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Happy Birthday, Drew!!!!!!
So, my beloved turned 60 a few days ago. I was always try to outdo what I did the previous year for celebrations, but I was late with his card (and annual poem) and one of his fics. Thank God I finally managed to blow my writer's block out of the water yesterday, but now I find the site we usually use to send cards is down. Which means you unfortunate folk are just going to have to tolerate me giving him/her a big, old birthday party post right here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I speak often of the ones who complete each other:
Of Robin and Regina, Rumple and Belle, Hook and Emma,
Of Xena and Gabrielle, Clark and Lex, Bruce and Selina,
Of Cole and Piper, Logan and Ororo, Sean and Emma,
And of course, most importantly of all, of me and you.
How can I not when you inspire me every single day
With all that you do, so much of what you say,
And sometimes just a simple look or two?
How can I not have the soul of a writer
When you stroke the eternal fires of love
Within me every day?
You inspire me.
You make me always want to do better, be better.
You are my better half,
And just as each of the others without their better half,
Just as the moon without the sun,
I am nothing without you, my darling.
You light up my life;
You chase away my darkness.
You inspire, you create, you revitalize,
You breathe new life into me
Every day and every night.
No matter how angry I am,
Just a single touch from you
Still strokes my fire,
Still lights a rocket hurtling
Through my veins.
You say you don't know romance,
And it may be true that often
You don't act the part,
But the truth is,
You are romance.
You are the fire that burns within me.
You are my eternal, endless Muse.
You are my better half.
You are what keeps me tethered
And yet also makes me fly.
Without you,
I am nothing,
But with you,
I have everything.
Thank you for loving me.
Thank you for inspiring me.
Thank you for saving me,
Time and again.
Thank you for choosing
To share these years with me,
To share your life with me,
To give me your love,
Yourself, your all.
Thank you for everything!!!!!!!!!
I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Here's to another sixty plus years
With our world,
Our two halves,
Always fused together.
I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Working Title: A Happy Birthday For Rocket and Groot
Author: Kat Lee
Fandom: Guardians of the Galaxy
Character/Pairing: Rocket/Groot
Rating: PG-13/T
Word Count: 625
Summary:
Disclaimer: All characters within belong to Marvel comics, not the author, and are used without permission.
The alien suns were swiftly sinking beyond the horizon when the smoke finally settled. Rocket looked around his partner and himself at the dead bodies, a slow and toothy smile starting to spread across his furry face. He blew the last bit of smoke off of his guns, both of which were bigger than he.
"I am Groot."
"I think our work's done here, big guy." His ringed tail was still puffed as he turned his back to the carnage, tapped Groot's leg, and started to walk away.
The big tree looked down at him in concern. "I am Groot."
Rocket stopped in his tracks. "What?" he asked, turning slowly back.
"I am Groot."
His fur ruffled. "Who told you that?" demanded the angry raccoon.
Groot smiled, reached down, and picked him up in his longest limbs. "I am Groot," was his simple answer.
"Well, I guess we have hung around each other enough for you to pick that up," Rocket muttered, "but trust me, big fella, a good time stomping bad guy tail, getting paid for it, and some new, free guns is all the birthday celebration this guy wants. Well, that and maybe a little other tail."
"I am Groot." The tree's chuckle spread throughout all his wood; it tingled in Rocket's fur as it spread through the limbs that held him.
Rocket's feral grin softened. His fur relaxed. "Well, maybe you're right."
"I am Groot."
"It's not like you're right all the time."
"I am Groot."
"Yeah. When you get it right, you do get it good," Rocket agreed, allowing his best friend to pull him up higher into his branches and closer to his trunk. A soft sound of contentment started in the raccoon warrior's throat, but he stopped it as abruptly as Groot's touch had caused it to begin. "Just for a little while, though, and only while the others aren't here."
"I am Groot." He turned them toward the setting suns, and as their pink and golden lights bathed them, he looked down again at his dearest friend. Rocket hadn't released his guns, but they were no longer at the ready. He cradled them, instead, in his arms as Groot cradled him. His furry cheek pressed close against his bark, and in the silence of the world they had just taken back for its people, his sounds of contentment resounded loud and much like a cat's purr.
