Disclaimer: Wren is my original character, Jareth is not… haven't we been through all this? Also, this chapter deals with an office very much like the one I work in. A lot of the people in this chapter may resemble people I know… but I am not placing the actual people I know directly into the story, with one or two exceptions who do know about this fic. I promise not to portray them unfairly. I never would.

And, the songs I may mention in this… yeah, I don't own them either. No, this is not a song fic… I'm just… well, read on. You'll see.

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DanikaLareyna: Sorry! Sheesh! Actually, since you asked, Lachlan is rather cute, isn't he? No, he's free! Interested?

Yami Moon: Oh, yes, Wren may need those cookies sooner than she thinks… but, we shall see… think cookies could keep someone out of the BOES?

Anij: Who knows, we may - eventually - see one of those around... you never know... meanwhile, thank Danika for that bit of inspiration. She really does keep me going on these.

Notwritten: aww, thank you very much!

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How about some good music for this chapter? Ahem, let me see…

You're So Vain by Carly Simon – well, I had to include this. Read the chapter, and you'll see why.

It's Raining Men by the Weather Sisters – good stuff, I tell you. Makes you want to do a rain dance, or something, don't it?

Heroes by David Bowie – like the last two songs, read the chappie, and you'll understand all. Or, at least some.

No One Else On Earth by Wynonna Judd – I listened to this one while writing a good portion of this chapter. I could see Wren singing this, especially about the shivers…

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Um, quick note here: For some strange reason, FFnet won't let me insert those lines... so, sorry, you'll have to endure my zeros as dividers. I'll fix it later, when it allows me again. Hope it's not too distracting!

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Watching him is… addicting. We weren't doing anything in particular, just sitting around listening to some music while doing our own things. Me? I was trying to do a little journaling – key word, trying to. I was, obviously, not succeeding. It was far more interesting to watch him.

Jareth was sitting in my large, purple beanbag chair, again. He'd been furious that his castle seemed to be devoid of any quiet place, so he'd shown up in my room, asking if he might spend some quiet time in my room, for his reading. So, he sat in my chair – that he's nuts about – reading some book that looked really old, with gold embossing and yellow pages.

I just watched him read, and turn pages. He was… so beautiful. I watched him lean his head back against the wall and turn another page, his eyes roaming over it.

How the heck did I get him? How was it that he, this dashing Fae monarch, could possibly be attracted to me, cubby, short, plain me? Not that I was complaining…

A bubbly feeling rose up inside me – the King of the Goblins is my boyfriend. Holy dang, say that enough times, and you get high on the phrase.

At last, his eyes flickered over and met mine. He smiled – not his trademark smirk, or something big and flashy, but a content, kind smile.

"What are you thinking of?" he asked, closing his book and giving me his full attention.

I grinned, and blushed a little, "You."

"Well," he said, smirking this time, "Obviously, but, what about me? My heart-stopping good looks? Or, perhaps, my uncanny ability to drive you absolutely insane?"

I shook my head, "Um, well… insane for you, or insane from you?"

He raised his eyebrows and cocked his head to the side, smirking even more (if such a thing was even possible… and for him, I think it is), "Insane with lust,"

I snorted from my spot on the bed, "Yeah, you got me, that must be it."

He sat his book to the side, chuckling as he did so, and got to his feet. "Yes, it is true. You are, after all," he paused, swaying his hips and striking a pose with one leg cocked, his head thrown back, and his hands on his hips, "Mad about me, I can tell."

I laughed, and, having been laying on my stomach, I rolled onto my side and faced him. I… I don't know. For a moment, my mind drifted back to him eating burgers, and I grinned.

"So, dearling," he said, suddenly, moving to sit beside me on the bed, "If I provided you with sufficient nasal protection, would you like to see the Bog of Eternal Stench?"

My eyes went wide – that was not a question I was expecting. "What, you mean now?"

He laughed and shook his head, "No," he said as though what he meant was completely obvious, "This Saturday, when you come to the Underground."

