Mornings of Gold (a Jareth and Sarah fanfiction)

Chapter Nineteen

Sarah awoke to a sense of contentment and an itchy nose. She blinked sleep out of her eyes and, holding back a sneeze, peered over at what had caused her the irritation. Jareth lay with his back pressed against Sarah's stomach in a slight arch, and she could hear his breath huffing gently against the pillow. Her face had been nestled into the top of his head, causing her nose to have been tickled by his hair.

    She looked over at her bedside table. The alarm clock read 10:27am. She had vague memories of it going off earlier that morning, and Jareth silencing it with a wave of his hand before settling back down into sleep.

    She looked down at him now, his expression placid and free of the barely-concealed misery that usually had control of his features. She wanted him to stay asleep forever, if it would keep him as peaceful as he was now.

    Jareth must have sensed her watching him, as he stirred and buried his head deeper into the pillow it rested on. "Can't I have a little longer?" he mumbled. "I haven't had such a satisfying sleep in years."

    "You can have as long as you want," Sarah smiled. "We've got nothing better to do." Yet, even as she said those words, something in the back of her mind niggled at her. Why had the alarm gone off so early before?

    Jareth grinned slowly. "You've tired me out, love," he sighed, his eyes still closed.

    Sarah blushed at the compliment and prepared to answer it when a monotonous ringing sound cut her off. She frowned, trying to place it, then gasped in horror. Oh no, she thought. That's why the alarm went off. "The doorbell!" she shrieked. "I invited them over!"

    "Who's 'them'?" Jareth had sat up and was rubbing sleep out of his eyes.

    Sarah tried not to stare at his bare chest. "My family! Dad and Toby and my stepmom!" She grabbed Jareth's jeans from the floor and chucked them at him. "Hurry and get dressed before Dad remembers the spare key under the welcome mat!"

    Jareth grasped the seriousness of the situation and yanked the jeans up his legs, followed by his boots. "Where's my shirt?" he asked Sarah frantically, who had already donned most of her clothes. She shrugged. "I haven't--"

    The sound of a key slotting into a lock cut her off. Fear flashed in her eyes. "Go without it!" she whispered sharply, shoving Jareth towards her en suite. "Hide in there until they're gone!"

    Jareth slipped behind the door just as Sarah's father entered her bedroom. He glanced around disapprovingly. "Sarah!" he scolded, gesturing to her unmade bed. "I thought I'd taught you better than this. It's unbecoming of a woman such as yourself."

    Sarah plastered a smile onto her face. "Sorry, Dad," she sighed apologetically, "I only woke up a few minutes ago."

    "All the same," her father said, "I think I'd better help you tidy up a little before your stepmother comes in. The grilling she'd give you if she saw this..." He smirked knowingly. Sarah nodded and began straightening out her duvet. She caught Jareth's scent as she moved it, that same intoxicating, alien spice she'd smelled in his own room. She smiled to herself at the memories it brought, both old and recent.

    "We'd better work quicker," her father said. "Your stepmother will come in any mo--" His voice cut off abruptly.

    "What is it?" Sarah turned to see why he'd stopped talking – and froze. Jareth's shirt hung from her father's hand. He held it between a pinched finger and thumb. "This is why your room is so messy?" he asked incredulously. "You were... with someone last night?"

    Sarah snatched the shirt from his grasp. "Daddy, it's not what you think, I swear!" she cried. "This is, um..." She thought fast. "I-it's one of mine!"

    Her father tutted. "Sarah, that is clearly a man's t-shirt. Don't lie to me." Sarah began to protest, but he silenced her. "It's written all over your face," he sighed. "Just... hide it from your stepmother. You know the reaction it'll elicit from her."

    Sarah nodded and, blushing hard, threw the garment under her bed.

***

"'It's one of mine'?!" Jareth chuckled from the en suite once the danger had passed. "I believe that may just be the worst excuse I've heard in centuries."

    "Yeah, well." Sarah opened the door and tossed Jareth's shirt at his chest. "I didn't exactly have time to come up with anything more convincing." She walked over to where he was perched on the side of her bath and nudged him with her shoulder. "I've got to have a shower now, get out of here."

    Jareth stayed put. "I don't think I will," he smirked. "Who says I don't want a shower too?"

    "Oh... shut up," Sarah giggled. Jareth stood and pressed up against her. "Make me," he whispered harshly in her ear, making her shiver. He gripped her shoulders and brushed his lips over the skin beneath her jaw.

    Sarah exhaled shakily at the contact and pushed her fingers into Jareth's hair, forcing his head down deeper into her neck. "Maybe I will," she sighed. "You'd like that, wouldn't you?" She felt Jareth nod and smile into her. She took his hands in hers and pulled him into the bathtub with her, then ducked out of her shirt and bra. Kicking her jeans off, she held back a laugh at the surprised expression on his face. "Still want that shower?"

—

A/N: Hello to you
Hi guys! Sorry for the wait for this terribly short chapter, but I have some news that will either relieve or upset you. Ready?
*dramatic drumroll-type shit or something*
Not including this chapter (as it's finished), there's only 6 chapters (and an epilogue) left until the end! IT'S FINALLY ENDING THANK GOD FOR THAT.
But yeah. If I've done my maths right, this will finish on Chapter 25, with a little epilogue coming soon after that. I've got an organised plan for all the chapters and the epilogue and I think you'll like how it ends.
So. Thanks for sticking with me and all through the horrible, horrible limbo-type beginning chapters and the long waits for updates. You guys are all awesome and I just want to meet you all and give you all hugs or something ☺️
Okay, I'm getting weird now. Oh, wait, it's because I'm writing this at about midnight, and I start to get really quite strange after 10pm.
Okay time to go before I bore you all 💖
Much love and hugs and kisses and nice things like that,
- Your boy Luke xox