From an idea, I got to form this little piece of fluff from up my sleeve. SVTFOE is such a really cool show and although it's been going for some time, I made time to watch all of the episodes and got inspiration from them. This is the first part of a two-part fluff and I really hope I did good with this. The characters were really tricky but that was the part that had me enjoying writing this, so I hope you enjoy it too! o u o

"Marco!"

Marco sat bolt upright in bed, causing the wooden structure to shake a little at his sudden move. Stuttering a confused 'what' in his still developing male voice, he blinked his eyes open. Instantly, he came eye to eye with a very frantic looking princess from another dimension, her nose nearly touching the tip of his own, and her lips twisted in anxiety and her characteristic sheepish smile.

"Gaah, Star!" He yelped in surprise, scrambling to the other side of the bed and falling onto the floorboards with a loud thud, his groans of pain filling the room. She had barged in his room at an early hour, he was still wearing sleep attire, meaning, he was in a plain white tee, donning light purple boxers with white unicorns and a very, very obvious tent.

In a muffled voice, he asked her, "What's wrong, Star?"

"Weell," she said, the last syllable of the word dragging as she tipped her head to the side with the exaggeration she was born with, the edges of her long golden hair touching the wooden floor.

"I think I got some sort of Earth disease," she explained, tapping her chin and humming thoughtfully. Before bringing her wand in close proximity to her face. Her eyes blinked as she poked the wand and released an interested musing hum.

"Oooh, maybe I can zap it away? Returnuss normale—"

"Hold on, Star, do you remember the time you tried to fix up my broken arm?" He asked, standing onto his feet and holding a hand out to lower her wand away from her face. Marco's erection had subsided due to unceremoniously falling on the floor and he felt confident standing before her again. Star looked lost in thought momentarily and then declared with glee, "Ooooh, that. Yeah, I remember."

"You don't want to do that to yourself. Trust me," he assured her, his mind drifting to slimy plum tentacles and shivered. She hummed thoughtfully out loud, feeling her neck under her palms. Her skin had felt hot all morning but she thought it was just the lingering strokes Mewberty. After all, Mewberty lived up to its flippantly weird reputation, so how is this any different? Until she faced the mirror, found no hearts in every shade of purple strewn over her body, and began coughing loudly.

"But I don't have to fix my arm, Marco," she reasoned. Marco replied blandly as they made their way downstairs for breakfast, "I mean, you shouldn't use your magic on yourself, in case you get it wrong and go over it a hundred tries again just so you can make it work. That saves you two days to dedicate to the art of sleeping."

"But that's boring, Marco!" She whined, stretching her arms out towards the floor and feigning another exaggerated yawn. Marco walked past her to the bathroom and Star followed suit behind him. The pair had been through a lot together. With their crazy every day routine of monster-fighting, the two had undergone a baptism of fire of sorts that made them work better together in many ways and provided them better ease with things. Still, Marco knew getting too comfortable meant other things he knew Star wouldn't want to deal with. At least, not yet, he hoped in his silly little mind.

"Besides, we got school," she said matter-of-factly, as Marco went over to the toilet. Star waited on the other side of the door, consistently feeling her heated skin.

"You can just skip today."

There was a loud thud on the door that followed, which he can assume was made by the butt of her wand hitting the surface, "You can DO that?"

"Yeah, just tell them you're sick," he said as soon as he stepped out, heading over to his pristine side of the sink to wash his hands. Star burst into a cough then, her hand flying to her throat and her hair flinging forward. Marco jumped back and moved away from the impending swat of hair. The loud cough echoed across the room and soon after, silence reigned the space.

"What kind of Earth disease do you have?" He asked worriedly, inspecting her carefully before she started coughing again. She had never coughed so hard like this before. Sure she got sick before, but those were all Mewman of origin, so she knew what they were and where she got them. Marco had more than once cringed at them and became a little thankful that she got a human fever instead, that way, he would know it better.

When she was finally able to move her head back, her eyes finally showed signs of fatigue. She didn't get enough sleep last night since she was trying to figure out what kind of Earth disease she had, if the new batch of otherworldly creatures marching about in the hallway was any indication. She scratched her throat vigorously, groaning. Marco took both of her hands in one of his in a swipe and pressed the back of his palm against her forehead just below her purple eye mask. She was burning.

