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Sarah was laying on her bed rereading "Alice in Wonderland" for the hundredth time. She was fuming at Jareth, didn't want to talk to anyone else, and as a result, Alice's adventure was wearing on her last nerve. For some reason, everything from the smell of fresh coffee to the fact that tomorrow was Saturday was annoying her. She felt flipped inside out and just all around pissed off, and after she drew the curtains over the window to shut out Jareth's owl form, she'd been tempted to lay waste to her room. Breaking things was a great way to get rid of stress, but she decided that cleaning up would bring the stress back.

At the knock on her door, she hurled the book at the intruding noise. "What?" she snapped, sitting up and grabbing a pillow, prepared to throw that as well.

"Sarah? It's Christine."

With a defeated sigh, she muttered, "Come in." When her roommate stepped into her room, she stood from her bed and lunged at her. Christine barely stayed standing as her friend hugged her.

"Listen, sweetie, I know you're upset, but sitting around isn't going to do anything." With a final squeeze, Sarah stepped back.

"What am I supposed to do?" she asked Christine. "Nowhere is safe for me. I can't escape him, even in my dreams. My head is supposed to be mine and mine alone! He keeps messing me up!" She began to sob.

"Oh, ma belle, come here." Christine slung her arm around Sarah and led her to the bed, where they sat down, Sarah still sobbing. "You know what I think? I think he cares about your feelings. That's why he's trying to apologize. That's why he's never tried to hurt you. When you're someone like him, with the history you two have, how are you supposed to court the girl you love?"

"Well, he could do something else than this."

"Something else? Sarah, I've seen you two. Everything he tries to do to get you to like him you've rejected. No matter what he does, you've made him the villain, and if he's ever being sweet, you think he's got other motives."

"I suppose you're right, there," Sarah admitted. "When I think about it, if any other guy had done the things he's done, I'd be with him in a heartbeat." She sighed. "But my dreams are mine, and he has to stay out."

"Sarah, how would he know what's okay and what's not with you? You never just talk to him, and tell him what lines can't be crossed."

"He's totally unprepared, yet he tries anyways," Sarah murmured, shaking her head. "I am really hard on him, aren't I?"

"Oh, yeah," Christine agreed, smiling.

"You know, don't tell anyone, but I was enjoying that dream."

"It was an invasion of privacy, but it's the thought that counts." Christine stood. "I think it's time I went and watched TV until all hours of the night. Tomorrow is Saturday, after all. Want some coffee?"

"Yes, please," Sarah said, smiling. "Thanks Christine."

"You're welcome." Christine rounded the corner, and was gone.

"Well that was odd," Sarah observed. "But I guess someone on the sidelines sees things better than the players of the game."

There was a "poof" sound, and Jareth appeared, looming over Sarah. She jumped back, immediately reverting to being pissed off. "Go away!"

"Sarah, please hear me out," Jareth started, sitting on the floor at her feet. She looked down at him, realizing slowly that this was his way of letting her know that he didn't want to threaten her. "I'm sorry. I over stepped a boundary. I shouldn't have called out to you in your dreams."

"Called out to me? You were controlling me!" Jareth's face paled, and he turned his head away.

"Jareth? Were you controlling me?" She leaned forward to catch his response.

He tried to say yes. It was quite obvious that he did. He ended up choking and doubling over before he growled "no."

"Though it's not as bad as I thought, that was a total invasion of privacy. You always do that!"

"I don't know what to do when it comes to you, Sarah! I've tried everything I can think of that wouldn't hurt you, and still you reject me! I've done everything I can do!" With a shocked look, Jareth clapped a hand to his mouth. He groaned and murmured, "I'm not here to talk about how impossible it is for me to please you. I'm here to apologize."

"The only apology I'll accept is one that requires a bit of effort and risk on your part." Sarah felt bad for him for a moment. Christine was right; she was so suspicious of him that anything he tried to do, she ruined it. But there were lines that just weren't crossed.

"I thought you'd say that. I offer you a promise. I'll do anything you want. Anything."

