Tom paced around in his bedroom, holding his rabbit in his arms gently and aggressively petting him.

"Man, I screwed up...I REALLY screwed up...", He muttered to himself, Marshmallow wiggled in his arms, trying to get free.

Tom stopped pacing and took a deep breath, "I'm sorry buddy...I'm just...it's Marco...".

Tom sat down on the floor, petting his rabbit much more gently now and sighing, it was only a week ago when Marco and him had a game night at Marco's home. It seemed tame enough, until IT happened...

They kissed, they kissed and Marcoliked it.

Tom knew he shouldn't be acting like this, what was there to be upset about? He and Marco had a good time, they had a nice talk, Marco asked Tom for a kiss, and Tom got to kiss his secret crush...Why did he feel so sick?

Maybe it was because nothing was the same anymore since it happened.

He and Marco hung out regularly, they were friends, but ever since that night...their hang outs together just seemed so iffy and awkward. Marco would blush whenever Tom got too close to him, they had a hard time talking to each other like they used to, and when they did talk...they talked about what Star was doing!

Great job Tom, you couldn't have said no when Marco asked could you? You had to give in to your desires and ruin your friendship in it's entirety. You had one friend Tom, a good one and now you can't even look at each other straight.

He held Marshmallow close, "I least I still have you I guess...if everything fails..."

Then he felt sicker.

No, that wouldn't make him feel better.

Marco made him feel better, he always did, he needed him in his life too much.

Why did Marco want to kiss him so badly anyway? He wasn't appealing, he was a complete loser whose hurt him in the past. Just because Marco trusted him so much and told him all these personal and private things didn't mean Tom was worthy of being kissed.

Tom wasn't worth anything, Marco could've asked any other guy to do it.

Why Him?

He fell back onto the floor, which was a mistake because he sat back up immediately feeling the back of his injured head. Sometimes, he really hated living down here. Holding his rabbit, he sat down on the foot of his bed, usually when he was bored he'd call to see Marco, but that wasn't an option right now.

"Everything would've been so much easier if i didn't like him..." He mumbled, "Everything would be normal, and i wouldn't feel so stupid...". He laid down on his back, enjoying the soft bed surface so much more then the cavern floor, he placed his rabbit on his chest and looked at him.

"Marco said we didn't have to, that he's understand if i said no...and i still said yes anyways...and now Marco probably hates me, and we'll never be friends again and UGH!", He clutched the sheets and growled, "I just wish I could stop being so STUPID!"

Marshmallow, slightly scared, jumped off his master and hid under the bed, Tom cupped his face and calmed down.

"I'm sorry...I just wish i could shut off my emotions sometimes..."

He stared up at the ceiling, trying to think about anything other then Marco when he heard his mirror ringing, he was getting a call.

He got up off his bed to check who was calling, straightening out his clothes and hair, he paused when he saw the name.

Star

Why would Star call him? Did something happen to Marco? Did Star need some advice on magic?

He pressed the button and picked it up, only to be surprised by the sight of messy brown hair and a familiar red hoodie.

"M-Marco?", Tom said, clearly surprised.

"Hey..", Marco put on a friendly smile, "Sorry if this is a bad time or something...I needed to borrow Star's mirror to call you.."

"Oh no no no..." Tom said quickly, waving his arms in front of him, "This is fine, I don't mind at all, I wasn't really doing anything important or special anyway...". He put on his best smile, trying not to worry his friend.

"Oh, well, I think we need to talk...", Marco said, he held out his dimensional scissors, "Do you mind if I come over?"

Tom did his best to not look so red and flustered, he put on his coolest act and tried not to look at Marco.

"Sure, you can come over...that's cool..", He said, shrugging, "I mean my room is kinda a mess and stuff but I don't mind company..."

Marco grinned, "Thanks...I'll be right there..."

The call ended, and Tom saw a portal rip up in the center of the room, Marco emerging from it.

