*crash* Joe awoke with a start. Glancing around he got his bearings. He was in a jungle. He was alone. Wait, there are strange animals around, not entirely alone. He's in his pajamas. Possible mishap while getting kidnapped. He's in Star's be-

"STAR!" Panic set in as he looked around frantically, the sheets partially falling off of him, revealing his undershirt. He saw no sign of the girl. He quickly looked at the bed, and saw her. She was laying there, asleep. He breathed a massive sigh of relief. As long as Star was safe, they could manage. He placed a hand on her head and brushed her hair, causing the girl to stir instantly.

'How in the world brushing her hair wakes her up, but screaming her name doesn't I'll never know.' He smiled lightly as she got up. In a daze she looked around, then looked at him.

"Joe? What happened? Did, did you do this?" Her expression was genuine confusion.

"No, I have no idea what's going on." As he was waking up he finally noticed something behind Star. Her bedroom wall. "All I know is that this is your room." Star looked around before grabbing her wand. She immediately cast a spell and the forest disappeared, a small thud being heard outside.

"Ouch. Star, Joe? You two okay in there?"

"Come on in Marco, we're decent." Marco opened the door slowly before stepping inside. He closed the door as slowly, possibly to keep the noise down.

"You guys are lucky my parents are heavy sleepers most of the time. But what was that?"

"We were wondering the same thing Marco. Hard to tell with waking up in the middle of it. I can stay up and keep watch for us, I don't usually sleep this much this often."

"As long as you're here when I wake up boo."

"Can't promise that. Marco is teaching me how to make good pancakes so i can spoil you." This got a giggle out of Star. While Joe was paying most of his attention to Star, he saw a genuine smile over Marco's face. Now that he was thinking on it, recently Marco had spent a ton of time in contact with him, yet hadn't shown a single outburst in weeks. While it was a question for later, it was a small victory to add to the many the three of them were having. "Now, you two get some sleep. Star, you need your rest so you don't fall asleep too fast in class, and Marco, you gotta be on time to talk with Jackie some more." The three giggled.

"Well then loverboy, give me some tips here!"

"Be yourself. Worked wonders for me!" He hugged Star for emphasis, enjoying her warmth as she sighed. They said their good nights and Marco left. After getting comfortable Star fell asleep rather quickly. Joe stayed on alert, holding Star gently, but ready to do anything to protect her. He looked around the room and realized he didn't really spend time in jere without Star, so he hadn't really looked at it recently. Not that she changed much on the first level, just a few pictures of the two of them, and for a good portion of them Marco as well, hanging out around town or the occasional alternate dimension.

His thoughts drifted to a recent trip Marco and Star had taken to Pixtopia after her first prank call session since before St. O's. It still surprised him how much she had started coming out of her shell now. She was suddenly taking the lead on adventures, even going to a few without Moon's knowledge. She was more forward, actively flaunting their relationship. A recent phone call came to mind with Ponyhead, she seemed, joyful. It was like Star being out of her shell brought Ponyhead a bit more out of hers.

And the energy, the energy was a massive shift. Star was practically off the walls from the get go now, dragging Joe or Marco around in to she was exhausted, and the three would have it no other way. Star was also making more friends at school. Janna Ordonia, the school troublemaker, was her first friend. She was not an amazing person, but she wasn't a bad girl. Often just showing genuine interest in Star's magic. The two would hype each other up about various possible magics on Earth, and thus she became Star's number three Earth friend.

When she befriended Jackie, Joe was worried she had done it purely to help Marco, he was happy to be proven wrong. Jackie taught Star how to skateboard, and Star helped Jackie figure out how to do some more cool tricks. Of course she was also trying to get them together, but for now, it was as a group instead of trying to force the two together, she was trying to get them to talk naturally. A move Joe fully did his best to help.

Just yesterday they saw results, and that picture displays prominently on Star's desk. A picture of Marco and Jackie touching during a photo. It was fun to tease him over. He later admitted he had a crush since kindergarten and to be honest, it made Joe uncomfortable about it. He felt like he was putting her on a pedestal. Raising her to some angelic heights out of his reach. If he did that, he was no better than himself when he first got with Star. Maybe that's why Star was going the route she was. Perhaps she saw the similarity. And that was two more things he loved about her.

