In Tom's defense, it was totally all Marco's fault.

Really.

It was.

He swears.

It had all started with Tom coming by the place where Star was currently living for the time being. Of course, there had been a brief moment of his irritation flaring up when he found out the human boy from the Blood Ball lived there as well, but Tom reached behind him to pet the bunny being carried by Brian, and all was fine again. Tom still didn't care much for the human boy- oh, what was his name again? Mandy? Marlin? No, no, that wasn't right. Marco was the boy's name. Either way, he was obviously a big obstacle in the way of getting Star's love back once more. And as with all obstacles, he must be removed.

When Star wasn't near to see him do it, of course. He would have to be blind to not see how troublesome it would be to win Star back if he lit the Earth boy on fire right in front of her despite how lovely it would be to watch Marco go up in flames. That was fine though. Tom was getting much better at being patient, especially with how his anger management program was going along so well.

The trouble had really started when he let Star hold his rabbit.

Really though, how could he deny Starship anything if he knew her smile would follow?

But yes, if Tom had to pinpoint a specific moment when things began to go wrong, it would have to be then.

Tom thought he would be fine. He had gone 63 whole days without getting angry and burning everything down to the ground, so Tom really didn't see the problem with letting Star pet his rabbit for a few seconds.

After all, what could go wrong if a few seconds?

Apparently, a lot could go very wrong in a few seconds.

Looking back, Tom really shouldn't have answered the call on his phone when he figured out it was one of the newest recruits calling him, likely due to something going wrong because of simple stupidity on the caller's part. Hindsight was 20/20 in that way. A few seconds into the call, Tom's fingers were tapping harshly at his thigh as irritation began to grow in the back of his mind. A minute into the call, Tom could already feel the room begin to heat up slowly around him. Five minutes into the call, Tom disconnected and unconsciously grabbed the nearest soft and fluffy object near him in order to sooth what was undoubtedly going to be an actual explosion from how angry he was becoming.

After a minute of Tom breathing deeply and petting the soft fur in his arms, Tom opened his eyes, ready to apologize to Star for his 'behavior'. Tom's nose wrinkled in confusion when he spotted a shell-shocked looking Star sitting down on the couch. Although Star staying in one place for more than five seconds was definitely strange that wasn't what caught his attention. Tom blinked once, twice before his mind caught up to why the sight was so strange to him. His body grew still as Tom realized that Star still had his rabbit in her arms.

In other words, Tom wasn't petting his rabbit.

So what or who was Tom petting?

A quick glance around the room made Tom feel slightly sick to his stomach. There was absolutely no way. Tom breathed deeply, mentally preparing himself to look down to see what he really, really hoped wasn't in his arms as dread continue to grow stronger in his mind. Tom tilted his head downwards, and red eyes met wide, brown ones. Silence reigned the home for a second, both boys sharing a look of complete shock and utter disbelief.

Of course, silence was quickly knocked off of its throne by the princess herself.

Star's loud howls of laughter followed both boys as they hurriedly pushed away from each other. Tom's heart fluttered nervously. How was he ever going to live this down? What would Star think? Tom stood straight abruptly, and he began speaking with a hopefully calm voice and the most composed face he could muster.

"Oh, well, look at the time. I do believe I was supposed to be somewhere at this time right now immediately."

Star's loud laughter began to mix with the shriek of a fire alarm as Tom quickly made his exit outside. The fact his feet were beginning to get so hot from his embarrassment that they were turning purple was not helping his emotions either. Brian had barely enough time to grab the rabbit from Star before the carriage began its descent.

Tom screamed internally the whole ride back. The fact he wanted to pet his rabbit but couldn't without the reminder of soft, brown hair underneath his hand only intensified his urge to scream.

