Life seems to be going pretty good for Denya and Arro. They're finally in a relationship together, Denya's getting better at his job, and overall things just seem to be going smoothly. Sure, they're still finding themselves putting on weight practically daily, but that'll eventually even out, right?

However, the arrival of someone from Denya's past throws everything completely into chaos. Will things ever be the same again?

This is personally one of my favorite chapters we wrote. Lots of interesting plot devices come into play here. This is the point in the collab where it really started to feel like we were writing an actual novel!

 rangavar is co-writer and co-fatty. 15k words.

I hope you all enjoy~

Here's the read-only link, seeing as how 15k words is too much to display in the description: https://docs.google.com/document/d/.....it?usp=sharing

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“Alright, you said it was a woman’s top? Pink? Large?” Denya repeated into the phone wedged against his chubby cheek, the draolf quickly typing away at his computer. As the woman behind the phone confirmed the description, Denya was able to pull up the statistics of the article of clothing previously mentioned, his green eyes scanning the screen.

Eventually, he spoke up again. “I’m sorry, ma’am, but according to our site, that top is dry clean only. I’m afraid we don’t do replacements, but I’ll tell you what. Let me transfer you to a sales rep, and they can see about getting you a discount on your next purchase. I’ll forward them the information and everything, so you don’t have to repeat yourself. I know how frustrating that can be sometimes, heh.”

With a smile, the hybrid pulled up the company’s Instant Messenger app, his chubby fingers quickly typing out a brief transcript of his call with the woman from earlier, before sending both the message and the call over to Sales. Satisfied, he set the phone down and sighed. He was getting good at this. It took a couple months, but he finally felt like he was starting to fit in with the company.

Which was ironic, because he wasn’t really fitting in his own desk.

The draolf had to scoot his flabby self back a bit in order to reach inside of it, fishing for another snack to nibble on. Alas, he was only able to find wrappers of the particular snack he was craving. Instead, he pulled out a small bag of chips, looking towards his coworker. “Hey, Arro. I’ll trade ya a bag of chips for gummy bears.”

Arro looked down at the jar of gummy bears his pudgy fingers were currently prying open. “Hmmm…” Were chips more enticing than gummy bears? He popped a few in his mouth to get a more accurate idea. They were very good. “What if we just split them fifty-fifty?” Didn’t sweet things taste good with salty things? Sweet and salty?

He discreetly pulled the jar out from under his desk since Gerald wasn’t looking. The red wolf hadn’t been paying them any mind recently, actually, which worked out really well, because they’d taken to eating at their desks more often. Wayyyyy more often. Arro had to reach around the curve of his overflowing paunch to even tug the drawer open for the jar of gummy bears. His chair was already leaning back pretty far, and his blue Christmas sweater was riding up over his soft tum quite a bit. He kept pulling it back down, but the bulging rolls that formed around his middle when he leaned forward forced it back up over the largest roll on his lap time and time again.

“That works for me,” Denya nodded, watching Arro struggle with himself. If he didn’t know better, he’d say the dragon was trying to get fatter at this rate. The big guy ate so much, the effects of which were quite obvious, considering Arro’s too-small sweater was big enough to fit four normal sized furs in at this point, with room to spare. Every inch of him was just thick with warm, squishy chub. It gave him a lot of surface area for Denya to pinch and squeeze teasingly.

Of course, Denya didn’t have much room to talk. He was well aware that his own work space was becoming increasingly cramped, his stomach pressing heavily into his desk whenever he leaned over to do computer work. He had to pull the phone a bit closer just so he didn’t pinch a roll trying to reach it, not to mention how irritably small his chair had gotten. Damn thing was getting engulfed in his ass. The draolf was obsessed with Arro’s growing body, but he had an inkling Arro didn’t feel the same way about him; perhaps it was time to diet.

He thought this while doublefisting chips and gummybears into his pudgy maw. At least he fit a bit better into his own Christmas sweater; keywords being ‘a bit.’ The sweater’s design was supposed to feature several cute snowmen, but their faces were deformed due to the sweater’s designers not intending for their wearer to have overly large moobs. That, and of course the dinosaur suspenders covering part of the sweater.

Similarly, some of the large snowflakes on Arro’s sweater were partially deformed. It looked far better on Arro, though.

“You wanna order some lunch soon?” The draolf asked, mouth full of sugars and salts. Realizing he probably looked a little ridiculous, he quickly swallowed his mouthful, taking a quick drink from his water bottle. “I mean, I know we’re gonna have that office party soon. I just meant something kinda small to tide us over, ya know?” Denya lifted the bag of chips to his maw.

“Yeah.” That made sense. Arro shoved a fistfull of chips into his own mouth, his palm flattening to push in every last bit. He tossed the empty wrappers into the drawer he’d designated for them. He didn’t like getting up to throw out his trash every couple of minutes. “As long as we order it pretty soon, it won’t spoil our appetite for the party later.” He absently pulled his sweater down again as he said so. The white snowflake pattern stretched along with the rest of the soft blue fabric.

They weren’t allowed to use the desk phones for non-work-related calls, so Arro went for his cellphone. Well, he supposed technically, this WAS sort of work-related. He didn’t want to push his luck with Gerald, though.

He straightened his leg to get his paw into his pocket, although he didn’t have much luck. As he turned a bit, his gut hung to the side off the edge of the chair, copying his asscheeks. As it was, those were straining his pants already, which was the whole problem, as it pulled the opening of the pocket taut against his chubby thigh. He wasn’t really happy about that. The pants were practically new; it was just another sign that he’d been gaining weight at a rather careless rate. He lamented over it as he shoved another fistful of chips into his mouth with his free paw.

Finally, after a bit more leaning back and grunting, he fished out his phone with grease-stained fingers. “Got it.” He hoped his voice didn’t betray the immense amount of relief. He wasn’t that fat, was he? He’d gotten his phone.

Denya tried to make it look like he wasn’t staring. He adjusted his sweater, patted his tum, stared at the keyboard, anything to make it look like he didn’t notice what a round, squishy tub of lard Arro was. Hopefully, he could keep his feelings hidden until they got home. Maybe he could share his feelings with Arro and Rangavar again, like that special night they had together.

Oh, thinking about it was not helping. Ears folded, the hybrid anxiously tapped his desk as he looked around for a distraction. Alas, nothing really happened much in an office environment; just a bunch of furs sitting behind computers or talking on the phone. Not even Gerald seemed to be present to harass and breathe down everyone’s neck like usual.

Just then, Denya noticed the elevator doors open; the ones specifically used for deliveries. At first, he had hoped it was their lunch arriving, but obviously no one was that quick. Instead, he watched as several stacked boxes were rolled off the elevator in a trolley, wielded by a rather muscular kangaroo...