"Will my intestines fry?!" She asked with a squeal obviously not filled with delight, turning her wand with both hands towards her stomach when Marco let them go.

"No, Star, stop that," he shouted, pushing her hands down, "I think you've got fever."

Star gasped again, touching her heated skin, "Fever! What is it?"

She looked every bit as sick as anyone does but her extravagantly cheerful personality was still shining through. Marco took a mental note to check on her even if she acted like her normal self.

"It's when your body heats up unnecessarily, might be caused by—oh, no," his voice trailed off, realization dawning him. Star felt herself small against Marco's squinting eyes.

"I told you to get out of that rain, Star," he scolded, crossing his arms. Star offered a sheepish smile, holding her wand in both hands and tilting her head innocently. One of her legs would lift behind her and she would bat her lashes, it looked almost comical. Marco had always thought she looked kind of cute like this, nervous. Her sheepish smile would stretch out and bunch up at her already bubbly cheeks, and the hearts on her face would appear a little larger.

"I just went out for a little, Marcooo," she replied, fumbling with her wand. Her pale skin already looked paler and her forehead was covered in a light sheen of sweat.

"Really?" He tested, raising an eyebrow at her. She grit her teeth a little too much and fumbled her wand faster. Eventually, she caved, groaning as she went.

"You should've been there! It felt AWESOME!"

"Right, no school for you today," he deadpanned, standing behind her and putting his hands onto her shoulders. He was not ready for the blaze of heat on her skin and the softness that met his fingertips. Star's porcelain skin was soft but firm, lithe with just the right amount of muscle, undoubtedly from all the monster fights in their backyard on a daily basis. He shook his head and struggled not to rub the expanse of her skin visible through the straps of her night gown. Internally, he would groan whenever he got urges like these. It was hard enough to live with a princess from another dimension, but it was harder to live with her under the same roof at the age of fourteen.

"Yey! No school!" She cheered, oblivious to Marco's teenaged hormonal male reaction. He walked her back to her room, asked her to change into more comfortable clothing (preferably something that will keep her warm) and told her his mom would make the sick call for her. She nodded and soon after, hopped out of the room in a large shirt she had printed especially for Marco: 'It's not criminal to be an individual'. His lips formed an easy smile as memories of their Saint O's break in flooded back inside his head. They went downstairs together and Star bounded down cheerfully despite the fever in her system, greeted by the laser puppies awaiting some petting.

"Not now, sweeties. I have fever!" She boasted and wriggled her fingers at the word 'fever' as though it were something magical, "AND I don't have school!"

"Not yet, you don't, we've got to call in first. Mom," he called out at the bottom of the stairs to his mother in the kitchen, "Star's got fever."

A few shuffles and the sound of kitchen utensils against each other later, Angie came out of the kitchen in a scruffy-looking canvas apron. White powder streaked her cheeks irregularly, as the sweet scent of sugar and fresh fruits wafted out of the kitchen along with her. Star sniffed the air with gusto.

"Aw, dear, Marco can take care of you," she suggested firmly, with arms akimbo.

"That's right, while I just head on to sch—what?"

"YEY! Let's both have fever!"

"Mom!"

Angie gave a giggle as her massive hair began to shake. She rubbed her palms against each other and went over to Marco to whisper to him, "Star needs you, dear. Can you really go to school knowing she'll be here by herself facing that sickness?"

Marco seemed panicked for a minute, stammering through jumbled words while Star just watched the pair eagerly, not being able to hear what Mrs. Diaz had said to Marco. When his eyes fell on Star, she was sitting on the couch, hugging her striped pastel blue and pink legs onto her chest and her eye mask still over her parted bangs. Her eyes were as wide and clueless as a newborn Earth baby and Marco's sight carried themselves to the red streaks her fingers made earlier when she scratched her throat and wondered if he really could just leave her alone to deal with this herself. It was like she was begging for him to stay without even trying. And his mother vouched openly for her.

"But that's why you're here, Mom," he replied, with arms flailing.

