You're what?!" Seiko's jaw hung agape, her chocolate eyes wide with disbelief. She had been unravelling her usual hairstyle to prepare for bed, but upon hearing Naomi's statement, she had frozen mid-way through pulling out a bobby pin.

Naomi blushed as pulled on her pajama pants across the bedroom. "You heard me. I've been thinking a lot about having a cosmetic surgery procedure done."

Seiko shook her head vigorously, unravelling her curls from the pure force used. "No, that is not what you said. You said you were thinking about...you were thinking of...I can't even say it! Naomi, how can you say that to me?"

Naomi pulled her shirt over her head before turning to face her wife with a sigh. "It's called breast reduction surgery. I was thinking it would help with a lot of the issues I've had since I was a teenager. I don't even know why you're so upset by it; it's not like it's your body."

Seiko looked like she was going to explode. Her expression was completely dumbfounded, and she kept opening and closing her mouth like she wanted to say something but couldn't bring herself to. Finally, she took a slow, calming breath, walking over to Naomi and placing her hands on both sides of Naomi's head. "I'm upset because you want to change the beautiful body that I've been in love with since I was a teenager. You used to watch me literally drool over your curves." Seiko sighed again, smoothing her hands down Naomi's neck, onto her shoulders, and then onto her wife's chest. The mischevious brunette cupped Naomi's ample bosom gently while staring. "So soft...so tempting..." Seiko groaned before allowing her body to slump forward and her head to rest gently on Naomi's shoulder. Seiko's hands snaked around Naomi's back as she pleaded, "Please don't take these divine blessings away from me."

Naomi sighed, wrapping her arms around the smaller brunette. "They make my back ache constantly."

"I'll give you more massages!"

"I can't fit into any of the bras at our local stores."

"I'll order you custom bras!"

"They ache and feel ten times heavier when I'm on my period."

"I'll take care of everything so that you can lay down as much as you need to!"

"The last time I wore a button down, I popped the two buttons across my chest off as soon as I breathed."

"It must've been a poorly made shirt, then!"

"Seiko!" Naomi groaned. "Don't you understand? At this point, my breasts are nothing but an inconvenience. Thank god I married you and not a man; I'm genuinely scared of what would happen to my breasts if I ever got pregnant."

Seiko grew desperate. "Naomi, don't you understand? Whenever I'm upset, what do you do?"

Naomi frowned. "I rub your back and make you talk to me?"

"No, I mean, when I'm really upset."

"I have sex with you?"

"Okay, maybe not that upset."

Naomi pushed Seiko off of her shoulder so she could see her face. "Seiko, just get to the point already!"

Seiko pouted. "You always do that thing where you hold my head against your chest, and then you talk to me in your sweet, sweet voice as you pet my hair. It's so warm, and soft, and I can hear your heartbeat reminding me you're really here, and I'm not dreaming...it's heaven to me."

Naomi's features softened as she looked into Seiko's eyes, raising a hand to cup her cheek. "You can still do that if I get the procedure done. I'm not going to completely be flat-chested, but I'm not going to have G-cups, either."

Seiko whined. "That's what I'll miss, though. After every bad day at work, every family problem that arises, every nightmare I have, you've been there for me...and you always let me rest my head on your chest. It...it reminds me of when my mom was around. She used to do something similar, and...I don't know, Naomi. It's like...you're completely surrounding me, shielding me from everything bad. I know I'm being selfish by asking you to suffer just so I can benefit, but I promise, if you don't get the surgery I will work as hard as I need to so that you can be more comfortable." Seiko hung her head in shame. "I...I'm sorry I've been such a bad wife. I should've noticed your frustrations sooner. I'm sorry, Naomi."

"Seiko," Naomi said, her voice thick with emotions. "You're not a bad wife. I know you would've helped if I had spoken up sooner. It's not your fault."

Seiko raised her head to shake it back and forth, her eyes filled with unshed tears. "I am a bad wife. I've been so selfish...I'm still being selfish by trying to talk you out of this...I'm so sorry, Naomi." Seiko's voice cracked, and the first unbidden tear fell. As soon as the initial droplet fell from her cheek, it was as if a dam withholding all her emotions had crumbled. Broken sobs spilled from Seiko's lips, and she covered her face with her hands. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," she sobbed endlessly, her voice muffled by her palms.

Without saying a word, Naomi wrapped her arms around Seiko's shoulders and pulled her wife's head forward to rest in the middle of her ample bosom. It was an act of pure instinct, and Naomi didn't notice the ironic fact that she was doing exactly what Seiko had described earlier.

"You've been having nightmares again," Naomi said, phrasing it as a statement rather than a question.

Seiko's hands moved to Naomi's shoulders, bunching up the fabric of the short haired brunette's shirt in her fists. "Please don't leave me, Naomi," Seiko pleaded, her voice sounding vulnerable and small as she wept.

It always broke Naomi's heart to see her wife like this, but it was inevitable. Naomi knew about Seiko's abandonment issues before they even started dating, and she accepted with full awareness the challenges those issues presented when she accepted Seiko's marriage proposal. "I'm right here, Seiko. You're okay. Just let it out," Naomi whispered, running her fingers through the long, silky strands that ran down Seiko's back. She pressed a kiss to the crown of the smaller woman's head, holding her tightly as if she could somehow steady Seiko's trembling.

