Hey everyone! thDorkMagnet here with a fun little one-shot for you all! The idea for this came from an anonymous request who presented with me with a fun little idea that I thought was only going to take me a day but we ended up expanding on the idea more and more and it became it's own chapter. This actually took me way longer than I care to admit but I'm really happy with the result. I hope you guys feel the same! Anyways, without further ado please enjoy the story!

Disclaimer: Star vs and all it's characters are owned by Daron Nefcy and Disney. All rights go to them.

Marco's soft snores echoed around his dark room, the boy's curtains closed tight to prevent any horrid light from flooding in and disturbing his peaceful dreams. The boy mumbled incoherently in his sleep, clutching the stuffed rabbit he slept with closer, a line of drool beginning to slowly spread on its cotton face, as he settled down deeper into the welcoming warmth of his pillow. At his feet, his litter of laser puppies were all curled up into balls as they snoozed, even the normally hyper dogs not wanting to be disturbed so early in the morning.

The door to Marco's room creaked softly open, a blond head slowly appeared in the doorway a second after, a bright grin on her face as she took in the adorable form of her boyfriend. She held in the coo she felt rising at the back of her throat, her Marco just too cute for words when he was asleep. She silently tiptoed closer, being careful not to jolt around the tray of his freshly made breakfast and accidentally alert him to her presence. She set the tray down as quietly as she could on his desk, before creeping closer to the teen so she was now standing over him. Her eyes shimmered as she just took a few minutes to watch him sleep, sighing softly to herself. Even though it had been months since the Cleaving, Star still couldn't believe sometimes that Marco and her were finally together. It felt like just yesterday they had confessed their love and yet at the same time, it was as if the two had already spent a lifetime together. These last few months had been the best of her life and she was determined to show her boyfriend just how special and important he was to her by throwing the best birthday party possible! He was sixteen now, after all. She had to make sure everything went perfectly.

Speaking of perfect, what was the perfect way to wake Marco up? Star frowned as she tried to think of the best way for her Marco to start his day. Finally, an idea came to her and a bright smile lit up her face once again. She slowly reached out a hand, placing it lightly on his shoulder, before giving him a small shake. "Marco," she whispered. "Would you like me to kiss you awake?"

The only reply she received was a groggy yawn, but that seemed to be the right answer as Star slowly began leaning closer to him, loose strands of her hair falling onto his face. As she got closer to her target, she closed her eyes, her lips puckering as she prepared to plant a loving kiss on his cheek.

Marco giggled softly as Star's blond locks tickled his skin, his heavy eyelids lifting slightly as he checked to see what could possibly be disturbing his dreams. But the moment he saw the form hovering over him and moving steadily closer by the second, he panicked. His groggy brain was unable to decipher what who or what it was that was so near to him, his instincts quickly taking over as he was jolted awake by the scare.

So he did what any rational person would do when in a similar situation... he screamed. He tried to scramble away from the stranger, his body flailing wildly as he tried to get out from his tangle of sheets (nearly sending the startled laser puppies flying), before he reached the end of his bed where he fell to the floor, letting out a loud oof when he hit the ground.

"Marco!" Star cried in distress, quickly climbing onto the bed so she could peer over and see the state of her bestie. The boy just blinked up at her, the startled look clear in his brown gaze, panting heavily after the scare. "Star?" he groggily squeaked out, his still tired brain struggling to understand what was happening.

"Hey," Star said sheepishly, waving hesitantly down to him.

"Wh-What happened?" he asked, propping himself up on his elbows as he stared up at her with uncertainty, the blond almost able to see the gears turning in his head as he made sense of it all.

"Sorry, I was trying to give you a kiss to wake you up," she explained while shooting him an apologetic smile.

"Oh," the boy said, letting out a steady breath as everything finally clicked into place.

"Guess maybe I should have just let you wake up on your own," Star admitted, tapping her index fingers together guiltily.

But Marco only laughed, though that was most likely in part by the dozen or so ticklish puppy tongues that were licking his face as he did his best to push them away. "Well, I appreciate the thought anyway, Star," the hooded boy said sweetly, shooting her a loving smile. "Besides I've definitely had way worse wake up calls. I mean, these little guys used to laser blast me awake basically every morning," the hooded teen continued, picking one of the puppies up to show Star exactly who he was talking about. His voice switched to an overly-sweet coo as he said to the little dog, "Didn't you, Barko Diaz? You and your brothers and sisters used to be a big handful, didn't you?"

Star giggled at her boyfriend's actions, especially as the little pups' barks grew louder in reaction to the change in their owner's tone and they began licking him more furiously than before causing Marco to laugh. He did his best to hold them off, but it was a losing battle as for every puppy he managed to move away, another took its place. Finally, he gave his girlfriend a pleading look, squeaking out, "Help."

Star came to his rescue, grabbing hold of Marco's outstretched hands before helping him back up on the bed, the boy letting out a relieved sigh. "Thanks," he said, shooting her a grin, which she returned with one of her own.

"No problem," she replied. She looked back down to see the puppies had begun wrestling with each other without their owner to keep them entertained. Since the Cleaving, the laser puppies no longer shot laser beams anymore (they should really think of a different name for them now) which was honestly, a huge relief for the Diaz's furniture since singed and burnt couches and tables were not very appealing to look at.

"So what's up, Star? You usually don't wake me up this early without a good reason," Marco asked, giving his bestie a questioning look.

"Uhh did you seriously forget," Star said, playing jabbing his side with her elbow. "It's your birthday, silly."

Marco's eyes lit up as the memory returned, saying thoughtfully, "Oh yeah, that's right. That is today."

"Yep, you're officially sixteen now, Marco!" Star squealed, pulling him into a tight hug. "Aren't you excited!?"

A giant smile flooded Marco's face as he just clung onto his eager girlfriend. "Yeah, it is pretty great."

Star quickly pulled out of the hug, holding his shoulders at arm's length as she told him with shimmering vision, "And as your girlfriend, I am going to make sure you have the best possible birthday in the history of birthdays!" She giddily clapped her hands together as she added, "Just wait until you see what I have planned, you're gonna love it!"

Marco laughed, finding his girlfriend beyond adorable as he said in a flirty tone, "I'm sure I will. You always know just what to do for me, Star."

"Aww, Marco, you are too sweet," the girl cooed, cupping his cheeks in her hands. Marco started to lean in for a kiss but the girl suddenly let go of his face and jumped off the bed, causing him to fall forward with a short yell and face-plant directly into his soft sheets. Star didn't notice this though, as she went over to the tray of food she had brought in, lifting it slowly, careful to not spill anything as she turned back around to face her boyfriend. "Speaking of which," she began with a hinting edge to her tone, Marco watching her quizzically as she walked over to him. "I made you breakfast!" the blond exclaimed, before setting the tray down in his lap.

The boy looked down at his breakfast in surprise, staring at the plate of fresh bacon, purple eggs (okay that was a bit alarming), and pancakes, as well as a glass of orange juice, and his gaze softened, touched that his girlfriend would be nice enough to make him breakfast. But then a thought occurred to him and he quickly turned back to Star, asking, "You made this?"

Star nodded. "Yep, only the best for my favorite bestie slash boyfriend!" she said, shooting him a wink.

The boy gave her a thin smile, eying his meal cautiously as he tried to indiscreetly check and make sure it was safe to eat. After all, he loved Star but her cooking skills were... well, she didn't really have any to speak of. Somehow, beyond Marco's comprehension, the blond managed to burn or ruin even the simplest of meals and he would rather not have to deal with food poisoning on his birthday. He gulped, trying to stall for as long as he could as he asked her hesitantly, "So did you, uh, make this yourself?"

"Nope," Star replied, sitting on the edge of the bed, as she gauged her boyfriend's reaction closely. "Eclipsa helped me out, since I'm not exactly an expert when it comes to cooking and I wanted to make sure your breakfast was perfect."

"Wait, Eclipsa knows how to cook?" Marco asked, raising a skeptical eyebrow.

"Apparently," Star shrugged, sounding equally as shocked. "And she's pretty good at it, too. Try a bite."

The boy now satisfied that he wouldn't get sick from eating his meal, grabbed his fork and picked up one of the eggs, stuffing the whole thing directly into his mouth. Star held her breath as she just waited for his reaction. He chewed on it thoughtfully for a second, before humming in approval, his taste buds going wild with every bite. "Oh man, Star you were right, this is delicious!"

Star sighed in relief, glad to know her boyfriend was satisfied with his breakfast and her eyes shimmered like her name-sake as she watched him quickly devouring his meal hungrily. "You really think so?" the blond asked, her heart swelling with pride.

"Oh yeah, this stuff is incredible," the boy said with his mouth still stuffed with food, not even bothering to swallow as he spoke. "Especially these eggs! I've never tasted anything like them before."

He picked up a piece, ready to take a bite of it, before Star said, "Oh yeah, that was Eclipsa's idea, she said dragon eggs were full of nutrients and flavors you can't get anywhere else."

The boy froze, stopping mid-bite, the fork inches from his mouth as he turned to Star with a worried expression. "Did you say dragon's eggs?"

Star nodded in confusion. "Uh, yeah, why?"

"Because I have a dragon cycle and Nachos would hate me if she knew I was eating her own kind!" Marco exclaimed.

Star scoffed, waving an arm in the air. "Dragons are a totally different thing than dragon cycles, Marco," she matter-of-factly explained. "Everyone knows that."

"Well, I didn't," Marco admitted sheepishly, poking at his half-eaten plate with his fork.

The blond just giggled, cupping his cheek in her hand once again as she told him, "You still have so much to learn, Marco."

The boy gave her a loving grin, his cheeks heating up slightly as he locked gaze with her startling blue, his heart thumping away in his chest like crazy. "Thanks for the breakfast, by the way, this was really nice of you."

