An Idea

It was a week before Marco heard from Tom again. He attended class, looked into various colleges, hung out with the science club and went to the park to clean a stream. He sighed wistfully as he hauled a cinder block out of the water. Star would love this. She'd probably spend the whole time trying to catch fish and then getting frustrated with how few there were. She'd wave her wand and instantly lift all the trash out. But she was far away on another world doing very important princess things. She had no time for wading through a dirty stream.

Finally it was the weekend again, and Marco got a call from Tom on the interdimensional mirror Star had given him for a present before leaving.

"Great timing," Marco said as he answered it, mopping at his hair with a towel. "I just got out of the shower."

"I see that." Tom took in his appearance, and Marco saw him nod before continuing, "How are things?"

"Same as always." Marco had already pulled on pajama pants but was still shirtless, and was considering staying that way; the house was warm enough. "You?"

Tom groaned. "Ugh, it's so busy. My parents aren't giving me a moment of free time. I'm only able to call you now because they think I went to bed. They won't be bothering me until dawn tomorrow, when they'll be hurrying me along to meet with an ambassador from some other dimension… I hate these political meetings, but hey, maybe I'll run into Star soon. The Underworld has always been on good terms with Mewni."

"That's good. Man, I'm sorry they're grilling you so much." Marco set the towel down. "How much longer until the coronation?"

"A month," Tom replied. "It's gonna be the day I turn eighteen. The whole day is gonna be full of events. Like, first of all will be my fledging… That's when my wings are going to finally emerge to mark my entrance into adulthood. And then-"

"Wait," Marco interrupted, "You have wings?"

"Not yet. They just burst out of my skin when I turn eighteen. Apparently it's agonizing and everyone will get to see it happen to me, being the prince and all. And then will be my wedding, where I marry my soon-to-be queen. Assuming I've chosen one, which I still haven't. It's driving my parents insane by the way." Tom seemed pleased to be causing them trouble. "And once I'm married is a lunch, and then we'll do the actual coronation and I will become the king. Mom and Dad will step down and submit to my authority, and allow me to decide their fate. Which, I'm just gonna let them stay as my advisers, I mean damn, I'm not going to hurt my parents even if they do annoy me. Did you know they killed the previous king and queen? Yeah!" he responded to Marco's horrified expression. "They were my paternal grandparents. Mom and Dad killed them. Didn't want them getting in the way. I am not doing that."

"I'm glad to hear that," Marco said.

"Yeah. So I'm gonna spare them. But yeah, I become king, the power is handed over to me, we have a huge feast. Lots of partying and people getting drunk. And then we eventually go to bed and I'll get up the next morning and… I guess start doing king stuff."

"Sounds like a fun day," Marco said. "Am I invited?"

Tom laughed. "Of course you are. You and Star are welcome to attend. In fact, I'd love to see you guys there. Maybe it won't be so unbearable then."

"What will happen if you don't have a queen by then?"

Tom shrugged. "I've asked that but the only answer I've gotten is, 'You will have one.' Which isn't very helpful. So I did some research and found that the Underworld has had solitary rulers before, who usually ended up taking on a companion anyway just to help lessen the weight of responsibility. Sometimes they loved them, sometimes not. But the wedding portion isn't at all required. So if I'm still single, so be it, they can deal."

Marco nodded in understanding. "Do you think they'll try to arrange a marriage for you?"

"I wouldn't be surprised but they can't make me say the vows. So far though, they're waiting for me to choose someone."

"Don't you have any interest? In anyone?"

Tom looked pained for a moment. "Not really. But… but I do have an idea. Maybe I could…" He trailed off, then shook his head. "Never mind, it's ridiculous."

"What?" Marco asked.

"Don't worry about it, I just had a dumb idea. But it wouldn't work."

"Come on, man." Marco moved closer to the mirror. "You can tell me, I won't laugh."

"Well… Okay." Tom looked around, then leaned in close. "I was thinking of just grabbing some random friend and having them marry me, so at least it'll be someone I can tolerate. But I don't know…"

"Sounds like a good idea to me."

"But marriage should be about love. I don't know if I should…"

"Well you do love your friends, right? It's just a different kind of love. I say go for it, it'll get your parents off your back."

"Maybe." Tom hesitated, looking away. Then he said, "But I'm not sure if the person I have in mind will want to do it."

"Being married to the prince? With all the luxuries that'll come with it? I'm sure they'll be perfectly happy to do it."

"I guess you're right." Tom seemed to perk up. "Well, then… how about it, Marco? Wanna get married?"

Marco couldn't speak for several moments. Then he managed to squeak, "Me? You're asking me? Why me, there are lots of other people you know, I…"

"I really like you and I'm better friends with you than anyone else!" Tom explained. "If I have to be with someone, I'd want it to be you. But if you don't want to, I can find someone else."

Marco was breathing hard without realizing. He took a moment to calm down, then said, "That's really sweet, but… I gotta finish high school, and I plan on going to college, I can't just… I can't just disappear down to the Underworld!"

"I can ensure you get that high school diploma," Tom promised. "You already have the credits for it, you're just taking electives to finish out the semester, right? So let me talk to the school. That is, if you want to do this marriage plan. If not, then… I'll find someone else."

Marco swallowed, unsure what to say. He really liked Tom, and wouldn't mind living with him, but ruling the Underworld would be a huge job. He had to admit, there was some appeal. But he had plenty of concerns.

