In the end, Neil insisted that Leah take off the steri-band.  The side-effects from wearing the enchanted elastic included increased malleability and a risk that one’s body would not return to normal promptly.  Leah had been willing to take that risk given the rewards, but Neil remained firm about it.

However, once Neil had left for work Monday morning, Leah was home alone with twenty steri-bands to play with.  And that was exactly what she intended to do.  She shook the box her husband had put the bands in, and a purple band fell out first.  

Leah stretched the band experimentally, wondering what else she could cover with it.  Remembering how her husband had looked with one over his privates, she dug her second favourite vibrator out of her drawer of toys.  Wrapped in the slick purple of a band, it looked even more appealing, but when she set it down on the bed so she could strip, the purple went away.

Leah poked at it disappointedly.  “Really?  No fair.  I guess I’ll have to make my own.”

She poked around in the box for a green band, and pulled it all the way up her left arm.  She studied her hand carefully, trying to see if anything was changing.  If it was, it was too slow to observe.  Leah shrugged, and dug out a couple of the rainbow bands to play with, as they acted quickly.

She gave herself bubble legs, slowly sliding the bands up each leg as if they were stockings.  Attempting to stand on the bubbles resulted in both popping instantly, and she had to catch herself on the bed to keep from hitting the floor in a very uncomfortable way.

Leah tried to get around without her legs, but swiftly grew impatient at the difficulties imposed by their absence, and pulled the bands off.  “That was a bust.  Kinda fun once, but...”  She shook her head.

Next were her breasts.  She got them both shimmery and hollow looking, then tried to push them together.  Her right breast popped, so she tried again, pressing more carefully from the base of each breast.  To her amazement, when the bubbles touched her breasts flowed into a single, larger blob.

“This looks cool.  I wonder...”  Taking one band off left her looking decidedly lopsided.  She giggled at the asymmetric look, then her eyes widened.  “It’s bigger?”  Hefting her breast made it clear.  Definitely heavier than before, almost twice what it should be.  She took the other band off to compare her breasts properly, and they were suddenly the same size again.

Leah got a gleeful grin on her face, and she quickly strode to her dressing mirror.  She admired her green arm for a moment, then put one band over her breasts, and the other over her right arm.  It was much easier to merge the bubbles that way, and she still had her green hand to pull the band off.

When she had done so, her resulting breasts were huge.  The fact that to do so required the sacrifice of an arm seemed a small loss.  “Wait until Neil gets a look at these babies!”

She hefted them with her slick green arm and giggled at a thought.  Maybe she could persuade Neil to get rid of both arms.  Or better yet, her legs!

Leah looked over at the box and licked her lips.  There were two more rainbow bands there, and with breasts this big, pulling her knees up to touch them would be trivial.

Moments later she was lying on the bed, tipped forward onto enormous, overbalancing breasts.  She couldn’t lift her head out of them.  Wiggling her hips didn’t do much good without legs.  She wasn’t helpless, but she was pretty close.  Reaching around to her right shoulder was nearly impossible, but her hips were quite accessible.

That fact came in handy a few minutes later when there was a knock at the door.  Leah ripped the bands off her legs, reducing her breasts to manageable size.  That got her access to the band on her arm, and soon she was at least mobile, if not presentable.

The knocking came again, and Leah sighed.  Obviously whoever it was wouldn’t go away.  She threw on a dress, then scampered to the door.  There was a woman in a delivery uniform outside the door, holding a bouquet of flowers.

Leah laughed as she opened the door.  “From my husband, I take it?”

The woman nodded.  “I hope I didn’t interrupt anything.”  She was trying to avoid looking at Leah’s left arm.

“Nothing that can’t wait,” said Leah with a smile.  “Thank you, they’re lovely.”

She spent the next twenty minutes carefully arranging the bouquet in a vase, until the display of flowers was as perfect as she could manage.  Then with an impish grin, she returned to the bedroom and the steri-bands.

Leah studied her green, rubbery hand.  It was distinctly changed from earlier.  Most notably, it was even smoother than it had been, with no sign of creases in her palm.  Even her nails had merged into the smooth cylinders of her fingers.  She’d found using it to hold flowers had been handy in one regard – holding roses by the thorns hadn’t hurt at all.  But the lack of texture had made her grip very slippery indeed.  It was like her hand was made of soap.  

Leah held her hand up to the light and grinned.  Her hand was becoming translucent.  The shimmering green caught the light and reflected it so prettily that she got out her phone and started taking pictures.

Half an hour and dozens of pictures later, Leah noticed that her hand had gone from translucent to almost entirely transparent.  It looked like sculpted glass.  She loved the look, and the shine.  Leah promised herself that she’d do a full-body version soon.

