How the times change

"Damn, this hits *real* different today!" Joe couldn't help but smile as a string of cheese formed between his mouth and the slice of pizza he'd taken a large bite of.

It wasn't a particularly *good* pizza, the low price tag only served to give away that fact, but really that was exactly why they went here all the time. Cheap pizza - which is something that still rocks even when it's not particularly good pizza - and the perfect place for a hangout.

"Dude, we earned this! I can't believe we won that last game!" Connor was particularly, rowdy today. And who could blame him? The entire team was practically coming off from the high that was their last match.

"Yeah, but it's only 'cause you and Joe popped the fuck off at the end. You two are the worst, always taking the spotlight and looking all cool and shit." That was Sadi... easily the worst player on the team. With the attitude like his, it wasn't hard for someone like Connor to riff back at him.

"Well get on our level then you lazy bitch. Maybe if you did, then we would've won the whole thing."

"No way, don't you guys basically spend all of your free time practicing? Ain't no way I'm doing that, I need my video game time!"

"Yeah, that's why you're the fattest one on the team, Sadi." Connor gave Sadi a friendly nudge. The whole team laughed at his cutting remark. This was a regular thing for them, a friendly jab between friends.

"Fuck you." Sadi smiled, biting down on his pizza. The whole exchange might've looked mean-spirited to any outsider, but to the team, this was all in good fun.

"Man, what a way to cap things off before graduation though." Graduation. Right. At the mention of that, everyone immediately felt the mood at the table shift slightly. After a few seconds, Sadi spoke up:

"Bro, I can't believe we're graduating already. This sucks...."

"Dude, *I* can't believe Joe's quitting soccer after this." Joe nearly choked on his pizza as soon as he heard that. Goddammit Jim, that was supposed to be a secret, you prick..!

"Wait, you're quitting?" Connor's eyes widened at the revelation. *Of course* that guy would take it personally.

The two of them so evenly matched terms of skill, they practically considered each other rivals, even if they never said it to each other explicitly. With how much vastly better they were at the sport than the rest of the team, it wasn't difficult to see why the two got so close — Joe certainly considered him his best friend and one of the highlights of his high school life — and he was sure Connor felt the same.

Given all that, the poor guy thought it was given that they would go on to the same college and continue their heated rivalry... but Joe had other plans. When it was time to break the bad news to him that he was going somewhere else, Joe decided to leave the quitting soccer part out.

It wasn't just Connor though, the entire team stared in surprise at the jock, intently waiting for an answer. Up until just a few seconds ago, Jim was the only one who knew, and that's only because Joe sent an unfortunate text or two after getting absolutely smashed during their family trip to Canada... dammit, he knew he couldn't count on that dumbass to keep a secret.

Joe knew he had something of a knack for the sport. The coach as much as told him so. His teammates too, neither of them would ever shut up about how "talented and one of a kind" both him and Connor were. All the extra practice helped, sure, but at the end of the day, it was all like it just came to him naturally from the very start.

Eh, whatever. That didn't matter anyways, because he was starting to get bored. Joe always knew that he was one to get bored of things fairly quickly... but for a while, he had hoped that maybe, just maybe, soccer would have been different. Unfortunately for him, that wasn't the case: after several years of playing with the team, he could already feel the boredom start to settle in.

He wanted to try out something else. Football? Basketball? Hell, maybe even volleyball? He didn't know what, but clearly *something* needed to change.

"I mean... I wanna see what else there is to life, you know? Not just... play soccer all my life."

"Dude, you're throwing your future away! Come on, I thought we were gonna go and conquer college, get scouted and then become absolute legends!" Yup, figures Connor would get a bit pissed by the direction Joe wanted to take. Connor was far more of a stereotypical star athlete than he was. Always up for the challenge, dreaming big, thinking about the future. But the truth is... Joe just didn't like thinking about that stuff.

"Whatever, let's just enjoy tonight. This is the last time we ever get to do this, don't you guys get it? After tonight, there won't be any more pizza hangouts." Joe tried to deflect, taking a sip of his drink as he eyed the rest of the team. Luckily for him, someone decided to take the bait:

"Ugh, don't even remind me! I wish we could stay like this forever. I'll miss you assholes."

...

That last part clearly resonated with pretty much everyone at the table, because there was a silence for a few seconds until Sadi spoke up.

"Ahh, it's fine, we're bros, right? We'll keep in touch!" Everyone smiled, leaning forward and doing one last team huddle.

"Bet."

Oh teenagers. Of course that didn't last. After they graduated mere months later, the group slowly started to fall off. At first it seemed fine, they made a group chat to keep each other up to date, schedule hangouts and whatever. But then the texts got less frequent. People moved on to other things. Better things. By the time the group chat completely died off, the only person who Joe still kept in touch with was his best bud Connor.

"What? They messed up your order, so you got a free one?" The chubby man looked up at his friend. The two of them decided to meet up at a local fast food place to catch up and talk a bit about what's been going on in their lives. Things had been getting a bit busy lately and even the two ironclad friends were starting to see each other less and less.

"I mean sure, I'll take it! You know how I've been going back to the gym regularly again? Yeah, I've been getting a little tubby ever since we graduated, so I really gotta put in the work before I turn into a fucking poster child for the freshman 15.

Connor sceptically eyed the paunch Joe was carrying... he's definitely already way past the freshman 15.

"... sure bud. Keep telling yourself that. That's what you get for not going with me and tearing it up at the college level."

Joe winced a bit at that response. He wasn't wrong... Joe expected to find something else to do once he started college, but after a few failed experiments, lazy days and constantly putting things off, he eventually forgot about the hunt for a new hobby altogether.

What he didn't realize is that the hole left behind by soccer and the regular exercise he used to do would lead to him piling on the pudge like he had been lately. And now... he finally gathered up the resolve to hit up the gym and start doing something about it.

Connor was clearly keeping some of his thoughts to himself... who could blame him? Joe had become immensely chubby now compared to his young, teenage self... and here he was, claiming to eat an extra meal in order to fuel his muscles. It didn't help that Connor was at the *top of his game*. He was in better shape than ever, really: the fit, lithe man's body only serving to further demonstrate the contrast between his and Joe's now completely undesirable body.

But... unbeknownst to Connor, Joe was dead serious. And he had a point to prove now. After that day, he went through hell and back to keep up his regular workout regime... and eventually, the consistently exhausting hard work he put up for many months paid off: he actually managed to get back to his old weight!

"I gotta give it to you man, I thought you were full of shit! But hey, that's awesome. Love that for you." even Connor had to concede after seeing the results. If anything, it was worth it just to see that smug grin disappear off his damn face. Connor had been giving Joe shit for how goddamn fat he had gotten, and while it started as a friendly jab — one very common for the kind of sarcastic friendship they had — deep inside, Joe couldn't help but feel like it hit him a bit personally every time.

However, things weren't meant to last. As time went by, even these two started to slowly drift apart. The schoolwork and exams started to pile up and both of them had less and less free time. By the time their dissertations and finals hit, they had pretty much completely stopped talking. Unfortunately for Joe, that also meant that he no longer had any time to really dedicate himself to a regular workout, and so he completely stopped going to the gym during the last year.

It only went downhill from there: the years following college graduation were rough. Joe struggled to find a job, and the added financial stress alongside the lack of free time only served to balloon his weight all the way back up to what was his peak during college.

... and it only got worse: to Joe's horror, the number didn't stop there this time.

"What is Connor up to these days?" A thought Joe had once or twice since then. Probably living it up, playing for an ultra-successful team out there somewhere. Super fit, shredded and swarmed with admirers. And Joe? Here he was: fat, tired and pathetic. Working a dead-end office job with no goals, hopes or plans for anything in his future.

He should've seen the signs back during high school, back when he was making excuses as to why he no longer wanted to play soccer. The truth is, he didn't *actually* want to move on from it. He didn't *want* anything new. He was just lost. Aimless. That's all it was. And maybe if he had stuck to what Connor suggested and gone to the same college with him, joined the soccer team and continued to take care of his body, things wouldn't have turned out this way. *He* wouldn't have turned out this way.

"Joe!? Oh my god. It's really you!" One day on his way to work, Joe felt a big, soft mountain of flesh press up against his back as he was stopped by a stranger.

"Sorry, do I know you?" He looked up at the man, mystified. He stared him in the face for a few seconds until the memories came flooding back in and it all clicked.

"Huh..? Holy shit, Connor? Damn, I- didn't recognize you at all..!"

