Friendly reminder that the rating on this story has been bumped up to "T".
This story takes place two years post-Cleaved, when the core cast of characters are seventeen years old. It's a little tiny bit more adult than the other stories in the collection so far, but still pretty tame compared to... *ahem* ...other things I've seen in this fandom. Nothing even remotely graphic or explicit is what I'm trying to say.
Also, for no particular reason other than "I feel like it," I'm going to refer to Pony Head by her first name here. If you don't know, Pony Head's first name is "Lilacia."
"Yo, B-fly! Check it out!"
Star turned away from the clothing rack she was aimlessly browsing through to find Lilacia floating behind her. Pony Head's fuchsia-colored mane had grown long in the last year, the end swaying freely at least a foot below her neck with every one of the disembodied unicorn's movements. Attached to the end of a single long braid was a hair clip...that looked exactly like Pony Head herself.
"It's officially licensed Pony Head Show merch!" Lilacia gleefully exclaimed. "It finally made it into stores!"
"That's awesome, Pony!" Star beamed. "I'll buy one!"
"Absolutely not! If my Bestie wants officially licensed Pony Head Show merch, there is no way I am letting her pay for it!"
"Oh, you have one at home you can give me?"
"What? No! I'm just gonna take one for you! It's my merch after all."
"Uh, Pony, I don't think that's how-"
"Yeah, Pony, you do that!" Janna said, cutting Star off as she approached. The former princess opened her mouth to protest, but Janna changed the subject before Star had the chance. "I found a cool hair clip, too. Check it out." She pulled her hat off, revealing a huge purple spider the size of an adult human hand clinging to her dark hair.
"Wow! That's quite a-" Then the spider twitched its head and Star realized that it was in fact not a realistic ornamental arachnid, but rather a very real and alive spider. She jumped in surprise. "Uh, Janna, that's not a hair clip!"
"Yeah, if anything, it's more like a hat!" Lilacia snorted. "That thing is huge!"
"Yeah, it's pretty sweet," Janna said nonchalantly as she set her beanie back atop her head, shielding the spider from view. "You find anything good, Star?"
"Uh...yeahhhh..." Star slowly ventured as she watched a spindly leg protrude from beneath her friend's hat. Janna did not acknowledge it, so Star decided not to, either. "There's lots of great stuff in here, but..." She pulled a graphic T-shirt from the rack she had been browsing through. Blocky red letters spelled out the words "BORN TO BE QUEEN" across the front. "...it's not exactly my style."
Lilacia stuck out her tongue and blew a raspberry. "If I had a body, I wouldn't even let that horrible thing touch it."
Star rolled her eyes and slid the hanger back onto the rack. "I think I've had enough of the mall. Let's go do something else."
"Oh, yeah!" Lilacia agreed. "I'm ready to have some fun! Let's bounce!" She made a beeline for the doorway to the mall's main concourse, briefly pausing at the cashier to yell, "Yo! This is my merch, and I'm taking one for my best bestie! Okay? Okay!"
The stunned leaf-monster cashier raised a foliage hand to protest as Princess Pony Head bolted out of the "Temperate Subject" store. "That's-!" But Lilacia was already gone. "-not how it works..."
Star rubbed her temple. "Oh, boy..." She quickly handed the cashier a $20 bill. "I am so sorry about Pony Head. Keep the change." And she quickly hurried after the floating unicorn head, Janna snickering with quiet amusement as she trailed behind.
The trio made their way out of the mall, stepping out into the warm sunshine that bathed the parking lot. It was mid-spring in the area of Earth-ni still referred to as Echo Creek, and it was the first day of the year that felt like summer weather.
"Mmmm!" Star sighed, holding out her arms happily as she felt the sun's rays caress her face. "It's so nice and warm out today. We should go to the beach!"
"Ooh, yeah, girl!" Lilacia exclaimed. "Let's go get our tan on!"
"Do you tan?" Janna asked. "Like, you're teal, but that's hair, isn't it?"
Star abruptly stopped walking. "Hang on, I just remembered something. The last time Marco and I went to the beach last year, my swimsuit barely fit because I got so much taller. I need a new one." She thumbed over her shoulder back toward the mall. "Let's go back in and find one for me."
"And then we can get our tan on?" Pony asked hopefully.
"You still didn't answer my question about that," Janna observed.
"What question? I don't remember a question. C'mon, let's go!"