Groot had only been around a cat once, but he remembered his purr quite clearly. It had been a wonderful sound, but Rocket's was even more beautiful to the tree. He smiled, his leaves swaying in the breeze. The gentle movement of his leaves and Rocket's purring became a quiet song all their own.
"I am Groot," he whispered.
Rocket opened one eye and looked up at him with a big grin. "I am Groot," he returned where only the tree could understand that he loved him as well.
"I am Groot," Groot answered in a hushed tone as Rocket closed his eye. He stood there in the setting suns, holding him, luxuriating in the feel of him relaxing his limbs, basking in the knowledge that he had come as close to admitting their true relationship as ever he did, wishing this moment could last for the rest of their lives, and secretly being glad he'd given Peter and the others the wrong coordinates to their whereabouts. They'd find them eventually, but until they did, he'd make this moment last as long as he could.
"I am Groot."
"Thank you, big guy." Rocket yawned, and Groot tried not to watch too adoringly as his little, pink tongue rolled out and back into his mouth. "A happy birthday to me," the little, ferocious raccoon muttered sleepily, and it was.
The End
Working Title: Not This Year
Author: Kat Lee
Fandom: Charmed
Character/Pairing: Prue/Piper
Rating: PG-13/T
Word Count: 579
Summary:
Disclaimer: All characters within belong to Spelling Entertainment, not the author, and are used without permission.
She smiles as she watches her sister take the first bite of her creation. Every year, for Christmas and for birthdays, Piper tries to outdo herself. She tries to show her loved ones even more how much they mean to her and how greatly she loves them, because she's come to realize, especially after becoming a Witch, just how fragile their lives are and how she can never be guaranteed that she'll have another year with them. Thus, she tries to make every year, every celebration, better than the last.
The cake is no exception. She crafted it beautifully and used a new method to make it even more moist than her usual cakes, which have been winning awards since she was a child. Prue's reaction made it all worth it as her mouth fell open when she saw the cake. "Is it good?" she prompts as her sister swallows.
"Oh, yes," Prue breathes, brightening Piper's smile. She reaches across the table and takes her hand. "It always is. I'm a lucky woman," she adds. "I get my cake and actually get to eat it, too."
Piper makes a face, remembering how last year's cake was ruined when a Demon attacked. Almost as if on cue, a Demon appears inside their club, right by their table. Piper glowers as she throws up her hands to freeze the room; only this Demon won't freeze so easily.
"Charmed Ones," he sneers, looming down at them.
Piper sweeps the cake to the back of the table with one arm as she waves her other hand at the Demon who towers above them. "Not this year," she declares and explodes him.
She looks back to Prue, and her smile dies on her face as she takes in Prue's downcast expression. She follows her sister's eyes to her slice of cake and grimaces at the slime that now drips off of her beautiful frosting. Without hesitation, she swipes Prue's piece of cake and cuts another piece from her untouched masterpiece. She lays it on the saucer on which she had been about to eat her own slice before the latest attack on their lives.
"Like I said," Prue adds, taking a bite, "I'm a lucky woman."
Piper catches her hand again and rubs her thumb softly across her flesh. "You have no idea," she almost purrs. "Wait 'til we get home."
"I'd ask for the check," Prue teases, brightening, "but my sister's the owner."
"Eat your cake, dear," Piper counters, grinning, as she gets to her feet, "before another Demon appears." She kisses her forehead, then sweeps the damaged slice away to the kitchen.
It is there that another Demon appears. Once more, she explodes the villain without giving him a chance to attack. She shakes her head. "Not this year," she speaks with utter determination. This year, she is going to give Prue the best birthday ever.
When she returns to the table, she finds her sister waiting for her. She puts the lid on her cake and begins to angle their way out of P3, cake in one hand and her sister's hand in her other. It isn't until she's gotten Prue home, and exploded another two Demons on the way, and is laying her down beneath her that Piper finally tells her, "Happy birthday, Prue." She beams down at her.
Prue pulls her down on top of her. "Luckiest woman ever," she intones, just before she kisses Piper's sweet lips, "and best birthday yet!"
