This is a non-profit fanfiction created for entertainment purposes only. Star Vs. The Forces of Evil is not owned by myself and I did not profit from this writing. Please support the official release.
Princess Charms - Moons
Let's imagine you had the ability to go anywhere you wanted in the blink of an eye. If you so desired you could spend your afternoon at the arcade, an amusement park, a famous zoo or even at the peak of an impossible to climb mountain. Not only could you travel to these places with the greatest of ease but you could return just as easily in time for dinner without anyone being the wiser or inconvenienced by your trip. Sound too good to be true? For most people it would be, but not for a magical princess.
Princess Star Butterfly had introduced a great number of interesting things into Marco Diaz's life, but none of which were as uniqe or as handy as the dimensional scissors. Scissors that literally cut through the fabric of reality and deposited you to where ever it was you wanted to be. A little snip and off you went to your destination. Truthfully Marco didn't know how Star was able to control the scissors the way she did. She never said any words or did anything different to the scissors before pulling them out, just a cut and a jump and they were off. Though that wasn't too odd to him as the magic wand she wielded also created impossible things out of thin air. Sometimes she cast a spell to use her powers, sometimes she didn't. It was almost as if the wand reacted to her feelings more than her commands. Which was possibly the reason why she was with Marco in the first place.
Star wasn't actually from Earth like the rest of us. Instead she was the princess of a kingdom called Mewni and had been sent to Earth to learn how to control her new powers with her magic wand. Marco wasn't sure how staying at his place and going to school with him helped her with this but her parents seemed convinced. It might have had something to do with the amount of property damage Star was capable of with just the wave of a hand, but Marco wanted to believe there was actually a purpose to Star staying on his world instead of her own. Besides preventing the girl from burning down her kingdom by accident.
It wasn't just Earth that Star was practicing her magic on. Ever since she received those scissors from a friend of hers Star had been taking trips every now and then to other worlds and bringing Marco along for the ride. Marco had to admit it was pretty exciting and honestly if she hadn't wanted to bring him on her adventures the boy would have insisted on going along with her. Star had a habit of running into trouble on a regular basis and even if she wasn't the kind to panic in the face of danger she might not always handle it the best way. So her "bestie", Marco "The Safe Kid" Diaz played side kick to keep the girl from landing in trouble with the authorities. Plus it was insane amounts of fun to spend time with her.
Today was one of those days that Star had suggested they go explore some place after getting out of school. "Some place" being somewhere off Earth this time around instead of say the local skate park or fast food joint. As much fun as Star had seeing all Earth could offer she was still hungry to see more that the universe had in store. When the energetic, blond princess had asked Marco for a suggestion he'd offhandedly remarked that it might be fun to hit the beach. He'd just been pulling ideas out of the air to try an answer as fast as possible but funny enough Star thought it was a great idea and lead him by the hand through the rip in space and time. Their arrival however had been a bit rougher than usual and Marco didn't feel shy in expressing it.
"You know Star, when you had suggested we go out and try something different today, this wasn't what I had in mind." Marco currently had his back against a large boulder and was sitting on the dirt behind it. "Y'know, funny enough this isn't even that different from what we normally do." Star was sitting behind the same boulder next to Marco, peering around the edge of the rock while he talked.
"Well I didn't know what was going on here before we arrived." Star said in a slightly hushed tone. "If I'd known I would have just picked a different spot. And I'd leave now but... well..." Star motioned to some odd looking lizard like people. At this point you'd probably think that the two teenagers were behind the rock because of them, but that's the funny thing about alternate worlds. They mess with your expectations a little. In actuality the lizard folk were also in hiding and in plain sight of Star and Marco, trying not to be seen by what they were really running from. "I can't just leave now, you know?"
"Yeah, I know. I don't think we should either." Marco admitted with a sigh. "But this isn't the kind of problem I can solve with a flying kick like normal." As the two spoke the ground began to rumble and grew progressively louder. Soon the pace of the vibrations picked up speed and every knew what that meant. "Dive for cover!" Marco and Star leaped away from the rock they'd been hiding behind as it was smashed under what looked like a giant black leather boot. Both teenagers had made it safely away from the destruction and stood up to see the cause of the tremors. Star growled angrily at the stupid monster that was causing them such grief.
