Title: hatch switch
Fandom: Star Versus the Forces of Evil
Summary: AU. Star Butterfly is not an only child.
A/N: Here's giftfic for editoress on an idea I've been meaning to do even before the Star Vs. the Forces of Evil season finale. So here's some originally pre-S1 finale SVtFoE AU fic.
Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Star Vs. the Forces of Evil.
"Your parents are so fun, Marco!" Star said in between bouncing on her new bed and chomping on her wand. "I had no idea parents could be that fun!"
"Uh huh, yeah," Marco slowly said, giving a weak chuckle as he watched his new housemate ascend and descend, wondering when the bed would give. "So, um...guessing your parents are pretty strict then?"
Star finally plopped down on the bed, blowing the hair out of her face. "Pretty sure I wouldn't be here if they weren't," the princess pointed out, though there was still a laugh in her voice. "But it is way better than St. O's," and Star said this with a glance and beaming smile at Marco, that drew a reciprocal grin from the human.
"And, okay, my parents do have their moments, they're not always on all the time, you know what I mean?" Star said, looking back to the ceiling and spinning her wand. "Especially with my brother."
Marco pulled up a chair, flipping it around and sitting in it backwards. "So you're not an only child?"
"Nah, I have a baby brother, a real little monster," Star said, though her voice was completely fond, not irritated.
Marco gave a small chuckle. "Normally a pain, huh?" The human figured homesickness explained the difference in tone and content: Star's warm voice versus the less than flattering description of her sibling.
"Huh?" Star turned back around facing Marco, blinking. "What would make you think that?"
"Um, because you called him a real monster?" Marco was still smiling, amused.
Star tilted her head. "Because he is one." At Marco's blank stare, she continued, gesturing with her hands. "With the claws and the tail and cute little snout-he's adopted," Star finished, in response to Marco's growing confusion.
"Oh," Marco said. "Oh."
"Toffee's really sweet-"
"The candy?" Marco said, looking like someone who felt like he was being made fun of. "First we're talking about your brother, then candy-"
"Marco," and Star rolled her eyes, "Toffee's my brother's name and oh maybe that's why my parents named him that, because he was sweet even as a little baby hatchling-though his teething, man his teething, that was hardcore because he pretty much had all his fangs grown in and-"
Marco just sat back and listened to Star's animated stories about her family, still in a bit of a shock over the changes in his life and the ways his world had opened up.
###
Beyond Star's stories, her mirror was the first thing Marco had to really confirm Toffee's existence, just like he'd seen Star's mother in messages. (He hadn't seen Star's father yet.)
"-so boring around here now."
Marco had been heading to Star's room to see if she wanted to meet up with Alfonzo and Ferguson at the theater, when he heard that-a new voice, a small boy's.
"Ah, Toff, you just have to shake things up there yourself now," Star said, and Marco could see the back of her, bouncing on her toes. Then she seemed to deflate very slightly and run her hand through her hair. "Though not too much, you don't want to get into too much trouble-"
"Says the banished princess," said the mirror's image, which was that of a small reptilian creature, with dark feathers on his head, tied back into a small ponytail at the base of his neck. Small snout, claws, tail-like Star had said.
"I was sent away, not banished," Star insisted, her voice playfully high class. Her voice turned to normal when she asked, "Who said I was banished?"
"Overheard some trash in court-"
"Don't call them trash, Toff," Star said, and though her voice was easygoing, Marco's eyes widened. He never heard Star like that, like...really correcting someone else.
"They talk like trash," the small monster in the mirror grumbled, his yellow eyes glancing away from Star and glaring. "And you sound like Mom."
Marco saw Star cross her arms. "Okay, just gonna ignore that for now, I've got a better point to make." The princess raised her finger. "It's not forever you know, I'll be back home before you know it. And I'm sure mom and dad are gonna say any day now that you can come visit soon. And when you come to Earth, it'll be so cool, I'll show you-"
Toffee's skeptical look turned more eager as Star went on about the wonders of Earth they'd share soon, until he finally looked behind Star's back. "Is that Marco?" He asked, tilting his head.
Star immediately turned around, and Marco immediately felt like he'd been eavesdropping the whole time. "Sorry, I was just-"
"Oh Marco, I can finally introduce you two!" Star said, practically pouncing on Marco and dragging him over to the mirror phone.
