Lily jolted up and off the sofa when they heard the door open. They turned and saw Magnolia rushing towards them, dropping her briefcase and keys carelessly to the floor. That’s really weird… she’s supposed to be at work right now. “Mistress?” Lily asked. “What’s–”

Magnolia grabbed them and hugged them tight. She was sobbing. “Lily,” she moaned, barely able to get a word out through her sniffling and tears.

“M-Mistress!” Lily gasped, returning the hug but feeling a pang of fear stab them in the gut. “What happened?”

“I don’t k-know,” Magnolia cried, gripping them even tighter, “I-I just… I…”

“U-Um, uh…” Lily gently rubbed Magnolia’s back, leading her to the sofa. This is really bad. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen her like this. “D-Don’t, ah, don’t worry. Just, j-just let it all out, Mistress.”

“I-I think I… had a p-panic attack, o-or something…” Magnolia’s body shuddered, her sobbing only growing more intense, as though she was holding back years of sorrow and stress in one moment. “I th-thought I was g-going to…”

“Shh. Shhhhhhhh.” Lily kissed her cheek and petted her softly. “It’s okay. You’re here now, you’re home. I’m here for you.”

The pair stayed like this for some time, Magnolia inelegantly blubbering through her tears and Lily doing their best to soothe her. It was an unusual circumstance for the two of them; Magnolia was the cool and reserved one, and Lily was the one who got anxious all the time.

Lily had no idea how well they were doing at reversing the roles, but eventually Magnolia calmed down enough to talk normally. “I’m… sorry,” she said softly, her voice hoarse from all the crying. She lifted her head up from Lily’s shoulder, her eyes red and cheeks stained with tears. “I shouldn’t have worried you. I’m… I’m alright.”

“Mistress, please,” Lily replied, “we both know that’s not true. You don’t have to put on a brave face for me.” They paused. “Um… do you want to talk about what happened?”

“Not… especially, no.” Magnolia sniffled, then let out a nervous laugh. “If I’m being honest, I’m not even sure what set it off. I suppose the office was a touch more stressful than usual, but I’ve surely been through worse.”

“Yeah, you’ve told me all about the ‘pathetic idiots’ you work with,” Lily said. “But, do you usually let that annoyance show at work?”

“Well, if I did, I’d be spending half my time dealing with complaints from HR. And I know I already have an uphill battle being taken seriously considering I’m a trans woman.”

“So you keep it to yourself?”

Magnolia nodded. “You’re basically the only person I vent to. But, honestly, it’s not that big a deal. I just need to set an example that I’m just as competent as any trust-fund boy play-acting at being a CEO.”

“Mistress, do you hear yourself right now?” Lily frowned. “You’re trying to put the weight of, like, a double glass ceiling on yourself. That’s a lot!”

“Maybe it is,” Magnolia conceded, “but I can handle it. This was… an aberration. Nothing more. Perhaps I’m just experiencing some hormonal imbalance, or–”

“Or maybe,” Lily interjected, “you need a break.”

Magnolia scoffed. “Oh, absolutely not. That’s the last thing I need. What’s most important right now is to put this behind me and get back to work.”

“Mistress, please, can you just… listen to me?” Lily sighed. “Look, you’ve known me for years now. You’ve seen me go through all sorts of anxiety attacks and other mental health stuff. And you know what always, without fail, made me feel better?”

“Eating several pints of ice cream and watching Ghibli movies on the couch?”

“…Well, okay, yeah, but doing that with you is the main thing.” Lily held Magnolia’s hands in their own and looked her straight in the eye. “So if you’re feeling burnt out and stressed, maybe it’s better if we just have a few days to ourselves? You can decompress, and we can maybe talk a little bit about this and work out what you might need.”

Magnolia opened her mouth to object, but Lily gave her their best puppy-dog stare. She sighed and wiped some tears away from her face. “Well, I’m obviously in no state to return to the office today. I’ll inform the company that I’ll be taking the rest of the day off. As for anything beyond that…” She shrugged. “We’ll see how I feel in the morning.”

Lily hugged Magnolia tight. “Thank you, Mistress. I’m really proud of you for taking some self-care.”

“Oh? You’re proud of me?” Magnolia rolled her eyes. “Plaything, don’t start switching places with me now.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Lily giggled. “You’re a way better Magnolia than I could ever be.”

“Well, we both know that’s true. I bet I could pull off being you for a day, though.”

“You think so?”

“Of course. ‘Oh, look at me! I cream my panties whenever someone calls me a ditz!’ It’s so easy.”

Lily laughed. “I don’t sound like that! And I don’t get turned on that easily!”

“Ditz.”

“Oh!” Lily’s eyes went crossed. They moaned and shuddered, holding onto Magnolia for support as they orgasmed. “Wh-When did you i-install that trigger?”

“What trigger?” Magnolia teased. “I didn’t install any trigger like that. Maybe you’re just naturally so submissive that you react like that on your own.”

“You’re so mean,” Lily whined. “B-But, um… c-can you call me a ditz again, please?”

When Lily awoke the next morning, they smelled coffee. They rolled over and sighed. Magnolia’s spot in the bed was still warm, and they could smell the special, highly-expensive body wash she used every day. She must’ve just woken up… hm, what time is it? They lifted their head up and squinted at the alarm clock. Almost 10? That can’t be right, she should be at work right now…

They sat up and slumped out of bed, yawning as they made their way to the kitchen. Magnolia was waiting for them, lounging in a bathrobe next to the coffee maker, which was bubbling away and dribbling into her favorite mug. “Good morning, plaything.”

“Morning, Mistress.” Lily scratched their head. “Um, s-sorry for not waking you up on time–”

“Lily,” Magnolia interrupted. “I’ve decided to take the rest of the week off. I told my employees that I needed to attend to a medical issue – which, I suppose, isn’t entirely a lie.”

“Oh!” Lily gasped. “That’s great! So we just have the week to ourselves?”

“That’s correct. But there’s… more.” Magnolia took her glasses off and sighed, almost as though she was ashamed to say whatever she was about to say. “You remember when you accidentally reactivated an old trigger of mine? The bimbofication trigger?”

“…Y-Yeah…” Lily winced. They could still picture ‘Maggie’ dressed in a ridiculously slutty pink outfit, her hair dyed platinum blonde, her personality totally replaced with a vapid bimbo.

“After that… incident,” Magnolia continued, “I took it upon myself to ensure it wouldn’t happen again. I severed the tie between that persona and the trigger song, and installed various safeties so that in the event I found myself in that position I couldn’t do any lasting harm.”

“Wait, you…” Lily furrowed their brow. “Does that mean… I could’ve been singing Backstreet Boys this whole time?!”

Magnolia blinked. “…Seriously? That’s your priority?”

“Well, I… I mean…” Lily’s cheeks burned. “N-Never mind.”

“The point I’m trying to make is…” Magnolia cleared her throat and ran a hand through her hair. “I’ve decided to… reactivate that trigger. Intentionally.”

Lily’s jaw dropped. “You’re gonna bimbofy yourself?!”

“Actually, um… I’d like you to do it for me.”

“Wh-What?”

Magnolia stepped towards Lily and embraced them. “Lily. My lovely, loyal Lily. I know you’re so very stupid, and impulsive, and bad at… many things. But I trust you more than anyone in the world. I took time off because of your advice. I thought I could still power through it, but I trusted you more than that.”

“That’s, um… nice of you to say?” Lily replied. Except for the parts about how stupid I am… “But I don’t think I understand, why do you want to make yourself a bimbo again?”

