"Steven, are you sure you want to do this? That show is notorious for inviting celebrities beefing with each other to come at the same time," Connie reminded him for the millionth time.

The Envy Adams Show was one of the biggest TV talk shows in current history. The first fight between celebrities aired in 2011 when Aneille and Sasha M started pulling at each other's hair over an estranged ex boyfriend. The host, Envy, seemed like the sweetest most innocent bystander until you realize the perfectly timed questions and sly glances to the camera. She only treats those she deems to be equal to her with true kindness, and Envy Adams thought she was The Shit.

But artists that get invited to that show end up getting sales 125% of their normal projections for a couple of months or so. In his mind, it was worth the risk.

"Logically, we don't have any enemies," Steven rebutted. "Unless you guys have beef with any big names?"

Jacob snorted. "I once almost tripped That One Guy at that after party. He wouldn't stop hitting on the girls like a skeeze cause we're poly."

"Noted. Worst case scenario we run into him and someone has to knock some sense into him." The man almost stood, but caught the sense of an uncomfortable shift from playfulness to strain. "What's the matter?"

"What about The Curse Is Calling?" Connie murmured. "We can't pretend that that's not a massive risk."

It was as if someone had paused him in his tracks. His friends watched his face go slack and ashen, a flickering flash of pink through both pupils. It was only three seconds, but it felt like an eternity.

His mind hit play again and he looked toward his other friends, who immediately looked away. No one liked to talk about it. In fact, it was a highly and intensely avoided subject. There was just something about being near Allison that was traumatizing in and of itself. "Who?"

"Come on, Steven," Hazel snapped.

Steven gaped in surprise until a small smirk started spreading across face. "I'm just kidding. It's a risk I'm willing to take."

"Why?" Connie shot up and poked a finger into his chest. "And choose wisely. I love hard but I hit harder. Unconditional or unconscious, bitch."

He grabbed the very hands she threatened to beat his ass with and kissed them lovingly. "I'm not afraid of Allison anymore. Now you? I'm terrified of you."

Connie blushed and sighed. "Don't do the thing. The answer is no and that's final." She looked back and they nodded their agreement.

"We're not letting you traumatize yourself," Jacob told him.

He sunk to his knees and pressed his face into Connie's stomach. "Please? I'll be good," Said Steven as he openly groped her ass in front of the band.

"Can't say no to that," Jasmin laughed weakly.

"In the gayest way possible I wouldn't." Hazel saw it before the rest of them did and averted his gaze. "Aw shit."

The rest groaned in misery as they realized that lost the battle at the very last second.

Steven peeked at them and then Connie with big beautiful brown eyes, no magic in sight and whined softly. "Please?"

"Son of a bitch!" She pinched his cheeks and wrinkled her nose. "You manipulative slut. Fine."

He smirked and stood to his feet to tower over her menacingly. "Thanks, babe. You always make me feel so much better~."

"Was really hoping for Subby Steven," She pouted. "Might've been the fair play tipping point."

"You can yearn for cake and eat it too. Just know I'm gonna fuck you up after."

They all stared after him as he went to the kitchen for the 30th time that day.

"You ever feel like Stevens just built different? Like... mentally?" Adam mumbled.

"How can one be a perfect mix of feminine and masculine? How does one switch to more feminine and pretty to get what he wants and then just go sigma out of nowhere?" Jasmin asked.

"A submissive and breedable Alpha. Maybe even the first one," Anna sighed.

They all sat in awed silence.

"We all read too many Omegaverse fanfictions as kids," Alex finally told them.

"Yeah."

*

Knowing Allison was going to be there was not effecting Steven externally, so that meant he was fine.

"Your cheeks are glowing."

Damn it.

The mere mention made it burst out of him as he leaned his head against Anna's passenger princess headrest. "Fuck."

"Babe, we can back out at any time. You know what? I hate seeing you like this, we're going back." Alex turned on his blinker but Steven groaned loudly.

"Don't. We have to keep going. It's inevitable, and if push comes to shove you guys have a walking off button." He gestured to his girlfriend behind him, rubbing at his shoulders to soothe his tension. "If it becomes bad enough, like on the verge of destroying everything or hulking out, Connie can calm me down."

"What if she can't?" Alex countered.

"She's the polar opposite to Allison and everything I've ever wanted. If she can't calm me down, pray to your gods and then to me." He laughed humorlessly and tried not to think about throwing up. "No but really, I'm fine."

"Right..." Jacob placed a hand on Steven's neck. "You're a trillion degrees."

"I overheat when I'm stressed."

"Nah man, you look like a little hottie today."

Steven finally lifted his head to look back at Jacob, who donned a goofy grin. He laughed and shook his head. "I don't know what you're on about. I look like a mess."

"A hot one," Connie cooed. "And he picked out his outfit all by himself today like a big boy."

Steven glared at her, trying to hold back flustered laughter. "I pick out my outfits most days. And you only pick them out when my brain cannot fathom clothing as a concept."

"You do look like a five course meal today, baby boy." Hazel reached up and pinched his cheek. "So handsome."

