“You look fine, plaything. Honestly.”

Lily stifled a yawn and fidgeted slightly, watching the floor number tick down. “Well, I wanna make a good impression! These are fancy people, I don’t want to embarrass you or anything.”

Magnolia cupped Lily’s chin and peered into their eyes. “Lily. There is nothing that you could do to embarrass me. And even if there was, it certainly wouldn’t be your outfit. After all, I couldn’t be embarrassed by something I picked out, now could I?”

“I… guess that makes sense.” Lily looked down at their outfit, a light blue blouse over a loose skirt and flats. “But, I dunno, this seems kinda casual for a business conference, don’t you think?”

“Then it’s a good thing you’re not going to the conference today.”

The elevator dinged, and the doors opened. Magnolia strode confidently out into the lobby, followed by Lily, once they put together what Magnolia just said. “Wait, what?” Lily said. “What do you mean I’m not going to the conference? I flew all the out to Prism City with you, I’m not just not going!”

“Trust me, Lily,” Magnolia replied, moving towards the front entrance, “you would be bored out of your mind if you came along today. It’s all lectures on economic theory and management practices; all I’m looking forward to is the complimentary lunch, and even that’s probably going to be mediocre.”

“B-But,” Lily stammered, practically sprinting to catch up with Magnolia, “if I’m not here, then where am I going?”

“Well, I was planning to leave you up in the hotel room with your Nintendo or whatever you call it. But, luckily for you, there’s a hypnotist in town.”

Lily raised an eyebrow. “Like, besides you?”

Magnolia chuckled. “Yes, plaything, besides me. She calls herself Mistress Weiss; she’s something of an up-and-comer in the erotic hypnosis community. And she does in-person sessions.” Magnolia pushed through the revolving door just as her car rolled up. “Just, please, trust me on this. Go play with this Weiss, and tomorrow, you’ll get to be my arm candy while I play nice with the other attendees. I promise.”

Lily furrowed their brow and scratched their chin. Gosh, this is all so sudden. I’ve never even really gone under for anyone but Mistress… but, she’s already paid for this, and she clearly wants me to go. And I did kinda impose on her by tagging along on this trip… “Okay. I guess I’ll try it out.”

“Thank you.” Magnolia opened the car door and kissed them on the cheek as they got inside. “Weiss’s place will be down an alleyway, on the right-hand side. I’ll come pick you up at eight tonight. Have fun, plaything.”

All along the car ride, Lily couldn’t ignore the anxious feeling in their gut. Even though they had absolute trust in Magnolia, something about this play date didn’t feel right. They had no idea who this “Mistress Weiss” even was; Magnolia seemed to be passingly familiar with her, but did she really do that much research? What if she was some kind of creep?

Lily shook their head and took a deep breath. Mistress wouldn’t trust someone else with me unless they were legit. And even if she does try to pull something, Mistress has all sorts of safeties and stuff in place, so everything should be fine…

At last, the car rolled to a stop. Lily got out of the car and looked around. Dang, kind of a dumpy part of town. They noticed the alleyway and cautiously went over to the right-hand door. They took a deep breath before knocking.

Within moments, the door opened, revealing a woman with dark brown hair and olive skin. “Uh, hi? Can I help you?”

“Um, yeah,” Lily said, “I have an, um… appointment? With Mistress Weiss?”

The other woman’s eyes lit up. “Oh, you must be Lily!” she smiled. “Come in, Weiss is still getting ready.”

Lily stepped inside, but raised an eyebrow. “You’re not Weiss?”

“Nope! I’m her girlfriend, actually. Name’s Val.” Val was dressed even more casually than Lily; fuzzy socks, galaxy leggings, and a comfy-looking sweatshirt.

Upon closer inspection, though, Lily noticed something else. “Is that a collar?” they asked.

Val’s hand shot up to her neck, her cheeks turning deep red. “Um! Y-Yeah, it is!” Her fingers fidgeted with the chrome buckle. “But I’m not, uh, ‘collared,’ per say. It’s just… I-I like wearing it.” She looked down at the floor and muttered, “I like yours too.”

Lily blinked. My collar? Their hand brushed their neck, and they felt the polished leather and fur trim. Oh, right. Wow, I have it on so much I totally forgot it was there. They looked around the room. It had clearly been a somewhat-dumpy bar at one point, but it had been converted into a living room, with a well-loved couch sat across from a coffee table littered with books and knick-knacks.

They sat down on the couch, crossing their legs and idly playing with the hem of their skirt. “So, uh, how long have you two been together?”