Denya blinked. It couldn’t be. He knew there were plenty of large, muscular kangaroos, yet this one had a specific beige fur pattern, with slightly darker hair, wearing a tight red shirt that the draolf swore he’d seen before. “No way,” he muttered under his breath as he scooted far back out of his desk, standing up. It couldn’t be who he thought it was, yet how many kangaroos did he know with those specific characteristics, on top of being over eight feet tall?! With wide eyes, he quickly approached the kangaroo. “Trin, is that you?!”

The massive marsupial halted in his tracks, looking over the boxes with narrowed brows. Soon, that skeptical expression softened into a delighted one as he looked over the pudgy hybrid before him. “Yoooo, Denya! Holy shit, man, I can’t believe I found you!”

It was him! Grinning with glee, Denya bounded over to give Trin a big hug, wrapping his arms around the roo’s sturdy chest. Similarly, he felt the air forced out of his lungs as those beefy arms set the boxes down and squeezed around his middle, digging tightly into his flabby sides. “Y-you’re gonna pop me!”

Trin laughed loudly, letting the pudgy hybrid go. “Hah! Sorry, bro. It’s like...Shit, I didn’t recognize you for a second, y’know? I mean, I know it’s only been, like, half a year but...dude, you got fat!”

It was Denya’s turn to laugh. Oh, without a doubt, he knew this would have been Trin’s reaction to seeing him now. “Yeah, well, what can I say? City food will do this to a guy,” he chuckled, flicking his suspenders against his broad belly.

“Thanks for the warning! I saw you comin’ and was like ‘oh fuck, that fatass looks like Denya, but there’s no way…’ but it actually was you! What happened, man? Are you, like, s’posed to test super large clothes or somethin’?”

The hybrid let out a giggle as he felt the roo reach out and squeeze his corpulent tum, as if checking to see if all of that flab was real. “Hah, that’d be great! Nah, I just take and transfer calls and stuff. It’s, uh, kinda hard to keep in shape when you’re just sitting and eating all day, ya know? It’s a good job, though. Really easy. Anyone can do it.” Denya didn’t want to mention that it took him several weeks of training to actually get a hang of his job. “What about you, Trin? What brings you here?” The roo was one of the few friends of his who had stayed back at their little town, or so he thought.

Trin smirked, still squeezing that belly roll. “You always were a big eater, Den. Gotta whip ya back into shape sometime,” he sneered before finally letting go, but not without a generous pat that sent that whole gut jiggling. “Yeah, dude, it turns out I freaking blow at job interviews.”

“Aw, you too?”

“Yeah. Needed my mom’s help just to get me a gig here, actually. Real easy job, though. Just gotta move heavy stuff around, do a bit of organizing here and there, and that’s it. Easy for a big dumb meathead like me, plus I can keep in shape!” The kangaroo flexed his impressive biceps, the muscle alone almost as large as Denya’s head, barring his chubby cheeks.

Those chubby cheeks were currently dimpled as Denya smiled up at his friend. “Hey, man, you got a job you’re good at, though. That’s something to be proud of!” He had always wanted to be a delivery boy himself. Although, he figured no one would want to hire him for that, considering he probably looked as though he couldn’t keep his hands to himself when it came to delivering food. “Oh, I’m not keeping ya, am I?” The draolf quickly stepped aside.

Trin shook his head, his large ears wobbling. “Nah man, you’re good. I’m actually a bit earlier, and after this one I’m all done for the day.” The bulky roo explained as he wheeled the trolly forward, the pudgy hybrid following closely. “We totally gotta catch up sometime, though! I bet you know where all the good food is, hah!”

“Pretty much,” Denya smirked. They were heading towards his desk. Arro was sitting at his desk, watching them. “Oh!” He patted Trin’s back. “Ya gotta meet Arro! He’s my…”

Boyfriend. He wanted to say boyfriend so badly. Denya’s smile flickered as he realized he wasn’t brave enough to openly admit to Trin that he had a boyfriend, or that he liked guys in general. Not now. “He’s a great friend. He’s helped me get used to working and living here. I honestly can’t thank him enough for all the help.” At least he could be honest there.

Arro watched with raised brows as the kangaroo finished squeezing the plush ball of fat and reminiscing about their shared history. His ears pricked forward as Denya began to drag the kangaroo his way. He wondered if he was supposed to get up and shake his paw, and suppressed a groan. Getting up was not one of his favorite activities.

Still, seeing them quickly approach, he sat up straight as far as he could and braced a paw on the desk to push himself up. He wasn’t happy about the way that his gut flopped forward to hang before him, several of the squishy layers of blubber under his scales pushing out from beneath his sweater. “Hello.” At least the chair didn’t have arm rests. He had that going for him.

Denya beamed as he saw two of his best friends meeting each other. Hopefully, they’d get along well. He was surprised to see Trin was actually the same height as Arro; in fact, he might be a little taller, thanks to those large ears. Truthfully, he thought Arro was a lot taller, although his perception could be skewed thanks to the dragon’s generally larger...proportions.

In any case, Denya stepped over to Arro. “This is Trinity, but we call him Trin for short. Or Tri, because his football jersey was a three.”

“What’s shakin’, dude?” Trin beamed as he stepped towards the dragon, holding his paw out for a handshake. “Taking good care of Denya, yeah? He can be a handful!”

Due to his size, Arro figured Denya was probably more like an armful. Or a crane-ful, if that were a thing. “I’ve been taking excellent care of him.” Oh, if only he knew.

Arro pushed those thoughts aside and reached to shake the roo’s paw. Despite all of his chub, Arro realized that their hands were actually relatively matched in size, and he was startled to notice that… he and the roo themselves were, height-wise. Or, well, mostly; he suddenly realized that Trinity was taller. It was a weird feeling. He found himself staring perhaps a moment too long, and quickly retracted his paw. “So, you were friends out in the country?”

“Oh, of course! We were on our high school’s football team. I was quarterback, and Denya was linebacker and tackler. He’d probably hit like a truck, now, hah!” Denya noticed Trin’s eyes linger on Arro’s paw for a moment, before looking back at the dragon. “That’s quite an arm, dude. Do you play? Football, rugby, hockey? Oh, I bet you’re into baseball, right?”

Denya chuckled. Of course, Trin was still the same meathead he knew and loved. “Arro would be great at those. Just last week, we were racing on the beach, and even though I had a head start, he zoomed right past me in no time!”

Arro felt himself blushing. Vaugh dammit. “I-I have the first three gene mutations,” he explained. He didn’t like the way he had to look up juuuuust slightly at the kangaroo’s face. He pressed his index fingers together. “So I’m, uh, stronger and faster than normal. And also have really sharp senses, of course,” he added quickly. He was still distracted by the roo’s sheer size. In addition to his height, he was absolutely covered in muscle. It was easy to see he’d been good at a sportsball.

Denya blinked, trying to hide his shock. Arro was a type one, two, and three? No wonder the big guy was able to destroy him at the race. However, he continued grinning; looks like Arro and Trin had something in common. “Trin has one of those mutations, too!”