"Okay, okay I get it. You're stroking my ego to inflate it so I don't worry about Allison. Got it."

Connie gave him a sly look. "You know what? Stroking just might work."

"I shouldn't have said anything at all, huh?"

The entire car chimed with an over cheerful, "Nope!"

*

So because they'd started driving up way early and had time to kill, now all of them were slightly dazed and giggly and... well, affectionate.

They barely noticed when Allison's posse arrived until one of them shouted for Steven. The way he spun around felt movie-like, there should have been a close up for the way he reached stage 4 embarrassment immediately.

"Steven, holy shit." A tall brunette was headed their way and when he got closer he checked him out very obviously. Steven managed to get his eyes off the ground just as he pinched both cheeks hard. "How do you keep having glow ups? You doing alright, baby pop?"

The entire bands jaws dropped, along with Stevens head. "Yeah, Carter. I-I'm okay. Maybe... keep it on the DL with all that?" He winced.

Carter looked up at the band, who quickly tried to look unsurprised. "Nice to meet you guys. I'm Allison's drummer."

Hazel shouldered Steven out of the way with impressive strength (or maybe Steven was so out of it he wasn't prepared) and grabbed Carters hand to shake, willing himself not to break off fingers. "Hazel. TiBNAALD's drummer. How'd you guys get invited?"

Hazel took over the conversation seamlessly, giving Steven and the rest some time to escape and recalibrate the hybrid.

"Who the hell is that? Dude, there's no way you let that scrawny motherfucker hit that," Jacob whispered sharply.

Jasmin chortled and hip checked him. "He lets you hit it."

"Jasmin, you're going to look really pretty when I make you cry later." He sent her a stare to go with it and she shut up with a happy nod.

"He technically took my virginity that way actually." Steven was struggling to unclip his guitar case because of his sweaty fingers. "He's really nice but a bit too open."

"Tea must be spilled in order to have me make our next music video." Alex smirked at Stevens crestfallen expression as he opened the case with ease, tired of watching his struggle. "Call it TeaMDR."

"Haha. I guess I don't actually know how this show works completely. I haven't seen Envy." He looked around nervously. "Is it weird I'm embarrassed we haven't even seen Allison yet either?"

"Embarrassed already? You always were easy to fluster."

Steven took a moment to notice for the millionth time that she sounded like a haughty anime villain to him now instead of the charismatic princess he used to see her as. "Speak of the devil."

Her blonde hair had gotten blonde-er, and now tumbled in one of the most ridiculously beautiful styles Steven had ever seen. Old school and classy, but big and bold. Her signature blood red lips curled into a frosty, pleasant smile. "The devil? Now Steven, don't go sweet talking me in front of your girlfriend."

It was then Steven realized he was looking directly at the ground and had been since he heard her voice. Was his training really that ingrained? He forced his eyes up from her reflection in the tiles and marveled at how he'd nailed it on the head. Of course in the ways Allison knew him, he knew her right back. He tried to square his shoulders and pulled Connie close. "Don't worry, she knows she has nothing to worry about."

Allison tittered as if that were ridiculous. "Hello, Connie."

Connie wanted to smack that catty bitch so hard her lipstick smeared to her forehead. "Hi Allison, it's..." She had to actively force the words out of her mouth. "It's always a thrill to see you."

"Traded one liar for another, I see. Envy, darling!" They shared a cheek kiss and Envy rushed over to Steven to give him one as well, leaving a lipstick stain that made his face twitch angrily. If they didn't knock that shit off, this was going to be over permanently for 98% of the attendees. He scrubbed at it, ashamed somehow and tried not to look at anyone.

"Hello, Steven! I never thought we'd see each other again after our last... Tête-à-tête." She patted his now clean cheek and hummed. "You're much taller now. None of that pesky shapeshifting I hope?"

"I don't really shapeshift anymore unless I need to." He shoved his hands in his pockets and tried to not sound like he was going to shit his pants.

Looking at Envy and Allison side by side, it was impossible to the band that they hadn't made the connection.

"Allison's related to Envy Adams?"

Envy nodded. "Only sisters. I sincerely hope this won't be an issue."

Steven took a deep breath and chuckled. "Not at all." He pulled the strap of his guitar over his chest and hooked his thumb under it. "Anything special we need to know?"

Envy looked a bit perturbed but she masked it quickly. "Just be yourselves and answer questions honestly, lovely. Curtains rise in 30 minutes, eventually music."

"Great! Let's go." The immovable man felt a light push on his back but Allison stepped closer to Steven.

"You must be the unnamed band." Her stark blue eyes took them all in. "I see you're still clever with the eye catching names, Steven. Aren't you going to introduce me to your friends?" Allison unabashedly flirted and Connie grabbed Steven's hand. He squeezed hard enough to make one of the knuckles crack unintentionally.