“A couple months,” Val replied. “She can seem kinda intimidating at first, but she’s a real sweetheart. Are you familiar with her online stuff? She started making files recently, but she’s done some text inductions in the past.”

“If I’m being honest,” Lily sighed, “I hadn’t even heard of her until today. My… um, wife–” I guess that’s kinda what she is to me? Wait, would these people even be freaked out if I called her Mistress? Gah, I’ve never talked frankly about this with anyone, this is so weird… “–she’s in town for this big business conference, and she thought I’d be bored, so she kinda sprung this on me at the last minute.”

“Well, I can tell you that Weiss is way better than some lame conference,” Val chuckled. “But it’s nice of her to do that for you. It sounds like you two are pretty open about kink stuff.”

“You could say that again,” Lily smiled.

But before Val could take Lily up on their offer, the sound of creaking stairs filled the room. Lily turned their head and saw a woman walking towards them. She wore a black leather jacket over a white t-shirt, with matching leather pants and clunky, heavy boots. She was pale, almost unearthly so, which only made her dark eyeshadow and black lipstick stand out even more. Her hair was even whiter than her skin, thoroughly bleached and styled into an undercut. “Hello, Lily,” she said in a posh, slightly too-perfect English accent.

Oh god I’m so gay. Lily gulped and felt their cheeks turn red. “H-Hi! So you’re Mistress Weiss, I take it?”

“Well, just ‘Weiss’ is fine,” she replied, flashing a brilliant smile. “Wouldn’t be polite of me to impose an honorific, after all. But if you’d like to call me ‘Mistress,’ I won’t stop you.”

“I’ll just stick with Weiss, then.” Lily scratched their arm and tried to get their breathing under control.

“Aw, are you nervous?” Weiss cooed. There wasn’t derision in her voice; it felt more playful than that.

“I’ve just, uh, never done anything like this before,” Lily replied. “I mean, the only person who’s ever hypnotized me is my… wife.”

“Well if it makes you feel any better, this is new for me too. You’re the first person to buy me for a whole day.” Weiss paused. “Well, not ‘buy.’ You can’t buy a human being, after all. But you understand my meaning.”

Lily let out a nervous giggle. “Y-Yep!”

Weiss sat down on the couch, at the opposite end from Lily. “So, first off, safewords. I use the stoplight system with Valerie, but if you use something else, we can use that instead.”

“That works for me.”

“Okay, good. Now, how far do you want things to go, in terms of sexual activity?”

“Um…” Lily raised an eyebrow. “H-How far could they go?”

“Well, you’re in a flat with two lesbians and a bookshelf full of sex toys,” Weiss chuckled. “So I’m sure you can imagine the upper limit.”

Lily swallowed. “Mhm. Yeah, I can, uh… definitely picture that.” They furrowed their brow and paused, lost in thought. “I guess… can we not do any of that stuff, at least not right away? See, we’re strangers here, and my wife is the only person I’ve really… been with, in a while. And I’d feel kinda weird about doing any of that with someone else.”

“Absolutely,” Weiss replied. “I totally get that. And non-sexual touching? Like, for instance, yanking your hair?”

“Ooh, hair play…” Lily nodded profusely. “Yes, that’s definitely fine.”

Weiss grinned. “Noted. So, I guess the remaining question is, what do you want me to do?”

“Um…” Lily furrowed their brow. “I mean… I don’t know? I do a lot of stuff with my wife–” Huh, that’s sounding less and less weird the more I say it. “–but I’m not sure if any of that would translate with another person.”

“Well, why don’t you just do a basic induction first?” Val said. “That way, Lily can get a feel for Weiss’s style, and Weiss can see what Lily responds to best.”

“Valerie, this is why I love you,” Weiss replied. “Always coming up with the ideas I can never think of. That is, unless I don’t allow you to think.”

Val gasped and blushed furiously. “W-Weiss! Not in front of the guest!”

Lily stifled a giggle. “Oh, don’t mind me!” Heh, wonder if I look that cute when Mistress makes me feel all flustered.

Weiss ran a hand through her hair. “Okay, so you said your wife hypnotizes you a lot? What kind of induction does she usually use?”

“Well, she has this pocketwatch that she uses sometimes,” Lily replied. “Other times it’s just her voice, or a touch trigger on my body, or- oh! One time, there was this VR helmet…” They trailed off, unsure whether Weiss’s expression was confusion, annoyance, or condescension. “Um, so, she uses a lot of stuff.”

“You can keep going if you’d like,” Weiss said, “I love hearing about other peoples’ experiences with hypnosis. I’ve been meaning to get a VR headset, actually… But, in any case, I’d like to try something a little different. Has she ever done a butterfly induction on you?”

