As the sun streaked overhead, baking everything in its torrid yellow glow, not a cloud could be seen to offend the ranges of mountains that stretched on further than the eye could see. From the shallow valleys that lay concealed in trees and carved by rivers, to the jagged peaks above, it was a picture-perfect landscape in which no one expected to find two destructive forces of nature exchanging blows. One hit after the other, the mountain faces shook, and the hanging trees bent under the concussive booms of magic, and the gale-force winds that followed that telltale burning sword.
Marco charged forward and weaved his way around a purple torrent of magic that threatened to vaporize his form. Even sporting his hefty set of Vintal armor, aged down to his size, he gracefully footed under it and around as he swung his sword in a wide arc, pivoting on the ball of his foot. From the tip of the blade, a massive ripple of blue fire burst forth, cutting through the air and severing several trees from their roots as it approached its target.
From under her matching armor and helmet, Star grinned before cutting off the ionizing beam of magic and hurled herself back, now facing the sky as the wave of fire scarcely heated her nose in it's accelerated pass. As trees hit the ground behind her, she caught herself on her hands and sprang backward, landing on her feet and thrusting her wand forward as quickly as she could. "Solar Panzerfaust!" She shouted, sending a single bolt of golden energy forward with all the recoil of a battering ram as it shook her armor in its place.
Shielding her eyes, Star watched as Marco dug his left heel into the dirt and pivoted about, drawing his sword to his shoulder in a blur of irradiant blue light. As the bolt had practically reached him, she saw as he swung his blade forward and, with noticeable effort, parried her shot just over his shoulder before renewing his charge toward her. The spent shot sailed further through the air until it hit a massive pine, blasting it into splinters as Marco changed direction, his eyes never leaving Star.
He dodged a narwhal blast, leaping towards a tree just outside of his path, and let his eyes ignite into indigo flames as he forced a blast of energy from his heels to propel him into the air. His launchpad was nearly shattered as he sailed to another, repeating his explosive charge, again and again, Star helpless to only watch. She kept her eyes fixed on him as he narrowly avoided blast after blast from her wand, leaving smoldering stumps where trees used to be until she noticed his zig-zagged pattern was bringing him rapidly closer.
Recognizing his approach, Star shifted her wand into her brilliant crystal sword and spun on her heels as she let its blade trail behind. From its tip, a thin wheel of purple magic pulsed from her in a centrifugal wave, slicing through every tree in a twenty yard ring. She gave her opponent a satisfied smirk as countless trunks began to topple, but it quickly fell from her cheeks as Marco adapted his pattern, using the falling trunks as an intricate web of platforms to ricochet off of until his trajectory pointed him directly at Star.
"Sunshine grid!" She commanded, firing a hexagonal prism of crisscrossing golden light directly at him. The net illuminated the air around it, it's intention being to slow rather than subdue, but Marco was an unstoppable force. As he fell, he drew his sword back to hold it level with his gaze as he charged it with concentrated blue fire. Just before he reached the net, he released its hidden pressure, swinging it with the velocity of a bullet as a crest of energy roared out, ripping through the net like paper. "Shit," Star whispered, raising her sword and lowering her stance just before his impact.
Marco watched as she readied herself and struck with the force of a bomb, their blades ringing throughout the mountains as a concussive wave of pressure burst in every direction. While the dust settled, Marco smiled at her and blew a small kiss from under his helmet, earning a grin and a blush from his favorite sparring partner. "Loosen up, Star. And bend your knees," he offered before ducking below a slash aimed for his head and answering in kind, thrusting his blade for Stars' chest. She easily parried the strike, her natural strength making child's play of his attempt at brute force, and leaned in, elbowing him in the ribs.
"Yeah, I noticed I was a bit stiff there. But then again, so were you last night, huh?" She giggled. It felt nice to cut loose with someone who could take it, especially when it was in a fight.
Marco gasped and stepped back, struggling to keep footing but Star wouldn't relent. She charged after him and cut for his neck only to be parried at the last moment, her sword swinging far above his head. Marco straightened his stance and thrust his blade forward to slow her advance, but her crystal blade smacked his aside as she rushed forward mercilessly.
