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Chapter 1

If his three years on Mewni had taught Marco anything, it was how to look on the bright side. He'd actually learned that lesson in his first few months, putting aside his emotional turmoil and enjoying the soulrise with Kelly.

He wasn't unhappy.

The first few months were the worst. It wasn't just coming to terms with his feelings for Star and the fact that she'd apparently gotten over him. He'd been dealing with the lack of acceptance from the knights and squires and struggling to work out just how he fit in this new life as Star's squire.

There were more than a few nights where Marco had wondered if coming to Mewni was the right choice after all, and several times where he wondered if he should just take Tad's advice and leave.

But it never took much for him push those thoughts aside- just remembering how worn and tired Star had looked when he'd left her to work with Hekapoo, how without him she might still be trapped in the realm of magic.

She needed him. Maybe not like he wanted, but she did need him. Nearly every major decision she made, she ran by him. He'd helped her organize balls and helped her on adventures, all while being her emotional support and babysitting one of most important magical beings in existence.

All right, maybe he was glorifying the last one a bit.

Regardless, Marco knew he couldn't leave Star while she needed him- not while he could make her happy. So he suppressed his feelings as well as he could, and focused on being the best squire and the best friend he possibly could.

Once Star ascended to the throne- things changed. At first she was overwhelmed by the sheer volume of responsibilities thrust on her- too much for one person. So Marco stepped in, organizing paperwork, doing the background research for everything that came onto Star's agenda, and typing out summaries of his findings.

He'd jumped into it with enthusiasm- perhaps too much so. Sometime during the second week he'd found himself in bed with no clue how he'd gotten there. Star was sitting at his bedside, going through a stack of papers that Marco must have been working on. She proceeded to chide him for working himself into the ground- apparently when she'd found him he'd been so strung out on caffeine and lack of sleep that he was convinced he could 'see the lines of the universe'.

"I'm sorry, Star. I just really wanted to help you. I know how hard all of this has been for you." He'd apologized, feeling miserable that he was being a burden on her.

"I know, Marco. But that doesn't mean you should run yourself into the ground. I can't have my bestie going insane on me, can I?" Her tone was tender yet teasing, and Marco felt his heart warmed. She'd taken the time to sit by his side while he slept. She had been worried about him. Of course she had- he was her best friend.

Marco had resolved to be more responsible after that, and thankfully after the first few weeks everything went much smoother. His organization system worked like a well-oiled machine, and as he learned more about Mewni- and politics and economics in general- he needed to do less research for everything.

He was honestly brimming with pride at what he'd accomplished- if only he could find someone who could really appreciate the beauty of his system. Sure, Star was grateful for his help, but her passion was far more for people than papers.

She'd taken to the responsibility of being queen in many ways- negotiating with other royals, holding town halls, working with the magical high commission and fixing any magical problems, spearheading projects to integrate monsters and mewmans. The work Marco did, while important, was much less glamorous. He didn't blame anyone for not caring about whatever trade deal he used as precedent when writing up a template for today's agreement, or how he managed to streamline the shipment of corn across the kingdom. That didn't stop him from sometimes wishing he got a bit more recognition.

Marco wasn't unhappy, though. That was something he told himself repeatedly.

He had Star, the Queen of Mewni, as his best friend. Tom was a good friend. Kelly and Tad had been great to him the past few years. He'd patched things up with Hekapoo and even did missions with her on occasion. He loved babysitting his little brother. He was practically the school mascot for St. Olga's, and had helped the school overhaul itself. He was proud of his work as Star's assistant and advisor- even if he felt a little unappreciated for it.

An outside observer would say that he had a good life- they might even say that he was lucky.

If only he weren't in love with his best friend. Marco wasn't unhappy, but if he was being honest with himself, he wasn't happy either.

Eventually, inevitably, things came to a head.

Star had been mysteriously absent from dinner in the castle that evening. Not too unusual- though Marco was used to knowing the reason, since he did maintain her schedule. A sliver of worry wormed its way into Marco's gut, but he brushed it off. Star could take care of herself.

Marco distracted himself by starting a conversation with Higgs (now a proper knight), which inevitably ended as a verbal sparring match. She always bested him, but had become much more merciful in victory over the years. One might even say that she was fond of him- not that she'd admit it.

When dinner finished, Marco decided it was time to text Star. He didn't want to be 'a Marco' but it was friendship Thursday, a tradition that they'd kept alive for almost four years now, Star should have there by now. He never got the chance to finish his text, however, because as he was walking back to his room he heard the familiar shout of his name.

"MARCO!"

Marco whirled around to find Star, who was literally bouncing with happiness and dragging behind her a bemused looking Tom.

"MARCO! YoullneverguesswhatjusthappenedImsohappyTomjustaskedmetomarryhim!" The words spilled out of her mouth, but Marco still was able to catch the gist of them. Even if he hadn't understood her, the opulent ruby ring that now had a place on her finger would have tipped Marco off.

