[Stepford TF]

"This never gets any easier."

Serena muttered to herself as she put away her daggers, having just beaten away another threat. She wasn't supposed to be active as Mage Raiju today, but things took a bit of a turn. At least she managed to save the Spirit before it ended up getting into trouble.

"T..Thank you..!"

The Spirit that she had saved, which was still little more than a wisp flying through the air, quickly flew in front of its savior. It danced around the best it could, to show its gratitude. It was beyond grateful. If there was a word that described its delight, that still wouldn't be enough!

Serena smiled slightly, before shaking her head. "Just doing what anybody should." She said, cupping her hands so the Spirit could land there. "You think you can find a place to stay safe, or do you need more help?"

"I... I want to help you, Miss Serena!"

That made the blue-haired Mage raise a bit of an eyebrow. "How do you know my name?" She was sure that she had used her Mage alias when she came to save the Spirit. So the fact that it knew was... Well, concerning would be the best way to describe it.

The little spirit squirmed as it felt that her gaze was a bit stronger than it probably should be. "I... I was watching over you, the last few days. I was really charmed, Miss Serena! And... A-And I saw how you and your friends fought against each other, while as Mages and Links! S-So... I want to help make you all get along!"

"...Mages and Links..? You're saying that..." Serena paused as she had to let the thought drift through her mind. Who could possibly be a Link..? ...Nevertheless, if a Spirit wanted to help, then.. "...What do you have in mind?" The least she could do was hear it out.

The spirit seemed to sigh in relief. Well, it certainly tried to sigh with the little body it had. "The best way for you all to get along... Is for you all to be a family. You could have them both as your wives. I know you really want to protect Miss Yuriko and make her feel happy, and if you include Miss Emiko, then she'll be even happier!"

Serena stared blankly at the Spirit. Was it implying that Emiko was Link Love? Regardless, the idea didn't sound... Too bad. Even if it was making her blush far, far too much. "R-Right. Wives. That... That makes sense." Why was she entertaining the idea of having her friends as wives? More importantly, why did it really sound like a good time..?

"All you have to do is say yes, Miss Serena. Then we can get started and make them happy!" The Spirit certainly seemed to be enthused by her reaction. That, and it genuinely wanted to help her out. At least, that's how it seemed.

"...Fine. You win. But if you end up hurting them, you'll have hell to pay." Serena muttered. If she thought about it for much longer, she was probably going to get a headache. So better to just accept it and then find out where to go from there...

With the two of them coming to an agreement, the Spirit leapt into her chest. And a new, powerful feeling started to spread through her, one that made her tremble all over...

Was this truly going to help her make Emiko and Yuriko happy..? She couldn't say for sure, at least not while this feeling overwhelmed her. But there was one thing she was certain of...

She wanted to see Yuriko smile. And if what the Spirit had said was true, then...

---

Yuriko yawned as she slowly walked into her bedroom. It had been a very long day. Between school being filled with all sorts of difficult lessons, and having to clash with Link Love, she was really, really tired.

So tired in fact that she just decided to flop into bed after letting her clothes drop to the floor. She'd shower in the morning. Right now, she just wanted the sweet relief of resting in bed. In fact, just after she collapsed, a smile worked its way onto her lips. Whenever she got this exhausted, she knew that her bed was there for her...

Slowly but surely, Yuriko started to drift off to sleep. And it was quite the intense sleep too, because she hardly noticed the sound of her windows opening, nor the sound of somebody stepping close to her bed...

"Always so eager to sleep, Honey. That's what makes you so adorable."

The voice that spoke was enough to make Yuriko's eyes flutter open slightly. But all she could see was... Serena? Ah... Maybe Serena had told her that she'd stop by late to bring something...

"I'm the most adorable..." Yuriko jokingly snickered as she closed her eyes once more. Whenever she was this tired, her guard lowered completely. Which was why she was more than willing to say something so silly.

It was also why she didn't bother struggling against Serena as the girl lifted her up slightly, and then helped her crawl under the covers. Pulling them over her and helping her get all the comfort she could possibly need...

