Brendon, Maverick, and Everleigh sat in the row behind MARS. Which seemed fair, given the size of their group. Getting eight people in a row would've been murder for the filming of the duo/group presentation. It was already going to earn them six seat-fillers when they performed.

"God," Stevie said. "Why do we have to be so close to the front—"

"Almost like you're up for eight awards," Maverick said.

"It's nine, actually, but the camera is going to be so close to my damn face," Stevie said. "I hate it."

"You look beautiful," Brendon said.

"Can someone just knock me out so I don't have to worry about it," Stevie suggested.

"Should've gotten drunk like we did," Jun said from Stevie's other side. (Seira sat comfortably in front of Everleigh, Rami in front of Maverick. Brendon had Stevie behind him, and Lauren was on the other side of Jun.) Like Everleigh, Jun was also slightly rosy in the cheeks.

"Shocked you didn't," Everleigh said.

"Shouldn't you be encouraging them to drink water or something, nurse?"

"I'm off duty," Everleigh said. As if that was a thing she was legally allowed to. "And drinking helps."

"I'm texting Jenny to see if someone can bring us champagne," Stevie said. Already on her phone.

"Maybe they have some—" Jun started.

"Babe, they don't have Capri Sun," Lauren said. It was clear they had this conversation sometime before the red carpet. "Nice try."

Jun groaned. "Why not—"

"Here." Everleigh had pockets for a reason, right? Besides, they'd needed something to chase the gin she'd bought at the same time as the rosé. She handed him the one Capri Sun she'd managed to smuggle across the red carpet. "Enjoy."

"No actual way you had that in your damn pocket," Maverick said. For someone who had been entirely too handsy, she was shocked he hadn't noticed.

"I literally love you," Jun said after poking the straw into the tetra pack and taking the world's longest sip. Any Guiness people around? That was a damn record. "You can have as many sneak peeks as you want. You're an honorary member of MARS now."

"It's the only one I brought," Everleigh said with a laugh. "Enjoy it."

"Happy?" Lauren asked her boyfriend, who nodding while taking a sip. (Everleigh was just happy they'd admitted they liked each other romantically.) (Seeing him look so devastated at recording had been heartbreaking.)

"The stage is turning on," Seira said.

Maverick's hand, which had been resting gently on Everleigh's knee, nearly charley horsed her when it squeezed. Everleigh bit her lip to keep from squealing and silently pried him off her; let him take her hand in his instead.

"End me now. I can't breathe," Stevie said. A server walked by with a glass of champagne, clearly Jenny worked quick. Even when she liked to pretend she was annoyed with them. "God, thank you so much." In one long sip, she drank nearly half the flute.

"Better?" Brendon asked.

"Much better."

"Smile for the cameras," Rami said. "If you need to pee in the middle of the ceremony, don't let Jenny see."

The lights began to dim slowly. A few scattered murmurs remained across the crowd.

Brendon rested his hand on Stevie's shoulder reassuringly. She smiled back at him. All the love in the world. There was something to say that good things took time. They took enough of it that they became great.

"Hey, Mav?" Stevie said.

Maverick looked at her. "Yes?"

After handing Seira her champagne flute, Stevie turned a little more toward Maverick and made two circles made with her hands, followed by a single finger being held up—no one.

Everleigh's eyes widened slightly, sneaking a look at Maverick. One word and he was close to tears already, eyes softened, face practically melted into dough. There was nobody more suited to be Kingston Maverick's best friend in their universe than Stevie Kealoha, and she proved it time and time again.

A thumb jutted out to the side—else. A fist moved toward her chest—I'd. Held her hand flat in front of her face, middle finger touching her chin—rather. Hands cupped the air and moved upward toward her chest, fingers resting below her collarbone—have. Her knuckles pressed together, fists vertical—with. Finger touched her shoulders one at a time—us. Finger touched her forehead and twisted—for. Stevie pointed down once more—this. Hand up, her index and middle finger bent down—I love you.

Maverick had been in tears the moment she'd signed the first this. He hadn't tried to hide it. Everleigh probably should've brought a pack of tissues instead of the couple bandages she'd grabbed in case of emergency. Live and learn.