Looks like Joe wasn't the only one to whom time had not been kind. Connor was... completely and utterly unrecognizable to him. The man who stood before him was no longer the lithe, snarky guy he once knew. No, the stranger who stood before him looked like someone who had never even *touched* a sport before. Before Joe was even able to finish his thought, Connor spoke up:

"I... well, you look more or less the same, haha. I mean, you pretty much kept that same haircut and... scruff you always had. Just got a bit more of it now." Connor glanced at Joe's body... yeah, he definitely wasn't talking about the thickness of his facial hair.

Funny how things go sometimes. Joe thought back to their hangouts together during college: back when he started to gain weight for the first time in his life. He remembered the way Connor would glance at him condescendingly. The snarky comments. The friendly jabs. But now... he was not only fatter than Joe was back then, he was somehow even fatter than Joe was *now*! Shit, and Joe thought *he* had let himself go!

Not that he was one to talk though. His estranged friend eyed glanced his figure up and down, a slightly muffled incredulous look on his face.

"... so I guess that gym thing you started during college didn't last, huh?" Yikes. It felt strange to get called out for something like that, especially by a someone who was clearly far larger than him.

"Haha... oh yeah, I pretty much stopped going to the gym after we graduated. You know how it is, no time to do *anything* these days." Seriously. It sucks. How does *anyone* their age find the time to maintain their physique, with how much time work takes up? Anyways, Joe really needed the conversation to go in a different direction.

"So what have you been up to lately?" he smiled awkwardly, looking off to the side as he attempted to make small talk.

"Not much... just the usual hustle you know? I work at Reverso. It's that restaurant near the main square." A restaurant...? *Wow*, things really have changed a whole lot. For the both of them, it seems.

"Oh, really? I... wait, isn't Reverso that fancy-ass 2-star restaurant that got super popular like a year ago?"

"Yup, that's the one."

"So, like, as- are you just like a waiter there or... a chef?" It was a bit of a silly question to ask, maybe a little condescending, even, but Joe couldn't really believe what he was hearing.

"Uhh, a chef, yeah. A lot of stuff happened, haha... what about you?"

...

Stuff happened..? Looks like Joe wasn't the only one here trying to avoid having to talk about his failures. But on the other hand, he saw an opportunity to vent to someone about the recent frustrations he'd been having at the office.

"Oh, man, let me tell you-" Suddenly Joe stopped in his tracks. His eyes glanced at the watch on the wrist as he realized that he was ironically going to be late for work if he stayed here any longer.

"Ugh, sorry, I have to go to work though. But we should totally catch up later! You still use the same account, yeah?"

"Yeah, I do. I'll shoot you a message later in case you forget!"

"Awesome." It's going to be nice to reconnect with someone after all these years. And with Connor no less, who... seemed to be having just as hard of a time as Joe was. It was kind of a shitty thing to think, but... deep inside, a part of Joe was really happy to see his old buddy looking so much worse than him. Like in a way, he wasn't *that* much of a fuckup.

"Hey, we should get everyone back together! Do a little high school reunion thing or whatever? Imagine what it'd be like to see everyone from the team again after all these years!" However, Connor's sudden proposal caught Joe completely off guard.

"S-sure, man." He felt a tinge of nervousness prod at him. It sounded like a fun idea, but... with how *he* turned out... not to mention how *Connor* turned out, it might be a bit jarring for everyone to see them after all these years. Joe still couldn't believe how fat the old soccer rival of his had gotten! Maybe the others turned out the same way? Some probably did, but for those who continued to take care of themselves... ugh, he could already picture their condescending, disgusted stares.

Still, Connor seemed very eager to go through with it, and so, over the next few days, the two managed to find and eventually contact every single one of their old soccer teammates. After a few organizational messages, they scheduled a meet up on a lucky weekend night, when, miraculously, all of their schedules aligned, allowing everyone to make it.

They decided to make it a feast: courtesy of Connor's culinary skills.

Joe wasn't sure how to feel about that. On one hand, he was more than elated to see what Connor had in store for them. He worked at a two-star restaurant after all! With Joe's pay, he rarely had the opportunity to go to fancy places like that, and yet here it was, just presenting itself to Joe at the low cost of... well, free.

On the other hand, he *really* had to watch his goddamn weight. That accursed number had finally stopped rising a few months ago after he finally manned up and went on a diet. It even seemed to have dropped a teeny bit recently! It had been absolutely excruciating so far, and extremely tumultuous throughout. Joe didn't keep to it completely strictly, having had a treat once or twice that he wasn't supposed to... but still, the fact that he was seeing results *despite that* meant that he didn't even need to stick to it to a tee! If he did, he probably would've even lost a ton of weight by now...

In the end, he promised himself that he would only come to have a nice, light dinner: pick out a salad or something and munch absentmindedly on the greens. That's it. The feast wasn't even the point of it, after all: it was supposed to be about everyone coming together and seeing each other after all these years! Something that, even though initially quite scary of an idea to him, eventually bloomed into more of a... morbid curiosity. He needed to see what everyone was up to nowadays... and whether any of them ended up just like he did.

And so the day came. Joe smiled nervously at his reflection in the mirror as he touched up the last bits of his beard. He hadn't really had the time to trim it recently, so it felt real nice to freshen up in order to get ready for the reunion. His boss was starting to get on his ass for looking "unpresentable" anyways, so really it was just killing two birds with one stone.

The only thing he didn't like about it was how it made his chin look... since he basically went back to his college look, it only served to accentuate the vaguely forming double chin which he had thought he managed to work off *for good* years ago... but not only did it come back, it was more soft and round than ever. If he knew it would turn out like this, Joe probably would've just left the beard alone: let it help him hide his shame, but... well, the damage is already done, so no use whining about it.

Washing his face and a hopefully a bit of embarrasment off alongside it, Joe put on a nice, freshly laundered T-shirt, his favorite pants which he fastened with a belt, sprayed a bit of cologne on himself and... it was done. He could feel his skin tingle in anticipation. Nervous at how everything was going to go. Did the others also let themselves go like he did? Are they going to make fun of him for how he turned out? Only one way to find out. Grabbing his jacket, Joe headed out to the door.

In quite a lucky coincidence, it turned out that Connor lived not too far away from here, and so Joe decided to walk over there on foot. It was the one thing he had promised himself that still kept him tethered to his old, more athletic self: to walk anywhere he could within reason... which usually meant 30 minutes *max*. And that just so happened to be slightly above the time it would take to get to Connor's.

However, as soon as he got out of the building, a buzz came from the phone in his pocket. It was a call from his boss. The greatest prick on planet Earth. Joe had stumbled into a few unfortunate fuck-ups at the office recently, and he couldn't really afford to piss Coln off any more than he already has. And so he reluctantly accepted the call.

After a few minutes, the call was over and Joe hung his head low as he let out a deep sigh. It was just as he thought. Nothing particularly exciting, as always. He needed him to scan some files and send them over to their client. The usual mindless, boring busywork. But it was "urgent" according to Coln. Regardless of whether it was or wasn't, Joe didn't exactly have a choice...

"Shit..." That meant he had to head to the office, which was in the opposite direction from Connor's place! The reunion's supposed to happen in like half an hour, that asshole Coln couldn't have picked a worse time for this!

Argh..! Well, at the very least office wasn't too particularly far away from Joe's home: one of the very few redeeming qualities his current job had. It meant that he didn't have to add commuting to the list of things taking up all the free time in his life. Just a quick 10 minute walk... well- more like a bit over 15 minutes, as of late, but that's besides the point!

He quickly stamped out a message to Connor before getting back to the grunt work: "sry something came up might be a bit late".

"Fuck me..!" Stressed out and out of breath, he couldn't help but curse out his declining fitness. It was almost like it was mocking him: what was supposed to be a pleasant, indulgent night with some good food and good people turned into a sweaty mess as the fat man struggled to keep up a consistent speedy pace. It had been so long since he had had to move at anything faster than a pathetic waddle, and he could *feel* it. His thighs, his gut, his sagging goddamn chest. They were all jiggling as he took each step, swaying back and forth as if laughing at him, mocking him: "Bet you really wish you had kept up with that soccer now, huh?"

Finally he reached the door to the office building. He propped his hand up against the wall, letting out several heavy breaths as he regained his composure. With sweat slowly starting to soak into his T-shirt, he pulled out the key card and stormed inside. He wasted no time grabbing the necessary files and checking them over once before scanning them over.

All in all, it was probably going to take him about 20 minutes to do it all, which wasn't too much, on its own, but it could certainly have been much shorter considering where he was supposed to be right now instead of in this shitty office. Still, he had to make sure everything was in order, lest he make another significant fuckup like last time.

*Bzzzzt*... *Beep*...