“Butterfly induction?” Lily cocked their head to the side. “What’s that?”

“Valerie is quite familiar with them,” Weiss replied. “As I recall, that was the first time I put her under- well, second, technically. I wasn’t even trying to hypnotize her; I was doing a demonstration, and she just dropped from splash damage. Isn’t that right, Valerie?”

Val buried her head in her hands and nodded silently.

“Sounds exciting!” Lily replied. “How does it work?”

“It’s mostly a pattern interrupt,” Weiss said, “mixed with a bit of visual focus. Basically, you follow my fingers as they swirl around, until I pull them down with and you drop. I like it because it sort of plays into the clichés about hypnosis.” The more she talked, the more her face lit up. “Like, you wouldn’t expect someone wiggling their fingers in front of your face to work outside of some cheesy old movie, but it does! And that’s just so cool to me.”

Lily found themselves smiling along with Weiss. Wow, she’s really enthusiastic about hypnotizing people. Almost gives me a mad scientist or supervillain kind of vibe. “That sounds great! Let’s try it!”

“Wonderful.” Weiss turned her head towards Val. “Would you like to leave the room, or are you comfortable with getting dropped in the presence of a stranger?”

Val crossed her arms in front of her chest and raised an eyebrow. “I know what’s coming this time. You don’t think I could resist?”

“No.”

“…I’ll head upstairs.”

“Good girl.” Weiss turned back to Lily. “Now, just let me know when you’re ready.”

Lily nodded and took a deep breath. Gonna be weird going under for someone who’s not Mistress. If she looked into this woman and agreed to let me be played with, though, everything should be okay. Only… “Actually, could I request something?”

“Of course, what is it?”

“Well, could you maybe give me a trigger while I’m hypnotized? Just something simple.”

“Like what?”

“Like…” Lily tapped their chin. “I dunno. Surprise me? But keep it PG, nothing sexual.”

Weiss nodded. “Alright, then. Are you ready to begin?”

“Yes.”

“Good.” Weiss touched Lily’s right wrist and lifted it slightly, while she held her other hand a few inches away from Lily’s face, her palm parallel to the floor and her fingers spread slightly. “So, I want you to focus on my fingertips, Lily. Watch them closely.” She began to move them around, first in small circles then wider and wider arcs.

Lily’s gaze locked on to Weiss’s fingers, their breathing slow and steady. Weiss began wiggling her fingers slightly, keeping Lily on their toes about the direction their hand would move next. They couldn’t settle into a rhythm; every time they thought her hand would go left, it went right. If they thought it would go up, it would go down. They needed to constantly pay attention and focus intently.

In one fluid motion, Weiss’s hand turned so the palm was facing up, curled into a fist, and plunged downwards. “Sleep.”

Lily’s head fell to their chest. Their eyes slipped shut, their mind tumbling further and further down.

“That’s it,” Weiss purred, “deeper and deeper.” She raised Lily’s wrist a few inches higher, gently swaying it just enough that their dulled mind would notice but without distracting them. “Now, I’m going to let go of your wrist. When I do, just let it fall into your lap, all the way down. All the way down, just like your mind. Because when I let go, all your mind can do…”

She let go. “Is fall.”

Lily couldn’t stop giggling. They felt a twinge of embarrassment about that, but they couldn’t quite remember why. Everything just felt so funny, so silly to them. Why shouldn’t they be giggling? Giggling was fun! It made them feel ditzy, and silly, and-

“And stop.”

Lily’s mouth closed. They blinked, and the world felt a lot less funny to them. “…Wow,” they gasped.

Weiss smiled, her eyes studying Lily like a scientist discovering a new species. “I take it I selected something to your liking?”

“Oh, god yes.” Lily stood up from the couch, realizing that they’d probably been on it for… an hour? More, perhaps? Time always felt fuzzy when they were in trance. They walked over to the bar, sitting on the stool next to Weiss. “Like, you totally hit the nail on the head. How did you know I would like that?”

“I asked you,” Weiss replied. “While you were in trance. I don’t like asking subs questions during a trance state, but sometimes it helps me find out what really pushes their buttons. And it looks like I hit one of yours really hard, giggle.”

Lily blinked, realizing what was about to happen a split second before it did. Then they giggled, and that realization melted away. What were they thinking about? Whatever it was, it couldn’t have mattered much. Because if it did, they wouldn’t feel so happy, so bubbly, so­–

“Stop.”

–so goddamn hot, holy crap. Lily squirmed, rubbing their thighs together and biting their lip. “C-Could you warn me before you start that up again?”