As summer rapidly approached, the mall began to stock a large assortment of swimwear. It didn't take Star long to spot an entire wall of one-piece swimsuits, the rainbow of vibrant colors easily spotted from a distance. "Ah! Here we go! Now let's see, my old one was purple...maybe I'll get a green one this time. Mm, well, I wear green a lot. Maybe yellow?" She excitedly began checking sizes and pulling any she thought was a pretty color off the rack. "Ooh, I like this one, too...Hmm...so hard to choose. What do you guys think?"
Janna and Lilacia were paying no attention to Star's excited browsing. They were eyeing a different variety of swimwear on the opposite side of the divider wall, exchanging a mischievous grin.
"I think," Janna said dramatically as she pointed to what hung before her, "you should get this."
"Yeassss, girl!" Pony Head enthusiastically agreed. "You would slay in that!"
"What is it?" Star dropped her armful of swimsuits to the floor and walked around the divider wall to see what her friends were so slyly suggesting she buy. Janna gestured to the specific item in question, and Star's eyes widened. Her heart skipped a beat, not because it was anything particularly special, but because it was something she had never in her life considered wearing before.
It was dark violet, almost black, in two pieces.
TWO.
PIECES.
And while it still provided the important areas with a decent amount of coverage, each side of the bottoms were held together by thin strings tied into a bow, and the straps of the top were quite narrow as well.
"No."
"Whaaaaat?" Lilacia moaned. "C'mon, Star! You would have every boy in a twenty mile radius wrapped around your finger in that! And, you know, probably some girls, too."
"I don't need every boy in a twenty mile radius," Star said as she indignantly folded her arms across her chest. "I have Marco, and he's the only boy I will ever need."
Janna took over the argument. "Okay, yes, that's true. You love Marco, and we all know Marco is madly in love with you. And I'm willing to bet that the most of your skin Marco has ever seen at once is when you wear that old one-piece swimsuit at the beach. Am I right?"
Star narrowed her eyes at her friends, slightly barring her gritted teeth with annoyance. "...Uh-huh."
Janna ignored Star's expression and draped her arm around the blonde girl's shoulders. "So if Marco saw you in this...girl, he would go crazy over you! His reaction would be viral internet video-worthy!"
"Ten bucks says he faints," Lilacia put in.
Star's expression softened. She nervously rubbed her shoulder, considering her friends' arguments. She had to admit, the idea of Marco seeing a little bit more of her was actually rather exciting. They were seventeen years old now, and many teens of their age were doing far more..."intimate"...things than just viewing each other in revealing swim attire. Star knew that she and Marco weren't quite ready for the same amount of..."intimacy"...as some of their peers, but surely they'd reached an age where a girl simply modeling a string bikini for her boyfriend wasn't entirely inappropriate.
And she was positive that his initial reaction would be nothing short of hysterical.
But wearing such a thing at the beach? Star didn't think she would be uncomfortable wearing so little clothing in front of Marco, but in public?
"Hmmm...I don't know..."
Janna opened her mouth to provide further convincing, but Lilacia cut her off. "Yeah, Star, you're probably right. You shouldn't get this thing. I mean, your mom definitely wouldn't approve."
Star blinked, staring silently at the twilight-colored bikini for several long seconds. "...I guess it wouldn't hurt to try it on."
Without another word, she took the hanger from the rack and quickly headed off toward the fitting room.
Janna looked at Lilacia floating beside her and flashed a knowing smirk. "You knew that wou-"
"I knew that would work, yes."
They followed after Star, passing through a doorway labeled "Fitting Rooms" into a much smaller space where half a dozen doors opened into tiny changing spaces. Only one door was closed.
"You in there, Star?" Janna called.
"Yeah, it's me."
Lilacia darted forward excitedly. "Well, c'mon, B-fly! Let's see it!"
"Pony, I've only been in here for like fifteen seconds. I haven't even gotten my boots off yet."
"Ughhhhhhh. Fiiiiiiiiiine. Hurry uuuuuuuup."
"I'm working on it!"
Janna leaned back against the wall, rolling her eyes. As Pony Head impatiently floated back and forth in front of the fitting room door, Janna decided to check on her spider friend. She lifted off her hat...and found that her head was vacant. The big spider was gone. She quickly checked inside the hat and found it empty as well. "Hmmm...that's a problem."
"How's it going in there, Star?" Pony Head yelled.
"Well...I have it on. It's, uh...definitely a thing."
"Well, come on, gurl! Let's see it already!"
"Um...okay..."
