Marco and Kelly Vs. The Universe

*SPOILER ALERT*

This takes place just after the episode "Lava Lake Beach" and will contain through "Night Life". If there's interest, I may continue this into a series so let me know in the Review section or PM me! Also check out my other SVTFOE story "Washed Out" though you should be prepared for some feels if you do!

I took a bit of inspiration from a picture Moringmark drew. I highly suggest checking him and Spatziline out. They're on Tumblr and have a under Sparktwins.

Summary: After watching the Soulrise with Kelly, Marco realizes he could use some friends outside of Star.

Chapter 1: Soulrise, Soulset

Lava Lake Beach

"Happy Birthday, Marco Diaz." Kelly said quietly as she and Marco watched the Soulrise in awe from the top of the watchtower.

The glowing ball of light that rose up from the lava lake continued to illuminate the beach as Kelly and Marco huddled close together, enjoying each others silent companionship. Eventually, the light faded away and the pink crystal eye that had been emitting the light slowly sank beneath the surface of the lake, quietly collecting souls for the next year's Soulrise.

Kelly sighed contentedly and handed Marco his jacket back.

"Thanks, Marco. This was nice." she said with a small smile, still looking out over the lake. She wanted to sear this moment of her and Marco together into her memory. For her, the Soulrise would now remind her of friendship, not her turbulent relationship with Tad.

"Well...you're...you know, you're welcome." Marco stuttered out as he slid back into his jacket. Today was a confusing day on many levels for Marco, his heart fluttering a bit at Kelly's words and the memory of them sharing his hoodie. Kelly pushed away from the railing and began to descend the ladder back to the beach, leaving Marco lost in thought.

From the ground, she called back up to him, "Marco, you coming?" She said, waving to get his attention.

Marco jumped at her voice and fell backwards, slamming against the interior of the watchtower multiple times before face-planting in the sand. Marco rolled over and began coughing up sand with a groan. Kelly ran over to check on him, a giggle threatening to spring from her lips, but barely stifled by her concern.

"Marco! Are you o-okay?" She said, fighting to not smile.

"Oh yeah, great! Underworld sand tastes...just..." Marco coughed out a bit more sand, "...like I thought it would."

Kelly burst out laughing at his joke and offered him a hand up. Marco gratefully accepted her help and began brushing the sand off his hoodie and shorts. He ached a bit, but otherwise seemed to be unhurt.

"Marco, I..." Kelly started.

"Kelly..." Marco said at the same time.

The two fell silent for a beat, before breaking out in laughter.

"You dork, " Kelly said, wiping a tear from her eye, "You really need to watch where you're going!"

"Ah, yeah...I was just thinking about how fun this has been." Marco replied, "Thanks for showing me this place."

"It's cool...we both needed some time away from the lovebirds I think." Kelly replied, a little sadness creeping into her voice. Even the Soulrise couldn't completely ward off the ache of her recent heartbreak. Marco's chest clenched a bit at her words, understanding her pain. Unwilling to let the mood darken any further, Marco reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Kelly, since you showed me something so cool, can I show you a cool thing also, as well?" Marco said, suddenly flushing with embarrassment. Just because he thought it was cool, doesn't mean it was. After all he thought his cape...meat blanket...was cool and all it did was annoy his friends.

"Marco, I didn't think you were so forward." Kelly replied, looking away while placing a hand over her mouth. Marco looked at her blankly for a moment before his face started exploded into a furious blush.

"Oh no! Nonononononono. That is not what I meant. At. All!" Marco cried out, jumping back away from Kelly while waving his hands in a negative motion. This caused Kelly to burst out in laughter again.

"Sorry, I couldn't help myself." She laughed. "When you deliver a line like that, it's a crime to not take advantage!"

Marco shot Kelly a weak glare as he fanned his face. Marco reached into the pocket of his hoodie and pulled out his dimensional scissors and presented them to Kelly.

"I meant these. I've only shown one other person so far." he said a bit annoyed. Kelly glanced down at the scissors, and then shot Marco a look to let him know she thought he might be an idiot.

"Marco, I've seen your scissors before. You're the one who picked us up and took us here." She said with a mix of annoyance and curiosity. She was actually rather fond of Marco's scissors. She thought they looked a bit like a sword, her favorite weapon type. She'd been thinking of challenging Hekapoo for her own pair and hoped that they ended up looking similar. Marco shot her a sly grin.

"Yeah, but you haven't seen what they can do! I haven't even shown Star, yet!" Marco said, taking the scissors by the handle in his right hand and holding them out toward her, appearing like a fencer saluting his opponent.

"Marco, they're dimensional scissors. They make portals...and cut paper, I guess." Kelly replied. She didn't miss his last words though, which made her heart flutter a bit.

'He's willing to show me something Star hasn't seen yet?' She thought, stepping back from him.

"These are special. Hekapoo contacted me recently to help her with some stuff. As a reward, she gave them a bit of an upgrade. And...I think you've earned a chance to see them." Marco closed his eyes and held his hand up in front of his face, with two fingers extended upward. Kelly didn't say anything, not wanting to break Marco's concentration.