After a moot attempt to calm himself down, Maverick pointed at Stevie—you. His hands were perpendicular to the floor, moving toward each other—little. A thumbs up on one hand while the other grabbed the thumb and pulled up—shit. Interrupting his own conversation, Maverick wiped his eyes. While they were replaced quickly, he forced himself to say what he needed to. I love you, with the same motion Stevie had given him. He made a fist, fingernails facing Stevie, thumb pointing upward—A. O made with his hand. Another fist facing her, thumb over his index finger—T. Three middle fingers bent down, thumb and pinky facing upwards—Y.

Stevie teared up too. "Ugh, stop crying, you loser."

Maverick let out a small, strangled sort of laugh.

"Now I'm going to cry and my mascara is going to run."

Whether it was because he was choked up and couldn't talk or whether he simply enjoyed it, Maverick continued signing. Like he was rearing for a fight, one hand was flat as the other made a fist and moved toward it—blame. He pointed to her—you.

"Oh, and before I forget..." Stevie trailed off. E-V-E-R-L-E-I-G-H.

Oh, this was going to go well.

Stevie placed her hand on her chest before pulling it away, pinching her middle finger and thumb together—likes. She tapped her chest twice—my. Arm held out as the other hand motioned back and forth along her forearm, almost like she was brushing dust from it—music. Her hand hovered over her mouth before making a thumbs up and motioning away from her—better. Flattened hands had their fingertips face each other, brushing gently against each other as her hands moved up and down—than. Like a motion to stop, Stevie's palm pushed the air toward Maverick—yours.

Maverick laughed. Instead of going for the obvious choice, albeit both were some of the first signs that stuck when Everleigh was learning ASL, he decided on the slightly stealthier version of fuck you in response. His hand ran under his chin and flicked out toward Stevie.

An index finger pressed to Everleigh's lips before she moved it to point at Stevie—true.

"You—" Maverick, probably still crying, threw his arm around Everleigh's neck. Photobooth two-point-oh. Where was Jenny when you needed her? The show was about to start. Everleigh's hands rested on his forearm. Bubbling laughter escaping.

"Is it too late to switch seats?" Brendon asked. How he probably would've thrown himself to the fishes if he'd heard Everleigh even suggest he sit between them.

"Jenny just texted and said to tell Maverick she's coming over if he doesn't release Everleigh in..." Rami started counting down from three.

Which worked all too well. "How come it's always me she's watching?"

"Pretty sure the headlock answers that question."

On stage, the screen lit up. Welcome to the 65th Grammy Awards in big, bold letters.

Although Everleigh hadn't heard any of her music, the opening performer was stunning. Like a true popstar, Cruella Queen—Maverick whispered the name in her ear, informing Everleigh she was up for best new artist—demanded the attention she received. Not an eye in the building would drift from her stage presence. Though she was definitely teetering on the verge of edgy with her sound, Everleigh found herself itching to pull her phone out and download a couple songs to give them a try. Cruella's voice was wonderful and she could see herself enjoying the songs after long shifts at the hospital.

Once her performance was done and the audience had settled—the Grammys audience seemed nicer than any awards show she'd watched in passing; everyone seemed to genuinely enjoy the performance and wanted to celebrate her. Time limit be damned. Maverick placed two fingers between his lips and whistled loudly.

The host walked out soon after Cruella left the stage and started talking when the applause for her entrance died down. Everleigh recognized her from a long stretch of time when Maverick had sat her down and made her watch all of Keira's filmography with him after his You Can't Kill Rock and Roll soundtrack offer. (Minus Work, Wife.) (No offense to Keira, but there was nothing anyone could do to make Everleigh watch an entire Maver Vincent movie.) This actress had been in her more recent one, Sparks Fly.

"Hello everyone, and welcome to the 65th Grammy Awards," she said. "I'm your host, Jensen Rhodes, here to hopefully keep you from falling asleep or on your face—though I have heard rumours there were a couple close calls on the carpet earlier."

That one earned a laugh from the crowd. Even Stevie and Maverick had to admit it was funny in hindsight.

