Marco Diaz stared up at the bedroom ceiling, shellshocked, unable to move.

As he stewed alone with his thoughts, his room laid silent except for the sound of gentle breathing. His body has been breaking out in sweat periodically from a combination of worry and the excessive heat under the covers. It all still felt like a dream. Or a nightmare. Maybe a little of both. His head pounded from the total lack of sleep as the events of the previous night played over and over in his mind. He had no idea how he was supposed feel about his predicament. How he actually did feel wasn't much more clear. It was a confusing mix of joy, satisfaction, pain, exhaustion, concern, fear, and a few other emotions he didn't recognize. As his thoughts looped around the same mental track they'd been following for hours, he was interrupted by a soft yawn and warm body stirring against him.

"Mmph... morning, Marco."

In recent weeks, it hadn't been unusual for Star to wake up in Marco's arms. Despite the typical implications, their encounters had actually been relatively chaste. Though Star no longer lived in Marco's house, they each had a pair of fully functional dimensional scissors and an abundance of free time during the summer months. They had begun regular friendly visits, and their family and friends were happy to see the two reunited after being apart due to Toffee's return. On top of their usual, not at all secret visits, they'd been sneaking off to spend the night with each other as often as they thought they could get away with it. Currently, they had only been dating for a few weeks, and were still exploring their new, deeper relationship. With most of the seasonal break still ahead of them, the young couple were happy enough to take it slow and steady. They enjoyed being able to sleep together, but both had agreed they weren't quite ready to SLEEP together.

As Star began to shake off the haze of slumber, she turned to look over at Marco, blinking in confusion as she noticed his thousand yard stare. Surprised, and propping herself up on her arms a bit to get a better look, Star discovered just a bit too much of Marco's bare chest showing up above the blankets. Her level of alertness started to rise even faster as she realized the sensation against her skin wasn't the fabric of her nightgown, or even Marco's pajamas, but his flesh against her own. Star's eyes went wide as she pulled away slightly and laid back flat onto the bed next to Marco, joining her lover in gazing up at the ceiling. Star's voice shook slightly as her eyes glanced over at Marco, body frozen solid.

"Marco?"
"Yes?"
"Did we...?"
"Yes."
"I don't remember..."
"I do."

For the tiniest fraction of a second, Star wondered what Marco had done to her, but immediately felt guilty for even considering it. Marco would never... and besides, while she was distressed, he looked nearly traumatized. Star reached a hand out to his shoulder to comfort him, but he instantly recoiled, not in fear but in pain. "Ow, owwwwww! Star, please... most of me is still REALLY sore."

Star drew away, concerned, but respecting Marco's wishes as she laid back beside him. Slowly, very slowly, memories of the previous night started to come back to her.

A few weeks previous, Star and Marco had rescued Glossaryck, and after his recovery he had been able to restore Star's wand and the Book of Spells. Toffee had survived, but he was licking his wounds and no one expected to see him again for some time. After being freed from Toffee's control, Ludo had wandered off somewhere to try to "find himself", whatever that meant. Eclipsa's fractured stasis crystal had been resealed by Glossaryck personally. Though they hadn't seen much of Jackie lately, her breakup with Marco had been relatively clean, all things considered. With all major threats contained for the foreseeable future, and with the two teens finally starting to come to terms with their feelings for each other, Star and Marco had quietly begun dating. Now, with a fair amount of summer left, they were enjoying their newfound romance, taking it slow, and getting to know each other in an exciting new way.

Still, Star had her duties to attend to. Even with some of the immediate pressure off, Moon pushed her to continue her magical training under Glossaryck. And so last night Star had found herself, yet again, laying face down on her bed and flipping through her Book of Spells, looking for something interesting enough to ask Glossaryck about.

"Turn lead into gold... boring. Lost magic of Atlantis... snoresville! Endless fountain of chocolate milk..." Star paused, slipping an official Love Sentence bookmark between the pages, a mischievous grin forming on her face. "Soon. Veeeeeeeery soon." As she continued through the book, an unusual chapter title caught her eye.

