Star vs The Forces of Evil: Unforgettable Getaway

Chapter 8: Nocturnal Nuance

Their kissing session lasted for longer than either of them had anticipated, but to them, it was worth every second of it. At some point they had decided they were ready to turn in for the night and fell asleep where they were lying. For Star, it came easily. For Marco...not so much.

He laid there on the bed, staring at Star. His mind was racing with conflicting thoughts. He was unable to fall back asleep, and it was not because Star was more loudly than normal revving up the chainsaws literally inches from his ear. No, normally her snoring like this would actually have the exact opposite effect on him. 

I don't know, you figure that one out.

Tonight, however, nothing was helping him get back to sleep. He did the only thing he felt compelled to do: he scooched closer to the sleeping girl and quietly kissed her forehead, carefully wrapping his arms around her and hugging her. He couldn't quite pinpoint it, but something about doing that tonight felt right to him. He didn't expect she would feel the same way but he would cross that bridge when he got to it.

He stayed hugging her for the longest time while she slumbered on. She was a bit of a heavy sleeper, which he found to be adorable. He gently ran his hand through her hair, smiling warmly. No matter what mood he was in, being with her and holding her always managed to cheer him up. Her slumber didn't last, however. She finally began stirring around and opened her eyes halfway, her vision immediately picked up on the boy holding her in his arms. "M-Marco?"

He pulled back slightly. "I'm sorry, d-did I wake you?"

She shook her head lightly and smiled at him. He was always such a gentleman to her, even when he was being awkward. "Sure, but I could get used to waking up like this." Her lips engaged his passionately. When she pulled apart, she took note of his lack of bursting smile. "You okay?"

"I guess...I can't sleep."

"Aww, I'm sorry. Am I keeping you awake?"

"Oh no, it's not you."

"...You sure?"

"Positive. I don't know why, but normally that actually helps me fall asleep."

"You seriously need to help me understand that one of these days." She giggled. "So, then, what's wrong?"

He pulled away even more and laid back on his back, staring at the ceiling. "Just...got a lot on my mind I suppose..."

"Is this about what happened today? I thought we were okay on-"

"Oh no no, it's not that. It's...other things." He sighed. She joined him lying down next to him, head nuzzled against his shoulder and arms wrapped around his torso.

"You wanna talk about it?" Unconsciously he grabbed the hand that was resting on his chest and caressed it, taking special attention to the bandages. His gaze went towards said bandages. Suddenly the memory of her bashing that mirror and shattering her arms & hands played through his head again. It didn't take much for Star to notice that something was off. Carefully he fit his hand into hers and kissed the back of it. "Marco?"

He looked back at her and then let go of the hand. "Give me a sec." He got out of bed and went towards the closet, leaving her to her thoughts. He rummaged through everything before finding what he was looking for and coming back to the bed. In his hands he held a small stack of photos. He climbed back in and scooched close to her so that they were right up against each other. She sat up and looked at the photos he handed to her one by one. They were of him as a little boy with a man who looked a lot like his father Rafael, only it wasn't.

"Oh my gosh you were the cutest widdle boy." She gushed at the baby Marco. "I wanna give this widdle angel all the hugs and kisses." And then she smothered the older Marco with hugs and kisses. He loved when she gushed about him, even if it was just about the silly things. "Wow, you dad looks...really slim here."