Setting Moons

Steam filled the bathroom as Marco slowly stepped out of the shower, wrapped in his favorite pink towel. He moved carefully on the slick wet tile to avoid tripping and landing on his face. The last thing he needed was an ugly black eye, especially on a day like today. Once he arrived safely at the sink, he put on his favorite Mexican mixtape to get into the mood. While La Calaca Feliz played in the background, the boy stared at his reflection in the mirror. "Alright, Diaz," he mumbled. "Today is the day."

He tapped his chin while staring at his collection of deodorants and colognes, picking out the best combination to combat his nervous sweating habit. Selecting the strongest deodorant he had, Marco put on a thick layer—five swipes per armpit—and exhaled slowly. I can do this, he channeled the manly spirit from the music. For the past two years, Marco had faced everything the universe had thrown at him: evil monsters, magical creatures, and the Forest of Certain Death. He wasn't about to let matters of the heart defeat him. However, his resolve swiftly faded when his eyes fell on the picture of Star he kept tucked in his cabinet.

Today was their first date, and the mounting pressure made him want to throw up the Sugar Seeds he ate for breakfast. Normally, being around her was as easy and natural as breathing. They just fit well together—almost as if they were one soul in two bodies. Their complementary natures made them the best of friends and great adventure partners. But what about good lovers? Their relationship had been tested before but never like this. The date had to be perfect to start their romance the right way.

"No pressure," he muttered while drying his hair and body. None at all. Absolutely none. It wasn't like he was about to go out with the love of his life or anything. It wasn't like he had adored Star since they first met and fell deeper in love with her over the course of their friendship. Just thinking about her loving him made Marco's heart thump loudly against his chest. Beads of sweat formed on his thick brows, and the boy sighed. Keep it together, he willed the moisture away and practiced his breathing from karate. In and out. Positive thoughts in, overwhelming ones out.

Marco didn't need to worry; his plans for the date were just about foolproof. They were going the White Lotus, their favorite Chinese Restaurant, for dinner and then watch the moons set on the highest hill in Echo Creek Park. The monster newspaper—which was now available in English— said that watching the moons set was a perfect romantic date idea. Between that and the dinner, the plans sounded fun and safe. What could go wrong? I should have ordered custom fortune cookies with love notes in them, Marco realized but let the matter go. Maybe he'd do that next time.

After getting dressed, Marco reached for his cologne and gave it a few puffs in the air. He prepared to evenly coat his body in the musky scent when a knock on the door caused him to trip. The cloud settled on his butt instead, and the déjà vu made Marco groan.

"Are you okay in there?" Star asked, her voice muffled by the door.

"I'll be out in a minute," he shot up and shrugged on his red hoodie. He decided to keep it open today, exposing his favorite "I'm a Hot Dawg" t-shirt he got from the Goblin Dogs truck. Steadying his nerves, Marco opened the door of their shared bathroom and entered Star's room. Instantly, he tripped on the laser puppies, who were trying hard to sniff his butt. "Barco Diaz, that was rude," he complained when the wiggly puppy tugged on his pant leg.

Star snickered and helped her boyfriend to his feet, "You're so silly, Marco."

When he got up, Marco got his first look at his wonderful date in her new outfit. She wore a denim jumper over a red and white striped shirt and dark green leggings. Her new boots looked like giant black lace-up sneakers with little stars on the ankles.

"Wow..." he breathed. "You look...amazing." Ugh, why didn't I say beautiful or something? He inwardly groaned. "Amazing" sounded too platonic.

"Aw, thanks," she kissed his cheek. "I'm ready to have the best date ever!"

Excitement bounced in her eyes when Marco took her hand, threading their fingers together. "And that we shall, Miss Butterfly," he said in a mock formal voice. "I have a whole romantic evening planned for the two of us."

"Can't wait," she smiled. Suddenly, her cute little nose started to wriggle, and Star started sniffing his back. "Your tush smells nice," she commented with a blush forming on her cheeks.

"I'd rather not talk about it," he muttered.