Janna pushed her hat back onto her head as the handle clicked. The door slowly creaked open to reveal Star, clad only in the dark-purple bikini and her ever-present horn headband. Lilacia's jaw dropped open. Janna's eyes nearly popped out of her head.
"Sweet buttered crumpets, Star!" Janna yelped.
"What?" Star asked, not understanding the exclamation. She turned slightly to the side, trying to get a better sense of how she looked. "No good?"
"Good?!" Lilacia cried as she floated in a circle around Star to view her from every angle. "Gurl, you been holding out on us! You're smokin'!"
Star smiled bashfully. "I am?"
"Star, let me put it to you this way," Janna said. "You look so good, I would murder Tom in cold blood just to run away with you."
"Okay, that's definitely the most disturbing compliment I've ever gotten," Star laughed. "Please don't murder your boyfriend."
"I'm not sure he even can die, to be honest."
Star turned to see herself in the mirror that hung from the back wall of the fitting room she had just exited. "Hmm...I guess I never even really considered what I look like without being covered by a dress. I look..." She spun back around to her friends, now smiling much more confidently, striking a pose. "I look good."
"Yeah, girl! That's the spirit!" Janna said.
Star checked herself out in the mirror again. "You think Marco will like it?"
Janna punched her arm. "You're gonna knock 'im dead."
Star giggled and looked at her reflection one last time. "I'm still gonna get a new one-piece. For the beach." She stepped back into the fitting room and closed the door behind her. "Buuuuuuut I'll get this little thing, too. For Marco's eyes only!"
"Please, Star, I am begging you, film his reaction."
"...We'll see."
"AHHHHH!" Lilacia suddenly screeched. "SPIDER IN MY HAIR! SPIDER IN MY HAIR!"
The floating unicorn head raced in circles around the space, Janna's purple spider friend hanging onto her braid for dear life.
Janna chuckled. "Ohhh, that's where it went!"
"GET IT OFF GET IT OFF GET IT OFF GET IT OFF!"
A few days later...
Star waited until Marco was well distracted by a college assignment to change into her new swim attire that she had no intention of ever actually getting wet. She pulled one of Marco's hoodies on over top to conceal it. Star took a deep breath, suddenly feeling a little nervous. It's okay. It's just Marco, she reminded herself. Your best friend, your boyfriend, your favorite person in any dimension, the one single being you're the most comfortable around...I mean, Janna and Pony Head already saw you in it, if you can show them, you can show Marco.
One last deep breath to calm her nerves and Star exited her bedroom, hurrying down the hallway to Marco's, hoping to make it safely inside without running into Mr. or Mrs. Diaz.
She rapped her knuckles on the wood. "Hey, Marco? Can I come in?"
"Since when do you knock?" Marco joked from the other side. "Yeah, come in!"
Slowly opening the door, Star found Marco at his desk, hard at work on a college paper on his laptop. He was so engrossed in his work that he didn't even glance in her direction. "Hey, Star," he greeted. "Sorry if I'm a little distracted, I have to get this typed up and submitted by five."
"That's okay! I can come back later!" Star said quickly, her hand already grabbing the door knob again, grateful for the reprieve. "It's not a big deal!"
"Oh, did you need something? I can spare a few minutes for my girlfriend," he said cheerfully. Marco stopped typing and swiveled his chair to face Star for the first time, his smile quickly turning into a confused frown. He pointed to her lower extremities. "Are...are you not wearing pants?"
Star blushed as she realized that it probably appeared as though she were clad only in the red hoodie. "Uh...technically no. I, uh, I bought a new swimsuit at the mall the other day and...I wanted to see what your opinion on it was."
"Ohhhh, that's why it looks like you're not wearing pants!" Marco laughed. "I got it! Why do you seem so nervous?"
"It's just, you know...a little different than what I usually wear and I...don't know how I feel about it, that's all."
Marco gave her an encouraging smile, the kind that always made her heart melt. "I'm sure it's great, Star. You're adorable, you could make a burlap sack look amazing."
Star couldn't help but grin herself. I love him so much. He's the best. His brown eyes looked back at her with a cheerful, loving gaze, and Star suddenly felt her apprehension fall away. In its place, the excitement at the prospect of Marco seeing so much of her returned and her smile became slightly more mischievous. I'm gonna knock his socks off.
She reached up and slowly pulled the hoodie's zipper down, careful to the hold the two sides together so as to not reveal what was underneath too soon. When the zipper reached the bottom, she looked hard into his eyes, grinning almost evilly. "You ready, Marco?"
"Yeah, Star, I'm ready."
