A/N:Warning: This chapter is going to earn the M rating. The following chapter contains coarse language and sexual content. You have been warned.
Also...if you don't like Starco, don't read this chapter :)
"Ok...you're not supposed to be here…" Star addressed Hekapoo with a look of complete incredulity.
"Ok...first off...rude," Hekapoo replied indignantly. "What are you trying to say, Star? That I should be dead?"
"Uh...actually, yeah. I guess I am…" Star shot back. She pointed to her mother and Eclipsa. "We just destroyed magic. You're made of magic. You were also surprisingly good with me destroying magic even though it meant your apparent death! But yet, here you are!"
Hekapoo laughed. "Sorry to ruin your best laid plans then!"
"Wait a minute…" Marco interrupted. "Hekapoo...where's your flame and your horns? Also...you got a haircut and I can see both your eyes!"
The former member of the Magical High Commission looked at Marco with both her yellow eyes. It was true, Hekapoo had cut her hair to still be long-around the middle of her back to be exact- but not almost to the ground like before. She had also cut off her trademark bangs, allowing both of her eyes to be visible. She did not, however, have a flame burning in the center of her head between two horns.
At the realization that Marco had figured out what was missing from her current look, Hekapoo started laughing even harder.
"Ding...ding...ding…Marco Diaz!" she exclaimed. "I always said that you were both cute and smart!"
"Excuse me?" Star bore holes in the flirting redhead with her stare.
"What?" Hekapoo shot back. "Marco is an awesome, cool guy. You of all people should know that!"
Star responded by grabbing Marco around the shoulders and pulling him as close to her as possible while wrapping her arms around him tightly.
"Oh...I'm way ahead of you on that one, Hekapoo." She said defiantly.
"Seriously?" Hekapoo arched her eyebrow at Marco. Marco responded by putting an arm around Star and nodding.
"Congratulations, Star. I'm glad you finally got your head out of your ass and realized that Marco is boyfriend material."
Star continued to shoot daggers at the redhead. Even more for the backhanded compliment. But she also noticed that Hekapoo seemed disappointed when Marco put his arm around her.
"Forgive my daughter for her lack of knowledge, Hekapoo." Moon interjected. "But she doesn't know about our conversation after her and Marco left the Tavern to enter the Realm of Magic."
"What conversation?" Star shot her mother an angry look. Considering that she had conspired with Mina back on Mewni to remove Eclipsa from the throne, Star wasn't too impressed with finding out that Moon was hiding something else from her.
"The one where I convinced her that she needed to enter the Realm of Magic with Eclipsa and end all this madness." Hekapoo explained.
"I was not at all convinced that magic could even be destroyed, let alone that Star could be the one to do it." Moon continued. "But Hekapoo convinced me that it was entirely possible to destroy magic, and with its destruction, solve our problems once and for all."
Star looked at both Moon and Hekapoo incredulously. "That still doesn't explain why you're here, or why you were fine with us essentially killing you."
"Seriously...Moon? Did you tell her anything at all?" Hekapoo arched her eyebrow at the former queen.
"Why don't you explain it then?" Moon addressed the former council member abruptly.
Hekapoo shook her head in disbelief, but then turned to face Star.
"I made a deal with Glossaryck." she said simply.
"What…?" Star said flatly.
"I made a deal with Glossaryck that if magic ever got erased for any reason, he would send me to Earth to live as a normal human woman."
"Wait a minute!" Marco interrupted. "H-poo...I thought that you disliked humans! You thought that we were weak and pathetic! You call me fleshwad all the time!"
"You keep calling me H-poo all the time!" Hekapoo scowled at Marco. "I think we're now even in that regard! But yeah… since you're bringing it up, it's kind of ironic that I was willing to become what I used to despise."
"Used to despise?" Marco inquired pointedly.
"My opinion of humans has gone up since I met you, Marco." Hekapoo smiled at the young Latino.
"In any event…" Moon interjected. "After my discussion with Hekapoo, I talked with Eclipsa and we agreed that we needed to enter the Realm of Magic to help Star with her task. As you may be aware, Hekapoo, we were successful."
"You were definitely successful." Hekapoo continued. "After you all left, I sat there at the tavern waiting for the end to come. Next thing I know, everything sort of faded to black. I was in some sort of black void just spinning there for who knows how long. All of a sudden, Glossaryck is floating in front of me. I was about to tell him that I thought he wasn't going to show up, but then he hands me a wallet-to my surprise-and tells me that I'll need it when I get to Earth. Then, he proceeded to float away...but before he disappeared completely, he mentioned one other thing."
Don't freak out too much when you get to Earth...but also, just to let you know, the two kids' kind of changed some things…
"Next thing, I feel like I'm falling. Then I wake up lying in a dumpster on top of a bunch of disgusting, smelly garbage. So, I crawl out of the fucking thing, and I'm in a back alley on what looked like Earth. Except...the sky looked like Mewni! I thought for a moment that Glossaryck had pranked me and sent me to some screwed up dimension instead, but after going for a short walk I discovered that the little guy did manage to keep his end of the bargain."
Hekapoo stopped briefly to take in the reaction of the people she was recounting her story to. The blank stares she was getting in return told her everything she needed to know.