“I think part of the problem I’m facing is… well, myself. Or, rather, the negative parts of myself…” Magnolia sighed and rubbed her eyes. “I feel this need to push myself, something I never grew out of after I founded the company and stopped having anything left to prove. And it’s not healthy, I know that. So, maybe what I need most is to stop being me for a little while. Set Magnolia, the powerful CEO and Domme, aside; I can just be Maggie, the giggly bimbo, with her marginally-smarter wife at her side to keep her from doing anything too stupid.” She cupped Lily’s chin and smiled. “Does that make sense, plaything?”

“Um… yeah, I think so.” Lily rested their head on Magnolia’s chest. “Does that mean you’re gonna be in bimbo mode the whole week?”

“So that’s part of the safeties I installed,” Magnolia replied. “The suggestion only lasts until I hear an alarm on my phone, though after that passes we can activate it again. Plus, the instant I step outside, I go back to normal, and I’ve given Maggie a compulsion to ask for your permission before I– she– we spend any money, so I won’t be maxing out any credit cards again.”

“That’s smart.” Lily thought for a moment, then remembered something. “Wait a minute, Maggie gave me a bimbo trigger the last time she was… um, out. What if she uses that again?”

Magnolia nodded. “I didn’t just install safeties in myself, plaything. While I’m bimbofied – or compromised in any other way, for that matter – none of my triggers will have any effect on you. That way you’ll be able to think clearly and rationally.” She smirked. “Well, as much as you usually can, anyway. So, are you ready?”

“Gosh, I’m not sure…” Lily nervously twirled their hair. “It’s a lot of responsibility. I mean, I have to take care of you for the next few days. I’m not used to that. Plus, I thought you didn’t want to trade places?”

“I did say that, didn’t I?” Magnolia laughed. “Well, I think you’re stronger than you think you are. You’re more than capable of handling this. I trust you completely.”

Lily smiled. “Thank you, Mistress. I won’t let you down!”

“I know you won’t,” Magnolia replied. “Now, read this.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a sheet of paper, neatly folded.

“This… is the trigger?” Lily unfolded the paper and squinted at it. “Why is it so… long?”

“Well, obviously it couldn’t be something that can be activated on accident,” Magnolia scoffed, rolling her eyes and setting up the alarm on her phone. “So I made it more complicated.”

Yeah, I’ll say… I don’t think I can even pronounce some of these words… Lily cleared their throat. But that doesn’t matter. Mistress is counting on me! I’ll just have to do my best! “Alright, uh, let’s see…” They studied the paper carefully, making sure they weren’t missing anything.

Finally, they poked Magnolia in the forehead.

“Ow!” Magnolia grunted. “Watch it!”

“B-But that’s what it said–”

“It didn’t say to do it so hard, dammit!”

“Sorry… I-I’ll start over…” Lily took a deep breath and gently tapped Magnolia on the forehead. “Now, um, y-your hands, please.”

Magnolia obliged, presenting her hands with her palms facing up. Lily drew two symbols with her finger, one on each palm.

“Alright, so far so good…” Lily scratched their chin. “Um… ‘o-oovery, vow…’”

“Ouvrez votre esprit,” Magnolia corrected.

“…Gesundheit?”

“Ugh, this is hopeless,” Magnolia grumbled. “I knew this was too complicated for your tiny little brain.”

“Well, why did you put part of it in a language I don’t even speak?!” Lily fumed. “You made this way too complex, Mistress! I don’t think even you could make it work!”

“Oh?” Magnolia narrowed her eyes. “Is that a challenge, plaything?” She snatched the paper out of Lily’s hands. “Very well. I’ll show you how to properly turn me into a bimbo.”

She touched her forehead, then drew the symbols on her palms. “Ouvrez votre esprit,” she whispered, bending down and reaching her toes. She drew a line with her fingers up each leg towards her knee. “Oubliez-vous…” she continued, standing up straight and pressing her fingers and thumb together. “Et devenez stupide!”

Snap!

Magnolia’s head dropped along with her arm. She leaned forward, falling limply into Lily’s arms.

“Oh!” Lily cried, holding onto Magnolia tightly. “For a minute there, I thought this was all gonna be some elaborate joke, but… I guess we’re really doing it, huh?” They gently shook Magnolia, trying to rouse her, but got no response. Probably should’ve read all the way to the end… I guess I could just try snapping again?

Before they could try that, however, Magnolia stirred. She lifted her head up and stared blankly at Lily for a moment, before her face slowly shifted into a wide, dopey grin. “Heeeeeeeeeey.”

“Um… h-hey yourself,” Lily replied nervously. “I guess you’re M-Maggie now, huh?”

“Like, duh! Who else could I be, silly?” Maggie giggled. “Mmm, feels like I’ve been sleeping for-ev­-er… Um, who’re you again?”

Right, she’s not just “Magnolia but dumber,” she’s like a whole other personality. And we only met once. “I’m Lily,” they explained, “and I’m your, uh, slave-slash-spouse.”

“Slash-wha?” Maggie looked down at her hand and gasped when she saw her wedding ring. “Oh, holy crap! We’re married! That’s, like, so awesome!”

“Yeah, uh, it sure is.” Lily scratched their head, chuckling. She really is cute like this. Wonder if Magnolia will agree to do this more often now that we can do it safely.

“Oh, wait, yeah!” Maggie smiled, pointing at Lily. “I totally remember you! We got, like, makeovers and stuff!” She pouted, twirling her hair around her finger and staring at it. “But we’re not blondes anymore…”

“S-Sorry,” Lily replied, “but you – uh, the other you – weren’t too happy when she woke up and saw what we did. But it’s okay! We’re gonna have the whole week to hang out and stuff!”

“Wow, really?” Maggie clapped and bounced up and down excitedly. “Yay! Gosh, we’re gonna have, like, sooooooo much fun!” She looked around the room and noticed the coffee maker. “Oh, I love coffee! We’re gonna need a lot of energy, and coffee’s got, um, like… coffee in it! So it’ll make us super awake and stuff!”

Before Lily could say anything, Maggie grabbed the coffee mug and took a big gulp. A millisecond later, her eyes widened in shock and she spit it out, screaming in pain. “Ow, fuck!” she cried, sprinting to the sink and rinsing her mouth out with cool water. “God fucking dammit! Ow!”

“U-Um… Mistress?” Lily said quietly. It was clear from the woman’s body language – not to mention her language – that Magnolia was back to herself again, the shock of the coffee shaking her out of her bimbofied state. “Are you, um, a-alright?”

“I’ll be okay,” Magnolia sighed as she turned off the sink. “I probably should’ve drank that before I made myself too stupid to spell my own name.” She turned back to Lily and adjusted her glasses. “But, in the future, if you see me about to do something stupid – and I mean he painful kind of stupid – do everything in your power to stop me. Pin me down, tackle me, whatever it takes.”

“Um, o-okay. If you say so.” Lily cleared their throat. “So, uh, do you want to go back into bimbo mode?”

“Actually,” Magnolia replied, running a hand through her hair, “I think I’ll modify the trigger first. It’s clearly far too complicated. You should do your morning routine – shower, get dressed, all that. I’ll be in our bedroom.”

Lily nodded. “Yes, Mistress!”

You know, as mundane as it is, I really do appreciate having a shower that’s always hot and doesn’t lose pressure. Lily sighed happily as they felt the hot water splash against their skin, moving the portable head over their body and getting all their little nooks and crannies clean.

They’d asked Magnolia before about getting one of those fancy showers with all the different nozzles, but she just rolled her eyes. “Literally why would I ever need that?” she scoffed. “That sounds like the biggest waste of money I could possibly think of.”

“What about a trampoline room?” Lily replied.

“…Alright, second-biggest waste of money.”

“Um, personal bowling alley?”