“Do you really want that, Lily?” Weiss leaned forward, her eyes boring into Lily’s. “Or maybe you like it better, knowing that I hold your intelligence, your mind, in the palm of my hand. That at any moment, I could simply say the magic word, and you’d be nothing more than an empty-headed toy.” She tilted Lily’s chin up, her eyes sparkling with ill intentions. “So tell me. Do you want me to warn you, or do you just want to…” She smiled wickedly, knowing that Lily would complete the sentence in their head.

Lily whimpered. It felt so different, being dominated by someone that wasn’t Magnolia; no, not different, but fresh and exhilarating all the same. Like the first time Magnolia had made them feel small and submissive and weak. They’d gotten so used to feeling like that, they almost forgot how powerful it could be. “P-Please…”

“Please what?” Weiss’s thumb parted Lily’s lips. She was clearly relishing, savoring how much she was making Lily squirm. And that only made Lily squirm more.

“Please… Lily gasped. “Make me giggle…” They closed their eyes just as Weiss said the word, and felt their mind turn sticky and sweet. They nearly fell off the barstool, but Weiss caught their arm and helped them stay upright.

“Careful,” Weiss said sternly. “Wouldn’t be fun to hit your head, now.”

Hitting their head sounded plenty fun to Lily, though. Actually, everything sounded fun. Everything was fun. Even just sitting on a stool, staring partially at and partially through Weiss, was more fun than they’d experienced in… maybe ever? They certainly couldn’t remember having more fun, but it was hard to remember much of anything.

Weiss looked over Lily’s shoulder and smiled. “Oh, Valerie! Come over here a sec!”

Lily heard footsteps coming from behind. “What’s up?” Val asked. “Make it quick, I gotta pee real bad.”

“It’ll just take a second,” Weiss replied. She tapped Lily’s shoulder to get their attention. “Lily, sweetie? Valerie’s been lifting weights upstairs. Wanna see if you could beat her at arm wrestling?”

Lilly nodded, their giggling remaining at a constant level. Words seemed so out of reach; and who needed them, anyway, when you could just giggle?

Weiss grinned. “Valerie, stand behind the bar, I’ll count you off.”

“Really? Arm wrestling? What is this, kindergarten?” Val sighed and hopped over the bar, moving in front of Lily. Her sweatshirt was off now, revealing a comfy, slightly sweaty t-shirt, as well as a toned, muscular pair of arms.

“Ready?” Weiss asked.

Val set her elbow on the table. Lily didn’t seem to take the hint, so Val picked up their arm and clasped their hand into hers. “I guess so.”

“Okay. Three, two, one!” Weiss slapped the countertop. “Go!”

Lily felt their arm being pulled down. It kinda hurt. They pushed against it, and brought their arm back to the center. That felt a lot better.

“Valerie, what are you doing?” Weiss asked. “C’mon, stop playing around.”

“I-I’m not playing!” Val groaned. She stared at Lily’s oblivious face with a mixture of determination, anger, and a slight hint of horror. “What the hell…”

Was there something else Lily needed to do? They had the vague feeling there was, but it didn’t seem like much of a concern. Their arm was comfortable where it was, and more importantly, they were giggling. As long as they were giggling, that was all that mattered.

They felt Weiss move up beside them wrap her arms around their chest. “Giggle,” she whispered, “giggle, giggle.”

Lily’s eyes went shut as their body convulsed, their giggling turning to full-on belly laughs the more Weiss repeated the word. Their arm slowly went down to the table, but it didn’t matter. Nothing mattered. All they needed to do was giggle. Giggle. Giggle. Gig–

“Stop.”

Just like that, the world came back to them. Lily opened their eyes, and saw Val staring at them in awe. “Shit, you’re strong,” she gasped. “If you hadn’t been under that suggestion, you probably would’ve won.”

“Huh?” Lily looked down at their own hand. Am I really that strong? Huh, I had no idea… “Wait, does that mean… Weiss, did you cheat to make Val win?”

Weiss grinned sheepishly and scratched the back of her head. “Well, uh. It wasn’t really a competition, per say. I just wanted to see how you’d react to losing.”

“If it makes you feel better,” Val said, “she does stuff like that all the time.”

“I do not!” Weiss retorted.

“Oh, bullshit,” Val snapped. “What do you call dropping me right before I kicked your ass in Smash last night?”

“Well, I figured we could ‘smash’ in-”

“Don’t you dare finish that sentence.” Val rolled her eyes and turned back to Lily. “See? Such a sore loser.”

“I mean, I’m not like offended or anything,” Lily shrugged. “I just thought it was kinda funny.”

“Funny, huh?” Weiss touched Lily’s shoulder and squeezed. “So I guess you could say I make you giggle?”

