"Brr." the blonde shivered, scooting in closer to her best friend on the porch. "I...I didn't know that it was going to be...c-c-cold."
"Oh, you're cold?" Marco asked, his eyes flying open in alarm. "I'm, um...here, take my hoodie."
Star let out a little gasp. Marco never let anyone touch his hoodies, even though he had about a dozen of them. The girl attempted to protest but before she could say anything she felt Marco slip the warm fabric over her shoulders, pulling her braids out from inside the garment.
"Aren't you going to be cold?" Star asked, snuggling inside the warm fabric and pulling her knees towards her chest. Marco shrugged.
"I'm kind of used to it, to be honest." he said, and felt Star put her hand on his lap.
"Are you sure?" she asked, making direct eye contact. "I don't want you to get sick and die on me."
Marco stifled a laugh. "I'm not going to die, Star. It's just a little wind."
She noticed the thin fabric of his grey shirt fluttering around in the gust of wind that just so happened to push her in closer towards him.
"Sorry." they said in unison after accidentally bumping into each other, and scooting back to their respective places. Star seemed to be deep in thought, and after a while she grabbed Marco's face in her gloved hands.
"You're sure you'll be okay?" she asked a final time. Despite Marco's discomfort due to the cold (which he would never let her know about, of course) he took a deep breath and buried the feeling deep in his brain.
"Yes, Mom." he teased her, not able to make eye contact. He couldn't lie to her.
"Marco, look at me." she said, pressing her nose up against his and then quickly springing back, letting go of his face. "Oh my goodness." she said. "I'm...I'm so sorry."
"What are you sorry for?" Marco asked, trying to hide the faint blush in his cheeks.
"I...I accidentally, well, sort of on purpose but really an accident, I...we...Marco, we kissed!" she said, and Marco held a finger to his lips, shushing her.
"We did not! Star, keep it down, and what are you talking about?"
Star placed her lips by Marco's ear, quietly whispering, "We butterfly-kissed," in a tone almost so inaudible Marco could barely hear her.
"What the heck is a butterfly kiss?" Marco whispered back.
"You know, rubbing noses." Star said, twirling a piece of hair around her finger. "I'm super sorry, I didn't mean to..."
"No, it's fine, it's fine." Marco said, more to reassure himself that it was fine more than to convince Star.
"Star, really, it's fine." he said, putting his hands on her shaking shoulders.
She let a small smile form on her lips, covering her cheeks with her hands. "I...um...okay." she replied, looking down.
"Are you okay?" Marco asked, moving his one arm around her shoulders and the other to her lap. Star squeaked and cemented her hands on her cheeks.
"Yep, yep, totally, completely, absolutely fine!" she said, a little louder than intended. "Just...um...my face is cold."
"Star..." Marco said, taking her wrist delicately in his hand and gently pulling her hand off of a glowing pink heart on her cheek. "What is that?"
"I don't know...it...just, you know, intense emotions and all that jazz." Star murmured, the parts of her cheek surrounding the heart beginning to redden, making the color even more vibrant. "No biggie."
"Intense emotions..." Marco said. "Like what?"
Star looked at her monster boots. "Um, anger, fear, sadness, embarrassment, love, elated-ness, and some other blah blah blah." she recited quickly, the words blending together.
"You're embarrassed?" Marco asked. Star slowly shook her head.
"Noooo...when I'm embarrassed they...uh, turn purple-ish." she said, fiddling with the strings on Marco's hoodie. "What's the glowing pink then? Anger?" Marco asked.
"Uh...no." Star said, looking down once again. "It's, um, kind of something that happens on Mewni when, you know, you llllllllll...." she said, her voice fading out at the l.
"When you..." Marco said, clueless that she was going to say something he might not want to hear.
"When you lllllllll..." she tried again, and looked up at Marco, who seemed confused. "Oh for Mewni's sake." she muttered under her breath. "It's...nothing." she said, looking down. She felt a hand under her chin, propping her face up to meet Marco's eyes.
"When you...love someone?" he asked. "Star, I-"
Star put a finger to his lips. "Please don't hate me." she said, and Marco expected to be tickled, however the effects of what actually happened may have been worse than the laughing pain.
He felt something warm press against his cheek for a long time, and then to pull away.
He didn't want it to end.
Star promptly buried her face in the oversized hoodie she currently had on, inhaling the faint scent of laundry detergent.
"Star," Marco said, putting a hand on her back. "Star, it's okay."
She looked up, her blue eyes wide. "Is it really?" she asked, but another thought preoccupied her mind. What if he's mad at me? Oh Mewni, what did I do? What if he hates me now and I can't-
Her train of thought was brought to an abrupt stop by her noticing a small pressing against her lips.
Her eyes gradually closed and as she reached for his hand he abruptly pulled away and couldn't meet her eyes.
"Díos mio...lo...lo siento..." he muttered, and Star had let her head fall in his shoulder after a few minutes had passed.
Maybe an hour later she was comfortably asleep, resting on Marco's chest as he laid down on the porch swing.
When he seemed certain that she was actually asleep he had brushed her hair from her face, and it could only be heard by those with superb hearing, but the whisper seemed to echo through the night despite its volume.
"Té amo, Estrella."