The kangaroo smirked. “Yeah. Type one, if it wasn’t already obvious. They made me wear a necklace made out of Eemian Steel so the games would be fair,” he stated bluntly. “Still, though, it’s dope you got three of them! I never woulda guessed just from looking.”

Arro wasn’t sure whether or not that was supposed to be a fat joke. If so, it seemed like sort of a low blow. “I guess,” he said uncertainly. He forced a nervous chuckle. “Since you just have one of them, though, I’ll never be as strong as you, haha.” As he looked at Denya standing next to the massive roo, Arro suddenly wondered if it… mattered, to him. If Denya had a thing for guys who were tall and really strong… Well, Arro already knew that was a competition he’d never win with this guy. Even if Arro ever had a nice body like that - which he didn’t, of course.

The room was starting to feel really hot.

The kangaroo chuckled, waving his paw dismissively. “Nah, don’t worry about it, bro. People hear you’re a type one, and all they think you’re good at is moving heavy stuff around. I mean...that’s sorta my job, but, ya know.” He laughed again. “Anyways, I gotta go deliver this stuff though. Was nice meeting you...Arro, was it?”

“Hey, you don’t have to go quite yet!” Denya called out, before clearing his throat. “I mean, you said you’re done after this one, right? We’re just about to have a lunch break. Come meet up with us when you’ve finished dropping it off!”

“Oh, for sure!” Trin gave a wave before walking away.

Denya couldn’t stop smiling as he squeezed his way back into his seat, turning towards Arro. “Isn’t that crazy? Small world, right? He was, like, the coolest guy at school! I mean, our school only had like 400 people in it, but he was definitely the one all the girls fawned over, ya know?” The hybrid bounced happily in his squeaky seat as he gushed over his friend, his belly bouncing in his lap. He couldn’t help himself, he was so happy to see a friend from home again.

Arro tried not to stare at Denya’s quivering lard. He was obviously very excited. And it was true that Arro was happy he was so excited about getting in touch with an old friend; he just wasn’t sure he was as excited about meeting his friend. His large, intimidating, conventionally attractive friend that he also shared history with.

Arro shook his head. “Yeah, no kidding. I can’t believe you’d both end up here, heh. That’s crazy.”

“Yeah!” Denya beamed. “It really is.”

It was hard to focus on work, especially with the knowledge that his childhood friend was in the same building. There was just so much to talk about, he couldn’t wait to start reminiscing about their adolescence. He had the feeling that Arro was getting a little annoyed with him rambling, so the draolf kept to himself while waiting.

Eventually, he noticed the delivery elevator opening once again, although this time it was their food delivery. Right, he had forgotten about their food, a rather rare occurrence. He was delighted to see that Arro had the same cravings he did: Taco Bell, and a lot of it. Both of their desks were nearly filled with bags of the stuff. Right on time too; Trin looked astonished as he walked out of Gerald’s door, making a beeline to the two doughy drakes. “Oh, damn. You guys got a ton! Gonna share with everyone?”

Denya laughed. That was a good joke. “Nah, this is just for us two! I woulda gotten more if I knew you were gonna be here, though! C’mon, help us take this to the break room real quick before our boss catches us.”

That sounded good to Arro, too. He grabbed some of the bags and helped carry them to the breakroom door, turning and nudging it open with an elbow. It actually helped to turn to the side a bit for other reasons, too, although he wouldn’t quite admit that. He just didn’t like the feeling of his chub being brushed. That was all.

He lowered the collection of bags onto one of the tables, the other two following quickly behind him. He didn’t bother sorting the bags or anything just yet; they’d gotten similar things, so he wasn’t sure he even needed to. He simply grabbed one for himself and took a seat. A seat within easy reach of the rest of the bags, of course. He beckoned at Denya and his friend. “Sit with us,” he said vaguely, still sizing the guy up. He seemed nice enough, though. Arro wasn’t sure why he was getting so nervous all the sudden.

Trin did just that, sitting in a seat next to Denya. He raised a brow. “You, erh, eat like that every day?”

“Nah, not every day,” Denya explained, taking a large bite out of a quesadilla. “We’re having this party at work later, so we’re eating light.”

“Oh yeah?” The muscular roo laughed. He reached over and rubbed his fist along the hybrid’s blond hair, ruffling it up. “Starting to see how you got so big now! Vaugh, I don’t even think I could eat half of this on my own in one sitting. Remember in eighth grade, when Ms. Miller had that pizza party?”

The hybrid’s eyes widened, pausing mid bite. “Don’t bring that up now!”

But the roo had turned towards Arro, smirking. “So, in school, Denya-” Trin’s paw shot out to stop Denya as the draolf frantically got up to try and get him to stop talking. The muscular roo was able to effortlessly fend the hybrid away with a single arm. “Denya was a bit of a troublemaker, yeah? He pissed off our teacher one day, and he wasn’t allowed to join the end of the year pizza party. He had to sit in the corner and watch everyone, which was total bullshit, by the way,” he said, as if that would get Denya to stop flailing. It didn’t.

“Anyways, when Ms. Miller left the room for a phonecall, Denya immediately ran forward and scarfed, like, half a box’s worth of pizza down his gullet, just to get revenge! He tried acting innocent, but his gut was sticking out beneath his shirt and he looked ready to vomit, it was so obvious!”

Denya felt himself going red in the face. It was embarrassing, being reminded how much of a little shit he was back in the day. However, he soon found himself sighing, then chuckling as he wiggled his way back into his seat. “I mean, it was worth it to see the look on her face though.”

“And the detention?”

“Yeah,” he laughed, eating another quesadilla.

Arro stifled a small chuckle. Fuck. He wanted to like this guy. “Sounds hilarious,” he said weakly. It was true; it was a good story. He wasn’t sure what else to say, though, so he used the excuse of shoveling more food into his mouth. He didn’t care that some lettuce from his taco bounced off his sweater. He was already embarrassed enough to be making his first impressions as a fatass at all.

At the thought of his sweater, he tried pulling it down over his bulging gut again, but it was very clearly a lost cause. He sighed.

Trin perked up. “Oh yeah, been meaning to ask why everyone was wearing those sweaters.”

“Oh, these?” Denya asked, tugging on the collar of his sweater. “It’s for that party I mentioned earlier. There’s an ugly sweater contest later in it.” He wished there wasn’t one, though. He was wearing enough padding as it was.

Trin’s grin widened. “Any sweater on you is an ugly sweater.”

“Oh, fuck off!” Denya laughed, playfully shoving Trin. The muscular roo didn’t budge an inch. “You’re just jealous cuz I pull off the sweater n’ suspenders look so well.”

“I suuuuuure am.” The roo rolled his eyes, before tugging on one of the suspender straps, letting it slap against Denya’s flabby chest.

The hybrid yelped at the feeling of the suspender strap bouncing into his flabby chest, sending ripples across his middle. “Sounds like jealousy to me.”

