Disclaimer: If only I could claim everything I've written here as my own. I mean, think how happy I'd be! Well… I'm happy now… and most of this is mine… Wren, all the original characters, and the plot… so, what am I complaining over, again? I forget.

Hey all – sorry, but no responses this time, though I did send them to you all individually. You see, tragedy struck on Valentine's night (gee, now you all know what faboo plans I had then, don't you?), just as I was finishing up and putting the responses in. Here's what happened:

Just as I was saving my story, my computer ate it off my floppy. Seriously. I have NO idea what happened, or how, and I searched everywhere to get it back, but it utterly vanished from my systems. I was devastated! But, luckily, I had a copy that I had sent to my work email, which saved me from chucking my computer right out the window in anger.

But, the copy wasn't finished, so I was unable to post it V-day night, as I had hopped, and had to literally rewrite the entire end.

Stupid computer.

So, with my late chapter and all, I say this to everyone in general: Thank you so very much for reviewing! Your comments strengthen me as a writer, and I am very grateful for them!

And with that, on we go!

Music Recommendations:

Breakaway by Kelly Clarkson – hmm. I listened to this song while writing a good portion of this chapter – in my head it kinda seems like a Persephone-theme.

Love You 'Til Tuesday by David Bowie - Aww. Cute, fluffy, lovie stuff.

Cupid by Sam Cooke - I HIGHLY recommend this song. It's awesome, an all-time fav.

"Wren, would you please explain this?"

Hmm… Return to Me, or Just Like Heaven? Or the new Pride and Prejudice? That was a good one, too…

"Wren?"

"What?" I spun to face Jareth, nearly dropping the DVD's I was juggling and debating over.

He was watching me from a chair in my living room, some store ad resting on his lap, as I riffled through the DVD collection – which was primarily mine, as I purchased most of them, but was technically belonging to my parents, too.

He cleared his throat and asked again, "Would you please explain this?"

"Okay, once again," I replied, "Persephone will be leaving, going to Toronto and then to London on business, and before she goes, she invited me for an old fashioned girls slumber-party, meaning that we'll be staying up late on the twelfth, being a bunch of silly girls, watching girly movies, and being all around morons, like we used to do when we were little."

Jareth rolled his eyes, "There may be many things in the Aboveground that I am not acquainted with, but do give me credit – I know what a slumber-party is."

I shifted the DVD's in my arms, "Then why did you ask?"

He pulled a face, indicating a finger to the ad in his lap, "I was referring to the sudden change in your magazines."

I quirked an eyebrow at him, "Change?" I came over to stand beside the chair he was seated in and glanced down at the ad. "What change? It looks rather average to me."

With a disgusted noise in his throat, he waved his hand over the page, "Take in the lurid color scheme of fuschia and crimson, the blatant displays of ladies undergarments," he picked up the ad and began flipping the pages quickly, "And entire pages devoted to sweets… erm…" he paused eyeing a box of chocolate covered cherries on the page. "Well, perhaps that is not too terrible…"

A snort escaped me before I could catch it, "Weren't you the one who once said that a portly Goblin King wouldn't do? After I cooked for you?"

A somewhat sheepish grin tugged at the corners of his mouth. "You are no fun, Wren."

I snatched the ad from him, "Hey, those were your words, not mine, if you recall. I, personally, am more than willing to cook or bake for you anytime."

With an inward expression, Jareth seemed to actually consider that thought.

I shook my head, laughing a little, and went to trash the ad.

Seeing my directions, Jareth got to his feet, stopping me just before I threw it in the bin. "I was perusing that, thank you," he plucked it from my fingers and returned to his chair.

I followed him, "Don't worry about it," I said, trying to downplay the 'change'. "It's just seasonal, you know."

Reopening the ad, he began eyeing a trampoline, "That I comprehend. But what would the season call for? You never answered my question. What warrants such a change, Wren? Surely you can not think I will believe such a drastic change would come from the weather alone, as the weather has not differed terribly in the last few months, here in the Aboveground."

I gritted my teeth, pondering how much to tell him. Like so many of the other things in my life, Valentine's Day had fallen into the category of things I didn't care do deal with anymore. As a kid, I loved Valentine's Day. It was fun, and the small little cards you got were great – the ones with a sucker attached were even better. But, as I grew, I began to see the cards as just that – cards. Paper. Generic, store bought things with very little meaning.

Gosh, and once you hit Junior High, they just become embarrassing, don't they? For Heaven's sake, you don't want to give some good friend, who's just a friend, a card that says something like "You are so divine, won't you be my Valentine?" because… well, someone, either the intended recipient or someone else, reads too much into it. It's just a card that I got because the picture reminded me of them. But… yeah, I stopped getting stupid cards, long ago. If there was someone I wanted to give something to, I made the Valentine myself, that way, I could make it say what I wanted.

But, then, when I reached High School, it seemed that Valentine's Day had an entirely different meaning. It was now a day to spend with your special someone, and… until now, I'd never had one. Then, after the troubles I'd had with guys and whatnot, I'd gotten to the point of even boycotting it, you might say. I didn't celebrate it, if I could help it.

