My writing friends have come up with an idea to write one-shots weekly based on prompts, and I decided to not let the effort go to waste. The theme was Relationship Thursday. Enjoy!

Skin

"So…what do we do now?" Marco noticed an odd look in Star's eyes at his question as she laid her head on his heaving chest. Without even saying it, he could hear her asking what he meant by that. The two lay in bed side by side, so close that they could feel each other's heartbeat as their own. It was yet another Relationship Thursday in the Butterfly Castle. Their private retreat from Star's Queen duties, which had brought so much upheaval to their young lives. It had been nearly two months since they had received the news of Moon's disappearance, and none of the numerous search parties all over the dimensions, or Star and Marco's own efforts had located the former queen. There were even talks of calling them off, but Star was determined to never lose hope even though she referred to herself as Queen instead of Acting Queen now.

In all of the turmoil, Marco had never considered what any of it meant for his future. In many ways, the roles they had occupied since he came to Mewni never changed. He was her squire, her lifeline, her confidant and advisor, her best friend, though there were new words tacked onto his list of titles. Her general, her cuddle buddy, her boyfriend. That last one was something he hadn't gotten used to yet. After spending long, agonizing months pining after the girl he loved while she dated Tom, it was hard to ever believe that a lazy afternoon with the two of them laying in Star's bed could ever happen. Their friendship went into such dormancy that it seemed dead at a point, but Star and Marco being themselves, found their way back to each other, helped along by a weird goblin and a rigged photo booth.

The squire turned to see Star shift under their thick blanket, so she could look at him. In the nearly couple of years since they had been in each other's lives, Marco had seen more than any other kid on Earth. He had seen a demon prom with a mystical moon, an evil monster in lawyer clothing obsessed over getting revenge for his lost finger, sixteen adventure-filled years flash by in eight minutes…the list went on and on. But nothing was as beautiful and incredible as his Star. The way her golden hair shimmered in the setting light of the sun like a river of fire. How her sky-blue eyes twinkled with awe when they looked at the world, speckled with mischief. The rosy blush that covered her heart-shaped cheekmarks when Marco caught her looking at him just a second too long. There was no other girl that could truly ever captivate his heart anew every second of every day like Star Butterfly.

Judging by the dreamy expression on her face, he could tell that she felt the same about him. Why though? He was just a boring Earth kid that had been made fun of for being too safe. There was a lot left unsaid about Marco's fate since she became Mewni's Queen. Was Marco…enough anymore? This was beyond being friends or knight and squire. Her last boyfriend, Tom, at least was a prince and had magic. Could Marco ever amount to anything?

"Something the matter?" she said with a sleepy yawn, though her eyes sparkled with the same energy he felt in his bones. Part of him wanted to fight enemies or engage in battle training but the majority of him wanted to curl even deeper into the blanket, reveling at how soft her skin was next to his.

Matching her gaze, he sighed, debating if he should drag her down into the morass of his self-loathing. She'll think it's stupid, he decided against it. No need to ruin the moment. Star knitted her eyebrows together but shrugged before brushing her lips against his. Marco smiled, pulling her in for a deeper kiss and wrapped his arms around her slender waist as she leaned on him. There was nothing he craved more than her affection: her delicate touch from hands that could blast foes across a planet, kisses from lips that made orders with such direction.

When they broke the kiss, she smirked at him, "I bet that fixed what was wrong with you." He couldn't help but snicker at her jest. The room became silent with the two awkwardly staring at each other blushing profusely, until Star cut through with a comment, "See what you mean now…what should we do with the rest of the afternoon—the night is still young."

"Right," Marco sat up, shivering when the cold air hit him but laughing when Star, feeling the same, wrapped their blanket around her like a cocoon. What else could they do without leaving the room? They had exhausted all of the movies in their collection, plus it wasn't like they actually watched them anyways. Looking at the laptop reminded them that "Bam Ui Pati" was on hiatus after a brutal cliffhanger about if the singer and the vampire could date in a society that said they had to be apart. Can't believe the singer confessed her feelings and left before the vampire could answer about his, for some reason that scenario disturbed Marco greatly. Then they had their traditional fall back that came in the form of a videogame console and two colorful controllers.

"Videogame time?" They looked at each other and said in unison. Marco and Star still had no idea how that happened— those little moments where they were on such the same wavelength that it felt like their souls were bonded. Star flashed him an eager grin, her signal that it was time for a good game.

"Wanna do our go-to?" she asked, holding up their favorite game. Well, it was more her favorite than his—Marco wasn't one for racing games. How on Earth or Mewni his girlfriend was so good at Rainbow Turnpike was the ultimate mystery of the universe. It was the hardest track and the flashing lights were disorienting, but Star never faltered from first place. Maybe the game and her communicated on the same wavelength. With Marco already challenging his self-worth, he didn't need that kind of negativity in his life today.

Shaking his head, he grabbed another game of the pile on her nightstand: "Crash" a good fighting game. They were on even footing in that game, though Marco often edged out Star in his knowledge of secret combos.

"You're on, Diaz," she stuck her tongue out at him, grabbing her controller. Popping the disc into the console, Marco warded off the cold air by draping the blanket over him as he laid on his stomach. Star snuggled close beside him, already engrossed in choosing a fighter. He knew who she was going to chose before she even hit the button.

"You know I'm going with my second husbando," she selected her usual character: an anime boy with bluish spiky hair and a giant red sword. For some reason, watching her drool over how cute the lump of high-resolution pixels was rubbed Marco the wrong way. He was way better looking and handled swords pretty well.

"Who's the first husband?" he raised an eyebrow at her remark, still deliberating on if he wanted better speed or better attack today.