The End
Working Title: Jareth's Birthday Party
Author: Kat Lee
Fandom: Labyrinth
Character/Pairing: Jareth/Sarah, Hoggle, Ensemble
Rating: G/K
Word Count: 1,637
Summary:
Disclaimer: All characters within belong to Jim Henson and any other rightful owners, again not the author, and are used without permission.
"What is this?" the King demanded, walking into his throne room and seeing it filled with beings who should have been scattered throughout his Labyrinth waiting to do his bidding. Sarah hid a sly smile as she noted the way the bones in her husband's cheeks tightened and drew up a little higher. "You dare call a meeting without me?" he questioned.
"Never," she answered immediately, but then she released a giggle. Her hand flew to her mouth, and she hushed as his beautiful eyes, one of blue and one of green, narrowed angrily in on her.
"Sarah," he demanded, "what have you done?" He looked again around at the room and the beings that filled it, and then he noted the boxes and bags. They were in all shapes and sizes and of materials certainly not attained from anywhere throughout his land. He stepped to the Dwarf who was nearest him and poked at the colorfully wrapped box he held. "What have you there, Hogwart?" he asked. "Another excuse to dunk you headfirst into the Bog of Eternal Stench?"
Shaking from head to toe, Hoggle promptly dropped the box and threw himself upon the King's leather boots. "OH, PLEASE, YOUR MAJESTY!" he cried. "NOT THE ETERNAL STENCH!"
Jareth kicked him away from him. "Oh, yes, Hogit! The Eternal Stench for you and for all of you if you don't tell me immediately what is happening here!"
"Oh, man, that ain't cool!" one of the Fieries complained.
"Yeah!" agreed his brother.
"Dude, the last time I was in the Bog and I tried to play a game, my eyeballs stunk so badly I had to get a new pair!"
"A new pair of eyes?" the little Worm mused aloud. "The Missus should hear this!"
"Well, Sarah?" demanded Jareth, as impatient as ever.
His Queen laid her hands upon Hoggle's quivering shoulders. "It's okay, Hoggle," she spoke softly. "He won't be dumping any one into the Bog today, I promise. Why don't you go over there with Sir Didymus and help him with his game of Scrabble while I talk to our King?"
Hoggle muttered and moaned but did as she suggested, although not without shooting Jareth another look over his small shoulder. Jareth glowered back so severely until Hoggle yipped aloud and ran to Sir Didymus' side.
"Jareth, really, I didn't think this was going to upset you," Sarah began, pulling her husband's attention away from his favorite prey.
"You didn't think calling a courtly meeting without first addressing me with your concern would upset me?"
Sarah resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "It's not exactly a courtly meeting," she pointed out. "The Fieries are here, after all."
"Yes, and since when do they come to the castle when we're not throwing a ball?"
"Well, we may have one later, if a certain person doesn't scare away all of his guests."
Jareth looked quizzically at her. Sarah smiled at the way he cocked his handsome head much as he did in his owl form. "Sarah, what are you about this time?"
She could no longer hide her smile. "Jareth, we've been married now for a good ten years, and during this time, I've never once seen you celebrate your birthday."
"I'm as old as time," he interjected.
Wildness touched her eyes and the corners of her mouth. "Somehow, from our nights in our royal bed chambers, I rather doubt that."
"It's true," he added haughtily.
"Perhaps. Sir Didymus and Hoggle did tell me that no one knows when you were really brought here."
"I've been here forever."
Sarah's teeth touched her top lip as she studied him. There was no arguing with him today, but then, there never was. He never let himself be proved wrong, even if what he was arguing for would have been slanderous had any one else dared to speak it. But that was fine, she decided. She wasn't here to win a battle. She was here for an entirely different purpose.
"Be that as it may, as old," she countered finally, making a face, "as you are, don't you think it's high past time you celebrated your birthday?" He started to speak, but she boldly interrupted him. "I do. So . . . " She raised her hands. Every one stopped talking and looked at those delicate hands that helped to rule their kingdom. "It's time to paaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarty!"
She grinned, and simultaneously, the Fieries began to play. A huge banner inscrawled with, "Hapy Burfday, Kingie," dropped from the ceiling, and a few cannons fired. Jareth looked at it with his regal mouth barely open and his stern eyes softening with surprise. "They . . . You . . . " He looked again at the banner. "You taught the Fieries how to write?"
