As The World Falls Down

Chapter 30

"Yeah, this is just like riding a bicycle."

"Y/N, please!"

You cackled as you watched Jareth dash across the dark kitchen and throw open a window, letting in the cool moonlight as well as letting out the eye stinging smoke that was emanating from the pan Jareth had been cooking in. You had been perched on the counter, kicking your legs absently as you bickered over the state of what he kept insisting was going to be "a perfectly wonderful dinner", until he had turned away for a minute too long to lecture you and the space had quickly filled with smoke.

"What are you even making?" you asked as he waved smoke out the window with frantic, annoyed hands, shooting you a sour look while doing so.

"Enough with the condescension," he snapped.

"I'm just asking!" you laughed, throwing your hands up. "Just, like, what was the end goal here?"

"Dinner!"

You held a hand over your mouth to contain another laughing fit as he closed the window and retreated back to the stove, angrily scraping the remnants out of the pan into the trash.

"It's okay," you assured. "I can just make us something super quick, come on. I never expected you to be Gordon Ramsey."

"Who?"

"Never mind. Come on, give me the pan."

"No," Jareth grumbled, setting the pan on the burner again. "Give me a moment and I'm sure it'll all come back to me."

"You're already getting hangry! Let me be wifey and cook so I can rest."

"You'll never truly rest if you choose to marry me, love." He grinned a tight, ingenuine little smile and you frowned.

"I already chose," you pointed out.

"And I pray you never change your mind."

"Jareth, I wouldn't have said yes if I didn't mean it." You hopped off the counter and wrapped your arms around his waist, resting your chin on his back. "Where's this coming from?"

He was quiet for a moment, the shadows crawling off the appliances and down the walls surrounding you both as you felt his chest rise and fall slowly, matching his breaths unconsciously.

"Sometimes I wonder..." he trailed off. "Sometimes I wonder if you're too good to be true, Y/N. I've been in a bit of a shocked state since our dance. There was a part of me that felt you would reject my proposal."

"What!" you exclaimed, genuinely surprised. "Why in the world would I ever do that?"

"I feared that letting you know about my woeful past would scare you off," he admitted, laughing a little. "Or that the thought of so long with me would be too much. I-I know I can be too much."

He turned around then, leaning against the stove casually with a sad smile, smoothing your hair back lovingly as your arms stayed around his lithe waist. His shirt was still slightly unbuttoned and loose, his hair mussed yet still elegant, and your heart ached at how handsome yet vulnerable he looked.

"You have put up with so much of my bullshit," he smiled. "I hope you know I intend to be on my best behavior from here on out. You deserve a far better husband than the, uh, boyfriend I've been."

"Oh, you're not so bad. Good enough to want to keep you around for the foreseeable future."

"Promise me you're not just doing it for my riches," Jareth joked, holding his hand up between you and extending his pinky, encircled by a simple, silver serpent ring. You rolled your eyes and curled your much smaller little finger around his, your own pinky ring knocking gently against his.