"This was supposed to be a fun visit!" The princess shrieked at the boot. Normally a princess shouting something like that would seem like a spoiled brat whining, but really it was more of a threat of the destruction to come. Star's wand was glowing with magic as she was getting ready to unleash a spell until a shadow came over head with the threat of another step. The teenagers dived away again to safety and looked on to see their attacker respond to the princess.
"Ssssorry your highnessss. Did I ruin your vacation?" The boot... or rather the boot-like face spoke to Star. Marco looked the creature in the eye which had a face like a snake but a head shaped like a boot. Tracing the neck up the body Marco could see it arch along and back down into the black boot that had nearly hit them the first time. Like a weird, green, scaly rainbow with two miss matched boots on either side. He was a little relieved that he'd become used to insane sights like this or it might have driven Marco a little crazy just looking at it. "Jussst sssstand sssstill and I'll take care of all your worriessss." Star crossed her arms and just looked annoyed at the monster.
"So you're another one of Ludo's dumb minions, huh? Even talking to you is annoying. Don't you get headaches slamming your head into the ground every where you go? You have to be the stupidest looking monster I've seen yet." Princess Butterfly was getting a little sassier than normal but the snake beast was earning it. It didn't appreciate her commentary however as Marco saw the slits in its reptilian eyes narrow.
"Bold wordssss little princesssss. Here, I'll give you a closssser look at me." Marco heard the rocks rumble as the monster began to pick up its tail end that had crushed into the boulder from earlier. He was going to get ready to grab Star and make another run for it until some other local lizard-men creatures near by began to pelt the back of the snake monster's head with spears. It hissed in annoyance feeling the pricks of sharp stone against its back and pulled its tail over its head to try and crush the local attackers. Thankfully for them it missed but it didn't give up as it began to pursue them back towards their village of straw huts. Star was quickly on the run after the beast and Marco was close behind.
"Star, isn't there a spell you can use to stop that thing?" Marco asked between breaths as they ran after it. He didn't know what the limits of Star's magic were but he'd never seen her show any issues with casting spells in the past.
"Yeah, I should. I just have to think of the right one." That might not have been a bad idea to think it through first, when she used magic without consideration it usually didn't result in positive things. Well sometimes, but rarely for anyone else but herself. Still they needed something to be done and fast.
"If only we could shrink it or make it less dangerous." Marco said as they struggled to keep up with the monster trying to kill the local lizardman population. "That thing's so weird, it moves like an evil, giant slinky."
"That's it!" Star cried out happily as she held her wand up with a magical glow. "Terrifying Tyrant Toyification Transformation!" With her words shouted the princess aimed her wand at the snake beast and shot a blast of light its direction. Marco didn't know what was going to happen but the look of terror on the monster's face was satisfying as it realized there wasn't any escape from her attack. When the blast connected with the beast there was a colorful explosion and Marco had to shield his eyes. When he dropped his arms again he was certainly surprised by the spells effects.
"Not... exactly what I'd had in mind." The monster had been changed but it wasn't quite like what Marco had asked for. Instead of a giant monster snake that had a boot like head and an actual boot on its tail it was now a gigantic slinky with large snake eyes on one end and a boot on the other. While this was pretty amusing it didn't really solve anything as the monster was exactly as tall as it had previously been. "Star, why would you say 'Terrifying' or 'Tyrant' in a spell where you're trying to make it harmless!?"
"It just kind of happened!" Star said in protest, looking just as lost as Marco. Sadly this was a common occurrence too and Marco didn't really know if it was the wand or Star's hyperactive behavior that was to blame. The monster was currently even more baffled then either of the two teenagers as it tested its body to see if it could still move. Once it established it could still lift either end of itself the Slinky Beast began to pound away at the ground, crushing a nearby village hut and laughing evilly from... well where its mouth used to be.
"This is fantastic! I can move even faster than before! Mwah ha ha ha ha!" Well at the very least she'd gotten rid of its weird lisp. Once the giant monster had its fun in figuring out how to move it noticed Star and made its way her direction.
"Star, its coming right for us!" Marco shouted and Star was looking at her wand in desperation.