I sat up and looked at him, "I am coming to the Underground? When were you going to inform me of this?"

He raised an eyebrow at me, "Are we not courting?"

I snickered (wouldn't you? Who says 'courting' now days? It was cute!) and his face fell.

"We are not?" he asked carefully, looking almost hurt.

I patted his hand, "I didn't mean that, I just…" he still looked dubious, I smiled at him, "I suppose we are dating…" without my permission, a silly grin plastered itself on my face – which, strangely enough, seemed to reassure him more than anything I could possibly say. "But, what does that have to do with me going to the Underground?"

He sighed, "I assumed we would spend the day together."

I glared at him, "So, you just assumed, and didn't think to ask me if I could go?"

Jareth frowned, looking vaguely confused, "Why could you not go? Or," he shook his head, "Come. Why should you not come… your Pidgin English is rubbing off on me…"

"Pidgin English?" I chose to ignore that and sighed, "For your information, Mr. Magic Pants, I can't go Saturday, because I have to work."

"What?" he looked at me sharply, "But… You only work five out of seven days in a week – you do not work on Saturdays, Wren,"

I rolled my eyes and snorted, "Yeah, well, with the fiscal year coming to a close, and working in the financial department of a large college, well, Tyler freaked out and demanded a 'Blitz' – which is really a stupid name for it, if you ask me, but he thinks it's witty. Anyway, in general, he has demanded that every team, including mine, has to work four hours of overtime – mandatory overtime – to keep up with the demands of the fiscal year close. But, at least I get paid time and a half for it…"

Jareth stared at me, blankly, "That is, by far, the stupidest thing I have heard, thus far, in the Aboveground."

I smacked his arm, "Now you're being dramatic. C'mon, look, it's only four hours, so after that – if you ask me nicely – I'll go to the Underground and spend the rest of the day with you. It's not that long."

He folded his arms across his chest, "Why even bother, then?"

I sighed and, even though he wouldn't relax to my touch – I knew he was disappointed – I hugged him. "Look, I am sorry, but… I have to work. If you don't want to do it, then maybe – whoa!" I fell over, almost toppling off my bed entirely, as he vanished in an almost angry puff of glitter. I sat up and sighed. "Maybe another time, then."

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Oh, how I hate coming into work on Saturday. Really, it's just wrong. At least they let you wear what you want to on Saturday, and, as not every team had to come in and work on so I could come in wearing jeans and my flip-flops, and not have to worry about dress-code issues. And, as not every team had to come in to work, the building was mostly empty. So, really, there is one good thing about work on Saturday, next to wearing jeans – no fighting for parking.

My entire team decided to come in and work 8am to 12 noon. Nice and all, but… yeah, I was not happy to miss out on sleeping in, as I usually do on Saturday. It's hard enough now that Jareth is in my life, because he's an eternal early bird, and can't seem to understand how it is that I don't just jump up and down at the sunrise. But, I digress.

I parked near the front of the building and headed inside. I scanned my badge at the door and I heard the small, muffled beep as the guard inside buzzed me in. For security purposes, the badge alone on a Saturday is not enough to let you in the building, as it is during the rest of the week. Instead, the guard at the guard station just inside the door has to buzz you in.

I glanced at the guard, and shook my head as I opened the door and walked inside. Some security… he had a newspaper up and the most I could see of him was his gloves…

I bent over the sign-in sheet to put in my info for the day… on the sheet, I could see that most all of my team had already arrived, except for Dan. Allie had, apparently, signed in only moments before me. I sat the pen down and made my way back to our department and to my desk.

Everyone was there, except Kay, who was still on maternity leave, and Connie who just married, and was on her honeymoon. Lisa, Allie, Sharla, Miranda, Ansley, Rhonda, Bill, Tony, Shaniqua, and even Donna were all there. Now, after Donna's husband had caused so many problems, Lisa had arranged for one of the guards to come and watch over our room in particular. As far as Lisa knew – and I'd not ever told her otherwise – Wayne, Donna's husband, had not tried anything, but she still didn't want to take any chances, especially when the building was so empty.