Something slammed into the shower’s glass enclosure, startling Lily out of the memory. They yelped, startled, but then noticed the fuzzy outline of Magnolia through the foggy glass. “M-Mistress?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah.” Magnolia cleared her throat. “Yes, slave,” she continued, her voice dropping an octave. “It is me, your Mistress. I command you to open this door and… uh…” She giggled, her voice going a little bit higher than it usually did. “Crap, I’m no good at this!”

“What are you–?” Lily paused, then chuckled to themself. “Maggie?”

The woman on the other side of the glass tried to slide open the shower door, but she seemingly couldn’t manage to differentiate between the panel with the obvious handle on it and the ones without it. “Um, can you, like, let me in? Please? I-I think there’s something really wrong with me…”

Lily opened the shower door, alarmed. When they saw Maggie more clearly, though, they burst out laughing.

“Why are you laughing at me?” Maggie pouted. “I’m blind!”

“Oh, gosh, you’re even dumber than I remembered! Hold on.” Lily lifted Maggie’s glasses, which had completely fogged up from the steam, and wiped them clean with their thumbs. They placed them back on Maggie’s head and smirked. “Better?”

Maggie’s jaw dropped. “…Oh. My. God. You’re magic! You’re like a magic healer person!”

“Sure, let’s go with that.” Lily rolled their eyes. “So, what brings you all the way down to the guest bathroom?”

“Uh, you, obviously!” Maggie’s eyes, now that they could see, were practically locked onto Lily’s breasts, and Lily could swear they saw a bead of drool poking out of the corner of her lips. “So, like, you wanna fuck or what?”

Lily grinned. Wow, it’s really fun seeing Magnolia act this openly horny for once. She’s usually a lot cooler about it, even when we’re both turned on. “Be my guest.”

“Yay!” Magnolia hopped in and pushed Lily into the back wall, grabbing a breast in each hand and kissing them all over their face and neck.

“E-Easy,” Lily gasped. “It’s not a race, Mistress.”

“I know,” Maggie giggled. “I’m just so excited! A whole week, with this huge house and my own personal plaything!” She bit her lip and looked at Lily with huge puppy-dog eyes. “Um, c-can I call you ‘plaything?’ Please? I think I really like that word, it sounds, like, nice to… say?”

Lily smirked. “Well, I suppose that would be alright, since you asked so nicely.”

“Yaaaay! Gosh, you’re just the coolest, Lily!” Maggie giggled and kissed Lily again, pressing her body into theirs.

Lily noticed that Maggie was getting hard, almost subconsciously grinding her cock against Lily’s thigh. “Mmm, are you getting excited?”

“Mhm!” Maggie nodded eagerly. A moment later, they gasped; Lily could almost literally see a lightbulb going off above her head. “Um, hey, can I, like, keep doing this? Till I get off and, like, stuff?”

“Whatever you wanna do,” Lily replied, “I’m here for it. Not like I’ll have to clean myself up anyway, right?”

“Huh? But, like, I’m gonna get cum and stuff all over you. That’ll be, like, a huge mess!”

“…Mistress, we’re in a shower.”

Maggie tilted her head to the side. “But… cum is all messy and sticky and stuff.”

“Um, y-you know what,” Lily stammered, realizing how pointless it would be to try and counter Maggie’s logic “that’s a… great point. But don’t let that stop you, just, uh, feel free to hump away!”

“Like, for sure!” Maggie giggled. She continued to rub her cock against Lily’s leg, mewling and whimpering and looking adorably needy. Lily had never seen this side of her before; it was nice to see Magnolia acting so unashamedly horny and uninhibited, even if it wasn’t quite the same Magnolia they knew.

Well, it’s more than just “nice.” Lily bit their lip and stared into Maggie’s eyes as the ditzy bimbo who was her Mistress moaned like a porn star. It wasn’t just that Maggie was turned on; she was acting submissive as hell. Magnolia wouldn’t have even thought twice about using Lily’s body to get off, but Maggie was almost ashamed to ask. As much as Lily considered themselves a total sub, being in charge of Maggie was an undeniable thrill. This is a part of Magnolia that she tried to bury a long time ago. And I know she might never have gotten where she is if she hadn’t made herself so hardened–

“Ah~!” Maggie moaned, shuddering as she came over Lily’s thighs. She grabbed them tightly, clutching onto them for dear life. Alright, maybe “hardened” was a poor choice of words in this scenario. “Oh, gosh…” Maggie gasped, grinning madly, “that was great!”

“Really?” Lily raised an eyebrow. “We’ve done a lot more involved stuff than that.”

“Well, like, maybe Magnolia did,” Maggie huffed, “but I just, like, went from being a dude in college to being this super-hot MILF with my own sexy plaything! I’m not, like, used to it yet!”

“Huh. Yeah, I guess you’ve got a point…” Wait, did I just admit Maggie made a good point? Crap, I’m even dumber than I thought. Lily kissed Maggie on the forehead and petted her hair. “Well, I guess we’ll just have to help you get used to it.”

“Mmm,” Maggie purred, nuzzling Lily’s chest. “Like… totally…”

Maggie spun around the living room, hollering and giggling as she heard her voice echo off the high ceilings. “Gosh, this is, like, sooooooo cool! I’m super rich! Did I, like, win the lottery or something?”

“Uh, I don’t think so?” Lily replied, barely able to hear Maggie over her outfit. Magnolia had bought it mostly as a joke after Lily spotted it at an anime con; a light pink-and-blue maid outfit, with a ridiculously short skirt, white thigh-highs, and a headband with a bow on top. Lily joked that she couldn’t come across as a Domme with such a silly outfit, but after their ass was spanked hard enough to turn bright red and they stained the hotel bed’s sheets with their cum, they had no choice but to admit defeat.

“Oh, huh. Then am I, like… an, uh… air rest? No, what’s the word…?” Maggie scrunched her face up, the act of finding a single word apparently overheating her brain. She looked more natural in the outfit than Magnolia ever did; the girly, cute aesthetic was the perfect fit for a bimbo like her.

“Heiress? No, not that either.” Lily shrugged. “Honestly, you never tell me much about your business stuff. I just know it’s really serious and you’re the CEO of some big company.”

“Ew, I have to work?” Maggie looked like she was about to throw up.

“Well, you don’t. Magnolia does.”

“…Oh, yeah!” Maggie giggled. “I just get to be, like, me!” She tried to do a cartwheel, but couldn’t quite stick the landing. She fell on her ass and laughed uproariously.

Lily chuckled and helped her up. “Yeah, not quite as limber as you used to be. Still plenty flexible in bed, though.”

“Mmm, I’ll bet.” Maggie licked her lips, her eyes going hooded as she looked Lily up and down. “So, um…” she asked, twirling her hair, “like… are you, uh, flexy-bill?”

“Maaaaay-be,” Lily replied in a sing-song. “Wanna find out?”

“Toooootally,” Maggie purred. She leaned in for a kiss, but suddenly there was a loud beeping noise. Maggie’s head suddenly drooped and fell to her chest, her arms went limp, and her body was left standing but otherwise completely lifeless, like a puppet whose strings had been cut.

Lily cocked their head to the side. “Um… Maggie?”

“Ah!” Maggie gasped, her body lurching back to life. She staggered for a bit, finding her balance and looking down at her body. Finally, she looked at Lily, and they could tell the instant they saw her eyes that Magnolia was awake again. “…Plaything?”

“Yeah?”

“What the fuck am I wearing?”

Lily laughed nervously. “Uh, w-well, that was, uh… her idea.”

“Hmph. Figured as much.” Magnolia sighed and tried to pull her skirt down, to no avail. “Well, I’m not dead, so I suppose you’ve done an adequate job so far.”

“Yeah…” Lily scratched their chin. “Say, uh, Mistress, do you remember anything that happens while you’re in bimbo mode?”