"You may recognize me from the show Legendary, or the movie Sparks Fly, and you might be wondering what that random Canadian actress is doing hosting the Grammys," Jensen continued. "Contractually, I can't tell you.

"Kidding, kidding." She laughed for a moment. "I have some musical history. I was in a production of RENT back in Vancouver when I was younger. I played Mimi Marquez, the stripper who we remember for her singing ability and not her leather pants that each lead and understudy had to be sewn into eight shows a week." A small pause as laughter broke through the crowd. "I had the time of my life on that stage, really. Some of our best memories in life are tied to the music that brought those memories in the first place.

"All our nominees for this evening have shown the world their ability to write and produce the world's greatest tracks of the year," Jensen said. "In the building tonight, we have record-breakers returning for awards they missed out on last time they were here, artists with their first nominations, and everyone in between. Tonight's a night of celebration, of amazing music, and of showing our appreciation for the winners and their fellow nominees.

"A reminder to the winners: we have a time limit for speeches. Thank your parents, your guardians, your managers, your peers, your goldfish. Thank that one boy in the sixth grade who broke your heart and became your muse. Anything you want. But let's keep this rolling. The grapevine's told me we have a first-timer who's not so good with time." Jensen laughed again and the audience joined her. Maverick might as well have been Jesse James with his infamy. Jensen clapped her hands together. "Thank you all for being here tonight, I hope you have a great time. We've got a great show ahead.

"Let's get the ball rolling with our first award, shall we? The nominees for 'Best Opera Recording' are..."

There was a reason Everleigh didn't watch award shows that often: they were mostly boring as all shit. It wasn't that she didn't think anyone was undeserving of an award for their efforts, it was that the ceremonies lasted four hours when it could've been the one. If she was invited to Roman and Florence's—the latter of which enjoyed hosting Tony parties and the former of which enjoyed hiding in the kitchen with the excuse he was making snacks for the two of them—for a viewing, she tended to fall asleep in the middle. Roman usually had to nudge her awake before the finale award was announced. That was always fun. A state of mind one level above comatose trying to care about a musical she didn't know was one of the only ways she could think of off the top of her head that showed she really did love her sister.

Maverick, on the other hand, seemed to be enjoying every moment he was in the building. (Everleigh hoped it wasn't because he thought he was never going to be there again.) Each of the winners that were announced, mostly classical albums, a couple jazz songs, and a producer or two, earned themselves a loud whistle and even louder round of applause from him. There wasn't anyone who appeared to be less than incredible in Maverick's eyes. Maybe Everleigh was going to have to raid his phone again and see what he was listening to.

There were celebrity hosts from all over; actors, musicians, athletes. No one Brendon looked like he knew, but he also seemed to be trying to keep a level head on his shoulders in case Stevie spiralled into a tsunami of anxiety before the MARS performance. Although he was sitting behind her, he looked ready to jump the seat at a moment's notice if she needed him to; willing to sprint for champagne at the tiniest flicker of nerves in only the sparkle of her eyes.

Everleigh might've let her head rest against Maverick's shoulder, but she was determined to stay awake for the entire ceremony. Nobody call the presses, she liked being close to him. The yawn that escaped was purely coincidental. Naturally. His clapping and whistling was not conducive to any length of nap, anyway. Even when there were breaks for performances or monologues from presenters before winners were announced. At least he'd stopped crying.

"For our next presenters," Jensen said, "please welcome Zoe Davis and Lucy Cohen to the stage!"

As the two actresses walked up, applause rang out. Everleigh had seen Stevie with them earlier on the carpet, they were probably good friends. They both looked familiar but Everleigh had crammed enough shit into her brain for exams a couple months prior that any semblance of information outside the human body was nonexistent.

"We are so happy to be here tonight to present the award for 'Best New Artist,'" Zoe said. "Tonight's eight nominees are some of the brightest upcoming stars, and we know every single one of them has a long future ahead of them."

"And what's so great about them is their willingness to share the spotlight," Lucy said with a smile. MARS laughed and Maverick snorted. Everleigh was going to have to ask him what had happened after the ceremony. Clearly something juicy. "Because in our house, we love sharing. Unlike other co-stars."