Sarah smiled. Leave it to her husband to catch on to that fact rather than that all of these celebrations were for him! "Some of the smarter ones," she answered wisely. "Sir Didymus helped. Spelling is another matter."
He shook his head slowly from side to side, watching her with renewed interest and, Sarah liked to think, more than just a touch of amazement. He wrapped an arm around her slender waist and pulled her close against him. "You never cease to surprise me, Sarah."
She stroked his cheek lovingly. "I'm glad," she answered, grinning, a brief second before his lips touched hers. He drank of her sweetly and deeply, his tongue plundering her soul, until another round of fire from the cannons made him look back up. He was quite unaccustomed to them firing without an order from him.
Grinning widely, Sarah suggested, "Why don't you open some of your presents?"
"Presents?" he asked unwittingly.
"Yes." When he still didn't catch on, she explained, "All those bags and boxes that are in colorful paper from my world. Every one of them contains something for you."
"Really? Like snakes and lizards, puppy dog tails?"
She laughed. "There may be some of those in them. There's no telling with our subjects!" she admitted. "But everybody has brought something here they want to give you today, husband dear, to celebrate your birthday."
He began to sink down to a sitting position. Goblins ran with chairs, but Ludo was behind him. He found himself poised on his massive, furry knee. His enormous pet looked down at him. His grin was almost as large as his wife's. "Jareth friend," he announced happily.
"Yes, yes," muttered the King. "Do go ahead and tell the whole kingdom, why don't you?" He looked around the room, the knowledge of what Sarah had told him sinking into his mind. Every one here was here for him. He had tortured and scared them over the centuries, and yet every single one of his subjects was here and they had all brought something for him. He didn't care if it was newts and eyeballs. They had cared enough to come and find something they felt worthy of being a gift to him, and their gracious giving was truly amazing.
He reached out again, took Sarah's hand, and pulled her closer. "Why don't I start with your present?" he asked, kissing her hand.
Her grin turned to coy. "You'll get that one," she told him, "tonight."
He flashed her a royal grin. "I can scarcely wait, my Queen."
She smiled. "Me, too," she whispered, and then above the roar of the Fieries' music, she called, "Hoggle, why don't you start?"
"Why don't I start what, Sarah?" the Dwarf asked, eyeing Jareth suspiciously.
"Why don't you give our King his first present?"
"Oh, that!" His face was still full of fear, but slowly, cautiously, he approached the King, bowed so low to the ground that his fat nose almost touched the stone floor, and held up his box.
Jareth took it, but then he just sat and looked at it.
"You unwrap it," Sarah whispered to him.
Carefully, Jareth removed one long strip of paper after another. When he at last he had the box opened, he looked down at his gift, still clearly perplexed. Sarah looked over his shoulder and frowned, also not knowing what to make of Hoggle's present.
Jareth lifted the objects out of the box with care and examined them closer. The answer clicked in Sarah's mind a scant moment after Hoggle, still bowed low before the King, began to shake again. She looked cautiously to her husband, prepared to intervene on the Dwarf's behalf if need be.
Jareth felt the cushiony material as he mulled over what to do with the things. He'd never wear them on his boots, and then it dawned on him. Hoggle had cared enough to bring him a present, but he had brought him something he would never use, something, too, that would keep Jareth's many kicks from hurting him quite so badly as they did. He'd never put the cushions on the ends of his boots, but he was surprised at the Dwarf's cunning.
He was surprised that any of them had come to a party for him without being ordered to do so. He was surprised Sarah had thought to give him a birthday party and knew she never would have commanded his subjects to come. They had come because they wanted to celebrate him. They had come because they cared.
Slowly, he smiled. Hoggle peeked up at him from underneath his bushy brows. Jareth looked around at the faces of his subjects, his friends, and the only family he'd ever know. He looked back to the ridiculous present the Dwarf had given him, and finally, the King threw back his head and laughed and laughed. His laughter echoed throughout the palace, and soon, everybody there was laughing and smiling. Fears were dismissed, and the King's birthday was celebrated better than it ever had been before.