It was about two more months until Tom could dredge up the courage to go talk to Star and hopefully not see that other person Tom doesn't care to mention if he wanted to keep having the guts to go back to Earth without shoving his face into a pillow and screaming. After about five minutes spent in the carriage, Tom had successfully calmed down and convinced himself that Star and The One Who Must Not Be Mentioned had probably already forgotten the whole incident, so there was actually no reason to worry. Tom flicked down his sunglasses, prepared his best Cool Guy pose, and knocked on the door with his signature flaming rose in hand. A moment later and Star's beaming face met him. Despite the way her face fell and the irritation shining through her eyes, Tom was filled with a sense of confidence. Why was he so worried anyways? He was silly for letting anything come in the way of getting Star back, let alone one simple Earth child. With a renewed pride, Tom lifted his sunglasses back upwards so he could see Star clearly.

"So, Starship, are you doing anything this evening? Because I just happen to have tickets for two for the big football game today…"

His voice trailed off as he watched Star for any signs of interest. When her eyes lit up, Tom knew he had hit the jackpot with football. Star never could resist watching the feet covered ball roll around the field and be chased by the players. Star opened her mouth to say something before closing it again. Tom blinked, eyes flickering side to side as if the nearby bushes could tell him why Star suddenly looked ten times more happy and had a sudden glint of mischief in her eyes.

"Do you want to go with me, or do you actually want to go with Marco?"

Tom froze in place with wide eyes before squawking and shoving himself away from the side of door he was leaning. He frantically waved his hands as if that would help to prove that Marco had absolutely nothing do with the visit nor did Tom want to bring him along to a football game. Heat singed his cheeks as fire began erupting from his feet, burning the ground beneath him black.

"I- What? No, that's not! Starship, you've got it all wrong, I swear! That is totally the opposite of what I want to do! You see-"

Before Tom could finish what was going to be amazing explanation that would set things straight and show Star he had absolutely no interest in Marco, a voice called out from above.

"Star? Who's at the door? ...Are my socks going to get wet if I come down there?"

Tom could feel the heat rising in his chest as Star shot him an excited smile. Tom tried to shake his head quickly in hopes Star wouldn't do what he thought she was going to do, but the other turned towards the stairs before Tom could stop her.

"Marco! Somebody is here for you!"

While normally Tom found the way Star drew out her words completely and utterly adorable, right now the exaggeration of words was doing nothing to squash Tom's feelings of wanting to flee immediately before the inevitable occurred. Unfortunately, Tom's legs felt as though they were stuck to the ground and felt as heavy as lead, so his chances of escaping were slim to none. The sound of feet hitting the ground at a rapid pace made Tom tense up unconsciously as he stared at the bottom of the stairs.

This was it.

There was no escape.

The first thing that Tom's eyes were drawn to was fluffy brown hair that automatically made Tom's face heat up even more and cause the flames flickering at his feet to jump and turn even darker in color. He jerked his eyes downward in an attempt to escape the embarrassment growing even more quickly and hopefully save some face. Unfortunately, this only caused his eyes to land on Marco's face where brown eyes widened as they spotted him. If Tom had not have jerked backwards so quickly and looked back to Star, he might have seen the growing red on Marco's cheeks. Tom began to back up slowly, almost stumbling over the bush to his left while accidentally lighting it on fire.

"Oh, wow, Starship! Look at the time! I'll just- uh- come back another time. You're obviously busy right now, so…"

Tom backed away with all three eyes trained on the door. In a last minute attempt to save some of his pride, Tom flicked down his sunglasses… while tripping over a rock in the driveway and awkwardly stumbling backwards onto the carriage. His ears perked up at the sound of a fire alarm going off as Tom glumly wondered if this was going to become a usual thing for him.

After about another month, Tom managed to turn his embarrassment and hurt pride into anger. How dare that Earthling cause Tom to stumble away in awkward embarrassment every time their eyes met! Now that Tom had sat down and thought about the whole scenario, it was obviously a ploy to keep Tom away from Star! Well if Marco thought this was all it took to keep him away from Star, he had another thing coming!

Tom aggressively stomped towards the front door, ringing the doorbell with admittedly more force than necessary especially if the scorch marks left on the button were anything to go by. He gripped the flaming rose in his hand tightly. Tom leaned back on his heels, crossing his arms and tapping the empty hand on his opposite arm. The door opened but before the person at the door could say a word, Tom began his rant.

