"Don't look at me. Those scissors are yours now. You can come back here anytime you want." Hekapoo said to Marco, staring at the victorious,battle-hardened man with eyes half-lidded.

There came the sound of a portal being cut open, "Please... Take care of Nachos while I'm gone."

"She's in good hands." The redhead said with an assuring smile.

"Adios, boo-boo." Marco gave his trusty Dragoncycle companion a quick peck on the snout.

"Well, old friend. You really gave me a run for my money."

Sixteen years and a thousand clones later, their little game was finally over. It's been a hell of a ride for the two frenemies. Despite how important it was for him to go back to Earth, to Star, and his normal life, there was a part of him that wanted to stay. The scissors in his pocket felt heavy.

"Likewise. You're pretty cool, hahaha." Hekapoo smacks Marco's bald spot. The smell of burnt flesh sizzled into the air.

"... Thanks." He placed a hand over the burnt injury to soothe the pain.

"Take it easy, Muscles. Be sure to come back and visit anytime when you wanna have a lil 'fun'." She emphasized that last word with a seductive flare followed by a wink."

"Bye!" Star waved to the Magic High Commission member and departed.

"Later. Hpoo." Marco enters the portal.

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!" Hekapoo hated that pet name. It left flustered and flushed every time. It brought about feelings that felt illegal to have every time he did that.

The portal back to Earth closed behind Marco and Star, leaving only Hekapoo and the feelings from the most fun she's ever had lingering in her heavy heart, it was back to business as usual for the Scissorsmith. As she turned back to her forge, a sigh escaped a pair of frowning lips, echoing throughout the somewhat empty room.

…

"Ahhhhhhhh!" The Princess fell onto Marco's bedroom floor. She looked up to find him standing tall and turning his head every which way like a lost offered Star a hand and helped her onto her feet.

"Wow… it's been ages. Everything looks a lot smaller than I remember."

"This… This is gonna be hard to explain to your parents."

Star didn't know what to expect when they got back to Earth. She had hoped he would return to normal once he crossed the portal but it turns out that wasn't the case.

Staring at Marco's sculpted abs, Star couldn't believe this was the same boy she had gone to school with. Yet, she wondered why he still remained thirty years old. Not that she was complaining. She started preferring her men on the older side after breaking up with Tom and getting over Oscar.

"By the way, what did Hekapoo mean when she said 'visit anytime when you wanna have a lil fun'?" Star asked as she crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at the grown man.

"Long story. I'll tell you about it some other time. Now if you don't mind me, I'm going to take a nice, long shower! You'll be surprised what you miss when you're stuck in the Neverzone." Marco walked by his younger best friend and into the bathroom. He kicked off his muddy boots and slid his jacket off his shoulders. Immediately, Star began staring at his perfectly sculpted ass and bit her bottom lip before Marco shut the door behind him.

"Nice…" She froze in place as untamed thoughts about her best friend danced in her mind. Her sex clenched a few times as every vivid image spawned by her sex-addled mind lingered in her view.

"Kids? Dinner's almost done!" The blonde is snapped back into reality after hearing Angie's voice from the kitchen.

"Oh, Corn… Not looking forward to this." As she was about to make her way out the room, her focus darted over to the bathroom one more time. She heard the sound of running water in the distance as a thought pops up.

Her eyes quickly shift from left to right.

"Maybe a quick peek wouldn't hurt, right?"

Star crept over to the bathroom door, her body moving on its own. She gently placed a hand on the knob before giving the door the smallest nudge. She was immediately hit by the hot steam that had quickly been built up.

"Ohhhhh…" While drool hung from the corner of her mouth, she found Marco, naked as the day he was born. Star's eyes roamed up and down his body countless times. He was bent over the sink as he brushed a hand over his hair, which became long enough to pass his shoulder blades. He gazed into the mirror ponderously, his eyes focused on his hair.

She had a perfect view of his abs from the mirror's reflection and below his waistband. Her royal marks glowed bright red and her breathing became labored. Then she noticed the many scars covering his whole body.

"Wha… What happened to you over there?" Star said to herself as a feeling of dread washed over her, but the sight of this gorgeous man had her full attention.

Marco reached over to his old toothbrush, "Oral hygiene… How I've missed you!" While he did his best to stay clean and presentable, being in a life or death situation every other day had gotten in the way more than he liked.