“How do you put up with him?” Trin turned to Arro this time, resting his chiseled jaw against his paw. “He’s like one of those small dogs that won’t shut up.”

“Heh. He’s not so bad.” Arro watched them playing with each other. He wished he’d been the one to run his fingers through Denya’s blond hair. Still, Denya was happy, and Arro felt too guilty to be upset about that. Why would he be upset about that? He wanted Denya to be happy. And Denya was happy with his friend. His really, really attractive, smart and funny friend.

Arro brushed some taco crumbs off the curve of his belly, his paw once again brushing bare scales towards the bottom. Shit. His shirt was riding up even more as he ate. Dumb. Stupid. Embarrassing. He cured the emotions momentarily by shoving in his next bite. He knew better than to cope with food, and yet he always, always coped with food. It was why he had a body like this, and not a body like Trin’s.

Contrarily, Denya had no problem stuffing himself with the abundant food during their talk. He was glad Trin didn’t bring up Arro’s weight in front of him. He knew the kangaroo was rather blunt, even more so than Denya himself was at times. “Did you want a taco or something, Trin?” he asked, looking at the table.

Trin shook his head, raising a paw. “Nah, I’m good. I ate before work.”

“You sure? There’s plenty left.”

“Good.” Trin smirked. “More for you, then. You clearly look like you could use a few thousand more calories.”

The draolf scoffed, rolling his eyes. “You’re just jealous cuz I make it look good.”

“Is that your answer to everything?”

“I make everything look good.”

“Sure you do.” The roo reached out and gripped another pawful of the hybrid’s flab, squeezing it beneath his fingers. “Vaugh, you must weigh more than me now. Is there a scale or something we could use to find out?”

Denya snickered. “We don’t have a scale that could measure your fatass.”

“Oh?” The kangaroo suddenly stood up from his chair, hands on hips as he loomed over the hybrid. “Maybe I’ll just drag you by your little sausage tail back to my work so I can throw you onto the industrial scale. You know, the kind meant to measure trucks and shit? How about that?”

The hybrid laughed nervously, looking up at the beefy marsupial. Trin had always been a little self conscious about his own body image. He had thought the fat joke would be seen as more ironic, given his own flabby self. He cleared his throat. “Could you even lift me on your own?”

Trin tilted his head to the side, before grinning. “Good point, Tubs. Arro, grab his feet.” The roo suddenly reached his arms beneath the hybrid’s tubby shoulders, playfully attempting to hoist him up.

Denya, fully aware of the capacity of Trin’s strength, tried not to wiggle too much at the fear of getting squished, feeling his flabby back pressing into the roo’s firm abs. “Ack! Arro, help!”

Before Arro could respond, a familiar red wolf pushed open the door. He was two steps into the room before he faltered. His eyes flicked from the spectacle before him, to Arro, to the food, and then to the spectacle again, like he wasn’t sure what to address first.

His gaze settled on Trin. “What are you still doing here?”

Arro glanced over at the kangaroo, who had frozen with his paws still tucked under the significantly shorter draolf’s armpits. He wasn’t quite sure how to explain any single thing going on in this room, so hopefully Trin was a bit better at coming up with excuses.

“Oh, hey!” Trin perked up, still squeezing Denya. Apparently, he wasn’t the least bit fazed at being caught grappling an employee in front of their boss. The roo actually waved casually at the red wolf. “Denya’s a good friend of mine! Haven’t seen him in ages, and I didn’t know he worked here till just now!”

“And I didn’t know he was in town till just now, too!” Denya beamed, still trying to wiggle his way out of the vice-like grip of the marsupial. “Is it cool if he comes to the party later?”

Gerald’s eyes narrowed. He put a paw on his chin. “Well…” He looked from one to the other. The roo was still very much squeezing his employee’s flabby body. His flabby employee seemed to be happy about it. “I suppose. Only as long as you don’t distract my employees.”

Arro sat back in surprise, not wanting to say anything in case Gerald changed his mind. It was a little odd. Well, everything about this situation was odd, including the obscene amount of fast food on the table and the roo still squeezing the shorter draolf. Arro figured that as long as Denya was happy with the outcome, he should leave the situation be.

Gerald was carrying a box of party supplies, which he moved as though to put them on the table, but paused when he saw that there wasn’t any room. There were quite a few takeout bags in the way. Well, the entire surface area was covered, actually. The wolf gently lowered the box to the floor instead. “I suppose you can make yourself useful and help put up the decorations, at least.”

“Oh, for sure!” The muscular marsupial finally released the doughy draolf to walk over, picking up the box. “We’ll get this place looking festive as hell, bro.”

Gerald simply scowled at the kangaroo that loomed over him. There were quite a few people in this office who loomed over the red wolf lately. The boss walked off, and Denya quickly bounced out of his chair, grinning. “Alright, you get to join us! Just try not to eat everything at the party, big guy.”

Trin laughed. “If I did, I’d be doing you a favor, tubby.”

Denya was happy to help out setting up the decorations. As comfortable as he was with his desk job, the hybrid looked for any chance to get up and stretch his limbs out a bit; sitting in one spot for too long was a literal pain in the ass. Besides, it meant he got to reconnect with Trin again! Arro seemed to be quite interested in Trin as well; he caught the fat dragon staring at the kangaroo several times. Maybe Arro liked having someone with a gene mutation like himself around. It gave them something in common, after all.

The box of decorations Gerald had left them was full of streamers. Seeing as how Arro and Trin could both reach the corners of the ceiling easily without the need of step ladders, Denya was left with cleaning up the trash from their recent meal. They had ordered more than he thought; soon, the trash can was overflowing with wrappers.

“I’m gonna go take this out real quick.” The draolf waddled out with the oversized trash bag.

“Don’t get stuck, now!” Trin jeered back.

Soon, the room was left to the two large furs instead. Trin was silent as he reached for the next streamer in the box, walking it over to hang it on the wall next to Arro. As he did, the large roo looked over to the wide dragon. “Hey, it doesn’t bother you that I make all those fat jokes about Denya, right?” he asked plainly, sizing up Arro.

Arro blushed. “I mean, he doesn’t seem to mind it,” he said evasively. Truth be told, Arro was still a bit fatter than Denya, so if Trin was willing to make fun of Denya…

He tried to form a half-smile on his muzzle and shrug it off. “Heh. I can tell you two are close.” Perhaps the next best thing was to change the subject.

“Oh yeah, for sure!” Trin beamed as he walked back for more streamers. “Like, I’ve seen Denya around in school and stuff, and we’ve been buds for a while, but we didn’t become, like, best buds till high school. That kid can run, I swear! He was the best linebacker a quarterback could ask for, hah!”

The kangaroo’s smile didn’t leave his face as he set up the next streamer. “He’s a good guy, too. A little clueless sometimes, but means well. He never had luck picking up chicks, though. He was the only one of our friend group to have, like, never been in a relationship at all, ya know? It never bothered him, though. He said he’d rather hang out with me.” The roo chuckled. “What about you, big guy? You look like you’d be a hit at school parties!”