Magnolia shrugged. “Flashes, maybe. It’s a bit like a dream, I suppose. When I first wake up, I can remember it fairly clearly, but then it quickly fades away aside from a few key details.”

“I guess that makes sense. So, do you want to go back under?”

“I don’t see why not.” Magnolia arched her back and yawned. “Here, let me show you the new trigger.” She shook her hands out and stepped in front of Lily, clearing her throat. “All you have to do is tap me on the forehead and say, ‘bimbo brain drain.’”

“Oh, that’s way easier.” Lily brushed a few stray hairs out of Magnolia’s face. “Count of three?”

Magnolia took a deep breath and nodded, pulling up the timer on her phone. “You know, you said this would be relaxing, but I’ve got all these butterflies in my stomach.”

“That’s not a bad thing, though, right?”

“No, it’s not, I’m just…” Magnolia trailed off. “Let’s talk about it the next time I’m up, okay?”

“Sure. Ready?”

“Yes,” Magnolia replied, putting her phone back in her pocket. “I’m ready.”

Lily smiled warmly. “Three. Two. One.” They tapped Magnolia’s forehead. “Bimbo brain drain.”

“Bimbo… brain… drain…” Magnolia whispered. Her eyelids fluttered as she sank back into trance, going limp in Lily’s arms with a sigh. A moment later, Maggie giggled and opened her eyes again. “Um, like, what happened? I think I kinda, like, spaced out for a sec.”

“Oh, uh, y-yeah, you did.” Lily winced. Should I be lying to her like this? I don’t even know if she’s smart enough to really understand what’s going on here, and how would she react knowing she’s only gonna be out for the rest of this week?

“So, like,” Maggie continued, oblivious to Lily’s internal thoughts, “what do you wanna, like, do? The mall was, like, totes cool, we could go there again!”

“Yeah, that’s–” Lily froze. Wait, crap, Magnolia said she’d snap out of it if we left the house. Should I tell her that? Would that be weird? “Um, a-actually, we can’t go today.”

“Huh? Why not?”

“It’s, uh… closed.”

“…The whole mall is closed?” Maggie narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

“Y-Yeah, the, uh, the whole thing.”

“Every shop? Every little stand? Even the food court?”

“U-Um…” Lily stammered. Crap, did I choose the one lie that even she’s not stupid enough to fall for? “Yes?”

Maggie paused for a moment. Then she pouted and stamped her foot. “Well, that just sucks! How dare they close the mall on my special week off!”

“I know, right?” Lily laughed, letting out all the nervous energy they’d just pent up. “It’s crazy! All these big malls are falling on hard times, with everyone shopping online and all.”

“Wait…” Maggie’s eyes widened. “You can buy stuff online? Like, mall stuff?”

“…What do you mean by ‘mall stuff?’”

“Like, clothes! And CDs! You know, mall stuff!”

“Oh! Well, yeah, of course you can buy that online.”

Maggie looked up and around the massive living room. She paced around, furrowing her brow and scratching her chin. Lily could practically see the steam pouring out of her ears as she tried to make her bimbofied brain work. Finally, she stopped and snapped her fingers. “If I’m rich now, then… I can buy so much stuff!” She grabbed Lily by the shoulders and shook them. “Can you show me how to buy stuff? Please?”

Lily swallowed. “Um, yeah, but–”

“But?” Maggie growled. Her nails clawed into Lily’s skin. “What do you mean, ‘but?’”

“Ow!” Lily winced. “L-Look, you ran up a big bill the last time you were out, and you – Magnolia, I mean – put me in charge of your spending. So anything you want to buy, you have to ask me permission first.”

Maggie groaned and held her head in her hands. “That’s not fair! I’m a big girl, I can handle my money!”

“Yeah?” Lily scoffed. “Then what’s ten minus two?”

“Huh?”

“If you wanna handle your own money, you need to do math. What’s ten minus two?”

“Th-That’s… um…” Maggie scratched her chin. “Um, twelve?”

“Literally the opposite of what you were supposed to do,” Lily replied, rolling their eyes. “Try again.”

“B-Buh…” Maggie whined and bit her lip. “That’s, like, too hard! I don’t wanna think this much!”

“Then you’re gonna have to ask me for permission.” Lily smirked. Heh, this is kinda fun. I guess this is how Mistress feels when she makes me act all dumb and ditzy.

Maggie pouted and scowled at Lily. A moment later, though, she gasped. “Wait… what if I, like, make you a cute bimbo like me? Didn’t I, like, do that before?” She rubbed her temple and shut her eyes tight. “I said a thing… like… oh!” She snapped her fingers and grinned. “Mind-free!”

Lily stared at Maggie. “…Yeah, that’s not gonna work. Mistress made sure none of my triggers worked for you.”

“Aw, what! That’s so lame!” Maggie thought some more – seemingly a herculean effort on her part – and gasped again. She ran away, leaving Lily to follow after her.

“W-Wait!” Lily cried. “What’re you doing?”

As they reached Magnolia’s bedroom, Maggie appeared in the doorway, holding up the pocketwatch that Magnolia had used so often on Lily. “If smarter me could hypnotize you, I can just hypnotize you again!”

Lily raised an eyebrow. “Uh… you sure about that?”

“Totes! I’m like, a super-good hypnotits!” Maggie giggled and let the pocketwatch fall in front of Lily’s eyes, gently swaying it back and forth. “So just, like, follow the watch with your eyes and stuff. Take some nice, like, deep breaths… in…” She inhaled, puffing up her cheeks like a chipmunk. “…And out!”

“Alright, Maggie,” Lily said, exasperated, “I really think you should put that away–”

“No, shh! Just, like, stop thinking and obey! Follow the watch and… and fall into trance.”

“Seriously, stop it. I’m not playing this game with you.”

“It’s… not a… game…” Maggie’s eyelids started to droop. “You just have… to… stop thinking, and… o-obey…”

“Um…” Lily watched as Maggie’s eyes followed the pocketwatch back and forth, lightly fluttering. “Are you… okay?”

“Yeaaaaahhhhhh,” Maggie purred, smiling dreamily. “Just… go blank… deep… trance…”

Did she seriously hypnotize herself? Lily rubbed their face and sighed. Honestly! How does she keep finding new ways to fail at her goals?

…Wow, I really am turning into Magnolia. Lily’s immediate instinct was to wake Maggie up, but before they could speak they felt something stirring in their mind. Wait, have I ever seen Magnolia like this? Just completely blank and open? I don’t think I have… They giggled and bit their lip. Gosh, maybe I should take advantage of this? No, she’d get pissed at me, and…

They paused. Wait… this isn’t Magnolia. It’s Maggie. So maybe whatever suggestions I give her will only apply to this… persona? Whatever she is? Lily stared at the entranced woman before them. It was hard to see how this bimbo in a pink maid costume had any similarity to their Mistress. She basically was a different person, at least in all the ways that mattered to Lily.

Lily took a deep breath. You know what? Screw it! I’m never gonna get a chance like this again. I need to take it, no matter the consequences! “Maggie,” they asked quietly. “Can you hear me?”

“Yes…” Maggie murmured. She was definitely in trance; Lily knew that airy, sleepy tone of voice anywhere. It was so strange hearing it in Magnolia’s voice, though.

“Um…” Lily scratched their head. Crap… what do I wanna do with Maggie when she’s tranced out? I’ve never even thought about this before… They thought about all the triggers Magnolia had given them over the years, and blurted out the first thing that came to mind. “From now on, whenever I call you a ditz, you’ll have an orgasm!”

“Mmm… yes…” Maggie whispered, her eyelids fluttering. “Ditz… orgasm…”

Okay… I guess that worked? I’ll have to try it later. Lily tapped their chin and thought some more. What else, what else… maybe some unaware stuff? That’s always super hot when Mistress does it to me. “Maggie, um… p-please take off your clothes.”