"I'm sure you could guess but this is my future wife. Connie is our lyric soprano," He paused as a misplaced grin flooded his face at the mere mention of her. "Jacob's our newest countertenor and pianist, Hazel, our bass and drummer, Adam's our wild card, Anna, our strong alto, Jasmin our soul, and Alex, our in training promotion manager and occasional vocalist." They all curtly nodded as they were introduced and moved a bit closer to the hybrid.

"They do all that? Then what exactly do you do?" Steven couldn't help but notice how Connie easily had 5 inches of height on Envy and had mastered multiple fields of ways to kick Allison's ass. From the way her nails were digging into his hands as she kept her face kind, he could guess she was already rifling through the possibilities.

"I mix."

His band erupted with scoffs and displeasure at his omission.

"Whoa, that's a complete lie and you know it, Starboy," Jasmin chided.

Steven shrugged back at them. "I serve where I'm needed."

"Our Steven can do anything we can do, he doesn't even need us." Adam proudly patted his shoulder.

Allison's nose showed a single wrinkle of distaste. "He was always masterful with music."

Steven held back laughter until his stomach hurt. It was kind of funny, in a really not funny kind of way. His old band leader talking to him with his own band. It was wildly fantastical and insane to him. He hated this, it was a horrible experience and he wanted it to be over immediately.

They still had the entire show.

"We're gonna go to the bathroom." He excused himself and his band followed right behind him, trying to be as nonchalant as possible.

Steven gathered them out in the back alleyway after propping the door open with his shield. "Before you get mad at me—,"

It was way too late for all that.

"What are you trying to prove?" Anna scolded. "You don't need Allison times two!"

Jacob scrubbed at the back of his neck and sighed. "I just thought about having a cigarette for the first time in a long ass time. It's like Allison is the physical representation of terror and stress."

"I should trauma dump on you guys a bit more during story time. If I had, you'd think much worse of her. Envy... is similar... but she operates on a different level. She's actually good at pretending to be nice even if she doesn't get what she wants." He made a face as a memory scampered across his mind. "She's just different."

"Fucking bitch," Connie mumbled under her breath, arms crossed close to her chest. "I can't do it. I can't sit in a room and make play with the woman who–," She groaned and rested her head against Stevens chest. "I don't think we can."

"Of course we can, my love."

Adam eyed the shield holding the door and squinted. "We should watch what we say. I have a feeling ears are everywhere. Straight up though, if Allison lays a finger on you it's over. I'm not afraid of prison."

"She won't hit me," Steven scoffed.

"Mentally, emotionally, metaphysically... regardless, it's on sight."

Steven turned on his charm and sighed. "Look, I did intentionally keep information from you guys. But this is a huge break for us, and I'm willing to do whatever it takes to make sure you guys are living up to your full potential and being recognized for it. I technically lied by omission, be mad at me. But when we go out there, especially for the first song, I'm going to need you guys to stay cool for me, so I stay cool."

"You're so lucky we love you, Steven. Truly you are," Hazel grumbled. "If Carter gets anywhere near your ass, it's a free for all fist fight."

"The second I have any valid reason to start swinging, I will."

Steven picked Connie up and narrowed his eyes. "You are on special protocol, Mrs. Connie De Mayo-Maheswaren. If you hit her and she decides to hit you back, it's going to go like this: you hit her, she hits you, I one shot her, everyone dies out of necessity. Myself included. I wouldn't survive in jail."

It took a moment to sink in but they started giggling.

"I don't even think they'd use the soap trick, they'd just fuck you dude." Hazel bit his lip as he openly gazed at it until Jasmin smacked him for being a pervert.

"Plus those sweet baby cheeks you just wanna pinch?" Anna laughed. "You'd be totally fucked."

A tiny bit of tension lessened among them and Steven set down his feral wife. "Let's just do what we always do: improvise."

"We're like, the worst improv group ever," Alex remarked with a tiny grin.

"Save it for the show."

The stage was very grandiose, very large, but thankfully the audience wasn't the biggest the relatively new band had seen so far.

"You think we've got Hate Me down?" Jacob asked under his breath.

"Jacob, you carry that song with the instrumental melody."

"Don't tell me this all relies on me," He murmured tensely. "I'll leave right now."

"We have all the good in the world on our side. If you do well I'll let you have me for the night," Steven teased.

Jacob rolled his eyes and pursed his lips. "I could have you anytime I wanted mostly. Any of us could."

"He enjoys being the free use band leader," Connie snickered with a pat to his cheek. "I'll share you with our best friends, but I hesitate to even share you enough to have you share a room with... them."

"Deep breaths. Let's grab the couch."

They piled on like they normally started doing, deciding that they were going to be judged anyways. Connie got the seat of honor, right behind Steven to massage his shoulders and scratch at his scruff from the top of the back of the couch. He was pretty sure she was pressing her shoes into it to get it dirty, the rare pettiness being subtly encouraged by a wink from Anna.

Truthfully, they weren't exactly widely known yet. City of Angels had blown up, and they had yet to release their newest album: Toxic Ex (which they'd named on the way to the Envy Adams show). Anything they did here would be remembered for eternity, which wasn't stressful at all.