Arro wondered what that was supposed to mean. He tried not to feel self-conscious. It didn’t work. “I mean, I, uh, didn’t go to many parties.” He pressed his index fingers together. Was it a fat joke, or a jab at his personality? Did Trin even know his personality yet?

Arro dug around in the box of streamers so that the tall kangaroo couldn’t see him scowl. It was really warm in here, even without Denya this time.

“Oh, so you’re that cool, macho, lone-wolf type. Yeah, I getcha.” Apparently, Trin shared Denya’s dislike for awkward silences, or silence of any kind. The roo was thumping his tail in a pattern. “For real, though, thanks for looking out for Denya for me, bro. Like, we were all worried back home cuz it seemed like he sorta just, up and left without saying much. But I’m real glad to see he’s doing good. More than good, even,” he chuckled, his paw absentmindedly running along his firm middle. “For real, though, we should all go out for beers sometime. You know, I’ve never actually seen Denya drink before. I wonder what type of drunk he is.”

Arro wondered whether or not he should answer that. “Heh. Yeah.” Wait, was he really agreeing to going out for a beer? “It would be fun sometime.” Shit.

He was putting a lot of attention into tacking streamers to the wall. It was hard to reach, as he was too, uh, ‘well-padded’ in front to get as close as he wanted to. He wondered if Trin was staring at him. He hoped he didn’t look sweaty under the scrutiny. As it was, his sweater was already riding up high whenever he put up his arms, and the bottom of his fat tum was flopping out the bottom over his belt. Trin just had to be staring.

Trin was doing more than just staring it seemed; the buff roo gave Arro a firm pat on the shoulders. “Alright, man! Can’t wait. It’s gonna be lit.”

“What’s gonna be lit?” Denya came in at the tail end of the conversation, the hybrid tilting his head.

Trin snickered. “What took you so long, tubs? I told you not to get stuck!”

“I didn’t! I got lost instead!” The hybrid huffed. It wasn’t like it was normally his job to take out the trash, anyways. He wasn’t sure where to go and had to ask for help. But, admittedly, being several hundred pounds overweight didn’t help much either. “This building’s really big…”

“Not as big as you, tubs. We’ll fix that, though.” The roo smirked, gesturing to the remainder of the trash. “Double time, Den. Move it, move it, one two one two!”

Denya groaned. Ironically, he was starting to miss sitting at his desk.



“...So I’m just stumbling out of the Olive Garden, and Arro’s sorta keeping me upright so I don’t fall over again, right? Everything’s just a blur as we walk out. We make it to the car, we’re about to get in. I turn around, and Rangavar’s carrying the entire bowl of mints!”

Trin roared with laughter, almost spilling his punch as he listened to Denya’s story. The bulky roo slapped at his knees. “Holy shit, for real? How did he do that without getting caught?”

“I have no idea! He was even drunker than I was!” the hybrid snickered, taking another large drought of his own drink.

It was as if someone had pressed fast forward in real life. Before Denya realized it, it was already time for the party. He had been sitting with the roo at his desk for the past couple hours, chatting it up and getting reacquainted with him, yet the two never ran out of conversation topics. Looking back on it, his life in the city had been quite unusual for the hybrid. But it was a life he wouldn’t trade for anything.

The bulky roo wiped a tear from his eye. “So what happened next? Did Arro make you give them back?”

“Oh, he didn’t want to go back in. We were embarrassing him too much, I think.” Denya snickered. “He just let us eat them on the way back. I think I ate the majority of them though; Rangavar doesn’t really eat all that much.”

“He doesn’t eat that much compared to you, tubs.” The roo gripped at the lowest fold on the hybrid’s gut, making him squeal. Trin was certainly as grabby as he remembered, if not more so.

Arro was shoving a cookie into his mouth as he came up on the tail end of that conversation. He tried not to think about how many cookies he’d already eaten. Gerald sure had gotten a lot, for some reason. Arro absently tried to brush some crumbs off of his blue sweater, which was doing practically nothing to cover the bottom half of his gut at this point; right in front of Trin, of course. He absentmindedly pulled down on the hem again. It slid right back up afterwards.

“Enjoying the party?” he said conversationally. What else was he supposed to say? In spite of everything, he wanted to be nice to Denya’s friend. He didn’t actually seem like a bad guy. Even if he did seem to make fun of fat people an awful lot.

“Oh, yeah!” Denya nodded. Honestly, he had forgotten this was supposed to be a party. It wasn’t very festive or energetic, save for the streamers on the walls and the holiday music being played on a staticky speaker. Parties typically had a bit more energy to them, he thought. Or maybe he was thinking about the parties back home, now that Trin was bringing up those childhood memories.

What this party did have was food, and a lot of it. Cookies, candies, pies, cakes; Denya was glad they had a healthier meal of tacos and quesadillas earlier. It made him feel less guilty for loading up on all those sugary treats. “I’m gonna go get more food.”

Trin raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t that your third plate?”

Denya stuck his tongue out. “It’s not gonna be my last.”

“I don’t doubt it.” The roo snickered as the hybrid waddled back to the table, loading his paper plate up with a wide assortment of high-calorie treats. Crossing his strong arms across his chest, he turned towards Arro. “Sorry, I know I should probably lay off the fat jokes. It’s just, he’s always had a bit of a belly, so it’s really funny how he’s lived on his own for a few months, and suddenly: fwump!” He held out his arms around his abdomen for dramatic effect, before snickering. “I hope you’re not letting his bad habits rub off on you, man.”

“Oh. Heheh…” Arro rubbed the base of his horns behind his head. He noticed it made his sweater ride up again. Vaugh dammit. “He’s, um.” Fuck. What was he supposed to say? Was that a jab at his weight? Like earlier? Arro was pretty sure the comment earlier was about his weight. “He’s, uh, doing alright.” Was that vague enough to be friendly?

Arro really did want Denya’s friend to like him. He just wished he could hide every single inch of his body every time this roo opened his mouth.

“Yeah, it looks like it! Sounds like you two have had a ton of fun together.” Trin grinned, taking another sip of his drink. The roo made a face, bringing up the red solo cup to examine it better. “Man, this stuff would taste way better with, like, some rum or something. Ya wanna bounce and get some real drinks, bro? After you and Denya are done eating, of course,” he added, eyeing the plate of snacks in Arro’s paw.

Watching Trin eye the snacks in Arro’s paw made Arro eye the snacks too. Most of the cookies had already disappeared on his way from the break room to his desk, which he wasn’t proud about. “Oh, I think I’m almost done,” he said, hoping it was true. He still had a large piece of pie to wolf down. Then he thought about Denya. If Denya wanted to spend more time with Trin… “We can go if you want.”

“Sounds dope, my dude! Take your time though, don’t need to rush.” The muscular kangaroo patted Arro’s back firmly, enough to make the large dragon quiver.

