A/N: Well, this was one hell of a chapter to figure out, but I think I've managed to do it! Would love feedback on this one (you'll see why.)

Enjoy the chapter!

Replies to the latest reviews:

Sugar: Yes, they could; unfortunately, I am the author and my solution is a bit more creative.

archivewriter3: What makes it even better is that I later checked how much that was, and it turns out it's only around 30x30 meters xD...

InfiniteClockWise: Please speak in a human language, preferably English. Thank you.

Rock Raider: After illegally harbouring her for months? Yeah, good luck with that idea. Anyway, I don't really consider this a spoiler since her official artwork has THE FRIGGIN' BLOOD MOON IN THE BACKGROUND, but maybe she is related to it somehow xDD...

Disclaimer: I do not claim the right to Star vs. the Forces of Evil or any of the characters that appear in the show. They belong to Disney and the show's creator, Daron Nefcy. I do, however, claim the right to the plot as well as any original characters that may appear in this fic, and would kindly ask you to inform me should you want to use anything from this fic in your own story. -jolleIQ

Beta read by ElleFreak.

Story cover by Luzz015. Be sure to check her out on DeviantArt!


Star vs. The Forces of Evil: Staring it up!

Chapter 9

Family

Part 4

Marco could only stare at his girlfriend with wide, unblinking eyes, yet somehow her statement didn't come as a complete surprise. He would be lying to himself if he said that he hadn't been expecting her to eventually pop this question, given how close she and Zora had grown, he only wasn't expecting it to come so soon. But he had to make sure he wasn't the one misunderstanding something.

"You mean, have our parents take her or...?

"No, Marco..." Star said, looking off to the side in hopes of hiding her cherry-tinted cheeks. "I know this sounds crazy but... I want us to take care of her." Only Star Butterfly was capable of saying something so reckless and so absurd with such a loving smile and calm voice. "It's just... I know we've only known her for a short while, but I just... don't tell you don't feel, I dunno how to say it, connected to her like I do!"

Now that she'd pointed it out, Marco did have odd feelings towards the girl. They were somewhat similar to those he felt towards his princess, yet also entirely different. The best way he could describe them was as oddly pleasant.

But he didn't answer her. How could he answer on the spot to a question like that? He needed time, lots of time to consider her request. It's not that they hadn't done far more mind-boggling things in the past, but this wasn't in the same ballpark as the routine-adventures they kept facing together on a regular basis. But could he really say no to Star, who so dearly wanted this? But could he say yes?

Star could tell that he troubled and that she would need to push him out of his safe zone, and that she needed to be persuasive. She squeezed his hands tighter, grabbing his attention.

"Marco, we're gonna have to do it eventually, so why not now, right?"

"Wha-"

What was the word he was looking for, but this was just too many surprises in a row for his brain to keep functioning normally after hearing them.

"You know about that?"

"Marco, I'm not ignorant," Star frowned. "This was something I'd thought about long before we started dating, back when I had a crush on Oscar. I, um, did some research by myself and knew the truth long before my mom and dad told you."

So she knew-

Wait a second.

"How do you know about that talk I had with your parents? I never told you about it!"

"Oh, Janna showed me your diary. You're really thorough at describing everything, you know?" She replied, her voice revealing a hint of admiration for Marco's skills of noting things down.

Really, Janna? Really?

The girl in question snickered to herself as though she'd read his thoughts.

But Marco had other things to worry about at the moment.

"Anyway, I saw what my parents told you about us probably having to adopt an heir, so I was thinking, why shouldn't it be Zora?"

Marco hummed. She was right in a sense; the girl had no parents, she loved spending time with him and Star, his parents more than obviously liked her and vice-versa, and given that, from what Star had told him, her mother had been only about a year older when she'd conceived her, he doubted that River and Moon would find the idea absurd. The the two monarchs would probably be happy that their next heir was such a clever and obedient girl as Zora.

"Star, are you saying that you really want us to adopt Zora?" The princess nodded with an earnest smile.

"I mean, we're practically married already-" her eyes drifted downwards to the silver topaz ring on her ring finger, "-and on Mewni I'm already considered an adult, so where's the problem?"

Marco nodded, but what she didn't realise was the there still was one problem.

"The problem, young lady, is that neither of you two is ready to take on such an enormous task."

Marco thought for a moment that he'd accidentally said the words aloud but realised that the manly voice didn't belong to him.

The two turned towards the CPS agent, who was frowning at them, but moreso at Marco.

