Kelly had found a strong sense of stability in her friendship with Marco Diaz, she realized as she sat with him in a secluded corner of the Butterfly Royal Palace. It was a cozy little spot in a small, unused lounge room at the far end of the hall that housed the castle's many squires and maids, complete with a fireplace, a rug, a small stove and countertop, and the comfortably padded chairs on which they were seated.

Marco had discovered it some weeks prior on a rare day in which he had no royal duties and Star didn't drag him off on some wild adventure. He had told her about it and since then it had become their little sanctuary. Why it nobody ever bothered to use it was up for debate, but she was willing to bet that most of the castle staff would simply prefer to crash out in bed after the long hours they no doubt had to put up with.

On most days, they would retreat here after Marco had finished his tasks as a squire and she had gone about her own business for the day. They would meet up outside the castle (she and a few others like Ponyhead had direct permission from Star to enter and exit the castle at will, so the guards thankfully never bothered them) before walking upstairs and down the hall to the lounge where they would settle down next to each other in front of the fire, chatting about whatever might be on their minds.

Sometimes she would rant about Tad still occasionally bugging her and he would listen, and even let her cry on him once when the memories it provoked had proved to be too emotionally taxing for her to handle. Other times he would tell her about the latest wacky inter-dimensional shenanigans he got involved in, usually with Star, or tell stories of his parents and his life growing up on Earth.

It was all very relaxed and casual, and that was a great thing to look forward to after a long day, but most importantly, it gave her peace of mind knowing that she always had a shoulder to lean on for when she needed support, or friendly company for when she was bored or lonely.

After becoming so used to handling her constant breakups with Tad on her own, it felt good to have someone with whom she could be completely open. Thus, she thoroughly enjoyed every moment of it, and savored it as much as possible.

Tonight however, things were different. He was tense, depressed and even a little frustrated. His eyes held that distant, glazed-over look that she knew so well from her own experiences.

It wasn't particularly difficult to guess that his growing crush on Star was starting to take a toll.

It certainly didn't help her own opinion on the matter that Star didn't really seem to appreciate everything that Marco had given up to be here. Sure, he had his own set of dimensional scissors and could visit home or indeed any other dimension whenever he felt like it, but that by no means was to say that staying on Mewni as Star's personal squire was something he was completely content with. It was demanding and sometimes quite dangerous considering the resident princess's affinity for finding trouble.

She knew that Marco was of course happy, or at the very least wanted to be here. If he was truly miserable then surely he would have left long ago, or perhaps never even bothered to return in the first place, but she also knew that to some extent he was forcing himself to stay here, forcing himself to serve Star's every whim and need, go on every dangerous quest with her and risk his life, and why? Because he felt like he owed her? Perhaps thought he should be committed to supporting her, or maybe even because, with his ever-growing attraction to her, he was hoping beyond hope for a chance with her?

She didn't like that, but she wasn't quite sure why. She had noticed herself becoming rather… protective of Marco lately, in terms of both his physical and mental well-being, and the thought was constantly nagging at the back of her mind, despite however many times she had simply dismissed it as the valid concerns of a friend.

She looked at him and grimaced. He looked so pained, so tired that all she really wanted to do was give him a hug. Perhaps she might do that later, but for now, she knew that he needed a friend first and above all else.

"So, what's on your mind?"

He flinched at the sound of her soft inquiry, having been so deeply lost in his own musings. His brain flailed about for a moment in an attempt to respond and he managed to come up with a vaguely intelligent-sounding "urgh?"

She gave him a sympathetic look, and he knew she was worrying about him again.

"Ah, it's nothing," he tried to deflect half-heartedly.

One more glance at her face told him she wasn't buying it.

"It's Star, isn't it?"

And boy did that ever throw him even deeper into the pit he was so desperately trying to crawl out of.

He knew it was fruitless. Star was with Tom now. They were both very happy with each other. He had lost his chance, and it hurt.

Normally he could handle it if he distracted himself, usually with his royal duties, but today he had been stuck with them all day. Out on a date, being the perfect couple that they were, while he was relegated to carrying all the shopping bags loaded with stuff that Tom had so generously and chivalrously bought for his beloved girlfriend.