Denya beamed as he appeared from the break room, smiling at the sight of his two large friends getting along. It’s funny how different they looked, despite the two of them commanding an enormous amount of space; one brawny and strong, the other soft and flabby. It would be interesting to see them both hug and squeeze at each other. Denya wondered what it’d feel like to be in the middle of that hug.

He crammed another cookie into his maw as he waddled over to them. “Did I miss anything?” the draolf muttered, still chewing on the cookie.

Trin smirked at the draolf. “Finish what you’re eating, tubbs. We’re gonna go get some drinks soon.”

The hybrid gulped. “Oh, neat!” he smiled, hoping his folded ears didn’t betray his real feelings. On one hand, he had yet to go to an actual bar, besides the one by the beach with Rangavar. It would be an exciting experience, if it was just with him and Arro, or Rangavar.

But not Trin. Denya didn’t want to accidentally strip naked and confess his love for handsome, fat dragons like Arro in front of Trin. Hopefully the bar had nonalcoholic drinks that looked like the real deal. Yeah, that could work. It’s not like Trin had that gene that gave him a strong enough sense of smell to notice the alcohol on his breath.

The draolf continued to scheme up ways to get out of drinking as he slowly cleared his next plate. Two large slices of pie, a brownie, and three cupcakes gradually vanished into the hybrid’s crumb-stained muzzle, who himself hardly seemed to notice how much he was eating. He ate so much at work anyways, he had gotten quite good at bringing food to his lips when he wasn’t paying attention.

Trin, however, certainly did seem to notice Denya’s eating, enough to make a comment when the hybrid finished. “I’m surprised you didn’t just drag the whole table over here, tubbs,” he teased, poking the exposed white tum.

Denya held up an arm to muffle a burp. “They wouldn’t let me,” he joked back. He was actually starting to feel rather full now. He had eaten quite a bit.

Trin chuckled. “Not sure why. I’m sure you cleaned out everything on your own.”

The hybrid shook his head. “Not true! There’s, like, two whole pies left, as well as a bunch of other stuff. You’d know if you actually ate food instead of...instead of doing that thing plants do.”

“Photosynthesizing?” The roo rubbed his head, shaking his head in disbelief. Denya tried not to look embarrassed at forgetting that word. To be fair, it was a pretty big word to remember!

The muscular marsupial spoke up again, smirking. “You should go eat one.”

Denya blinked. “Eat one what?”

“One of the pies?”

The draolf’s brows furrowed. “Like, a slice, or-?”

“No,” Trin’s grin widened. “The entire thing.”

“What?” Denya laughed, his belly bouncing against his suspenders from the force of the laughter. “Why would I do that?”

“It’d be funny!” Trin scoffed, crossing those broad arms across his broader pecs. “Just pretend Ms. Miller left the room and said you’re not allowed to have any.”

“Ha ha.” Denya rolled his eyes. “This isn’t school, though. I actually kinda care about not getting in trouble.”

“The pies are for everyone, right?”

“Well, yeah, but-”

“So go eat one.”

Denya sighed. Trin had such a weird sense of humor. “I’m full, though.”

“You’re never full.”

“Except I am, though.”

“You could if you wanted to.”

“I could, yeah.”

“I bet you can’t.”

“I just said I...you know what?” The draolf set the plate down on his desk, marching towards the break room. “This is for you, Trin!” he called out over his shoulder. The roo was a bit of a bully, no doubt about that. This wasn’t the first time he’d teased Denya for being unable to do something, in this case wolf down an entire pie on top of today’s meal. Well, he couldn’t wait until he saw the look on Trin’s face after proving him wrong!

“Vaugh, he’s actually doing it!” Trin laughed, holding a paw to his forehead. The muscular roo continued chuckling as he watched the door, clearly anticipating Denya returning with one of the pies. Eventually, though, he turned towards Arro. “Hey, man, if you wanted to eat one of those pies or something, like, don’t let me stop you or anything. You can tell Denya I told him to share with you, or something.”

“There’s probably more than one full pie left,” Arro assured him. Wait. Fuck. He resisted the urge to slap his forehead as he realized what he’d just said. He sounded like a fatass. As usual. “I mean, so that I could take a piece. Of one of the pies, I mean, and then Denya could have the whole pie that he’s getting. While I, like, only start on the next one. So that he could have the full one, I mean. For himself.” He could feel his cheeks turn bright red again as he spoke, but he couldn’t really undo the words that let everyone in his general vicinity know that he was the textbook definition of a fat guy.

“Yeah man, I getcha.” Trin nodded, his grin not leaving his muzzle. “It’s fine, though. Denya’s probably gonna take a while to eat that pie, so you’ve got time! You don’t need to, like, just start on the next pie, know what I’m saying? Go ahead and eat as much as you want, dude, you’ve got plenty of time!”

“I, uh…” Vaugh dammit, Arro wanted the pie, but needed to try and restrain himself in front of Denya’s friend. “Alright, I guess.” When he finally went to the breakroom, Denya was already leaving with an entire pie in his paws, but Arro quickly moved around him to grab a slice for himself. Well, maybe two slices. They were pretty big anyway. It was probably more like, one slice could have been two, if he’d cut them smaller.

Okay, it was a quarter. It was a quarter of the pie.

Arro tried to spread the slices apart a bit to make them look smaller, but it actually sort of just made the fillings slide all over the plate until it was covered and it looked like the pie took up the whole thing. It was a losing battle that he hoped Trin wouldn’t notice when he made his way back to the desk, his face gradually getting warmer the whole way. Maybe it was the sweater. Maybe his sweater was too warm.

When Arro returned, Denya wondered if Trin had bullied the dragon into eating a whole pie himself. Arro was looking a little red, erh, redder than usual. Maybe he’d talk to Arro or Trin about it when they were alone.

For now, though, it was pie time. More importantly, it was “shove Trin’s words back into his stupid mouth” time! Ignoring that shit-eating grin from the roo, Denya picked up a fork and dug in.


“I toooooold you I could do it!” This time, it was Denya’s turn to wear the shit-eating grin, or rather the pie-eating grin. He had fun rubbing it in Trin’s big, stupid face that he could eat the whole pie on his own, and a few more cookies on top of it! Nobody told him what he could or couldn’t eat!

Well, except for his stomach. Right now it was screaming for mercy. The poor thing was really squeezing against his suspenders now, the fat hybrid actually afraid they would snap again, like his planet-themed suspenders did a couple weeks ago. It’s strange how with every hearty binge he partook in, the edge of his belly always appeared to be a bit further from his eyesight than last time. It must just be the food bloat or something.

In any case, he was proud of that gut for holding on, giving it a few playful pats. His christmas sweater was riding up, even with his suspenders on, but he didn’t care. It was a trophy of his accomplishments, as well as the crumbs pooled on his chest. He stuck his tongue out at Trin. “I bet you look foolish right now.”