...

*Beep*... *Click*...

...

... god fucking dammit, he's going to be like an hour late at this point! Frustration filled the air as he empty-mindedly flipped through and scanned the countless documents, until finally: he gathered up the last of the files, made sure everything was as he was told, and clicked send.

"Ok, oh boy." The fat man gathered his keys, taking a deep breath as he braced himself for what was to follow. He now had to walk... all the way back and then towards Connor's place. This is going to be one hell of a journey.

"Fuck..! Oh man, this is it, this is how I die..." And one hell of a journey it was. The entire thing was just... absolutely excruciating: the sweat, the pain, his lungs feeling like they were on fire. If it wasn't for the fact that he was running against the clock, he would've likely taken several breaks by now. Maybe a dozen, even.

Finally the hellish journey came to an end as he reached Connor's apartment. Fuck yes. It's over. Finally. Ringing the bell, Joe weakly mumbled his name before being let in.

*Pant* *Pant*!

...

*Grunt* *Wheeze*!

Goddammit, this doesn't feel triumphant at all! What the hell!?

You see, deep inside, there was a part of Joe that had hoped the rush would've activated something in his brain... perhaps a hit of dopamine, a sense of accomplishment, *anything* reminiscent of the joy he would get from physical exercise back in the day. This could've been the point where he finally turned his life back around: regained his love of fitness.

... but nope. If anything, it only made him denounce that old life even more, as Joe found himself making a promise not to do anything as idiotic as that again anytime soon. Great. Keep on stooping even lower, you fat fuck.

"T-there- this is it. Urk..." Reaching the door at last, Joe knocked on the door before promptly leaning his hand against the wall and continuing to take more of the heavy breaths that had been accompanying him all the way up till now. He was still completely fucked from the whole walk here...

"Oh, hey, Joe! God, I'm glad you actually came." The door opened, the large ex-rival peeking out from behind it and smiling at Joe.

"Damn, you look... tired as hell! Come in, you look like you could use a seat." and with that he invited Joe into the apartment. Oh boy, hopefully Joe didn't fuck up *too* hard. Checking his watch, he could see that he was *well* over an hour late - nearly 2 hours, really. Joe gasped for one final time, gathering himself as he waddled in after Connor.

"Hey! Yeah, sorry I'm so late, my boss just texted me about something and it was apparently real "urgent" so I had to take care of it-" It was in the midst of his apology that Joe stopped himself.

"... huh? Where is everyone?" They arrived at what was presumably the dining room, but as he looked around the place, Joe realized the apartment was completely empty, save for him and Connor. Connor let out a sigh.

"Oh yeah, guess what? They all texted me like 2 hours ago. None of them can make it." Oh my god.

"What? Seriously?.. so they all just flaked on us?" Boy was Joe's heart already pumping like hell, but hearing that only exacerbated it even more.

"Yeah."

"Are you fucking kidding me!? And here I am, sweating like a goddamn pig because I was so worried I wasn't going to make it! Fuck..!" Joe couldn't believe it. They really flaked on them? *Every* single one of them?

"... and at the last minute too! Ugh, those bastards..! If they didn't give a single shit, they could've just said so..!" It was after that that Joe finally got a chance to calm down. Take a deep breath after the arduous journey he took to get here. Connor seemed to be taking it in stride though.

"Honestly? Can't say I'm surprised. I just thought they would have at least gotten a teeny bit more responsible after all these years... guess not." Joe certainly agreed with that. Still it was difficult not to be pissed off by their negligence... that is, until he noticed the majestic view before him:

"So it's just the two of us then, huh? Sigh... Sorry man, that sucks pretty hard. I mean, look at that! You seriously cooked up a whole damn feast! Those dumbasses are missing out-" His eyes wandered over to a certain giant tray in the middle of the table.

"Hey, is that..?" he turned to Connor, pointing at the dish. Connor smiled with accomplishment, seemingly very pleased with himself.

"Poutine? Yeah. I remember you used to be absolutely obsessed with this stuff back in the day. You couldn't shut up about it after you had it on that family trip that one time. I, uh... hope you still like it after all these years."

"Y-Yeah, it's still my favorite. That's... so awesome that you remembered, wow. I... Well- Shit... I gotta watch the calories cause I've been putting on a bit of weight lately." A bit of an understatement, but seeing himself next to Connor... maybe he really wasn't *that* fat after all.

"Ah shit, sorry... I should've thought about that. I mostly cooked up what I thought would be good, so almost none of this is really healthy. I can make you something else if you want?"

"Ohh, no, I appreciate it. I..." Aww, how considerate of him. Connor seemed to have become a bit more mellow and less sarcastic over the years... or perhaps it was just because they were pretty much just strangers now after all these years. Joe thought to himself for a moment. The unbearably delectable smell of food invading his nostrils and weaking his resolve.

"No, it's fine, I can have some. A little bit won't hurt, right? I've been getting tired of constantly eating fish and vegetables anyways."

Blech, Joe thought to himself. Why couldn't his body have stayed the same as it was back in the day? Back then, they ate all sorts of garbage... soda, burgers, donuts, all sorts sugary pastries, and most of all: pizza after nearly every practice, and yet their bodies remained rock hard and sculpted like a steel grill. And now..? Ugh.

"Alright then, be my guest." Connor motioned to one of the seats at the table and the two portly men promptly sat down. He wasted no time grabbing that glorious large tray of poutine and handing it over to Joe, who could already feel himself salivating at the sight and smell.

"Here you go, grab however much you want." And Joe was more than happy to oblige. He picked up the grabby tool and plopped a sensible amount of poutine on his plate. Connor, on the other hand, grabbed several different things off the plates, a few of which Joe didn't even what they were. Not that he cared, it's poutine time!

"Fuck me, this is great..! Ugh, this is the best! Shit... no wonder you work at Reverso!" The moment he put the fork up to his face and felt the heavenly, savory flavor of cheese curds, fries and gravy, it was like his entire body was revitalized. He really needed that after the exhausting "jog" it took to get here.

"Yeah, duh. I don't work at a two-star restaurant for nothing."

"Right... so how did that happen?" Joe's words were mumbled through his half full mouth, it was simply too good! And the fact that Connor remembered his favorite food too? God, what an absolute darling.

"Well... it's a bit of a story. Where do I even start? What's the last thing you remember from back when we still talked?"

"Last time we talked would've been... about midway through the 3rd year of college? You were studying... social science, I think? But you joined the soccer team like you said, and were planning on becoming a professional player. That's all I remember you ever talking about, haha. I'm pretty sure I even told you to stop talking about about it at some point."

That's right, Joe even remembered the exact way he put it back then: "You're banned from talking about soccer when we're hanging out. I want to forget soccer even exists and move on to bigger, better things.'"

... what a fucking idiot he was back then. Tch, yeah right, "bigger, better things". The only thing that's gotten bigger since then is the size of his fat fucking gut. Joe shifted uncomfortably in his seat as he listened to Connor:

"Riiight... so basically, I got humbled. Super hard. I thought I was hot shit. When I first joined the team, I was all cocky and mighty because... well, you know how it was. Everyone back in high school kept telling us how amazing and 'gifted' we were."

"... right."

"And honestly that kept going for a good while. You know how back on our team, it was mostly just you and me who were really good at it? Yeah, this one was different. There were a ton of other guys in the soccer team who were real good: easily close to my level, I had to be careful not to get left behind."

Joe just listened intently, continuing to feed on the pile of poutine as the chef poured out his life story.

"There was this one guy who really reminded me of you, Luis. We went through pretty much all of college trying to one-up each other. We actually spent so much time getting in extra practice, we both failed a ton of our classes, haha..." Connor smiled for a moment, probably reminiscing about the good old days.

"It was a rivalry just like we had, you know? It was great, and it was exactly what I needed." ... so this Luis guy basically replaced Joe. Not that he had the right to feel hurt by that: he was the one who dipped after all, but... still.

"Anyways, we would play against other teams and we would absolutely crush them. I thought we were at the top of the world, no one even came close to beating us. In the end, I... actually ended up flunking out in my senior year, because I was just spending so much time practicing instead of going to classes."

"... so imagine my shock when not even a *single* club tried to scout me out. At the time, I was so cocky, haha, thinking I was some kind of hot commodity every manager was just *raring* to scoop up... but yeah. I tried to go to a bunch of those recruitment draft thingies, but... shit, it was like everyone was on a whole 'nother level. I remember thinking: where the hell were all of these people back in college!? Either way, I crashed *hard*."

