"Coincidence?!" Sarah screeched, pressing herself further against the wall of the elevator, heart hammering, "This is a fucking nightmare! How is this possible-."

-CLONK-WHIRR-BAM-

"W-what…" The elevator had ground to a sudden halt, giving a final jaw-rattling shake before the lights went out and all was silent aside from the crinkling of Sarah's grocery bag. She shut her eyes and let her head fall back against the wall with a dull thunk. "…Please tell me that was not the elevator breaking down just now."

"Oh dear… The freakish coincidences just keep piling up, don't they?" Sarah's eyes shot open in the darkness. Did his voice sound closer than it was before? Was he lurking nearer in the darkness? Suddenly alarmed, she subtly patted her pockets in hopes of finding her cell phone. No such luck.

"Oh, it's not fair! KARMA, YOU HAVE NO POWER OVER ME!" She shouted, refraining from stomping her foot in case she caused a cable to snap and send them plummeting to their death. For a moment it was eerily quiet. Then Sarah felt a feather light pressure on her upper arm that caused her to jump, arms tightening around the bag in her arms, probably crushing the bag of lettuce that she'd planned to make a salad out of later.

The touch was followed by a warm rush of air across her face and Jareth's musical voice whispering, "Wrong."

One long, quiet breath while she stared at the darkness about where she assumed his face must be before she spoke.

"Move it or lose it, Jareth," she warned, lifting her hand from her desolately empty pocket to push his hand away from her sleeve. He caught it easily and pulled it away, twining his fingers with hers and letting them hover near the wall beside her face. His answering chuckle brushed her neck like silk.

"If you insist, love." His hand disappeared from her arm but before she had any time to feel relieved it was back, ghosting across her waist to curl slowly around her side. She stiffened and leaned as far back as she could, which wasn't far because of the wall she'd already been flattened against.

"That's not what I meant. Move it or I'll break it off."

Her threat had the opposite effect of what she'd been hoping for. Instead of moving away, he'd wiggled his fingers at her waist and the bag she was holding disappeared. She squeaked when her pitiful barrier was no longer able to prevent him from stepping forward to press his chest against hers.

"I'd prefer you didn't," he purred, ignoring the fact that she was now shoving ineffectually against his shoulder with her free hand. "though, what is the saying? Ah, yes: you break it you buy it."

He shifted his arm so that it rested along the seam of where her sweater met her jeans and suddenly he was whispering into her ear.

"So on second thought, sweetheart, go ahead and break it." Sarah suppressed a shiver at his words, his closeness and craned her head away, clenching her fingernails around his shoulder to keep from getting muddled.

"Oh, believe me, if I could I would." She retorted. "But the problem is, I don't want to buy it. I don't want to rent it. I wouldn't pay ten cents for it at a garage sale—eep!"

His cheek brushed against hers followed by his lips, coasting back and forth, each time getting closer to her own. His hand at her back slipped under the back of her sweater, fingers smoothing patterns across her skin.

"Give it up, precious. I'll tell everyone that you put up a decent fight," his mouth ghosted down over her jaw to rest warmly against her neck. "And you can tell the children what a knave I was in winning your favor."

Eyes wandering to where the button panel was on the wall beside her, she wondered if she could hit the emergency button from where she was standing. "What children?" she asked slowly.

"Well, ours of course. No doubt the first will be a darling girl who looks exactly like you. Or maybe a boy with your eyes and my… wit."

Sarah's heart kicked into high gear and she strained her eyes to see anything through the darkness. Weren't emergency things supposed to glow, in case of an emergency? Was that it at the bottom? Maybe if she moved quickly enough he wouldn't know to stop her.

"Don't even think about it," Jareth growled against her skin, "If you ruin our pleasant little reunion I will punish you." She tried to ignore the shiver that worked its way through her at his words and squinted at the wall.

"How do you know what I'm thinking?" she asked. His fingers grasped her chin and he pulled her face around to his.

"I can see you perfectly clearly, you lovely creature and I can see you eyeing the wall like it is going to bite you when really it is me you should be worrying about." Before she could register his words he lunged forward and kissed her and braced himself for her struggle. To his utter surprise she simply tensed and let him, stood stock still and cool and allowed it.