"Oh no, your father and I'll be leaving early today. We have a celebration over at your Aunt Suzie's and her newly opened flower shop," she spoke excitedly, suddenly flinging her apron from her body, laying it onto a nearby wooden chair, and heading over to the bottom of the stairs to call for her husband.

"Besides, I know you can take care of Star just fine, Marco. She trusts you enough to let you."

Star was rocking back and forth on the couch and a few laser puppies were huddling on one side of her, each one vying for her attention.

"Breakfast is on the table, flapjacks in maple syrup topped with blueberries and strawberries. Star likes the colors," she winked before barking out sharply, "Rafael!"

"Coming, honey!"

"Star, could you hand me the phone over there, please?" Angie pointed to the black device near the couch. Star placed the device in her open palm but not before looking at it like it was made out of gold. Marco sat down beside her away from the eager pups, as Angie dialed the school line. Star scooted closer to him while still hugging her knees.

"So what now? How do we fight it?"

"Fight what?"

"The fever, how do we fight it?" She asked, peeking at him from her knees. She was so slim that her legs tucked perfectly against her body. Suddenly, he wished she didn't wear such a large shirt and dumbly enough, wished she ditched the stockings too. He had wanted to see her milky legs again but never dared say it. It had always sounded perverted in his mind and he knew that no matter how he phrased it, the creep-factor was still there.

"You get some rest and take some medicine," he explained, and averted his eyes to watch Angie finish the last few seconds of the sick call. Star uttered an incoherent jumble of words behind him in confusion.

"What's a medicine?"

"You take it to make you feel better."

Angie was walking towards them now, Rafael trailing behind her in a chestnut colored polo shirt with its top two buttons loose and his abundant chest hair visible. There was a child-like smile on his face and he was vibrating visibly with enjoyment. Marco's eyes squinted in suspicion.

"How long will you guys be gone?"

Angie looked at his son with an unreadable expression. Her eyes and lips were set in a knowing smile only moms can give, apparently, (lately, she'd been giving him these looks) as she enunciated, "We'll be gone the whole day," and when Marco's eyes flew open in surprise, followed it up cheerfully with, "So take all the time that you need to get well, Star! Bye bye now!"

"Bye!" Rafael called out obliviously, halfway through the door.

"Bye," Marco said in a careful tone, gently closing the door before hearing Star cough violently once more.

"Ugh, I feel like I'm coughing up my innards!" She groused, letting herself fall over the edge of the couch and landed face first onto the carpet. She groaned loudly into the rough surface and scratched at it with her fingers. Marco jogged to her side and sat on the couch, poking the back of her head.

"Get up, Star, we gotta get you some breakfast so you can take your medicine," Marco said carefully, placing his hand onto her head now and absently stroking her golden hair. She stiffened as he touched her, and as much as Marco wanted to stop, he couldn't. He just felt the urge and let it go for once, she can slap his arm later or stop talking to him for a week, he would deal with it later. Right now, it just felt right. In the gravid silence of the house, save for the little yelps of the litter of dangerous puppies, Star felt strangely at peace for the first time since last night. His fingers in her hair felt strange and new, his strokes were even, sure, and his fingertips occasionally rubbed at her scalp almost affectionately. She stayed in that position as he touched her and felt him settling on the spot beside her head.

"Usually," he began, smiling to himself away from Star's sight, "when you get fever, your body feels hot and tired and vulnerable. You can be irritable too, or extremely sensitive."

At the mention of the final word, Marco dug his fingertips agilely past her thick hair and strategically brushed his fingers against the budding pair of purple, translucent wings on her back, through her shirt. Star moaned into the carpet involuntarily and Marco laughed lightly.

"Sensitive," he repeated in a whisper. Star punched his side swiftly.

"Shut it, Diaz," she warned, huffing and flipping herself over. Her bangs were flat on her forehead now, having stuck to the sweat that formed there. The golden tendrils squiggled in blond lines. Her face was flushed, her eyes narrowed, and the too large shirt slid a few inches down her equally sweaty shoulder, revealing the expanse of skin Marco had felt like touching just minutes ago.