Lily gasped, and then they felt the trigger take–

“Stop.”

–hold? They shook their head. “Ugh, don’t do that again. The rapid stuff makes me feel weird.”

“Oh, shit. Sorry.” Weiss rubbed her eyes and sighed. “I really should be more careful with stuff like that.”

“Hey, you’re still new to the whole ‘domming for money’ thing,” Val said. “You didn’t mean anything by it.”

“Yeah,” Lily added, “it’s okay.”

“That’s nice of you to say,” Weiss replied, “but I truly am sorry. You’re my client, after all, and I shouldn’t make you feel uncomfortable. Unless you’re into that, of course.”

Lily giggled – genuinely this time. Huh, she really cares about making sure people feel happy. Even if she might mess up sometimes, her heart’s in the right place. Maybe I can trust her a little more… “Hey, you know what?” they said. “Let’s try some sexy stuff.”

Weiss raised an eyebrow. “Are you implying it hasn’t been sexy up until now?”

“I mean, I wanna use one of those toys you mentioned earlier.”

“Ah, I see,” Weiss chuckled. “Well, that changes things. Anything you had in mind?”

“I dunno! How about you choose for me?”

“Oh, that’s a dangerous request, Lily.” Weiss’s eyes sparkled as she tapped her chin, eyeing Lily up and down, as if she were running calculations in her head about what to do with them. “But, I believe I can oblige.”

She took Lily’s hand and led them up the stairs, into the attic space. Lily’s eyes went wide as they took everything in – the RGB lighting, the huge bed, the massive TV and computer setup. “Oh, this is so cool!”

“I know it is.” Weiss walked over to the shelf and picked up a magic wand, unspooling the cord wrapped around it. “Do you enjoy edging, Lily?”

“I-It’s…” Lily felt their cheeks flush, memories of the times Magnolia denied them release flashing through their head. “…fun.”

“Well, what I had in mind involves this bad boy–” Weiss gave the wand a little shake for emphasis “–and some… let’s call it ‘partially-self-enforced’ denial. I give you a suggestion that your hand will pull the wand away right before you cum, and it will keep doing that until I give you permission. How does that sound?”

Lily gulped. Oh, boy.

It was around the sixth edge that Lily began to regret their decision. They desperately tried to push the wand back down onto their clit, but their hand was completely immovable. Then they had a few moments of reprieve, before it tilted back down to begin the process anew.

Weiss watched them from her chair, leaning forward, her hands clasped together, her eyes focused intently on every minute motion of Lily’s body. She tried to look stoic and aloof, but even Lily could tell how turned on she was.

That is, when they weren’t distracted by the pleasure coursing through them. It built and built, until–

“Gah!” Lily groaned as the wand pulled away once again. They didn’t even try to fight it anymore; all they could manage was a pathetic, desperate whimper. “P-Please… no more…”

Weiss blinked rapidly, snapping themselves out of their transfixed gaze. “O-Okay. Lily, how are you feeling right now?”

Lily closed their eyes, gasping as the wand once again touched their clit. “I-I’m… god, please…”

“You need to be specific, Lily. Do you want to stop, or do you want to cum?”

“Cum!” Lily blurted out, more loudly than they meant to. “Please, please, need to cum, need…” They babbled some more, their mind unable to form anything coherent.

“Oh, that’s adorable.” Weiss stood up, sauntering over to Lily, her voice dripping with menace. “You think that’s up to you? What a silly, stupid little thing you are.” She grabbed the wand and yanked it out of Lily’s hand, their iron grip suddenly melting.

“Nooo,” Lily mewled.

“Tell me, slut. Why should I allow you to cum?”

Something about that didn’t feel quite right. “Not a… slut…”

“You’re not? Then why are you begging me to let you cum? Only a slut would make the kinds of noises you’re making.”

“N-No!” Lily sat up, panting. “Yellow!”

Weiss turned off the wand and set it on the floor. “Okay, let’s pause,” she said, her voice returning to normal. “Just take a minute, catch your breath, and we’ll talk about the scene.”

“It’s… it’s just a little thing, really.” Lily ran their fingers through their hair. “I don’t like being called a… a slut. I dunno, I just… it feels weird.”

“Okay, well, is there something else you’d like me to call you?”

“Mistress always calls me ‘plaything.’” Lily paused, then their eyes went wide. “I-I mean my wife! Wife, not… that other thing!”

Weiss laughed. “Oh, honey, you don’t need to hide it around here! But, if you want to be a plaything, then that’s what I’ll call you.”