When I got to my desk, I noticed that Dan wasn't there yet. "Hey," I said aloud, "Where's Dan?"

Lisa poked her head out of her cube, "Oh, he had a flat tire. He should be here, soon, he said. I just spoke to him on his cell."

As if on cue, Dan came bustling in the office, looking incredibly flustered. Taking his 'murse' of his shoulder he plopped it on his desk and held his hands up, "This," he announced dramatically, "Is so, incredibly, not my morning, people. My luck, Starbucks messed up my caramel macchiato, and it wasn't iced. Can you believe them? I mean, what kind of person would want a hot one, anyway?"

I smiled at Dan and turned on my computer. Dan was, obviously, taking every advantage of the free dress-code for the day, wearing a bright pink shirt and jeans that looked suspiciously like they could have belonged to his little sister, if he had one – of that, I wasn't sure. Dan is the self-proclaimed, and extremely proud, queer-eye guy on our team. I think he gives Bill and Tony the creeps, but he's every girl's best friend… and, often times, fashion consultant. As you might guess, he's one of my best work-buddies, next to Allie, that is.

He leaned over the cube wall we share and smiled at me, "So, sweetie, did you have a rough time getting up this morning? I know I did… what, no coffee?"

I laughed, "No, no coffee for me, Dan. I've got an energy drink in my bag if I need one, though."

Allie, from across the room, snickered at that. Her and I have a huge private joke about my addiction to energy drinks.

I grinned, and Dan saw it, but Dan doesn't know about the joke I have with Allie. Instead, he took my smile another way.

"Oh, I know," he said in his knowing way, flapping a hand at me as he started up his own computer, "Who needs coffee when there's that new, incredibly hot security guard up at the desk, right? Am I right? Huh?" he winked at me.

I giggled. A flamboyantly gay man was always very interesting to work with. "We got a new one? I didn't see him, he was hiding behind his newspaper."

"Oh, heaven on earth," Dan said, throwing his head back and rolling his eyes, "This guy is very yummy. You should see him, sweetie. You would think he's gorgeous."

I eyed Dan, "Would I?" I had never really discussed men or my tastes with Dan before… so how did he know my type?

Dan's grin widened, "Yeah babe, you would. But," he sighed dreamily, "I do believe he's gay, so it looks like at least one of us is out of luck."

"Nice, Dan. How can you tell he's gay?" I asked.

Miranda, who sat in the cube next to Dan, poked her head up, "Oooh, you talking about the new guard?" when we nodded, she nearly drooled, "So sexy. I mean, yeah, like he's totally buff and… oh, so hot. He winked at me, but Dan's right, he's so gay. He wears makeup and his hair is very metro, you know?"

I rolled my eyes and turned to my computer, "Too bad for me, then."

Dan sighed, "I hope he's the one who will be stationed back here."

Miranda jumped up and down in her chair, "Oooh, I asked Lisa! He is! As soon as the second guard comes in, that hot one will be back here with us! Could you just die?"

Dan jumped up, "Lisa!"

Lisa looked over, "What?"

"We don't have much to do today, do we?"

She shook her head, "No, we really don't. You know we're here out of obligation, not for the work load. Why?"

Dan squealed and dashed for the door, "We are going to do Karaoke!"

The rest of the team stopped what they were doing and looked at one another. Bill, from his cube, muttered something about never letting Dan near a Starbucks ever again.

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Fifteen minutes later, Dan had set up the Karaoke machine he'd brought with him in his trunk, over in the empty corner of the room. Allie was standing up, watching him curiously. I was standing next to her, and Tony next to me, all of us watching Dan.

"Danny," she said, nicely, "Out of curiosity, what is the purpose of all this?"

Dan popped his head up from the machine, "Did you not see that super hottie at the guard station?"

