He shuddered to think of what he’d almost lost for the third– no, fourth time. Because it was the fourth time he’d feared he would never feel those arms around him again, or see sheer delight tickle those pink-hearted cheeks. The first was when she’d suffered through her mewberty phase – when he’d had no choice but to let her go without knowing for certain whether she would return or not. The next had been when they’d faced Toffee the first time – the two inches of glass separating them had felt like a million miles. And the third, the one he’d almost missed in his recollection …was the night he’d found himself staring at the empty space that had once been her bedroom, now a hollow coffin where the life and joy she’d brought with her used to reside. He felt the sheer emptiness of all those instances at once, and found his face buried in the crook of her neck, vainly attempting to memorize the silk soft feel of her blonde hair in his fingers and the gentle flutter of budding, minuscule wings against his wrists as they locked down around her back.
❝ – god, I …I’m so relieved. Don’t ever
leave me again, Star. ❞
The words poured out before he could manage to judge their implication, like someone had stepped on a tube of toothpaste and it’d all come gushing out. And, much like attempting to put toothpaste back into the tube, he immediately realized the moment they’d left his lips that there was no taking them back. His complexion darkened considerably, his cheeks stained a deep rouge as he pulled back far enough to face her – though even in his disheveled embarrassment, he still didn’t find himself capable of releasing her fully from his embrace quite yet.
❝ – !! I mean – ! What I meant is, uh –
d-don’t leave again! Just – w-we’re
a team, right? I – I want to be with
you. – I MEAN – !! ❞
It never really hit Star just how incredibly dangerous things had gotten for her ever since she’d started living on Earth. The girl was no stranger to perilous situations, of course, but whether for lack of real danger or the presence of people older than her to help out, she’d never felt like anybody’s lives were at stake, much less her own. But from the day she’d inherited the wand...from the day she’d met Marco and had him by her side every step of the way...things had gotten so intense so many times. Just one misstep along the way could have been the end of it all for either one of them...
She never let it stay on her mind for long, of course. She couldn’t. If she let her fears of what could have been in the past weigh her down, she would never be able to go on.
‘Don’t ever leave me again, Star.’
Oh god, did that catch her attention. She pulled away to look at him in tandem with him, her own cheeks dusted a flustered, shocked red hue, almost blending in with those hearts of hers. Her wide gaze remained locked on him when he spoke up again, paying close attention to how he stuttered, scrambling around for the right words. Dang it why did he have to be so adorable? She couldn’t fight back the laughter as his voice raised- endearing as it was to watch him like this, it was also pretty funny.
“Marco, I get it, I get it!” The flushing of her cheeks was fading, her pale complexion brought about with the returning comfort she’d felt around him so often before. “I won’t be leaving again anytime soon. We’re more than a team- we’re best friends. And I don’t want to put you or Mom or anyone else through that again. Between death-defying adventure and you being happy knowing I’m alright...there’s no contest for which one I’d pick.”