Lily held their head in their hands. “Thanks… ugh, sorry, I feel so stupid now. I shouldn’t have interrupted the scene for something like this…”

“No, it’s okay.” Weiss wrapped her arms around Lily and squeezed them tight. “My job is to make sure you have a good time, alright? If you need anything, no matter how small or silly it might seem, don’t hesitate to ask.”

“…Thanks.” Lily returned the hug and sighed. “I do feel kinda bad, though.”

“Well, I know one way to make yourself feel good.” Weiss grinned and held up the wand.

“Wow, you have a joke for every occasion, huh?”

“And they’re all terrible. So, ready to finish?”

Lily nodded, lying back down and getting comfortable. “Okay, I’m–”

Weiss didn’t wait for them to finish their sentence before moving the wand over their clit, hooking her other arm around Lily’s shoulders and holding them close as they shuddered and spasmed. “That’s it, plaything,” they whispered, “you’re doing such a good job. No holding back now.”

“Hhaahhh…” Lily gasped, rocking their head back, curling their toes as the pleasure surged through them. Their eyes rolled back into their head as they finally came, a blissful, dopey smile spreading across their face as they sagged limply into Weiss’s arms.

“There we go.” Weiss let them down gently, brushing a few strands of hair out of their face. “Now how did that feel, plaything?”

“Mmm… so good, Mistress…” Lily blinked, forcing themselves to think through the afterglow. “Uh, W-Weiss. Sorry, force of habit.”

“Nothing to apologize for,” Weiss replied. “Now, do you need any aftercare? I can get you some water, a nice warm blanket. I think we’ve got some cookies in the kitchen, too.”

“That all sounds… really nice.” Lily giggled softly. “But can we just, like, cuddle here for a while?”

Weiss stroked Lily’s hair and smiled. “Yes, of course. But perhaps the bed would be a tad more comfortable than a towel on the floor?”

Lily touched her inner thigh sighed. “I’m such a mess, though…”

“Trust me, Lily, you’re far from the first person to get cum on my sheets. C’mon, let’s get you up.” Weiss helped Lily to their feet, and they crawled onto the bed, sighing happily once they got comfortable.

“Gosh, this is a nice bed…” Lily mumbled.

“So I’ve been told.” Weiss tossed her leather jacket onto her chair and laid down next to Lily. “So, big spoon or little spoon?”

Lily didn’t say anything in response. Instead, they turned to their side and wrapped their arms around Weiss’s midsection, pulling them in close.

“Guess it’s big spoon,” Weiss smirked, turning over and settling into a comfortable position.

After a few minutes, she heard quiet snoring from behind her. Weiss chuckled softly. “Damn, really tuckered them out, didn’t I? Guess I’ll give them some privacy for their nap…” She attempted to pry Lily’s arms off her, but Lily tightened her grip and nuzzled Weiss’s back. “Huh, guess that won’t work… maybe Valerie could help me get free.” She reached for her pocket, but couldn’t find her phone. “Where did I…”

She looked over at the nightstand. There, next to a small wooden box, was her cell phone. She reached as far as she could, but couldn’t even get close to it. “…Shit.”

Lily opened their eyes groggily, taking a few moments to remember where they were. Wha… did I fall asleep? They patted the spot next to them. Weren’t Weiss and I gonna cuddle? Where… They sat up slowly, feeling a slight draft down at their feet. There was a blanket laid on top of them, slightly fuzzy and warm. They got off the bed and wrapped themselves up in it, making their way downstairs.

Weiss and Val were lounging on the couch and noticed Lily descending the stairs. “Oh, hey,” Val said, looking up from her Switch. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” Lily replied, scratching their cheek and yawning. “Wow, I must’ve been more tired than I thought. The flight up here was kind of a nightmare, we didn’t get in till after midnight.”

“Ugh, yeah, that sucks,” Val winced. “Well, at least you could get some sleep here. You were out for a couple hours.”

“Sorry,” Lily groaned, rubbing her eyes. “I didn’t mean to pass out on you gals.”

“If there’s anything you should be sorry for, it’s pinning me down in your sleep,” Weiss chuckled. “Seriously, how are you so strong?”

Lily shrugged. “All I know is that I definitely wanna hit you up on that cookies offer from earlier.”

Weiss smiled and tapped Val on the shoulder. “Valerie, dear, would you be so kind as to bring our guest some cookies?”

“Can’t,” Val muttered, “I’m trying to royally mess up this Arzuros.”

“The game can wait, love.” Weiss winked at Lily before leaning over and whispering something in Val’s ear. Val’s eyes went lidded as her head drooped to the side. “Now, go bring Lily their cookies.”

