HUGE thank you to my friend and fellow fanfic author, RMBiehl, for being my beta today. And, thank you to the group Labyrinth Fan Fiction Writers and Readers facebook group (LFFWAR) for the Thanksgiving Fic Writer's Prompt. I hope you will all enjoy!
Jareth seductively ran his hand up and down Sarah's bare arm, coming down to land on her left ring finger where a jade stone was set in a ring of silver intertwining branches.
He never took his hooded eyes off her face as he took her left hand and kissed the ring.
"You have made me blissfully happy, Precious. I never thought I could be more happy than the first time you told me you loved me. I keep surpassing that moment. I can scarcely believe it, just as I can scarcely believe you said yes to me tonight."
Sarah, in turn, toyed with his feathery hair that had become so messy after their most recent lovemaking.
Her eyes were equally dark and playful.
"Silly you. Of course, I said yes. How can I not? I love you and we've discussed this at length. I've never been more sure of anything in my life."
"It's more that I never believed I could have this happiness, is what I meant," Jareth explained.
He snatched her hand from his hair and lightly kissed it, his lips moving up to her shoulder.
"I've offered dreams to so many and now, I can have mine."
"The very definition of poetic justice," Sarah agreed.
The blanket slipped off her other shoulder as she leaned for a kiss.
Jareth returned it with equal ferocity, pulling her back to the bed with intent to make love to her all over again.
Sarah whined and gently pushed him off and regretfully slid off the bed.
"Sorry, Jareth," she apologized, "Greg is going to be back with Ben soon."
Jareth grumbled. "I could just turn back time-"
"No," she held up a firm hand, "it depletes your energy. I don't want you to have to deal with that."
Jareth got out of the bed, holding Sarah around her waist from behind, and kissed her ear.
"Considering how rough you can be in bed, I don't think turning back time is what will deplete my energy."
He swerved away just before she could swat him, catching her wrist.
"See? Roughness."
"Hmm," she made a noise of disapproval, putting her clothes back on, and motioned for him to do the same.
He relented, wearing Aboveground apparel.
After Jareth transported them back to her house, Sarah took a moment to admire her new engagement ring before taking it off.
Jareth tried to hide the hurt and confusion from his face.
Deep inside, he was very fearful of rejection, especially from Sarah.
Sarah could see through it easily and gave him a comforting kiss to quell the disappointment.
"I don't want Greg to see it first," she explained. "I think it's only right that we talk about it with Ben first then the rest of our families before anyone else."
Jareth nodded. Yes, of course, it only made sense that she would want to tell her son first.
"I understand. You must realize that I want to tell the whole world."
"Me too, Jareth."
She held both of his hands, gazing lovingly at his beautiful blue eyes.
"And we will. I'm just as happy as you, and I want everyone to know how happy I am. I'm going to marry the literal man of my dreams."
Jareth thought his new betrothed was positively glowing. She was always beautiful, but there was something different in her happiness today.
Could she be truly this happy just because of him?
He kissed her cheek.
"I am proud to be yours. I want to always be that man of your dreams. When would you like to tell Ben?"
She was about to answer, then paused thoughtfully.
"What about you, Jareth? I don't want to be the one solely deciding. You'll be his stepfather, after all, and the other half of this newly engaged couple." She gestured to them both.
Jareth ran a hand through his hair, the strands coming back down perfectly.
"I want to tell him as soon as we can. I'm ecstatic, and I want him to be as involved as possible."
The little nervous twitch in his pinky didn't go unnoticed by Sarah.
"And you want to get it over with, so that you can stop worrying about his reaction too, huh? It'll go wonderfully, he loves you."
He eyed her seriously.
"And I love him very dearly. I love him for who he is, beyond my relationship with you. I don't want this notion of him thinking that he will be replaced should we have more children. He is our family. I also want him to realize that his late father is not replaced either."
"And you won't replace him. Not ever," Sarah whispered, a gentle hand on his chest, resting on the lock of hair she gave him as was the Underground custom for starting a courtship.
"Jareth, I never looked for a replacement for Ethan. Hell, I wasn't even looking. Like I told you last year, I love you because of you. The same thing is true for Ben. You aren't replacing Ethan, you are someone he loves because of who you are."
She held his face, kissing him again. "It's going to be okay."
"I know." He put her hand over his heart. "I am anxious, but deep inside, I know that everything is fine and will continue to be fine because I have you. I would not have proposed otherwise."
With a little more discussion, they agreed that they would speak with Ben that very night. Their parents and siblings would be informed at a later date.
Speaking of the child, the doorbell rang, announcing the arrival of the young boy.
"Hey, you!"
Sarah opened the door to greet her now seven-year-old son with a large hug. "How was it with Uncle Greg?"
"It was AWESOME!" he yelled.
He was positively beaming, eager to tell his mother about his time with his Uncle Greg.
"I hit the baseball THREE times in a row!"
"You totally did!" Greg came to the door, holding a small baseball bat that was the perfect size for Ben. "Kid's a natural, unlike his dad."
Sarah laughed. Her late husband might be dead, but apparently the brotherly rival was still ongoing.
"Ethan would absolutely have words for you for saying that in front of his son."
"Speaking of Ethan," Greg handed the bat over to Ben. "This was his baseball bat when he first started out. Well, it was mine, but then it was his for a long time after that. It's yours now."
"I can have it? Really?"
Ben looked like he just won a thousand dollars as his uncle placed it in his hand.
The rough edges of the wood showed how much it was used. The silly writings like "Ethan was here" proved just how dear it had been to both brothers.
Now placed in Ben's hands, the bat had a new life.
"Yeah! My brother would have wanted his son to have it, so of course." Greg beamed with pride. "Okay, kiddo, I gotta go. It was great seeing you."