"Razzies in the Catacombs, am I right?"

Never mind. Of course it was Maver. Who else would it have been?

"Enough about fossils, though," Lucy said. "I'm standing next to an Oscar winner. Here are your nominees for 'Best New Artist.'"

They listed off the names as samples of songs played. Admittedly, each new artist was different, but they all sounded great. Maverick seemed to know most, if not all of them. That was becoming less of a shock as the ceremony went on. Maybe that was how he had coped with the stress leading up to the day: bathed himself in every artist that had been nominated so he didn't have to think about how he was nominated, too.

"And the Grammy goes to..." Zoe trailed off as they looked at the note inside an envelope.

"Cruella Queen!" they announced together.

As Cruella made her way up to the stage, the crowd cheered. It was always nice seeing people shine in their element. She looked like she was in tears before she was even handed her trophy.

"Oh my gosh," Cruella said into the microphone. "I just—I don't even know what to say but thank you so much to the Recording Academy for this honour. This is more than I could have ever asked for, especially being nominated alongside such a talented group of people. Please, give these artists a round of applause because you inspire me every single day. Truly."

Another round of applause, as per her wish.

"Thank you to my mom for being the best shoulder to cry on, whether they're happy or sad tears," Cruella continued. "There are a lot of them. And to my partner for making this wild life a little less chaotic. My manager Lenny. Everyone at Rocky Road Records for believing in me. And I'm sure I'm forgetting so many people but everyone that made this possible, thank you. I love you."

When the applause for Cruella eventually died down, the next presenter was announced.

"Please give a warm welcome to Maddox Tacoma."

"When it comes to music videos," Maddox said—practically the entirety of MARS and friends held their breath; this was it, the first one. "I think we all remember Michael Jackson's Thriller. The one that started us into storytelling rather than just the music in the video. Now that we're almost 40 years past that, music videos have evolved into heights that we never thought possible, becoming features of their own.

"This year, we've been sent to Mars, we've seen gladiator battles, and we've seen one or two arguments by some talented actors in our music videos. The nominees for 'Best Music Video' are..."

Clips played behind him from each music video as he announced the nominees. Maverick whistled the loudest for MARS. Obviously.

"And the Grammy goes to..." Maddox opened the envelope. "Overnight Rush by MARS!"

As if there was any doubt.

"Fuck," Stevie said as she gasped into her hand.

Barely able to be heard from Maverick blowing out Everleigh's eardrum on her other side, leaping to his feet and cheering—no chance in hell she was going to fall asleep after that one. Thanks, Maverick. (If they'd been at their flat, Everleigh would've lost her shoe with her jump.) Brendon looked ready to cry with pride. The brightest twinkle in his eye as his Stevie rose to her feet. Everleigh went with a clap as she tried to ignore the ringing in her ear. If—when—MARS won anything else over the course of the night, she was going to plug her ear first, celebrate second.

Already being shuttled to stage, Stevie blew a kiss to the three of them seated behind the band, all five of them shuffling onto stage. The air had become electric. Maverick sat down, elbows on his thighs as he leaned forward. Wanting to take in every word.

Hello, MARS, welcome home.

"Ah, we're a little speechless, to be honest," Rami said. "Thank you to the Recording Academy for this honour. We all had the time of our lives filming this music video, and I had the great honour of my friends here trusting me enough to direct it. This album and song, specifically, were meant to showcase a very formative part of our lives, and we hoped this video would resonate with everyone from any walk of life. Thank you to our tireless crew that helped us make it happen, to our manager and assistant Marty and Jenny for keeping us down to Earth, and to everyone that's supported us. Thank you so much, we'll never forget this."

MARS walked off the stage with the crowd's thunderous applause seeing them out.

It wasn't the first time throughout the night they did so.

With a stunning performance from Stevie's friends, Mick and Moxie, who were also up for Best Duo/Group Performance, the crowd was more than awake. There was nothing that anyone who knew MARS couldn't do, Maverick was right. (The song they were nominated for that Stevie and Jun had featured on had Everleigh screaming like a banshee when she found out about it.) (Maverick had taken his hearing aids out to tell her about it—probably a good call.)