~•~

They left the Monster Temple and headed into downtown Echo Creek where an amazing evening awaited. It was a gorgeous day. The sun started to sink in the shimmering sky, casting growing shadows around the building and trees.

Dragoncycles and giant eagles built nests on power lines and roofs, causing them to sag. A herd of unicorns galloped in the street, chased by loose lion-dragons and cars. It was hard to tell how well life was adjusting after the Cleaving since the Mewmans, monsters, and humans tended to stay away from each other. I wonder if time will change that, Marco wondered, but he didn't see a single Mewman downtown. However, the issues could wait—today was all about Star and their love.

"Where are we going?" She asked.

"Oh, just thought we could grab a bite to eat at our favorite restaurant," he replied proudly.

"But Britta's Tacos was destroyed."

"I know. That's why we're going to the White—" Before Marco could finish the sentence, his mouth hung open in horror. A giant blue monster sat on the demolished remains of what should have been the Chinese Restaurant, picking at its fangs with a stop sign. Around it, human patrons looked on in disbelief, and the owners cried to police. Marco dropped Star's hand and immediately searched for answers.

"What happened?" He asked a policeman.

The officer scribbled something on his notepad, "Your little monster friend ate all of the food in the restaurant." There was a note of scorn in the human's voice.

"What?!" Marco gasped. He craned his neck to lock eyes with the monster, "Why would you do that?"
The monster shrugged and replied in an unhurried voice, "Can you blame me? We monsters gotta eat too."

"But did you have to eat everything?" He shouted.
"It was all-you-can-eat eggroll day," the monster shifted and sent bricks raining down to the parking lot. "You know you should put a limit on that if you don't want people to eat everything."

This was supposed to be his perfect date with Star, and it was ruined. Seeing the hint of sadness in her eyes made Marco feel worse and he slunk off to the edge of the parking lot in shame.

"Marco, wait," Marco heard her voice say, but he refused to turn around. Seeing her upset made his heart sink into his chest, and he just couldn't take the pain anymore. The boy stuffed his hands into his pockets and continued to inch away from her.

"Is everything alright?" The concern in her voice was apparent. He couldn't take it anymore, and he let out a sigh as he saw her shadow creep up beside him.

"This was our first official date, and I blew it. I'm such a failure," he blurted out, burying his face in his hands. He felt a gentle hand touch his shoulder.

"It's fine, really it is. We can just do something at home," Star said, the sadness in her voice leaving a bit.

Something at home? This day was supposed to be special, Marco thought to himself. He turned his head away. He could sense that she was upset, and it hurt so much to witness. "The first date is supposed to be romantic and perfect, and now it's ruined. I'm the worst boyfriend ever."

He saw Star's eyes widen out of the corner of his eye.

"Marco..."

Marco looked up at the sky. His mind was running wild, and he couldn't control it. "I can't believe I ruined our first official date..."

"Marco."

"I mean, who does that," he asked himself, throwing his hands into the air, "I didn't even fail this hard when I was with Jackie, and even then, I still failed!"

"Marco!" He felt Star's lips peck his cheek, which caused his cheeks to grow warm and for him to completely forget his train of thought. "We don't some special fancy date to prove ourselves," she began, "I'm just happy being with you, whether that is sitting on the couch watching cheesy shows, going on adventures, or sitting on the rooftops watching the sunrise. Whatever it is, just being with you is enough to make me happy."

Marco turned to face her, giving a warm smile. "I guess you're right. Being with you makes me happy too, Star."

The blonde reached down and grabbed his hand, pulling him towards the dirt road that leads to the local convenience store. "How about we stop at the Stop and Slurp, get some snacks and just chill? I know the perfect movie we can watch, it just came out."

The boy smiled as he listened to the girl talked, but his attentiveness grew into confusion as he saw her look skyward at the late afternoon sky. "Star, what are you?..." The girl grabbed his shoulders and squealed.

"Marco? I know what we're gonna do today!"

The boy turned his head skyward to see a flock of shadowy figures overtaking the sky, darkening the ground below. Upon closer inspection, he could clearly tell what they were. "Dragoncycles?"