"And irritable," he continued with an obnoxious smile, putting a hand on his knee and standing back up. He offered a hand to Star who took it but not without a sprouting feeling of embarrassment.

"Let's go gobble up some jacks."

When they reached the kitchen, Star skipped merrily to the refrigerator, forgetting her embarrassment. She fished out a bottle of maple syrup and cream. Marco followed behind her to the dining table with eating utensils and handed Star hers. Star smothered her flap-stack with an overly generous helping of maple syrup, bathing the blueberry and strawberry topping in a sticky light brown goop. Next, she crowned the confection with a clumsy application of cream. Marco watched the whole process at the corner of his eyes and smiled to himself, eating away at his flap-stack. It was what she had called it when she first tried it. Star woke up that day to an enthused Diaz family awaiting her descent down the stairs, and since it was so sudden, had only prepared a medium-sized stack of flapjacks with a lone candle stuck at the top, square center. She had yelped then, and directed her wand at the confection when she saw the odd deep yellowish goop of the rich maple syrup, saying that Mewni had a monster with the same appearance as the syrup. Marco had laughed nervously, but his parents just looked at each other and greeted once more, "Happy first day on Earth, Star!"

Star called it flap-stack by mistake, Marco tried to correct it but Star waved it off in her own cheerful way. The flap-stack found its way to the table next as the Diaz family sliced it up like a cake. And when it was Star's turn to be served, (of course, Marco had to teach her not to stroke the fork through her hair first, or use it as a backscratcher) she dug into the bread with wonder and put it inside her mouth in excitement. The dining room was filled with a series of satisfied hums afterwards, with Star moaning delightfully at each bite. Since then, Marco called it flap-stack in honor of that first day she came into his life.

"Let's go, Marco!" Star shouted abruptly, grabbing his wrist and dragging him out of the kitchen, away from his half eaten flap-stack.

"Wait, wait! Where are we going?"

"Psh, come on! Mrs. Diaz called in sick for the both of us—such a sweet lady—let's go hang out with Ponyhead!" She said in rapid fire succession, cutting a rift in reality through her dimensional scissors, and moving her hips.

"No, Star, you have to stay here. You're sick," he replied calmly, taking the dimensional scissors and closing up the rift. He was so close to her and the heat of her body was worrying and strangely, magnetic. Star had always smelt like sweat and strawberries, being a person who moved a lot all the time, and the scent had always intrigued him. Carefully, Marco placed both hands on Star's arms and looked her in the eye. She smelt twice as sweaty today due to the effects of the fever but for some reason, it made him feel even more attracted to her. Gently, Marco rubbed circles on her sweaty arms and Star felt her face heat up. Her brows met in the middle and her blue eyes searched his in a slight haze. Star slid her arms from his grasp and looked tentatively at him.

"Marco, stop being weird," she muttered, feeling edgy. She sat on the couch, hugging her legs again. Realizing what she had just said, Marco choked on a laugh and scratched the back of his head on impulse, "Sorry, I freaked you out."

"Oh, no! It's fine!" She answered quickly, driven by the urge to bear down another round of embarrassment.

There was another awkward silence and it was Marco who broke it with a drawn out sigh, and a fond and apologetic smile, "Well, I gotta start taking care of you now."

He made his way back to the kitchen and took an aspirin from the medicine cabinet above the fridge. There were slight shuffles from the living room. And then, in a burst of pink glitter, Marco heard something massive slam hard against the living room wall, just inches beside the TV. He ran to the living room with a glass of water and an aspirin.

"Star, what's wrong?!" He shrieked, staring at the smashed wall with a terrified look on his face.

"I just wanted to push that table a liiiittle bit and then the next thing I knew.." she trailed off, animating her story with smooth and yet also extremely confusing hand movements. Marco turned to inspect the dent, actually, that was an understatement of the incident. The dent, in fact, was a large fracture on the wall in the size of the square table. The few pieces of cements scattered near the television and got into the nearby plant pot and littered the floor. Marco sighed in resignation and chose to ignore what had just happened, handing Star the glass of water and the foil packet of aspirin.

"Here, just take some aspirin."

Star inspected the packet curiously, rubbing her chin and fishing out a toy mustache. She put it just above her philtrum, "What's an askerin?"