She paid attention to people, and she was smart when it came to people. She was awesome at noticing small details. After a few earlier on problems, including making Ms. Skullnik a troll, she learned that sometimes, subtle and slower approaches work better. She was a regular problem solver for Marco, helping him out and in doing so warming up to the general school populace.

Breaking out of his reminiscing, he looked down at Star. She was mumbling about tasting something as her hands got under his shirt. She purred as she felt his and, and got comfortable again. Joe didn't even notice as her cute, warm form, lulled him into sleep.

He awoke with a start. Star was gone from his grip, and the jungle was back. He was about to scream when he heard Star hollering joyfully. He relaxed, realizing the relatively low danger as he got up. He looked at himself when he felt a breeze to find that during the night, Star's squirming had dislodged his shorts, and nearly removed his underwear. He made a note to wear tighter fitting clothing to bed before fixing his clothes, throwing on one of his cover shirts, and following the noise. He eventually found the rest of the household having breakfast tacos at the now tree shaped table with multiple levels ranging from nearly the floor. To the ceiling..

"Morning Joe. You seemed really tired so I didn't want to wake you up." Angie said from her seat on the ground level. He looked up. And spotted Star sitting about halfway up, eagerly patting the seat next to her. He smiled warmly and easily made his way there. Already on his plate were several tacos, each one mixed with different ingredients and sauces. He chuckled as he took one, and immediately held it to Star's mouth.

"Looks like I win the bet honey!" Raphael said from his seat to Angie's side.

"Well, I still won that he didn't immediately wake up when Star came downstairs, so hah!" They gave each other playful smiles before giggling.

"It's surprising that without my cute warmer I stayed asleep for more than a second. Star blushed, but continued to eat as she passed him a taco, feeding him. They heard the sound of cameras taking pictures, and barely contained awws, bit nothing was ruining this moment.

*bark!*

Or they thought. A litter of eight puppies suddenly ran around the corner, one holding a plastic toy in its mouth as the others followed, a few laser beams shooting from their eyes as they went. Joe looked around and concluded they must have been magicked up that night after he fell asleep. He finally put all his thoughts in order.

"So, I fell asleep and-" a taco found his mouth as star swallowed her bite, answering before taking another.

"Yuppers. Surprised my comfort kept you asleep that long." She winked and finished the taco, kissing Joe's hand before chewing.

"I'm sorry Star. I should have stayed awake for you." She swallowed before responding.

"Oh it's fine. You were there for me, and that matters far more." They looked at each other, a small kiss shared between them as they realized they had quickly eaten their plates. They quickly abandoned their paparazzi with their plates in hand. They cleaned them up, and as the adults finished their meals, Star used her magic to restore the house to its previous state, but now tin seven laser puppies. Joe gave her a quizzical look and she returned it.

"They were all supposed to disappear. Guess, they're permanent. Heh." She smiled sheepishly as Joe pat her shoulder.

"Things happen. Now, where's Marco?"

"Oh, I may have tricked him into going on a morning breakfast date with Jackie alone." Her smile grew big as she gave away her plan. Joe couldn't help but chuckle at her.

"You're perfect Star. But, now we have school to head to. So let's get dressed and get going. And remember, it's starting to cool off out there! She nodded and they went to her room. Joe grabbed some clothes and headed for the bathroom while Star said for him to go first as she wanted to pick out an outfit. As Joe approached the bathroom he heard Raphael call from downstairs.

"We're heading out a little early guys. Work waits for no man or woman!" He heard the door slam shut, odd behaviour for the Diazs, but perhaps Star went with them to shower at school. Thanks to Brittney, the bathrooms at school are pretty awesome. He shrugged and went in. He stripped down and unhooked his shirt. He capped each plug and turned on the water. The shower was quickly steaming. Perfect. He stepped in and was enjoying the warmth, when he heard the door close.

