Labyrinth: Second Coming

Title: Labyrinth: The Second Coming
Rating: NC-17
Moodmancmance
Warnings: Spoilers
Couples: Jareth/Toby, Sarah/Thomas (original character).... and perhaps a few more.
Summary: After 16 years, Jareth is finally overcoming his love for Sarah, and is now focusing on her younger, 17 year old brother, Toby.
Current Status: Incomplete

Author's Note: Labryinth and all of its characters are the property of the Hensons.
Jareth: Can I sing this time?
Emily: ::sighs:: Fine, fine...
Jareth: You're horrible! Absolutely horrible! ::storms off crying::
Emily: ::blinks:: ...uhm...

Chapter Three: Toby Froud

June 5th, 2003

"Tonight?" Toby covered the mouth piece of the phone and peeked into the living room where his parents were playing with Joseph and chuckling at his antics. He rolled his eyes... All this fuss over a baby. He took the stairs two at a time until he reached his room, then slipped in and locked the door behind him, flipping on the light. "Yeah... I can go tonight." He confimed. "Yeah... Yeah, alright... What?... No, I don't have any money. Fine. Midnight."
He turned off the phone and tossed it onto his bed, then began stripping silently, completely unaware that he was being watched. He made quick work of his changing, then ran a comb through his hair, roughing it up a bit. An unchaperoned party was just too much to resist. He opened his door a crack and called, "Mom, Dad! I'm pretty tired, so I'm turning in!"
"Alright, dear!" his mother responded. "Sleep Tight!"
"Love you!" He shut the door on her reply and opened the window deftly, grinning as he slipped out. A little owl fluttered its wings at him in the branch of the tree as he climbed slowly down. He paused and stared up at the owl for a brief moment. "...wow, it's beautiul..." he breathed, watching the bird of prey as it bobbed on the branch. It seemed to be preening to his compliment, and he laughed, then dropped down the last few feet, grabbed his bike, and headed to a friend's house.

"Toby!" Mike grinned, tossing him a cigarette. Toby caught it and let Mike light it for him. Mike had been waiting for him on the lawn.
"I thought you said this was a party...," Toby frowned, looking up at the quiet, suburban house in front of them.
"Yeah, no one else is here yet...," Mike shrugged and led him inside, flicking on the lights. "You want somethio dro drink? My dad's got beer..."
"I'll have a so Tob Toby responded, idly scrutinizing the decor of the house.
"...pussy." Mike laughed.
Toby glared at him. "Fine, a beer."
"That's better."

The two boys settled on the couch with their beer. Mike drank his quickly, crushed the can against his forehead, and tossed it into a nearby trashcan. Toby, however, was staring at his mistrustfully. Mike watched him, smirking. "It won't bite."
Toby shrugged and took a tentative taste, then grimaced. "It tastes like piss!" he coughed. "How the hell can you drthisthis shit?!"
Mike just laughed at him.'s a's an acquired taste... Some people just don't get it." Toby abandoned the beer for his cigarette, drawing in deeply. He didn't smoke often, and he was often accused of not inhaling. He protested valiantly that he did each time, but he knew that, in truth, he had never even tried to inhale. Suddenly, Toby found himself on his back with a knee pressing a bit uncomfortably against his crotch.
"The hell?!" The cigarette fell from his hand and miraculously into the beer instead of onto the carpet, extinguishing immediately. Toby stared at it, marvelling at his good luck. He felt like he was dreaming. A strong hand pinned both his wrists above his head while the other began almost gently carressing his chest. He looked up at Mike's face, confused. "...what's going on?" he asked, calmly, too surprised to understand the situation. A dreamy haze seemed to have settled around him, and he found it difficult to care what was happening.
"Shut up...," Mike growled as he kissed the other boy with bruising force. Mike pulled away and looked down into Toby's eyes. "...why do you have to be so pretty, Toby? You're like a girl..."
Toby stared up at him. "...Mike..." he started, but nothing else came out. It was as though someone had completely taken away his ability to speak. 'He's raping you, you moron...' something inside of him chuckled. 'Oh.' he replied to his own internal monologue as a calloused hand ran over his smooth sth. "h. "Oh!" he gasped, the dream-like sense fading. He couldn't move or cry out. He could only stare up at his child-hood friend as tears filled his eyes. He felt nauseaous, frightened, betrayed and helpless all at once. 'It isn't fair... It just isn't fair...'
And just as suddenly as it began, it was over. Toby sat up and stared in amazemas aas a white owl lit against Mike's face, screeching and clawing. He shook his head and stood, bolting for the door.

He ran until his lungs were burning, finally collapsing against a street lamp. It occured to him that he wasn't sure where he was, but he didn't care. He gasped for breath, dropping to his knees beside the street lamp. It felt like he had run for miles, and from the looks of things, he had. He looked at his watch. 3:30... "I must have been running for at least an hour...," he whispered to himself, standing up and whiping the sweat from his forehead. A doeful hoot came from his left, and he turned to find the same white owl from the tree at home and that had saved him from Mike watching him.
Toby laughed a little and went to sit on the bench, expecting the owl to flutter away. Instead, the bird just shifted a little and continued watching him. "What are you, like, my guardian angel?" He sighed and pulled his knees to his chest. "...I guess that was pretty stupid of me. Good thing you were there...," The owl just hooted in response. "I just want to go home..." he sighed.
The owl pecked his shoulder gently, then soared into the air, flying off in the direction Toby had run from, then lighting atop a streetsign and looking at the boy expectantly. Toby stood up and began to follow the bird, but then stopped himself. "Oh, this is stupid. It's just some dumb bird." He looked around himself silently, staring up at the blank, brick buildings. It looked vaguely familiar, but he still couldn't remember exactly where he was or how to get home. There was no telling how many turns he had made on his way to this place. He looked up at the bird, who fluttered its wings impatiently, and shrugged. "You're right. I don't have a choice, do I?" And with that, he shoved his hands into his pockets and began following.