- Everything You Wanted to Know About Magic (But Were Afraid to Ask) -

Star drummed her fingers on her bed, wondering what could be so scary. "Hmm. Wellllllllllllll, I don't think there's ever been anything I was afraid to ask..." Star turned the book around to face it toward her mentor, who was relaxing on the far side of the bed. "Hey Glossaryck, what's this about?"

Glossaryck looked up from clipping all twelve of his fingernails. For a split second, a look of shock crossed his face, but he quickly forced himself into a bored gaze, hoping he could throw her off the trail. "Oh, that chapter. You, ah... you probably don't want to read that one. I- it's nothing that would interest you."

Star looked back at the page, curious about the vagueness of the title. She wasn't sure if Glossaryck was telling the truth or playing another one of his weird training games. "Why, what is it?"

Glossaryck let out a deep sigh, rubbing the tips of his fingers into his forehead. He'd been dreading this once in a generation conversation for several years now, but it looked like there was no getting out of it. He steeled himself and began.

"Uhh... w- well. You see Star, the book and wand have been passed down between the women of the Butterfly family for centuries. The heir receives them on her 14th birthday, right around the time she becomes a woman."

Star knew that much already. She raised an eyebrow, shrugging, unsure of what Glossaryck was getting at. "So?"

Glossaryck pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. This was going to be a tough one. "So... this chapter is a collection of certain magic and, ah... special advice... for girls once they reach a certain age. Healthy young girls. Active young girls."

Star smiled wide, shooting bolt upright in the bed. "I'm a healthy and active young girl! Sounds perfect!"

Glossaryck groaned in frustration. "Oy... you're killin' me, kid." He had reached the point where he began to seriously consider temporarily repossessing the book. Technically, he was allowed to, and had done so once or twice before when absolutely necessary. But before he could even finish the thought, Star was flipping rapidly through the pages.

"What's in it? Forbidden fitness secrets? Extreme wand sports? DRAGON WRESTLING!?" Glossaryck raised a finger and opened his mouth to speak, but it was too late. Star's pace gradually slowed as she started to absorb the contents, pupils shrinking to almost nothing as her hand refused to turn any more pages. "Oh. Ohhh. Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Healthy and..."

"Active, yes." Glossaryck completed the thought.

Star simply stared at the book, opened to a section on ancient kissing magic. Other pages she'd passed along the way had been significantly more, well, spicy. "Glossaryck, wha..." If she wasn't afraid to ask before, she was now.

This chapter was one part of the job that Glossaryck would never get used to. It wasn't that he was shy about the subject itself. He had seen too much in his countless millennia of life to be embarrassed about anything anymore. Still, he found explaining it to a young student to be... uncomfortable. Moon had emphasized repeatedly that she didn't feel Star was ready for this particular chapter. While Glossaryck had never once allowed any queen to overrule him when it came to magical education, he preferred to leave it to their parents to teach them about matters of the heart. And loins.

Glossaryck resigned himself to reciting the history of the chapter. That part was easy enough, and he hoped it wouldn't go any further. Maybe it would be enough to satisfy Star's curiosity. Glossaryck closed his eyes, assuming the tone and posture of his formal role as a mentor, and began his explanation. "This chapter was originally written by Aphrodisia the Amorous, one of the very first Mewman queens."

Star thought back to her knowledge of the old queens of Mewni. She had never been the best history student, but there was one record of her heritage that she knew well. "Aphrodisia? I don't remember her from the Grandma Room."

"Yes, well... there's a reason she doesn't come up much in Mewman history. Aphrodisia's reign was short, and she didn't do much actual ruling. According to her she was too rutting busy, or the other way around." Those weren't quite the words she had used, but Glossaryck had caught more than one earful from Moon about watching his language around Star. "To no one's surprise, she gave birth to a daughter soon after her marriage and ascent to the throne, but only a few years later Aphrodisia was struck down in her prime by a magically transmitted disease."