The End
Y'all should have totally seen his birthday cake, BTW! I have to admit I outdid myself on it, and his reaction when he saw it couldn't have been more perfect! His face lit up, and his mouth fell open! =) Hopefully I can get those pics (and the trailer's -- I haven't forgotten!) posted soon!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MY DARLING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And, of course, all these stories have been lovingly dedicated to my better half, Drew! =)
I speak often of the ones who complete each other:
Of Robin and Regina, Rumple and Belle, Hook and Emma,
Of Xena and Gabrielle, Clark and Lex, Bruce and Selina,
Of Cole and Piper, Logan and Ororo, Sean and Emma,
And of course, most importantly of all, of me and you.
How can I not when you inspire me every single day
With all that you do, so much of what you say,
And sometimes just a simple look or two?
How can I not have the soul of a writer
When you stroke the eternal fires of love
Within me every day?
You inspire me.
You make me always want to do better, be better.
You are my better half,
And just as each of the others without their better half,
Just as the moon without the sun,
I am nothing without you, my darling.
You light up my life;
You chase away my darkness.
You inspire, you create, you revitalize,
You breathe new life into me
Every day and every night.
No matter how angry I am,
Just a single touch from you
Still strokes my fire,
Still lights a rocket hurtling
Through my veins.
You say you don't know romance,
And it may be true that often
You don't act the part,
But the truth is,
You are romance.
You are the fire that burns within me.
You are my eternal, endless Muse.
You are my better half.
You are what keeps me tethered
And yet also makes me fly.
Without you,
I am nothing,
But with you,
I have everything.
Thank you for loving me.
Thank you for inspiring me.
Thank you for saving me,
Time and again.
Thank you for choosing
To share these years with me,
To share your life with me,
To give me your love,
Yourself, your all.
Thank you for everything!!!!!!!!!
I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Here's to another sixty plus years
With our world,
Our two halves,
Always fused together.
I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Working Title: A Happy Birthday For Rocket and Groot
Author: Kat Lee
Fandom: Guardians of the Galaxy
Character/Pairing: Rocket/Groot
Rating: PG-13/T
Word Count: 625
Summary:
Disclaimer: All characters within belong to Marvel comics, not the author, and are used without permission.
The alien suns were swiftly sinking beyond the horizon when the smoke finally settled. Rocket looked around his partner and himself at the dead bodies, a slow and toothy smile starting to spread across his furry face. He blew the last bit of smoke off of his guns, both of which were bigger than he.
"I am Groot."
"I think our work's done here, big guy." His ringed tail was still puffed as he turned his back to the carnage, tapped Groot's leg, and started to walk away.
The big tree looked down at him in concern. "I am Groot."
Rocket stopped in his tracks. "What?" he asked, turning slowly back.
"I am Groot."
His fur ruffled. "Who told you that?" demanded the angry raccoon.
Groot smiled, reached down, and picked him up in his longest limbs. "I am Groot," was his simple answer.
"Well, I guess we have hung around each other enough for you to pick that up," Rocket muttered, "but trust me, big fella, a good time stomping bad guy tail, getting paid for it, and some new, free guns is all the birthday celebration this guy wants. Well, that and maybe a little other tail."
"I am Groot." The tree's chuckle spread throughout all his wood; it tingled in Rocket's fur as it spread through the limbs that held him.
Rocket's feral grin softened. His fur relaxed. "Well, maybe you're right."
"I am Groot."
"It's not like you're right all the time."
"I am Groot."
"Yeah. When you get it right, you do get it good," Rocket agreed, allowing his best friend to pull him up higher into his branches and closer to his trunk. A soft sound of contentment started in the raccoon warrior's throat, but he stopped it as abruptly as Groot's touch had caused it to begin. "Just for a little while, though, and only while the others aren't here."
"I am Groot." He turned them toward the setting suns, and as their pink and golden lights bathed them, he looked down again at his dearest friend. Rocket hadn't released his guns, but they were no longer at the ready. He cradled them, instead, in his arms as Groot cradled him. His furry cheek pressed close against his bark, and in the silence of the world they had just taken back for its people, his sounds of contentment resounded loud and much like a cat's purr.
Groot had only been around a cat once, but he remembered his purr quite clearly. It had been a wonderful sound, but Rocket's was even more beautiful to the tree. He smiled, his leaves swaying in the breeze. The gentle movement of his leaves and Rocket's purring became a quiet song all their own.
