Saturday
Marco paced his floor worriedly as he watched the sun start to peek over the rooftops of the houses across the street. Marco bit his lip in concern as he turned to his yellow notepad where he had been, trying, to organize a list of activities he would surprise Star with today before he asked her out. The only problem was he only had three ideas written for all day so far. Marco looked at his list in concern as he eyed the itinerary critically. First there would be a special breakfast of eggs, bacon, toast, and Star's favorite apricot jelly. Marco could not suppress the grin that formed on his lips as he remembered the first time Star had tried out the new jelly. Marco shook his head in wonderment at how Star had managed to eat an entire loaf of bread and emptied the previously full jar of jelly of its contents.
Marco scrolled his finger down to the second item on his list. 'Then we will go to the park' Marco thought happily as he remembered how Star had really enjoyed Echo Creeks large park where they played on the swings and walked the laser puppies. 'Although, this time maybe we can leave the laser puppies at home since they tend to like antagonizing the squirrels too much' Marco thought as his grin grew wider at the memory of terrified laser puppies taking him for a drag when the squirrels "launched their vicious counterattack", as Star noted.
Marco moved his finger down to the last objective on his list of things to do for his "date" with Star. Dinner. Marco frowned at that as that was literally all he had wrote. While he would admit that these ideas were not back, they just were not good either. They were so, cliché. 'Star deserves better than cliché' Marco thought sadly as he crumpled up the paper and threw it in the trashcan near his desk. Marco lay down on his bed, ruffling his hair. 'Come on brain, think' Marco silently begged. Unfortunately for him, nothing came to mind. Marco sighed as he got up and walked to his door, "I guess a cliché plan is better than no plan at all" Marco remarked to himself as he opened his door and walked down to the hall to make planned breakfast for Star, silently hoping she would love it the with each step he took.
Marco, however, stopped in his tracks when he heard a muffled voice coming from Star's room. 'She's awake this early on a Saturday' Marco asked internally as he made his way to her door and pressed his ear to the solid wooden surface. Marco's eyes widened as he hear a faint and weak sounding Star calling out "Marco". Marco opened the door swiftly to reveal that Star was still in her bed. Marco sighed in relief as his worst fear that Star had been hurt in a surprise monster attack had not come to fruition. "Marco, is that you" Star called out weakly from her hidden place bundled in her covers. "Ya, it's me Star, are you ok" Marco asked unable to keep the worried edge from his voice as he walked closer to Star's bed.
Star poked her head up from the covers to reveal that she looked paler than she usually did and that her hearts even seemed a less vibrant shade of their usual cheerful pinkness. Marco stared at her in shock as the realization that Star must be sick began to sink in. "Marco, I think Ludo must have poisoned me. I'm glad you seem ok. I don't want you to die too" Star spoke shakily as she leaned deeper into her pillows in relief upon seeing that Marco appeared unaffected by the obviously devious poisonous plot of Ludo.
Marco smiled sadly at Star as he walked over and sat on the edge of her bed. "Scoot closer Star" Marco gently ordered while motioning for Star to come closer. Star shakily complied as she was bid and scooted closer to Marco. Marco placed the back of his hand to her forehead and nodded his head sagely before muttering "Yep, you are sick alright". Star looked at Marco and kindly smiled at him "Marco, I know you are trying to be positive, but this is it for me. I'm the last of the Butterflies" Star said dramatically as she snuggled into Marco's legs. "Star, you are not going to die," he chuckled "You are sick. Don't worry though. I'm gonna take care of you" Marco said while smiling down at the girl beside him.
Star blushed "Really Marco, you think you can save me" she asked hopefully. Marco grinned "Ya, Star. I will save you. Don't I always" he asked as he puffed out his chest, doing his best superhero impression. "I'm the one who does the saving Marco…" Star replied tiredly. "Hey…I'll let it slide today princess. You stay here and I'll be right back". Marco stood up and was almost out the door when Star fearfully asked "You promise". Marco smiled tenderly as Star before holding up his pinky finger to her "Promise".