In a sudden burst of motion, Marco opened his eyes, brought the scissors up next to his left ear and made a sweeping slash down and to the right. As he did so, the blades of the scissors caught fire and grew in length until they were the size of a sword. As the flames licked the blade, Marco's name was clearly visible in runes along the side of the blade. Even from a few feet away, she could feel a comforting warmth coming from the fiery sword.

"Marco! That's amazing!" Kelly cried out as she started to move towards him. She'd heard of dimensional scissors being made in different forms, including chainsaws, but she'd never heard of one transforming. Marco held up a hand to her, stopping her from getting close, the flames of his sword dying out as he did so.

"I'm not done yet!" He yelled as he gripped the hilt in both of his hands. Marco twisted the hilt and pulled away two swords, one in each hand, from the original. Flames briefly roared to life along each blade before dying back out. Marco settled into a ready stance, blades out in front of him and ready to strike, before shooting Kelly a confident smirk. Kelly was awestruck. That Hekapoo would gift a mere human with such a weapon was unbelievable. It spoke to Marco's prowess as a warrior.

"Can you fight with them?" She asked as she approached him. Marco stood up straight and lowered the swords before replying.

"A bit. I...have a lot of spare time when Star's busy with her Princess Training. I was originally squired to Sir Lavabo of the Knights of the Wash, before Star made me her squire. She did it so we could hang out, but I really do want to be a knight one day." Marco said as he looked over the blades.

"Wait, the laundry guy?" She asked, half in disbelief. What could Mewni's dry cleaner know about being a knight?

"Yeah. Turns out, he's really respected, even among other knights. Magic is so strong in the Butterfly Family that their laundry will often come alive and turn into monsters. Sir Lavabo is really strong. In exchange for helping out a few hours a day in the Laundry Room, I get to be his part-time unofficial squire. I get training in swordplay and other aspects of being a knight. He's pretty cool, once you get to know him." Marco said, placing the blades together and forming them back into a single sword.

"Whoa..." She said quietly. "Hey, Marco? I've got a question for you."

"Kelly, I'm sorry I'm just not ready..." Marco interrupted, a blush appearing on his face.

Kelly gave Marco a puzzled look before she realized what Marco was thinking and began blushing herself.

"Marcooo. That's not what I meant!" She said, punching him on the shoulder. Marco suddenly grinned bashfully.

"Ah, I'm sorry, Kelly. I just...thought... Things have been kinda...weird for me lately." Marco said with a grimace. 'Way to misread signals, Diaz...' Marco though before continuing on.

"I started going out with Jackie, then Star confesses she has a crush on me if front of everybody. Jackie breaks up with me, and then Janna slips a picture of her wearing one of my hoodies into my pocket before I leave for Mewni. Just my hoodie...I got a couple dozen proposals at St. Olga's... And then there's Hekapoo who keeps sending me flowers..." Marco said, ticking each odd occurrence with his fingers, touching each one with the tip of his scissor-sword. "Sorry...again." Kelly stifled a laugh before replying.

"It's not like you aren't cute...but I just need a friend right now." She said quietly, turning way.

"Honestly? Me too." Marco said, scratching the back of his head.

"So...Jorby and I spar on Thursday evenings. Would you like to join us? Get some practice in?" Kelly asked shyly, turning back to look at him. If she was being truly honest, part of her invitation was because she was interested in seeing Marco's Dimensional Sword in action. The other part was that she had felt their friendship deepen thanks to the events of the Soulrise. Shared hardship has a way of tempering friendship. A friend in need is a friend indeed, as they say.

"Yeah. I'd like that." He replied with a smile. His sword had turned back into their scissor form and he slid them back into his hoodie pocket. The two shared a smile.

"Hey bestie!" Someone called out, startling the pair. Marco and Kelly turned to see Tad standing awkwardly a few feet away. "Sooo... I guess I came here with you? Could I catch a ride home?" A look of annoyance came over Marco and Kelly's faces. A perfectly good moment, ruined.

"Yeah, ok." Marco said curtly, pulling out his scissors and opening a portal for the strange...bush...guy.

"So...any chance..." Tad began as he slowly shuffled towards the portal, giving Kelly a hopeful look.

"Go, Tad!" the pair yelled.

"Alright, geez. Everyone's such a buzz kill tonight." Tad muttered before entering the portal, which promptly closed behind him. The pair sighed and grinned wearily at each other.

"What should we do now?" Kelly asked as the pair walked along the beach, careful to stay far enough back so the lava didn't burn them.

"Well, last time I saw Tom and Star they uh...they were...doing it Polynesian style...I think." Marco said awkwardly.

"What?" Kelly said with a delicate snort, covering her mouth with her hand.

"You know...they were uh...kissing...on...on the lips." Marco said, looking at the ground. Tad had opened his eyes a bit and he could admit, if only to himself, that he was a bit jealous. Kelly picked up on Marco's darkening thoughts and made to steer away from the subject.