I sighed. He'd find out, anyway, and then only want the details of why I didn't tell him in the first place.

"Valentine's Day," I said, trying not to sound too disinterested.

He pulled a face, just a slight one, eyed the ad, then nodded deeply, "Oh, yes, I am familiar with the holiday. Does it not mark the martyrdom of Valentine?"

I nodded, "Something like that."

Jareth's eyes widened at a page of women's lingerie, "What a strange way you mortals have of celebrating his martyrdom."

My hands flew up to cover my face, which had gone red, "Ah, no… that's not… dear me. Valentine's Day has gotten rather commercial. The true story of Valentine's Day has become terribly skewed, barely recognizable anymore. But…" I shrugged, "Call me dumb, but I kind of enjoy the story, even if it is incorrect."

Jareth tapped a finger on his chin, "Well, regardless of what the story was, why do you now celebrate with such… lewdness?"

I blushed further, "It's associated with love. Red is the color of blood, blood comes from the heart, the heart is associated with love, and pink and all those colors in between are derived from red. Love on Valentine's day can be as simple as two people exchanging small gifts as tokens of how much they care for each other, or…" I fought to keep my face straight, but thankfully he raised a hand and spared me from explaining in further detail.

"I think I understand," he said, simply.

I sighed, "Thanks…" I looked at the DVD's in my arms, "Hey, I think I'll ask you on these. Which do you think would be good for a girl's night?"

He took them from me and looked at each one in turn, finally handing me Sense and Sensibility. "This seems appropriate."

"Appropriate?"

He smirked at me, "Two girls, spending an evening swooning over the most ridiculous things, playing the most absurd games, and being all over idiotic? Sense and sensibility are two things they could most definitely use. Ow!" he rubbed his arm, where I smacked him.

"You know too much about slumber parties!"

"Eeep! Okay! Ah, watch! Watch!"

Persephone and I were glued to the screen as Mr. Darcy appeared out of the morning light and approached Elizabeth Bennett.

"I wish I knew his first name," Perry whispered.

"Shh! This is my favorite part!" I hissed.

We watched on as he once again told her that he loved her… and kept watching until the end, where they sit and discuss what to call each other, and he kisses her one more time.

I sighed and buried my face in my blanket while Perry giggled and got up to take out the DVD. "I love that movie," I muttered.

Persephone giggled, "It's now officially on my favorites list. Seriously, Wren, we need to have more movie nights when I am in town. I never get to see movies anymore, and I miss some great ones!"

For our slumber-party, Persephone had invited Orla and I over to spend the night at her place. I think Orla wanted to avoid me, because she told Perry that she couldn't make it, she had other plans and had to get up too early. I was glad that Perry didn't press the subject further.

So, it was just us, and she had a big bed, so we shared it. She'd brought her television set into her room, and we'd watched movies on it all night. She had a noon flight the next day, the thirteenth, and I had work, so it wasn't like we could really stay up all that late, but we still wanted to do something. I was willing to be tired the next morning at work because I just didn't see Persephone that much anymore, and I really missed her.

"Yep," I said, agreeing with her, "We totally need to have more movie nights."

She looked at me, "Hey, want to watch another?"

I did. I so did… but I also did need sleep. We'd already watched two, if we started a third, it would be past midnight or even one in the morning before I got to sleep. I could be sleepy the next day, but not that sleepy.

"Eh, I'd better not," I said, feeling like sulking.

She nodded, "Yeah, you're probably right. But… we can still talk and stuff, so that's good," she tugged on the comforter I was laying on, on the bed, "Pop up so we can pull the sheets back."

I nodded, getting to my feet so we could prep the bed. Man, I was so envious of Perry's bed. It was just so… nice. She had one of those really tall and comfy ones, with lots of the sham pillows and bed posts and the like. It was seriously one fancy bed – that was one reason why I was so tickled when Orla couldn't make it; it meant that with just us two sisters, we could share her frilly bed.

She was really lucky to have the job that she had, so she could not only earn a lot of money, but also travel and see the world.

"Perry?"

"Yes?"

I grabbed two sham pillows and set them off to the side, "Tell me about all the places you've been."

My sister looked up at me, brushed a strand of dark hair out of her eyes, and gave a faint cough, "That could take a while, Wren. I've been to a lot of places."

I shrugged, "I know… I'll be more specific, I guess. Tell me about… well, Paris. You've been to Paris, many times. What's it like there?"

She shrugged, "Eh, it's okay. I mean… it's Paris, it's beautiful, there are many things to see there, but it's also crowded and they don't exactly like Americans there, either. I actually prefer traveling to Cannes. It's greener and less crowded there, but unfortunately I don't get to go there that much. It's usually Paris, and then on to the offices in London."

I sighed, "You're so lucky to travel like that. You get to see the world!"

She sighed and looked at me, "It's just a job, Wren. It's not really all that it's cracked up to be. Sure, it pays me well, and I do get to see many new and fascinating places but… it's often times a very lonely thing. I travel all the time, and most of that travel time, probably about ninety-five percent of it, is done alone."

