The security guards are on alert here, because he's not supposed to come here… Lisa doesn't think he will, but we're still told to call security if we see him."

I looked at her somewhat blankly. "Well, gee, that helps me. I've never met the man!"

When I finally got back to my desk after talking with Allie for a bit over the incident with Jareth – for which I felt better – I felt kinda hazy. The whole thing with Donna's husband sort of… disturbed me, for whatever reason. It really put me on edge, perhaps because I was the last one to leave at the end of the day, with approximately one hour by myself in the office. What if he came in, looking for her? What if I was just freaking out because I was stressed? Ah, I felt loopy, too.

The day went by in a haze. I had to take down the pictures that resembled Jareth from my cube because they made me want to cry. Once they were gone, I was able to concentrate more, but I still felt a little on the rotten side.

Allie had assured me that couples do fight and argue, it was a natural part of a relationship, but I wasn't used to it. Plus, Jareth and I had never really discussed what we were, anyhow. I couldn't bring myself to call him my 'boyfriend'… it sounded so childish! 'The Goblin King is my boyfriend' – dear me, that is not something I wanted to say… even though that's what it felt like he was. We didn't even really date – he'd never specifically taken me anywhere, and I'd never taken him out. We just… were.

Sooner than I would have cared, the end of the day rolled around, and I was alone in the office. Determined not to let my paranoia, or my sadness, get the better of me, I cranked up my headphones to a happy tune. It wasn't working, but it allowed me to work without thinking about the room being so quiet.

And someone tapped me on the shoulder. I jumped slightly and turned to face the man behind me.

I eyed the man for just a second. He seemed nice. He was tall and slim, a slightly older man who looked really tired… Nah, I thought, This can't be Donna's husband. Donna's husband would be crazed with ugly hair or something, right? "Can I help you, sir?"

He sighed and smiled at me, "Yes, I was wondering if you worked in this department?"

"Me?" I grinned, "Yes, sir, I do. Do you have a question I can help you with?"

His smile faded, "Yes. Where's my wife?"

My eyes went huge. "Excuse me?"

He put up a hand, "Look, I just want to talk to her. She's been avoiding me, and I don't know why, and then I get served divorce papers. Can you just tell me where she is?"

I swallowed and slowly started to reach for my phone… or, rather, the speed dial button with Security's extension. "Who are you talking about, sir?"

He rolled his eyes, "Donna, my wife," he said wife sharply, and I jumped without meaning to. "I just… I just want to talk to her! She won't answer my calls on her cell. Please, just tell me where she is."

I swallowed and tried not panic. In reality, I was scared spit-less. I nodded and reached for my phone. Perhaps he'd let me 'call Donna'… and I could actually call Security. What freak let this man in the building!

"Just a minute, let me see if I can figure that out for you…" I reached to finger the speed dial button…

He saw me.

"No – don't do that!" he said, kicking the side of my cube. I screeched and dropped the phone, leapt from the cube and ran to the far end of my row, away from him.

"Get out of here!" I said, loudly. "GET OUT!" I was shaking from head to toe.

The man looked like I'd grown a second head or something, "I'm sorry about kicking you're cube, okay? I just want to know where-"

"I don't know where she is!" I screeched again, backing up as he advanced towards me, "YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO BE IN HERE!"

The man's face grew hard, "I have a right to my wife!"

I was ready to scream – just flatly scream – when there was a small explosion behind the man. Fearing the worst, I did scream and fell to my knees, my hands over my head. The man whirled around to see what had happened… and that's when I saw it.

There was glitter on the floor.

From my place on the floor, I looked up, too overwhelmed with too many emotions, and saw a very fearsome looking Goblin King, in full armor and cape and glitter, glaring menacingly at the man. What was his name? Wayne? Something like that. I don't remember. We'll call him Wayne.

Wayne drew back in fear as Jareth advanced on him, much as I had done only a few minutes earlier. I watched with mild fascination, and shock, as Jareth reached out, snatching Wayne up by the collar and drew him within an inch of his face, which was twisted with rage.

Jareth's face even scared me. I'd never seen him so angry, like, ever. Well… once, I saw him close to it… in the ballroom, when I'd run the Labyrinth.

"In case you haven't noticed," Jareth said, his voice a deadly whisper, "Your wife isn't here. This young lady, who is not your wife, and who you have NO RIGHT to frighten, asked you to leave. I am now suggesting you take her advice."

With an elegant spin, Jareth turned both him and Wayne around, placing himself between Wayne and I. With a snarl, and still holding onto Wayne's collar at arms length, he raised a boot and shoved Wayne away with it, causing him to topple over and land flat on his back.

