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Magnolia was going to kill Matt. She was going to go into the Continuous Correction and kill him dead, mission be damned. Ever since she had gotten the report, she had been doing everything she could to track Python down and since Matt found him first, she was going to have to kill Matt.
“You’re not thinking clearly,” one of the other Magnolias said to them. “We can get Python back without you going and killing Matt.” Logically Magnolia knew this, but the fear and anger buzzing beneath their skin made them itch for revenge. Python had been gone for days and no one had found any trace of him, save for his dead body in front of the ‘Matt Pack’. The Continuous Corrections made it hard to get to an earlier point in time to save him properly and Magnolia was growing murderous. “Give me two more hours,” the other Magnolia requested firmly. “If I can’t find your boy in another two hours, you can go kill Matt.”
“Two hours,” Magnolia agreed, leaving the tracing facility and going to pace around her room again. She couldn’t believe they were getting dragged into Base nonsense again. Magnolia liked to think that she knew exactly when to meddle– leading the Field of Flowers had given her a good sense for how to handle things with time travel organizations, and their survival was dependent on her knowing what she was doing, knowing when she was doing. So she focused her efforts after everything with Old Man and made sure that she was only stepping in when absolutely necessary– couldn’t risk another Mike Walters deciding to hunt her down, now, could she? But now she was being dragged into Base nonsense yet again, despite losing her best freelancer.
The Field of Flowers, even with Magnolia’s desire not to meddle too much, was not a hands off organization. It was impossible to be completely hands off when working in the time travel business, no matter how much Magnolia wished they could be sometimes. The real solution was that they couldn’t always be the one getting their hands dirty, so to speak. Plenty of organizations worked with people who weren’t iterations of themselves– even when Operose was as Operose as it was, they still had Eagle around. So Magnolia needed to outsource, to find someone they could trust. For Magnolia, that was Python. Sweet, understanding Python who got their namesake flower tattooed on his neck and held them so gently at night when their thoughts became too much for them.
She was going to kill Matt.
If Python weren’t nestled in the middle of a tightly wound ball of Continuous Corrections, maybe she would be able to let Matt live– he was an idiot, but a useful idiot. But Python had been missing for days now– probably even longer in his own perspective– and Magnolia was feeling less forgiving than she knew she should be. It wasn’t Matt’s fault that the iteration storm was happening in his reality. But it was his fault that he decided to play detective and kill her boyfriend.
“Boss!” one of the Magnolias called over the intercom, stopping Magnolia’s pacing. Hope– fragile and dangerous– fluttered in their chest. “I’ve got him.”
They took off in a sprint back towards the tracing facility, there just in time to hear the familiar sound of transporting– and then there was Python, a little worn down and a little bloody, but Python nonetheless.
“Pip,” Magnolia gasped out, launching themself into their boyfriend’s arms. “Oh thank god, Python, I thought I lost you.”
“You can’t get rid of me that easily, Mango,” Python murmured, voice rough with pain– whether that was physical or emotional, Magnolia wasn’t sure. “I told you I’d come back, didn’t I?”
Magnolia could feel the eyes of the other Magnolias in the room on the two of them, choosing not to reply and instead dragging Python back to their room. While the other Magnolias knew about– and largely didn’t care about– Magnolia and Python’s relationship, it still felt odd to flaunt it in front of the others. Never mind that she knew many of the Magnolias had their own partners– some with other Magnolias, some with Skinners, a few with one of the Mikes Walters, but Magnolia was the only one with a Python.
A Python she almost lost.
“How long were you gone?” Magnolia asked softly. Python tried to look away, but Magnolia placed their hand on his cheek. “Please, Pip. How long.”
“A year,” Python replied, guilt– unnecessary and misplaced– in his eyes. “I was trying to get back–”
She kissed him, stopping the apologies she was sure were coming in their tracks. A kiss on the lips first, then one on his forehead, one on each cheek, finally stopping with one directly over his heart; Magnolia allowed herself a moment to feel the gentle pulse of it beneath her lips, solid proof that Python was alive and there with her.
“I should’ve found you sooner,” Magnolia whispered, forehead resting against Python’s chest. “God, Pip, I should’ve found you so much sooner, I’m so sorry.”
Python kissed them on the forehead. “I know I wasn’t gone for nearly that long on this end, Mags. It’s not your fault.”
“It’s not your fault either,” they said firmly, pulling back so they could look into Python’s eyes; they were the same soft blue that they always were. “It’s not anyone’s fault.” The two of them had been working on not taking the blame for things completely outside of their control. It was something Magnolia had struggled with long before forming the Field of Flowers and it was still hard for her to let go of that guilt sometimes. Python helped with that– he helped her with so much– but when he was the one being affected, it became significantly harder for her let go of that blame.
“We should probably debrief the mission,” Python said softly; he was far more responsible when he knew Magnolia was stuck in their own head. It was something they loved about him– they could trust him with everything.
At times like these, though, Magnolia didn’t need Python to be responsible. She just needed Python.