"Young man, please tell me that you're not taking her proposal seriously." There was something about his tone that made Marco feel a pang of shame, his answer being an affirmative one. The man frowned as he eyed them with a concerned look. "Listen, I know what's going through your heads right now. You both think you're adults and that you're ready for something like this, but you're not."

"And who are you to judge?" Star snapped back. "You don't even know us. Any of us. I'm a magical princess and he's the absolutely best dork out there. We've been through more together than you can imagine, and we've succeeded every time!"

"Alright, but what if you fail now and the recipient of the consequences isn't either of you, but an innocent little girl you so selfishly insisted on keeping with you? Could you truly live with yourselves if something bad happened to that girl because of you?"

Star's voice caught in her throat and she closed her mouth, looking down at the ground with an apparent gloom plastered on her face. Marco clenched his fists and glared at the man who'd upset his girlfriend.

"Hey! We're the reason she's even alive! We took her in and helped nurse her back to health!" Marco countered, raising his voice. "Star's right, you don't know anything about us or our capabilities!"

"And both I and she are incredibly grateful for the wonderful job you've done, but this is where your part ends. Be honest with me; do either of you truly believe you can just take a leap into parenthood without any foreknowledge, and as teenagers? You're being reckless and you know it!" The man then added with a grim tone, hammering the final nail into the coffin. "Stop being selfish teenagers and think about her first, not yourselves. And since she's from another dimension, I'll advise you to find someone there so she'll feel more at home instead of forcing here to be n this dimension. Consider it my token of good faith."

This time it was Marco who grew silent. He wanted to answer with a yes, but he knew his brain was telling him otherwise. The truth was that neither he nor Star could even begin to imagine how it would be like to adopt a child under their name, even if the said child had been living with them happily for months.

And it's not like he'll allow my parents to adopt her, given that he was one inch short of taking them to court...

Marco remained silent, conceding the argument.

"Maybe he's right." It was Star who spoke after a time, a pained smile plastered on her normally-cheerful face. She looked at Marco with the said smile, and as much as it pained him to admit it, he couldn't say that she was wrong, because she wasn't. "She needs real parents, Marco, not us. Parents who'll know how to raise her properly and make sure she's happy and healthy."

"My parents-" Marco was about to interject, but Star cut him off.

"Both your parents and my parents could help, yeah, I get that, but it wouldn't be the same, would it?"

Yet again Marco had no proper response and wished he could punch himself in the face.

"Let's face it, Marco. Sure, we care about her and could probably keep her happy and all, but we're just not cut out to be parents yet. When my mom had me, she was way more mature than I am, so was my dad. Me? I don't even have my wand anymore!" Marco saw that Star was fighting back tears. He wanted to embrace her and tell her that it was going to be alright, but he feared that would only break her. Star took a deep, shuddering breath to calm herself, then looked at Marco with such sad eyes that he could feel his own tears slowly building up. "We've had our fun with her, but I think it's time we give her over to someone on Mewni who'll take good care of her. I'm sure my mom knows a noble or two who'd be willing to take her in and give the life she deserves!" She was speaking frantically, clearly out of her senses, and Marco felt ashamed at himself as he was only able to listen like a darn coward. "She'll be much happier than with us! She'll-"

"NO!"

The sudden cry startled the two teenagers. It was Zora, glaring at them with tear-filled eyes. "Do you think it's fair deciding this without me!? Do you think it's fair talking like this after making me feel happy for the first time in my life, and now you just want to dump me!?"

Star and Marco watched Zora's tantrum unfold with gaping-wide eyes. Tears were welling up in the girl's eyes and it took all of her willpower to prevent them from escaping and running down her face. The small girl stormed at the two and shot them a teary glare when the distance between them was reduced to a foot or two. Star and Marco could see the resentment in her eyes and the princess spoke, kneeling down and attempting to embrace the girl, "Zora, calm down, that's not what we're-"

"Don't touch me!" Zora shrieked and fought off Star's attempts at putting a hand on her shoulder, slapping away the princess' hand, shocking both her and Marco.

"Zora-"

"No!"

"Zora!"

After a brief struggle, Star managed to grab Zora's right hand and force the girl to face her.

"Zora, please, just listen!" Star pleaded, forcing herself to speak the words aloud. "That man's right. We're too young to become actual parents! You deserve someone who can! We-"

"Well I don't care about any of that!" cried Zora, loudly enough that half the town had probably heard her, the sheer frustration in her voice startling even Janna, who was looking at the happenings from the sideline. She cried on, and Star and Marco listened to every word she had to say. "I don't care how old you are! I don't care if you're inexperienced! I don't care if you'll never be my real parents! I don't care about any of that!"