MARS took home Best Alternative Music Performance and Best Alternative Album. Each announcement had them as excited as the first. They let different members of the band speak each time they went on stage—a true equilibrium in a well-oiled machine. Jun, earning his sponsorship once more, managed to get in a, "Shoutout to Hawai'i Cooler Capri Sun! Best drink you'll ever have in your life!" at the end of his speech. Everleigh left it up to interpretation what that made Jenny feel. MARS seemed to enjoy it in a he's a dork but he's our dork kind of way.

The closer they were to their performance, the harder Maverick squeezed Everleigh's hand. His seat was rattling from the force of his anxiously bouncing knee. At least he didn't have a squeaky chair, that would've made things a thousand times worse.

"Hey, Mav," Rami said as someone finished a tearful acceptance speech, "Do me a favour?"

"Yup?" Maverick's nerves were clear in his voice. Or, maybe, Everleigh knew which tick to look for in a singular syllable.

"Stop kicking my chair."

"I'm not—" Maverick caught himself as he looked down. "—oh my God, I am. I am not a seasoned professional here. My bad."

Let it be said, he didn't stop bouncing, but he did move his leg more into the aisle so he wasn't whiplashing Rami before their performance.

"It'll be fine," Rami said. "You've done this 100 times."

"Yeah," Stevie said, "but not at the Grammys."

Wonderful. They were both spiralling. Some friends were fire and rain, polar opposites. Stevie and Maverick were fire and gasoline, only fuelling each other.

"Stevie, don't encourage—" Rami looked ready to leave the building when he looked over at her. "Are you also bouncing your damn leg?"

"You might as well ask if we're both bisexuals because the answer is yes," Stevie said.

"Explain Jun and Lauren not doing that then—" Seira said.

"They're not the disaster variety, Seira," Stevie said.

"Jenny is going to kill you both," Jun said.

Maverick looked guilty when he spoke again. "Is now a bad time to say I think I have to go to the bathroom—"

If one of the show hands hadn't come up and informed them they were needed backstage, Everleigh was certain Maverick would've been found dead in a ditch somewhere. Late to his own performance because he'd been fucking murdered. They'd need Marty to Weekend at Bernie's his corpse so MARS didn't trend for all the wrong reasons.

"Don't fall in love with my seat filler," Stevie said. As if Brendon had eyes for anyone else in the world after he'd met Stevie for the first time.

"Stop," Brendon said. "Go."

"Can I have a kiss for good luck?" Maverick whispered. Definitely a different version of him than the one making mirror jokes in the hotel elevator.

"You can have a kiss for congratulations on your stunning performance after."

"What if I pee myself?"

"Go."

Maverick forced himself to get up and follow MARS backstage. Everleigh considered that progress. At least he had Stevie and the rest of MARS to get through to him. Someone had to.

After the commercial break, the stage was pitch black. A hum shared between MARS transitioned into a medley of Thousand Miles and Run the Red. Their voices echoed around the theatre, melodic and perfect. There was no getting used to seeing MARS perform when everything felt new from them. Even with a setlist, each concert broke through the glass ceiling of their own best show. Raising their own standards, only competing against themselves. A fluorescent pink ombre highlighted their silhouettes on one side of the stage.

Maybe Brendon and Everleigh cried, maybe they didn't. Maybe Brendon handed her a cocktail napkin from his pocket from the lobby's bar, but that was a secret between the two of them. Not one to be repeated.

A spotlight to one side of the stage light up, the audience gasped like they were watching a Cirque de Soliel show and the trapeze artists had made a phenomenal catch. The stage transitioned into purple lights. Maverick played the piano slowly, leaning into the microphone near him as he began a condensed version of his verse on The L. Note to self, they were getting a piano when they moved out of that tiny flat. He might've been nervous, but there was an undeniable excitement in his voice as he began singing. Kingston Maverick existed for the stage and made everyone thankful they got to exist in the same room as him. Having taken his jacket off, Everleigh noted quickly he'd rolled the sleeves up on his shirt. (Fuck almighty.)