"You think this is good, just wait till you see what other surprises I have cooked up for you," Star told him, shooting him a sly grin. "I'm going all-out for your birthday!"

Marco's eyes lit up with intrigue at that, but it quickly vanished, replaced instead with a determined expression. "So, uh, Star, speaking of surprises" he coyly began, setting his tray aside as he leaned closer to her. "I know you're whole plan to wake me up didn't really work out... so how would you like to make it up now, instead?"

Star's eyebrows raised as she playfully asked, "Oh ho ho, are you asking me to kiss you, Diaz?"

"Maybe," he said mischievously, purposely not meeting her eye.

The blond leaned even closer to him, till their foreheads were practically touching before saying, "Well, y'know, I would love to, but..."

Marco gave her a confused frown. "But what?" he asked, unable to keep the disappointment out his voice.

"But..." she continued, the smirk on her lips causing several of Marco's brain cells to fry. She whispered gently into his ear, "...your face is coated in dog drool."

The boy froze, his eyes wide with shock as his cheeks lit up red in embarrassment, while Star burst out into laughter at the cute look of surprise on her Marco's face. Finally, the boy shot the litter of puppies a dirty look as he grumbled to them, "Thanks a lot."

…

After Marco cleaned up his face and changed into his typical attire of hoodie and jeans he made his way downstairs, where he was greeted by the smiling faces of his parents, who wasted no time running over and wrapping him up into a super tight hug. "Happy Birthday Marco!" they said in unison and the boy just laughed and hugged them back. "We can't believe you're already sixteen!" Angela exclaimed.

"Thanks mom, thanks dad," the boy said sweetly.

"It seems like just yesterday you were still in diapers and trying to stuff nacho chips up your nose when we weren't looking," Rafael cried with glee, his eyes welling up with tears.

Marco blushed and immediately whispered to them, "Dad, not in front of Star." He inclined his head over to the staircase where Star was watching the display with a silent grin.

"Oh, don't mind me," the blond said, maneuvering around the Diaz's and slowly backing away toward the sliding glass door that led to the backyard. "Keep having your family moment, I'll just be outside if you need me," she continued, plastering on the most innocent and trustworthy smile she had. "And uh, maybe don't come outside for the next like thirty minutes or so, give or take." Once she was at the door, she reached behind her and slid it open, never once breaking eye contact with her boyfriend and his parents. She took a single step back and started to close the door back but not before pausing to give Marco a warning glare, quickly adding, "I mean it Marco, no peeking."

"No peeking, I promise," the boy said, with a short nod.

The smile returned on Star's face as she said in her typical Star cheer, "Okay!"

She finished closing the door, before a large sheet was hung up over it, preventing Marco from even trying to look outside. But it didn't keep him from hearing his girlfriend's very loud shout of, "Okay people, hurry up! We only have half an hour to make the best dang birthday party Earthni has ever seen!"

"But um, Star, Earthni has only been around for a couple of months," came the hesitant voice of Alfonso.

"Which is why we are gonna make this one so great that no birthday in the future will ever compare, got it?!" the girl practically screamed, followed by an immediate, "Yes ma'am."

The boy just chuckled shaking his head at his girlfriend's antics before turning to his mom and dad and asking, "So uh, where's Mariposa?"

Just as he said that he felt a tug on his pant leg and he looked down to see his one-year-old sister staring up at him, her arms stretched out, fingers trying desperately to reach her big brother despite the obvious height difference, saying in her little baby coo, "Biii Bwover, upie, upie," which Marco knew translated to "Big Brother, up, up."

He laughed, not even hesitating as he reached down and scooped the little girl up and into his arms, saying to her, "Okay, Mariposa, okay, if that's what you really want." Once she was safe and settled in her big brother's arms, the boy tickled her underneath the chin in the exact place he knew would get a giggle out of her, as he cooed, "Guess what, Mari. Your big bro is 16 years old today, isn't that awesome?"

His baby sister just laughed and clapped her hands together, still finding talking difficult and so mostly relayed her emotions by either clapping when she was happy, crying when she was sad, or scowling death glares at whoever dared to make her angry.

Angela sighed, putting her hands on his shoulders as she told him, "Oh Marco, you are such a good big brother."

"Thanks mom," the hooded teen replied, not taking his eyes off his sister as she grabbed his finger in both tiny hands, staring up at him with shimmering eyes.

"And we have no doubt you're going to be an even greater dad," Rafael quickly added.

"Thanks dad," Marco replied instantly, not really thinking too much about what his parents were saying, his focus more on Mariposa than anything else.

"And Star is gonna make a great mom, as well," Angela said cheerfully and the hooded teen made a noise somewhere between a groan and a squeak, whipping his head over to face his parents, exclaiming with flushed cheeks, "Where did that come from?"

"Just stating a fact," his mom said nonchalantly.

Marco's eyebrow slowly raised as he asked suspiciously, "Have you and Mr. and Mrs. Butterfly been talking again?"

Both of his parents laughing nervously as they clearly tried to cover up their secret intentions. "No, of course not, Marco," his mom said, in a very fake tone. "We just think you and Star are very cute together and if you ever did end up having kids, we'd be happy for you."

"Uh-huh," the boy said doubtfully. But his voice retained its regular cheer, as he added, "Well when we end up having kids than I'm sure Star will be a great mom. After all, there's nothing that girl can't do."

There was a loud boom outside, one that caused the whole house to shake, the Diaz's looking around with concern, fearful of their home being damaged, while Marco just stared ahead calmly (he had grown numb to this sort of thing in the several years he had known Star), but making sure to hold Mari just a little closer to him than before. Once their home has stopped shaking, the family turned to the back door with worried looks. "Star, you okay?" Marco called out to his girlfriend, shifting his hold on his baby sister as she laughed and clapped her hands at the funny house shivering.

"Yep, everything's great! Nothing to worry about!" came Star's muffled response.

Marco sighed in relief, thankful his girlfriend wasn't hurt, he couldn't help but still worry over her at times. She was the most important thing in his world, after all. He didn't know what he would ever do without her. The hooded teen quickly shifted his attention to his parents, who both still looked a little startled by what happened. "Um, sorry guys. You... know how Star is," Marco said giving them a nervous grin. Although Star's antics never bothered him in slightest, he didn't know if his parents felt the same and he didn't want to ruin their shining opinion of her. He wanted his family to approve of the woman he loved, see her for the incredible, mature individual she was and had become and not just the wild, explosion-happy blond that had lived under their roof back in the day. There was much more to Star than that, he just hoped his parents could see that too.

But to his surprise, the two burst out into laughter, Marco looking between them like they had lost their minds. Finally, their sudden laughing fit ceased and Angela very calmly told him, "Oh Marco, you don't have to apologize. You know we've always loved Star's energy."

"Even if it did sometimes result in destroying our house," Rafael added as chipper as ever.

"So wait, it really doesn't bother you?" he asked hopefully.

"Of course not," Angela replied. "Do you know how many times we've had stuff explode in the backyard? At this point, we're used to it." She smiled reaching over and cupping his cheek in her hand, as she added, "Besides, if it means seeing you this happy, then it's worth it."

Marco smiled over at his mom, telling her, "Thanks mom. That means a lot to me."

"I know it does," Angela said. "And I have a feeling we'll have a lot more craziness to expect in the future, won't we?" She winked over at him and Marco laughed and nodded.

"Yep and I wouldn't have it any other way," he said, feeling a relief fill his chest. It didn't matter to them whether she was a mature adult or just a crazy teenager, they accepted his Star either way and that was the best gift he could have asked from them, especially as his dad added, "Neither would we."

…

"Okay Marco, just keep walking forward," Tom instructed him since the boy was currently blind with his friend's purple hands pressed tightly over his eyes.

"Is this really necessary?" Marco asked as he allowed himself to be led through his house, his parents following behind them, Rafael now holding Mariposa.

"Hey, Star gave me specific instructions on what to do, okay?" Tom told him, continuing to guide his friend outside.

"Yeah but I already know about the party, it's not exactly a surprise," Marco pointed out.

Tom shrugged. "Tell that to your girlfriend, not me," the demon boy said and Marco just sighed.

"Okay fine but why didn't Star come do this, then?" the hooded teen asked.

But instead of receiving an answer, Tom just moved his hands away, leaving Marco blinking in the sudden sunlight, as a crowd of people began all shouting to him, "Surprise Marco!" and "Happy Birthday!" and one voice even loudly proclaiming, "Surprise Turd! You're most favorite person in the universe is here, so y'know you can be happy now!"

Marco resisted the urge to roll his eyes at Pony Head's undeflated ego, turning his attention instead on the rest of the party and party-goers, saying brightly, "Thanks everyone!" while taking everything in. When Star said she was going to going all-out for his party, she wasn't kidding! The backyard had been transformed into a massive fiesta (complete with a mariachi band) all forms of decorations coated the area: balloons, streamers, banners, the works. Marco even spotted a box of fireworks set off to the side, which gave him an uneasy feeling as he worried Mariposa or Meteora might find it and Mewni knew those girls and dangerous explosions didn't mix. The hooded teen also spotted a huge object hidden under a tarp and Marco felt his interest peak again, curious what other surprises Star possibly had in store for him.

Finally, his eyes landed on a table set up in the grass with more presents than Marco thought he had ever seen before in his life, especially at one of his birthday parties. Until right then, Marco hadn't realized just how many friends he had made the last couple of years and seeing the sheer amount of gifts brought a tear to his eye, touched that so he had so many people caring about him now. The hooded boy felt deep gratitude fill his chest as he knew it was Star he had to thank for this, without her, he never would have met half the people standing here before him and the others he probably never would have had the courage to talk to if it weren't for his wonderful, amazing girlfriend.