"Zora..." Star muttered. Both she and Marco were at a loss for words.

The small girl sobbed loudly, the dam she'd put up just barely able to stop the tidal wave of emotions that only Zora's willpower was holding back. Zora soaked up her tears with the sleeves of her oversized kimono, trying to remain strong. She continued, choking on nearly every word. "I've had so much fun being here and spending time with the two of you... I don't know what having a family is supposed to feel like, but I don't care... I don't care... I don't care..." As Zora's sobbing continued, Star could feel her heart breaking apart; it was her fault Zora was in this pathetic state.

What was she thinking? She was an idiot. A compassionless, inconsiderate idiot.

Star pulled the girl in and hugged her tighter than she'd ever hugged anyone or anything before. This action of hers was enough to break the dam and allow the river to flow freely at last. And Zora cried. She cried and sobbed and hiccuped, and Star could feel her pain and allowed her own tears to glide down her cheeks, and Marco soon joined in on the hug, lending his emotional support both to Zora and Star, but willing himself not to cry. Somehow, he knew he had to stay strong.

"...Zora?" Star softly asked after a time, hoping that Zora was in good enough of a state to respond. To her relief, the girl had cried herself out just enough to reply very weakly.

"Yes?"

"We're sorry..." Star felt a relief wash over her after saying those words, but there was more that needed to be said. "Zora, are you happy with us? I mean, really happy being with us?"

"Mh-hmm..."

"And, if we asked you to stay with us for good, would you really not mind?"

"No..."

Stat glanced at Marco briefly, and he smiled a reassuring smile at her, telling her that he was on board with whatever was to happen.

"Are you sure this is what you this... want us?" Star finally asked in a teary yet happy tone.

"Mh-hmm..." Zora nodded lightly into her shoulder. Star broke the hug and smiled at Zora lovingly, wiping away a loose tear and kissing her on the forehead, to which Zora froze and stared at the princess with eyes wide as plates. Star giggled at the blushing girl.

"Zora Butterfly. I kinda like the sound of it!" Star declared. Zora blinked a few times, then smiled and hummed in agreement, nodding shyly.

*Ahem*

Star turned towards Marco, who was looking at her sceptically. Did she do or say something wrong?

"Correction: You mean Zora Butterfly-Diaz."

Star sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Fine, Mr. Crankypants..."

Marco smiled and interlocked his hand with hers, causing them both to blush madly.

"So, Marco, you mind if I drag you into yet another adventure?" Star asked, already knowing the answer. Or so she thought.

"Honestly, I'm still not sure if I'm ready for this one." Star's heart stopped for a second but beat faster than ever as Marco finished his sentence. "But if it's with you, then I think I'm ready for anything."

Star shot him a half-smile, half-glare.

"Dork..."

The two leant closer and shared a quick but passionate kiss.

"Eww! gross..." Zora murmured in disgust, sticking her tongue out. The two teens laughed at her antics, then the three shared another intimate hug.

"Well, looks like my job here is done," Janna muttered to herself proudly, and with a snap of her fingers, vanished in a pillar of flames.

As the trio broke the hug and shared happy smiles, Zora beaming as the sun, Marco turned towards the Cps agent, who was looking at them in shock, and declared proudly, "Sorry, dude, no deal. Can't say no to my lady, after all."

"Your lady?" Star teased playfully, well aware that the last part was aimed at her.

"Well, 'lady' is pushing it, but you get the idea."

"You're unbelievable..."

"Love you, too," Marco said cooly and turned his gaze back towards the man, who narrowed his eyes at them.

"So, is this how you've decided in the end?"

"Yep. And don't even bother trying to talk us out of it," Marco replied. Somehow, being reckless felt nice.

"Very well..." as soon as the man said that, he took out his phone and pushed a single button on it. Moments later, Star, Marco and Zora could hear numerous footsteps all around them. Marco whipped his head around and spotted several figures emerging from the trees, each pointing a gun at them. Marco glared at the man who was shooting them a sly smirk.

"Bastard."

To be continued...


Chapter end notes:

Before anyone accuses me of anything, I am not encouraging children to consider having, well, children! You should enjoy your youths and not worry about such things. However, as this is a work of fiction and the fact is that in the past it wasn't uncommon for a girl to have a child as a teenager, especially in monarchies such as the Mewman one, made me shape the plot in such a way.

Also, trust me when I say the following: all will make sense in the end.

Till next time! Bye!