"Gross," Star gagged as she interjected.

Glossaryck nodded, grimacing. "Imagine how I felt having to diagnose it. If there's one good thing that came out of that whole fiasco, it's that protection spells have gotten much better." Glossaryck cleared his throat and continued. "Anyway, like all the book's owners, she recorded as much of her collected knowledge as she could. Not everything in this chapter is by her though. In fact, almost every Mewman queen has added at least a few things."

A terrifying thought crossed Star's mind as she considered Glossaryck words. She was almost sure she would regret voicing it, but she felt she would never have another chance.

" ... almost every queen?"
"Yes."
"Does that include-"
"Yes."
"What-"

"Some things she adapted from her pole dancing class, and that's already more than you need to know. Look, you really shouldn't read any of this, but if you do, I'm going to give you the same advice I give every princess when they find this chapter. If you value your sanity, do NOT, under any circumstances, read the section written by your own mother."

Star gave a shudder and switched her mental tracks to immediately derail that train of thought. Her previous curiosity was quickly becoming overwhelmed by absolute disgust. For the briefest moment she had wondered if her mother even had any interest in that sort of thing beyond having children. Now she found that her initial instinct had been right and wished she had never asked.

Glossaryck gave an ever so slight smirk as Star grimaced at the book. He knew she'd read the chapter eventually. They always did. Hopefully though, it would be enough to put her off it for now, or at least buy some time for him to talk to Moon. That was not a conversation he looked forward to. "Honestly Star, y- you're better off just skipping the whole thing." Glossaryck's voice broke Star out of her thoughts. "Read too much of this and you just might regret it in the morning."

Star closed the book, simply frozen for a few solid seconds. Taking a deep breath to regain her composure, she opened the book again and flipped through to find her earlier bookmark. "Uhmmmmmmm... maybe let's work on the chocolate fountain spell."

Glossaryck nodded with a more genuine smile, relieved to be out of Aphrodisia's chapter and back in his element with something they could both enjoy. "Excellent choice! A Festivia the Fun original, and one of my personal favorites. You know, with just a few alterations you can turn it from chocolate milk into chocolate pudding..."

A few hours afterward, Star found herself lying wide awake in bed. The chocolate fountain had gone well enough, except for her lingering sugar high. Unable to sleep, her mind buzzed with a thousand thoughts. She briefly considered popping across the dimensions to see Marco, but after narrowly escaping being caught absent from the castle the previous night, they had both agreed she should stay home for a day or two.

Her thoughts wandered further, continuing to try to find something to do with her insomnia now that most of the castle had turned in for the night. Before long, an idea struck her. Star wasn't sure if it was a good idea, but she was sure it wouldn't be a boring one. She tiptoed over to her dresser, resting her hands on the Books of Spells.

Slowly, quietly, Star pried open the tome, careful not to wake Glossaryck. She found him between the pages, fast asleep as he laid on a tiny pillow, mumbling quietly. "That's right slave, scrape those sides... do it for Star, you pathetic little mrrhhhhmmmmhmmmm..." Glossaryck turned over with a snore and a smile, lost in what appeared to be a happy dream.

Star grinned as she whispered to herself. "Awww..." She carefully picked up Glossaryck by his robe, kissing his forehead gem as she laid him on her extra pillow and pulled the blanket over him, the bed drastically oversized for his tiny body. "Sleep tight, little angel."

Using the bookmark she placed earlier for the chocolate fountain spell, Star was quickly able to locate the nearby section she was looking for. Aphrodisia's chapter. As she stared at the title page once again, she contemplated whether Glossaryck maybe had a point. Most of what she'd seen inside had been far more extreme than anything she'd yet experienced. Even at Star and Marco's most intense encounter so far, their clothes had remained mostly in place. Mostly.