She shook her head, "Nah, he was behind the paper. What's the deal?"

Dan giggled, "He'll be our guard for today… and he's totally gay. So… why not ask him to be a judge for our impromptu Karaoke contest? That way," Dan waggled his eyebrows suggestively, "I can serenade him!"

Allie shook her head, "I don't know what frightens me more, the fact that you want to serenade the guard, or the fact that you had that machine in your trunk!"

He shrugged, "Only the essentials, sweetie."

Tony, who was eyeing the machine very suspiciously, asked, "I don't get it, I saw the guy, but… how can you tell he's gay?"

Dan stuck his hips out to the side and folded his arms, "I know, okay? First of all, he was wearing makeup. I mean heavy eyeliner. Then, there was the ponytail of hair so shiny and blonde that it has to be a dye job. Wren, c'mon – oh, wait, you didn't see him, huh? Dang."

"What's the deal with me, Dan? You keep saying I'd like him – how do you know what I like in men?"

Dan grinned at me, "Honey, I see your cube. This guy is like David Bowie under a hotness-microscope. We're talking a buff Hunky Dory with a large splash of Labyrinth, here."

Allie and I both gasped and looked at each other with wide eyes. It couldn't be, could it?

"Nah…" Allie breathed, her mouth barely moving, "It can't be, can it?"

I was speechless.

Dan looked between the two of us, "What, you know the guy or something?"

Allie, seeing that I was speechless, covered, "Maybe… he sounds familiar. I think I may have met him awhile back… holy crap."

I looked at Allie. She went white in the face, her eyes looking over my shoulder, towards the door into our area of the building. I, for one, was half way afraid to look and see what was behind me, but the predatory look on Dan's face basically told me all I needed to know. Slowly I turned to see the guard who was walking towards us.

Black boots, the tops covered by the dark green pants of a security uniform, thunked on the office carpet. A green security shirt covered broad, muscled shoulders and went down to wrists and hands that were gloved in black. A green cap with the security logo covered what I knew was spiky hair, which had been attempted to be tamed with a ponytail at the back of the neck. And, the whole ensemble was topped off with a nametag, proclaiming this man to be "Jim Bob".

I knew better.

Jareth smiled at us, "Hello members of the Finance processing team. I believe I am to be stationed in your room for the duration of your shift. I am, erm, Jim."

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Dan had scuttled off and located a chair for 'Jim Bob', right away. Shaniqua, Miranda, and Rhonda took every opportunity to swoon over him, every chance they got. Lisa, who had a larger cube than any of us, was the first to offer him a place to sit – and looked incredibly giddy to do so. I wasn't certain, but Donna may have pinched him. Ansley would have, but never could seem to get close enough.

Allie found this whole thing very amusing. Me? I was glaring daggers at him. Oh, ha-ha, very funny. I'm sure he thought this was one big joke – but did he realize how awkward a situation it put me in? My coworkers were drooling over MY guy!

I printed off some papers and stalked past him to the printer to retrieve them. He, at first, didn't seem to notice me – he was too busy reading a copy of People magazine that Dan had offered him.

I stood at the printer waiting for my papers – and then noticed the jam. I mumbled some words under my breath and started trying to remove the cartridge to get the jammed paper out.

"Wren?" whispered a voice in my ear.

"Aaah!" I threw the printer cartridge into the air – which would have bashed me in the head, had Jareth not caught it easily and handed it back to me. I took it and slapped his arm, "Jerk – don't do that to me!" I hissed.

He frowned, "I wanted to spend the day with you, I thought this was…"

"Stuff it," I hissed, through my teeth at him, "It's all about you, isn't it? Do you even realize how hard it is for me-"

I shut my face, seeing Dan approach.

"Mr. Bob," Dan called, swaying his hips as he did do, "Oh, Mr. Bob! Can I ask you a favor?"