Star smirked as Marco left the room. "That went better than I expected" Star mused. "I guess I'm a better actress than I thought. I'm so getting an "A" in theater this time" Star giggled. 'A whole day where Marco babied her and paid her all his attention', Star thought gleefully as she continued to lay on her bed waiting for Marco to return from whatever task he was going to perform. Star blushed at the thought of Marco babying her all day long which caused her hearts to begin to glow. Star panicked as the creaking of the stairs told her Marco was coming back and her hearts were glowing! Star dove under her blankets waiting for the pink light to recede before poking her head back out to see Marco with two buckets and a washcloth draping his neck. One of the buckets was empty while the other was filled with water.
"Hey Star. If you feel you need to throw up or something, here is an empty bucket for you" Marco said as he sat the bucket down next to her bed. Marco wet the washcloth, carefully folded it, and placed it on Star's warm forehead in an attempt to cool her fever. Star "looked up" at the washcloth before asking "What is that for Marco" as she did her best to sound as sickly as possible. Marco gently brushed Star's hair with his hand "It's to help cool you down Star. You have a fever" Marco said simply before slowly standing back up. "I'm gonna let you rest Star. I'll be back soon to check on you" Marco said before walking to Star's door. Marco turned back to Star before leaving the room "Call me if you need anything Star. Anything".
Star blushed at Marco's caring words. The only problem Star had now was a frustrating lack of her karate fighting crush. Star pondered a way to get Marco to pay attention to her. That was the point of her "fake sickness" spell that was intended to fool enemies rather than friends.
Marco sat on his bed as he ran through the possible ways to take care of Star and help her to feel better faster, his plans of getting Star on a date temporarily forgotten. Marco silently went through a checklist for taking care of a sick person his mom had taught him. "I gave her a throw up bucket, I put a wet washcloth on her head…now what" Marco muttered to himself. "She will need to eat soon, but it will have to be something she can stomach. So nothing too hard on her, or she will need that bucket" Marco thought.
Marco smiled as he remembered how his mom always made chicken noodle soup for him when he got sick. "Yep, that will work" Marco muttered softly as he lay down to wait a couple minutes before he needed to check on Star and her washcloth. Marco smiled to himself as the minutes ticked by silently. "The best laid plans of mice and men I guess..." Marco mused. Marco sat up, startled as his phone sang out "Space unicorn, soaring through the stars" as he swiftly scooped up his phone. "Star" Marco asked in worried confusion as he clicked the "accept" button.
"Star? Are you ok" Marco asked worriedly as he heard gentle coughing on the other end of the line. "Marco, can you come here" she asked as she "coughed" again. "I'll be right there" Marco said as he stood up and jogged down the hall and swiftly entered Star's room. Marco looked at Star expectantly as she continued to lay on the bed, phone in hand. Star opened her eyes slowly and gave Marco a weak smile. Marco's heart hurt as he watched Star lay there, looking like a shell of her usual happy and energetic self. "You rang m'lady" Marco asked with a flourish. Star swallowed hard as she did her best to suppress her blush.
Marco walked over to Star, taking her washcloth from her head. He dipped the now slightly warm cloth into the cool water bucket and rung it out before folding it and gently placing it back to her forehead. "Marco, I was wondering…if you could stay with me…I'm lonely" Star whined pitifully. Marco mentally wondered how any living being could be so adorable.
"Of course I'll stay with you Star. It's my job to take care of you and make you feel better" Marco said gently before sliding into bed next to her. Star smiled happily at the success of her simple plan. Marco was with paying attention to her again! Star gently snuggled into Marco as she wrapped her arms around him and nestled her head into his lap before sighing happily. Marco blushed at their positioning as he shakily began stroking Star's hair gently in an effort to comfort his poor sick friend.
The day passed slowly as Marco occasionally redid Star's washcloth and would allow Star to snuggle him as this seemed to make the sick girl happy. Marco's face was in a nearly continuous state of redness. 'Why is she so freakin cute' Marco silently asked as this would be a dream come true if it were under better circumstances. Marco released a sad sigh as he though how this wonderful situation was only possible because of Star being sick, which was terrible. Star looked up at him, worry evident in her tired looking eyes. "What's the matter Marco" Star asked worriedly. 'I hope he doesn't mind that I'm snuggling him' Star thought desperately.