"Luis on the other hand... maybe you heard about him in the news or something? He did actually go on to become a pretty successful professional player, even got scouted out by several soccer clubs..." Oof, now that's something that hit home for Joe.

"Damn, that sucks. If that happened to me, I would've been so jealous I would've fucking imploded." In a way, it did happen to him. Except in Joe's case, he created this sort of... fake, imaginary dream version of an ultra successful Connor to get jealous of, when in reality, Connor was waddling around looking like *that* the whole time.

"Yeah, well... I actually ran into him a few months back. You can probably imagine how awkward it felt for me, haha! Oh well, that's all in the past now. Not like I even have a *chance* of ever working all of this off. Too late for me now, especially with how hard I fell in love with food, hehe!" Connor raised his eyebrows, smiling jovially at Joe as he gulped down a large spoonful of... whatever that was. Damn, talk about coming to terms with it. How the hell can he just accept it like that? Didn't he want to lose weight? Get all ripped again? Regain that old, fit, enviable body?

"Anyways, after that, I just fucked around for a few years, trying to get a 'temp' jobs to do for a bit. You know: 'before I had my big break and made it as a pro.' Obviously that didn't end up working out for me, hah. I still remember the moment the realization hit me: that I was never going to make it. That it was over. That I actually had to just let it go and just... move on to something else."

...

Joe had no words. He was convinced Connor was destined for soccer stardom with how big of a game he talked back then. To hear that it all just... fizzed out, just like that, was... quite a shocking revelation for him.

"I basically spiralled for a bit after that. I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life. soccer was like my entire identity before that, right? I jumped from one random job to another, tried to get back into school and get *some* degree at least, but it was all kinda over at that point."

"Ugh, yeah. I know the feeling. Honestly, if it makes you feel better: I went through with it, and that little piece of shit paper is completely useless to me anyway." Seriously. All those years spent stressing out over assignments, exams, all that nonsense. And for what?

A lot of Connor's story resonated with Joe's very own life experiences, he couldn't help but see the parallels.

"You know, that story actually kind of reminds me of how it went for me. You know how I wanted to move on to 'other things' after high school? Well, I know now that... really, it was all just me not knowing what I wanted. I didn't really let it show whenever we hung out, but... I seriously didn't know where I was going with my life. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do, whether I should've even finished my degree." Joe glanced away from the table, smiling to himself for a second before saying the next thing.

"But unlike you, I'm still a pathetic loser, so there's that, haha." he laughed before shutting himself up with another forkful of poutine. It's what had been on his mind this whole time. Connor didn't seem to like that response though.

"Come on, don't say that."

"What? It's true. You work at Reverso, man. And this food is good as hell, so I know you deserve it. Me? I had to get this dogshit of-" suddenly Joe stopped mid sentence, putting his hand up to his most. Holy hell, he was nearly choking from the overwhelming amount of savory, potatoey goodness he had shoved in his mouth. He didn't realize it, but he had already finished the tiny portion of poutine he had and proceeded to grab himself another, far larger pile in the middle of all that catching up.

"Hahah, hey, slow down big guy. Drinks are over there." Connor laughed, pointing to a collection of various drinks on the table. It was things ranging from water, to varoius fruit juices, and lastly: alcohol, such as beer and wine.

Scrambling to free his throat, Joe grabbed the nearest thing he could get his hands on: a can of beer. He popped it open with a hiss and chugged it down like no tomorrow. The food smoothly flowed into his stomach as he washed it down with the bitter liquid. Once his throat was free, he let out a sigh of relief.

"Phew, that really hit the spot..." It really did: paired with the salty, greasy pile of fries he had in his mouth, the bitter notes of the beer mixed and melded together in a way Joe couldn't even describe. It was also extra satisfying since it had been a while since he'd had a nice cold thing of beer... and then the realization hit him.

"Oh, damn, I'm not supposed to be drinking right now." He sucked in air through his teeth, staring at the aluminum can in his hand.

"Oooooh... the diet, right." Connor frowned before stretching his meaty arm out.

"Here, give me the can, you can grab some juice or water instead." he reached over for the can, but before he was able to grab it, Joe spoke up:

"Uhh, well..." A moment of deep thought to himself. He *was* supposed to be on a diet right now. But all of that went down the drain once he decided to indulge in the poutine.

...

... what the hell. He might as well let loose. Do something worth remembering for once in his miserable life!

"You know what? Fuck it, I'm already off the deep end. I might as well enjoy tonight! How could I *not* have some beer with all of this amazing food you made?" He lifted the can back up to his face and took a few more deep swigs.

... damn, he missed this. Diets are the worst, and he had only been on this one for *a few* months so far!

"All of this amazing food?" Connor snickered, imitating Joe's voice.

"You've only been inhaling the poutine like a madman, dude. You should try out all of the other stuff too!" He laughed, reaching out and grabbing a can of beer of his own.

Joe looked in front of him for a few seconds. The man's right. With the beer by his side, Joe's inhibitions were slowly melting away. He didn't give a single flying fuck about his diet anymore, he wanted to *eat*.

"Alright, Mr. Two-Star Chef. What would you recommend to me, then?"

It was almost like a glint appeared in Connor's eyes as he went on to excitedly tell Joe all about all the dishes on the table, the process behind cooking them, where he learned it, why he picked it for the feast. Damn, the man had truly found his passion for life. Joe would try out a bit of each dish as Connor went over them, like a little tour of the entire spread.

"That's crazy, I can't believe you made *all of this*. On your own. Just for tonight! Seriously, you're the fucking best, hot damn! This is so good!" Joe was going through absolute bliss. Whatever it was he worried about before, this was worth throwing it aside for.

"Yeah, keep telling me how great I am. I don't hear it enough at work." Connor laughed.

"Wait, so you never got to finish, how did you end up turning to... *cooking*, of all things?"

"Right. Well, afterwards, I basically just wandered around, taking shitty job after another... I don't even remember most of them. Not that I care. After going through a ton of those, I ended up working at this obscure little diner where Garik - the owner - he was... uhh, a really cool dude. Like, really great guy. He felt like less of a boss to me and more of a... close friend, really." Connor fiddled with his hands for a little bit, smiling.

"I actually still keep in touch with him to this day." the fat man looked off to the side, taking a sip of his beer before continuing.

"Anyways- I guess it turns out I have a knack for cooking. At least that's what Garik said he saw in me. He went on to teach me pretty much all I know about cooking. And I found out that I *really* love doing it. It turns out... he used to this really famous hotshot chef. I didn't realize at the time just how big of a deal he was: I thought he was just the owner of this rundown random diner, haha. Apparently he felt like he needed to take a step back from all that big name, pretentious celebrity nonsense and go back to doing something smaller. More personal."

... damn. If only Joe had met someone like that back when *he* was lost. Connor got lucky as hell with that.

Not that it didn't come at a cost though: the career change has clearly had *catastrophic* repercussions for his waistline over the years. Joe still couldn't believe it. Whenever he stared at the giant mountain of lard sitting before him, he had difficulty believing that this was the same Connor he knew all those years ago.

"Eventually he pulled out some of those old connections and sent me off to work for a bunch of these big name, high-profile chefs. Said he 'didn't want to keep me caged up in this grungy lil' diner.'" Sounds like he's been playing around with the big fish. Like, *actual* professionals. Holy hell.

"And... yeah, eventually one of the people I used to work with decided to open up shop *here* of all places, and I just knew I had to come back to work at Reverso."

...

God, Joe felt like such an asshole. He was happy for his old rival, obviously... but a part of him couldn't help but feel jealous at how much better Connor's life turned out.

...

No. No way he's about let his feelings get the better of him like this. He smiled, patting his old buddy on the back.

"Dude, that's awesome. Sounds like you're really living it up!" It helped that the heaps of food kept him in a good mood. Whenever Joe felt a little stressed or saddened, he would just take a big bite of delicious grub, and all was right in the world again.

"Well enough about me, what about you? What do you do for a living?" However, as soon as those words came out of Connor's mouth, Joe felt himself freeze a little.

"Uhh, it's kind of a downer. I've been stuck working this shitty desk job. My boss, Coln? An absolute shithead. He's the reason I came so late tonight, actually. Needed me to head to the office to do something *real* urgent, and... I couldn't really afford to piss him off, so I had to do it."

"Damn, that sucks, man. Well, if it makes you feel better, I really appreciate you coming. I uhh... can tell you were in a real hurry. Considering... you know, how sweaty you were when you came in, haha." Connor smiled, looking at the T-shirt clinging tightly to Joe's chubby body. The sweat hadn't really dried off at all, still forming a dark stain all over his chest and armpits... fuck, why did he decide to wear such a bright t-shirt to this!?

