#there yes

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Ariana Griande waved and smiled at her audience, giving them butterfly kisses before going backstage. She sighed and fanned herself, controlling the urge to put her cold hands on her face. She needed to keep the make-up on to see the patrons later on after all the performances were done. Someone approached her, wearing black and headphones on, and motioned her to follow them, concentrated on the notepad. 

She hummed and walked towards probably one of the assistants the open bar hired. Her plate-formers thud against the wooden floor, desperately trying to ignore the ache that came with wearing them for a long time. They went to the general dress-room, one of the girls finalizing her outfit and wig. When she spotted Ariana, she flushed and immediately went back to adjusting her wig. Ariana huffed, flicking her ponytail on her other shoulder, and sat down on the seat the assistant gestured to.

“You have ten minutes to change before going in the audience,” they said in a monotone voice.

Ariana smiled, big and saccharine. “Thank you, sweetie.”

They cleared their throat and left the room, followed by the girl. When she was finally alone, she groaned and resisted the urge to slam her forehead on the counter. She grabbed one of the mini-fans, and got little-to-no cool air from it. So much for a warm reception. It happened every year, and she kept wondering why it surprised her. Performing during the summer was hell incarnated. 

No more dilly-dallying, she took her outfit for the rest of the evening, and in less than two minutes, she was reapplying her make-up, adjusting her wing, and winked at herself in the mirror. The door slammed open, making her squawk. She turned to see who it was, ready to murder them until she saw that famous moustache.

“Mumbo, you scared the shit out of me,” she said, a hand on her chest.

He gave her a sheepish smile. “Sorry, I just wanted to tell you that you were amazing back there.”

She grinned. “No duh, I am a professional.”

Mumbo rolled his thumbs nervously. “Well, yeah, but I figured a compliment wouldn’t hurt.”

Ariana walked towards him and wrapped her arms around his neck, a smug look on her face. He squeaked and his face became red. 

“That’s so sweet of you, Mumbo.” She gave him a kiss on the cheek, holding her chuckle when his ears became red. “Always the gentleman.”

Mumbo nodded vigorously, not getting away from her embrace but not touching her in return. She let go and walked pass him, waving goodbye. 

“I’ll catch up with you later, yeah?”

“Y-yeah,” Mumbo swallowed loudly, voice an octave higher. 

Ariana giggled and left, finding the main floor of the open bar. She really didn’t want to deal with the heat, but she was paid by the hour for this event and no way in hell she was giving up an opportunity like this. She plastered a sweet smile on her face, making sure to exaggerate the swing in her hips and to show her leg in the split of her skirt. Some were whistling when she went more outside, but most were eyes glued to the performance. 

Ariana slightly pouted when most weren’t paying attention to her, so, out of curiosity, she glanced at the stage. Ariana has seen a lot of performances, but what she was looking at was above and beyond. Flowers of all kinds of colours in the wig, a mix of pastel and saturated colours that somehow fit perfectly well together, a shoulder piece that framed her head while her arms were covered in vines and leafs, mini skirt to let her move her legs. But that wasn’t it all. The way she danced and lip-sync was over the top, even for the upbeat song. 

There were queens out there who liked being extra and flamboyant, it just wasn’t Ariana’s style. This queen right there took the flamboyant definition and dialled it up to a hundred. She was wearing legs braces, which seemed to be painted in this orange-pink gradient like the rest of the outfit. She seemed so free in her movements, so expressive, so in her element, Ariana wondered how she’s never seen her before. 

Something touched her bare shoulder, making her yelp and swivelled to slap the person who dared to touch her. She stopped when she realized it was only Mumbo. 

“Stop scaring me like that,” she hissed under her breath.

Mumbo raised his hands in surrender, grimace on his face. He mumbled apologetically and pointed at the queen performing.

“Do you know her? I wasn’t there when they announced her name.”

Ariana shook her head regretfully. “No, never seen her.”

He hummed. “She’s quite impressive, isn’t she?”

Ariana turned her head slowly to her friend, a smirk on her face. 

“Well, well, well, it seems Mister Mumbo Jumbo here does have a favourite.”

He squeaked, face red, shaking his hands and head. “N-no! That’s not what I was implying—”

She put her finger to his nose, bouncing it right back. “I was just teasing.”

He laughed nervously only to abruptly stop. She frowned and looked back at the performance, only to realize the queen was approaching them with a sway of her hips, lips moving to the lyrics. Her mouth opened when she saw her up front. She was stunning, and Ariana saw many stunning queens in the industry. She was right on top of the list currently. Ariana didn’t care if the queen had a larger form than the stereotypical feminism or that even with the makeup, she could see that stubble. 

The flower queen placed her hands on the table Ariana was leaning on, circled her hips and winked at her with her mouth as well. Ariana wasn’t one to blush easily, but she felt her cheeks warming up and the smug look Mumbo sent her. The queen turned around them, making sure not to touch them, but also getting in their personal bubble. Ariana wondered how long this song lasted until the queen finally left them for the stage, finishing the song.

She waved her swooning audience goodbye before going backstage. A volunteer appeared on stage, microphone in hand.

“Good Times with Scarlet, everybody!”

Mambo elbowed her, wiggling his eyebrows. After feigning pain at her friend’s jab, she scoffed.

“C’mon, you saw the way she was looking at you!”

Ariana crossed her arms. “I am still on the clock, Mumbo.”

“Just saying,” he said innocently, diverting his gaze.

She shook her head and went back to entertain the patrons of the bar, going inside and outside occasionally. The queen was still at the forefront of her mind, getting her distracted a lot of times, but the impression show between the other queens were also very auditory distracting. Still, Ariana was good at her job, and she will get paid after the end of the night. 

Except, that didn’t happen. A lot of things didn’t go her way, but she didn’t regret this one. Because in the corner of her eye, after Mumbo left, Scarlet was leaning against the door that lead to the backrooms, a smirk on her lips. She wasn’t wearing the shoulder piece or the flowers in her wig, but was still wearing her flamboyant leotard. 

Ariana took her expression as a challenge and went towards her, grin on her face. Scarlet was slightly towering over her, which made Ariana glad to keep her plate-formers.

“Well hello there,” Scarlet greeted, a mischievous glint in her green eyes.

“Hi beautiful,” Ariana tilted her head, grin widening.

“You’re quite gorgeous yourself.”

Ariana hummed in thought. “Yes, I could tell your eyes were devouring me earlier.”

Scarlet’s smirk only became sharper. “You can’t blame a woman for having taste.”

“No, indeed,” Ariana replied. She went closer to her chest, fingers brushing against it. “Can’t let it go to waste either.”

She made sure to pout and give her puppy eyes. Scarlet let out a laugh (oh god, that laugh had no right of being this beautiful), and leaned closer to her face, hand on her bicep.

“And where would the gorgeous songbird prefer to show her potential?”

A shiver ran through her spin at the nickname, cheeks becoming warmer. She wouldn’t let her seduce her to submission, so she copied her smirk and brought their face close enough for their nose to touch. 

“Don’t worry your little pretty head about, and leave it to Miss Griande to take care of you, hm?”

Scarlet’s face blushed and nodded slightly, making Ariana chuckle. She might not get paid, but she’ll have one hell of a night, and she’ll guarantee it for both of them.