“I suuuure do, Denya.” Trin rolled his eyes. No matter how much Denya gloated, he couldn’t get the kangaroo to stop grinning like that. It made his victory slightly less satisfying.

As they walked out of the office and into the parking lot, the tall kangaroo turned to the doughy dragons. “Did you guys want a lift to the bar or something? My truck’s right around the corner.”

“Oh damn, you drove that thing all the way here!” Denya laughed, turning to Arro with a big grin. “You should check it out! Trin’s got this huge flatbed pickup truck. It can carry almost as much stuff as he can!”

“Oh… cool.” At least it was something Trin could talk about other than fat.

He followed the two friends to the pickup truck, which had mud all over it drying in the sun. “Nice.” It was the only thing Arro could think of to say. He didn’t know much about trucks. He just knew a lot of dudes liked people admiring their trucks.

“Thanks.” Trin patted the side of the truck proudly. “I hope you don’t mind the mud. I haven’t taken her in for a wash yet. It rained like crazy on the drive over here.”

Denya snorted. “Dude, it’s had mud for so long, I thought it was part of the paintjob.”

“And for that, you don’t get shotgun.”

The draolf huffed. “I didn’t want it anyways.”

“Good. Besides, I think it’s a hazard to have your gut pressing against the dash anyways,” he snorted, before unlocking the truck with a press of his car keys. “All aboard.”

The door looked a bit smaller than Arro would have liked, but he readily swung one leg inside and went to scoot across the seat. Well, he immediately realized that he’d have to duck to get his horns in. Although the real problem came when he tried to bend down to scoot inwards and realized he couldn’t get the door open wide enough to accommodate his bulk. He had to shimmy ass-first across the seat, except… Well, that wasn’t working either. Shit.

His face felt warm as he glanced around, positive that Trin would be making fun of him shortly. He’d been making fun of Denya all day, after all.

However, Arro quickly noticed that Denya wasn’t fairing much better; the large hybrid was having a few issues of his own as he heaved his own bulk into the truck through the other door. He was trying to tuck in his tail below the seat, where Arro was trying to tuck his own tail, and they ended up squeezing closer and closer together as both drakes pushed inwards. Arro was sure it was quite the sight. Trin would have something to talk about all night long.

Arro’s gut rested heavily on his legs since he was practically doubled over on the edge of his seat, in the literal sense. His body was just too well padded from every possible angle. He couldn’t squeeze his fat sides through the door, couldn’t bend himself over far enough to wiggle his butt inwards any farther; he’d stopped driving to work a few weeks ago for this very reason. At the time, he hadn’t wanted to contemplate that he’d gained enough weight to literally not get into a car. If he stopped driving of his own volition and took public transportation every day, then he wouldn’t have to face the fact that he would soon be too big for it. In his mind, if he didn’t try, then he wouldn’t know when he failed.

Trin’s truck was showing him that it was finally his time to fail.

He was too fat.

He wanted to angrily bang his fist on the door a few times but was afraid of denting it. He glanced over at Denya to say something, but could feel the draolf struggling too as the entire truck rocked and his furry ass began to press up against Arro’s inside the truck. It was too tight of a squeeze. There was no way.

Denya was confused. Very, very confused. He never had this much trouble squeezing into Trin’s truck before. Sure, he was only fairly chubby in highschool whereas now he was...more than chubby, but still. Even if Arro took up half the backseat on his own, there was no way the hybrid should be taking up the other half. Despite being at least a bit thinner than Arro, the draolf felt even more cramped, thanks to how tightly his gut pressed against the back of Trin’s seat. The other front seat was at least pulled up much farther, giving Arro’s gut some room, keyword being some.

Man, they really were too fat. He was too fat! How funny.

Almost as funny as Trin’s face. The kangaroo’s grin finally left his face as he watched the tidalwaves of blubber crash into each other, clearly not expecting this situation. “Do you, uh...you guys need help?” he asked timidly, looking rather uncomfortable.

Denya laughed. “You shouldn’t have pushed me into eating more, dude!” He knew he should be more alarmed about his current situation, about the sheer size of himself literally weighing him down, but at the same time, it really was funny! For once, it was he who had trouble with things meant for smaller people, not Trin. For once, it was Denya who could bounce and push people around with his size, not Trin. Trin had always been the big guy, but now Denya was the big guy.

Getting fat was hilarious!

“You think we could ride in the flatbed, Trin?” the draolf asked, beaming. He liked riding back there far more, anyways.

Trin raised an eyebrow, but nodded. “Sure, if your friend’s alright with it.”

“Yeah I am,” Arro said quickly. He just wanted to get out of this situation. And this truck. He sighed and hauled himself back up. Well, not really. His ass was pretty firmly wedged through the opening by now. He stifled a groan.

Denya realized a little late that he couldn’t lift his right leg. His gut was firmly wedged between the car door, the back of the front seat, and himself, giving him next to no room to move. He tried shoving himself a few times, his only accomplishment being to jiggle both himself and Arro. Oh boy.

“Hey, Triiiiiin?” Denya asked meekly.

The roo didn’t even need to hear the question. He had already hopped out of his seat, walking around to where Denya sat. “You just had to eat that whole pie, huh?”

“You made me!”

“I didn’t make you do anything!” the kangaroo grunted as he tried sliding his arm around the flabby hybrid’s back, helping to inch him out.

Denya flinched; at least the roo knew how to be gentle with the hybrid’s wings. “You wouldn’t shut up about it! I’m tempted to go back in and eat another pie now,” Denya teased. He sucked his gut in and stayed as still as possible; he knew how strong Trin was and knew he really didn’t need much help in moving him. Hell, he was pretty sure the roo could still lift him in one arm, thanks to his Type 1 mutation. With a bit of squeezing and wiggling, the hybrid was finally free.

Rubbing his palms, the large kangaroo walked over to the other side, peering in to look at Arro. “You need help too, bro?”

Arro was pretty sure what he needed was to pass away. “I…” He reluctantly swallowed his pride. “I… I guess…” Struggling to get back out on his own probably wouldn’t be less embarrassing than needing help anyway.

The powerful roo suddenly grabbed Arro under the arm, sliding his own arm around the dragon’s soft back. It sank into the plush surface when he started to tug. Arro wriggled and squirmed a bit to stand up, feeling the muscular arm beneath his own pull hard enough to inch him forwards until he could finally unplug the side of the truck with his plump body. He was blushing the whole time, of course. He already knew that. “I’m so sorry,” he stammered.

“Oh, you’re totally fine, bro!” Trin sounded enthusiastic, as if enjoying the challenge. “I gotta say, this has literally never happened before, but still don’t worry about it! Shit happens, ya know?”

With a few final pulls, the flabby dragon was pulled free. Trin released Arro from his powerful grip and stood back up to his full height, grinning casually. “There ya go. Sorry about that, bro. I didn’t pinch ya or anything, did I?”