"We can go dragoncycle riding," Star cheerfully said.

"Uh, I dunno if that's a good idea. I haven't flown since I was still on Mewni.... Which is now a part of Earth...ni."

"Oh come on," the blonde cooed, "It'll be fuuuuun." She ran after the rapidly moving flock of dragoncycles, yelling at them and waving her arms, causing a few stares from people across from the parking lot. "Nachooooos, I know you remember us, you silly goose!"

Marco looked at his girlfriend and laughed to himself. She was so adorable, and it warmed his heart to see how enthusiastic she was about this. He was unsure at first but now he knew. He and Star were going to ride dragon cycles together if it were the last thing they do. They had to, he just had to turn this date around. He ran with her, cupping his mouth with his hands to amplify his voice. "Here girl! It's me, Marco!"

One lone dragoncycle stops in the sky as the rest of them flew farther and farther away.  Marco puts his pointer finger and thumb into his mouth, whistling. The shadowy figure flew down to the ground, revealing her pale greenish-gray scales and toothy smile. She landed on the ground as the coffee-haired boy ran over and threw his arms around his beloved dragon cycle pet. The dragon returned the affection by giving him a nuzzle and a happy purr.

"Nachos, is that really you," Marco said, looking at her golden tag. 667 was emblazoned on the front as it shimmered in the dim light of the late afternoon. "It's really you, you came back! I'm so happy!" Star came over and they both petted the dragon and gave her hugs for a few minutes. After a bit, Marco got to his feet. "Would you be willing to let us ride you? Uh, I kinda blew my first date with Star, here, and it would be great if you could help me redeem myself."

The dragoncycle nodded, which caused a smile to come from the boy. "You're the best." He grabbed Star's hand and pulled her over to the dragon. The blonde smiled as made herself comfortable on the padded seats. "After you, milady."

"Hahaha," Star giggled, "Don't call me that."

Marco mounted the dragoncycle, trying to remember how to work it, as his memory was clouded due to the events that had happened over the course of the last few months.

"Woo hoo! Let's ride," Star cheered, wrapping her arms around Marco's waist.

"Okay Star," the boy said, "First things first: Hold on tightly, dragoncycles don't have seatbelts, and we don't want any accidents." He was answered with a tight hug from his girlfriend in response. Marco, gripping the horns tightly, reved up Nachos. With one hard flap of her wings, they were airborne.

The ground beneath them started to get farther away as ascended into the sky up above. He felt Star's grip around his waist grow tighter. Star was usually fearless, but this was a whole new experience for her, and with no magic to use as a safety net, she wanted to make sure she didn't accidentally fall off of Nachos. The boy knew she was fearful, even if she tried to insist that she wasn't.

With a gentle swoop, the teens glided past the Stop N Slurp where they had met once again, and the entirety of Earth-ni overtook their eyesight. It was hard to see what was going on on the ground below, but they could make out the shapes of people and large monsters roaming the paths. Up above, auroras floated lazily in the sky as it started to darken with the impending evening fall. The moon could be seen faintly in the hazy sky.

Nachos started to pick up speed, her wings slicing through the breeze like bread to a knife, and she dive-bombed down like a roller coaster ride before swooping back up. Star put her hands up in the air, laughing as the thrill of the ride coursed through her veins. Marco could tell that she was enjoying the ride, which made him smile warmly as he laughed. As long as Star was happy, he was happy.

They rode around on the dragoncycle for a few more minutes, doing rolls and dips in the air until the excitement began to die down. They were at the outskirts of Earth-ni, where a few houses dotted the hilltops. The boy caught the side of a hill, and he steered Nachos towards it. It seemed like the perfect place to end their late evening joyride.

Nachos landed on the grassy hilltop, giving a yawn from the obvious fatigue. Star hopped off of the dragon cycle, her legs wobbly as she fell backwards into the grass, letting out a deep sigh as she disappeared into the sea of green. Marco laughed lightly as he went over, sitting next to her. He propped himself up on his arms as he stared up at the sky, which grew darker as night set it to replace the evening.