"I am Groot," he whispered.
Rocket opened one eye and looked up at him with a big grin. "I am Groot," he returned where only the tree could understand that he loved him as well.
"I am Groot," Groot answered in a hushed tone as Rocket closed his eye. He stood there in the setting suns, holding him, luxuriating in the feel of him relaxing his limbs, basking in the knowledge that he had come as close to admitting their true relationship as ever he did, wishing this moment could last for the rest of their lives, and secretly being glad he'd given Peter and the others the wrong coordinates to their whereabouts. They'd find them eventually, but until they did, he'd make this moment last as long as he could.
"I am Groot."
"Thank you, big guy." Rocket yawned, and Groot tried not to watch too adoringly as his little, pink tongue rolled out and back into his mouth. "A happy birthday to me," the little, ferocious raccoon muttered sleepily, and it was.
The End
Working Title: Not This Year
Author: Kat Lee
Fandom: Charmed
Character/Pairing: Prue/Piper
Rating: PG-13/T
Word Count: 579
Summary:
Disclaimer: All characters within belong to Spelling Entertainment, not the author, and are used without permission.
She smiles as she watches her sister take the first bite of her creation. Every year, for Christmas and for birthdays, Piper tries to outdo herself. She tries to show her loved ones even more how much they mean to her and how greatly she loves them, because she's come to realize, especially after becoming a Witch, just how fragile their lives are and how she can never be guaranteed that she'll have another year with them. Thus, she tries to make every year, every celebration, better than the last.
The cake is no exception. She crafted it beautifully and used a new method to make it even more moist than her usual cakes, which have been winning awards since she was a child. Prue's reaction made it all worth it as her mouth fell open when she saw the cake. "Is it good?" she prompts as her sister swallows.
"Oh, yes," Prue breathes, brightening Piper's smile. She reaches across the table and takes her hand. "It always is. I'm a lucky woman," she adds. "I get my cake and actually get to eat it, too."
Piper makes a face, remembering how last year's cake was ruined when a Demon attacked. Almost as if on cue, a Demon appears inside their club, right by their table. Piper glowers as she throws up her hands to freeze the room; only this Demon won't freeze so easily.
"Charmed Ones," he sneers, looming down at them.
Piper sweeps the cake to the back of the table with one arm as she waves her other hand at the Demon who towers above them. "Not this year," she declares and explodes him.
She looks back to Prue, and her smile dies on her face as she takes in Prue's downcast expression. She follows her sister's eyes to her slice of cake and grimaces at the slime that now drips off of her beautiful frosting. Without hesitation, she swipes Prue's piece of cake and cuts another piece from her untouched masterpiece. She lays it on the saucer on which she had been about to eat her own slice before the latest attack on their lives.
"Like I said," Prue adds, taking a bite, "I'm a lucky woman."
Piper catches her hand again and rubs her thumb softly across her flesh. "You have no idea," she almost purrs. "Wait 'til we get home."
"I'd ask for the check," Prue teases, brightening, "but my sister's the owner."
"Eat your cake, dear," Piper counters, grinning, as she gets to her feet, "before another Demon appears." She kisses her forehead, then sweeps the damaged slice away to the kitchen.
It is there that another Demon appears. Once more, she explodes the villain without giving him a chance to attack. She shakes her head. "Not this year," she speaks with utter determination. This year, she is going to give Prue the best birthday ever.
When she returns to the table, she finds her sister waiting for her. She puts the lid on her cake and begins to angle their way out of P3, cake in one hand and her sister's hand in her other. It isn't until she's gotten Prue home, and exploded another two Demons on the way, and is laying her down beneath her that Piper finally tells her, "Happy birthday, Prue." She beams down at her.
Prue pulls her down on top of her. "Luckiest woman ever," she intones, just before she kisses Piper's sweet lips, "and best birthday yet!"
The End
Working Title: Jareth's Birthday Party
Author: Kat Lee
Fandom: Labyrinth
Character/Pairing: Jareth/Sarah, Hoggle, Ensemble
Rating: G/K
Word Count: 1,637
Summary:
Disclaimer: All characters within belong to Jim Henson and any other rightful owners, again not the author, and are used without permission.