Speaking of which... the boy did a quick scan of the smiling faces that surrounded him, looking for a flash of golden hair or shimmering blue eyes but spotted neither, Star completely absent it seemed from his sight. Marco frowned, turning to Tom and asking, "Uh, where's Star?"

Before the purple-skinned boy could get out a word, Jackie spoke up, telling Marco helpfully, "She said she left something at her house and needed to go get it."

"But she told us to go ahead and start celebrating without her," Janna pitched in.

"Oh," Marco said, unable to keep the disappointment from leaking into his voice. He had been hoping Star would be there so he could thank her for the party. Plus, it just felt weird celebrating without her there, everything a little less bright without her beautiful smile to help brighten his spirits. He and Star had been practically attached at the hip since they had started dating. Not that he was complaining, every second he spent with Star felt like a fairytale and filled him with a warmth that only his bestie could provide. He truly did love her.

"Don't worry, dearie, I'm certain she'll be back soon," Eclipsa reassured him as her and her husband moved to where they were standing next to him, Globgore's beefy arm draped around her shoulder as he gave the boy a sympathetic smile, while their daughter squirmed, trying to get to her best friend who she had spotted in Rafael's arms.

The boy gave the ancient queen and Monster a thin smile, before confessing, "Thanks it's just weird not having her around." He rubbed at the back of his neck sheepishly, as he hesitantly added, "I know it's stupid, but ever since I thought I lost her forever it's been hard... being apart, y'know?"

Eclipsa and Globglore shared a knowing look, momentary sadness flooding their features, before they turned back to the hooded teen, Globgore telling him softly, "Probably better than anyone else, Marco." The queen laid her head on his shoulder and the Monster quickly returned the affection by tightening his embrace, bringing the love of his life closer to his side.

Meteora, though, had finally had enough, letting out a loud cry to gain their attention and the three looked down at the baby with surprise. "What is it, Meteora?"

The half-Monster child began fighting in her mother's arms, her small hands reaching out toward the Diaz's. Eclipsa, quickly picking up on her daughter's needs, set the child down on the grass, where she immediately began crawling away, her little devil's tail waving back and forth like crazy. Rafael, seeing the child approaching put Mariposa down as well, the girl able to walk the few steps over to Meteora before falling, but she wrapped her arms around her best friend as she did, pulling her into an adorable hug that had both families and most the crowd awwing at the adorable display.

Tom, seeing his friend successfully distracted and no longer thinking about Star, turned to Ferguson and Alfonso and gave them a short nod, signaling them it was time to begin. The two gave a quick salute before running off to go grab Marco's next surprise, while Tom just came up behind Marco and put a hand on his back. "So Marco, I hope you're ready," he began and the hooded teen raised a worried eyebrow at his friend.

"Why? What's happening?" he asked, knowing that any sentence that started like that couldn't be good. He knew from personal experience.

"Oh, nothing..." Tom continued, trying to act nonchalant but Marco could easily see he was just trying to stall for something. "Just a little surprise Star cooked up."

"In this case literally," Janna suddenly spoke, appearing beside him out of nowhere and causing both boys to let out a cry of surprise.

"Janna, don't sneak up on people like that," Marco scolded her.

"Yeah, you might end up giving someone a heart attack," Tom added, busy panting while he clutching a hand over his racing heartbeat.

The creepy girl didn't look even slightly sorry as she simply shrugged the whole thing off, only responding with an emotionless, "Eh, whatever."

Marco frowned but rather than engage in a pointless argument with Janna, he instead decided to focus on Janna's earlier line. "Wait, what did you mean by 'literally'?" the hooded teen asked, raising a curious eyebrow at the girl.

The beanie-wearing teen immediately pointing somewhere behind the two boys, telling Marco, "See for yourself."

And as Marco did just that, his jaw almost hit the floor as he spotted the giant, multi-layered chocolate cake coated in small little pieces of candy, it seemed, which all glittered in the sunlight and was decorated with 16 identical candles which were not lit with flames but were instead shooting off miniature fireworks. The boy's eyes shimmered as he stared starry-eyed at the delicious looking dessert being slowly and meticulously carried in by Ferguson, Alfonso, Oscar, and Sensai. "Is that... for me?" Marco asked, his eyes never once leaving the cake as he watched the four guys straining to carry the heavy treat another step.

"Yep, only the best for you, buddy," Tom said with a smile, wrapping an arm around his friend's shoulder.

"What's that stuff all over it?" the hooded teen questioned.

"Star insisted we cover it with bits of Captain Blanches Sugar Seeds since it's your favorite cereal," Janna explained.

"So wait, you mean she made this herself?" Marco gasped out. Since when did Star become such a good cook?

"We all pitched in, but Star was in charge of making sure you'd like it," Tom explained. "She said it was more personal if your friends made it, instead of someone else."

At those words, Marco felt his eyes well up with tears, unable to stop the goofy grin from invading his face as he was once again left amazed by something his girlfriend had done. Star was just too good to him sometimes. Just when he thought she couldn't get any sweeter or more incredible she managed to outdo herself and the boy felt a deep, tender warmth spread through him as he once again wondered to himself how he had gotten so lucky as to meet a girl like Star. "It's perfect," the boy whispered, his voice cracking against his will.

"Marco, are you crying?" Tom asked in concern.

The boy sniffed and wiped the tears from his eyes with the back of his sleeve. "Maybe just a little." Tom and Janna shared a knowing grin before both patted their friend gently on the back. After that, the group just watched in silence as Globgore stepped over to help the struggling humans, taking mercy on them as he lent his strength to the effort. The Monster grew some in size so he was able to easily lift the massive cake from the weak human's arms, before single-handedly moving it over to the large table without breaking a sweat, Eclipsa fawning over him every step of the way. The others could only gawk in surprise and awe, Sensai even muttering under his breath, "Whoa, I think I just met my new hero."

Marco, Tom, and Janna went over to the Monster king once he was done, the hooded teen telling him gratefully, "Thanks Globgore, I really appreciate it."

"Anytime, Marco," the Monster said, shrinking down to his normal size, before stepping back and allowing the boy to get a closer look at his cake. It was even more enormous up close, towering over Marco and for a moment the Latino worried there was more there than even a whole crowd of people could finish. As he looked closer at the cake he noticed the inscription written in frosting, lining a few of the layers, reading, "Happy Birthday, Marco! Blow out the candles for an extra special surprise."

Marco's eyebrow slowly raised at that, wondering what that could possibly mean. These were clearly magical candles (hence why fireworks were bursting out of them every two seconds) which meant he had no clue what blowing them out could possibly result in. Really it could be anything, heck the cake could even explode for all Marco knew.

"So hey, Marco, you should hurry up and blow out those candles, don't you think?" Tom asked awkwardly, poorly trying to act nonchalant and cool but he failed miserably, only confirming to Marco that they were definitely up to something.

The boy shot his friend a suspicious look but was stopped from saying anything as a hand was suddenly on his arm and he turned to Jackie giving him a smooth smile, as she told him, "Yeah dude, do it. I wanna get me some of that cake."

Marco couldn't help but chuckle as the girl raised a clenched fist dramatically. Jackie was still just as cool and awesome to hang out with as ever, one of the few things he was glad had stayed the same since Earthni's creation. He was thankful that the two of them had been able to stay friends.

The birthday boy's thoughts were interrupted as an arm wrapped around his shoulders, Janna saying in a warning tone, "But seriously you should really hurry up and blow out those candles."

"Why?" Marco asked, even knowing he wasn't going to get an answer. It was a surprise, after all.

"Just trust us, dude," Tom spoke up, while the hooded teen was gently pushed forward so he was now in primary position for blowing out the candles. The boy let out a sigh, knowing there was no getting around this, he had to blow out the candles... whatever the consequences. So, Marco just sucked in a deep breath, preparing his lungs for what he needed to do, before blowing as hard as he could in the direction of the sparkling candles. The magical flames went out in less than a second and the boy couldn't help but smile to himself at his accomplishment. But then out of nowhere the cake suddenly exploded, coating Marco head to toe in cake frosting, as well as the rest of the crowd, all except Janna and Tom who pulled out matching umbrellas holding them up in front of them to block the messy explosion.

To say Marco was caught off-guard by this was an understatement, the boy was paralyzed with surprise, his eyes wide as he just stood there dumbfounded. But to his greater shock (if that was even possible) what was once a mega-sized cake now stood his one and only girlfriend, Star Butterfly, Marco watched mesmerized as the top layer of cake landed perfectly on her head, somehow staying balanced up there.

"Wha-Wha-Whaaa," was all Marco was able to stutter out, before Star suddenly shouted, "Surprise!" She threw her arms wide, doing a little jazz hand flourish as her shimmering gaze studied his face. "Bet you weren't expecting that, were you?"

The hooded teen only dumbly shook his head. The girl did a little fist pump, whispering in celebration, "Yes, nailed it!" But as the girl stopped and looked around at her family and friends coated head to toe in cake mix she cringed, a guilty look on her face. She turned to Tom and Janna, chuckling nervously as she said with a sheepish grin, "Oops, guess I put in a little too many exploding berries into the mixture."

"You think?" Tom said sarcastically.

Marco was still just paralyzed in shock, staring wide-eyed at his girlfriend taking in her new appearance. She had apparently changed outfits while she was away, her hair now tied up into pigtails with twin buns on either side of her head both of which seemed to have unlit sparklers in them. Her devil horns had been replaced with a yellow headband that had stars rather than horns.

She wore a short sleeve dress with a pink top and a red and blue striped skirt. The side of the skirt had a yellow firework design. Around her neck hung a red heart necklace that seemed to gleam in the sunlight and her left arm had a star bracelet that matched her headband. Her leggings were now pure white and she had on dark blue boots with butterfly patterns on the front of them.

