'I'm a huge fan of your band, Steven! hat advice would you give to smaller bands?'

Well first of all, it wasn't Stevens band. He genuinely disliked when people would refer to him as the frontman. They all got their chance to shine as equally as their randomness would allow for.

He tried to not let it get to him for the hundredth time and thought on it. What were the core memories he shared with the band that had led them to this point?

Core Memory #1 After Laser Tag:

In his giddy drunkenness Steven could become lost in everything Connie was, his barely there restraint crumbled at her sweetness. "You're so cute, I just wanna hold you forever. You're so docile." He slipped a hand under her covering to feel her cool, smooth skin.

"Steven!" She giggled. "Watch your hands!"

Steven was kind of a smart ass, so he leaned back and looked at his hand pressed against her tummy. "I am," He answered. "Our skin looks pretty together."

"Wanna do a cliche kiss?" She teased.

The tension he was feeling evaporated. Fuck yeah he wanted to kiss her. "Oh, absolutely that sounds wonderful, thank you," He burst, releasing a pent up sigh.

She grabbed his cheeks and squished them, squealing when he nipped at her fingers and shoved his lips onto hers. He couldn't stop from smiling in between kisses because she was smiling too, even when everyone started throwing grass and booing at them like a malcontented crowd. He could be in front of the biggest crowd in the world being booed and he'd still kiss her like this.

"That kiss is lame!" Jacob shouted in fake outrage.

"Yeah come on, put some blood, sweat and tears into that shit. That's a lady!" Adam exclaimed, tipping his head to receive a kiss from both very drunk Hazel and Anna.

He felt the moment become trapped in time as if his mind were taking in everything it could. The faces of his best friends and girlfriend were etched into a part of his memory in that second of stillness.

Core Memory #2– Together Forever The Sequel?!:

They couldn't stop giggling. It couldn't be done with Steven being so blackout drunk that he was whining about marriage to all of them.

"Listen! Listen! There's ways around it. That's all I'm saying," He repeated for the millionth time. "We should all get married."

Connie littered kisses on his cheek and he leaned into them like a puppy. "Baby, baby, no. There's not ways around poly marriage. You can't marry all of us, Starboy. Not before the government gets their shit together."

"Nah it's fine, we get it." Jasmin threw a slick smile back at their friends. "We're great."

Apparently drunk they worked as a hivemind, excitedly sitting up to join in the teasing.

"I mean, I bake a lot, Steven. I could be in the kitchen in booty shorts and an apron I suppose," Jacob offered. "You could lick the frosting off of my cheek when you pass."

"That's a pretty detailed picture."

Jacob ignored it, though his annoyed blush gave him away. "I'm just saying. Connie's always trying to get me in something girly, and I think– I think I could work with that."

Hazel flexed his muscles and bit his lip like a fuckboy. "I'll be in the garage fixin things and whatnot. I get to be the car nut always rambling about my next project and fixing doodads around the house. All the ladies love love my big muscles."

Jacob scoffed. "You think the girls wouldn't love an impish elf boy making sweets all the time? Get ready to be disappointed, brother."

Adam was still lying on Hazels lap, a hand over his eyes to protect from the light. They were convinced he was a psychopath when he mixed four kinds of drinks and chugged it with a burp and a polite excuse of himself. "My god, I know I look like a pussy right now but I'm the man of the house. Period. What I say goes. The sigma male. I'll sit at the head of the table, meal won't start till I eat. I get a kiss from everyone before they leave, I deliver all the spankings."

"Fine, but you don't know what to do with all this ass, Adam," Jasmin chuckled with a proud smack of her ass from her fiancé.

"Don't threaten me with a good time."

"Do I get to be the resident princess with Alex? I think he thinks he's a princess too with all that sass." Anna poked his side and when he didn't respond, gave him a wet kiss on the cheek.

He turned to stare at her in bewilderment, seemingly more drunk than they'd guessed. "I'll allow it. Do it again and I'll–,"

"You'll do what, pretty boy?" Steven teased. "Does this mean I get to have you in my house, too? Sure, you're a princess for sure, but I 100% see you on the same level as Jacob, but more as a doll. There's a trillion outfits you'd look good in."

"Pastels. I'm telling you, the ones who are youthfully handsome are the ones who need knee highs and skirts and crop tops." Connie kissed Steven and threw a couple kisses the way of Alex and Jacob. "Adam and Hazel are definitely hyper masculine. I'm thinking chains and all black."