"Okay okay okay! I'll hit it with something else. Something like uh... I dunno... a rainbow beam of-"
"Star, look out!" Marco shouted and leaped on top of the princess, covering her with his body as the monster bore down on them. It was a mostly useless action as his small form was unlikely to keep them both from getting crushed but he couldn't help himself from trying something to save her. A shadow came down over top of them and Marco clenched his teeth and closed his eyes, bracing himself for the impending pressure. Though it never came. In fact a second later the shadow was gone and the monster had passed right over them. Marco looked up in confusion and got off of Star, glancing around to see the circular imprint around them. Apparently turning the monster into a giant slinky meant it still was just as hollow on each end as that kind of toy normally would be. "Wow, that was lucky." He was a bit in shock from their near death experience but Star was on top of things as she grabbed him by the wrist and pulled Marco with her to hide behind some near by palm trees in hopes the creature hadn't realized it had missed them.
Marco sat on the ground as Star kept a look out again, the boy breathing heavily and trying to relax. Star began taking in the surroundings of the whole island which if not for the terrifying slinky monster would have been quite beautiful. The shore line was visible from where they were and you could see the blue ocean that was much like Earth's, complete with sandy beaches. Other than the trees that were very much like palm trees there was also a volcano in the center of the island that wasn't very far away. "So, any ideas?" He asked from his sitting position.
"I think I got one." Star responded confidently. "But I'm going to need your help."
"Alright, I got this." Marco said gathering himself together and standing up bravely. "What are we going to do? Pilot a giant robot? Turn me into a super monster to battle him one on one? Maybe give me the ability of flight and laser beam eyes?"
"Nope. I want you to scream and shout until he chases you!" Star exclaimed excitedly. Sadly Marco couldn't share in the enthusiasm.
"I kind of liked my ideas better." He admitted. "Besides he's way too fast now, I'll never be able to out run him."
"Not on your feet. Buuuuuut..." Star waved her wand and pointed it at the ground, making what could only be described as rocket roller blades and a matching helmet and knee pads. "This should make you super-duper quick!" Marco looked the magical items over with apprehension. Sighing he put the helmet on his head.
"You're sure you know what you're doing?" He asked strapping the knee pads on next.
"Leave it to me! I wouldn't let anything happen to my 'bestie'!" Star said with a confident thumbs up. Funny enough that did reassure Marco some. Despite her hyperactive behavior the princess was honest and caring. She really wouldn't let anything happen to a loved one if she had the power to stop it. With that wand in hand she had nearly all the power anyone could ask for. It was just her trying to use that power correctly that made Marco worried.
Meanwhile the monster had managed to finally stop itself and rested on the boot end of its body, looking around for another victim to attack. It didn't have to wait long as a voice called out to get the Slinky Beast's attention. "Hey coil brain, you lost?"
"Ah, one of the two brats." The monster's eyes seemed to magically rotate around its cylinder body as it peered down at Marco, who was now decked out in Star's rocket roller blade gear and standing with his arms crossed as he challenged the beast. "Where is the little princess so that I may squash the life out of her?"
"Star got bored and decided to take a break. A lame monster like you wouldn't be fun for a girl, let alone a boy. Guess I'll have to finish you off myself." Marco faked a yawn to drive his point home of just how beneath him all this was, making the monster narrow its snake like eyes his direction.
"Then you'll get the honors of feeling my boot first!" Pushing itself upward the monster's slinky body extended and began to spring in Marco's direction. That was all he needed as he turned himself around on the solid earth and began to roller blade away from the monster. Thankfully the moment he started pushing forward the rockets on the blades took effect and propelled Marco quickly over the island. Even with the extra propulsion he could feel the massive vibrations of the Slinky Beast's boot slamming into the ground and trying to catch up with him.
"I really hope this works." Marco said through gritted teeth as he narrowly dodged trees and rocks, obstacles that were either dodged or crushed by the monster behind him. Pushing his body as far as he could Marco saw his destination in view; the volcano. The only problem was that it was all he saw, Star wasn't anywhere in sight.
"I'm gaining on you, little boy!" The beast bellowed and it wasn't an idle threat, the spring body of the monster was pushing it faster and faster after Marco and he was going to either have to start skating up the sheer rock towards an active volcano or some miracle would need to take place.
"Star whatever you're gonna do, do it now!" Marco shouted as the volcano's solid surface with its harsh incline was approaching faster and faster. There was only a brief second to see it but a glinting white light appeared before Marco as a pair of scissors stuck through thin air and cut downward, making a hole in space and time. It wasn't big enough for a huge beast, but it did allow a boy on rocket roller blades to shoot right through and completely miss an impact with the volcano he'd been fast approaching. After Marco had disappeared, Star's body peeked out half way through the portal and she aimed her wand skyward.