"It's... really beautiful tonight, especially from here," Marco said, breaking the silence

Star turned her head to face him, her ocean blue eyes sparkling and a smile plastered on her face.

"Marco?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank... you," she said, "I had an amazing day with you today, even if things started out rocky."

Marco smiled, then looked down at his hands as he spoke. "No need to thank me, Star. This was your idea. I was just the doofus who thought dates needed to be couples staring at each other lovingly while they slurp on the same strand of spaghetti."

The comment caused the two teens to chuckle slightly. Star then spoke again. "Yeah, we totally aren't that. We're better."

"Better?" Marco inquired, tilting his head slightly as he watched her roll onto her stomach.

"Yeah," she began, "what I mean is that we aren't those cheesy couples that you see on TV, ogling over each other, or chasing after sparkly vampires! We've been through so much, this year was crazy. And... I wouldn't have it any other way."

The boy fell onto his back next to her, meeting her gaze before staring up at the night sky, collecting his thoughts. "This year was pretty crazy, this entire week has been the craziest of all." He laid on his back next to Star, his eyes watching her, "Let's just try to enjoy it the best we can. We don't know what will happen, but no matter what, I'll be here, always."

He saw her face light up, as if was told the happiest news in the world. A smile slowly appeared on her face, and her eyelids lowered in a loving gaze. "I love you, Marco."

"Uhhh, I love you too, Star," he hesitated. This was the first time he had dropped the L word to her since the magic realm shenanigans, and this time, wasn't induced by amnesia.

"I hope you don't mind if I do this," she softly said, before leaning down to kiss him. Her lips met his in a gentle way, and they melted into it. Marco gently wrapped an arm around her as they kissed with the moon setting behind them, casting a white glow on the two teens.

Soft lights of gold and red illuminated their cheeks, going unnoticed to the both of them.

~•~

The Butterflies

"No, no, no. The stone must go over there!" Moon yelled. She pointed at a monster carrying a giant block of stone then to the left corner of the construction site. "Look at the yellow X!"

The monster's eyes darted between the symbol on the rock and the one painted on the red clay. Moon spent days color-coding the materials, hoping it would simplify the process for her builders, but apparently she was wrong. Just yesterday, a Mewman tried to hammer in red-painted nails with a blue wrench. Why can't these corn-heads think for themselves? An exasperated sigh wheezed out of her lungs. How were they supposed to survive in a new world and rebuild Butterfly castle if they couldn't match primary colors?

After finally realizing her mistake, the monster lugged the stone to the right place. Moon watched her through ice-blue eyes narrowed into slits. Post-haste! She grumbled when the monster moved too slowly for her liking. The orange sun began to spill over the eastern horizon, signalling a new dawn. Moon let the summer breeze warm her knees, which were stiff from standing all night. As the sun illuminated more of the site, she saw just how behind they were. The foundation should have almost been done by now, but the constant whining over breaks and stupidity put them behind. It'll take another day to get back on schedule, Moon pursed her lips in a grimace.

"We need to hurry up," she unrolled the blueprints to find places where they could reasonably cut corners. It was imperative that the castle be finished as quickly as possible. Three weeks had passed since the Cleaving, and Earth-ni was still without a ruler. So far, nothing major had happened—everyone mostly kept to themselves. But how long would the tentative peace last? Twenty days was not twenty years or twenty generations. Sooner or later, something would tear the dimension apart unless someone took up the mantle of being a leader. The future of Earth-ni rests in my hands, Moon made a fist. She would not let them down.

First, however, a leader needed a central location to act as a meeting place and a stronghold of justice and power. When she lived by the Mewni River, the yurt proved to be an excellent hub, but now, Moon's territory was larger than a camp of Mewmans.

Monsters, humans, and her people needed an icon to look to in times of trouble and peace. A castle seemed fitting of this role, especially the great hall of her ancestors. Moon saw herself not only continuing the legacy but adding to it, making it as it should be. The queens of the past failed due to short-sightedness and laziness, but Moon processed neither of these traits. Her title, the Undaunted, wasn't given to her for no reason.