Well, he thought, her impassivity was just not a satisfactory answer to his attentions. Breathless, trembling, lust-crazed perhaps, but not impassive.

With an unhurried slowness he swept his lips back and forth across hers, occasionally nipping her bottom lip. His hand holding hers released it and speared through her hair, fingers kneading her neck gently. His other hand raked across her skin, scoring four light red lines across her lower back. It was heaven on earth as far as he was concerned, standing in a secluded place kissing the woman he loved. Except the damn woman wouldn't respond. He pulled her lip between his and bit down on it lightly. Her breathing sped up slightly and she gasped quietly but nothing more. Just when he thought she might actually be immune to his charms (a completely horrifying thought in and of itself) the proverbial dam seemed to burst. Her hand fisted around his shirt, the other locking around his neck and her mouth came alive against his, pushing just as demandingly as he did. Adrenaline rushed through his veins when she tore her mouth away from his to kiss along his jaw. Oh, how he loved to win.

He chuckled lowly. "Oh, Sarah," Sarah felt a thrill go through her when he said her name, "I believe the only thing that will sum up all the feelings swirling through my mind right now is that I missed you." He hissed when she bit him and lifted her off of the floor, pressing her back against the wall. "Mmm, I missed you terribly."

He dragged her mouth back to his and clutched her close, profusely thanking whichever deity was giving him this chance. One hand wandered closer and closer to her chest and she kicked one leg up to lock around his waist. He was just wondering whether she might object terribly to suddenly materializing in his bed, when his thought was cut short by a seemingly blinding bright light. Sarah gasped and turned her face toward it, blinking blearily. Three shadowy figures stood in the newly opened doors. As his eyes adjusted to the light, different details caught his attention. The person on the right was a petite blonde woman, eyes wide and flashing back and forth between himself and Sarah. The man in the middle was a tall, straight backed fellow decked in an old fashioned suit complete with a floor sweeping cloak and a curious white mask obscuring half of his face. The man next to him was slightly shorter and slightly more relaxed, sporting a navy commodore's colors and carrying a bottle of some kind of obscure rum. The three stared with expressions that varied from shocked amusement to scandalized outrage (the former being the rum bearer and the latter the white masked man). A long, awkward pause ensued.

Jareth noticed Sarah blink and her eyes focused infinitesimally on the people watching her. His fingers twitched at her side, dangerously close to her chest to keep her distracted enough to remain amenable. The effect was a jump straight over compliant, as a gasp tore its way out of her, seeming to shatter the silence.

"Shall we just use the other lift, then?" the blonde asked with a faint French accent. She and the shorter man were smirking; the tall masked one was blushing. Jareth smirked as well.

"That would be terribly accommodating of you, I dare say," and he reached across to tap the doors close button, but found a small, trembling hand clutching his wrist. Sarah had come back to herself, at least enough to make that small action of resistance. He watched as more and more of her sense returned and her expression became more and more exceedingly alarmed.

Suddenly she shoved with all of the power her slim body possessed and he stepped slightly away, making room for her to wriggle out from between himself and the wall. As soon as she was free she dashed away, snatching her blonde friend's arm on her way past and fleeing down the hall.

The other two simply stood uncomfortably until the tall masked man stepped forward and extended his hand. "Good day, my name is Eric."

Jareth took Eric's hand and shook it, followed by the other who muttered that his name was James.

"I certainly hope you two hadn't just met. It would prove devastating to your new neighbor's already crippled social lives if you swept in and seduced all the women this swiftly." Eric threw James a disapproving glance which wavered and gave way to overt suspicion as his hand inched toward the rope coiled at his side. Jareth laughed quietly in response, leaning on his arm against the wall.

"No need to alarm yourselves. Sarah and I have known each other a long while. I've been waiting for an…opportunity such as this for years."

"Yes, quite an opportunity. We were just on our way to find out what had caused that strange blackout when we found…" James paused to consider Jareth's tense stance and the way he had turned slightly away from them. He put two and two together and came to an obvious conclusion. "We'll just give you a few minutes to collect yourself, then."

"I'd be much obliged, gentlemen. I'll be upstairs shortly." They nodded and stepped back, allowing the doors to shut. When alone again Jareth sighed, but his smile was the smile of the cat that caught the canary. "Well, this should prove to be very entertaining."