It made him feel queasy, his stomach in knots just thinking about it, even though he knew it shouldn't. Star was his best friend. He should want only the best for her, what made her happy.

But that didn't stop him from feeling his heart shatter into pieces every time he so much as glanced in their general direction.

He must have looked about as terrible as he felt, because he heard her chair scraping closer before he felt her arm placed softly around his shoulders.

He looked up at her gentle smile and suddenly the universe seemed just a little less cruel.

It was nice to have a friend like Kelly. Star was and always would be his best friend. He would tell her everything, but now there were things that he couldn't tell her. Not without compromising everything that they had.

But Kelly understood that. She understood and she could be there to support him when he couldn't support himself.

He felt a sense of security when he was with her, like he could be open about all the things that were on his mind without her judging him or without him potentially endangering their friendship.

"Yeah, it's Star…"

She pulled him in closer and he went willingly, leaning against her side. They stayed that way for a minute in silence, with her simply holding him.

She knew what he was going through.

Marco let out a long sigh as he let himself finally relax, sagging under his own weight, leaning a little further into Kelly.

"I know it's wrong," he said at length, staring into the fireplace. "She's my best friend, and I should only want what's best for her… both as her squire and her best friend. But I don't know how to do that anymore if I can barely stop myself from wanting to cry every time I look at her!"

He took a moment to compose himself.

"Not that I would ever cry," he said, trying to salvage whatever masculinity he had left in that moment.

She smiled as she saw some of his usual tendencies begin to shine through once more.

"Sure, tough-guy. I bet you've never cried before, even after getting all those boo-boos," she teased, enjoying the jokingly affronted look on his face as he straightened up before she sobered once more.

"Y'know Marco, I think that you're doing a pretty awesome job for a friend," she said. "I mean, despite all the things you feel and despite how much pain it's causing you, I don't see you leaving."

"Of course I wouldn't leave!" He said. "Star's more important to me than that! I wouldn't just leave her over some dumb feelings!"

She lightly tapped him on the nose.

"That's what makes you such a good friend, silly. I don't see anything wrong with it. I think it goes a long way to show how dedicated you are to her. I'd say Star is pretty lucky to have you around."

And that, he supposed, was really the point. Maybe the part about her being lucky to have him was debatable, but Star was still counting on him to be her squire and best friend for when she needed it. Yes, it hurt to see her with someone else but in time he supposed he would learn to deal with it.

And he would, for Star's sake if not for anything else.

He looked back at Kelly with a tired but steady smile, and her own face brightened at the sight of it.

"Well Kelly, when you're right, you're right," he said.

"Of course I am," she responded smugly.

He gave a light scoff at her expression before turning towards the window, noting the sun had long since gone down.

"It's getting late. I should probably head to bed. Need to be ready for whatever tomorrow brings."

She nodded, and the two got up and walked out, moving side-by-side down the hall in comfortable silence.

Normally, they would say their goodbyes at his door. This time though, she was curious.

"I've never seen the inside of your room before," she told him as she walked in.

"It's pretty much an exact replica of my room back on Earth," he replied as he reached over and turned on his bedside lamp.

"I never went in there either."

"Oh… right." He sometimes forgot that Kelly hadn't really frequented his home.

She looked around, noting the various decorations scattered about the room. It was very neat, with everything in perfectly tidy order. As her eyes travelled around the room, she noticed something.

His perfectly matching pajama top and bottoms, neatly folded over the end of his bed.

They even had little designs of cactuses on them, and she couldn't help but start to giggle at the thought of Marco wearing them, like a little kid. She looked back at him with her eyes alight with mirth. He blushed, obviously embarrassed, and crossed his arms in an attempt to look mad.

"What? They're soft and comfortable! There's nothing wrong with wearing them at my age!" He cried indignantly.

This only served to make her begin outright laughing. He glowered at her.

"You're mean."

"And you're adorable."

"I am not adorable! I am a misunderstood bad boy!"