“Yes, Madame,” Val murmured. She left the Switch on the couch and walked over to the door behind the bar, opening it and going into the kitchen.

“Whoa,” Lily giggled. They sat down where Val was previously, picking up the Switch and pausing Val’s game for her. Out of morbid curiosity, they went to the home screen and scrolled through the list of games she had installed. Their eyes widened when they saw one game in particular. “Holy crap! You’ve got Pokkén!”

“Oh, do you play that one?” Weiss asked. “I dabbled in it a while back.”

“Hell yeah, I play it!” Lily grinned. “I’ve even won a few tournaments!”

Weiss whistled appreciatively. “Impressive. Never made a pro fighting game player cum until they passed out before.” As Val returned with a small jar of cookies, Weiss got a funny look on her face. “I’ve got an idea.”

“Hm?” Lily asked, their mouth full of cookies.

“I’d like to modify the gi– er, laughing trigger I installed earlier. Instead of a simple on/off switch, it would start small and build gradually. Consider it a handicap as we play our set.”

“Our set?” Lily looked down at the Switch and smiled. “Oh, hell yeah!”

“Apologies, Valerie,” Weiss said, kissing the still-entranced Val on the cheek, “but your dinosaur hunting quest will have to wait a while longer. Lily and I are going to play a game. Wake up when you feel comfortable.”

As Weiss and Lily made their way back upstairs, Val mumbled to herself, “They’re… not dinosaurs…”

“And wide awake! How do you feel?”

Lily rubbed their eyes and smiled. “Great! So, ready to get your butt kicked?”

Weiss chuckled and handed Lily a controller. “Well, you’ll certainly win a few rounds, I’m sure. But, eventually, I think you’ll find that you’d rather giggle than play.”

“Oh!” Lily gasped, feeling a subtle wave of euphoria pass over them. “H-Hey, that’s not fair! We haven’t even started playing yet!”

“Eh, you’ll manage. Now hurry up and choose your character.”

Wow, she really is a sore loser… Lily shrugged. Whatever. Even if she messes with my head, I won’t lose!

The first match was over in mere moments. Lily wiped the floor with Weiss, who barely even managed to get a hit in. Then, while they waited for the next match to load, Weiss used Lily’s new trigger a couple times. Yet even though Lily could now feel their mind clouding ever so slightly, they still easily defeated the other woman.

This went on for quite a while. Each round, Lily would utterly crush Weiss, but make just a few more errors; then, Weiss would dull Lily’s mind more and more, make them giggle more and more. Yet no matter how much Weiss used the trigger, she could never beat Lily. Even though Lily was by then barely able to string a few words together through their constant giggling, their skills were barely affected, like it was something instinctual that couldn’t be altered.

After their sixth match, and her sixth failure, Weiss threw her controller to the floor in frustration. “God dammit! Why can’t I beat you?”

“Um… ‘cause I’m, like, good!” Lily giggled, not even registering Weiss’s annoyance through their hypnotically-induced elation.

“Everything okay up there?” Val asked from the lower floor.

Weiss rubbed her temples and groaned. “Yeah, just…” She paused, a wicked idea forming in her mind. “Actually, could you come up here a second?” She got up and picked her jacket up off her chair, fishing through her pockets until she found what she was looking for. “Oh, Lily!” she said in a sing-song. “Mind looking up for me?”

Lily’s giggles slowed to a stop as their eyes followed the red crystal back and forth. Back and forth. Back… and… fo–

Snap!

Lily blinked. Then they giggled. “Like, huh? What was that?”

“I haven’t the faintest idea what you’re talking about,” Weiss smirked. “Now, let’s do one more match, okay?”

“Sure!” Lily picked their controller back up and stared at the screen. Soon, they had Weiss right where they wanted them, but right as they were about to attack, they felt… something. They looked down, but saw nothing. And yet… They stifled a moan as the phantom sensation massaged their breasts. “Gguuhh… wha…”

“Careful, now,” Weiss chuckled, pinning Lily’s character against the wall and, finally, winning a round. “You don’t want to lose, do you?”

“Huh?” Lily blinked. Game! Can’t lose… They gripped the controller tighter, determined to… to…

The controller fell to the floor. Lily rocked their head back as the hands moved down to her stomach, petting them like they were a cat. They almost felt like meowing, which made them giggle, which made them giggle even more. Everything felt so good, so simple, so–

“And that’s the match!” Weiss turned to face Lily. “I thought you were supposed to be a pro?”

Lily looked back at the screen, dumbfounded. “I… lost?” They shook their head, trying desperately to clear their thoughts. “But… how…”

“Aw, poor thing.” Weiss cupped Lily’s cheek. “Release.”