"Anybody have a map? I'm lost / guess taking the L's better than breathing exhaust / Off to Kimball when it should be Jarvis / can someone Iron Man me out of this? / Tony Stark wouldn't have to deal with this shhh—"

The verse about Brendon was next. He was already hiding a grin behind his hand.

That grin only grew when Stevie sang Maverick's lyrics about him. Everleigh wasn't going to snitch if there were tears for that part, either. Not at all. "If there weren't rules about carpool and speed / We'd be racing out of here like F1, you see / Ain't gotta catch the bus like Sandra and Reeves / already out here pushing it / Pace of my heart exceed— / —ing two-sixty at the Grand Prix."

She continued into her normal verse, singing a condensed version as well. (The way the crowd was cheering along, they could've performed all night and no one would have any complaints one way or another.) (MARS was appropriately named because they took up the damn universe together.)

Stevie and Maverick were little shits and deserved to be, well, kissed on the mouth 1000 times over for switching verses or whatever. The lyrics Stevie wrote about Everleigh sounded phenomenal when she sang them, there was no denying that. Everleigh had heard them while the ink was still drying.

But, who knew, maybe she was head over heels in love with Maverick and wanted to spend the rest of her life with him. Whatever anything held for her and her favourite fucking spoon. "Steady my feet on this holy ground / catch a flight to my head lost in the clouds / Missed connections and flight attendants / all I want for you is to hang around / Turn this lost into a found."

Their voices blended together beautifully for the chorus—the smiles they shot each other worthy of galleries across the world and into the galaxy beyond. It was one thing to say they were soulmates and another thing to be soulmates. It was like someone had created them just for each other. To have and to hold, the greatest friendship the world had ever seen. Vocal chords carved from the same enchanting crystal, a perfect pairing no matter the song.

After the L, the transition into Overnight Rush was flawless—blue overtaking the stage. Nobody expected anything less from MARS. Maverick disappeared from the stage—Everleigh only noticed because it had been known he was entirely too distracting. She would notice his absence in any room.

Maverick slid silently into his seat beside Everleigh not long after leaving the stage, the seat filler and him didn't even have to talk to make the transition simple. Impressive for someone who had been so nervous about the night, he'd tripped getting into a car and getting out of it. Draped his jacket across his lap, eyes on MARS as they performed. Sweat still beaded on his forehead, but that didn't stop Everleigh from tilting his head in her direction and giving him a quick kiss. She had promised, after all.

Maverick smiled, took her hand. Frowned a little.

Everleigh frowned back, raised an eyebrow.

He pulled his jacket off his lap and draped it over her shoulders.

Everleigh slid her hands from his and turned her palms upwards—what?

Maverick made two fists and shook them—cold.

Oh, God.

Maverick pinched his fingers together and moved them toward his mouth—eat. One hand flat and the other running perpendicular over the top of it—after.

Everleigh managed a nod as she adjusted the jacket on her shoulders. Maverick took her hand and pressed a small kiss to the back of her hand, rubbed her hand between his a couple times. She had been doing well. So well.

MARS had transitioned into Escape Velocity. This was the reason Everleigh had fallen in love with them in the first place. Although it was the title track to their sophomore, there was undeniable vibes to Nuclear Fusion. The glimmering blue and silver stage was perfect to call back to where they had started, but also show where they had ended up. Grammy award winners. With more on the way. They were a solar flare, a shooting star, a meteor shower. They lit up the sky and everyone took notice.

The crowd erupted when MARS finished their set. While they were hardly the only ones standing and definitely not the only ones who loved MARS maybe more than oxygen, Brendon, Maverick, and Everleigh cheered louder than anyone. Because they knew. They always knew. Shakespeare wrote that all the world was a stage—maybe he'd written it in the 1500's, but that didn't mean he hadn't written it about MARS. Surely there was a theorist or two who believed Shakespeare was a prophet.

"I gotta run to the bathroom," Maverick said as Everleigh and the rest of the audience sat back down. "Can you text me what's going on?"

"Now?" Everleigh stared at him.

"Everleigh, I'll piss myself if I wait any longer."

"I'm pretty sure they're presenting yours next—"

"I'll be quick—"

"That's like saying I'll be right back—"

"Just..." Maverick looked desperate. "Please text me?"