"Occupied!"

"Oh, I know that!" He blinked. This wasn't happening. He heard clothes hit the floor. This was happening. The shower door opened them closed. This is actually happening.

"Uh, Star?" She didn't answer. Hugging him from behind, sighing in relief. He felt her body touch his and he grew far warmer. Then he felt her body move. At first her body was merely relaxing. But it grew far more, intentional, as she kept going. It wasn't long before he popped a full boner.

"Lets get dirty before we get clean, Joe." Her command came through loud and clear, Joe's body feeling her need. But it wasn't a need for a fast fuck. No, it was something else. She looked in to his eyes, she didn't want a fucking. She wanted to make love. And god damn it, Star had made it impossible to say no. He immediately grabbed her in a gentle kiss. She reciprocated, humming her enjoyment as one of her legs lifted subconsciously. He loved the feeling of her lips against his, and he wanted more. He didn't know how long they kissed like that before Star began to grind on him.

He wasn't new to this. Not fully. He had seen plenty of, reference material, and he wanted to do something for Star. Something special. He began break the kiss, and though she tried to follow, she couldn't forever. When they were forced apart he immediately dove in again, sensually kissing her forehead, before trailing his kisses down. Understanding he was doing this for her, she stopped and leaned back towards the wall of the shower.

He kissed her nose next, then her upper lip, he gave her a quick peck on the lips, but he quickly moved over to her cheek. Before going lower he gave each of her hearts a long kiss, making sure she felt it, before moving on down. He kissed her jaw, her neck several times, her collar bone, and there he began to slow again. He carefully moved towards her breast, his hands crawling delicately over her body as he put all his effort into her. She was breathing very deeply now, fighting moans as he got nearer to her breasts. His hands and face dancing over her body as he did. Just as her patience wore thin, he began to close in. He was kissing down the mound of her left breast, and dancing his fingers in a spiral on her right. His right hand, was simply exploring the small of her back, slowly tracing upwards. She lost her hold on her breath as he kissed her nipple. No longer were her breaths deep and in control, they were quick and shallow, her body demanding oxygen to help feed the fire Joe was stoking so well. The perky object sending waves of pleasure with each pass of his tongue. She exploded again when his left hand peaked out on her nipple, lightly playing with the thing while his right hand approached its destination. She was crying loudly, but was still holding back as he caressed her wings. She immediately grabbed onto him, shaking as she moaned loudly, deeply, and for quite some time.

He knew what had happened, she came, hard. This was their third time together, but didn't realize girls really could come from this alone. Perhaps being stressed out helped that along. She was still coming down from her orgasm, but Joe was surprisingly prepared. He was moving his hands slowly over her back. Avoiding her wings, as he held her close to him. He wanted to give her at least one more high before they got clean for real. After a few minutes, her breathing changed again, from the long, drawn out falling, to the short, building breaths. She was ready to go again.

So he began again, starting from her breasts, he began to trail down, slowly meandering over her taught, athletic body. Even with as close as they had been, this was a first. He hadn't seen this part of her this closely yet. He wanted to memorize it. The touch, the taste, the smells, everything. Soon, his journey was nearing its end. Star had her hands on his head, resting them there as he began to circle her yet again. His hands slowly moving behind her to her butt, each hand massaging a cheek gently. He was in no rush. He wanted her to experience this to as amazing a degree as he could.

She soon started to push and pull him towards her core. She was getting impatient, and he decided against holding off. This was for her after all. Instead of going straight there though, he started at her navel, briefly trying to make out with it before deeply kissing straight down her body. She moaned loudly, not bothering to hide her excitement as he approached. He Then jumped a bit as he kissed into the fair hair on her pelvis, and made her scream with a deep kiss right onto her lower lips. A deep, passionate kiss with lips that were not designed to kiss back. His hands groped her with more energy, more fervor, and soon, he added his tongue to the mix. He adjusted his angle of attack, his depth, and his strength, looking for the internal button he heard of. After a moment, he noticed her pulling him up. Saddened, he acquiesced, halting for one moment to kiss her nub, sending a wave of pure pleasure spiking through her.

