Not Work, Anything But That!

[labyrinthking]

Jareth has not been idle since Ali's last visit, nor were some of her plaints wiped from his mind. The crystals he conjured were insufficient to the task at hand, and he could not simply pluck larger from nothing. He would need to actually dirty his hands (or, more likely, the goblins' hands) in actual labor to make something larger

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[labyrinthking]

Jareth had, on Ali's advice, tried to explain a little bit about her to his new guests. Somehow, he had ended up with that persistent little girl on his lap, listing desired toys again.

[vicioussweetie]

The litany of desired toys is no stranger to Ali's ears, so Ali follows the sound in her attempts to find Jareth. The scene is just as ridiculous as she'd imagined it would be, though she manages to fight back her laughter for the moment. "Trust me, sweetheart, he's not Santa. He has no beard."

It might seem nonsensical, but she trusts in her understanding of little-kid logic to see her through.

[labyrinthking]

To Jareth's utter bewilderment, that argument persuades where all others have failed, and the little girl climbs down from his lap to look up at Ali. "Are you Mrs. Claus?" she asks, still a bit hopeful.

[vicioussweetie]

Never doubt Ali's awesome powers of mommy-fu.

"Sorry, no." Ali kneels down so she and the girl can converse more comfortably. "You wouldn't want to live at the North Pole anyway. It'd always be cold, and you'd have to give all the toys away every year. But if you're really good, Jareth might teach you a little bit of magic. Would you like that?"

[labyrinthking]

The girl nods, while Jareth raises a brow. What's this, Ali volunteering him to teach magic to children? He thought she wanted them safe.

[vicioussweetie]

"Then you'll have to be really, really good, and eat your vegetables and pick up after yourself," she explains, "and then maybe he'll teach you how to spin crystal balls around in your hand all fancy-like."

Because that would totally be dangerous, right Jareth?

[labyrinthking]

Well... alright, he'll concede that contact juggling isn't, in and of itself, dangerous. The girl gives an enthusiastic nod, promising, "I'll be really good!"

[vicioussweetie]

"I know you will be." Ali gives the girl a big, bright smile. "Now, how about you and your friends go play? I need to talk with Jareth in private for a little while."

[labyrinthking]

"A'kay!" the girl agrees, before scampering off with the others.

"How do you do it?" Jareth marvels, rising to slip his arms around her.

[vicioussweetie]

"How do I do what?" Since he seems to have decided they don't need to wait for the bath, Ali loops her arms around him and pulls him in for a kiss.

[labyrinthking]

He's royalty--fickle royalty, at that--he reserves the right to change his mind. He also reserves the right to return that kiss, which he'll do now, before using the arm he's slipped around her to propel her toward his bath (since, sometime during the kiss, they ended up in his suite).

"Mmm, how do you manage to get them to do exactly what you want?"

[vicioussweetie]

"I ask for that which is reasonable given their ages and temperaments, and offer suitable rewards they can understand as such." Doesn't it just sound so easy when she explains it like that?

When she sees where they're headed, she kicks off her sneakers and would undress if she weren't quite so tangled up in him. "Kids don't understand intangible ideas, so I don't expect it of them. Managing my own expectations is a lot easier then trying to make them do those things of which they're not yet capable."

[labyrinthking]

"Is the idea that I am not Santa Claus, and that this is not the North Pole, truly so intangible?" Better than releasing her to let her undress, he'll help. Isn't he thoughtful?

[vicioussweetie]

Oh yes, so very thoughtful.

"Well, that's different. In that case, I presented her with irrefutable proof. Everyone who believes in Santa knows he has a beard. It's a rule."

[labyrinthking]

"But this isn't the North Pole," he points out. "What of that rule?" Behind the frustration, he's trying to figure out why her kid logic works and his kid logic fails.

[vicioussweetie]

Once Ali's able to look at him again, her look is mostly amused and only slightly wondering how he doesn't know this already.

"Has she ever been to the North Pole?"