“Alright…” Maggie dropped the pocketwatch and slowly stripped out of her maid costume. She moved languidly, as if she was moving through water, and let the pieces of her clothing fall to the floor with no attempt at grace or tidiness.

Once Maggie was completely naked, Lily rubbed their hands together and breathed heavily. Oh, man, oh man. This is a lot to take in. Does Magnolia feel like this every time she trances me? Maybe she’s gotten used to it by now, but… maybe the first time, there was this same sort of thrill? “Now, Maggie,” they said, “I want you to forget that you just did that. As far as you’re concerned, you’re still wearing your maid costume, and you won’t notice anything out of the ordinary until I say… um… oh, what would be a good trigger phrase?”

“Forget…” Maggie purred. “Still wearing… costume… until you say… good trigger phrase…”

“No, I-I didn’t mean… oh, whatever.” Lily sighed and chuckled to themself. Eh, serves me right for trying to work on the spot. At least I got the suggestion in. “Now, I’m gonna count to five– no, up from five to one. And when I say ‘one,’ you’ll be fully awake and… uh, awake.”

“Yes…”

“Five… four… three… two…” Lily snapped their fingers. “One!”

Maggie blinked. Her body straightened out, and she looked around the room for a moment in confusion. “Huh? What was I…” She looked at Lily and cocked her head to the side. “Did I, like, hypnotize you?”

“Sorry, Maggie,” Lily smirked. “I guess it wasn’t as easy as you thought.”

“Aw, darn it!” Maggie huffed and stamped her foot. “This sucks! Hypnosis is super hot! I wanna do some!”

“Welp, too bad!” Lily eyed her carefully, trying to see if she’d notice that she was naked. So far, so good… should I try the other suggestion? “You’re just too much of a… ditz!”

“Oh!” Maggie’s eyes widened in surprise. Her cock twitched and sprung to life, shooting a load against her thigh. “Whoa! Holy cow! Why’d that happen?”

“…Ah.” Crap! I never thought about how to explain it to her! “Th-That’s, um…”

“Do it again!”

“Huh?”

“Do. It. Again!” Maggie grinned. “I wanna do it again!”

“U-Uh… alright, um… ditz.”

“Ahn~!” Maggie bit her lip as she came again, cum dripping down her leg. “So, like, cool! It’s so hot how I can cum, like, on command or whatever!”

“Yeah, uh, it sure is.” Lily scratched their head and smiled nervously. Let’s hope she’s too distracted to question it too much. They felt their stomach growling and realized they hadn’t eaten yet today. “Oh, yeah, isn’t it like lunchtime? We should eat some lunch.”

“Ooh, yay!” Maggie exclaimed. “Where do you wanna, like, go?”

“Um, a-actually,” Lily stammered, “we can’t go out.”

“What?! Wh-Why not?”

“Well, uh…”

“Really?” Maggie gasped. “There’s another virus going on? And the government’s not doing, like, anything to fix it?”

“Yeah, pretty much,” Lily sighed. “It sucks.”

“Gosh, no kidding! I had no idea the world was such a scary place!”

I feel a little bad about spoiling Maggie’s… innocence, for lack of a better word. But I guess “we can’t go out or else we’ll get the plague” isn’t a total lie. “Luckily for us,” Lily said, pulling out their phone, “we can just order online and have it delivered.”

“Wow!” Maggie giggled. “That, like, totally rules!”

“It sure does!” Lily gritted their teeth and feigned a smile. As cute as she is, Maggie’s unending enthusiasm for literally everything can be a little tiring. They walked Maggie through the ordering process, which took longer than they expected since A. Maggie’s perception of technology was stuck squarely in the early-2000s, and B. as previously established, she was very, very stupid. Eventually, though, the two of them managed to order their lunch.

“Gosh, I can’t wait!” Maggie sighed, patting her stomach. “How long will it, like, take? To get here?”

“Usually like… half an hour?” Lily shrugged.

“What?” Maggie’s eyes widened in shock. “But that’s sooooooooo long! That’s, like, almost an hour!”

“…Yeah, uh, close enough. So what do you wanna do to pass the time?”

Maggie tapped her chin and furrowed her brow. Her eyes passed over Lily’s body, and as she stared at them they noticed which part of her body was actually running the show right now.

“Um, M-Maggie,” Lily stammered, trying not to look at the growing erection between their bimbofied Mistress’s legs. “I-I think, ah, I think I know what we c-could do.”

“Mmm…” Maggie purred, licking her lips. “Me too.”

And here I thought she’d be out of stamina after I made her cum earlier. Lily chuckled and rubbed their hands together. “So, if you wanna have sex, what do you wanna do? You’ve been – ugh, the other you, sorry – has been conditioning me to get better at blowjobs lately. I’ve had a lot of practice there, believe me.”

“Ugh, bo-ring!” Maggie scoffed, rolling her eyes. “I wanna, like, cum all over your big titties and stuff!”

Lily blinked. Huh. She’s not usually this straightforward, but… I guess that’s not a bad thing. “Uh, sure, I can give you a titjob.”

“Yay!” Maggie clapped. She reached down to where her skirt should be, but seemingly noticed that she couldn’t actually touch anything. “Huh? What’s… I don’t…”

“Oh, yeah,” Lily said. “Um, what was the… ‘good trigger phrase?’”

Maggie’s eyes fluttered for a moment, then widened in surprise. “Whoa! How’d you make my clothes disappear like that?”

“Um… s-stage magic?”

“Wow…” Maggie said wistfully. “Lily, you’re so cool! I’m lucky I managed to snag an awesome partner like you!”

“Thank you!” Lily replied, before muttering “though luck didn’t have much to do with it.” They pulled up their t-shirt, revealing the black lace bra that Magnolia had picked out for them. Given the way Maggie was practically drooling at the sight of it, they figured that her tastes hadn’t changed too much on that front over the years.

They unclasped the bra and let it fall to the floor, grinning as Maggie stared wolfishly at their boobs. “You like these, huh?” they chuckled.

“Yeahhh,” Maggie sighed, her gaze never straying from Lily’s chest. “Gosh, boobs are just… so nice, y’know?”

“I completely agree,” Lily replied. “Yours are pretty nice, too.”

“My…” Maggie looked down at her chest and gasped. “Oh! Oh my god, boobs! I forgot I had those!” She giggled and groped her chest, squeezing her breasts and lightly massaging them. “Ohhhh, this is a-may-zing! They feel so… right…”

Despite how lewd and silly the sight of Maggie playing with her boobs was, Lily couldn’t help but feel a twinge of pride swelling up inside them. Right, yeah, Maggie sorta came into being when Mistress was in high school. Before she transitioned. This body is still new to her; it must be incredible to just wake up and find yourself looking like you’ve always dreamed you would. “So, do you wanna get started?”

“Hm?”

“Y’know, like…” Lily shook their chest back and forth. “Me giving you a titjob?”

“Oh, yeah…” Maggie bit her lip. “Um, actually…”

“Yes?”

“Do you – uh, I? We? Do we have, like, a strap-on?”

Lily raised an eyebrow. “I… Yeah, I think so. Never used it, though. Why do you ask?”

“Well, like, your boobs look really… nice…” Maggie sighed happily. “But, like, I really like mine too. And, um… can you, like… fuck my titties? Please?”

“Oh!” Lily exclaimed. “Yeah, totally!”

After a few minutes – and a lot of double-checking the safety manual to make sure the dildo wouldn’t pop off accidentally – Maggie knelt down in front of Lily’s strap, giggling to herself even more than usual. “Gosh, this is, like, wild,” she grinned, applying an excessive amount of lube to the shaft. “I never thought I’d have titties like this! Oh, and I’ve never, like, gotten anyone off before, either. I hope I do a good job.”