Marco looked at her simply and waved the packet in front of her meticulous gaze. The blue ball of her eyes watched the movement of the pill packet until Marco held his hand still in mid-air.

"Aspirin," he corrected, as Star snatched the packet from Marco's fingertips and bit it harshly, making the pill crush under the pressure of her teeth, "It's to help you get well faster."

"Why do I have to?" She asked again, while Marco took the tattered packet expressionlessly and placed a new one in her palm. She looked at it again as if to interrogate the piece of plastic. Marco sighed.

"Do you want your fever to get worse?"

"No!"

"Do you want the monsters to come and think you're a weak and powerless princess?"

"Noooo!" She groaned, gripping her golden locks in her sweaty palms and pulling downwards. The mustache and the pill fell on the floor, crushed under Star's stomping foot. She made a face. Marco smirked playfully at her, took yet another pill, and dropped it in her palm.

"Then take this, and fulfill your destiny, oh great Princess," he said grandiosely, holding the back of her palms and lifting it closer to her frowning mouth.

"Hmp," she took the packet closer and looked up at Marco, not knowing how to open it. Marco made a move with his fingers. He extended a hand, palm up, took one of the destroyed pill packets, punctured the plastic and peeled it off as it gave. Star looked at the crushed pill in his hand and looked up at him again.

"That's the pill, Star. Right there."

She looked down at the pill one more time and then extended a curious touch towards it. Star poked it gently and found that it was hard although the few pieces of it had littered the bottom of the pill-shaped plastic case. She kept poking the pill until she felt her stomach churn again with thoughts about human medicine and how ridiculous she thought it was.

"I have to take that? Inside my body?" She cried, horrified, her arms flying involuntarily against her warm, flat chest. Her jaw dropped open as Marco nodded.

"Yep, now come on,"

"But Marco! I don't want to!" She protested, spinning sharply on her heel headed for the direction of the staircase. Marco stayed in his spot and replied firmly, without any emotion, "You have to, Star."

When she refused to turn around, Marco took light steps up the stairs behind her and gripped her shoulders again. He directed her back to the kitchen, with her heels digging on the floor, "I don't want ask-her-in!"

She darted quickly the other way, gripping hard on the staircase, as the rest of her body clung to it like a koala. Marco would tell her she looked cute if she hadn't been so stubborn. He marched towards her and circled his lower arms around her waist, unlatching her fingers from the wrought iron one by one. The more Marco's arms tightened around Star's mid-section, the stronger she clung to the staircase, shouting, "Mewmans shall live forever! Thou shalt not take askerin!"

"Aspirin," Marco deadpanned again, pressing his chest flush against her back and wrapping his long, lanky arms tighter so that it wrapped around her completely, his head pressed directly beside hers and her ears a few inches from his lips. Star froze then, heat furiously rising to her neck and cheeks. Wow, she thought, maybe I really should take some askerin. Marco kept pulling her from her tight wrap around the iron and realized what he had been doing when his upper arm brushed slightly against her clothed chest. Instantly, he felt as heated as Star did, with the sensation licking around his neck and shoulders and elsewhere. With all the swiftness of a cat, he slid his arms off Star's midsection, horrified, and buried his hands in his pocket. Beet red with shame at his actions, he decided to just ask her politely.

"Will you please just take it? I promise it'll make you feel better in no time. Please?"

"I don't know how to.."

"I'll help you take it," he assured her. Slowly, she let go of the staircase and walked over to him. Her face was twisted in agitation and he knew it was from her embarrassment. Star had always talked unnecessarily whenever she felt a little too much of a teenager, claiming it was better to talk than let your adolescent feelings get to you. But now it was getting to her and Marco can't deny that it was getting to him, too.

"You promise?" She asked carefully, narrowing her eyes again. Marco smiled gently at her. If she was gonna do this, he knew he was going to have to do something on his part to help her. He stood there patiently as Star tiptoed to him like he was a secret she was afraid to discover. Finally, with constant cajoling, she followed him back to the living room and sat down on the couch.

"Here," he handed it to her.