"I discovered I was on Earth in Los Angeles and I had been deposited in a back alley right next to Hollywood Boulevard." Hekapoo continued.
"That's...insane…" Marco breathed.
"What?" Hekapoo deadpanned. "Me ending up on Earth in your hometown or you and blondie doing whatever the hell you did to mash a couple of dimensions together? Considering I've been around for a long time and thought I saw it all before the last couple of days, I think that's a lot crazier, Marco!"
Marco didn't have a comeback to that statement.
"So...to continue with my story," the redhead stated smugly. "First order of business was to get some new clothes, as running around in a giant yellow dress was impractical on Earth. Although, I seemed to fit in just fine walking around on Hollywood Boulevard. Some people even wanted to take pictures with me because they thought I was some princess or something. Either way, that wallet Glossaryck handed me was pretty useful. There was plenty of Earth money and multiple credit cards in there which I used to buy a new wardrobe. I also needed a place to stay, and at one of the stores I shopped at, the staff pointed me in the direction of a nice boutique hotel where I was able to walk right in and get a room without too much hassle. Of course, it didn't hurt that I plunked down a credit card with a high limit."
Hekapoo smirked. "I never knew Earth beds could be so comfortable. They also had great room service and plenty of TV channels...which meant I could eat in bed and watch non-stop coverage of the aftermath of what Fleshwad and the Princess had done to this dimension."
Her last comment earned her a glare from both Marco and Star. Star's expression had been particularly dark for the last few minutes.
"I also decided it was time to freshen up my hairstyle." Hekapoo continued, unaware of the two teens annoyance at her comments. "The salon right inside my hotel did a damn good job if I do say so myself…"
She twirled her new hairstyle with one of her fingers and then tossed her hair back with a satisfied grin on her face.
"Ok, Hekapoo." Marco stated flatly with his arms crossed. "I'm willing to believe that you could make a deal with Glossaryck to end up here on Earth after magic was destroyed. What I'm having a hard time believing is how you could know where you were, where to go, and what to do so easily. Especially after an event like the cleaving."
He nodded at his girlfriend. "It took a long time for Star to adjust to life on Earth when she was first sent here. It wasn't easy for her, or for me either in the beginning."
"Are you seriously that dense, Marco?" the former dimensional scissor master shot back. "What the hell did you think my job was for thousands of years? I've been to every dimension including this one multiple times! You don't think maybe I remembered what to do based on experience, or at least took some notes? Also...since you're bringing up the subject of a magical being ending up in a decidedly non-magical place. Magic...destroyed. Remember?"
"You fucking bitch…" Star spoke up finally. Her words were uttered softly, but still could be heard by everyone present.
"Excuse you?" Hekapoo looked at Star wide eyed like she couldn't believe what the former princess had just uttered. Beside Star, Marco also looked at Star in shock for what she had just said.
"Star!" Moon chided her daughter. "Language!"
"Mom...shut up…"
Now it was Moon's turn to go wide-eyed at her daughter.
"You said it yourself when you were talking to the officers earlier." Star affixed her gaze on her mother. "I'm an adult in this world...which means I'm allowed to talk however I please…"
"True…" Moon agreed. "But I'm your mother, and I expect you to act with a certain amount of decorum around me…which means not telling me to shut up!"
"Great...mom…" Star shot back. "Then I expect you not to lie to me and keep secrets! Like about secret conversations you have with Hekapoo!"
"Ouch…" Hekapoo winced. "That's some disrespect coming from your daughter, Moon…"
"When I want your fucking opinion on something, I'll ask you!" Star yelled at the redhead.
"Watch your mouth, blondie!" Hekapoo spat. "I can't help it if your mom doesn't trust you enough to tell you anything important!"
At that point, Star wanted to go over and punch the former Magical High Commission member right in the mouth...harder than she'd just finished punching Mina. But instead, she steadied herself. Meanwhile, Moon stood frozen in place, her guilt keeping her from interjecting in the dispute between her daughter and Hekapoo.
"In that case…" Star began. "I'm not keeping any secrets from anyone."
She looked at her mother. "Thank you for letting me stay at Marco's place and letting me live like a normal person for the past little while. Marco's family has treated me wonderfully the entire time I've been there. I've also cherished all the time I've been able to spend with Marco...especially the time we spend sleeping together in his bedroom…"
Marco facepalmed with embarrassment over this revelation. Moon just looked at her daughter with a blank expression. Further away, Eclipsa, who had been sitting quietly with her husband and daughter watching the whole scene unfold, put her hand to her mouth to stifle a giggle. Star's determination to be as intimate with her love as much as possible brought back so many memories of when she and Globgor first became a couple.
"Way too much information, Star…" Hekapoo deadpanned with her arms crossed.
"As for you…" Star's voice dropped to almost a whisper as she addressed the former magical creature. "I meant what I said about you. You thought you could get away with it...but then the cleaving wrecked your plans."
"I don't know what the hell you're talking about…" the former high commission member arched her eyebrow.
"You made the deal with Glossaryck because you love Marco." Star stated quietly.
"What?" Hekapoo asked incredulously. Beside Star, Marco also had an incredulous expression on his face.