"Queen Moon," a Mewman bowed. "Lady Eclipsa and Sir Globgor have arrived."

Late as usual, Moon sneered, glancing at the position of the sun. She called for Eclipsa hours ago when it was still night. Her lack of punctuality was yet another sign that the dark queen was unfit to inherit the throne. To the servant, she ordered, "Direct them this way, then get back to work."

"Yes, my Queen," he scurried away.

Moon paced along on her perch and watched the builders prepare more scaffolds to secure the foundation and the crumbling walls above them. Everything started to run more smoothly as the workers fell into a rhythm. Along with building the foundation, teams of Mewmans and monsters salvaged useable material, crafted bricks, and tore down old towers. If only I had my magic, Moon sighed, looking at her useless hands. She felt incomplete without it. Old Queen Moon could have repaired the castle with a single spell, but now the fate of Butterfly caste rested in the hands of incompetent, slow builders. Why did Star destroy the magic without a second thought? How would Moon lead without it?

"Good morning, Moon!" Eclipsa waved as she appeared into sight. A cheery grin lit up her face, and she had her husband and daughter in tow. Meteora still slept contently in her arms.

"Morning," Moon replied curtly. She probably looked like a mess from staying up all night. Her eyelids felt puffy and heavy and her hair started to unravel from its neat braid. If she had slept in like Eclipsa instead of being a responsible monarch, Moon supposed she would be cheery too.

Eclipsa skipped to her side and peered into the ditch. "Looks like we're making good progress today," she shot a thumbs up to the monster in the pit below her.

Actually, we are pretty behind, Moon mentally corrected her, but said nothing.

"How are Mewman-monster relations?" Eclipsa asked. "Globby told me there was a big fight on the first day."

Moon frowned at the memory. Only five minutes into the project and a Mewman just had to insult a monster's fangs. Why couldn't the stupid Mewmans learn to keep their mouths shut? Fights continued to break out over the smallest provocation until the queen bribed the offenders to keep them in line. It was only a temporary fix, but everyone needed to focus their energy on the castle, not on each other.
"We haven't had one in a while," Moon reported.

Eclipsa smiled, "There's nothing a little diplomacy can't handle, right Moon?"

"Of course." We'll see, she added to herself.

Meteora woke up and let out a drowsy yawn, flashing her tiny fangs in the sunlight. The sight put a slight smile on Moon's face. Eclipsa handed the child off to her father, who placed her in a baby carrier. "I'll be helping the demolition crew today," he said, rubbing his daughter's cheek. "Call me if you need me." His size-shifting abilities returned after the Cleaving, making Globgor a valuable member of the building crew aside from his crass jokes about eating Mewmans. They set his team members off.

"Will do, sweetheart," she gave him a quick peck on the lips. "Don't work too hard."

"Same to you, my darkest star," he winked.

"Oh, stop it," she giggled.

Moon averted her gaze when the kissing started up again. I swear these two act like lovesick teenagers, her eyes twitched. She couldn't decide who was worse about public displays of affection: Eclipsa and Globgor or Star and Marco. Both couples acted like a five-minute separation was the end of the world. It was so unnatural. When the queen woke up early to oversee her project, she and River shared a single kiss before going about their day. There was no need for histrionics.

After the couple finally split, the dark queen unpacked a couple of utility belts from her bag along with hammers and a level. "What is this?" Moon eyed the tools suspiciously.

"I figured if the monsters and Mewmans are working hard to fix up the old place, then we should too," Eclipsa replied. "Look, Moon, I got you a belt that says 'I'm the Boss' on it."

She had to admit that the gray belt was very practical, just like her, but Moon declined the offer. "A queen's job is to delegate. If I'm down there in the mud, who will tell the builders what to do?"

"It's a new age," Eclipsa started down the ladder. "I think the kingdom would rather a queen work alongside them rather than over them. I won't tell you what to do, but it's just some advice."