"I'm just sad you aren't feeling very well Star" Marco muttered before looking at his phone. His eyes widened when he noticed what time it was. '6:34pm' Marco mentally panicked 'I never fed her'! Marco, as gently as his adrenalin rushed muscles would allow, pried Star from him as he stood up. "Star! I'm soooo sorry! I was supposed to make you soup to help you feel better! I'm such a bad boyfriend! I'm gonna go make you soup now! You need energy to get better! I'll be right back" Marco said frantically as he ran from the room as if his life depended upon it.
Star sat up and stared at the door Marco had just bolted through. 'Did he just call himself my "boyfriend"' Star asked herself. As this information sank in Star excitedly flailed around her bed, completely unable to contain her happiness and excitement.
Marco, already in the kitchen, opened a Campbell's chicken noodle soup can as his eyes widened as his previous words sank into his mind. "Di-did I really call myself her boyfriend…in front of her" Marco frightened asked himself as he stared wide eyed up in the direction of Star's room despite not being able to see it. Marco shakily poured the soup in a bowl before placing it in the microwave and setting the timer for two minutes. "Damage control, I need to bring her the soup and see if she even noticed. Ya, she's so sick she probably didn't even notice" Marco chuckled in hopefully as he did his best to suppress the rising dread.
Marco walked back into the room as if he were walking on a pane of glass that would crack, break, and drop him into a pit of lions at any moment. "H-here's you soup sweethear…I mean Star" Marco chuckled nervously as he mentally kicked himself. Star giggled weakly as Marco sat the wooden breakfast try in Star's lap as she sat up. "I, uh, hope you, err, are feeling well enough to e-eat it" Marco stammered. "Careful though, it's still really hot" he gently cautioned. "O-ok Safe kid" Star murmured as she gently touched her right check, as she could feel the heat rising to her hearts as she had fully caught Marco's latest verbal slipup.
Marco silently continued to panic as he watched Star nervously as she gingerly at the soup. 'Well, she isn't acting weird…I guess she didn't catch it' Marco asked himself hopefully. Star happily ate the delicious soup as she could continually, and sneakily, glace over at Marco's adorable face as he obviously continued to panic. 'He is so cute when he gets all worked up' Star giggled to herself as she sipped on her soup.
Marco looked over in surprise as Star gently placed the wooden tray in his lap. "I'm done Marco. Aren't you proud of me? I finished it all up" Star replied doing her best to still sound sick, yet happy. Marco sighed as he picked up her tray to take it to the kitchen to wash the dishes. "Marco, is there any way we can watch a movie in here together" Star asked innocently as she feigned a weak cough. Marco nodded dumbly as Star brushed a stray strand of hair from her face and gently tucked in behind her ear. "Ya…just…let me get my…uh…computer" Marco murmured as his faced flushed deeply. "Just let me go get it really quick". Marco stood up, tray in hand and quickly walked from the room.
'Thank goodness. I don't think she noticed anything. I guess it's a good thing she is feeling under the weather' Marco thought as he quickly washed Star's soup bowl and spoon. Marco left them on the drying rack as he hurriedly went up the stairs and down the hall to his room to find his computer and charger as the computer dying in the middle of a movie would be disappointing. Marco smiled as he successfully found both the charger and computer before he trotted down the hall back to Star's room.
Star seemed to brighten up as Marco moved a small wooden table to the end of Star's bed and placed his computer on it. Marco plugged it in and sat at the end of Star's bed as he turned on his computer and turned to Star. "So, what would you like to watch princess" Marco asked giving Star a smile that sent tingles down her spine. "Can we watch that thing we watch sometimes…flicks net? It has so many options" Star asked hopefully. Marco chucked "Ya, we can watch Netflix. It's not like I could say no to those bluebell eyes anyway". Marco blushed as he turned away from Star having caught his flirty words too late. Star silently giggled at Marco's continued displays of accidental affection.