Everleigh sighed softly. But nodded. "Hurry. You don't want Stevie to kill you and Jenny to reanimate you so she can kill you again."

Maverick sprinted up the stairs. Potentially to his doom. If doom was spelt Jenny and she caught him by the ear on his way up.

"He's not going to be quick," Brendon said.

"Nope," Everleigh agreed.

When MARS found their seats, Maverick's absence was noted immediately by all five members.

"Where did Mav go?" Stevie asked as they took their seats.

"He, um—" Everleigh stumbled. "You know that thing Jenny warned you to do before the show—"

"Are you kidding me?" Stevie asked. "Right now?"

"They're announcing Duo/Group next..." Rami said.

"He said, and I quote," Everleigh said, "Everleigh, I'll piss myself if I wait any longer."

"I'm surprised there's no angry texts from Jenny yet," Rami said, "but okay."

Everleigh poorly tried to hide her surprise. "He actually managed to run away without her noticing?"

"Way to go, Mav," Seira said.

The presenter for Best Duo/Group performance walked up. Everleigh wished that their introduction to the award had lasted longer, or that the bathroom's were closer. She pulled her phone out, hid it behind Seira's seat when she realized the cameras were already setting up for MARS' potential reactions.

piss faster.

Are they going right now?

are YOU going right now?

There was a line.

they're reading the nominees.

Shit.

and the grammy goes to...

"And the Grammy goes to..." the presenter said. Dramatic pause. Come on, Maverick. "The L by MARS featuring Maverick!"

Oh, holy shit on toast.

MARS stood up again, Stevie shaking her head that Maverick wasn't there.

Everleigh wanted to be upset at him. But the pride that heated up her chest was overwhelming. Sure, she wished he'd been there to hear it. But surely there were a ton of tweets already talking about their win.

congratulations you fucking spoon, you're a grammy award winner. <3

As MARS walked up the stairs to the stage, a side door opened.

At least if he couldn't arrive on time, Kingston Maverick knew how to make a damn entrance.

Sprinting toward the stage, nearly taken out by Jenny—if one looked close enough, steam poured from her ears—Maverick ran up behind Stevie. After a small exchange between them, Maverick had his head on her shoulder. A mess of tears. Stevie pulled him along. She had him. Through thick and thin and trophy tears.

Everleigh leaned forward, hands pressed to her lips. If he wasn't careful, she was going to cry too.

"Okay," Stevie said, signing as she spoke. Probably made Maverick cry harder. "I'm less of a mess so I guess I'll start us off." Stevie took a deep breath. "You know, life can be a little hit or miss sometimes. People come and go. It's just... life. But then someone like Maverick comes in and it feels like everything is brand new again. It all starts to make sense and you hardly remember a time before him. He makes everything better, always. MARS is incredibly lucky to be inspired by someone like him and even luckier, we can call him a friend. I'm the luckiest to have met my soulmate and to know that we have each other across every universe. This song, and MARS, would be nothing without him, his talent, and the endless magic with which he shines. Please give him a round of applause because he truly deserves this."

The applause as per Stevie's request welcomed him up to the microphone.

If Maverick could manage to say anything comprehensible with how hard he was crying, it would be a miracle.

Then again, Maverick was something of a miracle worker.

"I—um—" Maverick was signing along with his stumbles, too. He took a deep breath and looked at Stevie. "I should've been on time so I could've gone first and cried while you spoke. Um." Maverick wiped a couple tears only to have them replace themselves. "There comes a moment in your life when you think that you've made it and that nothing can be better. And then you meet your best friend and her amazing band, and you think, oh, this is it. I've been waiting for this moment. Then they ask you to feature on their song and then you get nominated for a Grammy together and now we're here. Winning that Grammy. I don't think saying thank you is enough, but I'll say it anyway.

"Thank you for even considering me for the project, let along choosing me for it," Maverick continued, through his tears. "Um. Thank you for the laughs and this embarrassingly long cry—" He let out a laugh that was every emotion rolled into a couple notes. "—thank you... Thank you, MARS... for being my moment."