She recovered quickly and wasted no time at all plucking him up with insane strength and forcing her tongue down his throat. She kissed him with such passion that he was at a loss for his own breath. He began to feel light headed when she finally broke the kiss.

"Love me." The whispered command may as well have been shouted under penalty of death to Joe. He bent down, grabbed her ass and lifted her up. She reached down and made sure he lined up right, admiring both his strength, and his length, as he swiftly hilted inside her. He began to thrust slowly, big and deep, as she clung to him like a baby. She was ready for more, but she wanted this. Slow, steady, lovingly. Being fucked silly could wait. For the moment, it was love. They kissed again gently, enjoying the contact for a minute before lust over took them. The moment her tongue begged for entry he obliged, opening his mouth and grabbing her tongue with his. He began to thrust with strength as he approached his limit. She began to lose focus on the kiss, fast approaching her own strong orgasm. Then, it hit. They came together and moaned so loudly he thought the glass door would shatter. He pumped himself empty within her, and fell to the ground. Spent and exhausted. They sat there, under the water as it rained down on them. Their bodies practically glowing in the shower as the came down together.

"I love you Star,"

"After a surprise performance like that, I don't doubt it, my love." She reached up and gave him a kiss on the cheek before falling back down, her legs over his as he finally left her, limp. It took several minutes before they could stand again. "You're okay, right Joe?"

"Yeah. I'm perfectly fine this time. Just a fast heartbeat, which is normal. I think." She giggled and rested against him for a few more minutes. Finally feeling content, they helped each other wash without a word, got dressed, and left for school.

That night, they took it easy, they did their homework and Joe once again went to bed with Star. But They didn't quite go to sleep immediately.

"Joe, I have a question for you, and, please be honest."

"Sure thing Star, what's up?"

"Was, I your first girl?"

"My first consensual girl. Why?"

"Was, that all taught to you by-"

"Porn."

"Huh?"

"I, uh, learned it from porn."

"What's porn?"

"Oh boy. Uh, well. Let me, give you a look. Might be a bit, faster." Joe climbed out of the bed. He opened his suitcase up, producing a small laptop. He quickly,opened up a series of files, the last of which was password protected, and played a video for Star.

"Oh, it's a kind of movie! That can be pretty, cool. Uh, oh." She slowly became entranced as the actors were quick to undress and begin fucking. She watched the male do the same thing he did to her, but with a lot less care and effort. She then watched in amazement as the girl took the man into her mouth. The video lasted a scant ten minutes, but Star could already tell this was not movie night material.

"And that's porn."

"So, are most earthlings terrible lovers or…?"

"Probably not. This is just, material, to get yourself excited for, solos."

"Oh. That's a lot more convenient than Mewni. There we have to find pictures, and even then they rarely show underwear. Then again, we are also very open sexually. It's not uncommon for princesses of old to shack up with common men for years before mewberty."

"That almost sounds like Raphael could be with you sexually on Mewni."

"He could if I allowed him to."

"And that's more than I ever wanted to know. We got school in the morning Star, let's head to bed." She giggled before kissing him on the cheek. She barely,gave him time to close the laptop than she was dragging him to bed. She cuddled up into his arms as he pulled the covers up. They kissed good night and surprisingly quickly fell sleep.

"Jungle Hut Protector." In a flash of light, Star and Joe were surrounded by a jungle hut with wooden plating. Joe was forced awake by the sound of it. He was shocked at first before looking to Star in his arms. She had grabbed her wand off the nightdesk and started casting in her sleep. "Kitty Guard Destroyer." Now a large, tiger sized cat appeared in the room. Joe went wide-eyed and gripped Star tightly to his chest as the cat sniffed him, then walked out of the hut. He was still recovering when she spoke again. "Doom Forest Creation." He heard the sounds of various plants rustling outside. Joe immediately went to combing her hair, but unlike last time, she didn't wake, but started tossing and turning.