Star snickered at Marco's little moment. The man's trained ears picked up on the sound and he turned to the door. He was able to catch a glimpse of blonde hair before the door shut.

The man grinned, "Looks like I got a peeping Tom." This was something he had been very much used to by now. Many girls followed, snuck and stalked, unaware of what they got into once Marco ended up catching them. Most of them, no matter how experienced, weren't prepared for what Marco had in store.

But one thing's for sure, they'd always come begging for more.

…

The Princess was on the other side of the door barricading it with her body, as she held her breath praying he didn't see her. It was a tense few moments as her face built a light coat of sweat, "Marco? Star? I know you guys are up there!"

Star ram out of the room ashamed over invading her best friend's privacy. She went down the stairs and met with his mom, "Hey, Mrs. Diaz!"

Angie looked over at the teen as she set the table. Her smiling face shifted into one that conveyed that she knew something was up. Marco usually came down with Star and she clearly looked troubled, "Did you and Marco have a fight?"

The blonde physically jumped over the question, "A fight? Nonono, nothing like that! Buuuut something did happen to Marco."

"What happened this time? Did that tiny Ludo person attack you guys again?" Angie knew the kids could handle themselves and was proud to know Marco was putting his karate lessons to good use. That hundred and fifty dollars a month was finally paying itself off.

"Wellllllll, it's a little more complicated than that." Star leaned her back on the doorway to cope with having to drop some heavy news on the worried Mother.

Angie placed her hands on her hips, "Complicated? Like that time the whole house was covered in hair? Or when there's a water park in the living room?"

Then the older woman's thoughts went to a darker place, "Has Marco been kidnapped again?"

"Hehe… no not all. He's fine actually. And upstairs right now." Star remembered her former mishaps and could barely hide her feelings about the new Marco.

"Just… don't freak out about how different he might look."

"It's okay sweetie. I'm sure it's not that bad. Nothing your magic can't fix like it has before." Angie chirped, continuing with her task.

Star didn't want to be the one to tell Angie about Marco's current condition. Just this morning, he was a normal fourteen-year-old complaining about not wanting to walk the laser puppies in the rain. Then out of nowhere, he turned into a grown man that had lived a lifetime of adventures and became a proud owner of his very own dimensional scissors. There was no way to hide that fact.

Just thinking about all the things that changed about him made Star's head spin. Marco had transformed into one tall, dark, handsome devil with a pierced ear, a tattoo and a jawline shaded by his five o'clock shadow. The biggest change that she couldn't keep her mind off of was his abs, either. All she wanted to do was rub her face all over them and never let him go. Her mind went deeper off the rails the more she thought about the fully grown man upstairs taking a shower.

Star wondered if she could end the conversation right then and there and put the All-Seeing Eye spell to good use. Just the thought of that hot water washing along his browned olive skin, foam lathering his body all over. Her chest felt heavy as her nipples hardened wishing she could be in the shower with him right that second.

Angie finished the last of her dinner setting routine. She looked over to Star who had silently stood in place the last several minutes. The young girl had a silly dreamy look on her face as she nibbled on the top of her wand and placed a hand over her stomach.

"Eh… Star? You were saying? About Marco?"

Heavy footsteps came down the stairs. Angie readied herself to welcome her son. Star snapped out of her dirty thoughts only to nearly faint over seeing the real deal appearing before her.

Marco stood next to Star wearing nothing but a towel around his waist. Droplets of water rained from his hair and down his well-toned body, Star gulped out loud while Angie pulled back ready to scream at the rough-looking stranger. Then she took a better look at the man and she immediately recognized his beauty mark and that familiar set of eyes that reminded her of her husband, Rafael.

"Marco?"

The young man smiled and walked up to his mother. It's been such a long time since he had seen her pretty green eyes as he placed his palm on her cheek. Marco had nearly forgotten how gorgeous his mother looked.

He leaned over and wrapped his beefy arms around the smaller woman in a tight hug.

"Yeah Mom, it's me." Marco's voice became soft.

"Marco? Is that really you?" Angie had tears in her eyes and didn't understand why.

Marco held her tighter and took a deep whiff of her familiar, comforting aroma. "Yeah… It's really me. God, you don't know how long I've dreamt of this day."

