I honestly expected most of the stories in this collection to take place post-Cleaved, but here's the third story in a row that takes place during the show. Go figure. Guess that's just the way the inspiration strikes sometimes.

This picks up right at the end of "Doop-Doop."

Marco gently placed his hand on his best friend's shoulder. "It's so good to see you," he said slowly, watching as she happily smiled back at him. Though he had departed from Mewni to move back home just a few hours prior, Marco felt like it had been ages since he had seen her.

Star felt exactly the same way. Why had the last few hours felt like days? "Yeah! It's...it's good to be back!" She turned to Mr. and Mrs. Diaz on her other side. "You guys don't mind if I come back to stay for a little while, do you?"

"Of course we do not mind, Star!" Rafael exclaimed.

Mrs. Diaz laughed. "You're always welcome in our home."

Home. Star's heart skipped a beat, and baby Mariposa, still cradled in her arms, looked up at her as if sensing the palpitation. "Aw, you guys! You're the best!"

"Just one little thing," Angie said. "Maybe no magical tower this time? We just had a contractor out to see about fixing the hole in the roof over the guest room."

Star chuckled nervously. "Oh, heh heh. Sorry about that. I can sleep on the couch."

"Thanks, Star!"

The former princess looked back down at Mariposa in her arms. "Ooooooh, aren't you just the most adorable thing I've ever seen in my life! So precious!" she cooed as she tickled the baby's cheek. "You've even got the same cute little mole as your big brother!"

Mariposa giggled, seeming perfectly content in Star's arms.

Marco watched his best friend, thinking to himself that Star had definitely improved her infant-handling, carefully cradling his little sister as opposed to the way she had haphazardly tossed Buff Frog's tadpoles to him just last year. But, excited as he was to have Star unexpectedly show up at his door, he was also brimming with burning questions he desperately wanted to ask, and he didn't want to do so in front of his parents.

Angie noticed her son's quiet, nervous shifting and sensed that Marco appeared intent on having a bit of privacy with his best friend. "Rafael, why don't we run out and pick up some takeout for all of us for dinner?"

"Okay! I will get my keys!"

"Can you guys watch Mariposa for us?" Mrs. Diaz asked. "We won't be gone too long."

"Oh, don't worry, Mrs. Diaz. Marco and I have tons of babysitting experience!"

"Yeahhhhh...tonnns..." Marco said, trying not to roll his eyes.

When the Diaz's had left a few moments later, and the two teenagers were left alone with Mariposa, Marco found himself tongue-tied, suddenly unsure of what to say. He followed Star as she made her way over to the familiar living room couch with Mari and sat down beside her.

"Star, I...You...It's so awesome that you're here. I honestly didn't expect to see you for quite awhile. I was already really missing you," he said softly. "But...why are you here? Shouldn't you be on your trip with Tom?"

Star sighed and shifted Mariposa slightly to better support the baby's head. "Yeah. I should be. But...I just...I couldn't."

"Why not?"

"Because..." Star wasn't entirely sure how to answer that question. She knew why she hadn't wanted to go, but she wasn't sure how to adequately put it into words. "Because...I feel...lost."

Marco raised a confused eyebrow. "Lost?"

"Well, like...okay, I'm not a princess anymore. Eclipsa doesn't need me. My parents have their own new place in the world, but that place is a village made up of people still loyal to them that hate Eclipsa and monsters." She looked up, her vibrant blue eyes meeting Marco's warm brown ones. Over the course of the last year, Marco had seen those same eyes countless times, nearly every day, but they had never before seemed so...lifeless. Their usual enthusiastic sparkle was missing.

Star went on. "I don't know who I am, or where I belong. So...I'm lost." She sadly shook her head. "I just didn't feel right going on a trip now when I wasn't even sure where it was I would come back to when it was over."

Marco's heart dropped into the pit of his stomach. He put a comforting hand on Star's shoulder. "Oh...well, what about Tom? I'm sure he could help you figure out-"

"He got mad at me."

Marco was taken aback. That didn't sound like the Tom he knew. Or...maybe it wasexactly the Tom he knew. He wasn't sure. He watched a single tear roll down Star's cheek. "Oh..."