"Hey!", Marco actually seemed really happy to see him again, despite the fact that it was clear he was here to talk about something serious. Marco went in for a hug, and although Tom willingly hugged him back, it wasn't as tight and seemed a bit uncomfortable.

When they pulled apart, Tom felt the back of his head, "So...what's up?"

Marco made himself comfortable and sat on the edge of the demon's bed, To taking a seat next to him and trying to avoid eye contact. He felt like he'd be scolded, just like with his dad, except with his dad it could result in bruises.

"Tom..are we...are we still friends?", Marco asked, smile faded.

Tom looked at him as if he asked something utterly ridiculous, "What..?". He tensed up, unsure exactly how to answer Marco's question considering he'd been wondering the exact same thing that day.

"It's just...ever since we.." He paused, "We've just beendifferent...and i'm just worried that maybe..you don't want to hang out with me anymore.."

"What? No!" Tom said quickly, "No Marco, I love hanging out with you, you're my best friend! I wouldn't dump you for the world..". He tried to stop blushing, trying to keep his emotions in check so he didn't do anything he didn't want to.

Marco said nothing, twiddling his thumbs.

"Look Marco it's just.." Tom started, "After we...kissed...I just..I-I don't know how to feel..."

Just mentioning the word made the room more tense

Marco sighed, "I-I really shouldn't have asked you for it, I-I don't know why...I just...you were next to me, you always have my back...I guess I just got too caught in the moment...". He then buried his face in his hands, "I-I didn't mean to make things so weird between us...make you uncomfortable around me.."

Tom paused and took Marco's hands, he forced Marco to look at him.

"What?! No!? I could never feel bad around you Marco...", Tom grinned softly, "Well, not since we became friends at least...". The demon paused and closed his eyes, "Don't feel bad Marco, you shouldn't be ashamed of this...we both wanted to know...and..we both went for it.."

"Yeah but now everything is so weird and confusing and-" Marco started to argue.

"So what?" He interrupted, "Marco, you're my friend no matter what, friends have struggles and go through weird junk all the time...I'm not just gonna stop being your friend because of something like this!"

Marco stared off to the side for a bit, avoiding eye contact.

"Why did you want to kiss me?" Tom suddenly asked, "I mean..I know we're friends and all but...why me?"

Marco turned red, "Well, i really don't know...I just kinda..did."

Tom took note of this.

"Did you actually like it? I mean...the kiss and all? I mean...like seriously...enjoy it?", Tom asked, no longer holding the human's hands and looking at the floor.

"Well...yeah.." Marco responded awkwardly after a short pause, "It...was nice.."

"You really thought so?"

"Yeah.."

They sat in silence for a little bit, unsure what to say next, then Tom glanced at Marco and smiled.

"Is it weird that I kinda want us to kiss again?", He asked, it was a risky move, but at this point nothing could make the situation worse. "I mean, I know we did it just for fun but...I've just..I've never felt like that in a long time..."

Tom had no idea Marco could get even redder then he already was, his eyes were wide open and Tom couldn't tell if it was because he was shocked Tom asked such a thing, or that Tom even wanted to kiss again at all after their recent actions towards each other.

"You want to kiss again?" He repeated, trying to ignore his rapid heartbeat.

"C-can I?", Tom placed a hand on Marco's waist, he was trying to be romantic despite that never being his strong suit. Marco didn't remove his hand though, so maybe it was working? "I know it's weird..but I-I just want to and it's hard to explain..."

Marco was clearly debating whether to say "Yes" or "No" to that question as he stared at Tom, and Tom was getting increasingly more embarrassed the longer the silence went.

Then before he could remove his hand and apologize, Marco put his own hand atop his.

"Yeah...go ahead.."

"Really?"

"Yeah...I-I don't mind honestly.."

Marco wasn't sure why he was allowing this, but part of him felt like he wanted this kiss just as much as Tom.

Slowly and awkwardly, Tom leaned into another kiss, it didn't last very long...but for him he wished it could've lasted for an eternity. He's met people, had great moments and experiences with people...

But he's never felt this way since...