"Whoa. Don't stereotype me now," Adam chided with a chuckle. "I'm not like the other boys."

Jasmin turned to him, previously zoning out until she heard that. "On the most basic level though, yeah."

Adam raised an eyebrow and took a long drink of his one way ticket to further misery before pointing to his pants. "On the most basic level, I don't have a dick."

A chorus of a shocked, "Oh yeah..." rang among the group before they went back to teasing Steven.

"Okay, where does Connie belong?" Alex egged. "You've already got us in the kitchen, garage, head of the house, as dolls and spoiled brats. Where does she fit into this?"

He gazed up at her as his face reddened. "On a fucking shelf, man. She's almost too pretty to play with. And yet that's all I wanna do."

"So that's how it's gonna be when you marry us?"

The hybrid nodded with a childishly animated smile. "Uh huh. Cause I love you guys and stuff."

"We love you too, buddy," Hazel sighed happily and pulled whoever he could reach closer.

"I meant like..." He reached up into the air above him and focused harder than he had in a very long time. A single tear slid down his cheek and into the carpet, latching onto some micro spec of dirt and still growing a perfect red rose. He picked it up and fiddled with the petals as he grew as shy as the alcohol would allow him to. "You know."

"Well, no shit, Steven. That's kinda how we all roll sometimes. You make this possible, lover boy." If he'd been any more sober he'd have been shocked to hear that come from Jasmin. Later in the shower he'd recall the moment and stare at the knob for six minutes as he processed her words and furthermore how almost no one had rejected that sweeping notion.

Little had he known.

Alex on the other hand raised his upper lip. "Speak for yourselves. I don't like you people."

Huge smiles grew as Jacob leaned in and tapped a finger on his chin. "Aw, but we like you so much, Alex~."

"I'd even go as far to say love you," Adam crooned. "There's something about the way you lie to us like we can't see through your bullshit. Can't get enough of it."

The wordsmith could always string together something to make someone blush. He and Steven vibed as the ones with the most rizz. Alex blushed hard as a result of Adam's and slouched back into the embrace of whoever was behind him. "The best I can give you is a middle finger and me telling you I barely like you guys."

They laughed and once again time stopped. He became familiar with the feeling then, and let it sink in.

Core Memory #3 Beach City Reunion:

It takes him a minute to figure out what exactly is happening. Everything feels the exact same as when they left it, but for some reason the energy is different and Connie is subconsciously bouncing her leg.

When he drives past the group it takes him exactly a second to slam on the breaks and whip the truck around less than gracefully. Connie has to put it in Park herself and he turns to her in shock.

"Am I hallucinating?" He whispers.

"No, baby. You're not." She unbuckles herself and they fly out to hug their best friends in the whole world.

Steven starts with Hazel, who embraces him just as fiercely. "You can't escape me, my guy. We're best friends now."

"I was so heartbroken when you guys had left. I thought it would be years before everything lined up." Steven soaked up everything he could about this moment so he could relive it forever.

Anna, Connie and Jasmin were whispering to each other and Connie gasped excitedly. "No way."

"Yes way!" Anna exclaims and Jasmin sighs happily.

"I've missed being together."

"Me too," Jacob agrees wholeheartedly.

"How are you guys here? And... why?" He asked dubiously.

"Well you talked so much about Beach City being really inclusive and accepting. We figured since graduation is out and the new students are in, we may as well come visit." Adam hugs him and Steven tries not to cry like always.

"Besides, once you go Steven Universe, you don't come back or whatever the kids are saying these–," Steven hugs Alex so tight he squeals and taps out.

They all group hugged and he felt time go stale and frozen again. He'd never forget this feeling. Never, never, never.

One and a half years after CITY OF ANGELS:

Steven was absolutely tickled when he brought the envelope into the dinner table at lunch and dropped it in the middle.

Jacob was the first to glance up from his meal. He squinted and slowly stopped chewing. Soon the others were also looking at it.

There was a two minute silence before someone spoke.

"What's that?" Anna whispered. Steven didn't answer, only grinned and shoved his hands into his pockets. "Steven, what is that?!"

No one dared to touch it, instead they all leaned over it and stared.

"75th awards ceremony."

"3030 Olympic Boulevard, Santa Monica, The Sunshine State."

"Invitation enclosed." Adam tried to shake the emptiness out of his head. "What does that mean?"