An hour passed, and finally Toby was starting to remember things. "Hey, I know where I am!" The owl lit on his shoulder and Toby stroked its head. "...you're incredible... I can't believe a dumb animal could help me like this! I can make it home from here." The bird hopped from his shoulder, caught an updraft, and soared off into the darkness. Toby watched it take off with a smile, then continued his long trek home, cursing his bad luck. "It's just not fair..."

When Toby reached his house at 5 am, he kept walking past it. He had planned on walking as far as he could, but before he knew it, it was 7:30 and he was back in front of his quiet little house. His parents would be waking up soon, and if he wanted to keep up appearances, they had better find him sound asleep in bed. He sighed and began the climb up to his room, a strange dread settling in his stomach. He swung his legs over the sill and climbed the rest of the way into his room, finding himself standing face-to-face with his parents.
"Where were you?" his mother asked calmly.
"...at a friend's." Toby sniffed. "You wouldn't have let me go if I told you!"
"And how do you know that? Is it someone you shouldn't be around?!"
"No..."
"You're grounded, young man, for the rest of the Summer." his father fumed. "You are not to leave this house for a week, anter ter that, I want to know where you're going, when you'll get there, when you'll be back, and I want a list of numbers where I can contact you and speak to you. You will not leave that place until it's time for you to leave. Is that understood?"
"Why do you treat me like a kid?! I was fine!"
"You look like Hell!" his mother frowned. "Your face is red, your hair is sweaty, your clothes are messed up..." she sighed, shuddering a little. "Toby, are you doing drugs?"
"What?!"
"Look, we have to go watch after Joseph. We'll talk about this later."

With that, they left, and Toby found himself alone. He felt angry and hurt... They hadn't even cared that he had almost been raped... They hadn't cared that he had been scared out of his mind, that he might never have come home agian. "They want me to leave..." he whispered to himself, sinking to his bed. "They want me to leave! They want me to leave and never come back! Well, I wish..."
He stood up, pacing back and forth. It felt as though something inside of him was urging to speak, but all he could hear were his sister's words. "Be careful what you wish for. It might come true."
"Well, she's gone now, isn't she?!" he spat bitterly. "If she knew something like this was going to happen, she could have given me more warning! None of them want me around... I wish I could just get away from here!"
Toby looked up to see the white owl watching him eagerly from the window sill. He sighed exasperatedly, falling back onto the bed. "You saved me, got me home, but I bet you can't make my parents less idiotic. It's just not fair..."
"You say that so often. I wonder what your basis for comparison is."
Toby sat up on the bed, eyes wide with shock. Before him stood a tall, stately man, possibly in his mid-20's with long, wild blonde hair and narrow, blue eyes. He wore clothes that looked suited for a prince, all lace and frills, and all black, with leather boots and tight fitting, doe-skin breeches. Over it all, a black cape that looked like it had been built of ripped lace and leather donned his shoulders, pooling elegantly on the ground around him. Toby's mouth fell open at the sight before him.
"Yoshedshed to get away from here? Well, Toby, I'm here to make that wish come true."
Toby knew immediately who this person was. "They weren't lying...," he whispered. "It was all true! You're Jareth!"
Jareth smiled indulgently. "Of course. Do you think any dumb animal would know to help you as I have? And now, I've come to help you again. You asked to be taken away, so I've come to take you away."
"I know about your kind of help!" Toby spat, standing from the bed. "I don't need it!"
"Oh, but it's too late!" Jareth feigned surprise. "Didn't you know that? You're coming with me... Although..." he crossed the room and took Toby's chin into his hand. The boy was terrified, cowering... It was delicious. "...I'll make you a deal."...a...a deal?" Tobysperspered. The older man's hand moved from his chin to his shoulder as he leaned in closer.
"A deal, Toby... A chance." Jareth smiled. "Either come with me now, to stay forever at my side, or... take the chance."
"...wh... what's the chance?" Toby questioned defiantely, his voice trembling.
"I think you should consider the first choice before I tell you anthing." Jareth sighed, straightening and crossing his arms slooverover his chest. "It would mean never having to grow any older than you are right now... Never having a single want or need that wasn't fulfilled... And all you have to do...," Jareth extended his hand to the boy before him, "...is take my hand, Toby. I'll give you everything you ever wanted, and all I ask is for your companionship."
Toby stared at him blankly, a strange calmness settling over him. It was as though he was speaking from a st --t -- he simply knew what to say, when to say it and how to say it. "...what's the second choice?"
"The second choice?" Jarsighsighed and lowered his hand to his side, turning to the window. "The second choice... is to face the Labyrinth. You will have thirteen hours to reach me and tell me why you cannot be with me forever, and if you should fail, you will stay with me forever." Jareth looked over his shoulder at the boy, then turned to face him completely and motioned for him to come to the window.
Toby stood and walked silently over, keeping his distance from the man. Jareth grabbed the back of Toby's neck and drew him closer, so that their faces were mere inches apart. What had been a view of the front lawn and the adjacent street was now a desert-like, grim maze that seemed to go on for miles until, in the very center, a great castle rose. "...it is very far, Toby..."
"...a chance is a chance..."
"Oooh, so brave for such a young, scrawny thing." Jareth pressed his lips gently to the youth's temple. "Very well. Thirteen hours, child." And then, Jareth was gone, and Toby found himself alone in this wasteland, mere feet from the outer-wall of the Labyrinth.