"You knew that if magic got destroyed there would be no way to travel between dimensions. So, I wouldn't be able to see Marco again. But...neither would you. Unless, you made a deal to be transported to this dimension." Star's voice began to rise.
"Then...you could have found him and been able to console him over the loss of not only his best friend, but the girl he finally was able to confess his love to…the girl he would never be able to see again!" Star grew angrier.
"Did magic going away also make your brain stop working?" Hekapoo shot back. "Stop inventing ridiculous stories!"
"But then…" Star ignored her. "Marco and I found a way for us to be together. In spectacular fashion I might add. I guess it really disappointed you to see us together."
A scowl formed on the redhead's face. Star knew she was getting to her.
"Admit it!" she yelled at Hekapoo. "Admit that you're in love with Marco and you wanted to get me out of the picture by letting me destroy magic!"
"I'm not admitting anything!" Hekapoo roared. "I don't have time to deal with this kind of madness and stupidity! Or with a former princess that's out of her mind! In fact, you should be happy that we showed up in the first place!"
She pointed emphatically to where Eclipsa, Meteora, and Globgor were standing. "If it wasn't for me and Talon, they'd all be dead!"
"She's correct." Eclipsa spoke. "Hekapoo and her companion saved us from the humans who wanted to do us deadly harm."
She spoke directly to the two black clad figures. "For what it's worth, I believe we owe you a debt of gratitude."
"You're welcome…" Hekapoo responded with a smug look. "In fact, that's two times I've saved you personally. Anymore and I'll have to start keeping score…"
"That's it...I've had enough..." Star turned on her heels and started to walk away from everyone.
"Star...wait!" Moon called after her. Star turned back to face her mother.
"No mother. I'm done with all of this. I'm done dealing with all the mistakes our kingdom made in the past. I'm done with trying to solve all the problems both in the old world and this new one. I spent a year and a half shoveling all these problems around like they were piles of warnicorn shit, and I don't want to do it anymore."
"Marco?" She addressed her boyfriend. "Please take me back to your place...away from all of this…"
Star began to walk away from the group. Marco was still in shock from seeing Hekapoo and Talon again, on top of still trying to process the multitude of events that had gone on that day. But seeing that he didn't have any answers, and also not a lot of options to find the answers to all the questions in his mind, Marco eventually decided his best option at that point was to follow his girlfriend.
"Hey! Isn't anyone wondering how I ended up here?" Talon asked no one in particular loudly. He'd been strangely silent the entire time Star and Hekapoo had been going at each other.
"Not the time right now, Talon!" Hekapoo swatted him hard on the arm. The large eagle like creature winced at how hard she hit him.
"Actually…" Marco suddenly stopped and turned around. "I'm interested to hear how you got here, Talon."
"Come on, Marco!" Star called to him impatiently. "I need you to drive Nachos to get us both home!"
"Maybe right now isn't such a good time though." Marco offered sympathetically.
"Can I at least contact you or something?" Talon asked hopefully.
"Sure. Maybe we can hang out sometime and you can tell me how you got here." Marco suggested.
"Awesome! Hey, Marco. It's good to see you again, buddy! I didn't think we'd ever get another chance to ride together!"
"Likewise, Talon. I missed you too."
Marco started following Star again to head home. Hekapoo just scowled at Talon with her arms crossed. She then shifted her angry gaze to the retreating forms of Star and Marco.
Meanwhile, Moon stood silently and surveyed the entire situation with a feeling of dread. Her and Eclipsa's jobs had just gotten much more difficult.
The sun was beginning to set for the day as Marco expertly landed Nachos on the front lawn of his house. As soon as they landed, Star hopped off the Dragoncycle and strode up to the front door. Before entering, she pulled her helmet off her head, letting her flowing blonde locks cascade down her back. Wordlessly, she opened the door to the Diaz house and went inside.
Marco sighed as he watched Star enter his home. She hadn't said anything on the ride home. She did, however, manage to hold on tightly to him during the journey. Maybe even tighter than earlier in the day. Almost like she didn't want to let go for fear of losing him. It was a familiar feeling, as they had held each other the same way not that long ago as the Realm of Magic crumbled around them.
He scratched his Dragoncycle under her chin, earning him a satisfied purr from Nachos.
"Head around to the backyard, girl," he told her. "I'll make sure someone gives you some food to eat."
Nachos responded with a grunt and a whimper. She was definitely hungry, but she was also concerned about Star's wellbeing. She knew in her own way that Star was incredibly special to Marco.
As Nachos disappeared around the side of the house, Marco pulled his own helmet off his head and stepped through the front door. On the other side, in the living room, his parents were sitting on the couch in front of the television.
"Son!" Rafael exclaimed. "You're finally back!"
"Marco!" Angie added. "We wondered what had happened to you! Is everything alright with you and Star?"
"Yes, is everything ok?" Raphael inquired worriedly. "She entered the house not long before you but she barely said a word before running upstairs. In fact, she looked quite upset."
"You didn't break up with her, did you?" Angie asked wide eyed.
Marco held up his hands. "No, it's not anything like that! We didn't break up! Have either of you seen the news lately?"