But the strangest sight of all though (and that was saying something) was the giant purple cigar in the girl's mouth, which had sparkles, magic dust, popcorn and all manners of things shooting out of it and the boy couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the weird-looking object.

"Star, what's going on?" the boy asked, his head still spinning with questions. "Why were you inside my cake?"

"Oh I saw it in a movie once and I wanted to try it out," the girl said nonchalantly, her voice slightly muffled by the cigar. She took the cake off her head and set it down on a plate next to her, before turning back to the boy with her hands on her hips, trying to judge his shocked reaction. Marco, meanwhile, just asked the next of many questions he now had, "Well, what's with the cigar?"

"Well, first of all, this isn't just any cigar," she began, pointing to it with a bright grin still on her face.

"Think he gathered that," Tom whispered to Janna, the two sharing a small chuckle.

Star ignored them, though, explaining, "This is a mystical razzle-dazzle cigar! It's a tradition on Mewni for boys to have one on their sixteenth birthday. They say the light that comes from it helps them to bring good fortune for the rest of their lives."

"Wait, then why do you have it?" the boy asked.

"I'm just testing it out to make sure it works," the girl explained. "Plus, it makes me look super cool!" Star struck a dramatic pose, while Marco laughed at his adorable bestie, finally recovering from his shock as he just enjoyed being near his girlfriend. "Well that's not entirely true since you look cool all the time, Star," Marco told her with a flirty look and the girl seemed to melt.

"Aww Marco," she gushed, before leaping off the table and wrapping her arms around Marco's neck, holding him in one of her signature tight hugs. The boy froze up for only a second, afraid one of the bright sparkles would set him on fire or something. But nothing happened, Star careful to turn her head in a direction so that the stream of magic that seemed to be coming from the cigar wouldn't hit him.

"So what did you think?!" she asked him, screaming at the top of her lungs. "Did you like your surprise?" The hooded teen couldn't help but laugh as he gave the girl a gentle squeeze around her small frame, burying his head into her shoulder. "I loved it," he replied softly, kissing her softly on the cheek.

"Aww, Marco I'm so glad!" she squealed in delight. She pulled out of the hug, before plucking the cigar out of her mouth and sticking it into his, causing the boy to blush bright red, as he became distinctly aware that his had been inside Star's mouth not a moment before. "Oops, almost forgot to give this to you."

"Um, thanks Star but I-" the boy began, having trouble speaking around the massive cigar but was interrupted as the girl gave him another tight hug, her head now leaning against his chest, nearly causing him to lose all the air in his lungs as he let out a strangled cough. Star didn't notice this though as she just started rambling to him, "Oh wow, Marco, you look awesome! I was so worried I wouldn't be able to find one of those for your birthday after the whole... y'know magical dimension getting destroyed. But luckily, it looks like only the spells and stuff like that were destroyed, while a lot of the magical objects and things are still around and work just fine. Which is great, since those aren't really all that dangerous. So anyways, what do you think of it? Isn't it sooo pretty?"

Seeing the twinkle in Star's eye, made Marco pause, as he looked down at the stream of glitter and bright lights coming from the thing sticking out of his mouth. It was really pretty he had to admit. And Star did seem to trust it? Maybe he should just relax. Earth and Mewni were permanently linked now, he should probably get used to stuff like this. Even without magic being provided from the magical dimension, it was still a pretty crazy and hectic place to live. "It does look pretty cool," Marco told her, giving her a small smile, well as best he could, his eyes having to do most of the conveying. His eyes were quickly drawn back to the cigar, though, as he just watched the colorful display. "What's all in this, anyways?"

"Oh y'know, just a bunch of magical stuff," Star told him waving her hand nonchalantly in front of her.

"So, uh, what's with the popcorn, then?" Marco asked, raising an eyebrow as he pointed to the small fluffy kernels that repeatedly fell out of the cigar along with the magic stream with a noisy pop.

"Oh, what that," the girl said, before explaining to him matter-of-factly, "That's because the whole thing is just a corn on the cob wrapped in corn husks and magic and other stuff."

"Huh, neat," the boy said. That didn't surprise him too much... what with Mewmans bizarre and slightly unhealthy obsession with the vegetable.

"So the cigar is really cool and all and not that I don't appreciate it but well... you think maybe you could put it out for now so I can maybe actually eat my cake instead of getting covered in it," he asked, the slight teasing in his tone causing Star to giggle sheepishly as she looked around at the damage to the crowd and even her own now chocolate-covered dress.

"Yeah, sorry about that. Guess my baking skills still aren't what I want them to be," she told him with a hesitant smile. This quickly turned back into a grin, though as she added, "But hey, look on the bright side, now you smell great!" She leaned closer, gently sniffing his hoodie before giving him a satisfying grin. "Mmm, chocolate, the perfect fragrance!" Marco just rolled his eyes, shaking his head at his wonderful girlfriend's antics, a twinkle in his eye as he was just happy to have her near.

The girl did oblige his request, taking the cigar out of his mouth and expertly putting it out, before slipping it into the pocket of his hood to wait to be used later, her mind already scheming how to re-lit the cigar later, since she had to be sure to keep Marco impressed. She was still hoping to make this the best birthday imaginable... which meant it was crucial everything was as cool and over-the-top as possible.

After that, towels were quickly passed around to everyone so they could all clean up before the cake was sliced and handed out to the group of friends and family, who all settled down on the grass to enjoy their meal, even if they had been covered in it a moment before. For most, it was far from the strangest birthday party they had ever been to since both Star and Marco combined always made for some sort of odd, unexpected experience. Besides being covered in cake was far from the worst thing that could have gone wrong where lit candles were involved.

Marco sat on the grass next to Star, their hands remaining constantly intertwined, the two talking and chatting like usual as they enjoyed bites of the delicious birthday treat (who knew cereal and chocolate went so well together) the blond overzealous as she went on and on about how much Marco was going to love his present since it was quote: "Super incredibly awesome" and Marco just laughed and told her he was sure he would since it was coming from, quote again: "The coolest girl in the universe". As they spoke his gaze slowly moved to his baby sister, Mariposa busy smearing her hands with cake frosting before slapping them together and creating a giant mess, mimicking her friend Meteora's example as the young half-Monster was doing the same thing... only somehow messier. The boy smiled as he watched his mom beginning to fuss over cleaning up her daughter with a wet towel, before turning his attention back on Star, taking a second to admire her unbelievably cute face as she stuffed way too much cake in her mouth at once, before asking, "Hey Star, so what exactly is that thing you have hidden under the sheet?"

"Wha-" the girl mumbled around her bite of food, her chipmunk cheeks causing Marco to once again chuckle at his girlfriend. Could she seriously get any more adorable?

"Y'know that massive thing you have just sitting over there," he explained, pointing it out to her.

Star followed his gesture, swallowing down her dessert before telling him, "Oh that thing? That's your extra super secret surprise. It's for the grand finale!" She gave him a wink that made his heart leap into his throat for a second.

Now Marco seemed even more curious, leaning closer to the girl, laying his elbow against his knee before resting his head on his hand, staring at her with a twinkle in his eye. "Oh really? Soo then you maybe want to give me a tiny hint or anything?" the boy asked, flashing her a hopeful smile.

But his girlfriend just shook her head, shooting him a playful look as she replied, "Nope. You're just gonna have to wait and see, Diaz." She gently booped his nose, which only seemed to encourage Marco as he moved in to plant a kiss on her soft lips and the blond closed her eyes to do the same.

But the boy halted, upon feeling a small hand reach into his hoodie pocket and his eyes flew open in panic as he jerked his head around to see his baby sister now holding the giant cigar in her tiny fists, shaking it around with an infectious giggle. "Ahh, no Mariposa that is not for playing with?!" he screamed, diving for the girl, intent on taking the dangerous item away from her but she was quick to crawl away, leaving the boy crashing to the ground with a loud oof. He could only watch in horror as the one-year-old reached her friend, settling down next to her as she and Meteora took turns hitting it against the ground, laughing all the while.

Marco now looked on the brink of hysteria, his face turning pale as he imagined every possible worst-case scenario in his head, only to feel Star's hands on his shoulders. He turned around to see Star smiling down at him, the simple expression enough to draw him back to reality and calm him down some. "Relax, Marco, it's totally harmless," she told him, reassuringly. She paused, for a moment rubbing thoughtfully at her chin, before adding, "Wellll, so long as you don't touch it when it's lit. Or have it near anything that might explode. Orrrr put it in the wrong way, trust me swallowing that much magic dust can't be good for you."

The boy gulped, now looking even more worried as he just held up a finger and told her in a small voice, "Be right back." The boy raced over to his sister, coaxing her to give it back to him, before sighing in relief and walking back over to join his girlfriend. As he did, he overheard River saying to his dad approvingly, "Ahh, I remember my first magical cigar! I nearly set the entire castle on fire."

"Oh my, well that's nothing compared to the time Angela and I came home to find the house completely destroyed by Star and Marco after your daughter created a hurricane above the house," Rafael replied in his typical cheerful tone. "It took us all weekend to clean up the mess." There was a pause before the two dads shared a hearty laugh, while Marco resisted the urge to roll his eyes. How could they seriously joke about stuff like that?

When the boy finally got back to where Star was his mouth dropped open to see Janna now sitting in his spot, Tom's arm draped around her shoulder, giving him a sheepish expression as his girlfriend was finishing the last bite of Marco's cake. "JANNA!" the boy screamed furiously, his hands clenched and shaking at his sides as he glared at the beanie-wearing girl.

"What? You weren't finishing it," Janna said with an uncaring shrug of her shoulders.

"I was going to," Marco said with an exasperated sigh.

"Sorry, dude, I tried to stop her," Tom told him nervously. "But y'know how Janna can be sometimes?"

The hooded teen just pinched the bridge of his nose, before saying, "Yes Tom, I'm well aware of just what Janna is capable of."