In the last second, he surprised her by stepping closer, their eyes meeting for a split second of awkward calm before she reacted, driving her sword forward as it hissed with pink magic. Marco sidestepped, reading her body, and parried her blade, catching its wing in the handle of his scissor before wrenching it from her iron grip, dashing back as he held both blades aloft.
"Thats cheating and you know it," she grumbled, raising her gauntletted fists and taking a menacing step forward. Marco could only shrug and assume his original duel-wielded stance, giving her a Cheshire grin from under his helm as he circled her. "So was cutting down all my trees. I mean c'mon, who does that?"
Star lunged forward with a mad grin, blocking his strikes with the finished metal on her forearms as she sent piston-like punches towards his chest and head. "I do! And I don't-," she swung for his gut but was parried to the side, "-enjoy-," she sent a heavy jab for his chest, Marco twisting just in time to avoid it, "-you stealing-," she ducked under a slash of her own blade, losing a few locks of golden hair in the process, "-my stuff!" she yelled in a crouched position before throwing a bullet train haymaker into his gut.
She heard the metal of his armor buckle under her strength as she filled her strike with charged blue fire, blasting him back thirty yards into a tree. Even from here, she could hear a couple of cracks as Marco dropped both blades, his helmet having since fallen from his head, but when she rushed to finish him, he raised his armored hands and spun a kick towards her jaw. Arching her back, she managed to dodge it by inches, catching his heel in her hands. "Got ya!" She yelled proudly, ready to throw him into a different time zone, but Marco's confident grin gave her pause.
"Oh nooo," he chimed sarcastically before twisting his midsection and delivering a powerful kick to her chest, freeing himself and launching into a roll. Star recovered in seconds, charging to meet him once more as the two exchanged blows. Marco ducked around a shotgun punch and landed a powerful hook into her side, hearing a less than satisfying clang against her armor. With a menacing grin, Star drove her knee towards his ribs, but Marco was expecting an underhanded attack like that.
Bracing his gloved hand against her thigh he used the momentum of her blow to launch himself into the air, contorting his body into a spin and landing a forcible hook kick against the side of her helmet. He heard metal creak before the silver headdress was knocked clean off, exposing Stars dazed grimace. She stumbled back several steps as Marco picked up their weapons, clenching both blades aloft as the forest burned around them. "You had enough yet, princess?" he asked with a thoughtful smile, but Star shook her head and glared at him. All belts were off now.
"I'll tell you when I've had enough, Diaz," she growled, cracking her neck in several places before clasping both palms together, as if in prayer. "Let's see if you can handle somma this." Marco felt his blood run frigid as she separated her hands, spreading her arms to reveal that where there had once been two, now there were six. Two massive, flaming, azure wings flared out behind her, lifting her into the air as her eyes shifted to a chilled deep sea blue, her hair now licking the air in matching flames
"Star, that's...hardly fair, right?" Marco asked in a timid voice. As a gesture of good faith, he eased his swords and took a step forward, but Star only responded by cracking all six knuckles at once. "Right. Guess that's a no." Marco held his blades at a ready position and prepared for the nastiest thrashing of his life. He knew he could take Star in her normal form, if an even fight, but in her Butterfly form? He was completely, hopelessly, outclassed and outnumbered.
Star splayed all six palms, allowing blue magic to hum around her as she maintained a fixed flight before him. She gave him a wicked grin and made to charge, but when Marco stared at her almost sinister smile, he felt his spine tingle in an all too familiar way. His vision blurred around her as Stars hair appeared to shift to red, and her grin grew more toxic. He didn't recognize who she appeared to be, but he knew who he was seeing. "Nebula, " a voice whispered in his head.
His blood turned to frost as the feeling in his body began to wane, giving way to a numbness he had come to recognize. As anticipated, the next thing to go was his hearing, leaving the world in an almost painful hush before ultimately, his vision faded to black.
Star was ready to cut loose and pulverize her boy toy into the dirt when she saw him unexpectedly slump forward, his swords stabbing into the dirt as his eyes shifted to a deep black, only two luminous green dots remaining for his pupils. 'Oh corn, no,' was all she could think before Marco abruptly stiffened, teal flames flooding from his shoulders to his hands as he threw his head back and drew a cold breath like it was his very first. Star would never forget the first time she heard that horrifying sound and merely watched as he struggled for air.
