It took all of Jareth to not snatch her outstretched hand and pull her in for a kiss.

There was no denying it. He was truly, deeply, and hopelessly in love with her.

In truth, he had loved her for a long time, ever since they reunited a few years ago.

How could he not when she was the best thing that ever happened to him?

When he closed his eyes at night, thinking of his day and what he looked forward to, it was her.

When he was lonely and feeling the weight of his duties, making his heart harden, it was Sarah who would sit with him silently, giving him the encouragement and comfort he sorely needed.

A memory of him and Sarah played in his mind; the first time they had spent together alone without the goblins around.

It had been an awfully long day, one that seemed to drag on for an eternity.

He found himself standing inside of Sarah's living room, not realizing what he did until he arrived.

"AH!" Sarah screamed as she rounded the corner, dropping her groceries in surprise, then took a deep sigh of relief.

"Holy crap, Jareth. I thought you were an intruder. Let me know before you decide to pop into my home in the future, please?"

He flushed red, angry with himself for disturbing her and for the horrible day he was having.

"I deeply apologize. I will make myself scarce."

His tone was dark and angry, borderline furious. It would have frightened away most people.

"Hey, woah," she said quickly, coming to his side.

Her tone was softer, as if she was speaking to a scared animal.

"It's okay, I'm happy to see you. Really. I just wasn't expecting you, that's all."

She ushered him to sit.

"I'll go get changed and come back. A few minutes, I promise. Don't leave."

"I'm fine," he snapped. "I'm just-"

He paused, having nothing to argue for.

He huffed in anger, but Sarah just smiled sympathetically.

"Sit. I'll be right back. Don't disappear on me. Please?"

With her large green eyes, pleading for him to not go, he couldn't say no. Still, he felt quite rude at arriving unannounced.

"I didn't mean to intrude."

"You're not intruding, Jareth. You can come any time. Just let me know beforehand if you can. You look like you had a distressing day."

Distressing didn't even cover it. The wished-away child was from an unsafe home, and he had to try to solve some international dispute that made him feel less than adequate to be king.

Sarah brought over a glass of water.

"Make yourself at home. I'll be back soon."

She quickly left him, and Jareth felt alone once more. His heart felt heavier when she did.

If he had been more in tune with his feelings back then, he would have realized that the reason he appeared to her was because he wanted to feel belonged. He also wanted to not feel like a king for a moment.

He wanted to feel like a person who had someone who cared about him.

Full of melancholy and crushed by the weight of his crown, Jareth folded his body into himself, trying to self-soothe.

He closed his eyes and tucked his chin into his chest, feeling overwhelmed by everything, even the living room lights.

He could hear Sarah coming back, her feet pausing, presumably at the sight of him.

She started walking again, but away from him due to the sound of the steps becoming softer.

The steps were louder as she approached him. He felt a blanket covering him.

It smelled nice, like her.

He shifted a little, opening his eyes.

"It's okay," Sarah whispered, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Just rest. I got you a pillow too."

She urged his head up, placing a pillow under his head. "Rough day, huh?"

He grunted, words escaping him at the moment. He really did not want to relive this day and his energy to verbalize that had disintegrated.

On top of that, he didn't want to make a fool of himself further in front of her.

She seemed to understand, gently patting his shoulder.

"Rest then. Stay as long as you like."

He didn't know when he fell asleep, but when he woke, he saw that she had turned the lights off for him, reading a book with her flashlight.

His heart skipped a beat. He was unused to such kindness.

And unused to being so smitten for someone.

She noticed him right away.

"You feel rested, sleepy-head?"

He sat up, wrapping the blanket around his shoulders. "Yes, much better."

She closed the book. "Let me get you something warm to eat."

"Thank you for your kindness, Sarah."

She gently touched his shoulder as she walked passed.

"It's nothing much. You are always welcome in my home, you know? You're my friend."

He treasured that memory, placing it deep in his heart.

When he felt like he didn't matter to the world, she reminded him that he mattered to her, even when he was being harsh to her.

It was why he was here, attending this tasteless party, hosted by her wretched mother.

Speaking of the devil, Linda strode into his line of sight, smiling brilliantly as if she didn't just have an embarrassing row with her lover that spurned her in favor of her daughter.


Sarah unfortunately was unable to hold her dinner in her stomach, expelling its contents all over the shiny toilet bowl.

She felt awful. Looked it too, as evidenced by her gaunt face from the mirror.

She didn't want to go out there and face the vile woman she called mother.

The woman she excused for years and years, and most likely would have continued to excuse if it weren't for Jareth.

Jareth.

She had wanted to step on his foot in anger when he contradicted her when she downplayed herself in front of Oscar.

It was worth it to be insignificant and worthless if it meant avoiding Linda's wrath.

No. She shook her intrusive thoughts away. It was wrong.

Her anger shouldn't be directed at Jareth. All he did was be kind to her. It was what any good friend would do.

The word friend kept echoing endlessly in her head. Of course he was a friend, but truly, he was so much more to her than that.

Jareth was so dear to her and had earned a place next to her heart.

She shook away those thoughts and those tears.

What good would it do?

Why entertain those thoughts when it would just end in heartache?

He couldn't possibly feel the same way, could he?

Collecting herself, Sarah stood tall and proud. She was going to endure this night and then go from there.

She opened the bathroom door, seeing her mother walk to Jareth with an intent to start a conversation with him.