As she smoothed her normal hand over the glassy one to feel the texture, Leah felt her left hand shift.  Frowning, she squeezed her thumb experimentally, and her eyes went wide as she felt it squish.  The texture was like firm clay, and when she let go of her thumb, it stayed squished.

“Sculpting time!” she cheered.

Obviously, the first thing to do for any art project was to start with a blank canvas.  So Leah kneaded her left hand with her right until it was nothing but a smooth, round ball.  She giggled at the look, and how odd it felt.  She could wiggle the orb a little, though it no longer felt like she had individual fingers at all, just a round appendage.

Leah took a few more pictures, then studied her new ‘hand’, debating what to make of it.  She dug out her old clay tools, and tried to use a wire to peel ‘petals’ away from the main body, but the wire just slipped off.  The wooden tools fared no better.  After a few tries, she put the tools away and kneaded her orb with her hand once more.  “A human touch, is that what you want?  How curious.  How am I supposed to get fine details?”  She tugged at a pinch of the orb, trying to pull a bit away so she could form a petal.

To Leah’s surprise, the petal she was imagining peeled away perfectly.  So she immediately started another one, then another.  As she worked, steadily converting what was once her hand into a perfect rose blossom, the petals got smaller and more fiddly to pinch.  She messed up a few times, brushing petals she didn’t intend to change, and had to go back and forth perfecting every little flaw.

Leah barely noticed the time, or her growing hunger, so fascinated was she by the glittering, transparent rose she was creating.  Each petal was easier to create than the last, to the point where she had to do little more than touch her finger and pull it away to peel another.  She was putting finishing touches on it when there was another knock at the door.

Leah rolled her eyes.  “Again?” she asked the air, or perhaps her absent husband.  She threw on a robe to cover her arms, and went to the door once more.  This time it was a box of chocolates, which made her smile, and thank the delivery woman sweetly.

The chocolates were very good, but nibbling on a few made Leah aware of just how hollow she was feeling.  She fixed herself a quick and very late lunch, then gave her husband a call.

After thanking him for the chocolates, she pointed out that he didn’t need to keep tabs on her.

“And have you been wearing a steri-band since I left?” Neil asked with a chuckle.

“Yes, it’s gotten to the malleable stage and I’ve been having fun sculpting it,” enthused Leah.  “It’s so pretty.”

“I suppose dissuading you at this point will prove impossible.”

“Yup,” agreed Leah cheerfully.

“I’ve been using my spare time to read more about these bands.  If you wear them for more than about sixteen hours, the reversion runs out of steam.  You’ll get stuck.”

“You’ll be home long before then, and I can show you what I’ve done.  I’ll be fine, love.  Really.”

She can practically hear the eye-roll before he reaffirms that he loves her and ends the call.

Leah turns back to her art project, the beautiful green glass rose that was once her left hand.  “Hmm.  The flower is perfect, but it’s missing something.  Right!  The stem!”

When Neal arrived home it was to find Leah still working on her masterpiece.  Her arm was unrecognizable.  In its place was a slender green stem perhaps three times as long as her arm should have been.  Leah was carefully adding thorns along its length, and looked up with a smile when she saw her husband.  “See?”

The stem uncoiled from her lap, stretching the green glass rose toward her husband’s face.  He sniffed at it experimentally, then chuckled.  “Other than being made of glass, it looks real.”  

When he moved to touch it, Leah pulled it away.  “Only looking for now.  It’s sturdy, but an artless touch can ruin an hour’s work.  Can you take some pictures for me?”

Neil smiled at her indulgently.  “Sure.  If you take the band off first.”

“But it’ll change back...” protested Leah.

“Yeah.  In eight hours or so.  That’s the problem.  The longer you leave it on, the longer it is before the reversion happens.  Push it out far enough, and it won’t change back at all, and you’ll have to sculpt your arm back to normal.”  Neil rolled his eyes at the expression on Leah’s face.  “And you’re looking forward to that.”

Leah giggled.  “You know me too well.  I’d like to think I can improve on the original.  You know, tone up the muscles, shuffle a little weight around...”  She patted her breasts with her remaining hand.

“Temptress.  Get the band off so we can see what happens next.”

“Yes sir, Mr. Bossy Britches.”  Lana saluted him, then peeled the elastic band off her arm, carefully slipping it past the thorns without snagging, and finally over the rose itself.  She studied the result to reassure herself she’d done no damage.  “It’s still green.  And clear.”

“I did say.”  Neil had his back to her, setting something up on the kitchen counter.

“I thought it’d... I don’t know, start looking fleshy again?”

“That does come first, yes.  The sculpted changes take longer, so you’ll have a fleshy rose for a while.”

“Coool!”

“Can you fetch all the soiled steri-bands please?” asked Neil.