"Bye Uncle Greg!" Ben shouted and gave him a hug.
"Thanks for bringing him home safely." Sarah also reached for a hug. "I'm glad you two had a good time."
"Of course, Sarah. Nothing like having fun with my nephew."
He ruffled Ben's hair, who giggled.
After waving good-bye to Greg, Sarah and Ben went to the kitchen where Jareth was waiting for them.
"Hi Jareth!" Ben held up the bat, beaming at the Goblin King. "Look at this cool baseball bat that belonged to my Daddy! You swing it like this!"
He gripped it tight and swung it from right to left. "Hi-ya!"
"That's wonderful!" Jareth clapped enthusiastically. "What do you do with it?"
"Nuh uh, not in the house," Sarah warned her son. "You'll knock over something."
"Hit baseballs." Ben seemingly ignored his mother. "Hey, can we hit goblins with it?"
Despite Ben looking exactly like his father and even carrying on similar mannerisms, his mischievous smile at that very moment was nearly identical to Jareth's.
It made Sarah take a step back, and she forced herself to not laugh out loud, lest it undermine her authority.
Jareth carefully observed Sarah to gauge her feelings on the matter, so he wouldn't contradict her.
"Well, not in this house. But, should your mother permit, perhaps in the castle when they are being too rambunctious."
"What would that accomplish? They'll keep being rambunctious because it'll just keep feeding their craziness," Sarah countered.
"Soooooooo, yes?" Ben's smile grew. "Please?"
Sarah sighed and waved dismissively. This was a battle she didn't want to deal with.
Besides, Jareth would be an official parental figure soon. She wanted Ben to see him as another parent and that meant he should have a say in things as well.
"You and Jareth can figure it out. Just make sure things don't get broken."
"Yeah!" Ben made a fist pump. "I can use them as target practice for baseball!"
Sarah face-palmed while Jareth howled at the ingenious idea.
"Can we do it now?"
"Well, before all that," she sat Ben down, "Jareth and I have some news to share with you."
Ben cautiously sat down. He looked at both adults back and forth, recognizing his mother's serious tone.
"What is it?"
Sarah looked to Jareth with a bright smile, slipping her engagement ring back on. She held it out for Ben to see.
"Jareth proposed to me earlier, and I said yes. We're getting married."
It took a second for the news to settle in.
When it did, Ben's mouth flew open, making Sarah and Jareth laugh at his antics. He grabbed her hand to observe the shiny new ring.
"Woah! That's awesome! I like this ring. It's not just boring diamonds."
He bombarded them with questions.
"Does that mean we'll live Underground? In Jareth's castle? Will I see goblins like Evie, Blaggerspout, Iglepus, and Oatie every day? Will I go to school there? Will Mom be a queen? Will I be a prince? What about Uncle Toby, will he stay in this house? What about my friends here at school? Can I still visit Uncle Greg, Grammy, and Grampy? Do I have to dress differently? Can we bring the TV? What about video games?"
"Most of those answers are yes, Ben."
Jareth could not have been happier with his response.
"We will discuss the details more as we plan. Your mother becoming Goblin Queen means that this is no small matter."
"Yes, a lot to discuss," Sarah concurred. "But we'll be together. We can come up here often to visit."
She took Ben's hands into hers. "How do you feel about this?"
"I'm super happy!"
Indeed, he looked incredibly happy. This was not him faking happiness for her sake, as he often did after his father passed.
He asked more questions.
"Will I be a big brother? I've always wanted to be a brother but thought I wouldn't have any siblings when Daddy died."
Jareth and Sarah shared a look, squeezing each others' hands.
"We hope so," Jareth's voice lowered, barely a whisper. "You will be the most wonderful oldest brother, Ben. Any child will be lucky to have you as their brother. Just as we are lucky to have you as our son."
They could already picture it: Ben doting on his siblings whilst teasing them. He would stand proudly next to them and teach them all the things he could.
"Yeah!" Ben bounced. "When is the wedding?"
"Not totally sure yet." Sarah got out of the chair, pulling the calendar off its place on the wall.
"I'd like to do it in the spring, maybe next year since there's a lot of planning involved and other customs for Underground that I have to prepare before becoming queen. Jareth and I were discussing a few different places to hold the actual wedding. You can help us!"
"Does Uncle Toby know yet?" Ben asked.
"No. You are the first person we've told." She bopped his nose.
Toby was currently in his last year of college and decided to live with Sarah and Ben until he did. At this very moment, he was still in class, hence Jareth's haste to let Ben know about the engagement before Toby came home.
Ben's chest puffed out in pride in being told such important information before anyone else.
"We are planning a dinner to tell the family first, so don't say anything yet."
Sarah could not stress how important this was. She wanted her parents to hear it from her.
"We're just not sure when."
Ben shrugged. "What about Thanksgiving? Grammy, Grampy, and Uncle Toby will be here anyway."
The couple exchanged looks of approval.
"What a fantastic idea, Ben," Jareth complimented him. "Sarah, shall I invite my parents and siblings here?"
It was an important holiday for her family and one his family never partook in before. It would be the ideal way to tell everyone.
"Please do!"
She bustled around a bit, making a list of what to do.
"It'll be perfect, yours and their first Thanksgiving."
All three danced in the kitchen, excited in anticipation for the upcoming nuptials and for telling the rest of their family.
Everything was going to go as perfectly as they pictured. They were sure of it.
Hello! As stated in the summary, this fic is set in the same universe as another fic of mine: The Lovers, the Dreamers, and Me but you don't have to read that fic to read this one. If you'd like to understand how Jareth's and Sarah's relationship came to be, please read that one.
I hope you'll enjoy it. Thank you so much!