Star wiped the moisture away with her shoulder so as to not lose her hold on Mariposa, who was dozing off to sleep in her arms. "Yup. He went on the trip all by himself." She swallowed back a sob, managing to hold her composure. "I guess I can't really blame him. I've been feeling like this for a while now...I've just been stalling, I guess, hoping I'd figure it out before it was time to leave for our trip, but..." She let out a deep breath. "It's been a lot harder than I thought it would be. I should have just told Tom sooner. With everything that's been going on, I've probably been neglecting him. He was really looking forward to this trip and finally having some alone time with me where I wouldn't be surrounded by my family's constant drama to distract me...and then I told him I didn't want to go..."

They both leaned back into the couch. For a few minutes, neither said a word. They just stared at Mariposa nestled in Star's arms, peacefully sleeping.

"I'll help you."

Star turned. "Huh?"

"I'll help you figure out where you belong. You know...if you want me to. Summer just started, my schedule is pretty open. We'll figure it out together. And if you don't want my help, then...we'll just have an awesome summer together."

A grin crept its way onto Star's face. "You know something, Marco? We have our disagreements now and then, but you always know just what to say when it matters the most."

Marco smiled. "Well, you know...I try."

"Hey, you know what I just realized? Just about a year ago is when I had to leave Earth, right at the beginning of summer."

"Oh, yeah, I forgot about that."

Star took a slow, deep breath. "I think I need to figure out where I belong in the universe on my own, without really looking for it. So, now that I'm back on Earth...what do you say we pick up right where we left off last time - minus the Song Day drama-"

"Absolutely!"

"-And have the awesome summer we were supposed to have together last year! I'm sure my problems will work themselves out in time."

Marco was going to make a quip about Star running away from her problems, but he decided now was not the time for that. "Sounds awesome to me! If that's what you need, then let's do it!" A tiny moan escaped from Mariposa's mouth. Marco had nearly awoken his little sister with his outburst. He lowered his voice. "Maybe we oughta put Mari in her crib."

"Yeah, good idea," Star whispered back.

Marco lead the way, tiptoeing up the stairs into the nursery. Star gently laid the tiny girl inside the bassinet, and Marco lovingly covered his sister with a blanket. Then they crept from the room and pulled the door closed, finding themselves alone in the upstairs hallway.

"Why here, Star?"

She cocked her head to the side in confusion. "What?"

"You could have stayed on Mewni if you needed time to figure things out. Why'd you come here?"

Star sighed again, but this time it wasn't a dejected, frustrated, lonesome sigh. It was a contented, wistful sigh, her lips curving into a tiny grin as she reached out and brushed the wall with her finger tips. "When I was a princess, I was expected to be perfect and responsible. When I was with Eclipsa, I had a responsibility to keep her out of trouble and in good standing with the kingdom. When I'm with Tom..." Star's voice trailed off. She chose not to finish that thought. "But in Echo Creek...in this house...no one expects anything of me. Mewni might be where I'm from, but right here..." She smiled softly as her gaze wandered up and down the hallway, silently reminiscing about everything that had transpired during the time she had lived in this house. "This is where I feel the most at home." She turned back to Marco and their eyes locked. Marco could see that the joyful sparkle in his best friend's eyes had abruptly returned. "Right here, with my best friend...this is my happy place," she said softly.

Marco felt a rush of affection for Star. "Really?"

She nodded. "I may not know who I am, or what my purpose is..." She leaned back against the wall. "...but there's no place where I feel like I truly belong more than here."

"Aw, Star..." Marco moved to lean beside her, grinning at her with reverence. "I really am so glad that you're here..."

"Me too." She stood. "Hey, I never got a hug hello when I got here. Can I have one now?"

"Oh, haha, of course!"

They wrapped their arms around each other in a friendly embrace. Marco started to let go, but Star didn't seem interested in ending the hug yet, so he indulged and continued to hold onto her.

As they stood together in the hallway each enjoying the other's presence, a thought worked its way around inside of Star's head.

I didn't start feeling lost and unsure of myself until right after Marco left Mewni. Maybe it's not Earth, or this house, Star thought to herself. Maybe my happy place is just...wherever Marco is...