Some unknown point in the future

An unknown amount of time after Star and Marco's two-year anniversary

The California sun cast a bold heat upon a lone farm in Redding that had just received a bountiful harvest of corn. Thanks to its sole two residents, the yield was as plentiful as always, and the couple was on their way to another prosperous market day in a few hours.

Marco Diaz had just finished packing up all the corn he could in all the crates he planned on taking to the market later. He carried them all onto the spacious bed of his pickup truck all on his own. He swung the door closed once the last crate was packed, and all the soreness and fatigue of a long day of hard work caught up to him all at once. His muscles throbbed and burned, and his skin had become drenched in sweat.

But for Marco, rather than being uncomfortable reminders that he'd pushed himself to his limits, they essentially acted like lottery tickets that he could cash in for a guaranteed reward that he valued every single day.

To be comforted by his beloved Star.

Even as exhausted as he was by his work, it never crossed his mind whenever he had to walk through his and his partner's 400-acre farm to reach their farmhouse. Instead it was her and the time he looked forward to spending with her as he recovered from his job well done.

It felt like no time at all when he reached his single floor farmhouse and gently swung the front door open. As soon as he stepped foot into the house, his nose was struck by the captivating smell of Star's home cooking.

"Mmm, beef and corn chili." Marco accurately pointed out before continuing his path from the front door, through the living room then finally into the kitchen.

He stopped when his tired eyes found the relief they sought after in the form of Star happily cooking a meal with her back, draped in her flowing golden locks, facing him.

Marco's heavy, boot-clad footsteps became faster and more determined as he instantly closed the meager distance between himself and Star. He didn't hesitate to scoop her into his strong muscular arms, stopping her stirring of a boiling pot and pulling her away from the lit stove to plant numerous soft kisses all over her cheek that indicated a different kind of hunger.

Star giggled at the vigorous display of affection. "Well hey to you, too."

"Sorry. I really need this right now." Marco breathed between kisses all over Star's cheek and neck.

"Don't apologize. I was gonna ask you if you'd rather have lunch, a bath or me, but…" She looked her man up and down with a devilish grin on her face. "It looks like you've already made up your mind."

The deep rumble snapped both of their attention to its source: Marco's empty stomach. They looked at each other with different kinds of smiles. Star's was one that heralded laughter while Marco's was sheepish and colored with a blush.

Marco nervously laughed. "Well I did… but it looks like my stomach thinks differently."

Star shook her head as she giggled. "Well then lemme get this chili ready for ya' first, big guy.

Marco, as much as he loathed to do so, released his embrace on Star. His hand remained clutched to her side even as he stepped back. His arm slumped sadly to his side once he stepped beyond its reach.

It was only a few minutes before Star brought a couple bowls of the chili she was making tk the table. As soon as Marco grabbed a spoon to help himself, he was stopped by a firm hold on his wrist.

"Ah-ah-ah." Star teased as she snatched the spoon out of Marco's hand.

"What?"

"You're sore and tired. Lemme feed you." Star firmly insisted.

"Uh, I'm not that sore." Marco rebutted.

"You've been out there on your own for hours. You were literally struggling to keep your arms up while you were hugging me."

"What? No I- aahh!"

Star's hand darted to Marco's bicep, her fingers biting into it just slightly and eliciting a yelp of pain.

"Told'ja." Star smiled smugly.

Marco conceded with a sigh. "Okay, fine."

Star slid her chair closer to Marco before scooping up a spoonful of chili. She brought it close to her own lips to give it a gentle blow before bringing it to Marco's lips. The spicy, salty, yet slightly sweet flavors danced pleasurably on his tongue. He hummed as he savored the fruits of Star's labor and his prior teachings. He wished he was using his own hands so he could go for several more spoonfuls.

"Again?" Star asked to which Marco nodded with strong confirmation.

"Okay. But close your eyes this time."

Marco raised his eyebrow at the request but shrugged and obliged anyway. He could never refuse her, especially since she cooked him a nice meal and was even feeding him. Marco closed his eyes and opened his mouth wide, expecting another warm, decadent spoonful of chili.

Instead he felt his lover softly pressing her lips to his, while holding him by the cheek. It didn't even take Marco aback but rather emboldened him to respond in kind, while adding tongue and holding her by the waist.

It felt like ages before the two withdrew. They gazed lovingly into each other's eyes, feeling one another's hearts beating vigorously as one, aching for the same desire.

"Uh. I think I'm ready to move on to you now, Star." Marco spoke with a smoldering glint in his eye and a confident smile, a look that often brought Star to her knees. It was a sign that he was about to sweep her off her feet and take her to their room to consummate their love.

This time, Star couldn't help but hold back a snicker. Within moments she gave up on holding it back and let out bellowing laughter that left Marco with a puzzled look on his face.