"It was my fault she left us!" Seiko wailed. "It's all my fault!" Naomi didn't say anything. She knew that nothing she said would change Seiko's mind at this moment. It was best to wait out the storm and talk about the key points when it was over. Though she had made vast improvements since she was a teenager, Seiko still had moments of self-hatred stemming from the guilt and confusion left behind by her mother's abandonment. There had always been so much pain hiding behind the class clown persona she wore back in high school. It was Ayumi that found Seiko crying in the girl's bathroom originally. Of course, the class rep ran to find Naomi and ask her to go comfort the sobbing brunette. It pained Naomi to know that Seiko was so embarassed by her moments of weakness that she couldn't even take a breather at her own house at the time. Instead, Seiko would confine herself to the dirtiest bathroom in the school whenever she reached her limit so nobody would find her. The first time Naomi saw her like that, she vowed to never allow Seiko to go through such pain alone. She wasn't planning on breaking that promise today.

"Shh, shh, it's okay, I'm right here with you." Naomi felt Seiko's tears seep through her shirt, but it was the least of her concerns. "I love you, Seiko. You're the best thing that ever happened to me," Naomi said in the most calming voice she possessed.

"You deserve so much better," Seiko sobbed. "You deserve so, so much better."

"I don't want better. I want you," Naomi said quietly, stroking the trembling brunette's hair. When Seiko's crying persisted, Naomi held her wife even more tightly as she tilted her head down to whisper in Seiko's ear. "'I, Naomi Nakashima, take you, Seiko Shinohara, to be my lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part.' Does that sound familar, my love?" Though she didn't speak, Naomi felt Seiko nod. Threading the fingers of her left hand through long brown locks, Naomi carressed Seiko's scalp. "We're married, Seiko. The same hand that's on your head right now wears the ring that you gave me as a promise to always be together. Of all the promises I've made, ours is the most important to me." Naomi felt Seiko claw harder at the short-haired brunette's pajama shirt, and her hysteric crying got more intense. However, Naomi knew it was because she had done something right this time. "That's it, sweetheart. Just let it all out."

Twenty minutes later

Finally, Seiko's hiccups faded out into soft sniffling. Naomi's shirt was soaked, and her back was even more sore from standing in place for so long. Even so, she didn't mind at all as long as her wife was receiving the care she needed. When she felt Seiko begin to pull back, Naomi released her wife from the tight hug she had previously been holding her in. The smaller brunette was a mess to say the least; her eyes were red and puffy, her nose was running, her cheeks were red and blotchy, and her bangs were sticking to her clammy forehead in all sorts of odd angles. Yet, as Seiko sniffed and wiped at her face with a sleeve, Naomi could only think of how beautiful her wife was.

Taking a deep, unsteady breath, Seiko said, "Whew...I sure got us off topic, huh?" She gave a short, half-hearted laugh.

Naomi drew her close in a tight hug. "I'm glad you did. Please, don't keep your suffering a secret anymore, okay?"

"Tell you what, I'll tell you when I'm having a hard time if you tell me when you're in any kind of discomfort," Seiko countered. Naomi giggled.

"Deal."

A short silence fell between the two, both simply taking in the other's presence. However, it was soon broken as Seiko cleared her throat. "So, about your surgery—"

"It's fine, Seiko," Naomi said, cutting her off with a warm smile. "I won't do it if you don't want me to."

"Ah, actually, I was going to say that you should do it."

Naomi blinked, pulling away from Seiko to look at her wife's face. Seiko gave her a look of confusion as Naomi quickly pressed on Seiko's forehead and cheeks with her hands. "You are a little warm...are you feeling okay?"

Seiko swatted Naomi's hands away with a laugh. "I'm fine, Naomi!" Seiko gave an apologetic grin. "I'm sorry for freaking out before, I'm not actually against you getting a breast reduction. I was trying to fill my head with memories of being with you as a teenager to drive away the resurfacing bad memories from that time. When you mentioned the surgery, I guess I just felt like the world was taking away reminders of the good times in my past." She sighed. "No matter what body you have, you're still my wife, and you're still my precious Naomi. As long as I have you in my life, I can and will be happy. So, if this surgery is what it takes for you to be happy, then you can bet dat fine booty of yours I'm going to be the one who will take you to every appointment."

Naomi was speechless. She didn't know how to even begin to respond. So, she simply grinned and leaned in for a deep, passionate kiss. When the two parted, they both looked down at each other's pajama shirts and laughed.

"You made a bit of a mess, Seiko," Naomi said, chuckling as she gestured to the enormous wet spot between her breasts and the mixture of tears and snot of Seiko's own shirt.

"Well, not all of us can look as pretty as you when we cry, sweetheart," Seiko teased, placing a quick kiss on the tip of Naomi's nose.

"Come on, let's get changed and go to bed," Naomi said with a smile, quickly pulling her pajama shirt up and over her head. As she reached for a new shirt, Seiko grabbed her wrist. Naomi turned to look at her wife curiously.

"I have a better idea," Seiko said with a mischievous grin. "How about we get out of these clothes, and then I will take you to bed to spend some quality time with your current body?" Her gazed was clearly locked onto Naomi's bare breasts as she spoke. "After all, pretty soon I won't have these beautiful works of art at my disposal. Gotta make the best of it, right?"

Naomi rolled her eyes. "I swear, every time you have a huge breakdown we end up having sex afterwards. I can't think of a single time when it hasn't ended like this."

Seiko quickly stole the first of many kisses to be shared that night before breaking away and giving her wife a catlike grin. "And? Is that a problem?"

Naomi nuzzled her nose against Seiko's as she laughed. She threw her arms around her wife's shoulders and allowed Seiko to carry her bridal style to the bed as she replied, "Not by a long shot."