Steven took a deep breath and braced his hands an inch from his ears. "Surprise. We're going to the Grammys." His hands barely muffled the near glass shattering scream that came from his wife he was anticipating.

They all freaked out at the top of their lungs as Hazel and Connie raced to find their aloof cat boyfriend Alex and drag him into the kitchen to stare at the envelope. "Holy shit, what is THAT?!"

"It's a fucking invite to the Grammys! We got invited to be there!" Jacob crushed him in a hug and then they all turned on Steven, crying happy tears and just trying to memorize everything.

When they tackled him so hard he fell over and his head hit the floor, he knew he still wouldn't never forget this moment even with the resulting skull fracture.

The Night Of The Grammys:

There was nothing about the Red Carpet that was particularly extraordinary to them looking at it from the other side like they always had, and they had all guessed that the glamour was actually just awkwardly standing around and trying to not make stupid faces or burst out laughing.

The fashion aspect, now that's where they were going to have fun.

It would be like moving from station to station, pausing for a few minutes and moving a bit more. It was the world's weirdest version of waiting in line but hey, they looked good so why not flaunt it?

They were coached on etiquette seventeen times over the time between receiving the invitation and actually getting on the plane and into the limo that would drive them there the night of the ceremony.

"Okay, first tip." Connie had made flash cards that they were reading through as the limo cruised the streets carefully.

"Strike a pose," Steven punctuated his sentence with his most obnoxious over the shoulder smolder complete with a bit lip and they giggled.

"Not like that Steven. They're going to comment on your bedroom eyes." Anna giggled at her own joke and smoothed out her cyan dress. "This is the prettiest thing I own."

"Of many more to come, darling." Adam kissed her hand just as Hazel kissed her cheek.

Connie tsked them with a grin and held up the cards. "Do you guys wanna look stupid on the Red Carpet, or are you going to pay attention?" They nodded for her to keep going and she squared her shoulders in satisfaction, showing off the killer collarbone her cobalt gown accentuated. "Then focus."

"Yes, Mommy," They chorused.

She wrinkled her nose under a slightly bashful stare and cleared her throat. "More than striking a pose, change it every few seconds. Get all your good angles."

"It helps that we're all different sides on the same dice of drop dead gorgeous." Jacob stretched nonchalantly. "I'd say we're all nines for sure."

"Bitch I'm a ten," Steven scoffed.

"Language! Swearing on the Red Carpet won't look very perfect 10 of you~," Anna tugged on his lapel, making the hybrid grab her hands, kiss and remove them so he could flatten the imaginary wrinkles.

"Tip number two," Connie said with a grin. "For us ladies: Where's your purse?"

She held up her blue one and the others responded in kind with theirs.

Anna's purse was black with the gold lettering of Saint Laurent dripping in a straight line down the middle. "The dress code is a little ridiculous for us girls. The guys have it so easy."

Alex scoffed. "Shut up. Shopping is supposed to be fun and yet every time I saw a price tag I wanted to pass out. This suit?" He tugged on his Ralph Lauren gently. "8.5 thousand."

The woman stared at him with unimpressed faces.

"Alex, my purse alone cost 4.5," Jasmin groaned. "God. I hate spending money. I hate thinking about it."

"Let's not," Connie agreed. "I start to feel nauseous every time I think about this dress and its price."

Steven carefully drifted the back of his finger over her cheek so to not mess up her makeup. "Only the best for my love. Nothing less." He drank her in and smiled to himself. She had no idea what a bombshell she was. She'd see in the pictures later for sure.

"We've got our matching heels?"

Jasmin lifted her foot and nodded. "These are actually so comfortable."

Jacob squeezed her hand lovingly. "I always thought Connie and Steven would be the one to be wearing matching outfits."

His soon to be fiancés eyes lifted to his, glittering with the passing light of streetlights. "You stand corrected."

"What do we do the moment we step out of the car?" She hadn't seen the back yet and blew out a breath. "I can't believe I forgot."

Alex snorted and tried to grab at the cards. "The second we get out that's it. We're all in the spotlight so we can't afford to fuck this up."

"Thank you, Alex. I was freaking out but I'm very calm now." Jasmin sighed and nudged Hazel. "You're kinda quiet. What's up?"

"I think I'm gonna throw up."

They all stared at him for a long moment.

"Like actually?"