We'd finished the bedding, and Perry began to adjust her pillows for the night. I went to grab mine, which I thought I had stuffed in a bag before I'd grabbed up the other two bags I had packed. But… I couldn't find them. "What's wrong with being alone?" I asked her as I looked around for my pillows.

She shrugged as she slipped into bed, "Nothing, per se. Sometimes it's nice, but… Just trust me when I say it's not that great. Well, okay, it is pretty cool sometimes, but… ah, Wren, you're the lucky one."

I stood upright and faced her, completely perplexed, "Me? Are you nuts? Why am I the lucky one?"

She smiled at me, "You have a steady job that is in the same place every day, you never have to worry about passports, you can come home to your own bed every night, and you also have a boyfriend who is to die for. Don't tell me you don't see how wonderful that is."

Well… okay, so she might have had a point with that. I hadn't thought about it like that before – in regards to either of us. It honestly hadn't occurred to me that her life might be lonely with all that travel – I guess my brain just told me that if I did go on a trip, Jareth would surely be there with me all the way, so I wouldn't technically be alone. Heh.

I shrugged, "Well, I still say you have a pretty sweet deal, Persephone."

She paused, briefly, a hand on her comforter. With a very quiet look in her eyes, she said softly, "Not as sweet as you might think. There's a reason why I travel on Valentine's."

Where were my pillows? "Perry? I think I left my pillows at home. Would you mind if I borrowed a two of yours?"

She shrugged from where she was on the bed, "Ah, that's just fine with me. Take a couple of the shams – they're good for that."

"They're also frilly," I snorted, picking up one and eyeing the high ruffles that ran along the edge of the pillow case. "I have a couple of shams at home, but they're not this fluffy."

Perry waggled her eyebrows at me, "Well, not all of us have a handsome stud we can snuggle with, do we?"

My mouth fell open and, for lacking in the right words to say, I threw a pillow at her. She caught it, grinning wildly, and chucked it back at me. I just let it hit me.

And, as it did, something else hit me – a question I had meant to ask Persephone before she left…

She fussed with her side of the sheets as I slipped in beside her. Propping myself up on the sham pillows (which, I must say, were extremely fluffy and thick), I was about to ask her, when she spoke up first.

"Wren?"

I noticed she seemed rather serious. "Yeah?"

She fiddled with the comforter between her fingers and sighed, "I… ah, okay, please don't hate me for asking this, okay?"

I raised an eyebrow at her, "Why would I hate you?"

"Just promise you won't kill me. Please?"

I shrugged, "Fine, I won't kill you. What makes you think I would?"

She looked up at the ceiling, "Lachlan and I talk a lot, you know that. We're twins, we talk. Gathering from what he's told me, and how I know our family is, I just… well, I have the feeling that you probably get asked this rather often. I'm just asking out of curiosity, because I'm your sister, one who doesn't see you very often, and I care… I'm not trying to pry or be condescending."

I nodded, "So ask me, already."

She propped her head up on one arm and faced me, "How physical is your relationship with Jareth?"

I think my eye twitched. Seriously. Was I that untrustworthy? Did I just scream some kind of aura that implied I was loose? Really! Or… was it just Jareth? My mind recalled the time he and I officially talked about physical intimacy. I am sure you perceive me as a great lover… did people just make that assumption about him? Hm. It was probable.

But, I suppose she was just playing the part of my concerned sister.

And yet, concerned or no, I couldn't keep from gritting my teeth. "Well, it's not psychological or imaginary, Perry."

She snorted and began to laugh, "I'm serious, Wren!"

I turned on my side and faced her fully, "So am I. I… good grief. I guess I'm the only person who can believe that Jareth's not like that. He and I discussed that, right in the middle of our first official date, actually."

Her expression softened as she leaned back in her pillows, showing genuine interest in the subject, "Really? I'll say I'm impressed with that."

I smiled at her, "It was pretty neat. We got it right out in the open, and it turns out that we feel the same way. The only sleeping between us is, you know, actual sleeping – like when we went swimming and I fell asleep in the sun next to him."

She giggled, but looked rather pleased, "Aw, I'm proud of you, little sis. You've found someone really special. And you burned in the sun, didn't you?"

I turned my nose in the air, "That's besides the point. Hey, Perry?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you remember, at Christmas, you looked like you wanted to say something, I asked you what, and you told me to ask you before you left?"

She nodded, "Yes, I remember that."

"Well," I coughed, "I'm asking you before you leave. What were you going to say?"

Her face became completely serious, with only a small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth, "I think you love him."

I sputtered on absolutely nothing and sat straight up in bed, "What!?"

She sat up and put a hand on my arm, her smile gentle, "I'm serious. I watched the two of you that day, you know. I watched the way he held your hand, the way you smiled at him, how comfortable you were with him… you love him, I can tell."