“Uh, sure.”  Leah darted off to the bedroom, and returned with a handful of bands.  “They do look a little...  What is that?”

Neil patted the sleek white cylinder that was perched beside the coffee machine.  “Personal autoclave.  It’ll sterilize the bands, good as new.”

Leah started to laugh.  “You look like a proud father.  Does sterility mean that much to you?”

“Who keeps this place spotless?”

Leah nodded.  “Not complaining, really.  Just... amused.  Go ahead, use your new toy.”

While Neil loaded up the autoclave, Leah poked at her glassy green arm/flower.  When he turned back to face her, she was frowning.

“What?”

“You said it wouldn’t change back right away.”

Neil peered at the flower she was presenting to him.  “It looks the same to me.”

Leah tugged a petal out of shape, rolling it into a ball in her fingers.  When she let go of it, it slowly moved back to its original position, unfurling back into a perfect petal.  “I can’t sculpt it any more.”

“That’s probably for the best.  Look at the bright side.”

Leah sighed.  “I suppose.  What’s the bright side.”

Neil brushed his fingers over the glossy petals of the rose, and Leah purred.  “Oh!  You can touch it without...  With...  Oh, that feels so weird.  I have petals!”

Neil laughed. “You’re just now figuring that out?”

“It was different when I was focussed on my art.  You know I lose the world.”

Neil hugged her tight, squirming a little as he felt the thorns of her vinelike left arm poke at his skin.  “I know.  And I love you for it.  Art conquers all?”

Leah managed a giggle, and wriggled her rose against her husband’s cheek.  “It does at that.  So you don’t mind that I have a flower?”

“Only in that it’ll make dinner prep harder.  You’re not stuck like that.”

“Even if I was, I could sculpt my hand back.  It’s almost like it can tell what I’m thinking as I pull and push at it.”  To demonstrate, she peeled a leaf off of her vine, tugging it into a heart shape with frilly curlicues at the edge.

“You’re not going to stop with just your arm.”

Leah shook her head, eyes bright.  “I’m tempted to do all of me, sculpt myself to your perfect beauty.”

“And what would that be?”

Leah poked him with her good hand.  “I don’t know!  Maybe I should let you do the rough sculpt, and I can fix it up afterward.  What would you do with a wife made out of clay?”

Neil squeezed her tighter.  “Squoosh her up into a ball and roll her until she’s nice and round.”

“Okay.”

Neil released Leah from the hug, pulling back enough so that he could study her face.  “I... what?  You’d be okay with...”

Leah wrapped her arm and vine around herself.  “Becoming your giant boob?  As long as you promise to have fun with the result, sure.  If you took the band off when you were done, I’d be stuck for a while.  You could have your wicked way with me as long as you liked.”

“A giant breast...”  Neil’s eyes were distant.  “Would you really like it?  Because now that the image is stuck in my head, I...”

Leah slinked up against her husband.  “I already said yes.”  Her hand brushed against the front of his pants.  “Oh!  Have I finally found your secret, mad desire?  And it’s... giant boobs.”  She giggled.  “Really?”

Neil blushed, and nodded.  “Yes, really.  If I was a good sculptor, I’d take the boring bits and add them to your chest.  As I’m not... single enormous boob is about the limit of my skill.”

Leah’s eyes went wide.  “Oh!  I almost forgot.  Have I got something to show you...  Wait, are all the rainbow bands in the sterilizer thingy?”

“Autoclave.  It’ll be done in an hour.”  Neil looked down at her arm.  “Takeout?”

“Please.”

Neil ordered from Leah’s favourite place, and drove out to pick it up himself to save on delivery time.  By the time he got back, Leah had done a lovely job of setting the table, with a fresh tablecloth and even some candlesticks.  She asked Neil for a hand with lighting the candles, as she hadn’t managed to figure out how to strike a match single-handed.

Once they’d eaten their fill, Neil cleared away the dishes, rinsing them all before setting them in the dishwasher and starting it.  He checked on the autoclave, then returned to the dining room to find Leah contemplating her wiggling flower.

“Penny for your thoughts.”

Leah started, then smiled up at her husband.  “I just...  It was frustrating managing with just one hand, and yet...  This is growing on me.  When I try to move my fingers, nothing much happens.”  Her petals shuffled slightly as she demonstrated.

“But if I accept that instead I have a flower...”  The petals closed tight into a bud, then spread wide open to form a full, glorious blossom.  “It feels natural.”

“Well, if you want to keep it, all we need to do is put another band on it briefly.”

When Leah didn’t immediately respond, Neil crouched beside her.  “Sweetie?  You don’t have to.  We can take lots of pictures, and you can do something different next time.”