"Super Special Stone Stairway!" The girl cried out as a beam of light shot upward and then downward like a bolt of lightning, turning the side of the volcano into massive stairs leading up to the rim of its summit. With a grin the girl disappeared back into the portal while it shut close behind her.
Back near the beach, Marco was currently face down in a patch of bushes that thankfully were not as sharp as they could have been and hopefully not poisonous. He'd have gotten up but his feet were a little unreliable with the rocket skates firing off at full blast and hovering above him in the air. Once Star had completed her task she appeared again near by through the portal he'd escaped through and used her wand remove her magical accessories from his feet. "Way to go, partner! Check out the result." The princess said happily as Marco was finally able to sit up and look off in the distance.
"What's going on!? I can't stop myself!" The slinky monster shouted out as its momentum carried it up the giant stone stairs that Star had made with her magic. Many of the locals that had been running for their lives now gathered around to watch as the monster shouted in futility and bounced up the stairs towards its doom. Marco was impressed, he never could get one of those toys to do that himself back home. Once it reached the top of the volcano the monster went in boot first and sunk into the lava. The magma splashed outward from the impact, settled down again, and went quiet.
The silence of the monster's passing was broken with a round of cheers from the shore side as the locals began to rejoice. The lizard people were shouting and even dancing in celebration as Star helped Marco out of the bushes and the two began shouting in cheer as well. They'd slain their first giant monster together and it went off without a hitch.
During all of the celebrations one of the locals who was dressed a little more fanciful than the rest approached Star and Marco. If Marco were to guess he figured this individual must have been some kind of leader or elder as he seemed to have a few more years on him than the others. But it was hard to tell, everyone being scaly and all. When he spoke it was with a deep, kind voice that made Marco feel a little more at ease with his reptilian appearance. "Young travelers, we owe you our deepest gratitude. Since the Stepping Snake had appeared on our island we'd been at the monster's mercy. Now we may live in peace once more!" Two of the other locals approached Marco and Star and placed colorful beaded necklaces around them with many different designs and shapes. He felt a little bashful getting all this praise but the princess didn't miss a beat.
"It wasn't even a thing, your scaliness. We're just glad to help and kick some monster boo-tay any day!" Not quite the royal speech you might expect from a princess but it fit with Star's style just fine for Marco. The village leader seemed pleased as well, smiling as joyful as before.
"If you would, the two of you are invited to stay a while at our resort. We can provide you with food and entertainment to your heart's content. With no charge, of course." Wait a minute? Resort? Up until now all the lizard people had looked like some kind of primitive natives from an old adventure movie with their tribal style clothing. Marco couldn't help himself and had to ask.
"Resort? Like a vacation club?" Noting his confusion the village leader was happy to respond.
"Of course! Tourism is our primary trade after all for visitors from all sorts of worlds. We can provide you both with some swim wear at the gift shop and will hold a feast in your honor. Would you grace us with your presence for a while longer?" Star was pretty much bouncing on the air at the idea of having an even more fun afternoon than what she'd originally planned for them. She looked to Marco expectantly and he realized she was asking if he was okay with doing this too.
"Well... I guess we could be a little late for dinner and stay for a while." He was sure his parents would understand. Living with Star had opened their eyes up to quite a few unexpected things and the two coming home without any injuries and a few tourist trinkets would be better than most nights out Marco had with Star. Star shouted a loud "Yay!" as it was settled and the two were lead back towards the lizard people's village.
Marco had to admit these guys knew how to throw a party. Also they were a lot more advanced than he'd given them credit for at first glance. Beyond the straw huts the monster had been stomping on were several buildings with a much more modern design. Once the teenagers had changed into more beach appropriate attire the party began with games, dancing, entertainment and lots of really good food. He was supposed to be keeping track of time but Marco was really having too much fun to be bothered. The daylight hours seemed similar enough to Earth that when the sun started to dip he figured it would be time to head back. At least until they locals had insisted he and Star both take a little while to admire the sunset on the beach and watch the moons rise afterwards. While a sunset was pretty if a little boring, Marco was genuinely curious to see what the two moons would look like in the sky together.