My face was very, very red…

"Well, of course I love him," I said, trying to be calm as I spoke, "Jareth is my best friend, not just who I'm dating. We were friends long before we dated, and I love him as much as I would love any of friend of mine," she didn't seem convinced… so, I continued, "Look Perry – I mean it. Jareth and I were friends before we were anything else, and I do love him… as for being in love with him…" my breaths were becoming short and quick, "I… I don't…"

"Don't lie to me, Wren," she cautioned in that I'm-your-sister kind of way.

I sucked in a deep breath and exhaled slowly, using the moment it gave me to gather my thoughts.

"Okay," I said, "Jareth is the first serious relationship I've ever had. Before him, I'd been on, what, one or two dates? If that? He's not had that many either, from what I know. In a sense, we're learning as we go along – so the best thing we can do is go slow. I like having him as my boyfriend; I like him, a lot. I… I don't want to screw things up by digging into a bowl of emotions what we haven't gotten to. That's not a bridge I'm ready to cross, just yet."

My sister shrugged, "That's fine… I'm just telling you what I saw. I've seen you like a lot of guys, Wren, and…" she smiled, "You've never looked at anyone like you do him."

My cheeks went a brighter red, "Well… that's… that's just 'cause none of those other guys ever liked me back… I guess…" I threw a pillow over my head and rolled over, "I'm going to bed now."

She wrapped her arms around me and gave me a quick hug, "Aw, good night, Wren."

Jareth just smells good. I think I've tried, on several occasions, to pinpoint what it is exactly that he smells like, but I just can't. In the end, I've come to the conclusion that his scent is simply uniquely Jareth, and that I really like it.

I pulled him closer to me, marveling at just how slender he could be, and yet I knew he was also strong enough to lift me into his arms. The ruffles of his shirt were soft and cool on my face, and I sunk deeper into them. I could almost smell him… almost…

"Wren?"

I blinked a little, reluctant to open my eyes. I liked where I was, in Jareth's arms, close to his chest, and didn't want to move.

"Wren… hey, time to get up…"

I squeezed him tighter – dang, he was skinny! Uh… wait… I blinked my eyes, wondering for the first time why the ruffles on his shirt weren't quite centered, as they typically are…

"Jareth?" I said, sitting up and looking around… spotting Persephone… who was looking at me very strangely…

"What did you say?" she asked, her hair mussed and being barely able to contain bubbles of laughter.

"I… uh…" I looked down at what I had been holding… a sham pillow. "Oh, holy crap, tell me I didn't say what I think I said."

Perry busted up laughing, falling face first into in her bedding and cackled mercilessly.

I threw the pillow at her, and moving to get off the bed and get my bag of stuff for the morning. "Stupid sham pillow case!"

After a long moment, in which my sister laughed so hard she was crying, she sat up, wiping away tears from her eyes and said, "I stand by what I told you last night, more than ever! Seriously, Wren! Oh… man… I laughed too hard… I wish I didn't have to catch a flight today…"

I snorted from the bathroom, where I was standing and applying some toothpaste to my toothbrush, "Serves you right, jerk face! Someday, when you find someone, I will find a way to mock you – I swear!"

She leaned in the door way, smiling at me, "I wouldn't have it any other way! Oh, and I've got toast in the kitchen for us, for breakfast. I need to finish off that loaf before I go."

I shook my head, "Dork."

February the fourteenth came all too soon, in my opinion.

The thirteenth had been rough. I had taken Persephone to the airport on my way to work – it was always hard to see her off. She would most likely be gone until late April or May, and… oh, I missed her. At least, she said, she was expected to settle in the offices her company had in New York, probably in March, so I could at least call her, then.

It was a small consolation prize.

Work that day had been hard. I'm that way, you see. It's hard for me to say goodbye to people, and when I do, I'm somewhat mentally burnt for the rest of the day. So, I'd tried to do my best, but was slow and rather useless anyway.

That evening I spent with Jareth. He had come to see me, sitting in my beanbag chair, and had been very kind when I crawled onto his lap and had a good little cry on his shoulder for a few minutes. He didn't even tell me how silly I was being, which… oh, that was nice. I knew I was being silly, and the last thing I wanted was to hear someone else tell me so. After my tears had dried, I remained in his arms while he read over some scroll he'd brought with him. I was glad he didn't mind.

So, given my low mood the evening before, I'd really not had high hopes for February the fourteenth. Besides, for the last couple of years I had made it be just an average day, just like any other day of the year, so it was a little difficult to think of it any differently.

I surely wasn't expecting anything.

Especially not a bouquet of peach colored roses on my desk, when I came in first thing in the morning.

I stood there, shocked – but also smiling from ear to ear. Peach? There were a lot of meanings, I think… yellow roses were for friendship, orange were for respect, and pink were for, if I was remembering correctly, romance. Did peach even have a meaning? Was it some kind of combination of all three of those? Or… well, was it just a peach thing? You know, as in pamnesia peaches? I wasn't sure.

But the fact that they were flowers, and they were just for me, made me smile, endlessly.

"Lucky girl," Dan muttered close to my ear as he walked past. "I wish some studly guy would bring me flowers."

I perked up, "Who brought them?"

Allie, over at her desk, was watching Dan and I with a smile on her face.