The frown, which had been on Jareth's face, cleared before he turned to Dan, and was replaced with his charming smile. Jareth, for what it was worth, did not know Dan was gay – I had never had a reason to tell him about it, so I could only assume that he didn't know what that smile would mean to my friend.

"Of course you may," he said, smoothly.

Dan giggled, "Okay, ever heard of karaoke?"

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For the life of me, I couldn't believe two things. First of all, I could not believe that Dan believed Jareth had never heard of karaoke without questioning it. Second of all, I could not believe that Jareth, once having the concept explained to him, would agree to judge the contest so quickly. In fact, he seemed excited by the idea.

I hope he didn't think I would actually sing. I loved to sing, but not in public. And, even if I had been a famous singer who was accustomed to singing in public every day, I would still refuse, just to spite him.

Dan pulled up a chair off to the side of the karaoke machine, which 'Jim Bob' sat in, very regally. I heard three sighes across the room, at least, when he leaned back in the chair and crossed his legs. Allie shoved her fist in her mouth to keep from giggling.

Had I been in a better mood, I would have found it hysterical that, out of the blue, Jareth seemed to decide to moderate the event, too.

"All right," he said in his kingly voice, "Who shall attempt to impress me, first?"

Like children being offered pony rides, several hands shot into the air. Jareth ignored them, and looked at me.

"How about you, Lady… Wren, is it?" he smirked at me. I frowned in return. "A lovely name. It means songbird, if I am not mistaken. Tell me, do you live up to your name?"

"Sure, I squawk." I said, snippily. "But not in front of others. Sorry. Ask someone else."

A genuine smile took his face, "Very well, Lady Allie, then?" he extended a hand to Allie, "Would you like to sing?"

Allie went bright red, sitting down in her chair, "Me? Oh, no… I'm too nervous… I couldn't…"

Dan grabbed my arm and tugged. "Wre-en!" he whined, pathetically, "Please! C'mon, sweetie, please? Pretty please? I need some competition! Pretty please with loads of cherries on top?"

Before I knew it, Dan was helping me pick a song, and I was standing in front of Jareth with a microphone in my hands.

I glared at Jareth, but to Dan, said, "That one, you just passed over it. I'll sing that one."

Dan eyed me, "Carly Simon?"

I nodded and began to sing my own rendition of 'You're so vain'.

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Not many people in my department wanted to sing. Rhonda took a turn, so did Donna, but neither of them could carry a tune in a bucket. It was very embarrassing. Dan was insisting on going last, so he waited while Shaniqua sang some Mariah Carey song, and then he quickly popped in a CD.

Jareth seemed to be quite enjoying himself. It was like Simon, from American Idol, only with spiky hair and glitter. But, while I could tell he was proud of himself for finding a way to get me to sing to him, he had no idea what Dan was planning.

I sure did, but I wasn't about to say anything. He could just get embarrassed for all I cared.

But, even knowing what I did, I was still shocked when I heard the music.

Dan had chosen David Bowie's Heroes. Oh dear. I had a bad feeling about this… I mean, it wasn't exactly the song, per se, but the fact that he'd chosen anything Bowie to sing…

He started swaying his hips as the song started, and began singing the lyrics. "I, I wish you could swim… like the dolphins, like the dolphins can swim…"

Poor Allie – I think she couldn't breathe with laughter. Dan, a former dancer, decided to show off his dancing prowess, swaying his hips and dancing around.

So far, things were okay… Dan added new meaning to the phrase about being king and queen, but Jareth didn't quite notice that. I mean, Dan's dancing seemed to actually amuse Jareth to a certain extent - I knew he himself enjoyed a good sway from time to time – but… as the song went on, Dan's intentions/advances became more evident. I just… I can't explain it. I knew Dan, and I knew what he'd do. It wasn't good… I dashed from my chair, hoping to try and stop the situation before it happened.

Jareth was still enjoying the song, it seemed, and was still completely oblivious to Dan, until Dan reached the part in the song that talked about the wall… I don't know how I could have stopped him, but I didn't get there in time.