As the island was bathed in a warm, orange glow Marco was sitting on a towel he'd borrowed from the gift shop when he and Star had come down to the beach. He had to admit, the sunset really was prettier on the horizon than he'd expected. Star was on one of the resorts long lounging chairs near by him, sitting as well and looking out over the water. The beach wear they'd been given were both rather simple and he assumed it must have been that way to accommodate visitors from so many different worlds. Marco's was just swim trunks that fit comfortably and were a plain white color with a small palm tree design sewn in. Star's swimsuit had been similar in color with the small palm tree design sewn in around the hip area, though she had on a one piece that fit her form very complimentary. In fact Marco had been doing his very best not to think about just how good she looked in her swimsuit but found his attention drifting more towards her as they sat quietly on the beach together.
"It's pretty, huh?" The princess asked as she looked over the water.
"Yeah, really pretty." Marco agreed, looking at her and forgetting for a moment they were discussing the scenery.
"Hey Marco, let's go swimming." Star said as she looked over to her "bestie", a bright smile on her face that reminded him he probably shouldn't be staring at his best friend like that.
"Oh. Um... right now? Shouldn't we get ready to head back after the moons rise like they said?"
"We can see it from the water too. Besides when are we going to get another chance to swim in the ocean like this?" Well she had a point, the beaches back on Earth were sometimes too polluted to even swim in.
"Okay then, lets head out there."
"Great!" Star said in excitement and leaped up onto her feet. Though she stopped as if she was remembering something important. "Oh yeah. Let me just put my wand away real quick!" The wand hadn't actually left her hand even after the party started with their gracious hosts. Despite her seemingly irresponsible demeanor Star was dedicated to keeping the wand safe from the hands of anyone who may try to use it for evil purposes. Taking her star shaped purse off her shoulder the princess leaned forward and put her wand and the special dimension hopping scissors inside it to keep them out of sight while they swam. For Marco this was a little distressing as Star had chosen to face away from him when she leaned downward and gave him something of a show in the process. Turning his head away the boy tried looking out over the water and clearing his head of thoughts he really wished would stop pestering him.
It was difficult though. Star was first and foremost his friend and the person he'd unofficially chosen to bodyguard once he'd learned of the dangers she had to face on a regular basis. Not that Star couldn't take care of herself, but from what Marco could see the more support she had the better. But Star was also a girl (a very pretty girl) who had kissed him (his very first kiss) and even though they still kept things the same between them after that his thoughts would turn towards her in a more-than-just-friends kind of way. He pushed that feeling aside as he didn't want to do anything to ruin their friendship, but it would resurface sometimes. He wondered if she ever felt that way too?
"Marco?" He blinked and looked up to see Star staring down at him. "Marco, are you okay? You don't look happy."
"Yeah, yeah I'm fine." Marco said and put on a smile quickly, rising to his feet. "Was just looking at the water."
"Well let's do more than look. C'mon!" Star said joyfully and lead the way into the ocean. The water was cool but not cold, just right for swimming in after being out in the sun. The duo dived and paddled their way through the waves, letting their bodies be moved with the water and fighting against it at times. As they played they found themselves swimming further and further away from where they started until they both finally noticed that the sun had dipped down past the horizon and was replaced by two glowing lights in the sky. "Wooooow."
"Yeah... you said it." They tread water as they looked into the sky to see two large, white full moons above them. The moons had just past over the horizon into the sky and looked quite large as they were making their way upward. One of the moons seemed larger than the other as Marco was observing them.
"They're called the dueling moons." Star commented to him. "I heard them talking about it before we came to the beach. I guess one eclipses the other as they rise and it looks like they're dueling."
"Wow, that's pretty cool." Marco replied, these worlds that Star took him to were usually very weird in some way or another but it wasn't often he got to admire something about the scenery like this. "I wonder why they said it was dueling specifically? If they're passing by each other wouldn't it just be eclipsing?"
"Or dancing." Star added and suddenly yawned loudly as she floated in the water. Marco smirked at her.
"Tired?" Star let out a little annoyed groan, not wanting to admit to something like that. She was usually the one exploding with energy and her winding down first was somehow unacceptable to her. "It has been a pretty crazy day."