"Okay, Starship. We absolutely have to clear some things up. I do not want to take Marco out on a date by any means and have never had the urge to do so. I also definitely do not want to touch his hair no matter how soft, fluffy, or even nice it is. That was one time, and I do not care to relive it again. Absolutely not. By any means. Because who would want to touch some Earth kid's hair no matter how nice or great it may be. Not me." Tom's voice turned smoother as he continued. "By the way, I happen to have set up reservations at a very lovely restaurant that takes thousands of years to even set up a reservation. I was able to set up my reservation much more quickly. But as I'm sure you already know, I am very good at getting the things I want."

Tom's eyes finally landed on Star as he added his signature look. There was no way there would be any problems now, and Tom would have her hook, line, and sinker….Except for the fact it wasn't Star standing in the doorway. Instead, a very shell shocked looking Marco stared back at him with wide eyes full of confusion. Some of the confusion turned into amusement as Tom stared back at him with an open mouth. A grin began to form on Marco's lips.

"You might wanna close your mouth…Flies are not the tastiest thing to eat, you know. Unless they are for you?"

Marco's voice trailed off as he considered the possibility of Tom ever eating bugs. Tom stared dumbly at him for a few seconds before forcing himself out of his shocked silence. Immediately, flames began to flicker at Tom's hands, growing to a bright red as Tom hissed.

"You! Of course it was you who answered the door!"

Marco weakly tried to interject with a "Its my house…?" but was quickly cut off by Tom.

"I'm on to you, you know. I know all about your plan to distract me with your cuteness and soft hair! But guess what? You can't distract me from Starship no matter what tactics you may use! So you can take your definitely not adorable self and go get her for me."

Marco stared at Tom with confusion obvious on his face. Tom smirked, proud of himself. Marco was probably confused due to how amazingly Tom had deduced what Marco's plan was all along. Did Marco really think he was going to be able to pull that over Tom's head? It was laughable, really.

Next thing either boys knew, Marco was being shoved into Tom's chest, causing both of them to fall. Luckily for Marco, Tom's flames had immediately extinguished themselves halfway through the fall, their owner being far too shocked to summon them. Tom looked upward, ready to yell at whoever dared to throw Marco at him only to stare in shock as a familiar blonde looked back him with a wide smile.

"Try not to keep him out too late, kay? Marco and I still have to do that movie marathon!"

Before Tom or Marco could say a word, the door was slammed shut and followed by a click that told them the door was locked. Marco sighed and backed off of Tom quickly when the other turned to look at him. A few minutes passed with only silence filling the air. Marco chewed at his bottom lip for a second before asking Tom a question in a tentative voice.

"So...Do you really think I'm cute?"

Tom rolled his eyes and gave the other a pointed look.

"Of course, you nitwit. Someone would have to be blind to not think you were cute. It's like…" Tom flopped his hand haphazardly as he tried to come up with a word. "A fact or something. You can't deny it."

A small blush began to make itself known on Marco's cheeks as Marco turned the other way quickly as if that would help to hide the small smile on the other's face. Tom sighed and stood up, brushing off whatever dust was on his pants. He paused as if considering something before holding his hand out for Marco to grab. When the other stared at his hand as if was about to spontaneously combust, which okay maybe he has a problem with that, Tom raised an eyebrow.

"What? I'm not about to let that dinner go to waste. Getting a reservation there takes forever, and I might as well take you if Starship can't go."

Marco paused for a second, eyes flickering from Tom's open palm towards the front door and back before landing once more on Tom. A grin made its way on Marco's face as he grabbed the open hand and was pulled up. The two made their way towards Tom's carriage. Tom stopped for a second as if realizing something and turned to shove the still on fire rose in Marco's hands with a mumble of "Can't let those go to waste either." Marco was pleased to find that the flaming rose did not in fact set his clothes on fire. He didn't know his smile could grow any larger, but it somehow found a way to do so.

Fire safety is always very important after all.

A/N: So I've fallen into TomCo hell