She laughed again, unable to contain herself.

"Whatever you say, macho man."

"Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up."

She managed to hold back for his sake, grinning at him. She knew better than to think he was upset with her though, especially given the growing smile on his own face that he was struggling to keep down.

"So, same time tomorrow?" She asked.

"Sure, assuming Star doesn't suddenly decide she wants to go out and try single-handedly fixing Mewni's cultural divide again or something."

"Heh, knowing Star, that and more is entirely possible."

"Don't I know it."

They looked at each other for a moment, warm smiles on their faces, before she stepped towards the door. He reached over and opened it for her, bowing like a gentleman.

"Oh, why thank you, kind sir," she stated with a posh, royal accent.

"Anything for you, my fair lady," he responded with an equally accented tone.

She snickered and stepped out the door before closing it. Her hand stayed on the handle for a moment as she let out a relaxed sigh and turned around to head out…

And promptly came face to face with Star Butterfly.

Kelly very nearly jumped out of her skin at the sight of the princess standing before her, but just barely managed to keep her cool. She had to try very hard to keep her voice from shaking while still sounding as casual as possible.

"Oh, hey Star! Fancy seeing you here! What are you up to? Heh-heh…" Star's eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"I was going to see Marco. What were you doing in there with him?"

For a moment, Kelly panicked internally. Star didn't exactly know about how often she and Marco had been spending time together, and Kelly would have preferred to keep it that way. She doubted Star would disapprove, but the things that she and Marco had shared in their time together were things that were best left between the two of them, and definitely not shared with Star, especially considering Marco's current emotional crisis.

"Oh you know, just… hanging out and stuff…"

Kelly leaned back against the door, hoping to look like she wasn't trying to stall. Star regarded her quizzically for a moment, before shrugging her shoulders and accepting the answer. Kelly internally breathed a sigh of relief, but that relief quickly faded when she remembered what, or rather whom Star was here for.

Marco may have accepted the reality of his feelings for Star, but he was in no way ready to deal with it just yet. The wound was still too fresh.

He most definitely did not need Star barging in on him right now.

She also realized that Star was speaking again.

"Sooo… would you mind moving out of the way? I need him for some official squire busine-"

"No."

Star stopped abruptly in her tracks as Kelly made no move to get out of her way.

"Uhhh, look Kelly I-"

But Kelly shook her head before Star could finish, interrupting her with a firm tone.

"I'm sorry Star, but I think Marco needs some time to himself right now. He's had a hard day."

"Well I mean he is my squire. Stuff like that is part of his job, y'know?"

Kelly was starting to get a little agitated now, but forced herself to be calm.

"So he's just your squire? That's it?" She asked.

Star was confused by Kelly's unusual line of questioning, but in true to form fashion, took it in stride with a flippant wave of her hand.

"Pssh, I mean he's obviously my best friend as well. I mean come on you know how much-"

"Is he really though?"

Now Star stopped. She looked at Kelly, whose tone was perfectly calm but with a tight and rigid body posture that screamed 'annoyed'. It was almost like she was guarding the door, letting no intruders pass without permission.

"Wha- what do you mean? Of course he is!" Star stuttered out.

Kelly shot her a glare.

"What I mean is that you may be his best friend, but is he the same to you? You know he could technically leave at any time right?"

Star's expression was a mixture of confusion and pained shock, and Kelly felt a stab of guilt, knowing that this wasn't all necessarily Star's fault, but forged ahead regardless.

She would not leave Marco at risk of drowning in his own misery again by having to face Star.

"I mean he literally has his own pair of dimensional scissors that he got from Hekapoo herself! Right now, he could be hopping through any dimension he wanted, doing whatever he wanted, but he isn't," she knew her irritation was creeping into her voice now, but couldn't help it. "He's here, with you, Star. He has the power to leave at any point, but he doesn't do that, because he genuinely wants you in his life just as much as he wants to be a part of yours."

Kelly took a deep breath to steady herself. Star was visibly upset at this point, looking dejectedly down at the floor, but her negative feelings seemed to be directed less at Kelly and more at herself. Kelly stepped closer and put a hand on Star's shoulder.