"Don't worry Marco, you can have the last bite of mine, okay?" Star told him, offering him her plate of half-eaten cake. The boy smiled taking the plate before sitting down next to Star, picking up a bite with his fork before offering it to her instead. "Okay, but only if you let me share it with you," he told her sweetly.

Star blushed but eagerly took the bite of cake off his fork, Marco doing the same thing for himself. The two just enjoyed chewing their dessert while leaning their heads against one another as they cuddled lovingly for a few minutes.

Tom and Janna simultaneously gagged at the sight, the former saying, "Man, am I glad we aren't that kind of couple."

"Yeah, me too," his girlfriend agreed. "Sappy stuff just isn't my style."

"Really," Tom asked in a teasing tone, wagging a knowing eyebrow at her. "Cause you were pretty sappy back when you first asked me out or did you forget that you started crying when I said yes?" The boy had a proud smile on his lips at the memory that was until Janna reminded him with an emotionless deadpan, "Actually Tom, you were the one who started crying."

The boy's whole body seemed to deflate at the memory. "Oh," he said in a tiny voice.

"And then you started blushing like crazy when I kissed you," Janna continued, every word causing Tom's face to grow a brighter and brighter shade of purple. "And you cried at that movie we watched-"

"Yeah okay!" Tom whispered harshly, slapping a hand over his girlfriend's mouth to keep her from embarrassing him any further, looking around in a panic to make sure nobody overheard. Realizing it was safe, though he let out a sigh of relief and removed his hands, before shooting Janna a scolding glare. "Let's not talk about that where everyone can hear us, please?"

"Suit yourself," the girl said with a shrug, but the smirk on her lips was unmistakable proof that she had been enjoying messing with him... as usual.

…

A short while later, Marco found himself with a mountain of presents to open, making his way slowly but diligently through the stack, box after box ripped apart as he gushed and fawned over each and every one of the special gifts his friends had all gotten him. Star the whole time hovered around him, seemingly trying to make sure he was enjoying himself at all times. The moment things started to lag, usually when Marco was taking the time to thank someone for his gift, the blond would immediately fling the next present into this hand, wanting to as she put it, "Keep things as exciting as possible!" Marco had his suspicions though, that it had more to do with the fact that Star had insisted she go last and her impatience was getting the best of her, wanting to hurry things along so she could give him her gift.

Still, Marco wasn't too fazed by this, enjoying unwrapping every single gift he was given. Jackie and Chloe had given him a cool looking beret that the skater said would make him look 'cooler than ever', which Star had agreed while instantly gushing the moment he put it on. River had given the boy a giant leg of meat which Marco wasn't sure he wanted to know what creature he had hunted down to get that for him. Moon had given him a much more practical gift of a wallet, but to the boy's surprise, it was colored plum, which turned out to be because Star had explained to her mom the whole incident in Quest Buy. Eclipsa and Globgore got the boy a beautiful looking badge that was inscribed with the symbol of the Mewman's most elite knights, proof of the hard work he had put in. Pony, being Pony gave him an autographed picture of herself and had been sure to make sure the whole thing was being recorded for the next episode of 'The Pony Head Show'. Oscar had given him a card, Alfonso and Ferguson had given him a new die for their favorite game, and Sensai gave him his entire collection of the "How to Karate" VHS series since he had been insistent Marco go for his black belt now that he was back on Earthni, even though he probably knew more about combat than anything those tapes could provide him. His parents got him a new fanny pack with the words "Best Big Brother Ever" sewed onto it which had made Marco tear up and give both of his parents a hug over.

Finally, that just left two more gifts on the table, one from Tom and one from Star. The hooded teen carefully picked up the first one, not taking too much time to pause and study it (seeing Star's eager grin out of the corner of his eye) before he tore through the thin wrapping paper and found himself gawking at the gift hidden underneath the layers. The boy gasped, his eyes shimmering as he said in a voice shaking with excitement, "The Mackie Hand limited edition, complete collector's box set including the original Swedish versions and with additional never-before-seen deleted scenes!" The boy clutched the present close to his chest, before exclaiming, "I love it! It's just what I wanted!"

"I knew you'd say that," Tom said with a wink, looking quite proud of his purchase.

"Thank you so much, Tom!" the boy shouted gratefully, hugging his friend tightly.

"Hey, what about me?" Janna pointed out, crossing her arms in front of her chest in annoyance.

"Uhh, what do you mean?" Marco asked in confusion.

"Duh, this gift if from Tom and me," the creepy teen explained as if the answer should be obvious.

"Yeah, we decided it would be best if we went on a joint gift for you," Tom added, shooting his girlfriend a loving smile.

"Oh really, why's that?" the hooded teen inquired, looking between his two friends for an answer.

"Well for starters Tom knows you better than I do, so I figured he was guaranteed to get you something you'd like," Janna admitted honestly, lightly elbowing her boyfriend's arm and shooting him a wink.

"Aw, come on Janna don't say that," Marco began, not wanting his friend to be so harsh on herself. "I'm sure I would have loved whatever you would have-"

Tom loudly cleared his throat from next to him, interrupting the boy and he turned to see his friend violently shaking his head and mouthing the word 'no'. The teen then stared back over at Janna and seeing the creepy grin slowly spreading across her face, suddenly remembered who was dealing with, swallowing loudly. "Actually, y'know, I think I'm good with just the... Mackie Hand stuff. Thanks," he awkwardly squeaked out, his eyes shifting hesitantly between the couple.

"Yeah, that's probably for the best," Janna said with a quick shrug. "My gift probably would have given you a heart attack or something."

Tom leaned closer to Marco so he could whisper dramatically into his ear, "She's not lying, dude. I saw her present myself and trust me... you dodged a bullet there."

"Okay, time for my present!" Star screamed hyperly, literally appearing between the two and shoving the present into her boyfriend's hands. Marco, struggling to process what had just happened, stood their dumbfounded for a second while Star practically bounced on the balls of her feet, waiting impatiently for him to unwrap her gift. "Open it, open it, open it!" the blond began chanting, losing any and all semblances of restraint/sanity as she continued to move closer and closer to the boy, until she was squeezing his cheeks between her hands, her eyes shimmering like her namesake. Marco couldn't help but laugh at his girlfriend, this was probably the craziest he had seen her in a long while, he hadn't realized just how much more reserved she had become in the couple of years he had known her. Now though, it was like the old hyper Star had returned full force and he was glad to see his bestie could let loose sometimes and still be the wild, amazing girl he had first fallen for.

"Okay, okay Star, you can stop now, I'm opening it," Marco said, still laughing at his girlfriend's antics, while gently pushing her hands away so he could concentrate on his present. Star did as Marco asked, lowering her hands back to her sides, but her goofy grin persisted as she watched her boyfriend's every move with intense but shimmering eyes, not daring to blink in case she missed a second of her bestie's reaction. Marco looked down at the present in his hands and couldn't help but smile at his girlfriend's wrapping attempt, although it was no doubt sealed in layer upon layer of tape and paper, he could still clearly see from the size and shape that it was a sword. He began to steadily unwrap the gift, moving slowly and delicately despite Star's intense watch on him, not wanting to accidentally cut his hand open on the sharp blade, while thinking to himself how thoughtful it was for Star to get him a new sword. He had been sadly without one since giving up El Choppo for Nachos and he had badly been wanting a new one. And of course, his awesome bestie would know exactly what to get him, at this point she probably knew him better than he knew himself.

But somehow Star had still managed to surprise Marco with her gift. The hooded teen discovering this the moment he ripped off the last of the paper and stared open-mouthed at the sword held in his hands. The blade was made of a thin piece of metal perfectly shaped to more closely resemble the blade of a scissor, while the handle was made of a smooth, turquoise blue material that Marco would recognize anywhere, the now black crystal embedded in the center of a circular base along with the bat wings protruding out of either side, giving it away in an instant. It was Marco's wand, converted to act as both guard and grip for his new weapon and the boy had to blink a few times just to make sure he was seeing it right. "I-Is this..." Marco began softly but found he was at a loss for words due to the lump in his throat.

But he didn't need to finish for Star to understand, nodding her head vigorously as she squealed, "Yep! I've been saving it ever since the Cleaving, I wanted to make it into something special for you and this just made sense to me. Figured this way we could actually get some use out of that thing after all the trouble it caused." She frowned for a second before the smile returned as bright as ever. "And now whenever you use this sword, you'll remember when we first got together."

Marco laughed, pulling his girlfriend into a tight hug as he told her sweetly, "I don't think I could ever forget that, but I love the sword, Star. Thanks! You're the best bestie a guy could ever have!"

"Aww, Marco," Star cooed, squeezing the boy tightly back. "You're the best, too!" For a moment the two just clung tightly onto each other, neither wanting to break their hold as they just silently enjoyed being this close to one another. Finally, though, Star broke the silence as she asked the boy in a whisper, "You know what would make this even better?"

"What?" Marco asked in a blissful sigh. He felt like he was in heaven being able to hug Star like this and he couldn't imagine anything making this moment any better. But suddenly, Star pulled out of the hug, flashing him a loving smile that caused several of the Latino's brain cells to fry. The blond leaned in close and he could feel his cheeks growing hot as he realized there was a kiss heading his way. He closed his eyes and puckered his lips as he waited for Star's lips to meet his. Only to rear back in surprise when something was instead shoved into his mouth and his eyes flew open to see Star grinning ear to ear and the magical cigar now trapped between his lips. "Give you back your super awesome cigar!" Star shouted, her enthusiasm and energy now reaching an all-time high.

Marco, however, could only stare down in shock at the object, wondering how his girlfriend had managed to catch him off-guard with this, especially since he hadn't even felt Star pull it out of his pocket in the first place. But the blond took advantage of his momentary distraction as she suddenly pulled out a brightly lit sparkler from seemingly nowhere, while shouting, "Now hold still while I light this baby up!"