"Yes, we were watching the news and saw the reports of what happened at the Monster Temple today." His father nodded. "That is why we were relieved to see both of you return to the house...even though we are still confused as to why Star is so upset."
"Well...me and Star were right in the middle of all that chaos that happened today." Marco stated. "It's a big reason why she's so upset right now. You have no idea all the crazy things we witnessed today."
"Like your father said, we watched the news reports." Angie replied. "It looked terrifying. It must have been even worse being there in person. Those people, they were carrying guns…and they were shooting them..."
Angie trailed off. She began to get tears in her eyes and proceeded to climb off the couch and hurried towards Marco.
"I'm sorry, Marco. I was more concerned about your relationship with Star than both of your wellbeing…" Angie embraced Marco while tears fell down her face."
"Thanks, Mom…" Marco returned the hug. "Me and Star were able to handle ourselves, though. We're a team and we have each other's back."
"I'm glad…" Angie sniffed. "Marco...Star is the best thing that's ever happened to you...to this family. Cherish her and protect her...always."
"I think it might actually be the other way around sometimes." Marco smiled at his mother. Angie just arched her eyebrow at her only son. "Either way, I'd better go upstairs and check on her."
He started to head towards the stairs to the second floor of his house, then stopped and turned around.
"Oh yeah. Hey, Dad? Can you make up some of your bean dip? I need to give Nachos something to eat."
Rafael and Angie both exchanged confused glances with each other.
"Marco...who is Nachos?" his father finally asked.
"Oh...she's my Dragoncycle. She's in the backyard right now. Don't worry, she doesn't bite or anything like that. But, she's pretty hungry right now and I know she'll love your bean dip."
"Is that one of those creatures I saw flying around in the sky today that sounds like a motorcycle?" Angie asked.
"Yes, they're part pet and part mode of transportation." Marco nodded. "Nachos has been with me ever since I went to that dimension where sixteen years passed, but I was only gone for eight minutes."
"Well, then. If she is your pet, I shall make up a most excellent batch of my famous bean dip just for her!" Raphael exclaimed as he rose off the couch to head to the kitchen.
"Thanks, Dad!" Marco called after him.
"Don't worry, Mom." Marco assured his mother. "Nachos is like a big dog with wings. Treat her right, and she'll love you"
"If you say so, honey." Angie nodded to him while glancing at Raphael nervously. "I'll make sure that everything is ok down here. Go upstairs and check on Star."
"Got it." Marco acknowledged. He proceeded to climb the stairs to the second floor of his house.
Upon arriving at the door to his room, Marco stopped for a moment. Given that Star was obviously upset, he didn't want to just barge into his room, assuming she was even in his room right now. He listened intently at his door to see if he could pick up any sounds from inside. Initially, he couldn't hear any signs of life from the other side of the door. But then, he was able to faintly hear quiet sniffing coming from his room. Slowly and carefully, Marco opened the door to his bedroom.
What he saw next made him both incredibly sad and heartbroken at the same time. In the fading light, he saw Star lying on his bed curled up into a fetal position. The sniffing he heard before he entered was her crying. It appeared the dam had finally broken, and the emotions from everything that had transpired that day were finally flowing out of her.
Marco stood frozen in place, unsure what-if anything-he should have been doing for her. He'd never seen her like this before. Star was the bravest, and most tenacious person he'd ever known. It was what had drawn him to her, and ultimately made him fall in love with her. But here she was, sobbing on his bed and completely distraught.
But then, Star raised herself up to her knees and looked right at him. "Marco…" she whispered as tears streamed down her face. That was all it took for him to spring into action. Like the first night they had spent together after cleaving their worlds together, Marco crawled onto his bed next to Star. As soon as he had done so, she grabbed him around his waist and buried her head in his chest. Her sobbing became louder and more pronounced as Marco put his arms around her and began gently stroking her hair.
Seeing her like this broke his heart in ways he couldn't even begin to describe. She had endured so much on Mewni when she was acting queen, then endured even more to help Eclipsa rule the kingdom. Then came the destruction of magic, her and Marco having to say goodbye to each other-for all they knew forever-and then the cleaving happened. Even though they were both overjoyed to finally be with each other, the events of the day had caused considerable pain and grief for the both of them. Seeing her old enemy, Mina, show up today caused her tremendous anguish. Her reaction and fight with the Solarian general were proof enough. Then, Hekapoo had shown up as well. Marco wasn't sure that he agreed with her assertion that the former dimensional scissor master was in love with him, but he did know that her appearance caused Star to become even more enraged.
Marco couldn't tell how long they stayed there on his bed. It was long enough for the sun to have set and his room to become dark. Thankfully, as the light faded away to night, Star's sobbing slowly subsided. She was now breathing softly into his chest. Marco wondered if she had fallen asleep while in his arms. He suddenly felt a strong urge to want to fall asleep himself. Even though the position they were in was due to Star being so upset, he couldn't help but notice how soft and cuddly she felt right now. However, a soft knocking at his bedroom door caused him to break his focus.
Marco gently unwrapped himself from Star and lay her head on one of the pillows. He was relieved to see that her eyes were closed and she was breathing peacefully. He climbed off his bed and quietly padded over to his door. Opening the door, he saw his mother standing on the other side. Seeing as he didn't want to disturb Star, he slid out of his room and into the hallway.