"Stop. Don't touch me. M-mommy. Daddy, Joe… help." She began to struggle and as Joe tried to comfort her it was clear she was putting more effort into it. He quickly kissed her and she stopped. He felt the movement in her body stop, and then her lips started to move. She was no longer struggling, but returning the kiss. He broke the kiss, much to her chagrin as she woke up, looking around again before looking at the wand in her hand.

"Uh, what?"

"You were casting in your sleep." She looked at him wide-eyed before looking down at her feet. "Was, it a nightmare?" After a moment she nodded. Then came a scream. "Uh, I think the big cst you summoned is attacking Marco." She lifted the wand and again, dissipated the magic. A few moments later Marco burst through the door.

"Is every-"

"Yes." Star sounded defeated. Joe hugged her deeply and Marco began to speak.

"Do, do you want to talk about it?"

"No." Joe felt his heart ache. "But I need to. I'm, having nightmares about a particular day at St. O's. I had tried to escape with Ponyhead. It was her third strike. You see, they had a very, horrible, three strike system. First strike is a slap on the wrist alongside a verbal warning. Second strike they are allowed to do horrible things to you, like rape, for a month. The few living guards always tried to get us to strike two. They knew they wouldn't be caught either. They had potions to restore wounds and that included ripped hymens. Third strike they hated giving. Preferring to punish those students and not report them. Ponyhead and I tried to escape, but were caught by the headmistress so they didn't get the chance. This was about a week before I was rescued. I had snuck out a note requesting help from my mother. One of the few things I learned well from her was coding requests for aid in to the most benign of letters. They strapped me down in a prep room while they took Ponyhead to the conformity chamber. She came out four days later acting like she does now.

"It scared me, then they brought me into the chamber. They injected some drugs into me, forced my eyes open, amd made me watch a brainwashing video on being a proper princess. It took less than a day to break me. Apparently they found out my mother was coming for a visit. They assumed I had done something but thankfully the brainwashing made me forget about the code. They had a copy of the letter, but assumed it was a simple mother-daughter visit. The entire male guard raped me that day and night. They left me a day to rest and compose myself, then returned to humiliate me by personally bathing and prepping me. When I met my mother I almost convinced her everything was fine, until she noticed a guard's erection. She quickly used a spell on him to see what was happening, they didn't stand a chance. Mom used her full power and captured every living soul, destroying the automatons.

"Sadly, the headmistress escaped during transport, but all others involved were tried, and executed, by every country who had daughters there. My family came together and supported me, and as time went on, I got a little better. Until I met you two though, it looked like I'd never get back to normal." She sniffled, and suddenly felt a new pair of arms around her. Looking up, Marco and Joe now both had her in their strongest hugs, trying desperately to drive the pain away. She smiled as she let loose, her tears falling like a river. They stayed like that for a little while before separating slightly. Even Marco stayed beside the bed in case Star needed support, but voicing his concerns at the same time.

"What triggered this though? What could have caused them to come back now, and so strongly? Star was just getting more and more active,in her life, and now, this? It doesn't make any sense!"

"Well, this falls to psychology 201." They both looked at Joe expectantly. "During my time at St. Argute's they did start off trying to help me. One of the things they taught is that as you return from an altered state, at first your mind suppresses the worst of things so you can return to normal quicker. Eventually you must confront your own memories or else you never quite become normal again."

"So Star's subconscious is forcing her to face what happened to help her get back to normal?"

"Correct. Until she can move on, the nightmares will keep coming, potentially getting worse and worse until they become night terrors."

"What's a night terror? A really bad nightmare?"

"No Star, it's far worse than that. A nightmare can't hurt you, a night terror can kill you." She gulped at that, clearly afraid. "They are nightmares so real to you that they cause real world damage, your mind tricking your body into hurting itself." Star was now shaking in his arms. With a glance Marco got the hint and hugged her again, slowly stopping her shakes. "The first step, is talking about it. Sometimes, it's the only step needed. So Star, if you ever feel like talking, remember. Marco and I will listen without judging. You did nothing wrong."