Dan seated himself on Jareth's lap. Jareth stiffened, giving a steely glare at Dan, who didn't notice. Dan, as he sang the lyrics about kissing and there being no shame, or something like that, stoked Jareth's face.

And I saw it. There was a kind of recognition in Jareth's face, and his eyes took on a dangerous sheen… it was like a chant, going off in my head, screaming one word, over and over.

BOG. BOG BOG BOG!

No! Not Dan!

I tried to speak up, "Dan? Danny? Um… I don't think that's a good idea…" But Dan being Dan, he wasn't listening. He's got a very one-track mind, that boy does.

Dan removed himself from Jareth's lap, which was a relief, but in exchange, his dance moves became slightly more seductive. The light in Jareth's eyes grew, and I now wasn't the only one to notice. A glance at Allie, who was no longer laughing, showed that she was frightened, too. Even some of the others watching were looking worried – while they didn't know about the Bog of Eternal Stench, I bet they could guess that Dan had overstepped his boundaries.

Jareth raised a hand sharply, and I freaked out. I couldn't let Dan get sent to the Bog! I looked around several times, trying to think. Unfortunately, the creative part of my brain wasn't working, and there was only one thing I could think of that would sufficiently calm Jareth's temper – or at least distract him.

I took a deep breath, and didn't think twice. It had to be done. I marched up to Jareth, sat myself down on his lap, yanked his collar towards me, and kissed him, hard. Jareth froze, along with the entire room. Dan dropped his microphone.

Um, I don't think anyone in that room ever expected to see me do that. I'm sure they thought I was trying to eat his face, or something. But… as shocked as everyone was, they seemed even more shocked when 'Jim Bob', hottie extraordinaire, didn't mind my actions and started to kiss me back, his ire forgotten.

Mission accomplished, Dan's sentence dismissed, everyone shocked, and personal mortification permanently in place – I pried myself away from Jareth and walked away, silently.

Okay, okay, so I didn't walk away… I ran like I was being chased by a horde of flesh eating monkeys. With spears. And bazookas.

The idea that I would never be able to face my coworkers again and, therefore, would have to seek employment elsewhere both frightened and saddened me terribly. Seriously, I didn't think I could ever go back in that room again.

I ran as far as I could go, to where I doubted anyone (except Jareth – though he had better have enough sense to stay away) would find me. That happened to be the bathroom… on the other side of the building. Never mind that it was smelly and no one likes it much, or that it's quite small – I never use that one. No one does, and therefore it would be empty.

I flung myself through the doors and back into the handicap stall. Roughly throwing several toilet seat covers on the floor in the corner, I plopped down on them, drew my knees up to my chest and fought tears.

"Wren?" that had been Dan's voice.

"Go away! It's the Ladies Room! Go away!" I shouted, not thinking too much.

"Too late, you already told me to go away – I know you're in there, hon," Dan's shoes were outside the stall door, tapping on the floor. "Are you gonna let me in?"

"Nope. Technically, you shouldn't be in here at all, Dan. It's the ladies room."

He scoffed and began jiggling the latch on the door, "Oh, please. I'm girlier than ninety percent of those that come in here. And, besides," he wiggled it opened and slowly poked his head inside, "I put a sign on the door, saying a man was in here, fixing something," he came on in and sat himself down beside me, "They don't need to know what I'm fixing."

I said nothing. I honestly didn't know what to say.

"Hey, babe," he nudged me, "You want to tell me what happened back there?"

I sniffed, "Not really. I'm not all that sure, myself. How the heck did you know where I was?"

Dan laughed, "Where else would you go, to make sure no one would find you? I'm gay, remember? I know these things." Silence reigned in the room for a moment, before he laughed again, "Cat's out of the bag, you know. It's too late to go on keeping it a secret – and, I confess, Kay and I were suspicious months ago. Might as well tell me about it."

I looked up at him, "What? What do you mean?"