"No… not her… please… you can't take her!" He cried out before grasping both blades and fixing his gaze on Stars Butterfly form.
"Yoouuu. Kiiiillled. Meriiinnaaaaa," he groaned, igniting his blades as his soulless eyes met with Stars. He twitched, the bones in his arms cracking like it had been years since last he moved as he let out a deep growl from his throat. "Nebula...Nebula! I will decorate these rocks with your blood!"
"Marco, you in there at all? Or do you need a hand this time?" Star asked, suppressing her Butterfly form and taking several cautious steps closer. He wasn't responsive to her question but kept both blades trained on her with deadly precision. "Hiding your wings will not bring you mercy," he growled, his seething glare only intensifying by the second, "You stole her from me, and I will not rest until you suffer as she has! As we both have!" Star stopped in her tracks and held up both hands defensively, her eyes fixed on him in the same way a mother would look at their hurt child. "Alright, I'm gonna pull you out, okay? Just relax, and focus on the sound of my voice."
Marco was unrelenting, gripping both hilts of his weapons as he narrowed his onyx eyes at her. Nebula was only trying to win him over, to lull him into a false sense of security. But he had come too far, hurt too many people to stop now. His plan was nearing completion, and with the final pieces of the puzzle he could- "Marquess," Star announced in a clear order, causing Marco to slump to his knees almost instantly. His hands fell limp, releasing both blades as both the wand and his scissors returned to their dormant state.
Stars hair seemed to faze back to blonde, as her evil smile turned to a worried yet reassuring gaze, and the rocky landscape he thought he was occupying shifted back to the burning woods. He inhaled a deep breath, looking around frantically and patting his armor to extinguish the teal, billowing flames before turning a frenzied gaze to Star.
"I wasn't- DId you- It happened- Star!" He looked terrified, but Star rushed to his side and checked his eyes, satisfied to find them both back to their deep brown color. Marco waited somewhat patiently while she assessed his arms and neck, looking for any sign of injury before she pulled back and let out a sigh of relief. "You're fine, no serious injuries this time. It must have been my butterfly form that triggered it. How do you feel?" she asked in a soothing voice that seemed to ground him by her side.
"Cold. It always makes me feel cold. And...sad. But it goes away after a while," Marco noted, slightly shivering to himself as the last wisps of his ethereal doppelganger left his body. "I can help with that," she offered, pulling him closer and hugging his head to her chest. His skin was ice cold, but after a moment of rest in her arms, Marco began to return to normal.
"It was like...seeing it all from his point of view and mine through some kind of fractured, hazy window. I'm just glad you were here this time." Marco let his breathing stabilize as he felt Star nod above him. In the past two weeks since the Heinous incident, he had been possessed by that dark shadow of himself and forced out of his own mind several times. The last of which had occurred while he was alone, after letting his mind wander too deep into his memory of Varteks green blades slicing his skin. Star found him mumbling in his room about finding a severing stone, and only managed to snap him out of it by threatening to call Janna. It didn't seem to like her, which was a mutual feeling between both his forms.
"Just be happy you didn't hurt yourself," she whispered solemnly before pulling him to his feet, ensuring he could stand on his own, "We really should talk to Glossaryck about it though. What if you're... damaged or something?"
"It's fine, I can keep it under control most of the time, I just have to be careful of what draws him out. Which I guess includes your butterfly form when we're fighting." Star gave him a mock pout and kicked the dirt at her feet, playfully avoiding his gaze. "Shoot, guess I can't 'cheat' anymore, huh?"
"Pah, I wish. Besides, I doubt Glossaryck would help us much, even with this," Marco added in an annoyed tone, "Let's just focus on not breaking the universe again, and keeping an eye out for Vartek."
"Okay. But I don't want to wait until you get hurt to ask for help," she fired back, taking his hand as he drew his scissors. "Don't worry, I'll be fine, Star. After all, I have you," he cooed, taking hold of her soft cheek and planting a gentle kiss on her lips. The warmth she provided was relieving, to say the least, and the soft taste of cherry and salt made his heart swell. He could feel her grin and giggle against his lips, and after a moment the two finally parted, smiling at the familiar bond that tickled the back of their mind before he cut open a mint portal, letting it hum and shimmer beside them.
