"Sarah, there was something I wanted to ask."

Normally, Sarah would have jumped out of her skin from the sudden voice. But over the last while, she had grown familiar with the subtle sense of him dropping into her apartment. Even when she was asleep she somehow sensed it.

She lay on her stomach in bed and looked up at her alarm clock, which read 05:09. Dropping her head back down, she groaned. "For God's sake, Jareth. It's barely five in the morning. What do you want?"

"Can I make you breakfast?"

"Breakfast…?" The woman slightly lifted her head to see Jareth standing across the room, dressed in his signature tights and trademark white poet shirts. Rolling on her back under the covers she yawned, covering her mouth before limply dropping her arm onto the bed. "And why exactly do you have to ask me this at such an ungodly hour on a Sunday? Couldn't you have waited until like… twelve or something?"

"And sleep half the day away? Nonsense," he strode over to her windows and with a wide gesture of his arms swung open the curtains.

Nearly sobbing, Sarah covered her eyes. "We need to re-evaluate boundaries and establish visiting hours."

"Oh please, you're nearly a bigger drama queen than I am."

"Get bent."

He chuckled. "There's no time for that now. Come on, get up."

Sarah felt him grab on to the blanket and her eyes flew open. Suddenly she was wide awake. "Do not." Quickly, she tugged it from his grasp.

"Why? Do you plan to remain comatose all through the morning?"

"No," she snapped. "I'm telling you to back off because I went to bed in my birthday suit." Sarah narrowed her eyes at his ear-to-ear grin and the eager lifting of his eyebrows. "You might have noticed it is over ninety degrees here. Now get out. Make breakfast or something so I can take a shower and get dressed."

"But-"

"Out!"

Pouting, Jareth walked out of the room and down the hall.

One shower later Sarah felt moderately better. While she enjoyed him visiting, she cursed his early bird habits.

She opted to wear something light and comfortable that would keep as much of the heat at bay as possible. Putting her hair in a messy bun, she made her way out the bathroom and to the living room. The moment she walked in she could smell various foods and her stomach rejoiced in a loud roar.

As she walked in, she saw the Goblin King moving about in her kitchen. "Did you… cut your hair?" The woman sounded a little more shocked than was probably justified. Her eyes had been heavy with sleep when he first barged into her bedroom, but now she definitely noticed.

His hair was shorter. Way shorter. Tapered even. His light blonde hair was cut back to a quiff in a neat and clean look. Though there were still a few stubborn strands poking out.

"I did." As she remained silent he looked up at her, a little frown on his face. "You don't like it?"

She sat down on the armrest of the couch. "It's… different. It will take some getting used to, but it does look good. You could probably go bald and still look good."

Pleased with her reply and the compliment he started setting the table.

Pushing off of the armrest and walking up to her dining table she could see Jareth puzzling with dishes to get all different plates to fit on her four-person table. "Wow… Are we expecting anyone else?"

He looked up at her. "No, why do you ask?"

"Did you make all this in that half hour I was washing up and getting dressed? This is so much food!"

Jareth chuckled and held out a chair for her, which she sat down on with a soft 'thank you'. "Technically, my kitchen staff made a lot of it. But I did make the pancakes and I cut the fruit."

Sarah looked at all the different things on the table. There was practically some of everything. There were pancakes, casserole, wraps, salad, toast, eggs, crumpets, a pot of tea and two carafes of juices. She sat there, gawking, as Jareth took a seat opposite from her.

"Do you like it?" He asked quietly, not entirely sure if she did.

"It all looks so good - like pictures out of a cookbook. Yes, I like it." She added the last in a matter-of-fact tone. "Though I stand by my earlier statement. We need to establish visiting hours."

"Of course," he muttered as he rolled his eyes. "Now, dig in."

Sarah looked around the table to see what to try first. She briefly looked up at him. "So, just to be sure… None of this will have me passing out and dumped in a ballroom, right?" He looked at her with her lips pressed together and an annoyed look on his face. "I was just joking," she mumbled, before happily grabbing a wrap, some toast and a pancake. "I do appreciate this though, Jareth. Thank you." He smiled, puffing his chest proudly and selecting a few items himself. "So, your kitchen staff must have been shocked when you walked in," she said as she poured herself some tea.