"Oh god, don't even mention that. I'm so sorry, I must smell like absolute ass right now."

"Nah, it's fine. Smells a bit nostalgic honestly. Really reminds me of how stanky the locker room would get after practice."

"..." Joe could barely even respond to that. That was another thing he was self-conscious about. It used to be that, back in the day, that sweat was a symbol of his hard work and preserverance - it made him feel sexy as hell to feel the dampness of his skin after a hard day of practice. But now? It was a symbol of the *exact opposite*...

"Well, did you at least have an *ok* job or two before this one? Come on, surely they couldn't have all been duds?" Connor gave him an apologetic smile, likely attempting to steer the conversation into a more positive direction.

"Well, the one I had just before this one wasn't too bad. I actually coached a soccer team at this one high school! The kids were absolute little shits, but... it was kinda nice. It sort of reminded me of the good old days, you know? Except this time *I* was the one coaching the little stinkers."

"Wait, really? That's awesome, haha! And here I thought you really did just give up on soccer completely! So how was it? Did any of your old buried instincts come bubbling back out?"

"Hell no! Well- I *tried* to show them a few of the moves we used to do back then, but... I just wasn't as flexible as I used to be, man. And it only got worse over time. I was just happy that they listened to me... for the most part. And not to brag too hard, but a few of them started getting real good after I came in. We even had a ton of successful games."

"Aww, look at you. Feeling that nostalgia over these kids. See? You're not a loser, you coached a soccer team, dude! Sounds like you look back on it pretty fondly, too."

"Haha, well..." Joe chuckled to himself at Connor's suggestion. The poor guy has no idea where this story's headed.

"I only did that for like... 3 years. Because one day, I just got a notice. They replaced me with this... cocky, thin athletic guy or whatever. Apparently the faculty was worried about my 'prestige' and went on about how they 'didn't want to set a bad example for the kids'... didn't even have the balls to say it to my face that it was just because I was fat. Can you believe it? Ugh! I mean- yeah, I know I've been gaining a lot of weight lately, but they can't just fire me for that, right? That's like... grounds for a lawsuit or something. Not like I have the kind of money for that though..."

"Damn, that's... yeah. That sucks. And it's not even like you're *that* fat anyways. Coach Temple was a fat bastard and they let *him* be in charge of our team, remember?"

"Oh yeah, of course I remember. We would always make jokes about it. Ribbing him about how a lazy fatass like him had nogiving runts like us any kind of orders or advice. Back then it made sense, but-" Suddenly a horrifying realization dawned on Joe.

"God, fuck me. I'm as fat as Coach fucking Temple now. I- I *was* Coach Temple to those kids..! Oh my god." At this moment, memories of all the off-hand comments came flooding in. The exact same heckles and shows of disrespect that *they* would throw at Temple all the time. How the hell did he not connect the two until now!? It was enough to make Joe stop shoving food down his gullet for a split second after having been doing so for all of this conversation.

He hated that wheezy fat old fart every time he had to look at him. The way his giant beer belly *poured* disgustingly out of those tight pants. The way it bounced up and down as he waddled down the field. The way his stupid fat chin waggled around whenever he yelled at Joe. The way he would always talk about his glory days: how fit and good he used to be, and how many matches he won for the team... all of that big talk, *right* before he went on to demonstrate time and time again that he was nothing more than a mere shadow of his former self. He was like the epitome of failure as a man to Joe.

And in the end he became exactly like him.

...

Suddenly Connor rose from his chair, his gut wobbling tightly.

"You know what? To us. For being the team's star players. And for keeping on keeping on, despite everything that happened. And for running into each other and being the only two dudes with enough balls to actually show up here today." The massive man had a smarmy smile on his face as he looked down at Joe. There was a sort of genuine joy and confidence to Connor's smile that made it difficult not to find it a bit infectious.

"Hey, let's pop some champagne!" He put a hand on Joe's shoulder, grabbing a fancy-looking bottle of the alcoholic drink with his other.

"Well..." Joe stopped for a split second. Then he felt all the delicious food and beer slosh around in his stomach.

... fuck, it all felt *so* damn nice, it was no wonder Joe had almost completely lowered his guard by now. He didn't have to think too long before he knew what his answer was.

"You know what, man? You're so right!"

"Yeaah!" Connor speedily grabbbed the corkscrew, going on to open the bottle open with a satisfying pop. As he poured a glass out for each of them, he spoke up:

"I got this one from my boss after he visited here a year back. I never really found a good time to pop it open, so now's perfect! I'm not gonna bore you with the details, but it's that good, fancy stuff, so it's gonna blow your fucking top off!"

Well it certainly did *something* to Joe, because the next hour or two went by like a breeze. Laughter filled the room as the two men bantered. Sipping on their alcohol, going through plate after plate of the expertly prepared dishes. By the end of it, they were both so full they looked like they were about to pop!

"Oh my god that was so fucking good... Fuck me, I can't believe we almost ate all of it. Just the two of us." Joe hadn't even noticed the swaths of emptied out trays and plates until he glanced over at the table just now. He was far too occupied by his excellent company!

"Well I can. I mean have you looked at me? You too. We're both just big fat fucking dudes now." Connor chuckled.

"..." Joe smiled awkwardly. He couldn't even bring himself to look down at his bloated torso, see how much damage he had done to his body. The very same body that he had finally decided to start working on again a few months ago. Tomorrow, he's going to have to do his best to get back on the diet train again... if he's even able to.

Connor must've noticed his discomfort, because he quickly assumed an apologetic smile.

"... sorry, I know you said you were watching your weight, and then I pressured you to eat all of the stuff I made."

"N-No man, it's fine, that was great... I could've stopped if I wanted to." Ah, darn. He didn't mean to guilt Connor like that... even if he *did* sort of blame him for everything that just transpired.

"Tch, yeah right. Didn't see you trying to stop when you nearly choked on a pile of poutine earlier."

"Hmph. Good to know you're still a snarky son of a bitch, even after all this time." Joe laughed, bumping his fist against Connor's shoulder.

"Yeah? And you're still an awesome, *sexy* son of a bitch. Even with all that extra weight..."

Pffft, what a ridiculous thing to say. Joe..? Sexy? The way he is now? With his big fucking beer belly and saggy little mantits? Absolutely not.

"Tch, yeah, right."

"I'm serious, man. Fuck, I wish I could see you naked..."

...

"What..?" Joe giggled to himself dazedly, he couldn't even tell what he was hearing.

"Urk... huh? What did I say? I didn't say that, did I? Forget it." Connor was clearly not being himself either as he stumbled over his own words.

"Dude, are you drunk?"

"What? Come on, of course we're both drunk, did you see how much we drank?" They have certainly drunk quite a lot of the champagne. Popped a second bottle, even, but it definitely wasn't enough to get them drunk. Tipsy and slightly untethered, maybe, but Joe, at the very least, could still tell he was cognizant.

"Wait, wait wait, hold still, let me see your face, I'll see for myself just how drunk you are." Joe laughed to himself grabbing Connor by his bulging cheeks and turning him to look directly towards him.

... he really was completely unrecognizable at this point. Those angled jaws, sculpted chin, that snarky smirk, they were all gone. And yet... it was still Connor. After all these years. The same goes for Joe. Both of their old athletic bodies were long gone, and still...

Suddenly Joe felt a warmth on his face. The fatter man had leaned forward, planting a kiss on his lips. It was a passionate, if not a bit sloppy kiss. He could tell that both he and Connor were tired, because by the end, when they finally broke off, both of them were a little breathy, a little warm, and a little sweaty.

"I, umm... guess you're a sexy son of a bitch too, haha..." Joe laughed at the absurdity of what just happened. It surprised even him when he found himself... not feeling appalled, or pushing back, but instead leaning into the kiss, reciprocating it.

"Really..? So, uhh... theoretically... if I said I was into you, would you... *also* be interested?" Connor looked at him with a confused look on his face. It would seem that even Connor didn't expect this turn of events.

"Well I kissed you back, didn't I? I wouldn't have done that if I thought you were a fucking prick. Well- that's not true, I always thought you were a bit of a prick, but..." Without realizing it, Joe found himself leaning in for another shorter kiss, more like a peck this time, really. But because he knew it was coming, he was able to savor it a bit more. The way Connor's lips felt on his, the way Connor's beard scratched against the scruff on his face... it was very different from kissing a woman. Now there was just one question that was in the back of Joe's mind:

"Hey, um... were you always..?" He broke off eye contact as he said that, fidgeting a little. As hot and bothered as he was, it *was* still a bit weird that he was kissing his long estranged childhood friend and ex-sports rival.