"Back to the resort then?" She asked, taking his calloused hand in hers and flashing a nameless spell from her wand, returning the forest around them to its former glory. "You know it. But try to go easy on the sappy stuff, for now. You know how Janna gets, " he gave her as the two stepped through the portal, only to be met with a sight from hell itself.
Tom and Torridity relaxed on the couch, too engrossed with one another to bother noticing, and so deep down each other's throats Marco nearly gagged at the sight. Even the room felt hotter than earlier as Torridity lay strewn across Tom's lap, clasping the horns of the demon as he drug his fingers through her hair, evoking a pleasant giggle from his counterpart before Star cleared her throat.
The moment the two offenders realized they weren't secluded, they both quickly decoupled from one another and scrambled to look proper to no avail whatsoever. "Guys!" Marco screamed in a whisper to not disturb the other occupants of the cabin, "We all agreed, no...gross...stuff like that! Keep it rated PG, please! No one wants to see that!"
Tom bit back a growl that ran low in his throat, but Torridity couldn't help but smile at her precarious position. "Relax, Marco, kissing is PG. You and Star get to go out and do...whatever it is you do, it's not like we're hurting anyone."
"Marco and I are training to make sure we can handle our next big fight. And to make sure he can take some more stress after the last one. And yes! You're hurting my eyes with that sleaze-fest!" Star cried out, though she too failed at surprising a grin as Marco made his way over to a- thankfully separate -love seat just across from them. Tom gave him a curious glance and jerked his head towards Marcos clearly damaged armor. "How'd it go? You have another 'episode'? Looks like you took a beating."
"You shoulda seen the other guy, " Marco chuckled as he placed his helmet on the floor, rubbing his temples, "but yeah, another episode. This time I saw the queen that almost killed Vartek in her butterfly form when Star used hers. Luckily we had the sleeper phrase Janna gave us to pull me out of it."
From the other end of the mountainside cottage, a door clicked shut as Janna walked out in his usual pink pajamas, rubbing her eyes at the midday hour. "So much for taking a vacation. You know saying Marquess is only gonna work for so long before it adapts, right? You have like, two left. Tops," she mumbled, plopping down on the couch beside Torridity. The Demoness looked at him with a growing intrigue and tilted her head as if to study him at a better angle. "Wait what now? You guys have some kind of safe word?" She let a small smile bloom at the idea. "And I thought Tom was weird in bed sometimes."
"Nooooooo, no no nooo, " Marco groaned in a desperate attempt to shield his brain from the idea of Tom in the throes of passion, "NOTHING like that. I have this thing, inside me-"
"You mean a vagina? News flash, Diaz, three of us have been there, and it doesn't get better," Janna laughed, sending Torridity and Tom alike into hysterics as he met her grin with a glare. "No. I have this...corrupted thing in me that takes control sometimes. It's like it's made up of memories and corrupted magic, and when I see or do things that it can relate to, it uses that as a foothold to take control for a bit. While it's in control, I see things the way it does, like a filter that changes people, and places, to what it knows. But Star has a code word that gets my attention inside, and pulls me back out."
"That's...weird, " Tom whispered, now suddenly deep in thought, "That sounds really familiar, but I can't remember what it's from. Like, I've seen that before, I know I have, but I don't know where."
"Yeah, me too," Janna added, shrugging thoughtfully at him, "but I haven't found anything yet. For now, they're kinda on their own." She let that hang in the air for a moment as Star settled beside Marco, the two of them nodding in agreement. "Just wish I woulda stuck around when Vartek got there. I could have-"
"Janna, it's okay." It was Marco who spoke, meeting her eyes with a gentle reassurance she was not often gifted from him. "You did what we asked, and we got cocky. Even on vacation, Star and I are trying to get better so that doesn't happen again, but you shouldn't blame yourself for our arrogance. People might have gotten hurt if you weren't there."
