*Author's Note* This was a request on my tumblr, where you can request stories based on little ask games I post. I hope you all enjoy!

She was radiance, bottled up into the perfect mixture of sweetness and light. Anyone could see it from just a few glances, just a few steps in her direction.

Star walked with a childish innocence, smiling at every person she passed with such genuine happiness that it couldn't help but make him smile. The way her voice peaked with electric energy at the most mundane things, the way she hopped over every crack in the sidewalk.. she was wonder, wrapped up with a pretty bow.

If she smiled, he smiled. He couldn't help it. She always found a way to make him grin, no matter how terrible his day was. It was just what she did.

When one thing had led to another, and they were set to attend the school dance solo, it was her who decided to go with Marco. It was Star's never ending cheer that forced him to smile, watery and mixed with tears.

She was his best friend, and he was hers. There was a certain satisfaction in that reliance, an unbreakable bond that was never shaken. They had each others' backs, in combat and out. With happy grins and wide eyes, they could laugh any trouble away.

It was everything about her, he had decided one day, as he watched her entertain the local children. That's why she's my best friend. She's the sweetest person I have ever met.

As of late, all of their fights and squabbles had meant nothing to him. It didn't detract from her amazing… everything. He couldn't place his finger on it… things felt different.

And with each changing season, he felt that same new feeling again, and again. In autumn, his feelings flourished with the bright oranges of the season, a splash of something new in his heart. He pushed it to the back of his mind, until she mentioned it one day.

"It's different, Marco," she had said quietly, as the orange and gold leaves fluttered down softly around them.

"What do you mean?" he had replied, his heart quickening at her voice. "What's different?"

Her eyes met his, brilliant blue hues melting into his own with intensity that was both urgent and patient.

"It's different," she repeated quietly.

They both knew what she meant.

And they both kept it to themselves.

The days spun on, dancing with the autumn leaves as they turned to withered shells of what they once were, tinged with frost to greet winter.

Spring came, and it was the same once more.

"Marco," she whispered to him, urgency underlining her tone.

He gazed back at her, a strange longing tugging in his chest.

"It's different."

He didn't move his gaze from her, but said nothing.

And he saw the tinge of hurt dance in her eyes, before they both looked away.

The summer swept the spring away, tucking it away for the next year as it filled the air with warmth and light.

The seasons went by, years passing as the leaves changed again and again.

Their school years ended, and so did their living together.

She returned home, and the light left with her.

Their goodbye was teary, as she explained why she couldn't give him the scissors, her parents looking at him as she did so.

He wondered if she would have given them to him anyway.

It was almost funny, he thought to himself somberly one autumn day, similar to their moment all those years ago, surrounded in the dance of the leaves.

I was in love with her.

He still was, he knew it.

What would she have said if I had kissed her then?

She would have kissed him back. He knew that, three years later.

Her visits were few and far between now. She was a queen; a loving, kind ruler, her trademark slyness now tucked neatly away behind her responsibilities. Some days, he wondered if she wanted to see him still.

And then the portal would open, years since her last visit, and he could feel his heart soar.

He had missed her ever-glow.

*Author's Note* I hope you all enjoyed it!