This was a story prompt given to me by Crystal Persian. All credit goes to her, I just wrote the thing lol. Yay for mild Starco!

I don't own Star vs. the Forces of Evil.

GENERAL POV

Marco hit the ground hard, his chin smacking off the pavement and his teeth rattling in his mouth. His arms were wrenched behind his back and he gasped in pain as they were pulled backwards and a sword tip was pressed to his neck.

"Hold it!" Ludo shouted, waving his arms in the air. "You can't kill him, it goes against our code of conduct!"

Marco spat blood and a tooth from his mouth and raised an eyebrow. "You have a code of conduct?" he asked in disbelief.

Ludo snorted, waving a hand. "Well duh. We can't kill anyone not from our own universe. However, we can torture you. Oh Princess Butterfly!" he warbled at Star, who was currently smacking a monster across the face with a flock of geese.

She whipped around, eyes sparkling, and her face dropped as she spotted Marco pinned to the ground, sword at his neck, and blood flecking his lips from his missing tooth.

"Ludo," she growled, her eyes narrowing as she stormed over and pointed her wand at him. "Let him go right now, or I swear…"

"What do you swear, hmm?" the chicken demon asked smugly, crossing his tiny arms over his chest. "Cause you see, no matter what you do to me, I have your buddy at sword point. One wrong move and bye-bye neck!"

Star froze, her fingers turning white from the grip she had on her wand. Her eyes darted to Marco helplessly and he gave her a weak smile. Ludo snickered. "Hand it over, Star," he sang, holding his hand out for the potential weapon.

Marco saw her arm start to move and he gritted his teeth. "Star, don't you dare give this moron your wand. I'll be fine."

Ludo snapped his fingers and Marco yelped as the sword was pressed into his skin hard enough to draw blood. Star's eyes glistened anxiously. "Marco, I'm not going to let them hurt you."

"Star, you know if you give him that wand we're both dead," the teen pleaded with her, his heart in his throat. "And so is everyone in the universe."

The point of the sword dug deeper, filling Marco's head with a blinding white pain. He gasped as he felt the hot, sticky blood spill over his neck, and could faintly hear Star crying out. "Okay! Okay, just stop hurting him!"

He wrenched his eyes open to see Star handing over the wand and he croaked in anger. "Star! I told you not to!"

She looked at him helplessly and Ludo cackled. "At last! I have the wand! Boys, hold up on that sword. I want him to see this next part."

The sword backed away from Marco's neck and his head was pulled up by the hair, his roots stinging. Star had been pulled into the grasp of two burly guards, and though she was struggling Marco knew she wasn't getting free any time soon.

Ludo pointed the wand directly at her, a maniacal twist on his face. "Princess demon death beam!" he yelled, grinning wickedly and bracing himself for the kickback of the wand.

Star's face went totally pale and Marco watched in horror as what looked like literal demons, with claws and teeth and burning red corneas, flew from the wand directly at Star, sinking into her chest and ripping her skin to shreds, her desperate blue eyes locked onto Marco's in a way he would never forget.

Marco Diaz sat straight up in bed, a hand clutched to his chest and tears soaking his cheeks. A scream sat in the back of his throat and he swallowed it heavily, reaching back to find that his neck was perfectly smooth and running his tongue around his mouth to feel that all of his teeth were there.

Shaking, Marco brought his hands up and furiously swiped away the tears on his face, trying hard not to sob as he buried his face into his fingers.

"Jesus," he muttered, taking several deep breaths. "Holy….Star."

His head shot up and he stumbled to the ground, his feet catching on one another as he ran for the door and flung it open. His hurried pace took him down the hallway and he shoved Star's door inwards, nearly face planting before he caught himself on the doorknob.

He lifted his gaze to the bed nervously, sighing in relief as he saw the girl's form tucked under the covers, her soft breathing filling the air.

Marco tiptoed delicately into the room, the moon from outside his only source of light, and he stopped next to her bed, swallowing the last of his tears as he saw her, eyes shut peacefully and chest rising and falling at a steady rate.

"Thank god," he whispered to himself, pressing his palms to his cheeks and taking a shaky breath. He shut his eyes for a moment and focused on matching his breathing with hers, trying to stay calm.

When he looked at her again she had rolled more towards him, her hands clutching at the blankets and her hair falling across her face. Marco flushed deeply and tilted his head, a small smile crossing his features.

"I'm so glad you're okay," he murmured, gently brushing the hair from her face. She grumbled in her sleep and Marco chuckled. "Night, Star."

He leaned down and brushed a gentle kiss to her forehead, reassuring himself that she was really here, that she was whole and not a part of his imagination.

Hands wrapped around one of his arms and Marco found himself being yanked onto the bed, hitting the pillows with a single bounce and biting back a cry of surprise.

He glanced down to see that Star had wrapped her hands tightly around his right arm and was now curled up against him, her forehead creased and her eyelids fluttering rapidly. She was probably dreaming.

Marco tried to pull away, but the whimper that spilled from Star's lips stopped him in his tracks and he winced, shifting down in the bed so that he was in a more comfortable position. Star's grip shifted on him and he suddenly found her head on his chest and her arms wrapped tightly around him.

The teen gulped and realized he probably wasn't leaving any time soon. So Marco slid his legs under the covers, shifted his body so that Star was more comfortable, and then brought his right arm (now free) around her shoulders to stroke her hair.

She seemed to relax immensely, her forehead going smooth and her hands softening against him, though her fingers were still curled in his t-shirt. Marco gave a small smile and tucked his free hand behind his head. "Goodnight, princess," he mumbled as his eyelids fluttered and he dozed off.

Star woke up slowly and blinked in confusion. Why did her pillow have a heartbeat?

The girl glanced up and stifled a yelp as she came face to face with Marco, who was still asleep, and she glanced down to find her fingers clenched in his shirt and his arm wrapped tightly around her.

She hesitated, half wanting to wake him up and demand to know why he was in her room, and half wanting to put her head back on his chest and fall back asleep. She settled for the former, and gently shook his shoulder. "Marco?"

His eyes fluttered open and he looked at her for a moment before realization of where they were hit him like a truck. He shot straight up and backed away from Star quickly, barking apologies and nearly falling on the floor.

Star bit her lip, a smile twitching on her face, and tried hard not to miss the warmth of his body. "Marco," she said, a giggle spilling over her lips. "It's fine. But what were you doing in here?"

The teen froze, his face turning a gray color, and he winced, looking away. "No reason," he murmured, his words suddenly thick with what was obviously pain.

Star tilted her head and crawled over to him, plopping herself down at his side. "Marco?" she said again, her voice soft.

Marco turned back to her and she was startled to see tears in his eyes. He took a shaky breath. "I uh…last night…I had a nightmare that we were…we were battling Ludo and he threatened to kill me….so you gave him the wand…but he killed you and it…I needed to make sure you were okay. I didn't mean to end up sleeping here," he admitted, glancing away and blushing. "But you grabbed my arm and wouldn't let go so I didn't have much of a choice."

Star just stared at him for a moment, processing his words. "You…you came to check on me because of a dream you had?"

Marco gave her an embarrassed smile. "Dum, huh?" he said.

She smiled brightly and kissed him on the cheek, causing the boy to turn beet red. "No. It's really, really sweet. Thanks, Marco."

So I'm not sure how this turned out, but I really hope that Crystal Persian liked it!

Review please!