Star watched from the side wearing her own smile and for the time being as warm, fuzzy feelings derived from a man reuniting with his mother took hold.

Angie's arms came up to feel Marco's bare back, feeling so hot and strong. Her son was a whole head taller than her now, "Wha… What happened to you? Did Star use the wrong spell or something?"

The male laughed as Star stomped her foot onto the ground, upset about being called out, "Hey! For once, this wasn't my fault!"

Their hug came to an end, Marco watched a tear roll down his mother's cheek. His thumb brushed the tear off her soft mother held his hand to her cheek.

"Star's right. I'm the one that got myself into this mess."

"Well… Maybe we should find something for you to wear?" She looked over his chest and blushed.

"Then you guys can tell me what happened!" She couldn't even look him in the eyes with her last comment as her eyes traveled down his body. The outline of his very large cock bulged under the tightly wrapped towel he wore.

Star was in the same boat as her eyes remained glued to his ass. She really loved the way his muscles tightened and bulged when he moved. All the Princess wanted was to sit on his lap while he wrapped his thick, swollen arms around her small body, mercilessly running his rough hands all over until he found all her sweet spots.

Marco rubbed the back of his head with a nervous grin, completely oblivious to the way the women were looking at him, "That might be a problem. I didn't come back with much. Just the clothes on my back and my sword. And my clothes were ripped and filthy.

He made his way to the refrigerator, as he opened the door and searched for something to drink. Star and Angie twisted their heads to the side.

"Well, you seem to be as tall as your father. And uh… beefier" His mother said as he watched him turn around with a carton of orange juice up to his lips, inadvertently flexing his arm and showing off his swollen biceps.

Star had a dumbfounded look on her face much like the one she had when his abs mesmerized her at Hekapoo's place. She saw orange juice seep around his lips and down his chiseled chest. The fluid went over his rippled abs and she could see herself licking it off his body.

"Whoops." Marco noticed the tiny spill before promptly wiping it off.

Angie noticed the tattoo on his bicep. She walked up to him and ran a finger over the black ink, "I never thought you would get one of those, let alone earrings. And your hair is so long! Marco… how old are you now?"

Marco felt his mother tug on one of the rings as she pressed her body against his, he placed the empty orange juice container on the counter, "Thirty. A lot has happened while I was gone. Let me get dressed and I'll tell you guys about it."

This was a rather awkward position for the male, he felt his mother's body weight pressed along him some more as she ran a hand over his chest. The presence of her breasts was felt clearly. Angie stood in awe over the man her son had grown into.

"Mom? You okay?"

The question shocked Angie. She stepped back and placed her hands behind her.

"... Of course, Honey. Go into your father's closet and find something to wear!" Her face reddened and she quickly averted her gaze to hide it.

"Come on Marco! I think there's something in there that will fit you perfectly!" She ran up to Marco, pulling him by the hand and rushing him out of the room.

"Wait, Star! Slow down! I'm about to lose my towel!" They were already halfway up the stairs as he held the towel that was on the edge of slipping off his waist.

She turned back to look at him, "And that's a bad thing?"

"What?" Marco asked, clearly confused.

Her pace was fast until she opened the door to the closet, Star threw whatever clothes she could find at the man without thinking.

"There ya go! Now go change! I want to know what happened while you were with Hekapoo!" She shoved him into his bedroom with her hands over his rear.

"Hey, hey, hey! I can walk, you know!" Marco said to the closed door.

"I know that! Just hurry up already!" She was staring at her hands and swore to never wash them ever again.

Marco dressed, the blue jeans fit rather tight around his crotch. The black tank top wasn't any better, but he felt it was better than nothing. Last was the socks and a rather old pair of brown cowboy boots his father used to love, which were well broken in and felt comfortable as a result. He looked at himself in the mirror.

"Not bad." He smiled and nodded in approval.

Marco walked out of the room and bumped into Star, who he didn't expect to be waiting for him.

"Sorry about that. Star? You okay?"

Star drank in the new look, "Wow…"

Marco noted how often she's been saying that lately.

"Mmm, is it getting hot in here? Or is it just me?" She was getting light-headed while she purposely tripped herself to fall into Marco's stomach.

Concerned, Marco put the back of his hand on her forehead, "You're a bit on the warmer side. And you're flushed. Are you getting a cold? Or the flu? Hekapoo's dimension is usually free of foreign diseases. Maybe you picked up something when you were over there."