Star.

When they pulled apart, they looked at each other in awe.

Then Tom laughed.

Marco snapped back into reality after being so dazed from their kiss, and then he chuckled along with him.

He finally got the message, after so many encounters of his friend being odd about romance and acting strange around him...it made sense now.

"Y'know...If someone told me long ago, that I'd kiss my best friend's ex...I would've said they were crazy.." He said, then he held up their hands and intertwined their fingers, "But if they also told me that they'd also be in total love with me...I would've sent them to an asylum..."

Tom sighed, "I should've told you a long time ago...I just..."

"Didn't want to risk hurting our friendship? Welcome to the club..."

"So...you're not weirded out bythis?" Tom nodded towards their linked hands.

Then Marco squeezed his hand in response, "If you think i'd be weirded out by this of all things you don't know me as well as you think you do Tom...", He smirked at the demon and kissed his cheek.

"Maybe not.." Tom said, freezing up at being kissed by a rather delighted human, "But I'd certainly like to get to know you even more then I already have..."

"You asking me out?"

"Maybe.." , Tom said, embarrassed.

Marco laughed again, "I-I'm so sorry...I came here to talk because I was so worried...and I never expected w-we'd..", He smiled at Tom, "I'm sorry i'm being so stupid, I-I just can't believe how blind I've been for so long..."

He put his palm on his forehead, still laughing, until he felt Tom hug him gently.

"This has been a weird few weeks hasn't it?", The demon muttered.

"I've had weirder..." Marco hugging him back, "I'm glad I came over to see you...It's nice seeing you happy again..."

"Same..." Tom said, "I actually kinda feel better...kinda having it all out there..."

Tom pulled him closer, " If you don't want to date it's cool and stuff...I just..I just kinda wanna say..I just really like you. I know it's kinda stupid, and I know it's weird considering our relationship and it's history, I-I just...I-I just..like you, you make me feel...different."

Marco smiled gently, although Tom couldn't see it.

"I sound stupid..." Tom said, "I'm sorry...I'm not very good at talking to people about stuff like this..Star used to think I was being silly..."

"No Tom, it's...it's really sweet...", Marco pulled off him and looked him in the eyes, "And besides...i'm no better at talking about this stuff either..it took years for me to ask Jackie out...remember?"

Just then a small bunny leaped up from the floor onto the bed, Tom jumped back a bit, and Marco laughed in response and picked him up. He petted Marshmallow on his head softly, "Crushes aren't easy things to handle Tom...trust me, I know, it'll be scary and you'll constantly be worried about screwing things up...but new experiences can help us grow up.."

He took Tom's hand and placed it on top of Marshmallow's head.

"S-Star's gonna visit her parents for the weekend as they meet up with another kingdom, and i'm not allowed to go on this one considering the last time i was almost eaten.." Marco started, putting his hand on top of Tom's, "But...if you want, you could come over and we...we can..talk more, about all of this...learn together."

"You'd want that?" Tom said.

"Yeah, just because I know doesn't mean I don't want to spend time with you...", He trailed off, "How about we try it and...just see where it goes? If you're ok with that?"

Tom grinned, "Sure dating a demon isn't too dangerous for the safe kid? I could always go easy on you Marco...I know I can be too much for you to handle sometimes...", He winked playfully and Marco shoved him.

"Tom, you're about as dangerous as a kitten...you cry literally every time you see a sad animal on TV..." He laughed.

Tom made a face and playfully attacked Marco, causing Marshmallow to once again run off and hide under the bed.

"YOU CRY AT THEM TOO!" He laughed.

After Tom pinned Marco down, smiling, he softly allowed him to sit up and kissed his forehead.

He looked at Marco in delight, his best friend, his crush, his potential boyfriend...

"Well...until our date...you mind helping me on this new journey of getting my rabbit out from under my bed? I dunno...that might help us grow one way or another.." Tom stood up and held out his hand to Marco, who took it gladly and gave him a challenging smile.

"Only if you're here with me..."