Carefully, Sarah stayed put, trying to hide, so Linda would leave.

Unfortunately, her mother did not leave.

"I'm sorry you had to witness that, Jareth," Linda looked down, appearing sad. "I shouldn't have lost my temper at Oscar."

Jareth glanced her way, then back to looking straight ahead.

"No, you shouldn't have."

Had this been Underground, Jareth would have crafted his words carefully as to not offend anyone. Here, he was free to say his mind.

Linda's uncanny smile grew wider, despite the insult.

"How did you and Sarah meet?"

"At the park by her childhood home."

He didn't even attempt to keep the terse tone out of his voice.

"Have you known her long?"

"Yes."

"Funny, Sarah doesn't really tell me much about her friends. I didn't know your name until yesterday."

"Hmm."

Linda could tell this was getting nowhere.

"Well, Jareth, do you dance?"

"I do, but won't tonight."

"Why?"

"I don't want to."

"It has to do with Sarah, right? You can dance with someone else. Sarah's a sweet girl; I'm sure she wouldn't mind her friend having fun even when she chooses not to."

To Sarah's horror, her mother eyed Jareth up and down, a sneaky tip of her tongue wetting her bottom lips.

Flushed with anger, Sarah closed the door before she could hear Jareth's response. She placed a clench fist in her mouth to stop herself from screaming.

Forget the "crocodile-infested waters" that her mother had warned her about.

Linda was the biggest crocodile of them all.

While she couldn't hear their exact words, she could still hear their voices.

It was too much for her.

She burst the door open, running away, barely catching a glimpse of a rather gorgeous buxom woman batting her eyes at Jareth.

She found an empty room to seclude herself in, hiding behind a couch.

How could her mother do this to her?

How could she be so cruel?

How could anyone profess to love their own daughter and then embarrass her in such a way?

It would hurt even if she wasn't so hopelessly in love with Jareth.


Linda gleefully bit her bottom lip. There wasn't any way that Jareth would say no, not with the intensity of the way he was staring at Trixie, a budding movie star herself.

Her bouncing locks of strawberry-blonde hair, clear skin, full chest, elegant curves, and seductive eyes were sure to grab Jareth's attention.

Truth be told, Linda didn't really like Trixie all that much. The young woman was being constantly snatched up by directors and model agents, always taking Linda's spotlight.

Linda just needed someone to take Sarah down a peg or two.

Her own daughter, the young woman who was only at the party because she was her daughter, didn't stand up for her when Oscar was being ridiculous.

She could see Sarah enjoying the attention, despite claiming that she didn't want a part of fame when she became an adult.

Sarah was only here to upstage her. That must be why her daughter brought Jareth here, so that Sarah herself could claim humbleness while Jareth swooped in to save the day.

Two could play at this game.

Jareth was a handsome man and could easily reach fame with his looks alone.

Linda would have tried to seduce him herself, but that wasn't a guarantee. He might scorn her and that was too risky. She couldn't afford a rejection.

Hence, Trixie.

"Jareth, this is Trixie. She worked with me on my last film. Trixie, this is Jareth. He's my daughter's friend but doesn't seem to have a dance partner."

Trixie shyly averted her gaze, playing coy.

"Hi. Haven't seen you here before."

Her voice was low and sultry from years of experience.

Jareth stared at the young woman, blinking in surprise and turning beet-red.

He didn't want to be here and felt incredibly embarrassed that this woman was shamelessly throwing herself at him.

Linda wrongly interpreted this to mean he was shy at seeing such a beautiful woman being offered to him.

She nudged Trixie a little too hard, causing her to fall right into Jareth's arms.

"Oh! Excuse me, Jared."

She maneuvered herself to bring his hands conveniently around her waist, trying to push her chest to him.

Jareth set her upright and away from him.

"It's Jareth."

Trixie shrank back at the harshness of his actions, looking to Linda for guidance.

Jareth whipped towards Linda.

"You dare to push this woman into my arms when I am accompanying your daughter, who should be your first priority. You are shameful."

"Me?" Linda giggled, desperately trying to hide her fuming anger. "You don't know the first thing about Sarah, do you?"

"More than you," Jareth retorted. "I know that you are a selfish lowlife, who will forever chase something that will never let you feel fulfilled."

More and more guests were noticing the commotion. Jareth did not deter from his anger.

"Linda, know this. You have the most wonderful person in the world to be your daughter. You are a fool to never truly know her heart."

"You're implying you know her better than me, her own mother!"

Jareth laughed lowly, almost manically.

"Oh, I'm not implying it. I'm outright saying it. She is the kindest person I've ever met, and I've met many people. Are you aware of her little habits, like her nose scrunching when she reads a novel? Her lips twitching when she's solving a problem? Or how talented she is with children? No, because you will waste away in misery because you refuse to see the people who should matter the most to you."

He pulled a hand out of his jacket, a crystal ball in his hand.

"I almost pity you, but you have brought this on to yourself."

In one smooth motion, Jareth smashed the crystal ball on the floor, unleashing a horde of cockroaches onto the dance floor.


Cockroaches are, hilariously enough, inspired by my work. We have an infestation of them, or at least did during the summer. Them inspiring this fic is the only useful thing about them LOL.

Unfortunately, Linda is inspired by real-life events from real people I know. It's sad to know that people like her exist to compete with their children instead of wishing them happiness.