"Yeah, I guess so." Star agreed and the waves felt like they were moving with a little more force than before. Moving closer to her, Marco put an arm around the princess and she hooked her own around his shoulder to help them stay afloat together. Even though it was to make her more comfortable there was a small part of Marco that felt a little guilty at getting Star in this position next to him. He wasn't going to deny to himself that having her close by always made him feel better. Looking up at the sky again he could faintly see the moons begin to arc in their path towards one another.
"I like dancing better too." Marco finally said, breaking the silence they had shared since coming close together. "I think it's better to think of them as friends instead of enemies."
"Yeah, I think it's nicer too. Good friends." Star agreed looking into the sky.
"Best friends." Marco said with a smile as his gaze fell now to the princess. Star stopped to look at him as well and it was one of those moments that caught his breath for a second. She had really pretty eyes, even more so now in the bright moonlight.
"More than friends?" The tone of her voice was hard to figure. Questioning but hopeful. Almost like someone offering a gift to you and waiting to see if you'll accept it. Yet there was a deeper emotional energy in those words that tugged at his heart hard. Her other arm came around to drape across his other shoulder and the two were looking face to face now. Her eyes closed and she leaned forward towards him. Closing his own eyes Marco leaned forward as well and pursed his lips to meet her with a kiss in the water.
His lips made impact with something, but it wasn't what he'd expected. Feeling something was wrong right away as his arms were no longer around Star, Marco opened his eyes to find himself looking at a creature that was considerably less than human. "Arrrk!" It said and followed the noise with a high pitched whistling sound.
"What the what!?" Marco asked frantically and backed away, seeing Star straddling the creature's back and looking just as confused as him. She was riding what was as far as Marco could tell some king of purple, dolphin like creature with two dorsal fins that Star was gripping onto like handles. Marco didn't even have a chance to ask another question as a second purple dolphin thing slid up underneath him as well with an invitation to ride it. They were confused but excited and things made a little more sense when they heard applause and saw four or so lizard people on the beach cheering them on. It must have been their pets or something like that for people to ride at the resort.
"Look at these cute little guys! Awww, they're so adorable!" Star leaned forward to rub one under its chin and the creature whistled happily in response. "Marco, want to go for a ride!?" Marco was a little annoyed at the fact he'd been denied his second-ever kiss by some sea mammals breaking the mood, but it was hard to stay upset when they seemed so eager to please. Besides Star was really focused on having some fun now.
"It would be rude to refuse, right?" That was all she needed to hear as the princess shouted joyfully into the air and they were off for what had to be the wildest combination of jet skiing and horse back riding all rolled into one.
Marco didn't know how long their ride had been but it was a wild good time. He and Star were slowly trudging back onto the beach and thanking their hosts as the lizard men took the animals back to where ever they'd come from near the resort. Once the locals had accepted their thanks and left them to their own devices again the duo trudged through the sand back to their spot on the beach for their clothing and belongings. Thankfully it was pretty easy to see still with the twin moons and the lights from the near by resort illuminating everything. Sitting on his towel Marco fell back and let out a sigh. "Today was amazing, even if I was almost squashed to death by a weird monster snake."
"I know, right? This was the best after school trip we've taken yet!" Star said gleefully and reached under the lounging chair for her purse, pulling it out and removing a hair brush from inside. Truth be told Star's hair was some of the most impressive Marco had ever seen, her blond locks flowing down all the way to her knees. Back home on Mewni she probably had servants who attended her in keeping it silky and healthy but since she'd moved to Earth it was all on Star to do it herself now. A daunting looking task as she now sat on the front end of the long lounge chair and attempted to comb through her tangles, wincing with each one she came across.
"Hair trouble?" Marco asked and rolled onto his stomach to watch her work.
"If I don't get them right away they'll get worse. Ow." Star winced. "Ow. Ow. Owww." Marco was wincing now along with her every time she pulled at one.
"Can't you just magic it out?"
"Even I'm not confident enough to use my wand on my own hair." Considering how some of her spells came out she had a point. "But that does give me an idea." Picking up her wand, Star waved it around for a moment and three little bat creatures with huge, single eyes appeared. Each one holding a brush in its claws. Some of you might be wondering why a cute princess from a place as harmless sounding as Mewni would instinctively make something like cyclops bat monsters to comb her hair. Which just meant you didn't know Star well enough. "Okay guys, help me out please?" The little creatures chirped at her and went to work combing at her hair.