Marco felt like he just took a knife to the chest. He forced the fakest smile of his life onto his face, and dragged Star into a hug so she wouldn't see through it. "That's incredible!" He said, hoping the searing pain in his chest, which was quickly burning its way up to his throat, didn't show in his voice. He quickly turned to Tom and gave him a back-thumping hug "Congratulations, guys."

"Anyway, Tom and I were going to go out to celebrate! But I just remembered that it is friendship Thursday so we figured you could come with, if you wanted?" Star was asking for both of them, but it was clear by Tom's expression that she was the driving force behind this offer. The blonde sharply elbowed the demon prince, who winced and added.

"Uh, yeah, totally! You're our best friend, and we'd love to have you." Tom piped in dutifully.

The knife in Marco's chest twisted. Star had no way of knowing that Marco would rather spend his night in the Forest of Certain Death than spend it watching Star and Tom celebrate their engagement.

"Thanks guys, but I'd rather not. Tonight should be about the two of you, and honestly I'd probably only end up as a third wheel." Marco's voice cracked a bit, and he wished he hadn't added the last part.

"You wouldn't, Marco!" Star protested, and Tom countered "Yeah, he would."

"Look, we can hang out later, enjoy your night." Marco said quickly, turning on his heel and walking away as fast as he could.

"Look see, he doesn't want to go, now let's just…" Tom's voice faded as Marco made his escape. Too late, he realized that he was going in exactly the wrong direction to get back to his room. There was nothing for it; he didn't want to run into Star and Tom again, so he'd just have to wander around for a few minutes before he could finally hide in the privacy of his room.

You're such an idiot, Diaz. He berated himself. Pining after her for all these years, you're pathetic. Why can't you just get over her?

But Marco knew exactly why he couldn't get over her; he could spend hours listing the reasons why he couldn't get over her. Star was practically a force of nature; her passion for life had left Marco reeling at first, and still awed him to this day. She was as at home wrestling some beast into the mud as she was dancing at a royal ball. She cared so much, for her friends, for her kingdom… and for Marco as well. She always thought of him- like just now, even though she was over the moon after Tom's proposal, she hadn't forgotten him. Sometimes she prioritized Tom, or their other friends, but she always made sure to make it up to him later.

There were times, often on their friendship Thursdays when it was just the two of them, where Marco felt such a profound connection to her. He'd look into her eyes, and she'd look back, and he swore that the Blood Moon bond was more than just wishful thinking on his part. He felt like he understood her in a way he would never know anyone else. He felt like she understood him just as well. They just got each other. It reminded him of the old days, when it was just Star and Marco against the forces of evil. They were a team, and they'd always have each other's backs.

Always.

But the illusion was shattered. What Tom had said, that he was 'their best friend', stung more than Marco had expected. Star and Tom were the team. It was Star and Tom versus the world and what was Marco, Marco-

"Hey! Watch it nerd!" Higgs' voice cut through Marco's spiral of angst. For a moment, Marco thought he'd actually run into her and hadn't noticed, but quickly realized she was taking the mickey. Her expression, however, had quickly morphed from mischievous to downright concerned "Hey, dude, are you alright?"

God, he must look like a wreck right now for Higgs of all people to be worried for him. Was there even a point to lying?

"No." He said shortly, honestly the last thing he needed now was Higgs' brand of cheek and attitude.

If he weren't an emotional mess, he might have laughed at how uncomfortable Higgs looked at the prospect of offering any sort of emotional support. "Uh, do you want to talk about it?"

"I'm not particularly in the mood to be called a pathetic loser, so no." Marco replied dryly.

Higgs protested "Hey! I'm not about to make fun of you now. It's no fun kicking someone when they're down. Anyway, I can guess. Star, right?"

"That obvious?" Marco asked.

"Dude, the only person here who doesn't know about your path- your crush on Star, is Star herself. I honestly don't know why you stick around."

"Star needs me." Marco said simply. He wasn't in the mood to explain in detail, but Higgs was bright enough to pick up on what he meant.

"Does she though?" She asked "I mean yeah, I'm sure the stuff you do is 'important', or whatever. But do you really think that no one else could do it?"

"Well-"

"And yeah, I know you're her best friend and junk, but she has like a dozen other friends, and a boyfriend, I'm pretty sure she'd be alright without you."

Marco was speechless. What Higgs was saying was really hard for him to take, but maybe it was true. Did Star really need him? Or was that a lie he told himself?

"You really suck at making people feel better."

"Not my job, nerd." Higgs countered "That's up to you."

A/N: Welcome to my first story for Star vs the Force of Evil! Just a brief overview- as you can probably tell this is going to be Starco, but I'm gonna hurt you first. I don't plan on this story being too long, maybe a dozen chapters. I have the first four chapters written out (pending proofreading), so my plan is to update every Friday.

As for the continuity of this story, suffice it to say Booth Buddies never happened. I consider it quite likely that the season finale will render this out of cannon somehow. Regardless, I'll just say things diverge somewhere towards the end of season 3.

Any comments or criticisms are welcome. I'd love to hear what you guys think. Enjoy!