Janna nodded glumly at the idea of her help amounting to crowd control. Star perked up a bit, offering, "We did find out from Glossaryck that Marcos's connection to the blood moon was cut off while he was... gone. But he came back pretty much the same. They couldn't find anything wrong with him."
"So, maybe it's a parasite?" Tom asked, reclining into the couch and throwing an arm over Torriditys shoulder, "I have this one curse that-" Marco let out a short chuckle and shook his head.
"Yeah, the Naysaya?" He remembered well what an ordeal that had been to endure, but he also knew that his doppelganger was something completely different. "The Naysaya never took control of my body, and it never made me see things. This is definitely something new."
"Wait wait wait, did I use the Naysaya on you? Ho man, that's brutal, dude! How do you not hate me right now?" Tom asked as he fell into a fit of laughter. Marco offered a simple shrug and stood up, stretching his back as he motioned for Star to follow. "It wasn't that bad, the little dude was kinda cool once I got to know it. Plus, I got a girlfriend thanks to him."
Star shoved him further along towards their room, the annoyance not lost in her voice as she hollered back to the group, "Yeah yeah, Marcos dumb, Toms mean, blah blah blah. Everyone get ready, Jackie told us to meet her in town in an hour, and to wear our dancing shoes."
Tom looked down at his and Torriditys feet before turning to Janna curiously. "You don't, actually have those… do you?"
"Dude, " Janna sighed, getting up and making her way back to her and Fergussons room with a shake of her head, "No. Just...go back to making out or something."
Back in their private room, Marco unfastened the already heavily dented chest plate of his armor and pulled it over his head, setting it gently in the closet before asking, "You don't think we're pushing it by taking this vacation, do you? I mean, with 'Darco' in here, Vartek out there, Toffee in the realm of magic, Eclipsa waiting to come out, are we being reckless?"
Star stalked closer to him and wrapped her arms around his stomach from behind, resting her chin on his shoulder with a satisfied grin. "Nah, you saw what happened with Heinous, the universe fixed itself. If we get too carried away it'll just glitch again and we'll be back to normal." Marco rested his head against hers and held her hands, enjoying that familiar warmth and the pleasant hint of strawberries in the air.
"We might be breaking it by letting it do that though. We should be more careful, " he offered. He could feel Star tense, if only slightly, and knew instantly that might have been a touchy subject. "I am having a great time. And I'm glad we could come out here, but you know me. I worry."
"Mmmm, yeah you do, " Star purred, dragging her splayed hands over his athletic abdomen and relishing in the impressions she felt, "But we've worried enough. Things'll work out, so for now, can't we just enjoy our vacation? I can think of a few places I'd love to...explore."
Marco felt his cheeks burn at her words, as she wordlessly pulled him towards the bed and turned him about. He couldn't help but smile, wrapping his arms back around her and pulling her into a deep kiss. Finally, he let go of his worries and fully gave himself to her, pressing the warmth of his body closer as they carelessly removed their armored clothes piece by piece.
As it clanged noisily to the ground, leaving them both bare from the waist up, Star didn't care. Whether one person or a hundred knew she was in the bone zone, it didn't matter. As she and Marco kissed, that telltale panting beginning, it was just him. There was no room, there was no mountain, there was only Marco. But, whether it was her first or last time, she still felt that timid hollowness creeping up her gut, making her pull back just enough to make him notice.
"Star? You...okay?" Marco asked, not hiding his relief in having a moment to catch his breath, "Did I forget to brush my teeth?" Star draped her arms over his neck and brought herself closer to him, but notably avoided his gaze. "You never forget to brush your teeth, Diaz. And yeah, I'm good, but," she sighed, "earlier, with the Naysaya-"
"It was only a joke, Star. I promise. You're the only girl I love, will ever love, -"
"But I'm not the only girl you've ever loved…" she finished, donning a small frown and meeting his eyes, "I know that's not a fair thing to say, but...if we never got a second chance, would this," she gestured around the room, and then at his body, "have ever happened? I...I wasn't your first choice and I know that's not fair to think about and you don't deserve having me bringing it up so much but I-" he pulled her into another kiss, this one less frantic and desperate, but more nurturing and gentle. His reassurance gave her calm, and when it was over, he pressed his forehead to hers and wore a wistful smile.