"Star, what's so funny?"

"I'm sorry, it's just-" She squeezed out a few more giggles before continuing.

September 2, 2020

11 months and 7 days before Star and Marco's two-year anniversary

"I'm sorry, it's just-" She squeezed out a few more giggles before continuing. "You're supposed to be smoldering, but-" (snicker) "You look like you have to go to the bathroom!"

Marco gasped, and his cheeks quickly took on a crimson hue. "I do not!"

"You totally do!" Star exclaimed between laughs. As she did, she grabbed the phone that was recording their scene and stopped the camera, bringing their weekly filming session to a temporary halt.

The couple were filming a scene for what had become known as 'Fanfic Friday,' one of the more unexpected aspects of life post-Cleave. Once word got out that they were the reason that Earth and Mewni merged, Star and Marco gained an incredible level of notoriety. Thankfully the merger was universally well-received, so most of the focus on them centered around the story of a love strong enough to literally bring worlds together.

Soon the internet was full of drawings and stories about and inspired by their relationship. Over the course of a few months, Marco and Star's reaction to the flood of fan work featuring them went from 'this is really cool' to 'this is kinda weird' to 'well, this is our life now.' Their acceptance eventually led to them referencing a couple of popular memes about them on social media, and that grew into the pair acting out a popular fan story. The couple enjoyed the experience so much that they opted to make it a weekly event. Now, whenever Star or Marco found a story that they enjoyed and which didn't involve 'mature themes,' there was a good chance it would be acted out for Fanfic Friday.

Or at least it would, if they could ever figure out whether Marco's look was a smolder or not.

"No way," Marco said with a huff. "That wasn't a bathroom look. That was the most smoldering smolder that ever smoldered."

She stifled another giggle. "Marco, I love you, and you are super cute, but that wasn't a smolder. That was constipation."

Marco crossed his arms and gave his girlfriend an exaggerated pout. "Was. Not."

"Okay, prove it." She aimed the phone at her boyfriend. "Gimme the smolder."

Marco gave Star a slight nod as if to say 'deal.' He gazed down at the floor and rubbed his hands over his face to prepare himself. Once he was ready, he slowly looked up to Star with the same look he had on his face moments earlier.

*Click*

Star studied the screen of her phone, looking over Marco's pose. She shook her head and tisked at her boyfriend before turning the screen towards him. "See? Constipated."

Marco rolled his eyes. "That's not even close!"

A devilish grin crossed Star's face. "Well, I guess we'll need to ask someone to settle this."

Marco knew what that grin meant. He let out a slight sigh and gave her a nod of permission. At once, Star's thumbs went into overdrive. She quickly opened up her Chirper app and typed up a post.

When you're filming #FanficFriday with your BF and he gives you this face… What's on his mind, love or constipation? #Starco

She attached the picture in question and added a poll for her followers before hitting the 'Post' button. Within moments, Marco's supposed smolder was on display for all of her followers to see.

Marco walked behind his girlfriend and rested his chin on her shoulder. "As cute as you are," he said, "I can't wait to see the look on your face when the internet agrees with me."

Star was about to retort when she saw the screen change. The post had only been live for a few seconds but there were already hundreds of 'Starco' fans sharing their opinions. And as the numbers rolled in, Star couldn't help but smile. She turned her head and gave Marco a kiss on the cheek. "Looks like you're gonna have to keep waiting, then."

Marco's face fell. Within 30 seconds of the poll going live, constipation jumped out to a commanding lead. There were already a thousand votes tallied and 85% of them thought that he looked constipated. He looked on in hopes that the vote would turn around, but the ratio only got worse for him. A minute into polling constipation was winning the vote by a nine-to-one margin.

He sighed in defeat. "Alright, we'll do another take."

AUTHOR'S NOTES

I've never done the lengthy author's notes before. This is my one freebie.

1. A huge thank you to the immensely talented OwTheEdge, who wrote the farmers scene. In one of their earlier SvtFoE works they had Marco unexpectedly blurt out that he imagined him and Star becoming farmers. That never left my brain, so it's sort of a 'full circle' moment for me.

2. Obviously, this is my first Shenanigans story in almost 2 years. The idea of the series, inspired by the Kim Possible story "Gesprekken" by yvj, was to create 26 snapshots in the life of Star and Marco before and after a significant event (their first time). Then I figured out that I sucked at actually writing smut, so I tried practicing in another fandom and kinda stayed there for 150,000 words. Also, I had a kid. That's taken up a little bit of my time. Long story short, I'm probably not going to get to 26, but I do still have a couple ideas in my head that I absolutely want to put out into the world. Hopefully they'll be up here relatively soon.