This managed to snap Marco back to reality as he shouted out (or more like mumbled out since the cigar was really hard to talk around), "Wait, what?!" But he didn't dare move as his girlfriend dramatically flung the sparkler outward, holding it up to the end of the cigar. After a couple of seconds, the cigar came to life as the same array of sparkles, dust and popcorn began shooting out of it and Star smiled proudly at her accomplishment, putting her hands to her hips as she admired her work. "Yes, now that's more like it!"

Marco gazed thoughtfully down at the cigar, before asking, "And you're sure it's not too... showy?"

"Of course not," Star loudly exclaimed, giving the boy a loving smile. "It's your birthday, Marco. You deserve to show off a little!"

Tom seemed to look over to them at that exact moment and he gave his best friend an approving nod, shouting encouragingly, "Looking good, Marco!"

"Yeah, pretty cool, dude!" Jackie added via yell, giving the boy a wink and thumbs up. And Marco couldn't help but blush at the praise.

"See, Marco? You look awesome," Star said, gesturing over to the two with a confident smile.

Marco didn't respond, his cheeks turning red with a blush but a smile now spread across his face (not that it could be seen past the massive cigar). He really appreciated the effort Star was putting in for him, still finding his girlfriend's antics as enduring as ever. She really was going above and beyond to give him a perfect party and he couldn't imagine what he had done to deserve someone as special as Star in his life. Sure her methods were a bit extreme and over the top but that was just one of the many, many things he loved about her.

Still, he was a little disappointed he hadn't gotten a kiss from her after all, but there was still plenty of time for that. Something told him the party was far from over yet.

And this hunch was correct, as Star suddenly shouted to the other party-goers, "Alright, guys, who's ready for some fireworks!" to which everyone loudly cheered.

Marco smiled as he watched his girlfriend happily bounce over to where she had the fireworks stashed, scooping up a bunch from the pile and bringing them over to Marco. She plopped them down on the ground, before looking up at her boyfriend with an eager grin, saying, "Alright, Marco are you ready?"

The birthday boy froze, not quite sure what Star meant by that. "Ready for what?" he asked in confusion.

But he got his answer a second later as Star suddenly held up one of the fireworks, where a quick spark from the cigar lit up the end of the fuse and the blond released the rocket, sending it streaking up into the air. This was soon followed by a loud bang and an explosion of beautiful colors, causing everyone around to oohand aww at the sight, some even clapping at the display. "Wait, are we using the cigar to light these?!" Marco shouted in surprise, pointing down at the pile of highly dangerous, explosive devices.

"Of course," Star replied as if the answer was obvious. "What else would we use?"

"Uhh, how about the demon boy who can literally light himself on fire?" Marco reminded the girl.

Star shook her head, saying, "Nah, Tom gets to do this kind of stuff all the time, but this is a once in a lifetime opportunity, Marco! Come on, don't you want to live a little dangerously?!" The girl clenched her hand into a dramatic fist, flashing the boy an excited smile that melted the boy's heartstrings in an instant.

The hooded teen let out a sigh. It was hard to argue with Star, especially when she was so enthusiastic and eager about something, Marco wanting nothing more than to keep that look of joy on her face. Plus, he had been missing some danger lately, without real magic existing things had just been kinda mediocre, something he hadn't experienced a day of since the moment Star walked into his life and it was jarring and weird. Sure, it was never a dull moment with Star but things felt unnaturally slow and mild in comparison to the life he and Star had been living on Mewni. A part of him kinda missed the chaos and he would be lying if he said he didn't find the prospect of danger exciting.

"Okay, you win, let's do this!" Marco exclaimed and Star clapped in joy.

"Yeah, that's the spirit!" Star cheered.

The two spent the next several minutes lighting the fireworks together, the sky soon filled with the steady bursting of bright colors and lights, the crowd all enjoying the show as they watched the brilliant display. Marco and Star took turns setting each firework off, Marco either maneuvering his cigar over them or Star holding a fuse up for him to light. The two were having a fantastic time setting rocket after rocket off, laughing and just having a great time together and for a moment it felt like the good old days when it was just the two of them fighting Monsters and goofing off as best friends, almost as if no time had passed at all, days, weeks and years melting away until it was just Star and Marco, besties against the world.

"Heeeyyy Marco, bet you can't light one off in mid-air!" Star challenged the boy, tossing a rocket up and down in the air in a show-offy way and the boy smiled and dropped into a ready stance.

"Bring it on, Butterfly!" he replied playfully. Star grinned before throwing the firework his way and Marco watched it closely as it descended. He took a step back, letting the rocket fall directly in front of him and kicked a leg out, catching it on the end of his foot and sending it flying upward. The boy wasted no time as he quickly grabbed onto the cigar still in his mouth, allowing him to aim it right at the firework, a sudden burst of magic hitting the fuse at just the right angle and setting it ablaze. Star watched in wide-eyed wonder and amazement as the now-lit firework zipped away into the sky, going off in a beautiful explosion of blues and purples.

"Top that," Marco said smugly, shooting his girlfriend a victorious grin and Star gave him a teasing glare back.

"Alright fine," Star retorted, suddenly pulling out duel rocket, both attached to a ridiculously long fuse, from behind her back and saying, "Hit me up, Diaz!"

The boy obeyed, stepping over and lighting the end of the fuse with his cigar. Star waited a few seconds as the fuse grew shorter and shorter until finally she held both out directly in front of her and screamed, "Duel Rocket Blast!" letting both go at the last second before they shot forward sailing over the heads of the memorized crowd before exploding into a barrage of pinks and reds, all of them in the shape of a heart.

Marco nodded approvingly. "Pretty cool, pretty cool," he commented and Star bowed over and over again in front of him.

"Thank you, thank you, I'll be here all day," the girl said dramatically and her boyfriend giggled. "And now for my next trick..." Star began and Marco gave her a confused look as she carefully placed a stick of dynamite in between her lips.

"Uh, Star, what are you-" the boy began to question only to cut himself short as Star out of nowhere leaned closer, causing Marco to freeze and his cheeks to flush bright red from the close contact. He didn't dare move or even breath as his girlfriend leaned in more and more, until the tip of her firework touched the end of his cigar, effectively making the two objects "kiss". There was a second of silence, Marco just shockingly staring into Star's mischievous blue. Then the dynamite's fuse suddenly sparked to life, a small trail of fire quickly burning away at the explosive. Marco was about to shout something to Star, when the girl simply leaned her head back and spat the firework out, letting it sail over their heads before exploding with a small pop.

"There, now I'm done," Star said, proudly puffing out her chest.

"You know that was incredibly dangerous, don't you?" Marco asked in a near scolding tone, an eyebrow slowly rising.

Star just scoffed, waving her arm as if dismissing the accusation altogether. "Oh, please, I used to be magic, remember?

"Emphasis on the 'used to be'," Marco pointed out and Star gave him a tiny frown.

"The point is, I can handle a few minor explosives," Star continued, crossing her arms in front of her chest. She gave Marco a flirting smile as she added playfully, "Besides, this coming from the guy who was stabbed by a unicorn and just walked it off like it was nothing."

Marco flushed, coughing once into his hand as he muttered under his breath, "Well that was different."

"Sure it was," the blond said with a knowing wink.

The hooded teen began looking around for a way to change the subject, stopping a small pile of fireworks all marked, "Warning: Extremely loud". A mischievous grin spread across his face, rubbing his hands together in anticipation as he said, "Alright, now it's my turn." He quickly set them all up, sticking each one into the ground, before tying their fuses together, he then moved both him and Star far enough back so that he didn't have to risk himself or his girlfriend being blown up. He then set the fuse on fire, covering his ears and Star quickly following his example as they watched the fuse slowly maneuver over to the waiting rockets. Each of them were then sent streaking up into the sky, where they all went off in a fantastic cascade of explosions and the crowd let out a cheer of joy. Star's eyes shimmered as she just grinned up at the beautiful flash of colors, Marco watching her reaction closely and feeling his heart race over how adorable she looked right then. There really was no one quite like Star and the birthday boy felt perfectly content just being able to sit next to her.

Finally, though the last of the fireworks went off in a burst of spiraling blues, leaving the sky empty and eerily silent. A cheer rang out from the crowd of party-goers, all of them clapping for the entertaining display (well all except Pony Head, who had no hands). "Wow, that was awesome, Marco!" Star cried, giving the boy a quick hug around the waist.

"Thanks," Marco said while standing, before offering his girlfriend a hand up as well, which Star eagerly took. Once the two were both on their feet, they both found themselves just staring into the other's eyes, Marco not yet releasing his bestie's hand. The moment seemed to last a lifetime (as their moments together often did), Marco trying to memorize every detail of Star's face, until finally, the blond asked in a loving coo, "So now what are we gonna do?"

Marco shrugged, his eyes still not leaving Star's as he responded in a similar flirting tone, "I don't know, what do you want to do?"

"Hmmm, well I think I have an idea," Star said, tapping a finger to her chin in pretend thought.

"And what's that?" Marco asked, leaning an inch closer to the girl.

"Welll, how about..." Star began softly, only to scream at the top of her lungs, "You light this rocket I have strapped to my back!"

"What?!" Marco exclaimed, finally breaking off eye contact as he realized that Star was telling the truth, she really did have a massive firework half the size of her attached to her back. How had Marco not noticed her putting that on? Had he really been so preoccupied staring at Star he had somehow missed that gigantic thing?

"Come on, Marco! Light me up I'm ready to head for the stars!" Star shouted, poising with a fist dramatically in the air as if she were flying.