Dan shrugged, "Delivery guy, I suppose. The guard brought him back here to your desk where he left them – I've no idea why the guard didn't just sign for the flowers. But, whatever. He was gorgeous, I'll tell you that."

I looked over at Allie, "You have two cents to put in about it?"

She shook her head, "Nah, I'm just waiting for you to read the card – I want to know, heh, who sent them…"

Going by her smile, it seemed that she and I were thinking the same thing, even though it wasn't really his style – Jareth. I mean, he's the only one I knew of who'd send me flowers, unless my mom had decided to order them just to make me smile (which is mother's code for: no one else sends you flowers, so I don't want you to feel bad, and sent you some).

I took a moment to smell them – they smelled really nice – and then took hold of the card. It read:

Wren-

I hope that you have a wonderful Valentine's Day.

Thinking of you.

I frowned at the card. Okay, so Jareth may be known to do some pretty cheesy things now and then, but… if these were from him, well… maybe he was trying to say something that people would say in the Aboveground? Perhaps. Eh, who cares, they were still pretty flowers.

I sat the card off to the side and smiled. I sat down at my desk and started working, only briefly caressing a couple of the petals – I love to touch flowers, even if it turns them brown. They just feel so soft!

Allie coughed, I turned and looked at her, "What?"

"You're not going to tell me what it says?"

Dan laughed as he headed back to his seat, "Leave her be, Allie – it's probably too steamy for the likes of us."

"Dan!" I all but shrieked, "It is not!"

He gave me a wild grin, "Whatever you say, honey, but now you're all blushing – which really doesn't help your case." And with that, he winked and put on his head phones, whistling Lady Marmalade.

Allie was laughing, too… I couldn't blame, her, I'd be laughing… but as it was, I put my head down until my face returned to a normal shade.

When I came in through the front door at home after work, carrying my roses, my mother spotted me and cooed.

"Oooh, looks like Jareth sent you flowers!"

During the day, I had decided that they were probably from my parents – but, uh, obviously they weren't. I covered my surprise with a bright smile, "Aren't they beautiful?"

My mother approached them, sniffed them, and then she put her hands on her cheeks, "They are pretty… oh, my baby's getting flowers!"

I rolled my eyes, "Yes, Mamma, flowers – just flowers, not engaged or abducted by aliens. You don't have to get teary over it."

She headed into the kitchen with a slight sniff, "Oh yes I do."

I laughed, and decided to change the subject. "Are you and Dad going out tonight?"

Mom poked her head back into the living room, where I was standing, "As a matter of fact, yes, we are. Your dad got some fancy reservations, he says, and then I'm going to beg him to take me out dancing. It's the one night of the year that I can get him to dance, other than our anniversary, and I'm not going to let it go to waste!"

"Good for you, Mamma," I headed towards my room.

"What about you, sweetie?" she called as I walked down the hallway, "Do you and Jareth have any plans?"

"Uh…" think quickly, Wren, "I think he'll come by and see me, but we don't have plans that I know of."

"Aw, that's too bad."

I snorted, "Yeah…" with my arms full of roses, I used my foot to push open my bedroom door…

… and I walked into a candlelit, emerald carpeted room with flowers and various decorations splayed everywhere from the table in the middle of the room, to the balcony doors on the other end.

I stepped backward, pulling the door closed with the toe of my foot. I looked around me – yes, I was still in my house. This was the hallway to my room. I pushed the door open again…

Technically, you could say that it was still my room… just not my room Aboveground. It was my rooms that Jareth had prepared, and kept, for me.

I blinked, unsure of how that had happened, but not all that upset that it had. I walked to the middle of the room and sat my roses down on the table, looking around. The room had clusters of candles in places that I was sure must be holding them via magic, and they lit it in a very beautiful glow. The sun was setting and the last few golden rays, matching the much smaller ones given off by the candles, were visible through the window.

I felt very silly, suddenly, in that I still had my work clothes on and my bags and stuff of the like from the day at work. Not wanting to ruin the atmosphere with my fluorescent pink lunch bag, I dashed into the side room that functioned as a study and dropped my stuff in there.

I emerged, looking at the door that I had just come through – it appeared that I was now in the underground for the evening, as it did not reflect my hallway anymore, but rather the stone hallways of Jareth's castle. Meh. I didn't mind.

But I felt absolutely disgusting from being at work all day. I hurried across the room to the bathroom entrance and washed up. When I reentered the main room, feeling much better, I also made one more dash – to the walk in closet. If this was Jareth's Valentine's Day surprise for me, I didn't want to spend the evening in my work clothes. I was sure there was something in there that would be much nicer.

I walked in – there were candles lit in there, too. On the dressing table, there was a dress already laid out for me. Pale blue, nearly gray… actually, the more I looked at it, it was the color of my eyes… a simple design, not overly elaborate, but there were small moonstones set along the scooped neckline, waist, and wrists.

Five minutes later, I was wearing the dress and the matching soft slippers that had also been provided. Not more than two seconds after I stepped from the closet did the double balcony doors click and swing inward.