Star flung the hoodie open and let it slip off her arms to the floor, revealing her new swimwear.
Marco swallowed hard, his smile disappearing as his jaw slowly dropped open. His eyes flickered up and down, shocked by the sight of so much of Star's skin, contrasted by the dark-violet bikini that adequately covered up the private areas. The thin strings holding the important bits together offered him an almost unobstructed view of Star's side all the way from her neck down to her toes.
"Well?" Star asked, striking a pose to the left, and then turning all the way around. "You like?"
Marco said nothing. His eyes rolled back in his head and he toppled off the desk chair like a rag doll, crashing haphazardly to the floor in a heap.
"Marco! Oh my gosh!" Star dropped to her knees at his side. She lifted his head and gently cradled it in her hands. "Are you okay?"
Marco remained limp and silent.
"Marco?"
Nothing.
Star gave him a vigorous shake. "Marco Marco Marco!"
His tongue now hung out of his mouth, his glassy eyes pointing at different angles.
"Oh, boy, that can't be good."
Star set her boyfriend back down and quickly grabbed her phone from the pocket of the hoodie on the floor, dialing Janna's contact. Her friend picked up on the fourth ring.
"Heyyyyy, Janna. It's me. Um, I have a problem. I think I killed Marco."
Marco's eyes suddenly flew open and he sucked in a massive, gasping breath.
"Oh, wait, he's fine. Never mind."
"Wait, wha-?!"
Star dropped her phone as she ended the call. "Marco! Are you okay?" She helped him up off the floor and they sat down side by side on the edge of the bed.
"Yeah, I'm okay, I think," he replied, rubbing the sore spot on his head where it had hit the hardwood floor.
"What happened?"
"I, uh...I'm not really sure. You kinda..." His eyes drifted down from Star's face to her bikini-clad figure. "...caught me off guard."
"I'm sorry, Marco, I didn't mean-"
"You look amazing, Star," he said softly.
"Oh..." Star felt herself blush, her smile returning. "You really like it?"
"I love it! When I saw you..." He hesitantly reached out to touch her leg. She gave a tiny nod of approval and he gently rested his hand against her soft skin, the unfamiliar sensation sending an electrifying jolt through both. "I guess you could say it took my breath away."
Star giggled. "If you hadn't just literally fainted, I would say that was the corniest thing I've ever heard."
Marco laughed, his eyes flickering up and down his gorgeous girlfriend again. "Wow...you are...so beautiful. I mean, I always thought you were adorable, but, like...wow..."
Star giggled happily again. "You're not so bad yourself, Diaz," she whispered in his ear. She gently nuzzled his cheek, eliciting a soft, contented noise from her boyfriend.
"Mmm...Star, I could sit here with you all day, but I gotta get this paper finished and submitted."
"Awww," Star pouted. "Dumb school, always gettin' in the way."
"Yeah. But...you wanna pull up a chair and sit with me? Keep me company?"
"Hmmmm...Nah. I wouldn't want to be a distraction from your important work." She hopped off the bed and scooped up the hoodie from the floor, quickly pulling it on and zipping it up. She shot Marco a mischievous grin. "But I'll be in my room if you'd like to come snuggle with me when you're done." She saw Marco's eyes widen, and felt satisfied that she had obtained the desired effect. She opened the door and stepped into the hallway, teasingly calling back in a sing-song voice, "I'll be waitiiiiing!"
The latch bolt clicked as it found the striker. Marco blinked as Star's invitation repeated itself in his head.
And then, before he even had a chance to react, the bedroom door flew open again, Star's head leaning into the room. "And, in case it wasn't clear," she said, smirking, "I'll still have the bikini on." And she shot him a wink. "'Kay, byyyyye!"
And the door clicked shut a second time.
And then almost immediately flew open yet again. Star did not enter the room at all this time. Instead, the hoodie she had been wearing came flying through the doorway, landing unceremoniously on the hard wood floor. Marco darted to the doorway, but Star had already disappeared from the hall, back into her own bedroom.
For just a moment, Marco stood motionless in his bedroom doorway, his brain still attempting to process what had just happened.
"...I wanna snuggle..."
And Marco finished typing his eight page writing assignment in under six minutes.
Just so we're perfectly clear, when Star says "snuggle" she means SNUGGLE and nothing more. (Probably a fair amount of kissing will occur, though, I would imagine.)
I don't know that the phrase "Sweet buttered crumpets" is necessarily in-character for Janna, but once I thought of it, it was too funny not to use.