positions (Ariana Grande/You)

5.5.5. or everything (part 1)

A silver power bank lay neatly inside, together with two cables.

"The salesman said it's a bestseller, with its super fast charging. It can also charge wirelessly so you can actually charge two phones at once... I'm rambling, aren't I?" Ariana stopped herself sheepishly, uncharacteristically shy. It was endearing, to say the least.

"No, not at all. You can continue if you want, but I'm already sold." You said.

"Well, um, it also functions as a hand warmer... for your cold hands."

"Thank you, it's the perfect gift." You smiled with appreciation, "I should make full use of it now."

Ariana led you back to a guest room to charge both your phone and the power bank. While you left them to charge, the both of you decided to strike dog walking off the list, since they were already following you two around.

Ariana put on their leashes and handed you Myron's with the explanation of him being comfortable with you. The feeling was mutual.

After making sure everyone was bundled up warmly, the both of you took them outdoors. It was not as cold as you thought, most likely due to the coat Ariana had lent you.

It was fascinating to see Ariana wrestling expertly with a little more than half a dozen of dogs, with them pulling their leashes in different directions enthusiastically. You offered a helping hand regardless, and she passed the smaller dogs to you. They were, for the most part, well-behaved. You let them do whatever they wanted, sniffing around and playing with each other as you made rounds on the estate grounds.

When they had their fill of fun, you went back indoors. Some of the dogs lay down in front of the fireplace immediately, clearly out of energy. You shared a laugh with Ariana at their behaviour, able to relate to their exhaustion after the little excursion. That created the perfect opportunity to strike another item off the list.

While you wanted to help, she shooed you off with the excuse of wanting to keep her hot chocolate recipe a secret. So you sit patiently in front of the fire, enjoying the warmth. After a few minutes, Ariana arrived with steaming mugs, giving one over to you, before taking a seat beside you. You never felt more full, with a delicious drink in hand and a warm feeling in your heart.

The crackling of the wood and the snoring from the dogs almost lulled you to sleep too. It doesn't help that Ariana was snuggled up right beside you.

"Are you sleepy?" You heard Ariana whisper and you smiled at the memory.

"That was supposed to be my line."

Ariana hummed, "We can take a short nap if you are."

You stifled a yawn, replying. "I'm fine, there are still things to do on your list right?"

"Oh right, that reminds me..." You felt Ariana lean away from you as she stood up, before extending her hand to help you up. The both of you move quietly into the kitchen, trying not to wake up the 'babies' from their slumber. "We have to make some food for our guests."

"Our guest?" You questioned while rolling up your sleeves, placing the items she had relayed to you from the fridges onto the kitchen island.

"Yep, my family and some of my friends will be joining us later in the evening."

"Oh okay." While you were questioning more on the word 'our' than who the guests were, you assumed it was just a slip of the tongue. You looked through the ingredients in front of you. "Are you preparing a feast?"

"Nope, I was thinking of cookies and brownies. They'll have dinner before coming over. So we'll have one by ourselves."

You nodded and got ready to bake up a storm. You tied Ariana's apron and she did the same for you, opening up all the ingredient packaging.

After pouring and whisking and kneading for half an hour, the cookies and brownies were safely baking in the oven. Everything went well, and you knew they would turn out alright. However, that cannot be said the same for the kitchen. It looked like a snowstorm had raged in there. Since there was nothing else to do, you began cleaning up. Ariana seemed to have something else in mind when she dragged a finger against a flour-covered countertop. She didn't hide her mirth when she swiped said finger against your cheek, staring at you with those infamous faux innocent eyes as you stood there in shock.

The feeling wore off quickly, replaced by playful vengeance as you wiped your entire palm with flour. You saw those eyes widen at your action. You wasted no time lunging at her.

Ariana's squeal probably echoed throughout the entire estate as she ran away from you. Surprisingly, the dogs did not wake up, which made you think that they were used to it. You ran a little slower to give her a head start, but when she entered the dining room, her pathway was restricted by furniture. She managed to go around the long table before you could reach her, but it didn't matter when you caught her off guard by jumping over it, wrapping one arm around her to prevent her from escaping.

She doesn't try to when you boop her nose with flour, only squirming a little when you traced her eyebrow and the underside of her chin for good measure. You only let up when you're satisfied, sitting on the table behind you to admire your handiwork.

You got a little worried thinking you went too far when she stood there silently.

"Ariana?" You moved off the table, an apology already on your lips. "I'm s-"

Before you could even register, she painted a streak of white on your face again. She ran away laughing, even harder when you shouted indignantly, "Ariana!"

Needless to say, the mess got bigger before it went away. The both of you had to shower when you were finally done with cleaning the kitchen. This time, a simple white pullover and beige pants wait neatly for you on your bed. They fit you well. There were socks too, but you forego them, too used to walking around barefooted. Besides, the floors were mostly carpeted so your feet weren't freezing.

You only recognized that your clothes matched Ariana's when you found her standing outside the door. Her outfit consisted of an off-shoulder wool dress, completed with a ribbon in her hair. She wore thigh-high fur boots, bringing her to your eye level.

"You look nice." You muttered, more to yourself than for her to hear. She picked up on it regardless, beaming at you sweetly.

"Thank you. You clean up well too."

"Have to thank my stylist for that."

You smiled when she threw her head back with laughter. You offered your arm, "Shall we?"

Ariana responded by looping hers around yours, matching your footsteps down the stairs. Back in the kitchen, she ordered dinner for the both of you while you set the table in the dining room. When the delivery man handed you bags and bags of takeout boxes, you realized that she spared no expense for the Christmas feast.

Instead of sitting at the head of the table, the both of you sat at its length, opposite of each other. It's easier to reach for food and to hold a conversation this way. You enjoyed yourself with good food and even better company. The dogs come by to visit, curling around your feet before going on their way.

Time passed quickly without you realizing it. The sound of the doorbell ringing reminded you to wrap up dinner. 

AN: *in dj khaled voice* another one!