"Maybe we can just walk along the beach for a while then. Why don't you tell me how you got Hekapoo to give you that sweet sword!" Kelly said excitedly. Marco grinned at her.

"Sure! So there's been these random portals opening up all over the different dimensions..." Marco began. He started to explain how random portals had been opening in different dimensions and how he and Hekapoo had been working together to closing them before they caused too much havoc.

Kelly was the perfect audience, gasping at appropriate moments such as when Nachos took a hit from a huge rock monster so Marco wouldn't get hurt, and laughing when Hekapoo accidentally got blasted in the face with hallucinogenic spores from some mushroom people they were trying to help and ended up freaking out.

She eventually responded in kind, telling some some of her own stories. At one point she pulled out her greatsword to show off to Marco, but it tipped over on to him, pinning him to the sand. They both started to panic as the tide had started to come in and Marco nearly got hit with a lava wave. Fortunately, Kelly was able to lift it off of him in time and he managed to scramble away just before a wave rolled over where he had been pinned.

Eventually, Marco and Kelly managed to wander back over to where they had been playing volleyball and found Tom and Star cuddling under the parasol. Star immediately jumped up and ran over to Marco.

"MARCO!" She yelled, "Where did you go? You missed the Soulrise!" She said, upset that her best friend had missed one of the most awesome events of the year.

"I went to check on Kelly after she left...then she...well we got to see the Soulrise from a different part of the beach." Marco said looking at Kelly with a smile.

He had been about to tell Star about the watchtower, but decided against it...for now. Kelly smiled back. Star's face went blank and her pupils constricted as she looked back and forth between Kelly and Marco. Her gaze then settled on Kelly just long enough to make Kelly uncomfortable, before she snapped out of it.

"Ooooh. So that's what happened. I sorta didn't notice you guys were gone until the volleyball game ended...and then the Soulrise started...and Tom..." She said, her face turning red as she felt Tom walk up and take hold of her hand. "I'm sorry Kelly, Marco. I'm glad you guys got to see it though!"

"I'm sorry too, guys. I saw you guys walk off, but I kinda got wrapped up in the game. Marco knows I can be a little competitive..." Tom said, with a mischievous grin. Marco grinned back.

"Yeah, but you cheat!" Marco and Tom then launched into the story of when Tom had kidnapped Marco because he had thought Marco and Star were dating. Tom ended up crushing Marco in ping pong thanks to his demon magic, but it led him to realize only Star could decide what she wanted. Everyone laughed throughout the tale, though Marco's and Star's laughs were a bit strained at the start.

Marco then opened up a pair of portals to Kelly's home dimension and Castle Lucitor. Star and Marco bid farewell to the pair. Tom gave Star a kiss and waved goodbye to Marco before closing the portal behind him.

"I'll see you tonight, Marco!" Kelly said, giving Marco a quick hug before heading into her own portal. Marco thought about it for a second and realized his birthday did fall on Thursday this year.

After she was gone, Star shot Marco a sly look. "Sooo, you moving in on Tad's lady? Huh, Diaz?" She said nudging him.

"Staaaarrr. It's not like that. She and Tad broke up for real this time. and she...just needs a friend. You and I don't get to go on as many adventures anymore, so she invited me to spar with her and Jorby once a week so I don't get rusty! I guess their next session is tonight..." He said thoughtfully. His plate was starting to get a little full. Squiring for Star, training with Sir Lavabo, helping Hekapoo, and now sparring with Kelly and Jorby? Well, he was nothing if not organized. He was sure he could handle it.

"Waaaait. Like...Jorby, Jorby?" She asked, "Big, striped, dog guy? Big horns?" she asked, waving her hands above her head.

"Yeah, he was here earlier. He attacked me because he thought I had replaced him as Kelly's sparring partner." Marco said, rubbing his arm. He could feel the bruise forming from when Jorby had shoulder-checked him.

"Maaaaaybe I should come with you..." She said, suddenly concerned. She wasn't sure Marco could handle a fight with such a foe without her help. Marco pulled out his dimensional scissors and cut open a portal back to Castle Butterfly.

"Star, I'm 15 years old. I can take care of myself and Kelly will be there if it gets too out of hand. Besides, don't you have spell casting practice with your mom on Thursdays? You're usually wiped out by the time you're done." Marco said, confidently as he strode through the portal. Marco missed the look of hurt on Star's face. Had Marco forgotten Friendship Thursdays? They had restarted the tradition a couple weeks after Marco had returned to Mewni. Tom usually joined them now, but Marco had never skipped out, even when he was dead tired nor when he started dating Jackie...

"Wait...when did Marco turn 15?" Star gasped, as she suddenly remembered his words.

"MARCO!" She yelled as she dove into the portal after her friend.

That's chapter 1 for you! I hope you enjoyed it! If it seems like there is interest in this story, I'll continue on!

Despite primarily shipping Starco, I feel there could be a lot of potential for Kellyco. Kelly seems to be the adventurous type and, as far as we can tell at this point, isn't a princess. I feel this makes her a good person to go on adventures with Marco.