"Your father managed to feed your pet without too much trouble." His mother announced. "But I'm here to check on you and Star. Is everything alright with her?"
"I think so." he replied. "When I came in, she was really upset and crying so I comforted her as best I could. But now she's way calmer and I think she might even be asleep."
"I see what you mean…" Angie pointed to Marco's red hoodie. It had a large wet spot on his chest from Star's tears. "Give it to me and I'll throw it in with the laundry for tomorrow."
Without a word, Marco unzipped his signature item of clothing and handed it to his mother.
"I have an idea." she continued. "If you want, I can put a pot of tea on and you can bring a cup up to your room for Star if she wakes up."
"That's a really good idea, Mom." Marco agreed. He also felt the pangs of hunger gnawing at his stomach. "I think I'm going to make up some nachos for myself and Star as well. Neither of us ate a lot today and all the crazy events didn't help."
"I'm sure she'll appreciate anything you do for her." Angie nodded with a smile. "Marco...I'm so proud of you. Star is a strong woman both physically and in willpower who won't back down from anything, but sometimes even she needs someone to lean on. You've become that person."
"Thanks, mom." he smiled at her. "She's the best thing that's ever happened to me. I almost lost her for good literally a few days ago. I want to be here for her for the rest of our lives."
"I know you will, Marco…" Angie gave her only son a one-armed hug as they both made their way down the hall and towards the main floor of their house.
Not too long afterwards, Marco led the way back to his room with a bowl of tortilla chips drenched in melted cheese. His mother was right behind him carrying a tray with two freshly brewed cups of tea. Marco stopped in front of his bedroom door, and gently opened it. On the other side he could see that the light on his nightstand was now illuminated. Star was sitting up on his bed with her legs hanging over the side. She'd removed her headband along with her boots and was currently staring at a spot on the ceiling. Marco put the bowl of nachos down on the bed next to Star, and quickly exited to get the cups of tea from his mother. He took one in each hand-stopping to give his mother a peck on the forehead as a way of saying thank you-then re-entered his bedroom shutting the door with his foot.
He handed one of the cups of tea to Star-in this case decorated with pink and white stripes-and kept his own solid brownish red one for himself. Marco then sat down on the bed with the bowl of nachos between him and Star, and proceeded to take a sip of his tea. It was exactly to his liking. He also grabbed some chips from the bowl and popped them into his mouth. Star also took a sip of her tea. Marco had made sure her cup had extra sugar and milk added, which was also just how she liked it. She proceeded to mimic Marco in taking some of the cheese covered tortilla chips and putting them in her mouth as well.
Both of them sipped their drinks and ate their food in silence. Marco wasn't sure if Star was feeling any better due to the fact, she hadn't said anything for what was now at least a couple of hours. He also was very hesitant to try to start any conversation. Even though he had been able to comfort her when she had broken down, in his "Marco mind" he was still wary of causing her any more anguish. She'd been through enough lately.
Finally, after taking a long sip of her tea-and then staring into her cup as if the answers she was searching for were at the bottom of it-Star finally spoke.
"Marco…" she began in an almost inaudible voice. "Did we fuck up?"
This was not what Marco expected her to ask him after being silent for a number of hours. He also had to think carefully exactly how to answer her question.
"It depends. I don't know what exactly you're referring to." he replied after some thought. "Are you talking about what happened today?
It wasn't the best answer he could come up with, but at least he was trying to engage her and find out how deep her anguish was. He wasn't prepared for the answer she gave him, however.
"No...I'm talking about everything."
This is not good...not good at all… Panic set in as Marco realized that Star was severely down on herself and likely blaming herself for everything bad-perceived or otherwise-that had occurred since the cleaving. Or worse, still dwelling on the divisions and hatreds that plagued her home dimension, and had carried over to this one. Thinking back to his mother's words, however, focused his mind and steadied his emotions. He knew exactly what he had to do.
"No fucking way, Star…" Marco said with conviction. Star gasped slightly, and finally turned her head to look at him. Marco gazed back into her beautiful eyes-which were tinged with red from crying- with a look of determination on his face.
"I will never regret anything I've ever done with you, whether it's right or wrong. Four and a half years ago you literally crashed into my life. My life that was orderly, safe, and routine, but also drab and lifeless."
He chuckled at the memory. "When I first met you, you were attacking a water fountain. I wasn't sure what the hell to make of you. I certainly didn't want to be paired up with you simply because I was the safe kid. But I ended up being caught up in a whirlwind that was a magical princess from another dimension, and it ended up being the greatest ride I've ever been on in my life."
Marco smiled at his girlfriend. "Star…looking back at everything. I don't give a damn if we made every mistake in the book. Hell...we probably made the same fucking mistakes two and three times. But it doesn't matter, because we made them together."
Star continued to stare at Marco silently with a blank expression. But Marco noticed a small upturn in the corners of her lips. He smiled inwardly knowing his words were helping her feel better.
"What choice did we have, Star?" he asked. "Mina was going to slaughter all the monsters. Our friends were all going to die. You had to make a difficult decision in a short timeframe, and you made the best choice you could."