He took a slow, deep breath and leaned back against his seat. "Nope, I'm totally fine. Just for a second there I thought I might."

They lapsed into silence as they thought about the event that could cream their career prematurely.

"You know what I've been thinking about?" Steven finally said. "I've been thinking about how if I get out of the car and hit my head, I might actually just get back in and drive off. I'd give up instantly."

"I like heels, but there's always a risk of tripping in them," Anna lamented.

"What if we get there and no one recognizes us?" Jacob blurted. "Like what if we get there and it's a joke?"

No one else had thought of that.

Connie laughed and almost dropped her face into her hands before remembering her makeup. "Shiva, Jacob! That's terrible!"

He cracked a grin. "It made you laugh though."

Alex tipped his head as he imagined the scenario. "Actually, if we did get questioned we could tell them anything we wanted."

"We'd never be invited back," Hazel finished with a sly smile. "That'd be kind of iconic."

Anna sat up straighter and did her best impression of a news reporter. "Hi, I'm Anna Banks and welcome back to Biased News where we're covering the band that went from "top shelf" to "cry for help" in an instant. The band allegedly showed up at the Red Carpet and lied to officials about who they were. They made it into the ceremony before they were promptly escorted out."

They tittered amongst themselves as Connie flipped to another card. "Never rush it. If you think you've been there too long, look at the next spot in front of you. There's probably going to be other really big celebrities there, so it's smart to make sure we're at least in tempo with them."

"Almost there you guys. Are you excited?" The driver cheerfully asked.

They exclaimed that they were like children, all clambering over one another in pure joy and nerves.

"Everyone knows the last one," They had all dropped to a hush as their limo slowed significantly and the flashing of lights and spotlights illuminated their faces.

"Last stop: Hollywood. You kids enjoy, and try to think of it like a school picture."

"Smile and wave boys," Steven said as the usher opened their door and stepped aside. "Smile and wave."

The Red Carpet was exactly how they expected it, but a bit more fun. Once they'd gotten past the first round of hard faced photographers they relaxed a bit remembering the chauffeurs advice. They made sure to get all of their good angles and pose accordingly like they had practiced a million times through giggles and laughter at their home. But this was different. People were watching them with cryptic eyes, asking themselves if these young people deserved to be there and they proved themselves with their genuine happy smiles over being there.

They walked a bit, posed, walked a bit further and posed some more. They stayed silent, all just trying to live in the moment with each other. Every shutter and flash brought Steven deeper into the moment so much that he felt fully human. His biggest fear was his alien glow, but he wasn't even sure if he could activate it with how immersed he was. Connie stayed on his left side the entire time, making it nearly impossible for him to not glance at her every once in a blue moon.

They all looked elegant, striking, and passionate in their color coded wear and many heads were turning. Whether or not that was a good thing was to be debated later on the articles.

They reached the end where the reporters wait and one all but shoved their mic into Stevens mouth. "How did you guys pick out your outfits?"

He blushed and tried for a smile. "Our stylist helped us pick based on our hair. They spent a long time with us."

Three reporters that they later swore to god were the same person shoved mics in each of the relationship clusters. "Who are you wearing?"

Who? Oh, who!

They went down the line in order: Steven, Connie, Alex, Jasmin, Jacob, Adam, Anna and lastly Hazel.

Each name brand felt as ridiculous to speak aloud to the person speaking as it did for the rest. Were they supposed to be bragging?

"Who exactly are you guys?" A very old, very judgemental reporter asked.

"To Be Named At A Later Date."

The man smirked at Connie for answering and readied his intern to write as he asked, "Can you spell that for me, dear?"

Their first razzing, their first test.

Connie smiled a gracious, beautiful and unbothered smile. "T-o, b-e, n-a-m-e-d, a-t, a, l-a-t-e-r, d-a-t-e."

The man's eyebrows shot up at her quick and precise spelling on the spot. He was going to speak again but someone younger and a bit more friendly cut him off. "Do you guys think you'll be winning any awards tonight?"

A few scoffs slipped out as they glanced at each other. They weren't even aware that was a possibility. "We're just happy to be here," Steven told them.

So, you can imagine their surprise when someone chimed in, "You're nominated for three categories. Is there a particular one you think you might succeed in?"

"I think every facet of what we do is soulful and heartfelt and a little silly. Regardless of category, if it happens we'll be stunned and overjoyed." It was beating around the bush for sure, but his Universe charm worked at mysterious times and they were finally let past all of it.