Marco pulled up Netflix and scooted back to sit next to Star "So, what would you like to watch" Marco asked as he tried to dispel his own feelings of awkwardness. "I don't know…can we look at the cartoons" Star asked pleadingly. "Like I could say no…" Marco murmured as he went to the cartoon section and began scrolling though the options slowly and waited for Star to find something that caught her eye. Star brightened up as Marco passed by an option that had a girl in a red and black polka dotted suit on the picture display. "Wait, go back one" Star commanded gently as Marco instantly obeyed Star's request. "Hmm, "Miraculous adventures of Ladybug and Cat Noir"? Sounds interesting…lets watch that one! We go on adventures all the time" Star stated as she scooted closer to Marco. "If that's what you want to watch m'lady, then that's what you shall get" Marco remarked playfully as he hit the play button.
Star smiled as she placed her head on Marco's chest and heard the gentle, yet hurried beating of his heart. Marco blushed profusely again, as had seemingly become a habit today. Marco silently prayed that Star didn't notice his pounding heart, even though was sure that wasn't a possibility with her ear that close to his chest. 'I guess I can hope she at least doesn't get a concussion...' Marco thought wearily.
Star was enjoying every minute of her "snuggle time" with Marco as they watched what was rapidly becoming her favorite show in the entire world. "Marco, I wish I was as awesome as ladybug" Star remarked as Netflix asked if they were still watching again. Marco chuckled as gently gave Star a squeeze with his left arm that was wrapped around Star as she watched the screen, her head never leaving his chest the entire time they were watching the show. "Star, you are far more awesome than Ladybug. Ladybug wishes she were you" Marco chuckled giving her another squeeze. "You think so Marco" Star asked as her face reddened. "Yep, you are the real "cat's meow" Marco joked as he stole one of Cat Noir's lines.
Star's blush intensified as she snuggled deeper into Marco. "Marco," Star asked tentatively," do you think that we could have Netflix dates every weekend". Marco blushed, mouth went dry, and eyes widened in shock as he tried to process Star's words. Star looked up at Marco apprehensively "We don't have t-to if you don't want" Star whispered. Marco wrapped Star in both arms and, with every ounce of courage in his body, kissed the top of Star's head. "Ya, if you want Star. Just try not to be sick every weekend…ok" Marco replied shyly.
Star smiled tiredly as she snuggled into Marco and yawned happily. "Sounds like a deal" Star whispered as her smile remained in place even as she started to succumb to the warmth of Marco's affectionate embrace. "I think we will call it a night sleepyhead" Marco chuckled softly as he gently caressed Star's soft golden hair. Marco made to move, but Star held him fast in place. "Can…can you stay with me until I fall asleep Marco" Star asked tiredly as she rubbed her left eye. Marco gulped before nodding in affirmation. "Thank you Marco" Star mumbled as she tried to snuggle closer to Marco.
Marco continued to blush and stroke Star's hair, something he had come to find she seemed to thoroughly enjoy. Marco looked down and noted Star's soft and even keeled breathing that seemed to indicate that sleep had taken the princess to the land of dreams. Marco reluctantly and gently released himself from Star's grasp and gently placed her head on one of her many colorful pillows. Marco was about to go unplug his computer when he noticed Star seemingly trying searching for something in her sleep, as if she were trying to grab something. Marco blushed as he realized what Star was searching for. 'Me', Marco thought as his blush intensified to the point that his red hoodie now looked pink by comparison.
Marco silently grabbed his hoodie from the back of Star's desk chair and gingerly placed it in her searching hands before she woke up to find he had gotten up. Star's hands grasped the hoodie and pulled it in gently as she cuddled the hoodie and released a relieved sigh. Marco too released his own sigh as he walked gingerly walked over to his computer, closed it, and then unplugged it from the wall. Marco smiled at Star and tiptoed over to her and bent down and placed a gentle kiss to the heart on her cheek which, surprisingly, glowed. Marco worriedly watched as her cheek stayed lit up before gently fading back to normal as Star did not stir from her sleep.
Marco smiled happily and whispered "Sweet dreams Star. I love you" as he stole silently out of her room and back to his. "There is always another day" Marco sighed as he laid down on his bed and silently sympathized with Cat Noir. Sleep closed in quickly and Marco was soon lightly snoring and dreaming dreams of saving Star and her falling hopelessly in love with him.
I'm sorry this one took so long to post. Life can get extremely busy. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Hopefully I can get another chapter written before the week is out. Thank you for reading and more so for your patience.