"Oh, c'mon Wren," he waved a hand at me, "Of all people, I understand about secret boyfriends. You don't need to keep hiding him."

"Gosh, Dan, I'm sorry," I sighed, "I… he took me by surprise today. He wasn't my boyfriend, until just recently… we… I mean… oh, this is just weird…"

Dan grinned at me, "Babe, if you can't tell your gay coworker, and friend, who can you tell?" He wrapped an arm around me, lightly.

I smiled, then shook my head, "Man… I've known Jar… Jim, for a while, now. I've had a crush on him forever. We were friends, and then, suddenly, we were more than friends, but we weren't anything official, you know? I've never done this before," everything started coming out in a rush, "And I didn't want to tell everyone that I had a boyfriend if we weren't there yet… I don't know these kinds of things! Then, we finally had our first official date and we argued over me working Saturday and…" I stuttered for a second, "He must have arranged to get on here for the weekend, just to be with me, but the thing is that he didn't tell me! It freaked me out, made me angry and I didn't know what to do! Or say! I'm sorry I didn't tell you, Dan."

Dan waved a hand, "If anyone should be sorry, it's me – but I'm not, so don't you be. I should be sorry that I gave you're boyfriend a near-lap dance, but," he shrugged, "He's gorgeous. I don't care how he's committed, or who to, I won't ever be sorry for that. I won't go doing it again, but all the same…"

I giggled, "Well, were it not for his temper, I'd give you permission to do it again. He deserves it, after freaking me out today."

Dan eyed me, knowingly, "That's why you kissed him, isn't it? His temper was all raging?"

I gave Dan an apologetic look, "In a way. See… Jim would never hurt me, I know that, but I've seen his temper rage, and… I didn't know what else to do when he got that look in his eye... Argh!" I threw my hands in the air, "He can be such a jerk sometimes! Why didn't he tell me his plan for today!"

Dan laughed, "Well, thanks, sweetie, for looking out for me – are you sure he's not gay?"

"Huh? Oh," I blushed, "Yes, I'm sure. He just… likes glitter. Metro, I guess you'd call him."

He sighed, "Well, fine, but I will be honest with you in that I am completely jealous of you, Wren, and… well, he's too hot for me not to flirt with him, so you're just going to have to tolerate it."

I nodded, and laughed a little. "Oh, I understand. Flirt all you want."

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It was still a while longer before Dan managed to talk me out of the bathroom. He claimed that everything was just fine, that I shouldn't care what the others thought – he sure didn't, hence why he carries a 'murse' – and that I didn't have to go find a new job. I didn't listen to him at first, but, eventually, I agreed. The smell got to me… could it be possible that there was some spring of BOES in there, hence the constant reeking? I wasn't sure.

Dan all but pushed me back to my desk. I am such a mule. I admit it.

When we got back, there was the oddest sight awaiting me…

'Jim' was arguing with Allie, over at the karaoke machine. 'Jim' was holding the microphone; Allie was talking about a song…

"Okay, it's your idea, but the song you want is lame! You want to do it right, then you use this one! I know Wren, okay?"

"Ahem," Dan said, drawing everyone's attention. I went bright red.

Bill leaned out of his cube, "Wren! Good, you're back! I'm insulted, for your information."

I frowned at him, "Why?"

Lisa smiled at me, "You didn't tell any of us you were seeing someone! Jim explained it to us, Wren. Don't be embarrassed."

"Uh," I looked around to see my team, most of them (Shaniqua and Rhonda were looking quite sulky, but resigned to the fact that 'Jim' was taken), were smiling at me, "Okay, I won't be."

Allie ran over with a smile, "Jim told us that he'd been a jerk and hadn't wanted you to say you were dating but he wants to-"

"Ahem," Jareth, coughed into the microphone as music began to play, "Allie?"

"Oh, right!" she grabbed my arm and led me over to the chair he'd sat in earlier, "Sit here," she instructed.