"Ow. Ow. Owwww. Owie! Careful please. Ow!" Despite working faster the little monsters didn't seem any more skilled at brushing hair painlessly than she had been. Star's face changing from a confident smile to an expression of pain with each pull of their brushes. Marco decided he should probably do something at this point with all the trouble she was having.
"Mind if I cut in, guys?" Marco asked as he pulled himself off the towel from his comfortable position laying on top of the sand and moved behind Star himself on the lounging chair, the bat creatures fluttering out of his way and poofing magically out of existence. Spreading his legs apart and sliding up close (but making sure not to make contact with her) he picked up Star's brush and began to help her remove the tangles and straighten her hair out. He had to admit it wasn't a very easy task with just how much hair she had but by carefully working through it with his finger and keeping it from pulling at her scalp the process went a lot easier. Star even seemed to be enjoying it now as the let out another yawn. "Feeling better?"
"Mm-hm" She responded sounding calmer than he was used to. "I like getting my hair brushed."
"I bet, with how much you have."
"You're good at this." She said dreamily, making Marco feel a little embarrassed.
"Well I'm just being careful is all." That's all there really was to it. He was being sure to reduce the amount of pulling on her head and it felt worlds better than the constant tugging she was subjected to before.
"Being the 'safe kid' for my benefit?" Star asked teasingly, using Marco's unwanted (and in his opinion, unwarranted) nick name he'd picked up at school. "That's good for me though. You always try to keep me safe."
"I'm just looking out for my friend is all." Marco said as he ran his fingers up into her hair to try and break it up a bit. Star seemed to appreciate the attention and used her hands to slide back up against Marco on the chair, pressing right against his lap in the process. While this was surprising, Marco didn't do very much at all to stop it from happening. If the nearly-missed kiss in the water they'd shared hadn't made his body ready for contact with her then Star pushing herself into his lap while wearing a tight swimsuit sure did the trick. "S-Star?"
"Hm?" She asked and began to lay back against his chest. The pressure forcing Marco against the back rest of the lounge chair as she snuggled into place against him and let out a more dainty, princess-y yawn that Marco couldn't tell if it was real or cleverly staged act of cuteness.
"Are you... um... comfortable?" This was way past their normal comfort zone together but Marco didn't exactly want her to leave. Besides ever since that previous day they'd shared together when they had kissed he'd been feeling a glimmer of hope for something like this to happen again.
"Mm-hm." Star said happily and crossed her arms over her stomach while she rested. "Oh, they're meeting together." She said and motioned upward into the sky. Marco looked up to see the two moons begin to cross paths together with each other, not quite eclipsing but making their way so that it looked like they were touching one another. "I'm glad we stayed long enough to see this."
"Y-yeah... me too." Marco was feeling conflicted about the situation he was in, not to mention very warm underneath the princess. Star was hyper and silly but she wasn't stupid. Laying against a boy like this while wearing something as tight as a swimsuit was hardly appropriate for a young girl and he was positive if any of their parents had been near by they'd have put a stop to it. But right now in a tropical paradise with a beautiful girl he didn't really care what was right or wrong or even what was appropriate or otherwise. He just knew he was really happy having her so close against him. He just wasn't sure what her intentions were right now.
"Y'know Star, what you were saying before, out there in the water. About the moons being friends. Or... or even more than friends. I liked that. I liked that you thought of that right away. I guess the idea of them 'dueling' each other sounds pretty cool, but instead the first thing you thought of was something nice between them. That they could be happy together, even if other people didn't think so." What the hell was he saying? Marco couldn't even tell where he was going with this. Just rambling for the sake of filling in the silence between them. "I guess I'm saying that I'm just... kind of happy right now. That doesn't make any sense, does it? Star?" Marco leaned his head forward to look down at the closed eyes of Princess Butterfly as she laid on her back against his chest. Letting out a sigh Marco leaned back onto the chair again and looked upward. "Asleep. Okay... didn't hear me talking like an idiot. That's good too."