They kissed him again, tangling fingers in his hair and knocking his cowboy hat to the floor. Nipping at his lower lip, Magnolia started to walk Python backwards towards the bed, unbuttoning his shirt as they went. Once they had Python shirtless, they ripped their own dress off before crawling over him again and recapturing his mouth, hand resting over his chest to feel the quickening beat of his heart.
“Mags–” Python groaned as she grazed her hand over his still clothed cock, unbuttoning his jeans. “Mags, we gotta debrief–”
“Shut up,” she growled before kissing him again and again and again, working his pants down until his cock sprang free from their confines. She stroked it, relishing in the loud moan that punched out of her lover’s chest before he grabbed her hand to stop her. “Python–”
“What’s wrong?” Before Magnolia could argue, Python squeezed her hand. “Don’t lie to me, Mango, I’ve always been able to see right through you. What happened while I was gone?”
The image of his corpse sprang into their mind unbidden, causing them to wince. Python stroked their hair gently as tears started to well up in their eyes, their free fall fast approaching. “I thought I lost you forever, Pip,” they admitted. “Matt had killed you and you were stuck in that stupid Continuous Correction and I couldn’t get you out. I couldn’t find a point in time early enough to save you from dying and I was scared. I was so scared that we wouldn’t be able to find you, that you’d be lost in that stupid tangle of nonsense.” Python swiped a finger under their eyes, brushing away the tears. “We can debrief later– I need you now. Please.”
With a nod, Python was on her again– gentler this time. Where Magnolia’s earlier kisses had been rough and needy, Python's were soft and reassuring. They said I’m here, I’m with you, I’m alive. Her hand continued to hover over his heart, Python making no effort to move it; he always knew exactly what she needed, and right now she needed that reminder that he was there. That she hadn’t failed him.
“What do you want, sweetheart?” Python murmured against her lips. “What do you need?”
“Can I ride you?” They didn’t do this often. Python liked to be in control in bed and Magnolia loved to give up control in this aspect of their life, loved that they could trust Python to take care of them.
“Of course.”
Python scooted back on the bed, propping himself up on the pillows while Magnolia pulled his pants and boxers the rest of the way off. She folded them more out of habit than anything else, picking up his shirt and her dress and doing the same before finally unclasping her bra and shimmying her own boxers off. She would never get over the way Python looked at her– like she was something to revere and worship rather than something that most people found undesirable. Her weight had been an issue for her personally when she started seeing Python, but he didn’t care. He loved her, loved to hold her and praise her and make her feel amazing– she hoped she did the same for him in return.
Now fully naked, Magnolia crawled onto the bed, stopping to kiss Python again before positioning themself. They lowered themself down slowly, the stretch of Python’s cock almost too much for them given that they hadn’t done any real prep. They liked it this way, though– like the sting of pain as they took Python to the hilt, squeezing around him and listening to the whimpers he let out. “This okay?” they asked, pride blooming in their chest when Python immediately nodded. “You ready for me to move?”
“Please,” Python begged, hands finding their hips and squeezing tightly. “Come on, sweetheart. It’s been so long since I’ve seen you like this.”
A year in his perspective. A year without her there. Did he see anyone else in that time? Or did he wait for her? Magnolia couldn’t bring herself to ask, choosing instead to start slowing raising and lowering herself on Python’s cock, eyes locked on Python as he moaned.
“You look so beautiful like this,” she murmured as she started to speed up, Python’s head thrown back in ecstasy. “So beautiful for me. Did you miss me?”
“You know I did,” Python gasped out as he started to thrust in rhythm with her. “Missed you every day, Mags. I couldn’t wait to get back to you. Couldn’t do anything until I did– Couldn’t stop thinking about you, even for a moment.”
Their unspoken question now answered, relief washing through them as it was. They knew they could trust Python, it’s why they chose him to join the Field of Flowers, after all, but it was still reassuring to hear. “I’ll have to make it up to you then,” they teased, squeezing around his cock again, drunk on the sounds he was making. Magnolia could tell he was getting close, could feel it in the way he gripped their hips, could see it in the way his eyes rolled back as they redoubled their efforts.
“Come on, lovely,” she groaned out, hand reaching between her legs to rub at her clit, getting herself right to the edge with Python. “Cum for me.”
Warmth started to fill her as Python’s hips finally stilled, his hand pushing hers away to bring her to orgasm with a few simple touches of her clit. She lifted herself off his dick carefully, warm cum starting to seep out of her, but she hardly cared. Instead, she laid down next to Python, curling up against his side and pressing her hand over his heart again as both of their chests heaved.
“Good?” she asked, knowing the answer perfectly well.
“Amazing,” Python panted out, kissing her on the crown of the forehead. “I love you, Mango.”
“I love you too, Pip.”
Soon enough they would have to get up and clean themselves off. They would have to do the mission debrief they had just put off to fuck. They would have to figure out what to do about the Matt Pack and the iteration storm and everything that was happening with the Corrective Drill– but that could wait. For now, Magnolia was content to snuggle closer to Python, listening to the steady beat of his heart as they both drifted off to sleep, sated and together.