"Gay? Yeah. You were... basically my first crush. I would always stare at you in the locker room whenever you took your jockstrap off... fuck. I... I would close my eyes and think about that view whenever I jacked off at home. That's when I realized."

"W-woah..." Joe *definitely* never realized that.

"Yeah... but we were always acting like such stereotypical jock-y dudebros, and then with all your girlfriends and stuff... I was convinced you were straight."

*Wow*. He wasn't kidding about the crush thing: Joe felt Connor's chubby hand start to roam around his back and shoulders, rubbing them up and down lustfully. He was *really* into him. And honestly..? It felt fucking amazing to be desired like this. Desired despite all of his flaws. Connor looked him in the eyes earnestly as he continued:

"So for us to be doing this... seriously, you don't get how much of a dream come true this is for me... even if you're practically a different person at this point, heh." he moved his hand away from Joe's shoulders and poked his swollen, bulging stomach, instead.

"Daww... you just had to throw that last bit in even when you're complimenting me, you dick." Joe laughed, giving Connor a friendly bump on his shoulder.

"And... I guess that means... this whole time, you were into guys too, huh?" Guess it was only natural that it was Joe's turn to confess now.

"Well, it's not exactly the same for me... at least not back then. You remember how I went through a bunch of relationships during college, right? Yeah, that wasn't just a front or anything: I was *super* into all of them. They just... never worked out."

"Aww, I'm sorry, bud. Well- not that sorry. If it *did* work out, then we wouldn't be doing this right now..." Connor leaned in for another kiss, this time a passionate one: filled with lust and arousal... Joe felt his dick start to tent up in his pants. Yeah. he knew for sure now.

"Haha, yeah. I guess... I just never realized I could be into *this* too. You remember in college when I first started getting fat? And you were giving me hell for it?"

"Yeah, sorry about that... I guess we still both had that kind of high school asshole jock vibe to us, huh? Haha, I guess you're the one who got the last laugh! I mean, look at me *now*."

"No, you're great! But... yeah. I was starting to get jealous. Cause you were still the perfect, sculpted you... just like you were in high school, if not better. And there I was, declining. A fat fucking mess."

"..." Connor just stared at Joe without saying a thing.

"Do you remember? I started going to the gym and eventually and lost all of it. You had to admit I was right and that I could do it. I felt real smug about shoving it in your face..." The obese man laughed in response to that.

"I mean, yeah, I really thought you were just in denial, haha. Hell: I thought that you were a lost cause! That was like the fattest we could imagine a person being at that point, wasn't it? Can you imagine pulling a sick comeback like that now?"

"Hell no, haha! I'm just betting it all on this diet to solve everything for me, but anyways... the reason why I did that was so I could throw it back in your face. I didn't even realize it back then, but I really was just doing it because of you." The words were coming out of Joe's mouth, but he was essentially realizing these things just as he was telling Connor about it.

"Which is why... after we fell out of touch, I felt *awful*. I stopped going to the gym, started gaining so much fucking weight, and then got fired and all that..! And it felt even worse once I started comparing myself to you. I thought you were living it up as some kind of ultra-successful soccer superstar!"

"Oh how the tables turn. The whole time you thought that, not only did I flunk out of school and had no idea what to do, I was jumping from one soulless job to another... and I was probably already fatter than you by then, haha!" Connor was right. This whole time, Joe was getting jealous over nothing. But it turns out...

"Yeah. I mean... I thought it was just jealousy at the time, but uh... yeah, no, I was definitely obsessed with you in a *different* kind of way, even if I didn't know that at the time."

"Aww... we both turned out gay for each other after all this time." Connor leaned in, giving Joe another tender kiss. However, the smaller man couldn't resist getting one more jab in:

"Mmmmmmm, yeah... but this definitely wasn't the face I thought I would be kissing. Look at you, your face is so damn round you fat little prick." Of course, he didn't have much of a ground of his own to stand on, and so Connor laughed in response.

"Ok Mr. ex-coach, I could say the same about you, heh."

"Hey, that's only because you made me eat a whole banquet meant for over a dozen people. I really *have* been trying to get back to a normal weight, you know? I broke my diet for you! So you better appreciate how much of that shit I ate!"

"Oh buddy, I ate most of it, don't you worry." Connor laughed, patting his wobbly gut. It didn't take a genius to know that, at some point during the feast, Joe got more than completely on-board to gorge himself, all of his own free will.

Oh well, the feast was coming to an end anyway, because soon, Joe could feel Connor's hand start to grope the smaller man's body. He certainly *was* "smaller" than Connor, but he was by no means... small. That meant that for the horny chef, there was quite a lot to hold and enjoy, from the little budding mantits that he had, to the big, heavy gut that wobbled like a giant sack of water. Joe couldn't help but let out an involuntary moan when Connor pinched his fat, swollen nipples. Fuckinig hell, those damn things have gotten so much more sensitive over the years as the fat started to flood into them and forming manboobs.

"Do you want to... take this to my bedroom?"

"Uhm... s-sure."

Connor gave Joe two more little kisses and a lustful smile before grabbing his hand and leading him through a hallway, towards a room in the back.

... damn, this apartment is *nice*. Figures that someone working at a restaurant of such prestige would have the money to get a place like this.

As soon as they reached the bedroom, Joe felt Connor's hands on his hips, grabbing his T-shirt and pulling it off. The sudden gesture caught Joe slightly off-guard.

"Whoa, someone's eager! You've done this before, haven't you?"

"Maybe." Connor smiled confidently as he threw the piece of clothing off to a drawer. At least one of them seemed to know what they were doing. Aside from never having slept with a man before, the last time Joe had gotten any kind of action was back during college. However, as soon he looked down, all the excitement slowly waned.

What greeted him down there was a view of his big, distended gut. Round, bulging, disgusting. It looked even more enormous now, what with how much food he had crammed into it in just a single night. The way the two pointy nipples sat on top of it, starting to sag down, the way his chest was slowly turning into someting more akin to a woman's boobs. He realized he could barely see his feet with how how much the round mound of flesh below protruded out of his torso.

"Fuck... dammit..!" And just like that, all of his confidence was gone. Connor looked up at him, concern in his eyes.

"What's wrong?"

"I- I'm supposed to be on a weight loss journey! I was supposed to keep up with my diet, finally get rid of all this and turn my life around. And *now* look at me." Joe grabbed the big sack of fat, wobbling it aggressively as his mind flashed back to the nearly empty table the two obese men had left behind in the dining room. They did that. *He* did that. Ate all of it.

"Oh... Joe... buddy..." Connor thought to himself for a second. Then he walked over to the bed and starting pulling on - or rather wriggling the polo shirt off of his massive body. As it slid up from his body, Joe could slowly see the man's voluptuous body come into view for him: first the massive gut wobbled out victoriously, jiggling well below his waist as if sighing in relief that it had finally been freed from its tight, fabric-y prison. The massive sack of fat was starting to lose shape at the bottom, creasing below his belly button as the heft struggled to cling on.

And then the chest followed: Joe thought *he* was already starting to get a bad case of mantits, but in comparison to Connor's they were almost completely non-existent. Connor even gave Joe a smile he couldn't quite place as he put his two hands up to the perky manboobs and wiggled them up and down.

Before Joe could process what was going on before him, the large man dropped down on his bed with a loud thud - if Joe had done that to his cheap, rusting bed, it would likely not have survived the impact... Connor splayed himself out on the bed, making himself comfortable before taking a deep breath and reaching down.

He put his two meaty hands on his sagging gut and heaved it up, revealing a glistening, semen-covered little nub sitting in the middle of the sea of fat.

"Is it poking out? You see it? I have a hard time reaching it nowadays, it's kind of a pain... but it's been like this for a few years now. I have to raise my gut up to even be able to get to it, because it's hanging so low below my thighs. And unless I'm hard, you can barely even tell there's anything there."

"..."

"You see? So don't even worry about it. You're not even *that* fucking fat. Your gut's been growing a bit, so what? Mine's so fucking big I can't even see my dick anymore. Or my toes. And the tits too. They keep hanging lower and lower every year... one of my co-workers keeps complaining about how mine are bigger than hers at this point, haha." Connor laughed to himself, waiting for a response... one that Joe didn't have.

"... does that make you feel a bit better?"

"..." Joe was at a loss for words. What the hell's going on right now? He couldn't deny it: it *did* make him feel a bit better. Though it felt kinda wrong to say that. It was the kind of solace that came from laughing at someone else's - Connor's - misfortune, instead. Though... it would seem that that's exactly what Connor was going for.