In stepped Jareth. Tears welled up in my eyes and I began to cry. He was wearing his blue suit – my favorite. He walked to me slowly, a soft smile on his face with his hands held out to me.

"Did you think," he said softly, "That I would let this day go by without notice?"

I started to wipe at my eyes, but he produced a handkerchief instantly, stepping forward and delicately dabbed at my eyes, himself – which only made me cry more.

"This…" I motioned to everything, "Is… just… wonderful. No one… no one ever went through this much trouble for me…"

One of his gloved hands rested on my cheek, "Perhaps that is because they saw it as trouble. For you, Wren, this is a pleasure…" the handkerchief vanished and he cupped my face with both hands, "How I love to see you happy…"

I was going to burst inside, I just knew it. There was no other possibility. This was too perfect, too amazing – and utterly unbelievable.

He released my face and took gentle hold on my hands, leading me outside onto the balcony. I snorted with mild laughter, as I half expected to see two beanbag chairs waiting for us – but no such luck. Rather, there were two low chairs of a design that I wasn't quite familiar with – they were a little lower to the ground, but were cushioned and had a small back to them. Between them was, as there had been on our first date, on his balcony, a very low table. But, no big dinner – which suited me just fine – but there was a tray of my favorite Underground fruits and a smaller tray of what I could only define as what must be Underground sweets. They appeared to be chocolate, anyway.

He led me to the seat and sat me down before sitting beside me.

I couldn't take my eyes off him. Never before had it been more plain, more clear, that I was dating the Goblin King. I mean… he wasn't Jareth Kendricks, a security guard who met me while working in my building. He was His Royal Highness, Master of Magic, Lord of the Labyrinth, Jareth, the Magnificent – a Fae monarch, older than I cared to think about, rich and powerful, and who was courting me. Just me.

… and I don't think that I truly, really truly, understood that, until that very moment.

He smiled at me, reaching over to take my hand. "My dearling," – oh my word, the way he said that melted my insides – "Are you pleased?"

I sniffed and gave his hand a squeeze, "More than I have words to express."

After we'd eaten, Jareth walked me back inside, where I found that most of the things which usually occupied the middle of the room had been moved to the edges, and a fire had been lit in the fireplace.

"What next?" I asked, genuinely curious.

He smiled and walked me to the center of the room, "I hear dancing is traditional on this night, Aboveground, yes?"

All I could do was nod. If I said anything, I'd start crying again.

Jareth pulled me into his arms – not to waltz, or for some big showy dance, but a slow close one. I turned my head to the side and rested my ear on his chest. Faintly, in the room, if I listened, there was soft music… but it never got loud, which was perfect. Resting against him, I could hear his heart beating – which was something I never tire of. It makes him that much more real.

I don't know how long we stood dancing, nor did I care. I was perfectly content.

"Wren?"

"Yes?" I turned my face up to look at him. At first, I could have sworn he was about to say something, but instead tipped my face up to his, kissing me soflty.

My knees almost gave out on me, I swear.

When he, eventually, pulled back, he slipped his arms around me and held me close to him, resting his chin on the top of my head with a sigh. I rested against him. There was something so very surreal about him resting his head on me; a simple and tender gesture that just showed how much he cared. It always made me feel special.

From my place at his chest, I could feel the vibrations in before he spoke.

"Flowers? They are very lovely, I do say."

I pulled back looked up at him. "You mean my roses?"

He tilted his head to the side, glancing at my peach colored roses across the room, "Yes… that is what I said, is it not?"

I turned and looked between him and the flowers a couple of times, "You mean you didn't send me those?"

Jareth's eyes went wide and he placed a hand on his chest, "You truly think I would do something as cheeky as to send you peach roses?"

"Well…"

"Wren, you wound me!" he said dramatically, "I am appalled!"

I took a step back from him and put one of my hands on my hip. "Oh, really?" I asked, "What is it, exactly, that you find appalling? Sending me roses, or sending me flowers in general?"

He shook his head, "I would not send you those, lovely as they may be."

"You have sent me roses, you know…"

He waved a hand at me, as if to dismiss the comment, "Wren, I am courting you, am I not?"

I blinked, "Yes, you are, but what does that have to do with flowers?"

Jareth gave me a thin smile and began to pace around me, drawing a crystal as he did so. "When I give you a gift, my Wren, I give you part of myself. Such is how things are done, at least in the Underground. When I gave you that ring you wear, it was constructed of my own crystals. For your vacation, I specially created a suite, tailored specifically for you, and things you like, in my own castle. The necklace I gave you was created from shells of my lands, to preserve memories of our time together. Were I to give you flowers, they would not be aboveground flowers."

I was smiling at him, but still pointed a finger at him as he still circled me, "So how do you explain the time you did give me a rose? A sterling one, if you recall."

"Our first 'date'," he recalled, clasping his hands behind his back, "That was an invitation, tailored to Aboveground specifics and traditions – to your expectations and dreams, my dearling. I did not, as you put it, give you flowers. The gift to you that evening was eating in my castle, and also in…" his voice trailed off. I turned and noticed that he suddenly had rather pink cheeks and his eyes closed.