“As long as you’re happy,” Lily replied. “Not like I can feel it.”

“Huh?” Maggie tilted her head to the side. “But, like… are my boobs too small?”

“Maggie, it’s… it’s not a real penis. It’s plastic. Or silicone?”

“Silicone? Like, um… my Pentium III?”

“…What’s a Pentium III?”

Maggie scoffed. “And people say I’m dumb! It’s like a super-good computer thingy that lets me play Tribes 2 and stuff!”

“Oh, that’s… cool?” Lily scratched their head. Y’know, I didn’t wake up this morning expecting to be lectured about 20-year-old computer parts by a bimbo who was frozen in time back in like 2005, but I’ll roll with it. “Um, are you ready for me to fuck your boobs now?”

“Totally!” Maggie chirped.

“Alright.” Lily took a deep breath and slid the strap-on between Maggie’s breasts. “How’s that feel?” they asked as they moved their hips up and down.

“Hoooooly shit!” Maggie squeaked, breaking out into an even louder fit of giggles. She squeezed her breasts around the shaft, marveling at the sensation of the smooth object gliding through her cleavage. “This is so cool!”

“You really like it?”

“Like it? Lily, I love it!” Maggie beamed at Lily; they couldn’t remember the last time they saw such absolute, unbridled joy in her eyes. “Go faster, I wanna feel my titties bouncing and stuff!”

“Yes, Mistress!” Lily couldn’t help but smile back as they quickened their pace, gradually feeling more and more comfortable with the strap the longer they went. Heh, this is actually really cute! About as cute as fucking someone’s boobs with a strap-on could possibly be, I bet. Maggie can be kinda exhausting sometimes, but I really do think she can be a lot of fun.

“Mmm, fuck,” Maggie purred, “my boobs feel so good! Gosh, I’m so lucky… Lily, like, can you go faster?”

“Y-You sure?” Lily panted. They were actually working up a bit of a sweat; they’d been slacking off their exercise routine for the past couple days, and they weren’t expecting this to be quite so strenuous.

“Yeah!” Maggie nodded. “Faster, faster!”

“Alright…” Lily wiped a bit of sweat off their brow and doubled down. By now the strap itself felt almost totally natural, though it was throwing them off a little that they couldn’t feel what they were doing. I think there’s some straps that have, like, bits that go inside? Or, wait… did I make that up? No, that’s gotta be a thing, right? Like someone would’ve–

“Ow!” Maggie yelped, clutching her nose.

Lily snapped back to reality, freezing in place. “…Did I just hit your nose?”

“Y-Yeah…” Maggie groaned. “Um… I’m not, like, bleeding, though…”

“Oh gosh, I’m so sorry!” Lily’s cheeks turned bright red. Ugh, I should’ve been paying more attention! I ruined a perfectly good scene, not to mention Maggie having some gender euphoria!

At that moment, they heard their phone ding from the couch. They picked it up and grimaced. Great. Of course the delivery guy shows up right now… “W-Well, uh, food’s here. I’ll go get it real quick.”

“Right…”

Lily headed for the front door, still chastising themself over what just happened. Stupid! I hope she doesn’t hold it against me… we’re still pretty much strangers to each other, after all. They swung the door open and feigned a smile. “Thanks! Um, did we tip you through the app already?”

The delivery guy just stared blankly at Lily. He tried to keep his eyes on their face, but they also kept flicking down lower. What’s he staring at…?

Oh. Oh, no. Oh NO. Lily covered their bare chest and turned away, trying to block the strap-on from his view. “U-Um! Uh!” Words! Talk! Do something, me!! “J-Just, um, leave it o-on, uh… the… y-yeah!”

“Yep.” The delivery guy set the bag of food down on the ground, spun on his heels, and bolted for his car.

Lily picked up the bag and slammed the door behind them. Just kill me now, please. Before I do something even more embarrassing.

“Plaything?” a voice called out from the living room.

Guess the two hours is up. “Coming, Mistress.” Lily sighed and walked into the room, holding up the bag of food. “Hope you’re good with Chinese, that’s what Maggie and I decided on.”

“I hope you steered her towards the better options on the menu,” Magnolia replied, turning off her phone’s alarm. She looked down at the strap-on and squinted. “Judging from the lube on my chest, I assume that’s what hit my nose a moment ago?”

“Yeah,” Lily blushed. “I’m sorry, I got distracted, and I’m not really used to using this, and–”

“It’s alright,” Magnolia interrupted. “I’m not bleeding, so I suppose it could have been worse. You go set the table and I’ll fetch us our bathrobes.”

“O-Okay. But…”

“But?”

“Do you, um… want me to turn you back into Maggie?”

Magnolia paused. “Let’s… talk about that after lunch. I’ll want to hear all about your morning with me – her – well, however we want to phrase it.”

“Jesus, ‘Pentium III?’” Magnolia chuckled and shook her head. “That’s a blast from the past. I remember saving up for months just to get a Radeon… I think 9700 Pro? I believe it was back around then. Now I could practically afford a supercomputer if I wanted to.”

“I have no idea what any of that meant,” Lily replied. “I just thought it was funny how Maggie confused ‘silicon’ with–”

“Yes, yes, I understand the humor,” Magnolia said. “It’s just…” She took a sip of her drink and frowned. “I feel a little… embarrassed, I suppose. Hearing about Maggie being an idiot, saying and doing all these silly things. It’s sort of like getting blackout drunk and hearing from all your friends about mooning a cop and forgetting how to put your pants back on or something.”

“That is… very specific.” Lily shrugged. “I mean, I guess I understand that. I don’t think any less of you for any of that, though, if that’s what you were wondering.”

“Oh, no, of course not.” Magnolia reached out and clasped Lily’s hand. “I know you’d never do anything like that. This is just how I feel. I’ve worked for my whole life to be treated with respect and dignity, to prove that I’m smart enough, capable enough, ruthless enough to survive in this world.” She sighed and turned her eyes away from Lily. “Maggie… flies in the face of that. I put that part of me aside for a reason. I know I don’t have anything to prove anymore – hell, I could retire right now and we’d still be set for life – but I guess I’m still not 100% comfortable with letting that go.”

“I totally understand that,” Lily said. “Or at least I think I do. I mean, I’ve never gone through what you have – climbing the corporate ladder and all that. But I know how different Maggie is from how you normally are.”

Magnolia paused and drummed her fingers on the table. “Do you… like her?”

“Well, yeah. She’s a bit of a handful, but…” Lily trailed off. She looks troubled. Does she really want me to be honest here? Or, maybe she wants me to tell her what she wants to hear… but what would that be? “I mean, she’s fun, I guess, but I wouldn’t trade you for her or anything.”

“Of course not,” Magnolia smiled. “I know you love me.”

I feel like there’s a ‘but’ at the end of that sentence. Lily inhaled sharply and covered their chest with their arms. “Mistress, um… I feel like there’s something we’re kinda dancing around, and not saying, even though we… maybe should?”

“Hm.” Magnolia’s tone was indecipherable; all Lily could tell was that she registered what they said, but nothing about how she felt about it. “Plaything, tell me, have you heard from Kassandra recently?”

Lily shrugged. “It’s hard to say. Not really, I guess.”

“You guess?”

“Well, I haven’t really heard her voice, or had a conversation with her, but there’s times where I kinda feel her, like… presence? It’s like how you know someone’s in the room with you, even if you’re not next to each other or looking at each other. I know she’s with me, but she just doesn’t feel like coming out much.” Lily ran a hand through their hair and exhaled. “I know she always tried to keep me safe, so… maybe now that we’re together, and she trusts you, she’s decided to kinda take a vacation.”