"You saw how we ended up. Making out in a barn like a couple of weirdos, we found each other, blood moon or not."
"But-" Star tried to find the proper words to translate her irrational thoughts, but Marco gently pressed his finger to her lips. She nodded and let him continue. "I know I hurt the other you, chasing after Jackie for so long, but for the life of me, now? I can't even remember what it is I liked about her. I just find myself looking for things that remind me of you. You've invaded every thought in my head, every beat of my heart, and every second of my life. And I never want to see you leave them. With Jackie, I liked the idea of her, and the image I built around her, but when I had her, I realized something very important."
Star said nothing. She couldn't, she could only keep her sapphire blue eyes locked with his as he rubbed her shoulders gently. "I realized that I didn't love Jackie. What I was looking for in her, what I wanted so desperately to have? I already found with you. I realized a while ago, when I lost you to Tom, that losing what I had with you? Scared me more than losing everything else on Earth. You are the only girl I've ever truly loved, Star, and nothing is ever going to change that."
"Marcoooo," she breathed, barely able to subdue her brimming smile, "That's soo cuuuute, I'm sorry I-"
"Ahhh, hey, don't apologize. I was a bad friend to you back then, and I've earned a little flak over it. But I'm glad I can have you now, even at the cost of starting over."
"Ditto, Macho man," she whispered before pulling him into another breathless kiss. She could feel the muscles in his shoulders flexing as he unfastened the upper half of her outfit, and as her top fell to the floor, she sighed in comfort at his embrace that covered her bare chest. It made her feel safe, and the longer he kissed her the more she felt loved. And she'd be damned if she didn't make sure the big idiot didn't feel the same.
Marco felt Stars tempo quicken as she mashed her tongue against his, and while he could have passed away happily with that feeling in his mind, he knew her well enough to know it meant she wanted more of him. Not ever leaving her arms, he guided her onto the bed and pulled her petite form on top of him, recklessly kicking off his boots as she followed suit. He ran his hands up and down the length of her spine, playfully circling her wings as he felt her frantically trying to remove her pants.
After half a minute of failed attempts, she finally relented, pulling back and bursting into muted laughter as Marco pulled them off for her, leaving only a single pair of deep red panties to grace her delicate body. Meeting her eyes, he wore a faux glare, spreading his hands wide and waiting patiently for her to return the favor.
"You're such a dork," she laughed just above a whisper. Marco grinned and returned with a shrug. "Yeah, but I'm your dork. Until you find a hotter guy named Marcus to take my place."
"How did you know about Marcus," she quipped, feigning curiosity, "Pretty sure I only think about him when I'm getting my burrito fix. Ah well, I guess you'll do for now." She really did her best to keep a straight face, but as Marcos frown began to crack, she felt her resolve burst as the two shared a moment of hearty laughter before Star caught her breath, turning to meet his gaze. "Seriously though. Pants off, Marco, chop-chop!"
"Roger that, my Queen," he returned with a grin, nearly ripping his pants from his body. When all that was left was a pair of boxers, Star finally gave him a nod and crawled closer, trailing kisses up his body until the two were eye to eye. "That's more like it, " she purred before locking her lips with his, wrapping her arms around his neck and rocking her hips over his lap.
As Marco slid his hands over her rear, she locked her lips with his, resuming their passionate battle and forgetting the rest of the world existed. There was nothing but Marco, and the longer they kissed, and the hotter it got in their room, the more of him Star wanted to have. She could feel his excitement swelling for her, as her anticipation grew as well, and without prompt, she reached under his waistband and took hold of what was hers.
Marco grew tense as her soft hand wrapped around him, stoking the flames of his desire. She pumped up and down, never ceasing their kiss as he moaned into her mouth. He felt her grin against his lips, either in satisfaction or pride, he couldn't tell and decided to return the favor. Slipping his hand into her panties, he began rubbing her glistening core as every muscle in her body seemed to tense at once.
Star pulled back from their heavy kiss, gasping for air and burying her face into his neck as she arched her back, begging for more. "M-Marcoooo...come onnnn, Mmmmphhh! I w-wanna be in chaaarge!" Her breathing was ragged and hot, but Marco was unrelenting, digging deep into her core as she caught her breath, sinking her teeth into his shoulder. He winced at the pain, but continued as she brought both hands up and wrapped them around his neck.