"In what, Jareth?"

When he opened his eyes, he smiled, "I revealed much of myself that evening, if you recall. In our conversations and the like, all we spoke of… I've never spoken so freely of myself before that night."

Yes, I remembered. The Jareth that stood before me was quite different from the one he had been when I had first met him. There were many nights, as friends, that he had spoke to me, but rarely did he speak of more than just daily events. After we'd started seeing each other, sorta, he still had had an air about him – as though he still had to maintain his regal mask. Our first date had changed my image of him, entirely. He wasn't some snooty (if handsome and charming) king, he was also a person with morals and convictions. Plus, we'd talked about how he'd become king, and that was the first night he'd had cookies, too. I grinned at him, reached out to snag his hand with mine.

"That was a very nice evening," I said, with a nod.

"So, you see," he explained, "Were I to give you flowers, as a sole gift, they would not be Aboveground roses," his nose wrinkled a little, "They have their uses, I admit, but truly, one cannot give them for simple reasons of favorite color or their beauty. As you may know, Aboveground roses are laden with meanings, often that the giver, myself at least, would not wish to convey."

I looked away, a little, hoping he wouldn't see the blush that had crossed my face. I had, after all, wondered what message he was trying to send me with peach roses… and in fact, had he sent them to me, he'd most likely not have wanted to send a message at all.

He laughed a little, seeing my face (though I can't tell if he noticed my reaction, or was just laughing at his thoughts), "If I wanted to say something to you, unless I am otherwise unable to do so, I would use words. When I give a gift, I do so with the intention of making the receiver pleased – especially when said receiver is you, Wren. Flowers would be given to you because they are beautiful, or because I feel you would enjoy them, not to give you a riddle to decipher."

"That makes sense," I said, quietly. Then something occurred to me, "Wait – you keep saying Aboveground roses…"

A lopsided grin twisted his lips, "Yes…"

"So, what are you getting at?"

"I am saying, Wren," he said, giving my hand a playful squeeze, "That if I did give you flowers, they would be similar to any other gift I have given you, and would be from the Underground."

My eyes widened, "Underground flowers? Like the ones that grow in your gardens?"

"Some, perhaps, but others from elsewhere in the Underground as well. Ornikiah, for example, are terribly lovely. Myanya adores them, and grows them in her own gardens."

I closed my eyes, imagining them, "What do they look like?"

"Would you like to see?"

I blinked. He extended a hand to me, the crystal in his palm. I watched with fascination as the crystal opened on one end and puddled in the middle – I realized it had become a small vase. It grew a little larger and extended upwards just a bit, and then, from the very bottom of the vase, I watched as swirls of green sprouted and began growing upwards.

Out of the water the stems grew, curling slightly as though they were going to become vines, but never going limp. There were two of them, with lots of little tendrils of green clutching and sprouting from the main stems, where a rose might have thorns or leaves. The tops of the stems, once they were about five inches out of the top of the vase, grew into little buds. They grew to about the size of boiled eggs before I saw little lips of color pursing at the very tips.

I gasped as the two buds burst open, revealing what, at first, looked like pastel roses. As they bloomed before my eyes, I saw that while they were similar to roses, they were most assuredly not. The petals, while having a similar arrangement, you might say, as a rose would, had a different texture to them, and the ends ruffled and crinkled, reminding me vaguely of lily petals, instead. Color wise, as well, they were very different. They actually reminded me of, ha-ha, moonstones. They were white, but on the ends where the petals crinkled, I could distinctly see swirls of color. Very faint, but there all the same.

"These are Ornikiah?" I whispered, reaching out a finger to touch them, desperate to see if they were as smooth and soft as they appeared.

"Yes, they are. And, to redeem the image I am sure you concocted of me sending you those," he inclined his head towards the peach roses while pressing the vase from his hands to mine, "These are for you."

My breath caught strangely in my throat as I looked up into his face. For you… how many times had he done things, just for me? And why would he do things for me?

You matter to him, said a quiet voice in the back of my thoughts. He cares for you.

Tears gathered at the corners of my eyes as I walked over to the table and scooted the roses aside to make room for my flowers. Still with my back to him, I brushed the few tears away before I turned back to him.

"I feel silly," I said.

He blinked and frowned, "Why?"

A sigh escaped my lips before I could stop it, "I did get you something for today… wasn't expecting this much, though… so what I got you seems very… inferior. I feel silly for getting it."

At the mention of me getting something for him, his eyes perked and I could clearly see the curious gleam in them. He took a few slow steps towards me, "Why not let me be the judge of this… item's inferiority?"

I tilted my head to the side, "Um, no, I don't think I will…"

He approached me a little quicker, "But, Wren, I would like to see it…"

I backed away from him, trying not to smile or laugh, "But, I don't think I want you to see it…"

He raised one eyebrow and showed me a very predatory smile, "I want it, Wren, and you mentioned it, so I will have it…" he took one final step towards me…

"Nope!" I squealed, starting to dash away to the other end of the room, "You can't have it!"