*

Over the rest of the night, MARS received two more awards. Record of the Year's speech was given by Seira and Song of the Year's was given by Lauren, neither of them left a dry eye in the crowd. (Everleigh wasn't sure Maverick had stopped crying since he'd found his seat after photos with MARS.) (He did try, though.)

The screen flashed with the warning of the next award. The one they'd all been waiting for: UP NEXT: ALBUM OF THE YEAR.

"Everleigh," Stevie said. "you know CPR, right?"

"I do indeed."

"Okay, perfect," Stevie said. "Might need some soon."

"Can also use the AED by the exit," Everleigh said.

"Or are you just saying that 'cause you want to kiss her—" Maverick said. As if he hadn't got a hearty snog when he'd sat back down. As if he wasn't going to be kissed in a few other places the moment they got back to the hotel purely for having the audacity to sit with his button-up sleeves rolled up for the rest of the night.

"Maybe both," Stevie said.

"Bash is sitting right there," Jun said.

"That's her hall pass, I guess," Brendon said.

"Might get broken ribs from it, but it's only, like, a 30 percent chance," Everleigh said.

"If I don't survive," Stevie said, "at least I'll die happy in your arms."

"I'm sure that's exactly what she wanted to hear coming out of her Masters," Maverick said. "Thanks, Stevie."

"Of course," Stevie said. "My pleasure."

"Knork."

"Parsnip."

The lights dimmed once more. Stevie grabbed Jun and Seira's hands as Jensen Rhodes walked back on stage.

"Okay, okay, okay," Stevie said. Like she was about to give birth. "Let's go."

"As we close out the night, we want to recognize each and every artist that gave everything they had to their music in the last year," Jensen said. "There can be only one who comes home with a trophy—or, rather, one group—but that doesn't mean that you should be any less proud of your achievements that got you here tonight. Round of applause for all the nominees this evening."

The audience clapped, but with bated breath.

"For our final award of the night, our nominees for 'Album of the Year' are..."

The list was impressive. Everleigh and Maverick squeezed the living hell out of each other's hands. Even Brendon, who'd been the calm one throughout the night, looked like he was ready to hurl with the anticipation.

"And the Grammy goes to," Jensen said, opening the envelope. "Escape Velocity by MARS!"

Everyone cheered as pink, purple, and blue confetti erupted around them. Not one person was sat down. Stevie had to be pulled up by Jun with how quickly she folded over at the announcement. Hugs were shared. Stevie leaned over the back of her chair and Brendon bent down to kiss her. She grabbed Everleigh and Maverick's hands as they were escorted to the stage once again.

"Okay, you're probably all tired of seeing us at this point so I'm very sorry." Rami laughed. "And a round of applause for the loveliest host. You've been amazing, Jensen. Thank you once again to the Recording Academy for this incredible honour. We've thanked every possible person at this point so to everyone that made this possible, and you know who you are, thank you again, but I'm going to be a little selfish and focus on the people beside me because there's no one more deserving of this honour."

Rami looked at the rest of MARS as he spoke. "There are a lot of things I could say about these four and it would never amount to what they've given me. We've seen each other through absolutely everything, which is great because there's no one else I'd rather walk through life with. They show me time and time again what it means to be authentic, vulnerable, courageous, and strong. Day after day, we fall in love with each other and life a million times over. I'm a better person for knowing them, and I can't wait to grow old with them, knowing we've done all we can to show the world what we're made of. No matter what life throws our way, I know we'll make it through together.

"Escape Velocity has been a labour of love. An ode to those who never felt like we had a place in this world, and so we forced ourselves into one because it's what we deserve. A voice to those who have spent too long being silenced. A reminder that to love is one of the greatest honours. We're so very proud of the communities and cultures we all represent. Proud to stand up for what's right in this world. Proud of ourselves for pushing past the noise and finding the music we all feel within us. Thank you to all of you, but especially to my best friends for making tonight the most unforgettable night. And to everyone at home or on the Supreme Court of the United States, that abortion is healthcare and healthcare is a human right. We will never stop fighting for everyone. Have a great night."

Overnight Rush walked them out. Winners. Champions. Stars in a galaxy all their own.