"But we wouldn't have been able to see each other again with no magic…" Star objected quietly. "Or...what would have happened to us if we stayed in the Magic Realm as it was dying?"
"You said it yourself, remember? We would have figured something out because we were together. Or...we'd have been together all the way to the end…" Marco stopped as he didn't want to contemplate what would have happened if they hadn't been able to escape using the last bits of magic left in the crumbling dimension.
"Star…" Marco continued. "The worst I've ever felt in my life was when I woke up on earth and realized that I was safe but that I'd never be able to see you again. Then...I managed to feel even worse when I was able to get close to the portal, only for it to disappear and I thought I lost you forever. I was so happy when you appeared in front of me...I didn't care that there was complete chaos surrounding me. You were all that mattered…"
Now Star could feel her tears coming back, except they were because she was so moved by what her boyfriend was telling her.
"When you told your mom about our living arrangements, I felt a little bit embarrassed at first. But...waking up in the same bed as you every morning has been amazing. Even though we've only been together officially for a short time, it feels like we've been together as a couple for years. You're my best friend, my princess, the sunshine that wakes me up every day and the shining star in the night sky when I go to sleep. I...I love you Star Butterfly..."
Star took a giant sip of her tea in order to drain her cup. She placed the cup on the ground as she hopped off Marco's bed. Now standing straight up, she placed herself directly in front of him as he sat on the bed. She took his own almost empty cup out of his hands, and placed it where she had been sitting, next to the mostly eaten nachos. Before Marco could ask what she was doing, Star jumped on top of him knocking him over onto his back. Her lips crashed into his as she used all of the strength of her body to keep his body flat on his bed. It was the same move that she had used earlier that day when they had woken up in the morning. Only now there was even more passion behind it
Again, Marco tried to resist Star's passionate affection towards him. Again, it was futile. He hoped he wouldn't pass out from lack of oxygen due to Star's mouth being welded to his. Their make out session lasted for several minutes as Star kept Marco pressed against his bed. Eventually they both needed to come up for air. In Star's case, it was reluctantly. In Marco's case, he needed to suck in his breath. Marco panted hard as Star kept her face just inches away from his own.
"Marco...Ubaldo...Diaz…" she enunciated every word. "I don't know what I'd do without you…"
Star gave him another brief kiss to punctuate what she was saying.
"I can't even begin to put into words what you mean to me, both now and in the past. As my best friend, the person I've gone on so many awesome adventures with, of course as my loyal squire, and especially now becoming my boyfriend."
Her face fell a little bit. "I'm sorry for what happened today and how I reacted. Seeing Mina again and what she tried to do...how she turned some people in this world against the monsters...it was just too much for me. I guess I was a bit naive to think that her and her ideas wouldn't end up in the new world."
"That's the thing, Star." Marco offered. "No matter what dimension we're in, there will always be a group that's scared of things that are different and that they don't understand. There are still a lot of people in this country who think I should be sent back to Mexico or wherever. Even though I was born in the United States and I'm a citizen by law."
"Those people are idiots, Marco…" Star gently lifted herself off her boyfriend and sat up on his bed. Marco also sat up next to her. Star wrapped her arms around him and nestled her head under his chin.
"I'm so grateful for what you did for me earlier when I was so upset. I once told you that I didn't need a hero, I needed a friend. Those were a poor choice of words, because it made you think I didn't care for you in that way. That was why you had such a hard time telling me how you really felt about me up until recently, or even like that time in the photo booth when it ended up being really awkward...right?"
Marco nodded silently.
"Marco...I've cared about you that way for a long time. I just wasn't very good at communicating it to you. I could have solved a lot of problems and avoided a whole bunch of drama if I had told you back at the Blood Moon that what I needed was someone to have my back. Someone I could lean on when things got rough. You did that anyway. Even if I was too immature or just dumb to figure out what was going on, you stuck with me through pretty much everything."
She stopped to stare at his face again. "I love you as well, Marco Diaz. I always have...I just didn't know it…"
This time Marco leaned in to kiss her. "Now...about Hekapoo and my Mom…" Star grew serious again.
"Star...nothing ever happened between me and Hekapoo outside of riding Dragoncycles together, working on closing your sleep portals, and sometimes hanging out at the Dragon Spit Tavern."
She put a hand to his cheek and smiled. "I trust you completely, Marco. But I've never really trusted Hekapoo, or the entire Magic High Commission for that matter. Not after what they did to Eclipsa. It also didn't help at all that my Mom is still keeping secrets and going behind my back with her."
"Eclipsa did say that Hekapoo saved her a second time." Marco countered. "Hekapoo also saved all of us from Mina on Mewni…"
"Which makes me wonder even more what her ultimate game is…" Star broke the embrace they were in and looked at Marco.
"As for my mom…" Star looked away forlornly. "I'm going to have to have a serious talk with her. She's my mom and I love her, but this keeping secrets from me is getting to be ridiculous."
She looked back at Marco with a smile. "This is why I love your parents so much. They treat me the same way you treat me."
Marco kissed the top of her head. "They really do love you like a daughter. So...changing the subject...not that I want to get away from you or anything, but is it alright if I clean up and have a shower?"
