Disclaimer: Labyrinth belongs to Jim Henson and all those other nifty people. I, sadly, own nothing but the dvd.

AN: I dunno where this came from. I've been writing too much dark stuff lately and haven't Laby in so long but I watched it the other day so here you go. Sorry for any arrors but I haven't slept in over 24 hours so my brain's kinda conked out right now.

Slightly Tarnished

It had been a little over a year since Sarah had returned to the Labyrinth and three and half years since she had beaten the vast and intricate maze with a little courage, a lot of luck and the help of some good friends.

She thought of all of this as she lay on her king sized bed, hanging her head off the edge and swinging her legs in the air. All of a sudden a clock chimed two in the afternoon and Sarah swung herself upright, shaking her head a little to adjust to her new upright position.

She smirked at the clock and laughed to herself, "Ah two o clock, my favourite time of the day. It's time to annoy Jareth."

With that she quickly scooted off the bed and raced out the room.

Xxx

Jareth was doing paperwork, one of his least favourite activities when he too heard the chime of the clock. Unlike Sarah though, he grimaced knowing that within moments a bouncy brunette would be there to pester, poke and just downright annoy him in any way she could.

Not three minutes later Sarah skidded into the room. "Right on time," Jareth muttered.

"Hey there Goblin King ol' pal! What ya doin'?"

He looked up at her smiling face and rolled his mismatched eyes. "What does it look like I am doing Sarah?"

She glanced at the large stack of papers before looking back up at him. "Nothin' interesting that's for sure."

"For once Sarah you are right. But there is nothing that I can do about it; I need to get this done. So is there any chance that you could perhaps delay this little daily meeting of ours to a later time?"

She snorted and moved around the desk, flinging an arm around the blonde's neck. "Not on your life buddy. It's way too much fun to annoy you while you're working."

"I thought as much," he mumbled.

"What was that?" she removed her arm from his person and took a step back looking affronted. "Are you saying that you don't enjoy these little meetings of ours Goblin King? Because if that's the way you wanna play it then I'll just leave. I know when I'm not wanted." She turned away as if to leave the room, giving a small victory smile when she heard Jareth call out to her.

"No Sarah wait, I didn't mean it like that."

She schooled her expression into one of hurt rather than one of glee and turned back to face him. "No Jareth, it's alright. I understand perfectly. You don't want me here anymore so I'll just be going then. Maybe my dad will let me stay with him..."

"But Sarah," Jareth began, only to be cut off by laughter bordering on hysteria. He gave a low growl and scowled at the laughing young woman before ignoring her entirely and turning back to his paper work.

"Aw come on Jareth, you're just too easy. I gave you the chance to get me out of your hair while you worked, but even after all this time you still thought you'd managed to hurt 'poor little Sarah's feelings'," she moved to his side and poked him in the ribs, which only caused him to deepen his scowl.

"Come on Jareth, lighten up," she half whined, right into his ear.

She gave him a 'wounded puppy' look but Jareth would not be moved. Sarah began to worry that she really had upset him, or even worse, angered him when he let the façade drop and smirked at her.

"Two can play at that game Miss Williams."

Sarah's jaw dropped and she slapped him lightly on the arm. "You big bully," she pouted. "It's not fair when you do that."

"Now Sarah, what have you learnt about that particular phrase?"

She swatted him playfully again and snorted. "Don't you start with all that 'basis for comparison' nonsense now Goblin King."

"I wouldn't dream of it."

Sarah rolled her eyes and went to leave his office, her fun having been ruined, when she was grasped around the waist and pulled into Jareth's lap. Her startled cry was muffled when he placed a playful kiss on her open mouth.

When at last he pulled away Sarah gave him a pout followed by a mock glare. "Now that really isn't fair," she stated, sounding far more put out that she really was.

"What, it's not fair that I managed to sweep you off your feet and occupy your mouth with something other than talking," he grinned at her and she crossed her arms over her chest and pouted once more, though she still hadn't moved from her place on Jareth's lap.

"Fine you win. I'll get out your hair 'til you're done"

"Thank you love, as amusing as this has been I really do need to finish."

She sighed but got up, "I know. But if you're not done in an hour I will be back."

"I'm sure of it. See you at about half three then love."

She shook her head trying not laugh and haughtily strode out of the room, heading back towards their bedroom.

When she had once more resumed her place on the bed she sighed, a small content smile crossing her features. Yes it had been just over a year since she had returned to the Labyrinth, after Jareth had spent the previous six months courting her in a most charming and romantic manner. And it had been eight wonderful months since she had wed the Goblin King; her villain turned knight in only slightly, tarnished armour.