As soon as they were out of earshot of any big names Steven looked back at the band and blew out a breath. "Did we even look to see if we were nominated?"

Alex shook his head. "I thought if it did happen we'd get that all in the invite!"

Anna was taking slow, plaintive steps in her heels as she stared at the floor. "Guys we didn't prepare a speech."

"We won't need one?" Connie said hopefully. "I mean it'd be amazing but I can't dare to hope past having fun and just being here in general."

Their surprise knew no bounds when a very animated celebrity and their very feminine hostess read off their name for Best Music Video nominee.

They didn't say anything because they didn't want to be rude, but as it flashed across the screen for a brief few moments, one singular thought passed through all of their heads:

Alex had shot and edited that entire video himself on his phone for a more "aesthetic" approach.

They read off a few more and they relaxed. The others were more choreographed and skilled, there was no need to panic about thinking up a speech.

"To Be Named At A Later Date!"

Applause cradled them from all sides as their minds went completely blank.

It took a half a second for them to stand, all beaming like little suns as they made their way up to the stage. Everything felt so grand, so massive and so much bigger than all of them for a moment. It was scary, but they were together.

They shook hands with random celebrities, some almost sending them into a stupor even more because they adored them. But they had to keep going even if they had a bit of time.

The Grammy was handed from Anna to Jacob who panicked and handed it to Steven. Meaning he had to make the speech.

It was a relatively short speech compared to most of the others, but not the shortest there had been. "I guess I'm doing the speech then." A few scattered laughs helped him feel a bit better. He knew the spotlight, he knew how to tolerate thousands of eyes on him. "I almost don't know what to say. We're so honored to be here today and be standing here in front of everyone. The amount of gratitude we have is endless, but there's a special few that made this possible. Greg Universe, rockstar lost to the stars was our biggest encouragement and mentor in the earliest days. He couldn't make it tonight but he's here in spirit. I wouldn't have been able to mix or record anything without his constant encouragement."

"Don't forget our fans." Connie chuckled when Stevens lips curled in and he nudged her.

"Our fans have been absolutely incredible since our boys first debuted with City Of Angels, and the support has been absolutely staggering. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts."

"Everyone who's brought us here today has truly blessed us. We couldn't be happier," Hazel finished.

They cheered for them as they took off back down the steps, grinning at each other like they'd just been handed a million dollars and essentially, they had.

The rest of the ceremony was quiet for them until the end. They clapped when they should, sat up straight and stayed silent. Their minds were racing six trillion miles an hour, almost overwhelming them with the urge to leave so they could freak out properly.

"Our winner for best Pop Performance by a Group/Duo with vocals goes to..."

They were already starting to feel exhausted by all of this. It was great yeah, but the adrenaline rush was fleeting and either going to burst out at the worst time or make them fall asleep at The Grammys.

"To Be Named At A Later Date for 'Personal'!"

If he had thought things couldn't get better, he had been wrong. So, so very wrong.

Time slowed as they made their way down and Steven went last to admire them all.

Anna's bright cyan dress with the short front and fluffy tule, accompanied by a glittering bracelet as she hugged all of them with joyful strength.

Jacob and Jasmin wore matching emerald green and ruby red velvet suits as they stood to start shaking hands and walk down the aisle toward the stage once again calling their name.

Alex was killing with his fashionable reboot of a black tuxedo littered in white thick threads of embroidery and ruffles trailing down his chest as he nodded at people and smiled genuinely. A genuine smile from Alex was so rare Steven started choking up.

Hazel and his bright yellow dolce suit with paisley spread over it bunched up a bit when he placed his hands over his mouth in quiet bliss, taking the first step onto the stage.

Adam in his ridiculously classy black tux with mysterious chains connecting from his shoulder to his chest on the right and then from his waist to his hip on the left. He brushed his hair out of his eyes to see the audience and gave a lopsided grin as he planted his feet.

And his Connie, his everything, in her rich blue gown with an elegant silken train as she was handed the award. Her hair was up in a gorgeous bun with curls spilling over the sides of her face. His heart ached for every single one of them, and not for the first or last time he yearned for them all.

The moment was recorded and photographed for him. It was a good thing too, because afterwards was an echoing void of strong emotions threatening to dim in their luster. His band held each other together the rest of the night and their memories stayed more intact. He was lucky like that.