"Okaay," she took the pill in her palm once more, staring at it with a tinge of fearful amusement.

"So you take it, put it on your tongue—" Marco began.

"You have aspirin too?" She interrupted, blinking with wide eyes at the red circular pill in his palm.

"It's an M&M," he answered, lifting his thumb and forefinger up to his lips. He opened his mouth carefully, waiting for Star to do the same. When she just looked at him with a curious glare, he sighed and continued, "So on your tongue—"

"Which side do I put on first?"

Marco blinked, "Any side?"

"What about this side?" She put the pill on one slim side and pressed it in the middle of her tongue so it stood up like a coin. She looked eager to please, with brows wiggling playfully. Whereas Marco was expressionless. Tasting the bitterness of the pill, she spat it out back in her palm.

"Yes, that works too. And then, you close your mouth," he continued, snapping his mouth shut in demonstration. Star tentatively looked at the pill and stared at it constantly like it was some sort of terrifying historical artifact. The bitter taste lingered in her tongue and she made a face.

"Why?" She cried, her voice high-pitched.

"Because then you'd need to drink water to wash it down," he grabbed a glass of water on the floor beside the carpet and lifted it up for her to see. Star looked between the glass of water and Marco. Glass of water, Marco. Glass of water, Marco.

"Why do I have to do that?" She looked desperately between the pill and the glass of water, feeling the slight unease in her system cloud her rationality. In Mewni, all they did to cure any disease was isolate them in a faraway town and bury them underground with only their heads poking through the soil. Star had a feeling Marco wouldn't want to hear all about it.

"Star, just do it," he begged, his eyes obviously increasing with worry. She would know someday why he always seemed to worry about her. But now was not the time. He sat patiently, waiting for her to take the pill in her mouth. She did, eventually, pressing the pill against her tongue in the same manner as she did earlier. Next, Star closed her mouth, but opened it again to ask, "What now?"

"You drink water to wash it down." Marco handed her the glass of water and she took it with careful hands.

Star held her throat and blinked at the glass, "Down my neeeck?"

"Yes, down your neck," he nodded, watching as Star took the glass closer to her lips. She drew a long breath through her nose and tilted the glass to taste the liquid. After a beat, Star's eye began darting between Marco and the carpet. She gulped aloud but kept her mouth closed, scratching a finger on the carpet in silence

"Let's see. Open your mouth," Marco said carefully, leaning closer to her. Star hesitated, and tapped an uneasy finger against the carpet. Slowly, Star opened her mouth, the pill was still there.

Marco sighed, refilling the glass, "Oookay. Try again."

Star tried again, and Marco knew she earnestly did. He knew Star did everything with renewed tenacity each day, despite not knowing everything about Earth. She would always put herself out there and battle things head on. She tried thrice, but the pill was still on her tongue.

"Come on, Star! It's just a pill, you can do this. This is nothing compared to battles with Ludo," Marco assured.

"But it tastes so baaaad," she groaned, lolling her tongue out to reveal the melted piece of pill.

"Here," he handed her another glass, opened his palm with a tissue and asked her to spit out the slightly melted pill. He gave her another one. After one more failed attempt and a few sobs into the bean bag monster who just happened to pass by, Star was finally able to take it in. She felt a little uneasy once she did take it, the feel of the pill plunging down her throat had lingered, making it hard for her to talk afterwards. Marco understood this and calmly reassured her to stay in the living room while he fished out a few CDs for them to watch. She was more than happy to oblige, but not before asking him in exaggerated sign language to bring back a blanket from her room since she had been feeling cold all day, for some reason. Marco nodded once and headed straight for the stairs. Star tugged his shirt again, though, before he was able to leave, and said in rapid fire succession, "Make me some nachos."

"Anything else?" Marco asked, crossing his arms with a lazy smile. Star tapped her chin again in thought and blinked up at him.

"Hehe.. Nothing else. Go on, now, go!" She shooed him away and huddled deeper on the couch, hugging her legs closer to her body again. She had felt the heat prickle through her body ever since he'd touched her at the hallway, with his rough hands pressed against her sweaty shoulders. Gently, she lifted her right sleeve and found a tiny purple heart staring right back at her.