Star just giggled. "So, you're saying I stink, Diaz?"
Marco rolled his eyes. "No...that's not what I'm saying, Star."
Star giggled even harder and gave him a quick kiss. "I know, silly. Go right ahead. I'll use the bathroom after you."
Marco crawled off the bed and headed towards his bathroom. Meanwhile, Star glanced towards his closet. She thought about the shopping trip she had made a couple of days ago with Janna and Ponyhead, and the items of clothing she had picked up that were currently stashed in there. She had bought them with Marco very much in mind. The more she thought about what she had purchased, the more she came to the conclusion that tonight was an excellent night to model them for her boyfriend. With a satisfied grin, she moved off the bed over to the closet to grab the items so she'd be able to change into them when it was her turn to use the bathroom.
Around forty-five minutes later Marco lay on his bed in his sleep clothes. Which, in this case, consisted of his usual grey t-shirt and cloth boxer shorts. He was entertaining himself viewing a video from the internet on his TV in the corner of his room while he waited for Star to finish up in the bathroom and join him in his bed. Marco almost didn't notice when his girlfriend entered the room, since his room was completely dark other than the light from his screen. He was about to point out to her how she needed to check out the video, when he caught sight of her and suddenly forgot all about what was happening on his TV screen.
Star stood before him, bathed by the light of his television, wearing a lilac colored sleep bra and panty set. The material was made of a shiny silk and satin material, made even shinier by the pale illumination of Marco's TV. Her hair was completely down, also seeming to shine in the light. Marco had never been this lost for words in his entire life. He had also never seen as much of Star as he was seeing her right now. Even during their beach day, she hadn't shown this much of her body.
Marco couldn't take his eyes off the vision in front of him. He drank in her flat, toned stomach, honed from so many battles. Her shapely and athletic legs, made that way from her constant running. Her modest, but still round and perky breasts, which looked amazing being held up by her bra. Finally, his eyes made it down to her spectacular butt. It looked like perfection in her shiny panties that fit around her slender waist and tight cheeks. His mind wandered to all the nights they had spent sleeping together. He couldn't help letting his hands roam down to her backside when they were wrapped around each other in the middle of the night. Even when they were "just friends," and they spent time together huddled together on his couch watching TV or a movie, he secretly loved it when she leaned into him and rested her butt up against his body. It was his unequivocally favorite part of her body.
"Do you...do you like it...Marco?" Star inquired softly. "I went shopping a couple of days ago with Janna and Ponyhead, and when I saw these on the model at the store, I knew I had to get it so I could show it to you. It might not look as good on me as someone else, though. I know...I know that I don't have the same body or the same curves as Jackie…"
Hearing her speak broke him out of the trance seeing her had put him in. Star didn't have the same body as Jackie Lynn Thomas, this was true. But it had been a long time now since he had dated her. In the meantime, he had fallen in love with someone who made him feel so much more than a simple crush. He would always be grateful for his time with Jackie, and he was glad he could still be friends with her. But she would never be Star Butterfly.
"You look perfect…" he breathed.
"Really?" Star was taken aback.
"Jackie is a pretty girl...there's no denying that," he began. "I even thought I truly loved her. But in reality, I was only projecting my feelings onto her."
"Projecting?" Star inquired.
"The feelings I had for you, Star. Jackie is an awesome person, and I'm really glad I got to know her. But the reason why we broke up-on top of the fact that I couldn't stay on Earth without going on and on about Mewni-was that she knew that at the end of the day I couldn't give her my heart. Because I already gave it to you…"
Star let out a soft gasp as she realized what Marco was saying. She could feel her own heart beat faster as she approached the bed.
"Turn off the TV and turn on the light, Marco," she addressed him. Marco quickly shut off his TV with the remote and leaned over to his nightstand to turn on the bedside light. With more illumination in the room, Star sat down on Marco's bed in front of him.
"Take off your shirt, Marco," she directed him. Marco complied and removed his t-shirt. Now it was Star's turn to admire his body. He didn't have a lot of muscle definition in his chest or abdominals, but he made up for it in overall muscle tone. Karate had done great things to his body, not to mention all the fighting he had done alongside her. She was becoming transfixed by how nice his body looked when a naughty thought crossed her mind.
"Did Jackie ever let you touch her?" she asked coyly. "Like say...did she ever let you touch her breasts?
Marco looked away nervously. "Only through her shirt a couple of times. I was really nervous about it too wherever we did that. It's a good thing she was always so chill about me being inexperienced."
Wordlessly, Star reached around to her back and unhooked the clasps on her bra. Letting the article of clothing fall off the bed and onto the floor, she let Marco fully view the two hidden treasures that were now on display.
"Whenever you're ready...Marco…" She smiled at him warmly.
Marco had never felt more ready in his entire life. Without hesitation he reached out with his hands and touched her breasts. Slowly he began to softly squeeze them, reveling at how they felt in his hands. They both felt incredibly soft, yet they were also firm and pert. They glowed pale in the soft light of Marco's room. He ran his fingers over her soft pink areolas and gently squeezed her nipples. Star could feel the electricity of his touch on her bare chest. A soft moan escaped her lips as Marco began massaging her breasts gently.