"I'm human," he said. "Would they even accept me?"

Tom blinked, then swore. "No, they probably wouldn't. Humans can get by down here. Many demons were once human. But… a human wouldn't be allowed to rule. I hate to admit it but demon society is racist. They'd probably hurt or even kill you."

Marco nodded. "I figured. So… that's it, then. It can't be me."

Tom frowned, then looked away in thought. His brows furrowed, and he said slowly, "There… is one way."

"I'm not sure I like that tone."

"If you were a demon, there'd be no problem." Tom looked back at him. "And there's someone I know who can turn a member of any species into pretty much any other species with a wave of her wand."

"Oh no." Marco's legs felt weak. "Are you suggesting…"

"We should go talk to Star."

Marco rubbed the back of his neck. He couldn't believe they were talking about this. But he didn't want to disappoint Tom and he has wanted to see Star again… "I suppose we could see what she thinks of the plan, but I'm not promising anything yet."


"You want to what?" Star demanded.

Tom took a breath, then said, "My parents are insisting I have a partner by the time I become king. So… I figured I'd just marry someone to get them off my back. And… Marco may possibly be the one I marry, but the other demons won't accept a human being a ruler. So basically, will you turn Marco into a demon?"

Star stared back and forth between them, then sighed and rubbed her eyes. "You woke me up in the middle of the night to ask me to make Marco a demon so you can marry him?"

They nodded.

She looked at them for a few moments, then tiredly walked over to get her wand. "Okay, fair enough. Kinda rude to just teleport into a girl's room in a burst of flame, but… Heh, like the good ol' days, eh Tom?"

Tom laughed. "Haha, yeah. So you'll do it?"

"Yep, easy as cake." Star returned to them, now holding up the wand. "Marco just has to agree to it. Wanna be a demon, pal?"

Marco took a reassuring breath, looking at Tom. "You promise that you'll be able to get my high school diploma? Because I've been working my butt off for thirteen years to get it and I am getting it, damn it."

Tom nodded. "Of course, you'll get it."

"I'm gonna have it framed and hung on the wall."

"I'll get you a solid gold frame if you want."

"Nice." Marco thought it over, then exhaled slowly. "I haven't even talked to my parents about this yet. I... need more time to think this over."

"Oh, I completely understand if you want to sleep on it and talk to your parents! Please, let me know what you decide, and Star, you'll be able to change him?"

She nodded. "Shouldn't be hard."

"Okay, great. So... great." Tom awkwardly clutched at his shirt, then nodded decisively. "We should get going then."

Star flopped onto her bed, tossing the wand onto the table. "Well if we're done here I'd like to go back to sleep."

"Oh sure, sorry for waking you," Tom said quickly. "Thank you so much for your help."

"Mhm. Let me know once you've figured things out." She waved to them, and they took that as their dismissal. Tom took Marco's hand and teleported him back to his home.

Marco said goodbye to his friend, and then sat down on his bed, resting his head in his hands as he thought over Tom's proposal. He really wanted to help him, but it was going to be such a huge change... in more ways than one. But all that time around Star has really made him think about being royalty, and now he could finally do it. He just wasn't sure if it would be right to marry someone for that reason.

Still, he reasoned, maybe it could just be like... a professional marriage. Like a business contract. And if, in the future, Tom actually does fall in love with someone, they could always separate and go their own ways again.

The more Marco thought about it, the more he felt that it would be beneficial. But he wasn't going to make a decision without talking to his parents. He knew they would be in bed right now, but still awake, reading and chatting with each other. So he went to their room.

They were happy to see him as always, and Marco said, "Can I talk to you guys about something? It's pretty big."

"Of course, mijo," Rafael said immediately, and Angie scooted over, patting the bed. Marco went to sit next to her. "What's on your mind?"

"Well..." Marco got his thoughts together, then said in a rush, "Tom is about to become king and he needs to marry someone, but he doesn't like any of his suitors, so… He wants to marry me to get his parents to leave him alone but since demons don't like humans holding positions of power I'm pretty much going to have to become a demon too."

His parents were silent for a moment as they took that in. Then Angie asked, "Well, are you going to marry him?"

Marco spread his arms. "I don't know, I'm trying to figure out if I should, is it right to marry for that kind of reason, and should I really move to the Underworld? And become a demon? I mean he did say he was going to pull strings and make sure the high school gives me my diploma, so I'll have that, I just won't walk across the stage or anything. But... do you think I should do it? I want to help him out, but..."

"I think it's sweet that you want to do that for your friend," Angie said. "Tom seems like a really nice boy, but he's got a temper, and he needs someone like you around to keep him grounded. If you really want to do it, that's your choice. We'll love you no matter what you decide. You're your own man and can make your own life choices. And if what you think is best is moving to the Underworld and becoming a demon, we'll support you."

Marco smiled and leaned down to hug them. "Thank you. I think I'm going to do it, I just... I need to sleep on it. I'll... let you know what I decide tomorrow."

They said goodnight, and he headed for the door. His dad saying his name made him pause, and he looked back.

"We'll be invited to the wedding, right?" he asked, beaming.

Marco laughed. "Of course you will be. I'll make sure you get personally escorted there and can see all the festivities. It'll be a big day, after all."

They seemed excited by it, and he was in a lighter mood as he went back to his room. Maybe he'll go through with it.