As he said that, the truck’s body lowered slightly as Denya climbed into the flat bed. The hybrid tried not to stare, but it wasn’t like he couldn’t not look. His ears folded slightly. While it was fun being big and all, he wished he had the strength that came with it, like Trin.

Stifling a defeated sigh, Arro went to join him. The truck still jostled a bit with his weight as he clambered on. Denya was already filling most of the back, so Arro had to press up really tight to make sure they both fit. It made it harder to reach into his pocket for his phone to send Trin the address.

Denya tried not to look too excited to find himself squished next to Arro. Of course, he was cursed to live life as a canid, and therefore was stuck with a doughy tail that wiggled at the sight of the enormously fat dragon sliding next to him. It took all of his willpower to not immediately give the drake a big warm hug and a kiss on the cheek either.

If it was anyone other than Trin driving, he absolutely would have been all over Arro.

Instead, he kept to himself, paws resting on his belly while Arro texted the location to Trin. Man, that phone looked tiny in those chubby mits. Again, he had to ignore the urge to reach out and hold the dragon’s free paw. This sucked. Then again, maybe Arro would have preferred he kept his paws to himself; he didn’t look too happy after getting stuck in the door.

Soon, the engine started running and the truck vibrated, jiggling both of their bulbous bellies. The hybrid gripped the edge of the truck as Trin started backing up.

“So…” Denya wasn’t sure he should bring up the stuck situation; while he found it hilarious, he could understand why Arro might not share his sentiments. Instead, he chose another topic of conversation. “What do you think of Trin? He’s pretty cool, huh?”

Arro tried to think. “He’s…” He suddenly forgot every adjective he’d ever known. “I just. I…” They’d been friends way longer than Denya had even known Arro. Arro wasn’t sure he had a place to say anything. But… “Are you okay when he makes fun of you?” He wasn’t sure why he was specifying ‘when’. From what he’d seen, Trin was making fun of Denya pretty much all of the time. “I just… I’d hate to see him make you feel bad.”

“Huh?” Denya tilted his head, bunching out his chubby neck folds. For a moment, he actually didn’t understand what Arro was talking about, before a small bump in the road made both of their stomachs quiver. “Oh, the fat jokes?”

The hybrid snickered. “No no, it’s funny. He’s been telling me for ages I’m gonna get really fat one day, but I sorta waved him off like ‘yeah, whatever.’ And then I disappear for, like, three months, and he sees me again but...like this,” he jiggled his belly for emphasis. “It’s funny, right?”

Judging by the look on Arro’s face, the dragon didn’t seem to find it as humorous. Denya’s ears folded as he tried a different tactic. “He’s not doing it to be mean. I’ve teased him lots for bumping his head against doorways and stuff when he had his growth spurt. We made fun of each other all the time when we were kids, not to be mean or anything, but because we’re dumb kids and we find weird things funny.” Granted, Trin was still teasing him a lot despite the two of them being well into their 20’s. “It’s not like we’re going for low blows, or anything. He doesn’t call me stupid for dropping out of highschool. I don’t call him a loser because he can’t seem to get a girlfriend.”

Denya bit his lip, thinking back to when he saw the two of them alone. “Why, has he been making fun of you? Do you want me to talk to him?”

“He, uh…” Arro pressed his index fingers together. Trin hadn’t said anything to him directly, but… “He just… I’m way bigger than you. Every time he makes fun of you for being fat, and I’m standing there even… fatter, it’s like…” He wasn’t sure how to finish the sentence. He wasn’t sure how to put it in words.

Meanwhile, Denya wanted to explode with words. It always pained him seeing Arro feeling uncomfortable about his weight, but it was getting to the point where he couldn’t take it anymore. Coming out and telling Arro he’s attracted to his weight, while tempting, just felt like the wrong move. So, feeling his throat dry up, he asked the next pressing thing on his mind. “Hey, uh...if you don’t mind me asking...why does being big make you so...does it make you, uh…” He scratched his head, chuckling nervously. Apparently, he wasn’t good at speaking right now, either. “Nevermind, you don’t, uh, have to answer, if it makes you...uncomfortable.”

“Oh… it’s okay.” Arro was still mystified that Denya didn’t seem to see any problems. He supposed the hybrid had gotten really lucky so far. “Society is just disgusted by fat people, and most people are really mean about it, so…” He wasn’t really sure how to continue. “Just, I hate being called all of the things that go with it, you know? I hate being seen as all of those things.” He thought back on his entire life and a whole slew of words came to him; the fact that he was gluttonous, lazy, and didn’t care about himself at all, were sitting at the top of the pile. “People have always treated me differently. Heh. I guess you’re lucky nobody’s started doing that to you.” It was pretty understandable, honestly. If anyone made fun of Denya, Arro would wring their neck.

“I don’t think you’re gross,” Denya blurted out. His cheeks reddened when he realized he was about to partially admit his true feelings on the matter. “When I first saw you, I just thought ‘wow, he’s really handsome and nice! He looks like he gives great hugs, too. I really hope I don’t screw things up and frustrate him!’ I mean, I still think those things everytime I see you, heh.

“But, I don’t see you as any of the negative things people see, uh, big people as. You like to eat a lot? Well, better than letting food go to waste. I definitely know for a fact you’re not lazy; we’re coworkers after all, and you definitely pick up a lot of my slack. I mean…” Denya’s face reddened. “I...I’ve had a talk like this with Trin before, actually. He...please don’t tell him I’ve talked with you about this, first of all. But, uh, he hates that he intimidates people, cuz he’s so tall and muscular, on top of being a Type 1. And he’s overheard people mutter about how he must be self absorbed because he’s a bodybuilder, and he spends more time at the gym than being productive, ya know? And…” Denya gulped. His throat was starting to feel very dry. “I was teased a lot when I was little, too, for having wings. I didn’t have any fur on them until I was 12, and some of the kids kept calling me names until they started looking...a little less freakish,” he sighed, tucking his wings further into his body. Stupid, useless limbs.

He took a deep breath, trying to stabilize his thoughts. No, he wouldn’t make this about him. This was about Arro “So it’s like...you just can’t win, right? If you think people will judge you for being fat, then they’ll judge you for being skinny, or muscular, or having weird wings, or any other shape you are. Or they’ll judge you for some other stupid reason, like having an accent or whatever. Hell, I’d rather people looked at me and thought I was a fat lazy slob instead of an incompetant moron who needs his paw held, right? I…” Denya realized he had been talking for a very long time. This was a talk he had rehearsed with himself for quite a while, for the day he finally came out that he found Arro’s fat body extremely attractive, yet it wasn’t going at all how he had planned. Did Arro wish he would just shut up already? Was he just rambling like an idiot?

Despite the fear of being watched by Trin, Denya gave Arro as big of a hug as he could, resting his head against the dragon’s flabby shoulder. “I really like you just the way you are, Arro. I wouldn’t change anything about you, really. Rangavar feels the sa...