Stars' body coiled against his as she felt wave after wave of electric pleasure passing through her body, and finally, she could take it no longer. She pulled herself back and knelt on the bed, giving him an exasperated glare before unceremoniously pulling off what remained of her clothes. "If you wanna play with it so bad, lover boy, then come and get it," she panted, waiting for him to approach. But Marco couldn't move. He sat in place, his eyes wide as he drunk in the sight of her ivory body, bare for him to behold.
"What?" She asked, subconsciously covering her bare chest and shriveling slightly at his gaze, "Is there something wrong with-" she began before he sat up, grabbing her hand and pulling her into a soft kiss. She sighed happily as he pressed against her, stroking her back and cupping the back of her head. After a moment of silent affection, he pulled back and gazed into her eyes, smiling softly to himself.
"Every time I see you- all of you, it's like I can't think straight. You've no idea how beautiful you are, Star. I've never seen anything as captivating as you." She grinned at his words, too smitten to respond, and found that like always, her actions would speak louder anyway. Without a second thought, she pushed him flat on his back and quickly tore his boxers from his body, taking a short moment to admire his hardness before positioning herself just above him.
As was the same every time, he eyed her before laying his hands on her, silently waiting for approval, but Star was well past any of that by now, and slowly eased herself down, feeling every bit of him stretch her insides in that all too familiar, perfect way."Ooohohoooooohoooo," she breathed, hiding a grimace as Marco bit his lip at the sensation only she could give him.
"You okay?" He asked quietly, his expression quickly shifting to nervous worry, but Star was just as quick to lean into a deep kiss, silencing his nerves in an instant. He sighed against her lips, dragging his hands down her back and gripping her rear before gently coaxing her further down, until the two of them were full joined, and she returned his satisfied breath.
'Better than okay,' she thought to herself as she began gyrating her hips. She could feel Marcos breathing intensify the more she moved, and for the life of her, she couldn't bring herself to contradict his actions. As when they started, Star didn't care for their isolation amongst their peers, instead finding herself fully enraptured by Marcos warm body beneath her. "Marco," she panted in a husky voice, "Can you do the thing?"
He shot her a bold grin, and without disrupting her movements, reached up her back and began to stroke the tender skin around her semi-translucent wings. They fluttered harmlessly at his touch, matching Stars rapidly hastening breaths. She bit her lip in ecstasy at the feelings swirling through her body, and forced back a guttural moan that would have been heard well into the next room. No matter how often or how delicately he did it, it always made her head spin, and her heart skip a beat.
"Thaaaats the ticket, lover boy, " she whispered, quickening her pace as a simple reward for his efforts, "I love you, Marco." From beneath her, surrounded by a curtain of her golden hair, Marco pulled his hands from her back and pulled her down to meet his eyes, their foreheads pressed together. "And I love you more, Star, " he answered before kissing her with fervor, their hot breath dancing back and forth between them. After a moment, Star finally came back up for air, eager to keep the stimulating waves of pleasure coming.
But when she pulled back to drink in the sight of her star-crossed lover, the scars lacing his chest demanded all of her attention, and she found herself staring, the horrific memories of that night in the desert taking over her mind by force. The tip of a green scimitar poking through the back of his jacket and still dripping with blood, the dead silence of the desert around her, a blinding green light, and the emerald flames that overtook his body...
Marco returned her gaze, albeit with a far more lovestruck expression, and ran his hands along the length of her sides, captivated by every sinew and muscle that flexed as she moved.
"Marco?" she suddenly asked, pulling him from his thoughts. He brought his eyes up to meet hers and found her seemingly worried expression less than alarming. "The scars again?" he asked quietly, a reassuring hand reaching up to cup her cheek, a genuine look of support and care on his face. When she nodded and pulled away carefully, Marco moved to cover them in a thick blanket before sitting to her back, rubbing her shoulders. "You know they don't hurt anymore, thanks to you," he pointed out, earning a decisive shrug from her, "and you know it would have been worse without you."