"Why don't you come join me on the bed and we can see just how much more of a fat fucking pig I am compared to you?" Connor pat the free half of the bed, goading Joe with a smile on his face.

"O-Ok..." By now the bafflement had completely overwritten Joe's earlier disgust, he was just mindlessly following Connor's words, thinking about what's going to happen next. Next thing he knew, he felt the man's warm hairy arm wrap itself around his shoulder. It felt comforting. Then came a kiss. Another passionate, horny kiss. This time, Connor even worked in a bit of tongue. It worked its way into Joe's mouth, almost like it was taking charge of him.

That fired up something within Joe: unwilling to just let the obese man play around in his mouth like that, he pushed his tongue out as well, the two fighting for dominance as they slobbered all over each others' mouths. Just like in the good old days when they were soccer rivals.

... ok, maybe that was a bad comparison. But still. Looks like that fire's still somewhere inside both of them after all, because the kiss lasted for what felt like ages. Connor quickly clocked in on what Joe was trying to do, and started pushing even harder. Neither of the flabby men wanted to pull back, lest it mark them as the "loser" of this battle, and so the aggressive tongue kiss raged on for nearly two minutes. It was Joe who finally conceded, pulling his mouth off with a loud pop as a thick trail of saliva ran down both of their round chins.

"Fuck you, you bastard. You win this one, heh. My tongue was starting to get tired..."

"Yeah? Looks like someone's gonna have to practice more often." Connor laughed, planting an authoritative kiss on Joe's mouth. That goddamn slut. That tongue of his has probably been to all kinds places over the many years...

"Alright, seeing as I'm the one won, why don't you go down there and be the first one to suck me off?"

"W-what..?" Joe's face turned red. Joe had never even touched someone else's cock off before... let alone one that was barely poking out from underneath such a thick layer of fat.

"If you want to, of course." Good to know. But Joe felt a bit obligated to do it. It was just like the bets they used to make back in high school. Like who would last the longest during training. Who would score the most during a game. Back then the winning prize was something innocuous, like pizza or something, but this time...

"*Gulp*" Joe braced himself as he slowly crawled down to the goldmine. He felt his mantits and gut press and brush against Connor's far larger ones before he reached the sweaty crotch.

He tentatively reached his hand out, raising Connor's gut up and revealing the small engulfed cock head underneath, glistening with a thick layer of pre-cum from all of their flirting earlier. Without wasting another second, Joe put his mouth over the nub and started licking it.

... how the fuck..?

He ended up having a surprisingly hard time with it, and while it probably didn't help that it was his first time, this certainly wasn't an ideal first time, either. Connor's enormous belly kept on wobbling back and forth, basically slapping Joe in the face as he struggled to lick at what was a laughably small amount of shaft poking out from Connor's crotch.

Several minutes later, all he had to show for it was a chin dripping with pre-cum, saliva and sweat, and a flaccid dick between his legs. That didn't feel sexy at all...

It was Connor that grabbed Joe's head and ushered him back up towards the back of the bed in the end.

"Ok, that's enough, man. You suck at... sucking, haha."

"Hey, don't give me shit. First time sucking a dick, remember? And probably the first person on Earth to have to suck such a short, buried nub too." Joe laughed. Whatever it was earlier, Connor's plan worked. Joe felt completely loosened up now. Relaxed. Just having some fun with this hot piece of man.

"Okay, buddy, let me show you how it's *really* done then."

Connor pat Joe on the cheek before sliding down towards his crotch. First, a few squeezes of his shaft, a rub of his balls. Just a few gropes to get him going. That alone was enough to get Joe hard again. With that done, Joe soon felt Connor's mouth envelop his member, a tongue masterfully coiling around it. But it wasn't that that made him moan loudly.

Connor reached his two arms out, grabbing the two nipples protruding out of Joe's chest and gave them a good squeeze.

"Ohh my god..." it was pure bliss. Connor's gentle, yet firm hold on his nipples felt so good, he couldn't help but let out a submissive moan. That only served to fire Connor up even more. He knew he had the flustered fat man fully under his control using just that single gesture.

"You like that a lot, huh? Of course you do. Look at those pecs of yours... it would be a crime for them to not be sensitive with how big they are..." ... yeah right, "pecs". Joe had long lost the right to call what he carried above his fat belly "pecs". But he didn't care at the moment, he was too busy moaning like a horny slut. How did he not realize this before? If he had known, it would've made the countless pent up, lonely nights in his apartment far more fun.

... actually, he knew why. He knew his nipples were getting more sensitive with each pound he gained. Every now and then he would have them brush against the doorframe, or a jacket, and it would remind him just how big he had gotten. He didn't want to admit it back then, but now... maybe it wasn't as bad of a trade-off: growing mantits in exchange for getting a new absolutely blissful errogenous zone.

"O-Oh, fuck..!" Even though *he* was the one getting his dick sucked, it really felt like he was at the complete mercy of his massive friend down there. There was no mistaking it, Connor was the one in charge here. And that only ignited that old, competitive spirit within Joe even more. Still, he had no choice but to moan in pleasure as he experienced what was the best blowjob of his life. Maybe it was just because dick-havers know their way around sucking dick? That would make sense, right? They know what it's like.

... but no, this was deeper than that. Joe was completely pent up and flustered from the long evening of bantering, flirting with his old buddy, all of that build-up leading to this moment. It was the fact that it was Connor down there playing with his rock-hard cock. Not only was he a close friend from all the way back during the good old days, the years between have only served to make the man even more of a dreamboat... aside from his expanded figure. Ignoring that, there was a certain confidence that oozed from him, a kindness. He owned his size.

And the fact that he remembered Joe's favorite food and made a large batch of it just for him... that thought alone was enough to make his dick twitch. He did end up eating that whole tray by himself after all, which... while absolutely not what Joe wanted himself to do tonight, caused a strange tingle somewhere deep inside of him as he felt the poutine slosh around in his over-engorged gut. A loving meal made for him by a loving friend.

"Haah..!" The thought of all that, alongside the godly sensation of his nipples getting pinched and his dick getting sucked were enough to bring Joe to a climax within mere minutes. Cum spurted all over Connor's face, coating it with what was probably the largest load Joe had shot in a while.

"Oh my god..! Oh my god..." Holy shit, that feels fucking amazing..! Joe nearly got a cramp from how hard his entire body convulsed at the end there... he started to feel a bit lightheaded, even! As the chubby man slowly regained his bearings, Connor slid back up towards the end of the bed.

"See? Now that's how it's done."

"Holy shit, yeah... thanks, that was... amazing, man."

"You're welcome." Connor smiled, wrapping his arms around Joe and embracing him. For the next minute or two, the two fat men just lay there on the bed, panting as they cuddled.

...

"All better now?" Finally, Connor spoke up.

"... huh? What do you mean?"

"Earlier. When I took your top off, you sounded like you were having a... hard time." Oh right. When he had a depressing epiphany regarding his... "recent" weight gain.

"Ugh, don't even remind me." Joe laughed it off, half-genuinely and half-sarcastically. It did actually work somewhat: that weird stunt Connor pulled.

"But... yeah. All better. I completely forgot about that once we... started... you know, sucking each others' dicks."

"Damn right. I'm a dick so good I can make you forget your biggest worries."

"Pfft, right. Don't flatter yourself, it was so buried I could barely do anything with it." Joe laughed, giving Connor a slap on that apron of a belly that covered his crotch. The massive man just laughed in response. Unlike Joe, Connor seemed to be perfectly fine with it: this kind of ribbing, poking fun at the things that all the extra weight had done to his body. If only for this brief moment, it gave Joe an small sense of comfort in regards to his own bodily situation. Connor turned to him with a smile on his face.

"You know, I'm real glad those assholes flaked on us now. Now we get to have this entire night, just for the two us..." suddenly he pinched Joe's nipples again, once again eliciting an involuntary moan. This time it was promptly shut up when he Connor leant forward, kissing him on the lips. A quick one this time.

"W-wait, we're not going again, are we? I'm exhausted..." Tonight sure had been a rollercoaster of emotions, feelings and revelations for Joe. After what they just did, he was surprised to see Connor still had so much libido left in him...

"Well, *someone* did such a shit job earlier that I haven't even gotten to cum yet." Connor gave Joe a smug, mischievous smile.

"Come on, I'll teach you how to suck dick properly, haha!" He laughed, giving Joe's nipple another strong tug which immediately made his dick jump back up. Looking down, he could see his very own hard-on poke out from behind the bloated stomach he carried.

"Alright, you sexy bastard, I'll play along."