I looked at Jareth, "What the heck are you up to?" I demanded – causing my team to laugh.

"I," he began, with a flourish, "Need to apologize for making you feel… uncomfortable. And, to show you, Lady Allie was kind enough to choose a song…"

"WHAT?" Was he actually going to… sing? To me? And… holy crap, I recognized this song…

He cleared his throat, struck a pose in front of me, and started to sing in his gorgeous voice, "Humidity rising, uh-huh, Barometer's getting low… According to all sources, the street's the place to go… 'Cause tonight for the first time, just about half-past ten… for the first time in history – It's gonna start raining men!"

I nearly fainted. My hands clamped over my mouth to stifle the laughter – the whole team was laughing hysterically… and then, as the beat picked up, he began dancing, too. Holy crap.

Heaven help me – he's a hot dancer. Shaking his hips like that… should be illegal.

"It's Raining Men! Hallelujah! - It's Raining Men! Amen!
I'm gonna go out to run and let myself get
Absolutely soaking wet!
It's Raining Men! Hallelujah!
It's Raining Men! Every Specimen!
Tall, blonde, dark and lean
Rough and tough and strong and mean…"

If I thought I ever laughed harder before – back when he'd painted my room, or when he'd done something else nutty – I was wrong. I could barely breath! But, at least, neither could anyone else in the room.

When he'd finally finished the last chorus of the song, he stood there, in a final pose, trying to look haughty and proud, as I'm sure the rest of the team thought he was as they broke in to laughing applause – and catcalls (mostly from Dan). But, I could see he was watching me carefully, terrified that I wouldn't accept his apology.

Something seemed to strike my heart at that – he cared what I thought… and he was scared of losing me.

Aw.

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Karaoke had picked up after that, and the remaining time passed very quickly. 'Jim' offered to take me home… after Dan purposefully pinched him.

But, instead of going home, Jareth – after asking me – took me to the Underground, to his throne room.

Once there, I eyed him strangely, "So… Jim Bob? What the heck?"

He shrugged, suddenly back in his usual attire, "I didn't want them to recognize me."

I shook my head, "Your tag could have said GK on it, and I still doubt they would have noticed."

Jareth didn't say anything. I turned to look at him, to find him looking horribly pathetic – sitting on his throne, leaning over with his elbows on his knees and his head low. I frowned; I don't like to see him sad.

I walked over and did my best to perch (not easy!) on the arm of his throne, and patted his back. "Hey, what's wrong?"

He shook his head, "How do you tolerate me?"

I laughed, hard, "What kind of question is that?"

He looked up at me, his eyes very sad and sobering to my laughter, "It seems that all I do is… incorrect. I do nothing but irritate you-"

"And," I cut in, sliding into his lap (couldn't help that, I was losing my balance. It was either his lap, or fall backwards to the floor. I chose the more graceful of the two), "You also make me happy, Jareth."

He eyed me, "Do I, really?"

I wrapped my arms around his neck, "Very much. I've never been as happy as I am with you."

He squeezed me and buried his face in my hair, but said nothing. After a long moment of us just sitting there, I asked, tentatively, "So, what would you like to do with the rest of the day?"

I was expecting some suggestive comment – per usual. I mean, that is what we do, isn't it? He'd make half-hearted advances, I'd smack him, we'd both laugh, and go on with whatever… but that's not what I got. Instead, I heard him sigh.

"Let us just stay as we are, right here," he breathed.

I smiled, "Oh, you can show me more of those dance moves you obviously picked up from Dan…"

His head shot up and he glared at me.

"Kidding, I'm kidding, GK!"

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A/N: Whoa! That chapter was a monster, wasn't it? So long… didn't mean to get so involved with all that plot (kicks bunnies attached to my shoes) Get off! All of you! This fic is supposed to be more random! Sheesh… well, all the same, I hope you enjoyed it, and as always, please review! Let's see if we can break a review record, shall we? (I have no shame… really, I don't.)