Right before kissing her on the cheek, Serena's eyes gleamed gently red as she smiled. "Sleep tight, Honey. When you wake up, you'll be enjoying a brand new life. A life where everything is just right for you and I..." She said, whispering so she wouldn't disturb Yuriko's sleep too much.

Indeed, it seemed like Yuriko didn't really notice. All she did was gently snore, unaware of the world around her. All she could do was just... snooze...

Perhaps if she had opened her eyes and properly looked at Serena, or actually paid attention to what she was saying, she would've noticed that something was very off. But right now, all she could think about was how much she just wanted to sleep...

And so, sleep she did...

---

"Hhhh... Aaaaaahhh..."

Yuriko let out a loud yawn, gently pulling herself up. Goodness, she had slept like an angel. Or like she had slept for what felt like days. Regardless, she felt beyond refreshed. And that was something she rarely got to feel. Whether it was due to school getting to her, or... or...

As she rubbed her eyes a bit, something felt... Wrong. Not just with her, but with the world around her. She was definitely sure that her room wasn't really white and homely. Not only that, but her bed was a lot softer and a lot fluffier than it was supposed to be. And yet while it all felt so wrong, it also felt really... Right? She couldn't quite put her finger on why either...

"Maybe I'm still dreaming..." Yuriko muttered as she climbed out of bed, all while gently yawning. She was supposed to stretch normally, but right now she just wanted to get the sleep out of her system. And a girl like her shouldn't be stretching, that was reserved for men...

...Why did she have that kind of thought? It wasn't the kind of thought that she'd have. Okay, something was definitely wrong. Maybe if she gave herself a look in the mirror, things would feel a lot better. Good thing that there was a bathroom connected to the bedroom, so she could just walk inside, and...

Yuriko blinked a bit more as she noticed just how many beauty products were lined up near the medicine cabinet and the mirror she normally used. She didn't have that many ways to deal with her hair, much less the need to do her makeup that much. But at the same time, as she looked at herself in the mirror...

Yeah, something was missing. Perhaps it couldn't hurt to do her hair a little? And then she could add a bit of makeup, maybe add a bit of lipstick to make her lips pop, and... and...

By the time she managed to snap back, everything that Yuriko had thought about had already happened. The makeup really brought out the natural beauty of her eyes, while the extra layer of red brought out her lips. And not to mention her hair. All that long hair had been tied into a neat bun that was almost as big as her head. The sight of which made her chuckle a bit, though she had to admit... She looked really nice, didn't she?

...Wait, didn't she wear glasses? ...Well, she could see herself in the mirror, and the image was so clear. Maybe she was just imagining that she needed glasses. In fact, why did she even think of something like that..?

Well, there was definitely something that was missing. And that was her dress. And a nice silky purple dress with a matching white sash around her stomach would do nicely. She knew that her Hubby loved watching her wear anything, so she didn't really worry too much about what she wore. Right now, she was more than happy to just try out a couple of nice outfits that he might like...

Her ability to perceive that things were wrong was lowering further and further, especially as she started to hum a little ditty. She walked downstairs, and giggled a little. Had she always been resting upstairs? Well, it didn't matter to her. Right now, she was more concerned with her duties. Hubby would be back from her morning walk soon, and she knew that she loved a big stack of pancakes.

Yuriko didn't even think about how strange it felt to be cooking pancakes. But she went right ahead. Flipping them like a pro, all while making sure that she didn't make a mess. She would hate for her dear Hubby to come back to a mess!

"Yuriko! Yuuuriko! What're you doing?"

The door to her house opened, and in stepped Emiko. She was here to pick her up for school. At least, that's what Emiko thought that she was here for. But she was kinda weirded out by the sight of Yuriko in a dress. It wasn't a bad dress, it's more that she didn't expect her to wear something like that.

"Just making pancakes for my Hubby, dear. If you could clean up the living room before she gets home, that'd be great." Yuriko didn't miss a beat. In fact, she was really happy that Emiko had arrived. That meant that they could work together to make their Hubby happy...

Wait... Their Hubby..? ...Yeah, their Hubby. Of course! Their Hubby loved both of them, ehehe...