"Indeed they were. Imagine their surprise when I asked them to lay out ingredients and fruit for me - and to not prepare it."

Sarah giggled, digging into the mountain of food. "So, they had the morning off?"

Swallowing a bite of fruit he shook his head. "No, they still had plenty of things to do." Sarah was about to ask, but before she could he nodded to the pancake on her plate. "How are the pancakes? Are they edible?"

"They're delicious," Sarah insisted kindly. "Though a little point of feedback, they might be even tastier if they're a little bit thicker."

"I will remember that, thank you." Jareth said as he poured her a glass of juice.

"They're great, though." She insisted, fearing that the instant feedback might have made him uncomfortable.

The Goblin King grinned as he grabbed a wrap. "It's okay, I am happy to take criticism. I am glad you enjoy them."

"This is all so good, though. Can we meet for breakfast every day? I could probably get used to getting up at five if it means I get to eat like a king every morning."

"While that sounds very tempting, we unfortunately can't. To be frank, this is the first time in a long while that I managed to sit down for breakfast without official court documents on my left and my advisors on my right." He saw her look up then, a worried expression on her face. "Oh, don't pity me, Sarah. They are simply the requirements of a king. A quiet meal is a luxury. But then again, so is a kitchen full of staff that will make whatever you like on a whim."

As they were eating, Sarah noticed he wasn't wearing his gloves again. The woman debated if she should bring it up. Somehow she felt honored. She wasn't sure if that was incredibly self-centered. Thinking back to that first time when they were having pizza, he seemed very uncomfortable without them, yet he seemed less hesitant to take them off these days.

After a little while, Sarah leaned back. She was stuffed. There was still food left, but it felt like even one more bite would cause her to explode.

Jareth was still eating, gracefully taking his time to select the food, cut it if needed and chew carefully. He must have been hungry - with his lithe form she didn't think of him as a big eater.

They remained silent, Sarah patiently waiting for him to finish while enjoying some more tea. Sometimes he paused briefly, like he was taking a break, which made her a little suspicious that he was just trying to clear the table. A little later, he leaned back, seemingly done eating. The woman kept her lips sealed, wondering what would happen next if she'd leave it up to him.

Jareth gazed out her window, either daydreaming or lost in thought. While he was looking into nothingness, Sarah took another look at his short hair. It was so… weird. Sarah wondered why he'd cut it, if there was a reason besides him simply wanting to. Possibly sensing the feeling of being watched he looked back at her. Awkwardly, she quickly looked away.

Getting up, the man let out a sigh. "Well, unfortunately, I should get going. I will leave the remainder of the food here for you to enjoy. It is possible that I might not have time to write in the next two or three weeks, so my apologies in advance."

Sarah felt a little disappointed, but she had gotten used to it by now. Before it could show on her face, she got up and stretched. "Yeah, same for me probably. I'm going on a vacation with my dad, Karen and Toby four days from now, so I need to work overtime to get everything done."

Chuckling, he walked around the table and ruffled her hair. "Good luck and have fun on your vacation." Agitated, she swatted his hand away. "We'll speak again soon."

She reached up to the tip of her toes to ruffle his hair in retaliation, but he easily kept her at bay by grabbing her wrists. Huffing, the woman rolled back on her feet. "Speak to you soon, Jareth."

He looked at her silently for a few seconds, almost if he was taking in her appearance. She blushed. "What?" Jareth leaned in closer and her eyes widened, tugging on her wrists. One of his hands let go of her wrist before reaching next to her head and grasping what looked to be a small feather.

"What the f-" Sarah spluttered as he blew it into her face and after closing her eyes only briefly, he'd vanished. Looking down at the floor there was a small tan feather that reminded her of his owl form.

Did he just pull that from behind her ear as a magic trick so he could make a dramatic exit?

Sarah let out a deep contented sigh as she tossed her full, brand new but dirty duffel bag next to the door. Kicking off her hiking shoes she walked into the bathroom and turned on the shower.

