If Princess Star Butterfly had learned anything from everything she had been through, it was how afraid she was – especially for Marco.

Her time on Earth and with her best friend had taught her that humans were so much different from Mewmans. They were similar in so many ways, but very different in so many other ways.

Mewmans could survive beheading, for one, sometimes. Mewmans could handle falling from much greater distances. A knife through the body? It would hurt, certainly, but even something like that was a mere flesh wound on a fully matured Mewman. Humans, though…

Something as small as tripping and landing slightly wrong could be fatal for a human.

Knowing that… well, it terrified the Princess of Mewni. No matter where they went or what they did, she could find danger for her beloved, hiding in plain sight. Sure, Marco was proficient in hand-to-hand combat, but that didn't change how Star now saw the world when it came to him.

A crack in the sidewalk? Tripping hazard, and according to some humans, a spinal-breaking hazard for human mothers. Cooking and baking? Humans could get burned. Gardening? Gosh, did humans know how sharp their shovels were nowadays? Everything was potentially harmful to her Marco. Everything was a potential assassin.

Even things like his own hoodie. It could strangle him, suffocate him, snag into something and get him caught in a dangerous area… the possibilities were endless! So of course she was trying to carefully take it off of him while he slept!

This mission was a lot harder than she expected it would be, though. Marco was a light sleeper, she knew, so she had to take extreme precautions – not just to keep him sleeping, but to make his hazard-ridden room safer for him as well. She had quietly whispered spells that she made up on the fly, turning his entire room (except for his mattress, pillows and other bedding) into something similar to memory foam, only softer and squishier and, in her opinion, even safer. It doubled as a footstep-silencer, too! But that wasn't really helping her with her current problem…

She had the hoodie halfway off of him and was blushing profusely at realizing that what she was doing could be seen as rather… well… inappropriate. If he woke up while she was doing this, she could be in some big trouble with him. Not just for stripping his upper body, taking his hoodie away from him, changing his room into a cozy non-marshmallow (for once) wonderland and sneaking into his room, but for doing it all without his permission, which was the one thing that she knew always managed to really, really upset him.

She couldn't help it, though! She had to keep him safe, even at the risk of him waking up and misunderstanding her current endeavor! Humans were fragile and could die from the smallest of things, in the most ridiculous of circumstances, at the worst of times! She had to make sure that Marco never had a chance to die an untimely death. Humans… they were just so delicate!

She gently moved his arms so that she could slip the hoodie over his head, awkwardly looking away when she realized how compromising his position now was, but this was a mistake. She couldn't pay perfect attention to her movements when she wasn't looking and accidentally brushed her hands a little too roughly against his underarms. Just as it was almost off, his eyes snapped open. He was clearly startled upon seeing her there beside him, and was instantly yelping in surprise.

"S-Star?! What are you doing, why are you in my room, why– why are you taking off my clothes?!" Star shushed him quickly, covering his mouth with one of her hands after swiftly tying his arms with the hoodie to hopefully prevent him from lashing out and accidentally hurting himself.

"Marco! Marco, Marco, shhh, shh-shh-shh!"

"Don't shush me! What are you doing?!" He struggled, and the constant thrashing quickly got the Princess frustrated. She tried to straddle him and hold him down with her weight, but when she realized his hands were almost free of his hoodie, she groaned and just decided to be honest.

"I needed to make sure you were safe!"

Instantly, he stopped, raising an eyebrow at her and making an incredulous and confused expression at his clearly flustered best friend. "Huh…? Star, what's this about?"

Star took a deep breath and her posture slumped. Seemingly out of the blue, she seemed to sadden and deflate, and Marco was instantly a little worried for her. Truly, he was wonderful, always caring and empathizing with the people around him, especially those he cared about. "Star?"

"Marco, it's just… We… we do so many dangerous things all the time. Ever since I've met you, I've, welllll… I've kinda been putting you at risk, you know? I mean, we've always managed, somehow, but we might get unlucky one of these days and really get hurt. Especially… Especially you."

"What do you mean?"

"Most of the things that happen to us are no big deal for me. I'm a Mewman. I can get away with a lot more danger than you could, and I can handle getting hurt like it's nothing. But, you… You're, um, well, how do I say this without being offensive… Um, Marco, you're a human."

"…Star, I, uh, get that you were trying to not be offensive, but you kinda sorta failed."

"Sorry."

"No, no, it's cool." He looked her in the eye. "So, continue?" Usual Marco, knowing that she wasn't done. It made her smile every time. He really was her best friend. Her… boyfriend.

"Marco, getting shot at by lazers is almost nothing for me, but for you, you could… well… You could, um, die? Like… like actually die. I've seen how fragile you are! You bleed so much, so easily. Earth was dangerous enough, but now you're here with me on Mewni, and, ummm, I'm not sure if you've noticed that it's even more of a hazardous place than your home or not. Especially since you're considered part of my family now. You know how danger just loves following royalty."

"Okay, and, what does that have to do with you stealing my hoodie in my sleep and then tying my arms up with it when I woke up?"

Star blushed, embarrassed. "Well, uh, I realized it could strangle or smother you accidentally in your sleep."

Marco sighed and smiled at the Princess. She could be so silly sometimes. "Star, look… It is true that pretty much anything can kill a human like me, and easily, too."

Star gritted her teeth and her face immediately showed her displeasure at his words. "Not helping…"

"But! You know me. You know I usually do my best to be safe, and you know I can usually handle myself in a fight. Plus, you're always with me. We're a team, and nothing will ever happen to me so long as we're together. Humans – including myself – may be weak compared to Mewmans, but we're still tough, Star. We're determined to stay alive and we're willing to fight for what little time we have." His smile grew and took on a goofy kind of look. "And you know that, when it comes to me, I fight for life as hard as I can because it means I get to stay with you."

Star beamed at her human, leaned down, and kissed him. He was quick to return her kiss, and like always, fireworks went off in her mind and butterflies flew around in her stomach. She pulled away and gazed down at him with eyes filled with warmth and wonder, and he regarded her with the same amount of affection, though his eyes also had a spark of humor within them.

"Star?"

"Yes, Marco?"

"Can you please untie me now?"