Sarah was angry to hear this. A promise? That's all? Promises can be broken. It was no great effort to lie and make a promise that you didn't intend to keep. "Go to hell, Jareth." She glared at him.

The look on his face made her pull up short. It was an expression of utter anguish and sadness. It was breaking her heart. He started to fade away. When it got to the point where she could see her dresser through him, she barely caught the tear that ran down his cheek. Then he was gone.

Erik came rushing into the room. "Sarah! I need to tell you that before you take Jareth up on his offer, you have to think about what he is."

Sarah glanced at the masked man. "I already did. I told him to go to hell. A promise? That's it? That's the best he can do?" She stood and passed Erik, who'd frozen where he was. She turned back. "Erik, what is it? You're freaking me out."

Jareth's roommate turned his head towards her slowly. "Jareth is Fae, Sarah. If he makes a promise, he has to keep it. Word for word."

"So then, when I said 'go to hell', he actually went?" Christine wandered up behind them with two mugs of coffee. She looked worried.

"Yes, Sarah. He's as good as dead."

********

One week later, the door to the girls' apartment banged open. "I found him!" Crowley announced happily, marching in, followed closely by Javert. The tall man went to the living room and set the thing he was carrying down on the couch. Sarah rushed over.

It was worse than she'd expected. Not a single wound had healed. Jareth's wrists and ankles were bruised and bloody, as if he'd been manacled to a wall. Stab wounds and slashes covered his torso, arms and legs, and long cuts from a whip riddled his back. He barely breathed, and his eyes were squeezed shut. His clothes, a white shirt open down he front and gray leggings, were torn to shreds.

"They must have had fun with him," Crowley observed.

"What do you mean?" Sarah demanded.

"Human souls that go to hell are tortured to death and brought back. Fae are stronger. It takes a lot longer to kill Fae, and many of them, including Jareth, here, can't die. The suffering is much sweeter." He grinned sadistically. "It's called hell for a reason."

"Jareth, open your eyes! Can you hear me?" Erik leaned over Jareth, looking panicked. Jareth cracked open an eye.

"I thought you didn't like me, Erik?" Jareth rasped.

"You're an annoying twit, but you're still my friend, Jareth. I was worried sick!"

"Really? I thought you looked a little green." He chuckled and then groaned, curling up.

Sarah got within his range of vision. "Jareth, I'm so sorry. I didn't think... I never realized-"

"Ah, that's my girl, taking things for granted again."

"What?" Sarah asked, astonished.

"You think that all villains are dishonest, lying, cheating creeps. Lucky you, I'm nice." He smiled up at her. "So am I forgiven?"

"Are you... what?" Sarah asked, again. The others in the room huddled nearer.

Jareth took a breath, making a face that seemed to say that Sarah was really dumb and that breathing really hurt. "The point of this was apology for calling out to you in your dream, and for 'being a creep', as it were. Am I forgiven?"

Sarah hesitated, the smiled, and replied, "almost."

"Almost?" Jareth responded, looking crestfallen.

"You have to promise me that you'll never intentionally worry me like that again."

"In that case, I promise."

"In that case you're forgiven." She then hugged him.

Everyone else, even Javert, went "awwww". And even though he was getting blood on her, and even though it hurt him, the two enjoyed it.

"Can't you just snap your fingers and heal or something?" Crowley asked.

"No, the only thing that could do that would be-" Jareth was suddenly cut off by Sarah's lips on his. With a "whoosh", he was healed and his clothes were back to normal. "That," he finished, sighing. "Fairytale kisses are good for something." Everyone laughed at that.

"Jareth, have you ever forgiven Sarah?" asked Christine.

"For what?" Jareth asked.

"For rejecting you, ruining your kingdom, sending you to hell, anything?" The blond woman raised her eyebrows.

Jareth shook his head. "She's forgiven the moment it happens," Jareth replied, tilting his head to the side. "Is forgiveness such a difficult thing to give?"

Christine smiled at Sarah triumphantly. Sarah stuck out her tongue. "Of course it isn't, Jareth. Just ignore her." The Fae king, (who still had Sarah in his lap,) was satisfied with that answer.