"Ooohh no, not happening!" Marco said, shooting the idea down in a heartbeat. The two had already been pushing his safety instincts with their game, but not in a million years would Marco ever willingly set off a rocket attached to his girlfriend. There was just no way that was ever going to end well.

"Oh come on, Marco, I'll be fine, I'm a Mewman, remember? I can handle my explosions," the blond pressed, the look on her face telling the birthday boy that she was not taking no for an answer.

"Yeah, except you don't have magic now, remember?" Marco argued, putting his foot down on this idea.

Star deflated a little at that, pouting as she crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Okay, fine," she mumbled, her cheeks puffing up in such a cute way that Marco was sure he felt a few brain cells fry just from looking at it.

"Well in that case," a voice said, appearing behind Marco, causing the sixteen-year-old to scream. He looked over his shoulder only to see the smug face of Janna, who snatched the cigar out of his mouth before he could even blink. "Mind if I have a go?"

"Hey, Janna! What are you doing?!" Marco shouted angrily over at the girl who quickly stuck the cigar into her own mouth without a second thought.

"Aw, relax, Marco," the creepy teen said, giving him a reassuring grin that did nothing to reassure Marco in the slightest. "I'm just testing this out is all."

"Oh cool," Star said, her eyes filling with hope again. "Hey Janna Banana, think you can give me a light?" The blond turned to display the rocket a little better.

"Sure thing, Star," Janna said, taking one step forward, before Marco held up a hand, blocking her from taking another step.

"For the last time, nobody is setting off any rockets that are attached to my girlfriend!" the hooded teen said in a warning tone.

Janna held up her hands in surrender taking a few steps away from him. "Suit yourself, Diaz. It's your party, after all," she said, her voice hiding a cryptic layer to it as she inched closer and closer to the remaining pile of fireworks. "I'll just have to do something even more memorable," the girl added, her evil grin now obvious.

"Janna, what are you doing?" Marco asked suspiciously.

"Just this," she said with a casual shrug, before turning and letting out a big puff of the magic cigar, the resulting burst of magic landing right in the middle of the fireworks, several of the fuses already lit and depleting fast.

"Ahhhh, Janna no, get away from there," Marco screamed, running at the girl but it was too late as a huge explosion of bangs and flashes and colors were set off at once. The entire backyard soon bombarded by streaking rockets as party guests dove for cover, trying to avoid being caught up in the inevitable detonation of the air-born bombs. All except for Tom, who just sat calmly in his spot, sipping at his punch, Eclipsa and Globgore doing the same next to him. Mari and Meteora just laughed and clapped at the bright and noisy display, while Angela and Rafael did their best to shield the babies from any possible dangers.

One of the fireworks headed right for Star, who was busy gawking at the explosions open-mouthed, not noticing until it was too late as one went right into her mouth, making her swallow it in confusion. There was a short pause before Star's stomach imploded, her belly expanding and then returning to its normal size the girl standing there with a dazed look on her face.

"Star!" Marco screamed in concern, ignoring the danger as he raced over to check on his girlfriend. He grabbed her by the arms, gently shaking her as he asked in a panic, "Are you okay?! Do you have internal bleeding? Do I need to call the hospital?!"

"Marco, I'm fine," Star reassured him, gently peeling his hands off of her. "Like I said before, I'm a Mewman I can handle my explosions." Then, out of nowhere, the girl hiccuped, a puff of smoke exiting out of her mouth, before she covered it, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment.

Marco stared at his girlfriend in shock for a second, before turning and glaring over at Janna. "And see, this is why I didn't want you messing with fireworks," he told the beanie-wearing girl.

Janna just shrugged. "Aww, come on Marco, she's fine, Star's way tougher than you're giving her credit for."

Marco sighed, massaging his forehead with his fingertips. "That's not the point, Janna," he said tiredly.

"Then what is your point?" Janna asked, raising an eyebrow. "Cause as far as I can tell I just made your party unforgettable."

"Yeah, but not for the right reasons," Star pointed out, frowning at the girl now too, putting her hands on her hips. "You could have hurt someone."

"But I didn't," Janna corrected them.

The young couple just let out a simultaneous sigh, Marco face-palming, before turning over his shoulder and shouting, "Tom, please explain to your girlfriend why doing that was stupid and dangerous."

"Um, right," Tom said, standing and approaching Janna. He stopped a few inches in front of her, ignoring the smile on her lips as he cleared his throat and said scoldingly, "Jan, that was a really risky thing you did back there, even if it did look cool."

"Tom!" Marco shouted and the boy quickly corrected himself, "I mean, what were you thinking Janna?" he wagged a disapproving finger in her direction for emphasis, but Janna seemed unfazed by any of this.

"Well to be perfectly honest I just wanted to show off for my awesome boyfriend," Janna admitted, giving the boy a flirty look.

"Awww, babe," Tom said, his cheeks flushing a dark purple as he gave his girlfriend a goofy grin, causing Star and Marco to facepalm.

"Besides, that puny thing was nothing compared to what I can really do. You should have seen the explosion me and Eclipsa set off to try and blow up Mina," Janna explained, Tom staring at the girl with a shimmering gaze.

"I love you so much right now," he whispered, putting a hand gently and lovingly on her back.

Star and Marco both sighed in defeat, before a smile spread slowly between the two, unable to stay mad at Janna when she and Tom looked so cute together. Besides, Janna was Janna, there was nothing anyone could say or do that would change that girl. "Soooo what now?" Marco asked, turning to his girlfriend in anticipation.

Star grinned mischievously, rubbing her hands together in anticipation. "Well, I think it's about time to reveal the grand finale."

"Wait, seriously?!" Marco squealed in excitement. "It's happening now!"

"Yep!" Star replied brightly. She put both hands on either side of the boy's face, moving till her face was inches from his own as she said, "So, Marco Diaz, are you ready for your big surprise!"

"Uh, heck yeah, I am!" the boy shouted, pumping his fists into the air.

"Okay then..." Star began suspensefully, before suddenly pulling out a massive, colorful foam mallet from nowhere. "Then heads up, Marco!" she screamed, before full-on smacking him with the object, the thing releasing a small squeaky sound as she did, Marco screaming as he was sent sailing harmlessly through the air. The hooded teen tried not to panic as the ground beneath him grew farther and farther away, until they vanished beneath a layer of clouds. He had just barely crested the top of one of the fluffy clouds when gravity took hold, his stomach lurching as he began his rapid descent.

Star, meanwhile, watched with pride at her skyward boyfriend, the hammer propped on her shoulder. She noticed the boy beginning his fall and quickly shouted over to where Ferguson and Alfonso stood, awaiting her orders, "Okay guys, uncover the surprise!"

The two teens grabbed the large sheet and pulled it off, revealing the giant blue cannon underneath. "Move it a little to the left!" Star shouted and the boys obeyed, pushing it into its new position.

"I don't know Star, I'd say a little to the right would be best," Tom commented and the two teens obeyed.

"Nah don't listen to him girl, it's fine where it is," Pony declared, Ferguson and Alfonso moving it back.

"Perhaps you should move it more toward the fence," Eclipsa helpfully suggested.

"No left!"

"It should be more right!"

"I'm telling you, girl, it was fine where it was in the first place."

Ferguson and Alfonso were beginning to grow weary and annoyed at all the constant directions from the bickering group, the two sending them all glares. All the while, Marco's girlish screams grew louder and ever closer.

"Would one of you make up your mind?!" Ferguson shouted.

Star looked up, quickly judging the distance before racing forward and hitting the cannon with the hammer as she yelled out, "Super Hammer Swing!" pushing it back a few inches, just before Marco landed inside. The boy took a few deep breaths (clearly out of breath), his eyes wide and his hair messier than usual.

"Surprise!" Star screamed in excitement, her smile incapable of growing any wider, dropping the hammer and throwing a small bit of confetti into the air.

The birthday boy just blinked once in disbelief, before he asked nervously, "Uhh, Star, no offense but why am I inside a cannon? And what was with the whole hammer thing?"

"Well, first of all, I know that ever since we destroyed the magic you've been really missing going on adventures and doing quests in the Neverzone and stuff like that," Star began, the pride in her voice still as clear as day as she leaned back against the cannon, looking completely calm despite the precarious situation the love of her life was in. "So I figured why not let you re-experience the thrill of adventure again with this baby." She patted the cannon lovingly.

"And the hammer?"

"Uhh, dramatic effect," the girl replied as if the answer were obvious.

Marco sighed. Should have known. "Don't you think this is a little unsafe?" Marco asked, his safety instincts resurfacing once more.

"Ohhh no you're right, Marco," the blond agreed, her face flashing with doubt as she walked slowly over to him. "I mean what was I thinking?" she scoffed, smacking a hand against her head. Once she was in front of him, she pulled out a helmet, quickly shoving it onto his head, before saying in a sing-song voice, "There, now you're all ready to go!"

Marco looked up at the helmet once, before fixing his girlfriend with a curious stare. "Where did you get a cannon, anyways?" Marco asked, slowly raising an eyebrow.

"Mom made it," Star replied immediately.

"What?!" the hooded teen exclaimed in disbelief.

"Oh yes, she's been making the neighbors jealous with her skills, haven't you, Moonpie?" River asked, pulling his wife a bit closer.

The woman blushed, modestly replying, "Oh it's nothing more than a hobby, really."

"Aw come on, mom, this is like the coolest thing you've ever done," Star told her, before turning back to her boyfriend. "Sooo Marco, are you ready to blast off to who-knows-where?" The blond asked dramatically, her eyes glittering with joy and affection as she waited for her bestie to answer, the boy biting the inside of his lip at the adorable look on his girlfriend's face. To be honest, he wasn't all too sure about this idea (even though the thought of an adrenaline rush had his body tingling with anticipation) but he also knew that there was no way he could say no to that cute face staring back at him. So he swallowed whatever safety instincts were telling him this was a terrible idea as he simply replied, "Yes."

