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"Julio," Star says in a low voice.
It's the middle of the night, and both of them should be asleep, but neither of them are very good at doing what they should, so they're up watching reruns of old Christmas movies. Julio wanted a snack, and Star followed him because that's what Star seems to do these days. Now, though, Star's grabbed his arm to stop him and when Julio looks at him, his face is dead serious in the semi-darkness.
"What's up?" he whispers back.
Star looks at him, then points up above both their heads. Julio follows his line of sight, and then silently curses his horrible fucking luck and Tabby's sense of humor. Mistletoe. Of all the things to happen to him. He clings to the faint hope that Star doesn't know about this tradition, but one look at his friend's face dispels this notion. He definitely knows exactly what this means, and he's looking at Julio for instructions. And, well...
"You know what that means?" he asks, hoping that maybe he's reading Star wrong for once.
"Yes," Star says placidly. "Tabitha informed me and I have seen it on television as well. If two people are under the mistletoe, they must kiss."
"I mean," Julio says, "They don't gotta. Remember, you never gotta kiss or touch anyone if you don't want to."
"Yes, I know. You told me this," Star tells him. "But it is just you."
He says it so casually that it takes Julio's brain a minute to catch up. "Uh," he says, tongue tied. "But I'm a guy."
"I know."
"And you'd be into kissing me, even though I'm a guy?"
Star looks at him like he's asked a particularly stupid question. "You are my best friend, Julio."
"That doesn't mean you would be cool with kissing me. You don't see Sam and Beto making out, do you?"
Star hums, looking a little frustrated. "I do not have the words-" he frowns, nose scrunched up "-But I would not mind kissing you. Especially considering it is traditional to do so."
Julio laughs, a little frazzled. "Nothin' traditional 'bout it, dude, but sure-" he licks his lips self-consciously "-You can kiss me."
Star smiles at that, a big toothy grin that takes his breath away a little bit. He leans down until they're nose to nose and Julio inhales sharply. He's so close that Julio can make out the faint outline of a pupil in his blank eye, also colorless and unnerving to look at for too long. He knows Star isn't blind in his left eye, but he sure looks that way. He's got a lot of freckles, too, so many that Julio loses time trying to count them. He and Terry could almost be twins, if it weren't for the mark over Star's eye and how different they sound when they open their mouths. He realizes abruptly that Star isn't actually kissing him, just kind of hovering close to his face with a focused expression.
Julio laughs. "Dude, do you even know what you're doing?"
"No," Star admits, sounding like it pains him to admit to being bad at anything. "It looks much easier on television."
"Most things do," Julio mutters, chest burning with emotion. "I'll- I can- C'mere, dude."
Tentatively, noticeably shaking, he puts his hand on Star's jaw. Slides it around the back of his neck and tugs him forward, leaning up so he's on the tips of his toes. Is hyper-aware of the soft skin and fine hairs at the nape of Star's neck, a place the he normally wouldn't let anyone touch. And then they're kissing and he's got other things to focus on. Star misses the center of his mouth on the first try, but shifts his head so they're actually kissing and it doesn't even compare to what he imagined. Close-mouthed and chaste, but still kissing. Kissing a guy, kissing Star. And he really fucking likes it. He pulls away before he does something stupid like stick his tongue down Star's throat.
"So-" he settles back down, rocking back on his heels a bit "-Uh, merry Christmas?"
Star blinks at him, and Julio wants to sink into the ground and disappear. He's an absolute idiot. This doesn't mean anything, it's just Star learning. That's all it was. Better for him to figure this out with someone like Julio, who won't push him into things he's not ready for, than some stranger. He clenches his fists at his sides and mentally steels himself against whatever well-meaning rejection is coming. Star definitely has to know what he is now.
"Is that what it is always like?" Star asks after a moment.
Julio blinks up at him, confused. "What do you mean?"
Star touches his lips, cheeks flushed. "Warm," he says in a soft, vulnerable voice.
Julio flushes, ears burning. "I mean, yeah. It's supposed to feel good."
"I feel-" Star pauses, cocking his head as he considers his words carefully "-Tingling. It reminds me of New Year's celebrations when we were permitted to try champagne."
Julio's pretty sure he's going to die from all the blood rushing to his face. "Oh," he squeaks, "Cool, awesome."
"I enjoyed that," he decides, nodding.
Julio swallows. "Like, kissing in general?"
"Kissing you specifically," Star tells him bluntly. "I have no frame of reference for how I would feel about kissing anyone else, but I do not think it would be as pleasant. I think I would like to do this again, if you are interested."
Flustered, Julio runs a hand through his hair. He's acutely aware of all the ways this could go wrong, but he can't find it in himself to tell Star no when he's looking at him with that open hopeful expression on his face.
"Sure," he says. "Yeah, we can do that again. If you wanna. But you can't tell anyone. Not yet."
"Okay," Star agrees easily. "It is not as if I discuss much outside of missions with the others."
The matter of fact way he says that makes Julio a little sad, even if the reality works in his favor. He grabs some chips from the pantry and when he and Star sit back down on the couch, he scoots over until their shoulders are touching. He still jolts a little when Star leans into him with a sigh, not quite expecting it. He hands Star a chip, and wonders if this is some kind of Christmas miracle.