Ah, yes, a good chase… one that I had no hope whatsoever of winning. The room was too small, my legs too short, and Jareth was far too nimble. In what seemed like a blink, I was pinned down to the bed – how in the world did he get me there? – and Jareth was mercilessly tickling my sides. He was laughing as much as I was.

"Fine!" I squealed as I twisted and tried to get out of the way of his fingers, which was pointless, really, "FINE! AH, PLEASE LET ME UP!"

Chuckling deeply, Jareth fell back, turning around and putting his back to the bed, and watched me as I got up, still giggling, and hurried into the study to my bag, in which I had his present. Well, if you could call it that.

I emerged carrying a decorative plastic bag, covered in little hearts and swirls, that was tied closed with a bow. I walked up to him and held it outward.

"Happy Valentine's, Jareth," I said, rather lamely.

Absolutely delighted, he sat down on the bed and, after placing the bag on his lap, carefully removed the ribbon and then peeked inside. He inserted one gloved hand and riffled through, lifting up a handful of the contents.

Tiny little hearts spilled over his fingers and across his palms. Some were wrapped in foil, most were not.

He looked at me for an explanation.

I blushed and looked away, "Candy," I said, "Traditional Valentine's candy… or as close to it as I could come. The foil ones are crunchy chocolates, but when you unwrap them, the foil has some cheesy message on it, and the others just…"

"Kiss me…" he muttered examining one small heart, closely. I looked back at him, and he was smirking at me, "Is that a statement, or a request?"

I snorted, "Hey, you are welcome to kiss that little heart as much as you like… but recommend you eat it, it's better that way. The ones with red letters are mints, but I couldn't find too many of those in the stores, not enough to fill the bag so I had to get some…"

He started when he placed the heart in his mouth, and his eyes watered.

"Some are SweetTarts… kinda sour… they're the ones that are smooth and have the phrases etched in them."

I watched him carefully as he chewed the tart candy piece. His eyes twitched and his mouth puckered, but he swallowed and, to my surprise, laughed.

"These are utterly enchanting!" he proclaimed, one of his eyes still twitching a little bit. "Ha! What else do they say… oh, Wren, look!" he held one out to me, "Cutie!" I sat beside him as he popped another into his mouth, a mint one this time, and chewed it. "Ah, this one is far less frightful…"

We spent a fun five minutes or so, just playing with candy. I reached in and found one that said Forever which made me laugh, because it reminded me of him… he didn't seem to get the joke. The chocolate ones had better messages inside them, like little rhymes and such, which amused Jareth to no end.

"These are lovely, Wren, thank you for them," he said, earnestly, before laughing again, "I see you are out to create a portly Goblin King…"

I leaned over and kissed his cheek, "I like you regardless of what you weigh, Jareth. And, no, I'm not out to make you chubby. If I was, I would have made you cookies that said those phrases, not little mints."

Jareth, without saying a word, riffled through the bag again, sifting through the small hearts until he found one he was looking for. Turning his head to the side, his eyebrows up as if he were asking a question, he held out a candy to me, face first, so I might see the message.

Be mine.

A shiver ran up my spine and I bit my lip while my face went pink. Not quite knowing what to say, and not having a heart in my hand that said yes, I deposited the hearts I had back into the bag and reached out to him. Taking his face in both my hands, kissed him fully. Little hearts spilled as Jareth's fingers tangled in my hair, and he kissed me back.

Later that night, I returned to my room – my actual room. Looking into the rest of the house, I saw that my parents weren't home yet – which was fine by me – and I decided to go to bed. After deciding that we'd had enough candy for the night, Jareth had pulled me up and we'd danced some more. I have absolutely no idea how long we danced around that room, and out on the balcony under the stars, but I was very sleepy.

I had left my fancy new dress in the Underground. I liked it to stay there… I wouldn't have an occasion to wear it Aboveground, and if I did, I knew where I could get it. Plus, it wouldn't be around where any members of my family would see it and ask questions.

I quietly washed up, put on my pajamas, and crawled into bed. But, even though I was physically sleepy, my mind was very awake. I kept remembering the night – perhaps the best Valentine's night I'd ever had.

But… I kept hearing Persephone's words in the back of my mind. You love him.

I wouldn't agree or concede to that statement – not even in my own room, or silently to myself. I couldn't. I had meant what I said about there being a bowl of emotions that neither Jareth nor I were ready to deal with…

And yet, as I laid there, just before I fell asleep, I knew that I also couldn't deny it.

A/N: Have you all gotten a sugar-high yet, from all the fluff? Once again, I am so sorry for this being late… but I guess I'm not all that sorry, because this ending was much better than the original.

So, Happy Valentine's Day!

Until next,

Much love,

Marti

P.S. Sham pillow cases are the DEVIL!!! And... not that I would know ANYTHING about it... but should you ever do what Wren did, and wake up to call your ruffly pillow case 'Jareth', you should never tell your online/phone buddy about it, because she will NEVER let you live to forget it.

Again, not that I would know ANYTHING about it. Not a danged thing. Really. I swear.