He felt her face rubbing all over his abs, Star wrapped her arms over his ass and pulled herself more onto his torso.

"Maybe I did. Will you nurse me back to health? I think I can go for a sponge bath!" She looked up at him with her big blue eyes and a dopey smile.

He placed a hand on top of her head and ran his fingers through her golden locks, "Let's get you something to eat first. I'm gonna be keeping an eye on you."

The Princess lifted her arms into the air, She had to do something to stay close to him and give Marco the most pathetic look she could muster. "Carry me! Please…"

"Really?" He watched her hands clench open and close like she was a toddler.

"Okay, but let me know if you start to feel worse." Star felt her legs swept out from under her when Marco lifted her into the air and carried her like a bride.

She didn't know what to say and promptly shut her mouth and her eyes to immerse herself in the ride.

…

"I was wondering what was taking you guys so long." Angie found the duo entering the kitchen, seeing Star was scooped into Marco's arms and rubbing her face on his chest.

"Sorry about the wait, Mom. I think Star might have caught something when she went looking for me." Marco spoke as he placed the girl onto a chair.

"That's alright, I'm glad you found something to wear in that closet. So let's sit down and have a lil talk about what happened." Angie watched as Marco pulled the chair out for her to sit.

"Sure thing. Wait. Where's Dad?" Marco turned every which way.

Angie almost forgot about the other man in her life, "Oh! He just started a new project downtown. It's a pretty big job that's going to take a few weeks."

Marco was sitting now, "Okay, well… Where should I start?"

Star had a burning question she was wanting to ask, "So how close are you and Hekapoo? You guys seemed rather chummy when I found you."

Angie looked over to the Princess and then her son, "Hekapoo? Who's that? Did you meet someone when you were doing whatever you were doing that made you… like this?"

It was Marco's turn to blush now. He had a fond smile on his face. "There were a lot of someones, but Hekapoo was the someone. Might as well start with her."

"Oh! That reminds me. I'll be right back!" Marco sprung straight up to his feet and bolted it up the stairs.

Star shrugged to his mother as they waited for his return. The two women sat there in silence.

"Soooo…" Angie spoke to break the awkward tension that had built between her and Star.

"Yeah… I know." The women seemed to be on the same page even without going into specifics.

"I'm back!" Marco shouted from across the living room. Star and Angie jumped in their seats. His voice had become so much deeper and harder, the women felt the dominance radiating from him.

The young man took a seat and laid down a photo on the table, Star was the first to reach for it.

"What the heck is this!?" She shouted in protest, not happy about what she was looking at.

Marco already began stuffing his mouth full of food. Angie reached over to grab the photo.

"Oh… So this is Hekapoo?" His mother found it hard to not bite her lower lip. She was a different woman in her college days. Her cheeks were bright red the more she examined the photo.

"That's her. I would say she's the main reason for all of this… But that's not entirely true."

Star didn't like this one bit, "I can see how close you guys were now!" The photo was a pin up of Hekapoo, she wasn't wearing much and had Star's scissors between her breasts. She left a little note with a few hearts drawn on the bottom.

It read, "Remember what you're fighting for, little boy!"

Angie puts down the photo and coughs into her hand, "So you and this Hekapoo were intimate, I take it?"

Marco flashed his mother a grin and winked at her, "Intimate would be an understatement."

The older woman's body felt hot as she let out a nervous chuckle, "Hehehe…"

The Princess felt sick to her stomach. Star ground her teeth as her eyes seared into the scandalous photograph.

For Corn's sake, woman! That's supposed to be my man!

"So uh." Angie cleared her throat before continuing. "Please go on. What exactly happened while you were in her dimension?

"Well I can tell ya one thing." Marco took another forkful of his dinner before continuing.

"It wasn't easy being over there, doing… what I had to do to get back here with you and Star. It was a lawless, deadly place. I had to fight and kill to survive and sometimes I'd even question if I'd ever make it to the next day. It was just one struggle after another."

"Goodness, I feel like I'm hearing a war story…" Angie rested her chin on her hands, enthralled by Marco's words.

"Did you…" Angie lingered on her question, searching for an approachable way to ask it.

"I mean,you said you killed to survive, right? For food you mean?"