Sarah dragged Christine through the front door of their apartment and slammed it, locking the deadbolt, the chain and propping a chair under the doorknob for good measure. Then she stumbled to the couch and dropped onto it, quaking like a leaf. She said nothing for a while, oblivious to the curious looks her friend gave her.

"Who on earth was that?" Christine finally trilled, and Sarah jumped, having forgotten she wasn't alone.

"That was… Him," she whispered, afraid even to say his name.

"The Goblin King?" Christine asked, yelping when a cushion hit her full in the face. "Merde! Qu'est-ce que tu as?!"

"Don't say his name. Never say his name," Sarah screeched, clutching another cushion against her chest. Christine dropped into an armchair with a huff.

"I didn't say his name. I don't know his name. All the times you told me that story and you never said his name."

"No, and I did so for a reason. He's an insane I don't even know what that's been borderline—and is now officially stalking me because he thinks, for some strange reason that I belong to him. Do you know how many times he's randomly appeared in my room to serenade me with a song of his own composition? I've lost count! I feel like I'm losing my mind and there's no one that can help me get away from him!" She finished her rant and sat clutching her cushion, breathing hard. For a long moment Christine simply sat staring at her. Then she leapt forward and threw her arms around her friend, tears forming in her eyes.

"Finally, someone who understands!" She almost sobbed.

Jareth floated the stack of boxes he'd had in the elevator into his new bedroom, and immediately decided that it was much too small. With a snap of his fingers the room expanded in ways that defied the laws of physics, so that from the outside it appeared to be the same size but was actually several times larger on the inside.

"Much better," he congratulated himself with a smirk, admiring his handiwork. Strewn about the room were several goblins, bouncing on the bed, sitting on a pair of minotaur horns mounted on the wall, munching books on the bookshelf. "Hello, boys."

"Hiya, King," several of them called, waving happily— mindlessly.

"Tell me, are you the ones responsible for that power outage?" He asked loftily. Everything went quiet for a moment, then one scrawny creature stepped forward, pulled it's bony shoulders back and spoke.

"Yes, kinga. It was us." Clearly expecting to be smote on the spot, he bowed his head and crossed his wrists in front of him in what he must suppose to be a heroic pose.

"Fine work, boys. There are a dozen extra barrels of that hogswash you drink waiting for you at home." A few stupid blinks and 'huh's, then one gave a hoot and disappeared, followed closely by all the others.

Sighing, Jareth flopped onto the bed and drew a crystal from the air, playing and replaying different scenes from Sarah's life. Her eighteenth birthday, when her parents made her cry by buying her a puppy too soon after Merlin had died. The time a dress had seemingly magically appeared in her closet just in time for a masked ball at her college, and the one she'd bought had reappeared several days later, just shreds of cloth. And last but not least the day a long, long time ago when a young girl ventured into a realm vastly different from her own to traverse dangers untold and hardships unnumbered to save her brother.

"Oh, Sarah. How long are you going to go on denying both of us?" He sighed again and twisted the crystal around on his palm, calling up a picture of her in the present. He glanced at it, frowned and looked again. Christine was sitting on the couch with Sarah clutching at her like a small child and as he watched she leaned back and wiped at her face, shoulders shaking. He could only see her back, but knew right away that she was crying. And suddenly he felt guilty. Guilty for finally getting the one thing he'd dreamed of for far longer than he cared to admit. Guilty!

Damn her.

TA-DA!... Okay, so it's not wonderful. So sue me!

(Take out the spaces in the links. got mad at me. :( )

This is a fan-fiction based off of http:// pika-la-cynique. deviantart .com/art/GirlsNextDoor04-Realization-74816801 by http:// pika-la-cynique. deviantart .com/ who is simply amazing! She left GND 4 - Realization open-ended so I went for it!

Of course, someone else (http:// hyper-child. deviantart .com/art/GND-4-Realisation-149335844 ) beat me to it. And hers is better, too. But I figured I'd post this anyway.

And I did some research, and I estimated this to be around 1993 or so...-ish. I'm not really sure, but just be nice.

Hope you like it!