“I see.” Again, Lily couldn’t tell anything about Magnolia’s state of mind from her reaction. She was a total blank, and not in a sexy way.

“Why do you ask?” Lily inquired.

Magnolia sighed and set her glasses down. “I’ve been thinking about my… relationship, I suppose you’d call it. With Maggie. And the more I think about it, the more I wonder if…” She swallowed, scratching her chin and avoiding Lily’s eyes. “Have you ever heard of an alter being created from a post-hypnotic suggestion?”

“Huh?” Lily gasped. “You think Maggie’s an alter?”

“I didn’t say that. I asked if you’d heard of any cases where someone developed an alter as a result of hypnosis.”

“Well, that is what you’re saying, isn’t it?”

“…Maybe.” Magnolia fidgeted with her glasses, lightly rotating them with her fingertips as they sat on the table. “I know there’s a certain set of files that apparently do that. Really nasty stuff, I’m glad I never got into it when I was a stupid college kid poking my head into the scene without any clue about what I was doing. But when I gave myself my bimbofication trigger, I never intended to do that to myself. And yet… I think that might be what happened.”

“But how?” Lily asked.

“How should I know?” Magnolia replied. “Brains are weird and react to things in unexpected ways. All I know is that, when Maggie first became active again, she was basically unfrozen from when I was in college. She had no knowledge of what had happened since the last time she was out. But that doesn’t sound like what you and Kassandra have going on.”

“Well, everyone is different. Like, you just said brains react to stuff in unpredictable ways.” Lily took a shaky breath and clenched, then unclenched their fist. “And I… don’t really remember what happened when… he was out, so…”

Magnolia gasped, then reached out and held Lily’s hand. “Oh, Lily, I’m sorry. I hadn’t meant to bring that back into it.”

“N-No, it’s… it’s okay…” Lily sniffled and gave a warm smile. “I know he’s not coming back. And I want to help you work through this, so if any experience I’ve had – even the bad ones – can help you, please, please ask me.”

“Are you sure?”

“Mistress, the way I see it, you own every part of me. That means my memories belong to you too. If you need them, you can have them.”

Magnolia smiled. “That’s… surprisingly eloquent. For you, at least.”

Lily chuckled. “Hey, now, don’t go turning this into a joke!”

“I can’t help that you’re so easy to poke fun at. You should try being less amusing next time.” Magnolia put her glasses back on and sighed. “So, me not remembering what Maggie does isn’t unusual when it comes to alters. That’s reassuring, I guess. But I don’t think I’ve felt that… ‘presence,’ that you feel with Kassandra.”

“I didn’t feel…” Lily swallowed and went quiet for a moment. “Chain. I didn’t feel Chain, either, when I was… I didn’t even really know he was there in the first place. I guess that’s another thing Kassandra protected me from.”

“She’s a good person,” Magnolia nodded. Then she furrowed her brow and scratched her head. “I-I mean… you’re a good– ugh, I’m sorry, I feel like I should have a better grasp on this, I married a plural person after all, but…”

“No, it’s okay. I know it can be hard to understand sometimes. Heck, even I don’t really understand what’s going on in my own head sometimes.”

“I’m… not sure I can handle that.” Magnolia looked down at her naked body. “Plaything, would you be alright with me being… myself the rest of the day? Giving the whole ‘Maggie’ thing a break for a little while?”

“You sure?” Lily placed a hand on Magnolia’s knee. “We wouldn’t have to do any sexy stuff, we could just hang out.”

“No, I’m sure. I need some time to think about this.” Magnolia’s eyes drifted to the strap-on harness that Lily had taken off and placed on a nearby table. “But I wouldn’t be opposed to some sexy stuff, if you’re up to it.”

Lily blushed. “I-I wouldn’t have to top, would I? Because I was actually kinda low-key panicking while I was doing it with Maggie, and–”

“Plaything,” Maggie said sharply, cutting through Lily’s babbling. She pressed her finger to Lily’s lips and grinned. “I think we both know what role you’re better suited to.”

As it turned out, neither of them had much energy for sex by that point. But it served them just as well; it had been ages since they had some peaceful quiet time together, away from Magnolia’s hectic schedule and chronic inability to shut herself away from work when she was at home. So even though all they did was curl up on the couch and watch Ghibli movies all afternoon, that was enough. Being together was more than enough.

As the credits rolled on the fourth movie of the night, Magnolia picked up her phone and squinted at the time. “Hm, getting late. Would you like to call it a night?”

“Mmm, yeah,” Lily yawned, nuzzling Magnolia’s shoulder. “I’m feeling… big sleebpy.”

“What are you even talking about?” Magnolia rolled her eyes and petted Lily softly. “Am I just old, or is your blather especially idiotic sometimes?”

“Yeah,” Lily purred.

Magnolia chuckled and, careful to be gentle with Lily’s head, pulled the blanket off herself and rose off the couch. She scratched her side and hit “eject” on the remote, picking up the Blu-ray case and walking over to the TV. “Did you have fun today, plaything?”

“Mm-hm.” Lily stretched their back and yawned again, rubbing their eyes. “Can’t wait for tomorrow. I think Maggie and I should try playing some games, I’d love to see how she handles Pokkén…”

“Oh.” Magnolia froze. “Well… about that.”

“Hm?”

“I was thinking, maybe it’d be for the best if we just… didn’t bring Maggie back out. For a while.”

“…What?” Lily sat straight up, shaking the sleep out of their head.

“I’m realizing now that our plan doesn’t really make much sense,” Magnolia continued. “I mean, I can hardly have a relaxing break from work if I can’t remember it, can I?”

“But… But what about Maggie?”

“What about her?”

“She’s just gonna be frozen in time for… what, weeks? Months?”

Magnolia pursed her lips. “She’s been woken up from longer naps than that before. She didn’t really seem to mind, did she?”

“Mistress,” Lily said, standing up from the couch, “I’m not sure that’s–”

“Plaything,” Magnolia said sternly, her voice cutting through the room like a blade. “This is my decision. Understand?”

“I…” Lily swallowed, their voice becoming quieter by the word. “I don’t think it… sh-should be. Mistress.”

“Excuse me?” Magnolia glared at Lily.

“L-Look, um,” Lily stammered, “I-I know what it’s like to, ah, t-to… to manage a headmate. I know Kassandra took a lot of convincing to trust you, and let us stay together, b-but… but at least I talked to her, right?”

“What are you getting at?”

“Maggie is… she’s a person. She’s a part of you, and she’s someone you created, but she has her own personality, her own… stuff. And if you’re gonna lock her away for who knows how long, shouldn’t…” Lily took a slow, shaky breath, trying to maintain their composure despite the death glare Magnolia was giving them. “Shouldn’t we… tell her first, at least?”

Magnolia didn’t say anything for a few moments. Lily wondered if they’d gone too far, or if they didn’t explain it in a way she’d understand. Finally, she spoke. “…I hate admitting this, but you have a point.”

“I… I do?”

“Believe me, I’m as surprised as you are. To think anything even remotely profound could come out of that tiny brain of yours…” Magnolia sighed. “But you are right. Or, at least I can’t find any way to refute you without just throwing Maggie under the bus.”

“So…” Lily scratched a spot on her arm. “So what are we gonna do?”

“You said it yourself. We at least owe it to her to tell her what’s going to happen.” Magnolia pulled out her phone. “I’ll set the timer for 10 minutes. You activate my trigger, explain things to Maggie, and when the timer’s done I’ll wake up.”

Lily nodded. “Okay, Mistress. But…”

“But?”

“Well, I mean, she’s probably gonna ask if she’s ever gonna be let out again, and…” Lily trailed off.

Magnolia scowled. “I know. I know, and… I don’t have an answer for her.” Her thumb hovered over the timer, and she swallowed. “Do you… do you think she could forgive me, if…?”