"What is this?" the King demanded, walking into his throne room and seeing it filled with beings who should have been scattered throughout his Labyrinth waiting to do his bidding. Sarah hid a sly smile as she noted the way the bones in her husband's cheeks tightened and drew up a little higher. "You dare call a meeting without me?" he questioned.
"Never," she answered immediately, but then she released a giggle. Her hand flew to her mouth, and she hushed as his beautiful eyes, one of blue and one of green, narrowed angrily in on her.
"Sarah," he demanded, "what have you done?" He looked again around at the room and the beings that filled it, and then he noted the boxes and bags. They were in all shapes and sizes and of materials certainly not attained from anywhere throughout his land. He stepped to the Dwarf who was nearest him and poked at the colorfully wrapped box he held. "What have you there, Hogwart?" he asked. "Another excuse to dunk you headfirst into the Bog of Eternal Stench?"
Shaking from head to toe, Hoggle promptly dropped the box and threw himself upon the King's leather boots. "OH, PLEASE, YOUR MAJESTY!" he cried. "NOT THE ETERNAL STENCH!"
Jareth kicked him away from him. "Oh, yes, Hogit! The Eternal Stench for you and for all of you if you don't tell me immediately what is happening here!"
"Oh, man, that ain't cool!" one of the Fieries complained.
"Yeah!" agreed his brother.
"Dude, the last time I was in the Bog and I tried to play a game, my eyeballs stunk so badly I had to get a new pair!"
"A new pair of eyes?" the little Worm mused aloud. "The Missus should hear this!"
"Well, Sarah?" demanded Jareth, as impatient as ever.
His Queen laid her hands upon Hoggle's quivering shoulders. "It's okay, Hoggle," she spoke softly. "He won't be dumping any one into the Bog today, I promise. Why don't you go over there with Sir Didymus and help him with his game of Scrabble while I talk to our King?"
Hoggle muttered and moaned but did as she suggested, although not without shooting Jareth another look over his small shoulder. Jareth glowered back so severely until Hoggle yipped aloud and ran to Sir Didymus' side.
"Jareth, really, I didn't think this was going to upset you," Sarah began, pulling her husband's attention away from his favorite prey.
"You didn't think calling a courtly meeting without first addressing me with your concern would upset me?"
Sarah resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "It's not exactly a courtly meeting," she pointed out. "The Fieries are here, after all."
"Yes, and since when do they come to the castle when we're not throwing a ball?"
"Well, we may have one later, if a certain person doesn't scare away all of his guests."
Jareth looked quizzically at her. Sarah smiled at the way he cocked his handsome head much as he did in his owl form. "Sarah, what are you about this time?"
She could no longer hide her smile. "Jareth, we've been married now for a good ten years, and during this time, I've never once seen you celebrate your birthday."
"I'm as old as time," he interjected.
Wildness touched her eyes and the corners of her mouth. "Somehow, from our nights in our royal bed chambers, I rather doubt that."
"It's true," he added haughtily.
"Perhaps. Sir Didymus and Hoggle did tell me that no one knows when you were really brought here."
"I've been here forever."
Sarah's teeth touched her top lip as she studied him. There was no arguing with him today, but then, there never was. He never let himself be proved wrong, even if what he was arguing for would have been slanderous had any one else dared to speak it. But that was fine, she decided. She wasn't here to win a battle. She was here for an entirely different purpose.
"Be that as it may, as old," she countered finally, making a face, "as you are, don't you think it's high past time you celebrated your birthday?" He started to speak, but she boldly interrupted him. "I do. So . . . " She raised her hands. Every one stopped talking and looked at those delicate hands that helped to rule their kingdom. "It's time to paaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarty!"
She grinned, and simultaneously, the Fieries began to play. A huge banner inscrawled with, "Hapy Burfday, Kingie," dropped from the ceiling, and a few cannons fired. Jareth looked at it with his regal mouth barely open and his stern eyes softening with surprise. "They . . . You . . . " He looked again at the banner. "You taught the Fieries how to write?"
Sarah smiled. Leave it to her husband to catch on to that fact rather than that all of these celebrations were for him! "Some of the smarter ones," she answered wisely. "Sir Didymus helped. Spelling is another matter."