...

After that steamy night, Joe and Connor continued to get closer and more intimate. It was quite the coincidental and lucky turn of events: both of them ex-high school jocks and top players of the team, turned big fat sweaty men who had the hots for each other. Not too long after, they decided to make it official and became boyfriends.

The two continued to regularly have sex at Connor's place: Joe would sometimes stop by after an exhausting day at work and the two would go at it all night until they were both sweaty and exhausted. With each night, Joe's fear and disgust at his own obesity diminished... it slowly became normalized in the presence of his much larger partner. As the repulsion slowly dissolved, so did the caution. The will. The need to watch his weight. Soon Joe was ballooning up again, his weight slowly climbing even higher and higher, once again reaching record heights his old self would never have even dreamed of. Eventually he became just as enormous the boyfriend that started it all.

It was on a sunny day that Connor headed to his boyfriend's apartment, worry clouding his mind. The two had become close enough to have given each other a copy of their keys. Gripping the comparatively small piece of metal in his big plump hands, Connor made his way to the elevator and up to floor where Joe lived.

There was a hurry in his steps. A sense of urgency. He could feel his massive slovenly body wobble side to side with each hurried step until he finally reached the door in a cold sweat. Clicking it open, he stormed into the small apartment, intense worry on his face and... there he was: his big fat man, lying on the rug - *the floor* - of his own living room.

His entire torso was out on full display: the bloated stomach and the big sagging tits bulged out from the unbuttoned shirt he had on. But there was more: his pants were pulled down, clumping below his massive wobbly thighs and exposing the small head of his penis poking out from beneath the thick layer of fat.

"The hell's going on here..?" Connor mumbled to himself. He really was just... lying there, snoring loudly as the mound of exposed flesh below his face rose and deflated repeatedly in sync with the deafening obnoxious noise. Tch, he should really get him that CPAP already... Joe seemed a little horrified by the one the chef had at his own apartment the first time he saw it, but by now, he would no doubt appreciate one to use himself as well.

There was also a constant noise, buzzing from the wall off the to the side: it was the TV. It was still on, looping through that... renowned playlist of his. Joe would always put this on whenever he needed to de-stress and enjoy a relaxing night after a particularly rough day at work: it was filled with various videos and shows that he liked... and to Connor's surprise, it *did* seem to actually work whenever he would put it on.

"Alright, that's enough." Connor walked up to the passed out man and tapped his face a few times.

"..."

The first few gentle taps did nothing to wake him up, and so the chef decided to put a bit more force into it.

*Plap*!

"Ungh..?" That got him to wake up, because soon Joe opened up his eyes with a dumb, hazy look on his face. He continued to stare at the ceiling, groaning for a few seconds before finally recognizing the face before him.

"O-Oh, hey Connor. S-Sorry, I popped a button on that shirt you gave me for our anniversary, haha..."

...

That shirt. Right. Connor got him that about a year into their relationship. Due to the chef's... admittedly bad influence, Joe had started to gain *a lot* of weight ever since they started hanging out. But the then still self-loathing man was still too prideful to go out and buy himself bigger clothing, too embarrassed as if it were like he was exposing his flabby body to everyone at the mall.

And so... Connor had to take matters into his own hands and go out himself to get something for his mess of a boyfriend. It wasn't originally supposed to be an anniversary gift - hell, they don't even really do those, but... it just so happened to align perfectly with the date, and Connor figured it would detract Joe from just thinking: "Hey, I got you these new clothes 'cause you got fat as hell."

In the end, he overestimated things a bit - he only had *himself* and his own clothing size that he wore to go by - and so, most of the things he got for Joe were... just a tad bit too loose on him. Now fast forward to a few years later and... he continued to grow even fatter, to the point where he now not only filled it in completely, he's even *outgrown* it, apparently. But that's besides the point. That's not what he came here for:

"What the hell, Joe? You weren't responding to any of my texts, I was starting to get worried!" How many messages had he sent by now..? Probably around 20, as well as 3 missed calls. Perhaps that was a bit overbearing of him, but Joe was generally quite good about replying to texts, e-mails and whatnot in a timely manner. One of the few positive things his boss had to say about him, apparently.

"H-huh..? Oh... I have the weekend off for once, so I was just having a bit of fun during lunch yesterday." Joe scratched his head lazily for a second, staring at the TV that was still blaring in the back.

"B-but I guess I went too hard, I don't even remember what happened afterwards..."

"What..?" Connor could only utter a confused exclamation before Joe continued:

"... what's the deal with all of these plates and boxes around here!? It's like a buffet after closing time! Shit, your habits really *have* been rubbing off on me. I got stains all over my rug..." He smiled deliriously to himself as he rubbed his swollen gut, no doubt enjoying the sensation of a recent gargantuan meal. It was only after a few seconds that his expression finally turned into something other than hazy, dorky smile:

"Wait, don't you have work today? It's Sunday!"

Huh..? What's this silly man going on about? Connor frowned.

"Sunday? It's Monday you dumbass."

"What!? Monday? What have I been *doing* all weekend!?" That got him to wake up, because soon, the enormous man was scrambling to get up, spilling and scattering the tens of cardboard boxes around him in a panicked hurry. He wasn't going to be able to get up on his own though, of course. And so Connor extended a helping hand, the two portly men groaning loudly as one was heaved up by the other.

"I need to get to get to work ASAP..! Hey, you drove here like usual, didn't you? Y-you'll give me a lift, right? I need to stop by the bakery first."

Connor smirked.

"Tch, you lazy ass! Alright, sure I'll take you. I could never deny a man his donuts. Not to mention... I bet your fat ass would have a hard time getting over to the office anyways."

"Thanks, sweetie, you're the best."

It made Connor quite happy to see Joe embrace his girth the way he *himself* did. He always felt bad for the man and the way the self-loathing seemed to have consumed his entire life back then. He used to be miserable. Sure, it was a combination of stressful life obligations, chores, work and whatnot, but ultimately whenever Joe looked down at that sagging body of his, it was like a reminder of all his past failures. The culmination of every fuck up and his fall from grace.

Part of Connor always felt a bit guilty about the way he strung Joe around: trying to avert his attention from the rapidly growing body he so clearly despised... but the self-hatred always felt so unhealthy. After all, Connor had come to terms with it long before that - and while, yes, they were both so far gone that most ordinary people would consider them freaks of nature, that's just how life goes sometimes. That's how it went for *both* of them.

It was a sacrifice that Connor had to learn to accept back when he made that fateful swerve into a completely different profession... although to be fair, most of the other chefs he has worked with over the years were largely quite fit people - his spiralling weight was an oddity even in comparison to his peers who worked in the exact same industry. He never did figure out why the others were doing just fine, while *he* was reaching record breaking numbers on the scale.

Well... no use worrying about that at this point. As mentioned earlier, he had long accepted his fate before all this, and he was far too deep in to ever go back anymore. So instead he learned to relish it. Enjoy all life had to offer. Sure, it had disastrous effects on his already deteriorating body, but it sure as hell is better than living life in constant self-hatred like Joe was all those years ago.

That's why Connor wanted to share his outlook on life with the man he adored so much: to help him love himself for who he was, not hate himself for what he wasn't. And considering what the chef just witnessed with his own two eyes... he clearly succeeded.

At the beginning, he would keep up the same weird charade he put up during that night. Whenever Joe got self-conscious about himself, Connor would just divert the attention to himself, mention the difference in pounds between them. He was still surprised it worked. Hell, surprised that it *kept* working, even as Joe's weight slowly started to catch up to his.

At some point, Connor himself even started to overeat more. He was already going through plate after plate due to his love of food now, but then he decided to start actively stuffing himself *even more*, despite feeling full: and we're talking about feeling full with a body as obese as his here. He would make a pig of himself whenever they went out to eat, or when he would regularly cook for them at home, all that just to frame himself as the "big bad fatty" in the relationship and make Joe feel better. It certainly did quite a number on his already massive weight: he was practically barely mobile now.

But *damn* if it wasn't worth it, because now, after years of effort, Joe finally didn't care anymore. He didn't need to feed that sense of superiority, to compare himself to Connor as if the man's absurd size somehow made Joe's own body more desirable. He had completely let himself go, not only physically, but also mentally: the self-hatred, the fear, all of it was gone by now. He owned his size, just like Connor. In a way, you could say Connor made him worse: the man did absolutely let himself go, utterly lost any and all control of his weight. Joe was very much morbidly obese now: far beyond both his *or* Connor's expectations, and it was all thanks to the chef's efforts. He had finally accepted his place in life just like Connor did all those years ago.

END