On the other hand... maybe Star wasn't exactly active, but she was healthy. Lately, Star found that things with Marco were slowly getting more... steamy. Even when they were "only" best friends, they had never been shy about physical contact, and had even seen each other in a state of relative undress. But this was different. Now every hug felt more intimate, every touch more electric than the last. Though they had both agreed not to rush, she had felt a warm tension building between them as they continued to explore further and further, and sooner or later she felt like it would snap. Star wasn't sure she would complain if it did. As much as she appreciated the simple joys of her budding romance with Marco, Star craved more. More excitement. More heat. More passion. More Marco. She didn't want to make him uncomfortable, but maybe, just maybe she could find something in Aphrodisia's chapter that would help them along.

After all, what could it hurt? Star had survived far greater temptations, despite Glossaryck's concerns. Well, she agreed with her teacher on one thing. She'd stay away from Moon's section at least. Star didn't think she could keep her chocolate milk down if she was forced to see any more mental images of THAT.

Star recalled turning the page for the chapter, leafing through the contents, and then... nothing. Nothing coherent, anyway. Just a vague, incomprehensible blur before waking up, pressed against Marco's bare body.

Reaching the end of her memories Star found herself back in the present. After a few minutes of shared silence and pretending to look for new patterns in the ceiling, Star couldn't take it anymore. Deciding it was time to get some answers, she took a deep breath and braced herself. "Marco... why don't I remember anything?"

Marco let out a deep sigh. Somehow he had hoped the question wouldn't come, but he knew it wouldn't be that easy. Reliving the experience in his memories was confusing enough, but having to say it out loud somehow threatened to turn it from a surreal dream into hard reality. While Marco didn't feel like he was scarred for life, the experience had certainly shaken him up, in more ways than one. The many hours he'd laid awake hadn't been nearly enough to get everything straight in his head. Just as importantly, he didn't know how Star would react. Could it affect her even more dramatically? What would it do to their blossoming relationship? And, while he had a fair guess as to why she didn't remember the previous night, he still had absolutely no idea what had lead to the events. Even so... she deserved to know what had happened. He began to explain, unable to even look her in the eye as he did. "Well... late last night-"

Marco was cut off by a loud ringing coming from Star's dress, laying next to the bed. She leaned over, Marco turning his head away quickly just as the sheet slid off her. Star covered herself again as she pulled out her magic phone compact. The display flashed with the absolute last thing Star wanted to see at that moment. Marco rolled over, wincing in pain slightly as he turned toward the source of the sound. "Star?"

"Marco." Star shuddered with fear as she held the device up where he could see it. "It's my mom."

Both stared in terror at the arcane cell phone, as if doing so would somehow make it disappear. It rang one... two... three... four... five... six times, before finally falling silent after nearly half a minute. Star let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. She hoped Moon would be content to leave a message... but no such luck. After a few seconds, the ringing began again. Silence was replaced with panic as Star scrambled to make herself presentable, grabbing her hairband from the floor, Marco staring back up at the ceiling to protect her modesty.

"Marco, we haven't even told anybody we're dating yet!"
"I know..."
"We were waiting until your parents got back from vacation tomorrow..."
"I KNOW!"
"MY MOM IS GONNA KILL ME!"
"I don't even wanna think about what she'll do to ME!"

The device continued to demand Star's attention. She smoothed her hair as best she could to fix her disheveled bed head, carefully holding the compact so that it would show no lower than her face. Satisfied, she then tried to position herself in a way that didn't make it obvious that she was fully nude in Marco's bed. As the compact near the end of its second ring cycle, Star cleared her throat and pressed the answer button.

Moon's face appeared in the screen. The queen looked slightly concerned, but no more than usual when it came to her daughter running off on another adventure. "Star? Star, where are you dear?"

Star braced herself, trying to put on a poker face, nervously smiling and waving at her mother. "Ohhhhhhhhh, hey Mom! I'm just, you know, over at Marco's house! Aheheheheh..."

Moon calmly raised an eyebrow, her voice taking on a chiding tone as she rotely recited what was possibly the single most common sentence out of her mouth since the princess was born. "Star, what did you do?"