Her vacation with her family had been so much fun.

At first, Sarah didn't believe her father when he told her to bring camping gear. So much so, that she actually hadn't and they had to kick off the vacation with a shopping spree. Robert had talked Karen into it, promising that if she joined them for this five day vacation he would take her on a luxury two week cruise next year. While Karen detested nature, filth and bugs, her hatred for it ran less deep than her love for being pampered.

The vacation had been a delightful mix between walking until her feet felt like they were going to fall off, cozy campfires with terrible singing and impromptu water fights. They had brought food with them but also caught their own fresh fish.

Speaking of, Karen had really surprised Sarah with her determination to catch her own fish like everybody else. Robert had repeatedly offered to do it for her. Especially when she'd already been trying for two hours and it was starting to get dark. When she eventually caught one she had been beyond ecstatic. Sarah had never seen Karen so… adventurous.

They had even seen a bear with a cub in the far distance, minding their own business.

Toby had been testing Robert's knowledge about camping. Asking about every leaf, rock, shrub and insect. He was so fascinated about everything. The young boy had been running around in excitement so often that every single night he fell asleep before he could even make it to the tent. Partially, that had also been because Sarah was coming too. Every single time she spoke with him he expressed how much he had missed her and how much he would miss her once they went back home.

Sarah enjoyed the silence, the fresh air, the free time… She felt simply blissful every second she didn't have to think about work. Seeing her family was just a big fat bonus.

Sighing as she thought back to the fun she'd had, she stripped to take a shower. While nature was fun and all, she welcomed a shower like a starved man welcomed steak. Usually, she took brief and functional showers but now she took her time to scrub clean and simply enjoy the water.

After a little while the entire room was cloudy from the warm stream. Even the shower door was completely fogged up.

"Sarah?"

"Sweet holy mother of f-" she exclaimed, startling so bad that she almost slipped in the shower.

Poking her head around the door, being very careful that nothing was showing, she looked into the bathroom. "Jareth! What are you doing here? Get out," she yelped.

"Such a warm welcome," he remarked dryly, curiously tilting his head to perhaps gain a glimpse more.

The woman quickly closed the door and stepped back from the foggy door, yelling over the sound of streaming water. "You have three seconds to get out before I do something you will regret."

"You women and your modesty," the Goblin King lamented with a deep sigh.

"One…"

"Precious, there is really nothing to be ashamed of. I could level the playing field if it makes you feel any better."

"Two!"

"Fine! But you'd better be out soon because I brought some treats. I'm planning to get drunk tonight and I'm not doing it by myself."

"What the…" She heard the door open and close and as she peeked her head around the corner of the door she saw he was gone. Locking the door, just in case, she quickly dried off, brushed her hair and counted her lucky stars that before she had left for vacation, she had left her bathrobe in the bathroom. The woman hurried out to her bedroom and quickly threw on comfortable pajamas and a dressing gown. Deciding to deal with the laundry tomorrow she excitedly hurried to the living room.

Jareth was sitting on the couch, idly juggling a crystal. Playfully she jumped over the back of the couch and landed right next to him. He jumped, dropping the crystal which shattered in a puff of glitter. "By the gods, Sarah! You scared me half to death!"

"Good, then we're even. Let's kill off the second half with a nice drink, or ten. What did you bring?"

He held up a familiar bottle. Right away she recognized it as the peach-like drink she had last time. "An old friend. I have also brought some Underground snacks." Fishing next to the couch he grabbed a fabric bag and started pulling out a few wrappings.

Curious and impatient, Sarah started unwrapping some while he was still unloading them, pulling out a lot more than seemed to fit the bag. There were little bits of meat, some cheeses, various fruits and vegetable bites and what looked rather similar to potato chips, but thicker. "Wow, nice haul." She said as she was already eyeballing what to eat first. "You seem to be popping in with food all the time these days. Not that I'm complaining."

The Goblin King chuckled as he leaned back and stretched with a groan. "By all means, get comfortable," the woman insisted with a wave of her hand. "Make yourself at home."