"I know, and I'm sorry. Even when we're across the universe, away from our problems, surrounded by friends, when I see your scars it reminds me that things are so much worse than last time." She mumbled incoherently before Marco pulled her back into a hug, feeling her wings press against his beating heart. Just how she liked it. He leaned forward and kissed her neck, resting his chin on her shoulder.
"Don't apologize, I know you have a hard time seeing past that moment I got them. It's hard for me to not stare when I'm in the shower, or when I'm getting dressed, it horrifies me that so much is different from last time. But we're stronger than a few scars, and some dumb lizard." She nodded in silence before he continued, rubbing her shoulders as he spoke. She loved the way his voice reverberated against her spine. "Remember that nightmare you had? Where you saw yourself as queen, alone on the balcony without me?" She nodded.
"And remember that goddess, Saraswati? Who told us that we'd grow up to rule Mewni?" She nodded. "Well, we saw what our future really holds, and it's both of us, standing up to evil on a combined Mewni and Earth, side by side like always. I get really scared when we have to fight, scared of losing you, scared of dying, scared of failing, but do you know what helps me get through all that?" Star shook her head. "We're always there for each other, Star. No matter what. So when you look at these scars, don't think about how I got them, or what you could have done. Don't think about whose fault it is or what you're going to do about them. Think about how you and I are always together, no matter what. And how we always have each other's backs."
To prove his point, he kissed the back of her neck gingerly as he ran his hands down her sides, pulling her close. With a fear of tickling and a resigned grin on her face, she turned to face him and kissed his lips with all the elegance of a battering ram. The two went down, too tangled up in bedsheets and each other to care, and after a moment of passionate acceptance, Star pulled back and gave him a genuine smile. "It's always gonna bother me, Marco. And I don't know when I won't look at them and blame myself, but I'm glad you're here to remind me that I'm not alone in it. Though, I'm sorry I ruined the moment...again."
"Don't worry about it, Stardust, we've had a pretty awesome week as it is. But you can always count on me to share some of the worries with you. That's what I do, you know?" She kissed the tip of his nose and pressed her forehead to his, grinning seductively as she spoke. "Soo, redo of round one off the table?"
"Well, you're kinda laying on top of little Marco, sooo, at the moment? Yeah, kind of a negative," he managed through a weak smile. Star scrambled to move to a less precarious position, making it worse, as Marco half laughed, half yelped in pain. "Sorry!" she silently shouted, trying to untangle herself from him.
From the other side of the wall, a muffled shout could be heard as Janna seemed to wretch in the living room. "Oh, my sweet friggen nana! I said making out not eating each other! Jeez!"
"What?! We can do whatever we want! It's not like we made you watch! It's just a kiss!" They could hear Tom shout back as Toriditty laughed hysterically.
"I counted three tongues and like four sets of fangs! What the fuck dude?! Fergusson, did you see that?!"
"No! And I don't want to!"
"You shoulda seen it! Like two jaws and big ole fangs and a big slimy-"
"I get it! I don't want you to paint a picture in my head, thanks!"
Star gave Marco a grin and barely stifled a laugh as she wiggled in closer, resting her cheek against the fresh scar tissue of his chest. "They might need some backup, so...should we get going? We did promise to meet Jackie at the tavern in like, half an hour," she noted. Marco mulled that over for a moment, pursing his lips before planting a soft, reassuring kiss on her forehead.
"Five more minutes. The end of our vacation can wait, Stardust."
To be continued in: The concert pt. II
Authors note
Okay so, short chapter, and it's not the whole thing. Why? Because I have finally gotten a new job rebuilding C-130 propellors! Needless to say, the job is demanding, and the overtime is worth it. As I try to get my schedule in order to rebalance work, sleep, family, and writing, I'm struggling to allocate enough time to really hammer out a good deal of the story. Once I get things on track, you can expect more consistent updates, but for now, I gotta work on making sure I have all my affairs in order lmao. I'm happy, and still writing both this Story and co-writing The Once and Future Queen, so don't expect a sudden drop-off. I hope you liked the chapter, and please leave a review with your thoughts, questions, comments, gripes, all that jazz, I'm sure this chapters left you with a couple lol. Until next time, BUH BYYYEEE!
~Mr. Ronald Reagan