Feeling bold, Marco pulled himself closer to her. He dipped his head down and began using his mouth, first on her left breast, then on her right. His tongue darted out of his mouth to lick at her areolas, causing her nipples to stiffen as she became more aroused. Her moans became louder as the pleasure was building up inside of her. Marco began to work on each of her nipples, swirling his tongue around on the pointy bumps and sucking on them with his mouth. Star began arching her back at the sensations he was making her feel.
Down below, Star could feel the soft silky material of her panties rubbing against her. She reached down and began to touch herself gently through her underwear. The feeling of her fingers against her panties pleasuring her womanhood felt incredible, and only fueled her arousal and desire. With her other free hand, Star began roaming down around Marco's lower body, caressing the material of his boxer shorts. It didn't take long for her hand to find his manhood, fully at attention.
She slowly started stroking him through his shorts, which elicited his own moans of pleasure. Taking her hand away from her lower body, she grabbed one of his hands and guided it down to where she had just been pleasuring herself. Without hesitation, his fingers began to slide up and down her smooth panties, earning a gasp and a moan from her. Star became even more aroused at his technique than when she had been pleasuring herself with her own digits. Marco stopped worshipping her breasts and brought his mouth to meet hers in a passionate kiss. He slipped his tongue inside her eager mouth, while stroking her down below. She fought back with her own tongue, and he reciprocated allowing her inside his own mouth.
As they made out, and pleasured each other's sex, Star suddenly wrapped her arms around Marco and pushed him into his pillow with her body. She pressed her lower body against his, loving how his hardness felt against her intimate area. Instinct took over in both of them. They both began to rub their bodies against each other, as their pleasure continued to amplify. Marco grabbed onto Star's butt with his hands, fondling her amazing backside and reveling how her smooth satin panties felt rubbing against his palms. He pushed her cheeks towards him from behind, and drove her body against him with more force intensifying their mutual pleasure.
They were both approaching the point of no return. Star could feel her climax building steadily. Her moans became mewls and squeals of delight. Marco continued to grind against her, his own motions becoming more and more intense. Star began to feel her body shudder as she was finally nearing her limit. Her thrusts against Marco became faster and more intense with every passing second. Finally, she let out a high-pitched squeal of delight followed by moans of pleasure as waves of her climax washed over her. It felt like an explosion in her lower body. She'd never felt anything like it, certainly not in her own self-care sessions.
Not far behind her, Marco felt his own climax approaching. He'd also never experienced sensations like this before. Touching himself while dreaming about Jackie-or after a while, Star- or looking at videos on the internet was no match for this. Feeling her slender-and in his own mind-perfect body up against him engendered the most intense pleasure he'd ever experienced in his young life. He wasn't going to be able to hold out much longer. Star was still grinding away on his manhood, and he in turn started thrust even faster and harder.
Marco couldn't hold back anymore. He grabbed her bucking hips and drove himself upwards and against her. With a low grunt and a growl that sounded almost animal like, he achieved his own intense climax. Waves of pleasure crashed all around him as he felt his release leave his body. He reached around with his arms and pulled her down to him, attacking her lips with his own. Their tongues fought some more as the intensity slowly died down between them.
After breaking the kiss, both of them sat there panting hard and looking at each other. Words didn't even need to be spoken between them. They knew that they had experienced something special together. Although the bond between them was always strong, now their bond had become so much more intimate.
Eventually, Star rolled off Marco and lay on her side of the bed, still breathing deeply from their activities. Marco hopped off the bed and made his way over to his closet door and opened it. He pulled his boxer shorts off and threw them in the laundry basket inside his closet. With his other hand he grabbed some tissues from the box on his desk and began cleaning himself with them. He tossed the tissues in the waste basket next to his desk, and shut his closet while making his way over to his dresser.
Star turned her head to her right, just in time to see Marco's naked backside. She knew that he loved her butt, his hands never lied when they roamed around her body and always seemed to find their way to her backside. But, she also loved how he looked from behind as well. Seeing him in his skinny jeans made her feel weak in the knees and caused her to think of all sorts of dirty thoughts towards him.
His ass is so fucking amazing… Star thought to herself as he opened a drawer and pulled out a clean pair of boxer shorts and put them on before turning around to head back to bed. Marco crawled back onto his bed, and was about to put his shirt back on, when Star grabbed it and threw it on the floor.
"Uh uh...tonight I want to feel your heartbeat against mine fully and completely, Diaz."
"As you wish...my beautiful Shining Star…" he said as he lifted up the covers
Star turned off the light on the nightstand and joined Marco under the covers. She wrapped her arms around him, like usual, except this time they lay together with their bare chests touching. Both of them enjoyed the feeling of each other's bare flesh, on top of basking in the glow of what they had just experienced together.
"Goodnight, Marco." Star said as she rested her head on his shoulder. "I love you…"
"I love you too, Star... "he replied contentedly.
A/N: I believe that this story is officially the longest story I've ever written, both in word count and number of chapters. I have no intention of stopping this ride any time soon. It is because of all the support I've received since the beginning that I keep doing what I'm doing. Thank you all so much for sticking with me.
By now, you know the drill. Read...review...get a response!
jkrust78