Normally he woldn't care what Star heard him say. It wasn't that her opinion didn't matter, it was just he trusted her so much that he didn't worry about what she'd think of him. Sometimes though he wanted to seem cool or exciting in front of her, but eventually he'd always do something stupid or dorky. Somehow even though he could fist fight monsters and keep up with her on adventures it still didn't make him feel like any less of a nerd. Maybe some things about yourself you can't change no matter how hard you try. Glancing from the water into the sky again Marco could see the moons were nearly eclipsed over one another and decided that they probably should start heading back before his mom worried. He already pushed his luck quite a bit with curfew since Star moved in and he didn't want to get her in trouble because they stayed out too late.
"Star, we should head back." Marco said to the dozing princess but she didn't stir from her spot. "Star, we need to get up." Marco tried to sit up but felt her push him back down, seeing a smile form on her face as she kept his back on top of him. He gave her a little glare. "You're doing this on purpose."
"Uh-uh." She said sleepily and kept him pinned down. "I'm asleeeeep."
"No you're not." Marco corrected her humorlessly.
"Yeeeees I am." She said with a mischievous giggle.
"Then how are you answering me if you're asleep?"
"This is how people from Mewni sleep. It's common knowledge, of course." She might have been from a whole other world but Marco was pretty sure this little fact wasn't accurate. "I guess nothing can be done but lay here until I wake up."
"Okay then, I'll pick you up while you're asleep." Star's smile turned into an exaggerated frown and she shook her head in protest. "Oh yeah? Who's going to stop me?"
"You don't want to get up." Star answered confidently.
"Oh yeah, you're sure about that?"
"Mm-hm. I can tell." Star grinned and Marco's body froze as he felt her rock her hips back and forth in his lap. It was the smallest amount of movement but it brought to attention clear as day the erection he'd had pressed against Star's butt since she'd slid back against him. He swallowed a lump in his throat and relaxed his body against the lounge chair again. The princess had won with tactics far dirtier than Marco ever thought she was possible of committing. Sighing he relented to her wishes.
"Fine, ten more minutes." Star giggled happily at her victory and readjusted in his lap to lay on her side against him now, Marco helping her brush her hair aside so as to not get caught on it. Leaning her head upward she motioned with his finger for him to lean downward to her and when he did she darted upward to put a kiss onto his lips.
"I didn't get to earlier." Star whispered as she leaned against him and rested soundly. Leaving Marco with a body that was both too scared to move for fear of the friction of her body while at the same time wanting nothing more than to do exactly that. They laid on that lounge chair for who knew how long, Marco being without a watch to actually keep track of time. Though once his body was a little more relaxed and less raging with desire the blond princess yawned and rose upward from her resting place. Sitting up on the lounge chair and out of Marco's lap she wiped the sleep out of her eyes and smiled at her friend. "Wow, I really dozed off there."
"You can say that again." Marco said sounding more tired than before, their resting position having started to lure him to sleep as well. Sitting upward Marco pulled himself off the beach chair and helped Star to her feet. She looked upward into the sky at the moons.
"I guess I missed when they were touching together." As far as Marco was concerned the part where they made contact was the most vivid memory in his mind. "It's okay though, I had a pretty nice dream."
"Oh yeah, what about?"
"I can't remember." Star said with a grin. "But I remember it was warm and nice." She stretched herself out to wake up her body a little and Marco decided not to watch so as to avoid any more embarrassing moments of his body reacting to pleasant sights tonight. "Also sorry if I said anything weird. People from Mewni are known to do all sorts of things when they sleep."
"That a fact?"
"As far as anyone needs to know." Star said and gave him a wink that made his heart thump a little in his chest. "Wanna get changed and head home?"
"Yeah, mom's probably wondering where we are."
"Okay, lets head back to the gift shop to change there." Marco agreed and they began to walk back towards the resort a little ways off the beach. Star leaned against him and took his hand in hers as their feet left the sand. "Hey Marco, think they'll let us keep these swimsuits?" Feeling her rest against his body made him tense but his hand responded on it's own and squeezed hers gently in return.
"Yeah, probably if we ask them nicely. Do you like them?" Star nodded and Marco smiled. "I like them too."
"I had a feeling you did." He blushed a little but she didn't tease him any further, the duo letting their hands go after another gentle squeeze once they were in sight of the locals. Above him the moons in the sky had drifted as far apart from each other as when they'd started. Their separation didn't feel melancholy to him though, instead it was kind of hopeful. They'd come together again without fail, two (good, best, more than) friends dancing in the night. Regardless of what people thought of them.