All at once, Lily’s mind returned to them. They looked behind them to see a very dazed Val standing at attention. “When did she get… wait… the hands!”

“Oh, you’re clever.” Weiss grinned like a hyena. “I’m glad the negative hallucination suggestion worked, that’s the one thing Valerie still struggles with.”

Lily pouted at Weiss. “You cheated!”

“Yes, I did.” Weiss leaned in and stared into their eyes. “But why get mad, when… you can just giggle?”

“Stop.”

Lily opened their eyes and gasped. “Magnolia!” they beamed. “You’re back!”

Magnolia pushed up her glasses, a slight sneer visible as she looked around the room. “Yes, I am. The conference was even more intolerable than I thought it would be. You would have hated it. I assume your playdate was fun, at least?”

“Oh, yeah!” Lily nodded. They turned and saw Weiss and Val standing behind Magnolia. “These two are so good!”

“And you behaved yourself, yes?”

“Lily was wonderful,” Val said. “Your wife is such a sweetheart!”

“My… wife.” Magnolia turned to Lily and raised an eyebrow. “Well, I’m glad you showed my wife a good time.”

Lily buried their face in their hands. Ugh, she’s never gonna let me live this down…

“You’re quite welcome,” Weiss replied. “Now, uh, Magnolia, was it? About my payment…”

“Already sent to your account,” Magnolia said. “And, friendly bit of advice? You should be sending invoices, not just asking people to send money. Helps you keep track of everything.”

“Well, you’d know all about that, I’m sure.” Weiss looked Magnolia up and down. “You must be pretty rich to pay me this much. What exactly do you do for a living?”

“That’s none of your business,” Magnolia replied tersely. “But, if Lily enjoyed their time here as much as they say they did, then we’ll have to hire you again next time we’re in town. Who knows? A few more of these sessions, and you might be able to afford a place that’s less… seedy.”

Weiss opened her mouth to speak, but Lily interrupted her. “Hey, I like this place!”

Magnolia glared at Lily, and they felt their words die in their throat. “You do?”

“I-It’s… cozy,” Lily stammered. “And… she’s got Pokkén…”

“What the hell is your problem?” Weiss asked. “What, is my place not good enough for you? Too cheap for your elegant sensibilities?”

“It’s not that it’s cheap,” Magnolia replied. “I’m sure it was quite a lot of money, for someone of your means.”

“We’d be glad to have Lily again!” Val interjected, stamping on Weiss’s foot before she could say anything else. “But you two should probably head out, they told us about how exhausting the flight was!”

Magnolia smirked, clearly enjoying how frustrated she was making Weiss. “Yes, we’ll need a good night’s sleep. Come along now, wife.”

She took Lily’s hand and dragged them out of the bar, Lily barely able to wave goodbye before they were back outside. “Honestly,” Magnolia scoffed, “if I knew Weiss lived in a place like this, I never would have hired her. And you, defending her…” She shook her head. “But you did enjoy yourself, didn’t you?”

“Oh, it was wonderful,” Lily sighed. “I’m almost sad I have to go. Um… you’re not, like, mad about me calling you my wife, are you?”

Magnolia laughed. “Oh, Lily, I think it’s adorable.” The driver opened the car door for the two of them. She motioned towards the open door. “After you, wife.”

Lily blushed as they got in the car.

“By the way,” Magnolia said, sitting next to Lily, “Weiss did tell me something that might make tomorrow a tad more entertaining.”

“What is it?”

“That you just love to giggle.”

Lily’s eyes went wide. “Oh, no…”

“Oh, my darling, ditzy, stupid wife,” Magnolia smiled, kissing them on the forehead, “you are so screwed.”

As the car drove away, Lily felt their mind cloud, and giggle after giggle escaped their lips. By the time they arrived back at the hotel, it was all they could manage to dangle off Magnolia’s arm, floating through the lobby on a fluffy cloud.

It was only when they got back to the room that Magnolia finally turned off the trigger, smiling smugly at Lily as they plopped on the bed. “I may need to tone it down slightly, but I think we’d both enjoy tomorrow more with your mind dulled. Don’t you agree, wife?”

Lily nodded, feeling blood rushing to their cheeks.

“Very good.” Magnolia crawled over to them and hugged them tightly, gently scratching their sides. “You remember this one, don’t you?”

“Mmm…” Lily yawned and nuzzled Magnolia’s cheek. “Makes me… sleepy.”

“We’ve got a big day tomorrow, you and I.” Magnolia stroked Lily’s hair until they fell asleep. “Just rest now. I’ll think for both of us.”