"Great!" Star exclaimed before skipping over to the long fuse, picking up the end and handing it over to Janna, who still had the magic cigar in her mouth. "Okay then Janna, would you do the honors?"

"Sure, why not?" the beanie-wearing teen replied with a small shrug.

"Great!" Star exclaimed. Janna took in a deep breath, filling her lungs up as much as she possibly could, leaning in closer and closer to the waiting fuse, before stopping just short of it. She gave a small little puff into the cigar, causing only a single spark of magic to spring out, which landed precisely on its target, instantly igniting it. The small flame began to eat away at the long cord, the cannon growing and expanding to almost cartoonish levels as it made ready to spit out its unwanted occupant. As the fuse continued to burn away, Star watched it with curious interest, keeping her hands pressed tightly against her ears, but the smile still never straying from her lips.

Suddenly, though, Star remembered something, shouting over to her boyfriend, "Oh, yeah and remember, Marco, the best way to avoid losing a limb is to-"

But before the girl could finish her warning there was a loud bang as the cannon fired, sending an unprepared Marco streaking through the air. The entire group gathered in the backyard all watched as the boy grew farther and farther away, hands cupped over their eyes to try and spot him better. Soon Marco was nothing but a speck in the distance, vanishing from sight with a twinkle.

"Aww and there he goes," Star muttered softly to herself, putting her hands on her hips, her body covered head to toe in soot but she didn't seem to notice.

"Um, Star," Jackie suddenly spoke up. "Don't you think Marco went up a little high?"

"Nope, he's fine. It's all going according to plan," Star replied in a heartbeat.

"Well, what about your rocket?" Jackie pointed out. "Is shooting yourself off into space also part of your plan?"

Star laughed, waving a hand in the hair as she said, "Silly Jackie, the rocket isn't even lit, so it can't possibly-" But the words died on Star's tongue as she turned and saw the rocket was indeed close to igniting, the small flame inches away from reaching the main part of the explosive. "Oh," was all the girl had time to say before flames began shooting out of the bottom of the firework and she was launched into the sky. "AHHHHH!" came a distant shout, before the shooting Star disappeared into the night sky with a twinkle and a flash.

Jackie watched in disbelief as her friend vanished from sight before turning to stare at Janna who had a proud smirk on her face, holding the cigar dramatically between two fingers. "Pretty sure that wasn't part of the plan," Jackie commented in a warning tone.

Janna shrugged, before quipping, "It was part of mine." The girl brought the cigar back up to her lips, adding confidently, "She can thank me later." She started to take a deep puff when the cigar suddenly exploded, a colorful burst of magic dust and burnt popcorn filling the air around the teen, Jackie taking a step back and shielding herself from the blast with a raise of her arms. Once the dust cleared, Janna was left standing, covered head to toe in soot, the tip of her beanie on fire as she just stared blankly forward, seemingly unaffected by the explosion that just went off in her face.

"Uhhh, are you okay?" Jackie asked, concerned for her friend's safety.

"Oh please, you think I haven't had things explode in my face before?" Janna asked with a scoff. "I mean, I'm dating Tom for crying out loud, I deal with stuff like this on a daily basis."

"Actually, I'd say it's more the other way around," Tom corrected her with slight annoyance.

Janna smiled mischievously, telling her boyfriend in a voice thick with flirtation, "You know you love it."

Marco, meanwhile, was floating somewhere in space, his eyes wide as he looked around in shock, his brain struggling to understand how he was breathing all the way up here. But then again, this was Earthni, it was better not to question anything, he should just be happy he hadn't suffocated. Still, as he stared down at the long drop waiting below, his keen eyes unable to even spot his house (or his entire town for that matter) from this height. He let out a long sigh, as he realized he was now faced with a serious conundrum. Sure being fired out of a cannon had been thrilling and fun (if not slightly terrifying) but once the initial adrenaline rush wore down he realized he was stuck here, hovering in the atmosphere with no way to get down. He reached slowly for his phone, intent on calling one of his friends to come and pick him up with Nachos when he heard a loud shout echoing through the stratosphere.

He recognized the voice in a heartbeat, knowing Star's sweet tone anywhere since it had permanently engraved itself into his mind, just like anything having to do with his amazing bestie. Marco smiled, listening as his girlfriend's initial cry of fear turned to one of exhilaration and delight. Looks like he wouldn't have to make that call after all. Of course Star would come and get him, his girlfriend would never leave him hanging like that and his heart pounded in his chest in anticipation for her appearance. But his heart came to a sudden stop as he did finally spot the girl and realized that she was being blasted into space via giant rocket... and she was headed right for him.

Marco screamed, flapping his arms in an awkward attempt to avoid getting hit, but it was futile as the two lovebirds collided, the rocket exploding into a giant array of colors.

Down below on Marco's backyard, Oscar noticed a flash in the sky, saying nonchalantly, "Whoa, cool. Nice explosion."

Everyone all turned to see what the boy was talking about, only to gasp in shock as they too spotted the explosion, which soon formed into a giant pink heart made of light and fire, followed by another of different shape and size and then another and then another. The crowd all gaped at the sight, before clapping and cheering at what was surely meant to be the grand finale for the event. Mariposa and Meteora both giggled and cooed at the pretty display, while their parents all hugged their respective partners close. Ferguson and Alfonso pulled out their phones, snapping pictures of the sight. River was busy stuffing down as much food at the snack table as possible while nobody was looking, while Moon just sighed in annoyance. Pony was giving over-exaggerated expressions with Seahorse's camera posed on her. Jackie and Tom both looked up with concern at the colorful display, the skater asking, "Do you think they're okay?"

"I'm sure their fine, those two have handled way worse," Tom pointed out and Jackie nodded in agreement, a smile finally spreading across her face. Next to them Janna was nodding in satisfaction, seeming pleased with the results from her efforts, "And see, this is exactly why you guys should trust me with stuff more often. I just did Star a huge favor!"

"How is almost blowing her and her boyfriend up a favor?" Tom asked with a raised eyebrow.

Janna rolled her eyes before explaining, "She wanted this party to be as memorable and over-the-top as possible, right? Well, what's more memorable than that." The girl jabbed a finger in the direction of the quickly fading explosion. She crossed her arms smugly in front of her chest before adding, "Plus, those two even get some alone time together. So I'd call this a win-win."

Jackie and Tom shared a look as they realized that Janna was actually right. And neither were quite sure how to process this. Suddenly, Janna appeared between them, putting her arms around their shoulders as she led them over to the snack table, saying, "Now come on, guys. Let's grab some of Mr. Diaz's food before Star's dad eats it all."

…

Star and Marco said nothing for a moment, as they just floated gently next to each other, both forms now fully coated in soot and ash. Their eyes were wide as they stared blankly ahead, not even aware of their weightlessness, as they just hovered there. They were so out of it that neither saw a small laser puppy float by them, yapping happily or an open and empty chip bag sail past. Finally, the young couple's eyes met and they burst out into laughter a second later.

The two stayed like that for a few minutes, their chuckles growing louder and more rambunctious with every passing second until tears were falling from their eyes and Star was clutching her stomach, making her spin around in a lazy circle. Their giggles filled the void, causing their own voices to echo back at them, which only made them laugh harder, finding their partner's chuckles infectious.

Finally, the two were able to get a hold of themselves, their laughter slowly dying down into nothing more than breathless gasps as they struggled to breathe normally again. "Oh man, that was so exciting!" Star screamed, pumping her fists into the air.

Marco chuckled again, finding his girlfriend's enthusiasm as enduring as ever, "Yeah, I gotta admit that was pretty fun, even if it did get a little scary back there when you came at me with that rocket."

"Aw, come on, Marco. Did you really think I would attach something that dangerous to my back? You know me better than that at this point," Star told him and the hooded teen smiled, reaching out a hand to her.

"Yeah, guess I do," Marco replied, his cheeks tinged pink.

Star grabbed his hand and allowed him to pull her in close until they were in a tight hug, their bodies wrapped warmly and snugly around each other, slowly rotating in the lack of gravity though neither of them noticed nor cared. Marco couldn't remember the last time he was this happy, it felt so right having Star in his arms and it made his whole body tingle with a warmth only his Star could provide him.

"So did you like your surprise, Marco?" Star asked and Marco chuckled, squeezing her just a little bit tighter.

"Yeah, I did," the boy whispered, his voice soft but filled with love. "Thanks for throwing me such an awesome party, Star. I'll never forget it."

"Sure thing, Marco," Star said, thrilled to hear that Marco had enjoyed himself. Her party was an all-around success. Sure there were problems here or there, but so long as Marco was happy then she had done her job perfectly. "Anything for you."

Marco went silent, letting the wonderful moment wash over him. He knew that soon he would have to call Jackie and tell her to bring Nachos to pick them up, but right now he just wanted to stay here with his girlfriend, his bestie, his Star just a little longer. He did, however, pull out of the hug, Star giving him a curious look as their eyes met. "But there is one other thing I'd like for my birthday."

"What?" Star asked, her eyebrows scrunching together in the cutest way that Marco had to fight the urge to swoon at the sight.

"This," he whispered softly, before closing their distance between them. His lips met Star's and it was like another firework had just gone off, the spark the two felt real and perfect and so, so right that it left both of them breathless. Star gasped lightly against his lips before closing her eyes and deepening the kiss, her lips moving in perfect sync against his. For a long time, the two just floated there like that, their forms hanging high over the world they had created together, Marco enjoying the greatest gift he could have ever received. Star's love.

Hope you enjoyed! This had more cartoony humor than I'm used to writing but I had a lot of fun trying something a little different from my usual style. And I still got to put in my Starco fluff so I'm happy! Thanks for reading everyone! Stay awesome, Stardom!