I didn't see where it came from, but I saw a crystal pop over Wayne's head. The man quickly sat up, swore about trash cans in the isles and got to his feet. "Okay, okay," he said to someone we couldn't see, (who it appeared he thought was over his shoulder) "I'm leaving! Just wanted to find Donna…" and he continued muttering to no one as he left the building… as if he'd never seen me at all.

Once he was gone, Jareth fell to his knees in front of me and gathered me in his arms. I let him, and started crying on his shoulder. My face embedded in his shirt (where did the armor go? Meh, it didn't matter. He was, after all, the Goblin King) felt so good…

After a long while, he drew back and lifted my chin, examining my face.

"Oh, my Wren," he said, concern and sorrow etched on his face, "Did that heathen harm you in any way?"

I shook my head while Jareth brushed my tears away with his gloved fingers, "No, he didn't-"

"He could have," he whispered, more to himself than me.

I shook my head again, "I don't know that for sure. He was upset and I'd had a terribly bad day… when he came at me, I broke…"

The sorrow returned to his face, "That's my fault, isn't it?"

"No," I said. He shook his head, not believing me.

"Wren," he started, "I am so sorry for how I acted yesterday…"

I stared at him, unbelieving, "What? You're… sorry? You don't… hate me?"

"Hate!" his eyes widened and his mouth fell slightly, "No, dearling, never! I could never hate you!" his voice fell, as did his eyes, "Can you forgive me, dearest Wren?"

I wrapped my arms around his neck, burying my face in his hair as I did so, "We were both out of line, Jareth," I said to his hair. "I forgive you… can you forgive me, too?"

He pulled me back and gave me a slight smirk, saying, "Do you even need to ask it?" before kissing me.

"Jareth," I said suddenly, pulling away (as much as I didn't want to), "What about Wayne? He saw you!"

He waved a hand dismissively, "He won't remember it, or you. All he remembers is a security guard – a devilishly handsome security guard," he waggled his eyebrows at me (I laughed in spite of my mood), "Who caught him when he tripped over a trash can, and then promptly escorted him from the premises."

I raised an eyebrow at him, "So, why bother with the show, then?"

"Show? What show?"

I shrugged, "Appearing in full armor, the glitter, the threat… why not just make him leave?"

A sly smile touched his lips, "I wasn't thinking," he shrugged, "I saw you in fear and made a rash move," one slender hand dramatically placed itself on his chest, "I'm afraid I'm a very territorial sort of creature, my dear, and simply couldn't stop myself from making a show of things."

I leaned down, brushed his hand aside and rested my head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat, "Thank you, Jareth."

I felt him stroke my hair, and heard a soft, somewhat somber, "Anything for you, my Wren."

I didn't do anymore work. Instead, I rested against Jareth until time for me to log out and go home. We hadn't said anything all that time – eh, we didn't need to. Not really. When it came time to leave, though, he offered to take me home, directly, but I did have my car to drive home. So, he agreed to meet me in my room.

I drove up to my home much faster than expected, with the nagging suspicion that a certain Goblin King had helped with traffic… somehow… I don't know how…

I came in the front door to find a note from my mother, basically saying that she was staying at my grandparents to help them with irrigation, and dad was working way late tonight. So… the house was mine. Fun.

I dropped my bag and keys and made my way to my room – I was dreading entering the room again, to work on clearing the mess with the glitter that had stuck to the paint. I slowly opened the door… and gasped. The glitter was gone…

Then I started laughing, near hysterically, at the sight before me.

"I take it back, Wren. I hate you," Jareth said, one hand on his hip, the other holding a paint roller on a stick, like a staff of some sort. "Stop that laughing!"

Okay, so he knew I didn't want magic to paint with. I think he figured that meant no magic at all while painting. So, I suppose to keep himself from getting dirty, he'd donned what looked suspiciously like a leopard-print jumpsuit and a funky turban thing around his head and hair. I slumped against the doorjamb, laughing.

"Wren! Stop that laughing!" he stomped a foot (I couldn't figure out what he was wearing on his feet… slippers? Something like that) and the paint roller extension stick slipped on a drip of paint on the floor, and the roller itself wobbled and slapped him in the face, leaving a white smudge across his face…

Oh, yes, there was no stopping the laughter now…

A/N: Ah, I had to let Jareth play hero. Couldn't help it. I hope this is satisfactory…

!ATTENTION EVERYONE - SPECIAL AUTHOR'S NOTE/WARNING: Okay, I have something very special planned for next chapter. Very special. You'll have to wait and see… so, be sure to Review, okay? In a way, you'll get to participate if you do – no, not bribery, just planning. I need reviews to make it it's very best. Also… as a slight warning, everyone be prepared for severe snarkiness. And, I do mean Severe. But PLEASE review! It will be awesome!

Hint? What, you all want a hint? Fine! Here's a hint : Fanfictions return!

Muaahahaha!

Love ya!

-Marti