"Are you sure?" Jareth looked as Sarah eagerly grabbed a piece of cheese and stuffed it in her mouth, humming in confirmation. With a flick of his wrist he switched his usual garments to a comfortable pants and loose, low cut shirt, removing the gloves.

"Now then, might I pour the lovely lady and fair hostess a drink?" He said almost too eagerly as he grabbed the bottle.

"Hell yeah, let's get some peaches flowing." She grabbed the remote and turned on the TV, stretching her legs out in front of her. Sarah browsed for a minute before settling on something. Muttering a quiet thanks as he offered her a glass.

"So, how was your vacation? Judging from the travel bag in the hallway I take it you haven't been back home for very long."

The woman grabbed a piece of meat. "I just got back actually. Taking a shower was the first thing I did after I got home. It was so much fun," she breathed with a happy sigh. "I already miss my family again. Even my stepmom joined in the fun. I didn't even know she was capable of being fun. We went camping down south for a few days. We hunted some of our own food, went hiking. Just being together would have been enough. But you should have seen it there. The forest was gorgeous. There was this pretty waterfall too."

"Sounds like a really successful vacation," he remarked, raising his glass in a quiet toast. "I apologize if I forced myself into your evening back."

"You didn't," Sarah insisted. "I'm happy to see you again. I did miss you," she added quietly afterwards.

Jareth grinned and playfully ruffled her hair. "No need to get emotional. I missed you too." She swatted at his hand with a frown.

The woman pulled up her legs onto the couch after she took a few different bites to snack on. "So, what were you up to? Practicing your cooking skills?" She gestured to the snacks on the table.

"No, these were made by my staff."

"Consider that another question expertly avoided," she praised sarcastically, raising her glass.

The man grabbed a few bites and took a swig of his drink. Sarah knew better than to press for more information. "So, what are we watching?"

The woman joined him with a swig of her own and leaned back onto the couch. "Who cares? We're here to get drunk, right?" Jareth grinned and threw her a sideways glance, moving his glass over to hers. They clinked their glasses together in mutual approval before he grabbed a handful of snacks.

An hour or two later, calling them drunk would have been generous. They both lay on the couch, glasses forgotten on the table as the bottle was already empty anyways. Their heads lay side by side, both of them staring at the ceiling as they talked. Or rather, slurred.

"So, your owl form, right? How does that work?" Sarah idly drummed her hands on her belly, legs pulled up with her feet resting on the seat. "Do you get, like, birdbrain?"

Jareth had one hand underneath his head, his legs swung over the armrest. The cork of the bottle twisting idly in his free hand. "What in God's name is that supposed to mean, Sarah?"

"What I mean is, do you get more… primal? Do you want to snack on mice or something? Do you still have human thoughts? Or is there just a case of feathery radio silence up there when you're in it?"

"Precious, please. This 'birdbrain' you refer to would be highly problematic. How would I ever return to my normal form?"

"So, you don't get birdbrain?"

"No, Sarah."

"Well… your owl form is pretty damn cute. You should be in it more often. You look so soft and cuddly."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"Could you… change into it now?" He was silent for a second, before refusing. "Why not?!"

The Goblin King rolled his eyes. "Actually… I have never tried it before. But while being inebriated, I don't imagine it being a good idea. Do you suppose birds can get intoxicated?"

Both fell silent for a second before likely imagining the scenario and bursting into laughter at the same time.

Suddenly Sarah grew more earnest. "Did you ever think that when we first met when I wished away Toby, we one day would be lying here completely wasted?"

He was silent for a second as his eyes grew distant. "No."

Sarah felt the sudden shift in his mood and fidgeted with her fingers before speaking up. "Want another drink?"

A second later Sarah heard glass clink on her table and as she looked around, saw him put down another bottle on the table. "Make it a double."

She looked at him briefly but his expression was unreadable. As she got up she grabbed the bottle. "As you wish, your majesty." The Goblin King muttered something under his breath, but Sarah didn't recognize the language. As she grabbed his glass she tilted the bottle and let out a blunt curse as some of the drink missed the glass.