The second Eclipsa reached the bottom, she started to work on a section of scaffolding. Following her lead, the monsters picked up their tools and helped their former leader. In almost no time, they had completed a platform fit enough for workers to walk on. The Mewmans marveled at the team's efficiency but scowled at the same time out of jealousy. Oh, we don't have time for this! Moon quickly intervened to prevent another fight. "Get back to work!" She ordered sharply. 

Grumbling, the Mewmans crawled back to their jobs under the glare of their leader. Good, Moon smiled. Since she was in the hole, she figured she would give working a try. As much as stepping through piles of mud was undignified and nasty, Moon couldn't stand on the sidelines while Eclipsa did all the work and received all the credit. It would make the silver queen look weak in front of her people. Sometimes a queen had to do what everything necessary to keep her people happy. Even if that meant getting her hands dirty.

"Nice to see you helping," Eclipsa tried to lighten the mood, but Moon tuned her out. They worked side by side, driving nails into boards, and hoisting up materials to builders on the scaffold. At first, the transition was a little rough, but she figured out how to run the construction site and work at the same time. It involved assigning runners to deliver her orders and focusing on her own assignment. Within a few hours, Moon, Eclipsa, and their workers had finished setting up half of the foundation. "Phew," the dark queen dropped her hammer. "I'm beat."

"Me too," a monster agreed. "I'm ready for a break."

"No breaks," Moon replied hastily. "We need to keep going."

"Moon, be reasonable," Eclipsa put her hand on her hips. "You're working these people half to death. A short break wouldn't hurt anything.

"I said my piece."

"But c'mon...they need time off."

Fine, Moon motioned for the runners to tell everyone they had ten minutes off. No more than that. Relief filled the air as the workers broke off into little groups to rest in the morning sun. The queen slumped to the ground where she stood, letting the cool wall and dirt soothe her sore back and limbs. Perhaps the project wasn't too bad; Moon enjoyed getting her hands dirty for once. Eclipsa joined her, but her purple eyes seemed troubled for once. Sorry life isn't all rainbows, the queen thought.

"I have a few concerns," Eclipsa said after a few moments. "First, why are you working everyone so hard? Castles aren't built in a day or even in a year."

"There's nothing saying they can't be," Moon argued. "We need this place up and running soon!"

"Or what?" Challenge flashed in Eclipsa's eyes.

"Or...all of the materials will be rotted and unsalvageable," Moon lied seamlessly. "I mean look at the place, waiting another month will reduce the castle to utter ruin."

Eclipsa shrugged, "I guess, but have you told Star about this?"

"I want her to enjoy her time as a teenager for a while. You know how miserable she gets when forced into royal duties."

"True," the dark queen agreed. "Just making sure you aren't rushing through this project in an attempt to take the dimension from Star, who's the rightful ruler."

Moon dropped her gaze and said nothing, hoping Eclipsa would drop the subject altogether. Luckily, Globgor called her away to discuss something, likely private matters. Alone at last, the queen thought about Star. Would it hurt if she told her about the castle and her plans to rule? They seemed innocent enough, but their relationship was in a fragile place after the Mina incident. And I'm doing this to protect her, Moon convinced herself. Ruling the kingdom would give her daughter stability to live her life freely. She didn't need to know yet.

"Are you sure about this, Eclipsa?" Moon suddenly heard Globgor's voice. "I'm concerned about Moon."

Curious, she crept closer, hiding behind a stone as Eclipsa and Globgor talked. "I am too," Eclipsa confessed. "She really wants to rule Earth-ni, which worries me. That right belongs to Star and the next generation."

"Do you think she'll hurt us again...?"

"I don't know, but maybe we should play along with her. If not, Moon will grow suspicious."

Too late, Moon narrowed her eyes. If Eclipsa was going to play that game, so was the Undaunted queen. Except she wasn't going to lose.

~•~

A/N: First cover is by me. Second cover is by XxSactaviaxX over on Instagram! Thank you for the awesome cover.