Emiko raised her eyebrow slightly as she listened to Yuriko, before shrugging her shoulders. She didn't exactly know what she was doing, but she also didn't seem like she was hurt or anything. So the idea of helping her out didn't sound too suspicious.

There was just one problem. She didn't know how to clean good. But there was a feather duster nearby, and she had seen those get used before. So she started putting it to good use, carefully dusting the spots she thought needed a good dusting.

The more she did so, the more Emiko noticed spots she had missed. And while she wouldn't usually try to obsess over something like that, she also felt that if she let Yuriko down, then she'd make her sad. So better be thorough...

Of course, the more she dusted, the more she lost track of why she had come by in the first place. It kinda felt nice to mindlessly dust away at things. So much so that she started to giggle a little, especially as she managed to clean a whole shelf.

It felt really nice to make Hubby's home all sorts of nice and pretty... Wait, Hubby's home..? Hold on, that's right, Yuriko had mentioned a Hubby. Hubby was... Hubby was...

Emiko chuckled as it was like something switched on inside her head. Hubby was Hubby. And she was Hubby's dearest. At least, that's what she thought was right. And it had to be right, didn't it?

She didn't really need to think so much about things. A good wife was more concerned with just making sure that everything looked nice. Because that's what a wife should be doing. A wife should make sure that she lived in a nice little home with her dear Hubby and whatever family they otherwise had.

So naturally, Emiko didn't notice the rest of her changing. She didn't notice her uniform changing into a nice soft pink dress that matched Yuriko's, with the same kind of cute white sash. Nor did she notice her hair starting to grow a little long and curly. It was like she had a perm, one that really fit a wife like her.

The more she cleaned, the more it felt like she had been doing this so often. Because that's what she had been doing, wasn't it? Whenever her Hubby needed to go out and do her work, she was always left at home. And because Yuriko was really good at cooking, it was up to her to make sure that dinner was on the table. So that left her to do the kind of work that a maid would do.

She was no mere maid, of course. But she still prided herself in what she could do. And that was more than enough for somebody like her. Giggling and smiling from ear to ear as she continued to clean and clean...

Both of the two wives were completely absorbed by their respective tasks. Right up until they heard the door open once more. And this time, they knew exactly who had arrived...

"Honey. I'm home."

It was their Hubby, Serena! That blue-haired hunk that had picked them as her wives! Just looking at her was enough to make their hearts flutter. Which, in turn, buried more of their original selves again...

"Oh, Darling!" Emiko chimed as she dashed over, giggling a little. "I made sure that the house was spotless! Honestly, you don't know much dust was hiding in the tightest spots!" She was way, way too pleased with her own work...

And that display of pure pride was more than enough for Serena to wrap her arms around her dear wife, planting a kiss on her cheek. "And you don't know just how much I love you, Emily." Serena chimed, her eyes gleaming ever slightly. All while smiling and beaming with pride, happy to have a wife like her.

Emi... Emily giggled in turn, her eyes gleaming as well. Ah, being Serena's wife was just the best...

"Darling, how did you want your pancakes?" Yuriko asked, still doing her best with the batch. She hadn't made too many, so if she had messed up the recipe, she could still correct it.

Serena's answer was to wrap her arms around Yuriko and gently kiss her on the cheek, prompting a blush from her loving wife. "I love your pancakes however you love them, Yvonne. I sure hope you made more than enough for the three of us."

A chuckle left Yuri... Yvonne's lips. "Of course I did, Darling. Don't you worry, you won't be leaving the dinner table on an empty stomach!" She was more than happy to satisfy what Serena wanted... All because of how good it felt to be her wife...

Serena smiled. She truly was blessed with two wonderful wives. And the Spirit that rested within her had been right. It was through love, and a little bit of magic, that they were able to all be together and be happy. And yet...

There were more people than the two of them that were important to her... So naturally... She had to make them her wives too, didn't she..? At least, that's what she thought... No, that's what they, as Mage Hubby, thought.

Unaware that indulging too much in this need to love might just lead them down a much darker path...