"Or what about… people?" Star added on, with more understanding of Marco's ideal.

It was Marco's turn to linger. He stared blankly at his half eaten plate as he too searched for an approachable response.

"...Both." He finally said,his tone grave and voice low.

Angie's eyes went wide for a second. She visibly stiffened, before standing straight and looking away from her son for a brief, but noticeable moment before looking back at him, struggling to keep her expression free of any sign of distress. Star looked at her with concern.

"Oh geez, I knew you were gonna react like that."

"Oh no no no, I'm not judging you at all, sweetie." Angie defensively shook her palms.

"It's just… a lot to take in. Just this morning you were my anxious, but well-mannered little boy. Now you're suddenly a man who looks like every 80s action hero put into one. And lived like one too apparently."

"Mmm, my kinda man…" Star muttered to herself.

Marco softly laughed at that. His heart lifted slightly. "Thanks, Mom."

With his mind more at ease, Marco felt comfortable enough to delve into much lighter territory.

"But y'know… it wasn't all troubles and trauma." The man wore a small but bright smile on his face.

"That Hekapoo lady I'm guessing?" Angie surmised with a knowing smirk. Star rolled her eyes at the mention of the name.

"Heh. Yeah."

"Seems like she's special to you." Angie said with a somber smile.

"In a lotta ways. Half the time, she was an obstacle, a goal, and an enemy. The other half she was a motivator, a helper, and a friend."

"And a lover too, I bet." Star rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, she was. Sometimes."

"Sometimes?" Angie raised an eyebrow.

"It really all depended on whether or not I saw her. Sometimes I see her a lot. Other times I can go days, weeks or even months without seeing her again."

"So it was an on and off thing." Star deduced.

"Pretty much. With other girls filling in the gaps." Marco scratched the back of his head.

"Of course. Ever the ladies man, aren't ya Marco? Wonder which body count's bigger…" Star took a strong sip of her water as she pondered.

"I'd say it's an even split." Marco shrugged.

"You mentioned she was an enemy, too. What's that about?" Angie asked.

"Ah. Well. In a nutshell, she punished me for abusing Star's Dimensional Scissors, and made me travel all over her dimension finding hundreds of her clones and blowing out the flames on top of every one of their heads."

"Ooookayyy." Angie shook her head, unable to even pretend she understood what Marco just said.

"And since you're back home, I guess you won, huh?"

Marco nodded. "Yup. Even got these new scissors," He brandished said scissors.

"Wow. You've been through a lot, haven't you Marco? Angie said, placing a hand on her son's.

The simple contact warmed and relaxed Marco. It made him feel calmer and safer than he ever had in a long time.

"Yeah." He simply said.

"As much as there were a lotta moments that messed me up and even almost killed me, there were also plenty of great memories that I'd never trade for the world."

"You just might have to write a book about your time there." Angie suggested.

"Oh! That would be so cool! I think it'd be one of the only books I'd read seriously." Star spoke energetically.

"Especially if there's dirty bits." Star said with lidded eyes.

Angie looked appalled at the blonde pervert.

"Star!"

"Whaaat? Don't tell me you're not curious either."

"Well, that's Marco's business and he doesn't have to talk about it if he doesn't want to."

"Besides. It'd take me forever to get through all of them." Marco said with a cheeky smile.

"Marco!" Angie's appalled expression darted to her son.

"Whaaaat, I'm just being honest. It is what it is." The man casually shrugged.

"I mean, I'm sad I didn't get to see my only son grow up into the man I see right now and there's so much I wanna know, but your apparently active sex life isn't one of them."

"It is for me. Spill those beans, big man." Star stood up in her seat, clapping her palms on the table as she leaned forward.

"Oh goodness, can we please keep the conversation Safe for Dinner?" Angie urged as she cast her eyes down to her own dinner. It had already gotten a tad cold.

Marco continued on with his regaling of his time in Hekapoo's dimension, making sure to avoid any dark and/or dirty territory that may mess up the much needed peace of the evening.

Even with the family friendly version of his story, Angie and Star hung onto every word like kids listening to their grandpa's war stories, even after they had finished their meals and cleaned up after themselves.

Marco had no shortage of stories to share and he barely scratched the surface once it got late and sleepiness started to set in.

Author's Shameless Self-Shilling

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