"I'm not saying you're a bad friend or anything, Star. You're great, and I know that from personal experience. I'm not even saying that you should revere Marco and everything he does. All I'm saying is that maybe you ought to understand just what he's giving up to be here."

Star looked as miserable as could be, but took a deep breath and picked herself back up.

"All this princess stuff has just been so stressful lately," she lamented. "It's hard to keep up with life with all this stuff about Eclipsa's trial, and politics and monsters and just… everything. Tom mostly understands it but even then I still feel like it's me against the universe sometimes."

Now her eyes had become filled with that classic determination that was as much a part of her as her magic spells.

"But you're right; Marco deserves to at least be appreciated for all he's done for me. One night off is probably the least I could do."

Star turned and headed off down the hall but turned back to wave towards Kelly as she did.

"Thanks Kelly! Have a good night!"

"You too, Star."

She watched as Star disappeared around a corner and let out a heavy breath that she hadn't known she was holding in. She was about to finally leave when she felt the door opening behind her.

She turned to see Marco standing in his pajamas, which were hilariously adorable as suspected, but the frown on his face kept her from laughing like before.

She opened her mouth to speak when he suddenly stepped forward and enveloped her in a tight hug. She was shocked for a moment before she regained her composure and returned the embrace.

He stepped back moments later and held her at arms length before whispering a quiet "thank you."

She smiled and nodded, and that was all that needed to be done. He had heard them through the door. He knew she had deliberately stalled out Star so he wouldn't have to face her, and she knew that he would gladly do the same for her in any other situation.

That was part of what good friends did, after all.

Marco now seemed to be contemplating something of importance, if the pensive expression on his face and the fact that he had yet to let go of her was any indication.

At last, he looked up at her and spoke.

"I know I can handle this. I have to. But I don't think I want to handle it alone right now," he suddenly seemed to curl in on himself; looking rather shy as his previous boldness had apparently fled in an instant.

"I-I mean you obviously don't have to," he stuttered, waving his hands defensively. "But I was thinking that-well, maybe… I don't know… you could just… stay here with me tonight?"

His cheeks were bright red, and she could feel a bit of heat rising on her own face, but she shook it off. Marco needed a friend, and just as often as he had been there for her, she would return the favor in kind.

So she smiled, squeezing one of his hands with her own as she brushed past him into the room.

She kicked off her boots and sweater, leaving her in just her shorts and the short-sleeved shirt she wore as underclothes as Marco turned off the light and hesitantly climbed into bed, scooting over to the far end, leaving just enough room for her as she crawled in next to him.

Though she would never know what propelled her to do it, she pressed herself up against him, resting her head against his chest.

She noted somewhere in the back of her mind that he hadn't been kidding when he said his pajamas were soft, while the rest of her thoughts were focused on how unbelievably warm he was.

Marco's body had gone stiff as a statue, as he obviously hadn't expected her to basically start cuddling him.

"You know, I should be thanking you as well," she said quietly. "Having you around has really helped me. When I said Star was lucky to have you, I ought to have mentioned that I'm pretty lucky to have you as well."

He relaxed then, and slowly his arms wound themselves around her, and suddenly she was even warmer than before.

"Yeah well," he whispered, "I guess we look out for each other."

"I guess we do."

She craned her neck upwards, pressed her lips lightly against his chin, and settled back against him.

"Goodnight, Marco."

"Goodnight, Kelly."

End

And so, my first-ever take at fanfiction comes to a close. I've been reading these stories for years now, and have finally started having the urge to create my own. I tried my best to keep everybody in character, though I'm not sure how well I did.

I don't actually watch the show all that much, but from what I have seen recently, I've found that I kind of like these two. They have a sweet, supportive dynamic going that I'd love to see more of. As such, this can be read either as a romance story or as a friendship story (or a bit of both, if you would prefer).

Personally, relationships that kind of blur the line between friendship and romance are the ones that I get the most enjoyment from reading.

Like it, hate it, don't care about it; let me know. Any and all feedback is welcome.