"Toffee, this is my bestie on Earth, Marco-" Toffee gave Marco a little wave, which Marco returned. "-Marco, this is Toffee, my baby brother-"
"I'm eight," Toffee said.
"Exactly!" Star said, beaming, while Toffee rolled his eyes, and Marco thought, even from his perspective as an only child, that the small monster looked very much like a little brother.
###
Marco was concerned. Star had seemed a little anxious last night, and today that had increased. She seemed down and listless, except when trying to call Toffee up on her mirror.
"Hey Toff! ...Okay, you're not there, so just please call me back later when you can, I'm totally here to pick up...even if I'm not really there, at home, to...just call me back, okay? Okay. Love you."
Marco had heard Star continue to make messages like that.
She kept checking her mirror, and didn't really leave the room, in case the mirror should have a call. (Again it made Marco think of his late-night brainstorming sessions with Star about a portable mirror equivalent to an Earth cellphone, though nothing substantial had come of it.)
"What's up, Star? You seem...upset," Marco tried, feeling lame and useless. Maybe if he got her to share, talk.
Star paused her nervous chewing on her wand to stare at Marco. Then she resumed chewing her wand, looking away. Just when Marco was gonna try again, Star said, throwing her arms up and removing the wand from her mouth, "It's just, it's the thirty-seventh of G-"
Then she deflated, slumping further down her bed. "It's just some stupid Mewni holiday thing. First time I've been away from home for it."
Marco immediately frowned, feeling for his friend. "And you're missing out."
"I guess," Star mumbled, glaring fixedly on a pillow she tugged at.
"And your parents couldn't make an exception? Not even for a family holiday?"
Star blinked, then turned to Marco. "Family holiday?"
Something in Star's tone made Marco's response a little hesitant. Her voice had a slight bite to it. "I-isn't the Mewni holiday you're missing a time for family to gather around? Like Christmas?" He'd told Star about that, to her absolute fascination.
Star shook her head, impatient-over what, Marco wasn't sure. "No, Mewnipendance Day isn't like that, it's not nice like that, I thought it was, but it's not, it hasn't been for ages-"
The princess then sighed, though the look on her face was still stormy. She turned around in bed, back to Marco. "I'm sorry, it's...just complicated."
"Complicated?" Marco echoed, feeling even more out of sorts by Star's behavior. He'd never seen her this upset.
The little angry laugh she gave next wasn't reassuring. "Yeah, complicated. Doesn't help that mom and dad don't really talk about it, no one really talks about it, the stuff that-and I can't really tell Toffee anything when he asks me questions, and I'm his big sister, I should be able to answer his questions, but I just don't know-"
Star sighed, and Marco felt horrible, feeling like he'd made things worse, that he'd actually been prying and touched on a really sore, personal subject.
"Star, I'm sorry, I should've just kept my mouth sh-"
"Did you ever wonder, Marco?" Star suddenly asked.
When she didn't say anything more, Marco finally replied, "Wonder what?"
"Wonder why my parents adopted Toffee?"
"Wasn't really my place to ask-"
"Never thought it was weird?"
A small laugh actually slipped out of Marco. "No more weird than a princess from another dimension."
He'd hoped that would make Star face him with a smile. But she didn't move, her back still to him.
"D-do some people back on Mewni think it's...weird?" Marco asked, his voice softer.
"...Just some of the court, talking like trash," Star said, and Marco was unnerved by how small Star's voice sounded. "And-and y'know, Marco, I'm kinda tired, I'm just gonna try to take a nap now." Marco didn't even feel reassured when Star gave a very exaggerated yawn. "Mirror will probably wake me if there's a call, but if it doesn't, and you hear it, can you-"
"I'll wake you up if I hear the mirror ring." Marco promised. Finally Star turned around to give Marco a little smile, before turning her back on him again. Getting that response from Star didn't lighten Marco's mood like he had hoped.
###
Toffee saw the messages left by Star on his mirror.
"Um..."
There were a lot. The monster child clicked his mirror to idle mode, planning to look at his sister's messages tomorrow.
A/N: This was admittedly initially inspired by people saying there were physical/personality similarities between Loki and Toffee, and physical/personality similarities between between Thor and Star, and then my brainstorming for it just snowballed from there. Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed! Feedback/comments/reviews are always appreciated and desired.