"No, Star! You can't make me!" Marco hissed like a feral cat when his girlfriend tried to pull him towards the object of his deepest fears. There was nothing in all of Mewni, Earth, and Hekapoo's dimension that struck more terror in the boy's heart than mirrors. It seemed like a stupid thing to be afraid of. They couldn't kill or move or bite, but they didn't need to in order to wound their hapless victims. The cruel, cold slabs stared into a man's soul and reflected his insecurities for all to see. In the boy's case, the insecurities involved a whole lot more fangs and horns than they usually did.

"Stop being silly, boo," Star tugged on the reluctant, claw-nailed hands that hid his face. "I love the way you look all the time, especially when it's your 'time of the month.'"

"It's not PMS, Star," his tail lashed in mild irritation. Referring to it as something so trivial made him flush hot for some reason. "It's my demon form."

"Same thing. Now, c'mon, Diaz," determined, Star managed to finally pry his hands away with her super Mewman strength. "Khaki Denim! Seize the day!"

"It's Carpe Diem," he corrected her and watched Star roll her beautiful sky-blue eyes. Oh, how he loved staring into those deep, expressive orbs which always seemed to spark when she saw him. They were the perfect shade of blue too: more vivid than the pale eyes of her father, and warmer than the icy ones of Queen Moon.

She noticed him gazing at her and blushed, setting her pink heart cheekmarks blazing with a ruby glow. "You're not supposed to be looking at me," Star forcible moved his head so he had to face the mirror. "You claimed you've never seen yourself in your demon form. I'm fixing that today."

Whoa...his cat-slit pupils dilated when he caught sight of his reflection in the mirror. So, this is what I look like? Before him, a strange creature gawked back at him—one both familiar and unfamiliar. The image bore the same tannish skin, chocolate brown hair, and trademark red hoodie that came to represent Marco Ubaldo Diaz. Even the little mole, which Star claimed was adorable, graced his cheek. Yet, it was undeniable that the taint of demon magic had changed him too.

Two black goat horns erupted from his dark brown hair and swept backward in a graceful curve. Pointed ears jutted out of the side of his head, making him look like a weirdo elf hero from video games-minus the green tights. Minute, white fangs protruded from the corners of his mouth, even when closed, giving him an odd-shaped smile. To pull the whole demon look together, black, heavy dragon wings drooped from his shoulder blades and a thin, red tail wiggled like a worm in perpetual motion. It was topped by a crescent at the tip. In all, he didn't look too bad.

"See, Marco," Star giggled as she watched Marco study his body. "There's nothing to fear about mirrors. You look pretty hot like that."

Marco's amber eyes moved off of his reflection and his cheeks flushed, betraying the two pale moons that usually stayed hidden. "Me? Hot?" His voice squeaked. She had to be joking. Hot was for male models and swimmers—not for snaggle-toothed demon boys like Marco Diaz.

Taking his hands, Star stood on her tippy toes and gave him a swift peck on the lips, laughing when steam rolled off of his body. It tended to happen whenever she kissed him, caused by sweat rolling down his physically hot demon body. Apparently, Star really liked the smell; she described it as a mix of musk and burnt toast.

"You're so adorable, Marco," she smiled against his lips before pulling away. "Don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

"Tom told me I looked like a mutt," the boy muttered.

Star raised an eyebrow at the mention of her ex's name. They had had a rocky relationship which ended in a rather explosive breakup before she came to Earth. Now that she was back on Mewni and had a new boyfriend, she and Tom tried to make amends for the sake of being royals. So far, things had been decent between them, when her ex-boyfriend wasn't being snooty towards Marco's newfound powers.

She sighed and shook her head, "Don't take that from him, Marco. Besides, you wanna know a secret? Your tail is way longer than his."

"Really?" Marco snickered. A demon's tail is a symbol of his pride, meant to dangle low and wave freely like a banner in the wind. For a someone to accuse a demon of being short-tailed was like insulting one's manhood: very wrong and dangerous.

Star nodded, "Yep. That's why he keeps it hidden. Go tell him that; teach Tom his place."

I shouldn't roast the guy I'm trying to become friends with, the rational part of Marco's brain said. But no, he couldn't pass up on the opportunity....

~•~

In the Underworld, Tom Lucitor was busy sitting on his beanbag and playing video games when Marco opened a portal to pay him a little visit. My tail is longer than his, he suppressed a purr in his chest. He was better than a full-blooded demon! Ha! Just thinking about it made his long demon appendage curl upwards against his back in a tight bun.

Tom's third eyes wandered off his game and at the interloper in his room, "What do you want, Diaz?"

A smug grin crept on Marco's face as he stalked closer. "Hey, Lucitor," he couldn't help but taunt a bit. "Remember how you called me a 'lowly, snaggle-toothed mutt' the other day?"

"What about it? It's true. You're too soft to be a demon like me," Tom sneered as he paused the game. "I mean look at you! There's nothing on your body that's even remotely scary."

Oh, that's what you think, Marco curled his lip, flashing his fangs, "You know...Star said my tail is longer than yours."

"She...what?!" Tom gasped. "That's impossible! I'm a Lucitor prince! My tail is the longest and thickest there is." Fire formed in his hands as he lurked closer to Marco.

"Guess again, Tom. Star loves my tail, and says she's never seen a demon with one as amazing as mine." Now, came the part where Marco embellished a little to really stick it to the other demon. "She loves what I can do with it...like, uh...when I hang from tree branches. Or how I can grab stuff with it."

Suddenly, Tom went from being on the verge of roasting him to a crisp to laughing. In fact, he even slumped on his beanbag and laughed so hard he began to cry. "Marco, my man!" He hollered, holding his belly. "Is that all you think a tail is for?"

"Yeah?" He answered puzzled. "I mean what else is it for...?"

The prince got up and slung an arm around Marco's shoulder. "Dude," he sat his friendenemy down. "Let me tell you about the joys of Demon Mewberty, which you'll probably experience at some point...."

"Demon Mewberty?"

"How'd it go?" Star asked when Marco stepped out his portal and into her room. "Did you roast Tom? Did you get him good?"

Marco's eyes twitched and he silently went to his room. The roasting had been mutual. I'll one-up him next time, he vowed to the red demon moon leering at him through the windows of the castle. But first...he had a lot to think about.
~•~