"Clearly, it's Tom and not the hot squire laying next to me," there was a hint of redness on her cheeks. Since when did he become her hot squire? His abs were not back yet—not that he was working on getting them back or anything. If Star was going to use pretty boy today, then Marco needed someone heavier on attack because speed was his girlfriend's advantage. He picked a buff robot, not bothering on worrying about how a robot could have muscles and the fight was on.

Star was already inflicting damage on Marco with a chain of sharp jabs and slashed with her sword, while her squire was still formulating a strategy in his mind. The queen might be a natural fighter in real life, but in the game, she often fell back to using the same attack over and over which meant that she was somewhat predictable. All Marco had to do was find a pattern to her moves and use one of his overpowered laser blasts to knock her off of the arena. However, he miscalculated one thing—Star was mighty good at the three attacks she used regularly and already knocked him out.

Watching her dance in victory, he shook his head, "Not going easy on you because you're my girlfriend."

"Don't expect you to, Prince Boyfriend," Star launched another assault the second her reformed. Did she call him her prince? She never called him anything but squire—which was his title, but in the throes of battle, there was no time to ponder such things. Marco shielded to save himself from losing critical health points while he charged up an attack. The second his protection gave way, he shot a blast but groaned when Star recovered from falling off the platform.

"Nice save," he said though he never took his eyes off the screen.

"Learned from the master," Star mashed the buttons fiercely, "Finally learned you have five jumps to save a life." The rest of the rounds continued at the breakneck pace from the fury of the two onscreen warriors. Both Star and Marco won and lost a few of them, leaving the final round tied between the two of them. It was time for all-out war! The squire threw all caution to the wind and tried to land any kind of blow he could to Star. The one disadvantage to her character was that he was low on defense, something Marco could exploit. He had her critically, ready to finish off with one blow when he noticed her eyes twinkle at him. This had been a setup all along. Star unleashed her character's secret attack that insta-killed Marco though he had nearly full health.

"AHA!" She threw the controller in the air when he arms shot up in victory. "I'm always winning battles."

"Have to hand it to you, Star, you're getting pretty good at this game," Marco patted her back before shutting off the videogame. This was so much more fun than when they had first started playing. Star used to die in less than a minute. The Queen was truly a fast learner at any kind of fighting. After a brief celebration, Marco noticed that his girlfriend sat in silence, staring down at the controller. That was odd behavior for her, especially after schooling him in a contest.

"Something the matter?" it was his turn to ask. When her blue orbs rest their gaze on his eyes, Marco could see the weight of a serious matter brewing in them. She sighed for a second, gathering her thoughts while he rubbed her back in support. If was about an issue in the kingdom or about Moon's whereabouts, he had her back. It was not only his duty as her squire but his promise as her best friend and lover.

She took both of his hands and began, "Look, Marco, so much has changed in such a short time. I'm Queen of Mewni now, and it's such a huge responsibility to bear alone. So…I was thinking…" Her sweet voice trailed off there for a second before she said softly, "I think we should make things official."

He shot her a puzzling look, "We're already officially dating."

"Not that," she shook her head. "You help me a lot with running things as my squire, but I was thinking that…I should make you my king." Marco's mouth dropped open and he nearly passed out in shock. Her King? That was a ginormous step from being a lowly squire.

Star giggled in amusement at his reaction, "It doesn't mean that we have to marry until we're ready, but I do need a partner in my affairs. I can even have you just be my prince if king sounds too formal." His mind raced at a thousand miles and second, making it truly hard to register her words. She wanted him to help him rule an entire kingdom when he was just a fifteen-year-old kid from another dimension?

Then he froze. That was the problem. He was a nobody in a place that he still didn't understand. Star was a royal by birth and bloodline, destined to be Queen forever and Marco was a lowly peasant from Earth. He didn't have wealth like Rich Pigeon or prestige like Tom. How could he hold a mere candle to the glorious flame that was being a king? Maybe Star should have stayed with him…the squire's mind went there. There was nothing Marco had to offer.

He noticed the concern on Star's face when he didn't answer for a moment and he averted his gaze. "I can't do it, Star," he confessed solemnly. "I'm nothing but a commoner who couldn't even lead a successful campaign against Meteora. In fact, I'm not even worthy of being your squire or your boyfriend."

She blinked at him and he dropped her hands, shrugging the blanket over his head while he moped. Suddenly, the cover was yanked off and he came face to face with a very firm, Star Butterfly. "Marco," he had to admit, part of him melted whenever she called his name. "None of that is true. If anyone is worthy of being my king, it's you. You've always been by my side as my friend and squire. So, what if you aren't a royal by blood—I'm not one either."

"Wait, what?!" he gasped but she silenced him by laying her finger on his lips.

"Long story. Fill you in later," she brushed off that like it was nothing. She added more seriously, "As I was saying, Marco, you mean the universe to me. I wish I had told you that before you nearly lost your soul to Meteora or in that stupid booth. You are plenty worthy of everything. C'mon Diaz, look at what we did today. I don't share my royal bed with anyone." She had a point there and he felt his face burn brightly from that factoid.

"Nothing to be ashamed of," she winked at him. "Yeah, being king is gonna be scary and confusing but I'm your queen. We can do this together—like how we always do things. Okay?"

He sighed, "Okay. Guess Mewni has to look out for Queen Star and her King Marco." He was knocked over on his back by her crushing hug and felt his spirits soar. This was a story for the ages—random high schooler crowned king of a whole dimension while still being too young to drive a car. When Star pulled away, the loving expression she had on her face when she looked at him made his heart melt. Was he ready for his new job? No. Was he ready to stay by Star's side forever no matter what? Always had been.

"So, what's the first order of business, my King?" she grinned at him. He wrapped his arms around her, bringing Star closer. Skin brushing skin.

"Enjoying the rest of this Relationship Thursday, my Queen."