He shook his head slowly from side to side, watching her with renewed interest and, Sarah liked to think, more than just a touch of amazement. He wrapped an arm around her slender waist and pulled her close against him. "You never cease to surprise me, Sarah."
She stroked his cheek lovingly. "I'm glad," she answered, grinning, a brief second before his lips touched hers. He drank of her sweetly and deeply, his tongue plundering her soul, until another round of fire from the cannons made him look back up. He was quite unaccustomed to them firing without an order from him.
Grinning widely, Sarah suggested, "Why don't you open some of your presents?"
"Presents?" he asked unwittingly.
"Yes." When he still didn't catch on, she explained, "All those bags and boxes that are in colorful paper from my world. Every one of them contains something for you."
"Really? Like snakes and lizards, puppy dog tails?"
She laughed. "There may be some of those in them. There's no telling with our subjects!" she admitted. "But everybody has brought something here they want to give you today, husband dear, to celebrate your birthday."
He began to sink down to a sitting position. Goblins ran with chairs, but Ludo was behind him. He found himself poised on his massive, furry knee. His enormous pet looked down at him. His grin was almost as large as his wife's. "Jareth friend," he announced happily.
"Yes, yes," muttered the King. "Do go ahead and tell the whole kingdom, why don't you?" He looked around the room, the knowledge of what Sarah had told him sinking into his mind. Every one here was here for him. He had tortured and scared them over the centuries, and yet every single one of his subjects was here and they had all brought something for him. He didn't care if it was newts and eyeballs. They had cared enough to come and find something they felt worthy of being a gift to him, and their gracious giving was truly amazing.
He reached out again, took Sarah's hand, and pulled her closer. "Why don't I start with your present?" he asked, kissing her hand.
Her grin turned to coy. "You'll get that one," she told him, "tonight."
He flashed her a royal grin. "I can scarcely wait, my Queen."
She smiled. "Me, too," she whispered, and then above the roar of the Fieries' music, she called, "Hoggle, why don't you start?"
"Why don't I start what, Sarah?" the Dwarf asked, eyeing Jareth suspiciously.
"Why don't you give our King his first present?"
"Oh, that!" His face was still full of fear, but slowly, cautiously, he approached the King, bowed so low to the ground that his fat nose almost touched the stone floor, and held up his box.
Jareth took it, but then he just sat and looked at it.
"You unwrap it," Sarah whispered to him.
Carefully, Jareth removed one long strip of paper after another. When he at last he had the box opened, he looked down at his gift, still clearly perplexed. Sarah looked over his shoulder and frowned, also not knowing what to make of Hoggle's present.
Jareth lifted the objects out of the box with care and examined them closer. The answer clicked in Sarah's mind a scant moment after Hoggle, still bowed low before the King, began to shake again. She looked cautiously to her husband, prepared to intervene on the Dwarf's behalf if need be.
Jareth felt the cushiony material as he mulled over what to do with the things. He'd never wear them on his boots, and then it dawned on him. Hoggle had cared enough to bring him a present, but he had brought him something he would never use, something, too, that would keep Jareth's many kicks from hurting him quite so badly as they did. He'd never put the cushions on the ends of his boots, but he was surprised at the Dwarf's cunning.
He was surprised that any of them had come to a party for him without being ordered to do so. He was surprised Sarah had thought to give him a birthday party and knew she never would have commanded his subjects to come. They had come because they wanted to celebrate him. They had come because they cared.
Slowly, he smiled. Hoggle peeked up at him from underneath his bushy brows. Jareth looked around at the faces of his subjects, his friends, and the only family he'd ever know. He looked back to the ridiculous present the Dwarf had given him, and finally, the King threw back his head and laughed and laughed. His laughter echoed throughout the palace, and soon, everybody there was laughing and smiling. Fears were dismissed, and the King's birthday was celebrated better than it ever had been before.
The End
Y'all should have totally seen his birthday cake, BTW! I have to admit I outdid myself on it, and his reaction when he saw it couldn't have been more perfect! His face lit up, and his mouth fell open! =) Hopefully I can get those pics (and the trailer's -- I haven't forgotten!) posted soon!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MY DARLING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And, of course, all these stories have been lovingly dedicated to my better half, Drew! =)