"Wha- nothing! I can't come over and have breakfast with my bo- best friend without a full blown interrogation?" Star was starting to worry now, sweat forming on her brow. She was absolutely certain Moon knew something, she just wasn't sure how much.

"Hi Queen Moon!" Marco shouted from out of view of the compact.

The voice eased the queen's concerns a bit. Although he couldn't see it from his angle, Moon waved politely to him, flashing a small smile before returning her attention to her daughter. "Oh, hello Marco. Star, I don't mind you visiting your friends, but how many times to I have to tell you to at least leave a note? Glossaryck said you weren't in your room when he woke up. We've been looking all over the castle for you!"

Star did her best to look apologetic, hoping to end the lecture as soon as possible so she had time to figure out what to do next. "I know, I know. Sorry..."

Moon sighed slightly, shaking her head in exasperation. It wasn't worth the fight. Star had definitely been up to something, but Marco would keep her from getting into TOO much trouble. "It's fine, Star. Just hurry back, it's almost time for your daily training. Today you'll be learning... oh, Star. You have something on your face dear." Moon pointed to the side of her cheek, indicating the location to her daughter.

"Huh? Oh, thanks mom." Star scratched away the foreign object, pinching it between her fingers. A purple heart sticker. Star stared at it in confusion, unsure where it had come from. "Huh...?"

Moon went deathly pale as she watched Star peel the sticker from her face, pupils shrinking to the size of pinpricks. "Oh... oh no. Oh dear. Star..."

Star knew she had seen the object before, but she didn't have time to make the connection. Her attention was consumed by the sound of something in Moon's voice that she hardly recognized. Her mother's default tone with her in these situations was disappointment, but this was different. This was... fear. Confused by the reaction, Star wasn't even sure how to respond. "Mom... Mom, whatever you're thinking-"

"Star, don't. Don't even try. I know exactly what you did, and I won't allow it to happen again. I want you back home, right now. No arguments."

Star froze as she processed the queen's words. It was clear to her from Moon's attitude that she knew, or at least had a very good idea. But was she really saying what Star thought she was saying? "Back home? You mean like, just for today right?" Her voice began to crack, gradually rising in volume. "If you're trying to tell me that Marco is only good enough for the 'Perfect Queen Moon's' daughter when he's just a friend..." Tears welled up in her eyes, nearly sobbing as her speech started to waver. "IF YOU'RE SAYING I CAN'T SEE HIM ANYMORE-"

"Bring Marco with you." Moon responded abruptly, swiftly cutting off her daughter's growing anger.

"Hubba-wha?" Star uttered, feeling her rage drain instantly, only to be replaced with confusion. She felt her blood pressure returning to normal after learning that she wouldn't lose Marco again, but... bring him with her?

"I'll see you soon." Moon shut off her mirror, terminating the call.

Star collapsed back onto Marco's bed. She squeezed her eyes shut so tight that she saw stars, pulling her body and most of her face back under the blankets. It was still awkward being fully naked next to Marco, but not nearly as awkward as the conversation she anticipated with the king and queen. Star sighed, shaking her head. Maybe her mom was asking the right question. What DID she do? "Come on Marco. I won't look, but we need to get dressed. We're going to see my parents."

Marco had been anticipating the request after hearing the conversation, and he let out a quiet sigh. "I can't."

Star pulled the covers tighter around her, taking brief refuge in her and Marco's shared warmth, trying to fight back the rising dread over their meeting with her father and mother. Especially her mother. "Marco, I don't want to go either, but if we don't I'm pretty sure this time my mom will ACTUALLY kill me."

"No, I mean," Marco grunted with effort as he attempted to push himself up off the edge on the other side of the bed, just as Star glanced over to see his bare back covered in scratch marks, a few of which might have been bleeding recently. "I don't think I can actually walk."

Star turned and buried her face in her pillow, muffling scream of frustration. Glossaryck was right. It was morning, and she regretted it.