Leah still didn’t answer.  Neil fetched her good camera, and started setting up pictures of her hand.  That got her attention, and she was soon absorbed in composing the shots perfectly.  She even had Neil dig through their storage room to find her old hurricane lamp.  Once that was clean, she threaded her blossom into it, and piled blue glass beads around the base.  The resulting picture was perfect.

Leah sighed as they dismantled the shot.  “I’m starting to wish I could just cut off the flower and keep it.  So pretty.”

“You’d miss your hand.  Eventually,” chuckled Neil.

Leah stuck out her tongue at him.  “Spoilsport.”

“Hey, I like my sweetie intact.  This has been fun, but I’m looking forward to proper hugs once more.”

The autoclave chimed musically, and Neil darted over to it.  Leah was not far behind.  “Did it work?”

Neil pulled out the basket, and showed off the steri-bands within.  “Good as new.  They almost look better than new, the way they gleam.”

Leah picked up a rainbow band, slipping it over her fingers to see how stretchy it would get.  Her fingertips shimmered into bubbles.  “Whew, it still works.”  She flared her fingers wider, and the band slipped down to her wrist.  A poke of a thorn popped her hand.  “Oh dear, now I’m completely helpless.”

Neil laughed, shaking his head.  “Not ever.”  He slid the band up to her shoulder, and she pressed her arm against her chest to pop it.  “Not even completely disarmed.”

Leah groaned.  “After that pun, I shouldn’t show you my new trick with the rainbow bands.”

Her husband raised an eyebrow at her.  “New trick?”

“Piqued your curiosity, have I?”

“I apologize for my pun,” said Neil contritely, drawing a big grin from Leah.

“C’mon, I want to do this one in the bedroom.  Bring all the bands.”

Once Leah was sitting on the bed, she had Neil put one rainbow band around her breasts, and two more around her legs.  Two hands made the task much easier, and soon both legs and breasts were shimmering bubbles.

“You’re not planning to pop your best features, are you?” asked Neil.

Leah winked at him, then pulled her legs to her chest.  The bubbles merged into a single large sphere.  “Take the bands of my breasts.  Carefully, don’t want this to pop.”

Neil did so curiously at first, then with widening eyes as more and more breast was revealed.   Once the band was off, Leah’s breasts covered her torso and nearly concealed the absence of her legs.  “Wow.  I like this trick.”

Leah grinned up at him.  “Best trick ever?”

“Second best.”

Leah looked puzzled.  “What’s the best?”

Neil tucked a pink steri-band over Leah’s hips.  “Getting rid of the mess.”

“Do yourself, too.”

Neil took a moment to strip down, then pulled on a purple band like a pair of stockings.  When he stopped at his waist, Leah shook her head.  “Higher.”

He pulled the band up his body, tucked tight under his arms, but she still shook her head.  Slipping his arms under it snapped it tight against his neck.  “Still no?”

“I can’t cover my arm, so it’s your turn to go all the way,” said Leah with a grin, gesturing upward with her remaining arm.

Neil looked uncertain.  “But what about breathing?”

Leah shrugged.  “I could breathe fine when I was covered.  Try it, you can pull it down if you get in trouble.”

Neil dubiously pulled the band up over his face.  He waited, chest heaving, hands on the band.  After a minute, he slowly pulled his hands away, purple-coated eyes wide with wonder.

“See?  Try covering your mouth, I have a wicked idea.”

Neil covered his mouth with his hand, then looked at Leah curiously.

“Pinch your nose closed.  Can you still breathe?”

Neil did so, and his eyes went even wider.  He nodded his surprise.  Leah pointed down her body.  “Show me what you’ve got.”

Neil grinned with purple lips, revealing purple teeth.  He nuzzled his way down Leah’s enormous breasts, teasing both giant nipples with the palms of his hands.  Leah moaned happily at the attention, and even more once his head vanished between her breasts to seek deeper targets.

Without the need to come up for air, Neil’s endurance was beyond impressive.  When he emerged from between her breasts, Leah smiled down at him happily.  “That was beyond glorious,” she panted.  “Thank you.”

When he moved to pull the steri-band down, Leah shook her head.  “Have your fun first.  You’re only a little translucent, not even sculptable.  Yet.”

Neil rolled his eyes, but smiled indulgently down at his wife, with her enormous breasts splayed so attractively.  He bowed to her, then did as he was bid.

When Neil finally took the steri-band off, he still had purple skin.  His reaction to seeing himself made Leah giggle.  “It’ll wear off, you said.”

“Yeah.  I didn’t realize we’d been at it for more than two hours.  No wonder I feel like a limp noodle.”

“Aww, poor baby.  At least we’re in bed.”

“After a workout like that I could use a shower...”  Neil frowned.  “Except... I don’t?  Wild.  I could get used to this.”

Leah snuggled up against him, and brushed her petals against his cheek.  “Cool.”