Lily placed a hand on Magnolia’s shoulder. “Let me worry about that, Mistress. You worry so much about me, but… let me carry this for you.”

Magnolia smiled weakly. “Thank you, Lily.” She started the timer. “Go.”

“Yes, Mistress.” Lily touched Magnolia’s forehead and said, “bimbo brain drain.”

Magnolia sighed and went limp, sagging into Lily’s arms. After a few seconds, she stirred, a giggle escaping her lips. “Mmm… hey, my nose doesn’t hurt anymore!” Maggie blinked a few times, looking down at herself and Lily. “And I’m… wearing clothes?”

“Oh, uh, right,” Lily grimaced. They helped Maggie stand up and dusted themself off. “So, it’s been… a few hours, since we last talked.”

“Huh?” Maggie looked towards the large window at the other end of the living room. “Yeah, it’s dark outside! That means it’s later!” She looked at Lily expectantly, as if waiting for them to congratulate her on figuring that out.

“…Yep, you’re totally right!” Lily said, faking an enthusiastic smile. “And, um… the reason for that, is…” They sighed and rubbed their face. “So, I don’t really know how to say this…”

Maggie stared at Lily, then cast her eyes downward. “It’s Magnolia, right?”

Lily blinked. “Um… y-yeah. She, uh, she kinda wants to… like, be herself? No, wait, ah–”

“Does she… not like me?”

“N– Th-That’s not it! I mean, sh-she’s not… she’s not really used to sharing her body with someone else. And she, um… she wants some time to think about that.”

“Oh?” Maggie tilted her head to the side. “It’s like that, huh? I understand.”

“You do?”

“Nope!” Maggie giggled.

Lily groaned. Ugh, I was so worried about how she’d take the news that I forgot how hard it’d be to get her to understand what’s even happening! “Alright, how do I phrase this… uh, what were some of your favorite things when you were growing up? Like cartoons, books, stuff like that?”

“Oh, gosh, there’s a lot…” Maggie tapped her chin. “Um… Dragon Ball?”

“Wait, really?” Lily asked. “You watched Dragon Ball as a kid?”

“It was the 90s, everyone watched Dragon Ball.”

“Fair enough. Okay, so… you remember Lunch and Launch? How they were the same person, but they changed personalities whenever they sneezed?”

“Totally, yeah!” Maggie beamed.

“Basically, you and Magnolia are like that,” Lily explained. “And she, um… doesn’t want to sneeze anymore.”

“Oh, yeah, sneezing sucks,” Maggie nodded. “You ever get, like, a really bad sneezing fit? It’s the worst.”

“I… I think you’re not quite getting my meaning here. If Magnolia doesn’t sneeze, then you don’t… come out.”

Maggie blinked. “…I… I don’t?”

“No.”

“So, she… Magnolia, she…” Maggie’s breath hitched.

“Oh, Maggie, she doesn’t–” Lily couldn’t finish that sentence. Maggie was stupid, but they knew she could tell if they were lying. They reached out and held her, expecting her to start crying.

But instead, Maggie patted Lily on the back and smiled. “Are you gonna be, like, okay?” she asked.

“Uh… y-yeah?” Lily raised an eyebrow. “I… shouldn’t I be asking you that?”

“Like, why?” she laughed.

Lily pulled away and stared at their bimbofied Mistress. “Maggie, you don’t understand. Magnolia may never let you be awake again.”

“No, I get that part,” Maggie replied.

“Then why are you so… happy?”

Maggie gestured to her body. “Why wouldn’t I be? I went from a gross-looking college shut-in to a hot babe!” She pointed at the ceiling. “I have a giant house! I have a fucking chan… shandle… um…” Her smile faded slightly. “L-Lily, what do you call that?”

“Huh?” Lily looked at what Maggie was pointing at. “Oh, that’s a chandelier.”

“Right, yeah! I’ve got a candle-ear!” Maggie giggled. “And, even better than all of that…” She smiled at Lily. “I have you. A super-pretty, awesome person who gave me two of the best days of my entire life.”

“Maggie…” Lily gasped. “B-But… aren’t you scared? What if this is your last moment… ever?”

“Well, that’d suck if that were true,” she said, casting her eyes down. “But… if this is where I say goodbye… at least I didn’t go out on a bad note, right?” She kissed Lily’s cheek. “So thank you, Lily. For everything.”

Lily felt tears welling up. “You’re welcome, Maggie.”

“There’s just one teeny-tiny little thing I wanna do,” Maggie said. “While I still have the chance.”

“Name it! I’m all ears!”

Maggie grinned. “Mind-free!”

“…Ah…” Lily sighed. “Sorry, Maggie, it still doesn’t work.”

“Oh, boo.” Maggie pouted and stuck her tongue out. “Magnolia’s no fun! Tell her I said that!”

“You got it,” Lily chuckled. “Anything else you’d like her to know?”

“Hm… tell her that she’s a stupid smarty-pants, and she needs to, like, be like a million times funner! And she needs some cuter outfits! And…” Maggie paused. She looked down and reached into her pocket, noticing Magnolia’s phone for the first time. “And… tell her she has a good thing going,” she smiled, looking at the countdown on the screen. “Tell her not to waste it.”

Maggie pulled Lily in and kissed them just as the alarm went off. Lily felt her body go limp, but they held her tightly, not wanting to lose this moment, this brief instant of connection.

When Magnolia opened her eyes again, she was surprised to see Lily crying. “Plaything? Is everything okay?”

“Y-Yeah,” Lily sniffled, wiping a tear from their eye. “Yeah, it’s okay.”

“How… how did Maggie take it?”

“Um, honestly? Pretty well. She, uh, she wanted me to tell you something.”

“Oh?” Magnolia scoffed and rolled her eyes. “And what would that be?”

Lily glared at Magnolia. “She said we had a good thing going, and that you shouldn’t waste it.”

Magnolia froze. “…Oh. Um… I… I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have been so dismissive.”

“She also said you were no fun, and – this is a direct quote, by the way – a ‘stupid smarty-pants.’”

“Well, she has a point,” Magnolia laughed. “I think ‘fun’ is just about the least accurate word I’d use to describe myself. But it wasn’t so bad to let someone with a better sense of that take the reins for a day.”

“Mhm.” Lily yawned and rubbed their eyes. “Mistress, I’m sorry, but I’m tired, and sad, and I wanna just cry myself to sleep if that’s okay.”

“By all means,” Magnolia sighed. “Do you want me to be the big spoon?”

“Yeah.” Lily hugged Magnolia and rocked her back and forth. “Um, M-Mistress… can you promise me something?”

“What is it, plaything?”

Lily looked up at Magnolia and gave their best puppy-dog stare. “Could you please let Maggie out every once in a while?”

Magnolia reflexively scowled, but when she saw Lily’s face and the pleading in their eyes her expression softened. “I’ll… think about it. Maybe we can discuss if further tomorrow?”

“Okay.” Lily nuzzled Magnolia’s chest and sighed softly. “I really did have fun today, Mistress…”

“I’m glad to hear it, plaything.” Magnolia kissed Lily’s forehead and petted their head. “Although, there’s been a question that I’ve been meaning to ask you today…”

“Hm?”

“Well, since we both technically have alters now… do you think Kassandra would get along with Maggie?”

“Absolutely the fuck not,” Kassandra said.

Lily smiled. “Uh, she just said no.”

Magnolia chuckled and patted Lily’s back. “Yeah, I thought as much. Come along, now, let’s get some sleep.” As she led them off to bed, she made a mental note to schedule some more personal time at the office. She knew she needed to spend more time at home, with Lily.

And that Lily needed to spend a little time with a certain someone, too.