"Star, where are you going?"
"I left the rods back in Mewni, just a sec"
"But we already have them here, no?"
"Marco, those things don't even have a hook. I'll only be 5 minutes"
"Oh, I must have dropped them somewhere around here... hold on"
He searched around his room, laughing nervously.
"Found them! ...Star?"
She had already left through the portal.
Marco gulped. He couldn't bare seeing Star leave earth, not even for 5 minutes, but she could tell he hadn't planned this out too well - the trip was Marco's chance to finally tell Star about his feelings, he couldn't hold it back another day. Not this time. It hurt. He needed to be alone with her, just this one time.
As Star stepped through the portal, she noticed Mewni looked different than usual. All the lights were off except in Eclipsa's castle in front of her, which was something she hadn't ever seen before, but she couldn't get distracted. It was fairly obvious to her that this fishing trip was important to Marco, so she hurried to collect the fishing gear and headed back to the portal.
As she was about to leave she heard a familiar voice
"Star?" Said Eclipsa, standing at the front door of the castle, looking concerned. "I've been looking for you this whole evening, what's happening?"
"Marco and I are going on a trip tonight, why would you be looking for me?" She asked.
"It's an annual Monster Celebration Day, all citizens are having a feast in the castle with us. I was hoping you and Marco could join, but since you have different plans..."
"Uuuuhhh actually don't worry! Marco and I can go fishing another da-"
"Star, I really don't mind if you don't come this year", she said in a much more serious tone. "I actually had a different plan for you..."
Star was surprised, "A plan?"
"Yes dear, I couldn't help but think about what you told me yesterday... about wanting to have some alone time with Marco, away from the rest of the world." Eclipsa could tell that Marco had the exact same plan for being alone with her on the fishing trip, but she wouldn't let Star know about that. That was something for Star and Marco to resolve themselves. They both needed to be alone together.
"Eclipsa... what are you trying to say?" She said, both worried and suspicious.
"This may be your only chance this year to tell Marco about... your feelings. Remember, everyone is in the castle right now - you and Marco could have the rest of Mewni to yourselves tonight, see that over there?" She pointed to a cliff, half a mile away. It was the same cliff where Moon and River had discussed their feelings, all those years ago.
"Eclipsa! Marco and I are-"
"Star, please. I don't want you to have to wait another year before you can do this. I know the feeling, and if you and Marco don't resolve things at the cliff over there once and for all, it will hurt even more"
Star took a deep breath, "You're right." She smiled worriedly
Eclipsa smiled back, "Now don't keep Marco waiting, he'll be worried by now" she said as she walked back into the castle. Star sighed and left back through the portal.
"Marco, I'm back"
"You got all the stuff, now?" Said Marco, relieved.
"Yes... but..."
"Star?"
"Marco, there's somewhere we need to go."
"But what about our midnight trip?"
"It's only 10 pm, we have time"
"But Star-"
"Trust me on this one, we won't be there the whole night"
"Alright," said Marco, understanding that Star meant this.
They both stepped through the portal into Mewni once again.
"See the cliff there? That's where we're heading"
While Marco was assured that Star would explain what this was all about, he couldn't be more confused for the time being, especially since they'd left in such a hurry. He followed Star.
Once they had arrived at the cliff, they stood in silence for a minute.
"Soooo..."
"Marco, not now"
"But-"
"Marco!" She shouted. They both sat down at the edge of the cliff, and stared out into the outskirts of the land, saying nothing. It was clear to Marco that she needed a minute or two before she could talk to him. The sun was very close to setting, casting a golden haze over the evergreen trees down below.
The silence was eventually broken
"What's that thing over there?" Asked Marco. He pointed to a tiny wooden cottage in the middle of the vast forest below. It was the only house outside the forest that surrounded Mewni.
"Oh, that's Springy. She's the only one who lives around here"
Marco looked at Star, "Why?" He asked, looking even more confused this time.
"It's a sad story. She used to live in Mewni with the rest of us until her husband died from a monster attack 6 years ago. She decided that life would be better if she hadn't met anyone at all, instead of living with them only to experience the inevitable pain of losing someone in the future". Marco was about to have a panic attack, he'd never seen Star be this serious about something before. She continued, "When something ends, or you have to say goodbye to something you love forever, some people become afraid of losing everything else that matters to them. And if you lose those things... it takes years to escape the pai-"
"STOP!" Shouted Marco, about to have a heart attack.
"What's wrong?" She said, looking very concerned about Marco
He breathed heavily. "I... can relate to exactly what you're saying" he exclaimed. "With you".
Star's eyes opened wide and stared at Marco in sheer disbelief. Star could barely speak, "You... I..."
"I'm terrified of losing you, Star." Said Marco, burying his face into his hands. "Every time you go back to Mewni I worry that I'll never see you again. You have a difficult and active life - anything could happen to you when you're gone".
Star looked out into the view of Mewni, still in shock from what Marco had just said. "Is this why you've been acting so weird about me leaving earth all the time?"
There was no response, but Star knew this was the case. This was the moment. She needed to tell Marco about everything. He needed to know.
"Marco, now that you've told me this, I need to tell you something too."
Marco nodded, knowing what she was about to say.
"Marco, I... I..."
"You don't need to tell me this," He said gravely.
"Why?"
"Because I read your diary, Star."
Star gasped. This hit her like a boulder. She couldn't talk at all now.
They both stared at each other for a minute, trying to say something. They both knew about each other's feelings.
Marco leaned closer, "Star, I was going to tell you this during the fishing trip because we'd be alone, but it looks like you had the same plan with this place."
"I can't believe it," she said quietly.
They gazed into the space above them, taking a deep breath until their minds were free of shock. This was an evening they wouldn't be able to forget.
"Well I'm glad we're no longer keeping secrets," they both said at the same time. Star and Marco laughed. Finally, they could let go of the emotions they had bottled up over the past year and a half. They were at peace. Star and Marco looked at each other and smiled.
Marco's phone buzzed. "Oh, it's midnight. Well... I guess it's time for our fishing trip". They both smiled. There was more to talk about, but it was clear that both Star and Marco were completely worn out for the day.
"Yeah, let's get out of here" Star replied.