"Yeah, my awesome bestie will never, ever have to go through something like that again. Promise." With a sniffle, Star replied. A gentle, yet deep smile planted on her face.

"Thanks guys. I, I'm so lucky to have such a great bestie and boyfriend. I'm so happy To-." She instantly curled up, shaking harder than ever as her wand glowed with magic. Joe and Marco immediately realized something was up. Something else was bothering her, and unlike St. O's, this one was buried, not helped. The two boys enclosed the girl again, and soon realized this night was not going to be filled with comfortable sleep.

"Marco, do you mind staying with Star and I tonight. I think she needs us more than any of us knows." Without a word he hopped into the bed, pulling Star into a deep hug. Stuck between the two of them, Star gradually calmed down, until she could finally cry, she cried herself into a dreamless sleep. Marco eventually passed out, leaving Joe alone and awake. He did some thinking and concluded one thing, this new one was not at St. O's level, it was far, far worse. This was separate, but related. She wasn't ready to talk, but he wasn't ready to give up either.

''To' huh? Probably a name. Well, whoever you are 'To', I won't let you hurt Star.' He settled in, but popped up again when an unknown voice trumpeted in his head.

'You'll do exactly that, mortal.' The voice left, but Joe couldn't stop shaking. Whatever that was, it could kill all three of them right then and there. It was not something to be reckoned with. And worst of all, he probably couldn't stop it either.

He didn't sleep a wink that night. He played it off fine, but clearly he was adapting to Star's sleep schedule. He wanted more sleep, and he wasn't getting it today. At lunch he snuck away to try and contact Star's parents, but neither was available, scaring him further. He hoped he was mistaken, and that night thankfully proved the hope valid.

"Sorry for missing your call Joe, was stuck in a meeting with the MHC. What's the problem?"

"Last night Star started sleep spelling."

"Worrying. But judging by how late the call occurred, I suppose it's under control now?"

"Maybe. You see, the three of us, Marco, Star and I, talked about her last days at St. O's. Afterwards, we were about to wrap things up when she thought of something so frightening, she nearly blasted all of us with magic. She froze up, she was shaking. And while I managed to convince her otherwise thanks to Marco, she partially wet the bed." Moon looked shocked to hear all this, she quickly moved her hand, dropping all Queenly aspects to enter her full mother mode. "She was thinking of someone. Their name starts with 'To' and it frightened her so much I decided not to press it. I need to know, did this guy hurt Star?" He looked in the mirror at Moon, and she returned a surprised look before she chuckled.

"This is the first time I have seen you so angry Joe. I can't help but feel confident that you're just who Star needs by her side. I won't go into specifics, but yes, I know who that is, and they did. They tricked me and River in to sending Star to St. Olga's. The rest is for Star to say. I'm sorry."

"Don't be. You're in the right. Just, we need to be careful. I don't know who this is, but I assume they are powerful." Moon nodded. "Powerful enough to tell me I can't stop him from doing something to her again." Moon blanched.

"I will get to work on something. I am sure I know exactly what he's up to, and I don't have much time. Just, make sure whatever happens, she doesn't leave Earth unless it's to come to me. In fact, I'll bring her here in four days. She must not go anywhere else. Understand?" With a nod, Joe agreed. Understanding how important this was. He would protect Star. Even if it meant going to hell, and failing to make the round trip this time.

A/N

Now that's an awkward thing to end the chapter with. What is To? Well… wait, you know it's Tom? Damn. Okay then. Next up is Tom! What is he doing, and how will he do it? Well, it's all started next time, in the long chapter about the single most pivotal moment of the first season. Yes, more than Toffee, and more than St. O's. This is the story of Starco, where we got our first confirmation that those two were meant for each other. It also brought out Tom, and as you would suspect, he's my second favorite character. I'll leave my thoughts about him till the next chapter, spoilers and all. But… I can hint a little, right?

"DID JOE JUST KILL THOMAS LUCITOR?"

Maybe not that much of a spoiler. Uh, oh look! A gas leak!

"It's not a gas leak, it's a portal!"

… was that Marco? … go get her!