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Story commission by hdalby33 on furaffinity","writing":"It was senior year. Xavier couldn’t wait to get out of highschool. Sure he knew college was tough, especially in the field of programming and game design. But at the very least he wouldn’t have to contend with Natalee. The charizard was the bane of the mantrin’s world. Constantly finding new ways to humiliate him. Causing him to constantly be on edge when he tread down the halls of their school. The bullying had gotten so bad, Xavier actually put on weight due to stress eating. Which in turn only gave Natalee even more ammunition to use against him. Which led to more eating. \n\nThe cycle proved vicious in the toll it took on Xavier’s waistline. He went up several sizes in clothing over the course of six months. Having always been on the chubbier side, the mantrin never claimed to be a pinnacle of his species’ fitness, but those six months of self-imposed isolation in his room, where he gamed and consumed junk food into the wee hours of the night, led to more than fifty pounds sliding onto his waistline. His charcoal furred belly blorped out over his waistband in a humiliating overhang that even his baggiest hoodies struggled to hide. Xavier’s parents voiced their concern over his expansion, but they knew there wasn’t much to be done with him graduating from college in less than a month. \n\nXavier’s siblings; Zimmer, Zelda, Ulysses, and Christian, were all somewhat sympathetic to their brother’s plight. They knew about the sway Natalee held over to the school’s social hierarchy. The charizard managed to somehow ingratiate herself into every clique there was, meaning Xavier couldn’t find an ounce of peace. Out of the four of them, Zimmer, Xavier’s older brother, helped the chubby mantrin out the most. \n\nHaving been in college for a year, the slender, brown mantrin had been on his own long enough to understand how stupid high school drama would become in a few years. \n\n“Just think,” he told his brother as they messed around in Rocket League. “You’ll be out of here in what? Three weeks?” \n\n“Yeah,” Xavier sighed. “But it feels like forever.” \n\n“Believe me, I know,” Zimmer said sympathetically. “At least you got Damon going with you, though!” \n\nThat brightened the pudgy mantrin’s dour mood a little. “Yeah, we’re gonna be roommates. We’re even majoring in the same thing.” \n\nDamon had been Xavier’s best friend since grade school. The gryphon’s easy-going personality coupled with his equally dorky interest in gaming had led to them becoming instant friends. Even better, he was one of the few furs in the school who had no trouble telling Natalee to shove it. \n\n“See?” Zimmer said. “You’ll be fine! I-OH SCREW YOU! HOW’D YOU EVEN SCORE FROM THAT ANGLE?” \n\nXavier cackled as his car flipped end over end and the ball vaporized in the goal. “Luck, dear brother! You have to know how to finesse it. You see when you reach an elite level of gaming like me I-”\n\n“Save it,” the older mantrin growled. “Next time I see you, I’m gonna whoop your butt.” \n\n“I’m shaking like a leaf,” Xavier snorted. “You heading out?” \n\n“Yeah,” Zimmer sighed. “Jason and Seth just got in. We’re gonna have a practice session before we play at this club tonight.” \n\n“Best of luck, then,” Xavier said. Zimmer reassured his brother that his life wouldn’t end in the next three weeks one more time and then disconnected. \n\nYawning, the chubby mantrin looked at his clock. 2:17AM. Not bad…\n\nRubbing his eyes, Xavier stumbled over to his bed and collapsed in it, not bothering to slip out of his hoodie and sweats. \n\nThe next day, the chubby mantrin waited until his younger siblings had crashed their way through a chaotic morning routine to leave his room. Then Xavier sluggishly slid out of bed, slipped on his favorite hoodie, and headed to school. \n\nAfter meeting Damon along the way, Xavier’s mood brightened considerably. He and the gryphon made a bunch of plans for how they’d deck out their dorm room, what classes they’d take, what ones they were terrified of being forced to take, the freedoms they’d have and the jobs they’d get when they graduated. The mantrin almost forgot about his long-lasting misery until he dashed for homeroom with the gryphon hot on his tail.\n\nAs Xavier rounded the corner into F-Hall, a backpack swang out of nowhere and slammed straight into his exposed belly. The mantrin dropped like a sack of potatoes and Damon cried out as he stumbled over his friend’s legs into the linoleum floor. \n\n“Oops.” \n\nThat single word managed to fill Xavier with complete, unbridled rage. Natalee had an incredible talent for injecting unparalleled amounts of snark and disdain into such small phrases. The tall, curvy charizard loomed over the mantrin, her hands on her hips and her hair highlighted in neon green. She wore a black shirt with some death metal band Xavier had never heard of scrawled across it in an ugly, thorny font. Natalee’s phony smile turned into a sneer as she drove a combat boot into Xavier’s belly. \n\n“Sorry, fatass. Didn’t see you coming around that corner. Guess it’s hard to control your center of gravity when you’re the size of a freaking bulldozer.” \n\n“Oh great,” Xavier wheezed. “Fat jokes. How original coming from a future Hooters hostess.” \n\nNatalee’s boot grinded even deeper into the mantrin’s stomach, forcing every last ounce of air from Xavier’s lungs. He gasped as stars danced on the edge of his vision. “What was that, twerp? You finally grow a spine under all that blubber?” \n\n“L-Leave him alone,” Damon stuttered as he climbed to his feet. The gryphon’s plumage was all puffed up. \n\n“O-o-or what, feather duster? You gonna tell on me?” \n\nDamon looked down at his clawed feet, ashamed. \n\nXavier knew his best friend was only trying to defend him. Remembering what Zimmer had told him about there only being three weeks left, he managed to summon up enough courage to turn Natalee’s attention back on him. \n\n“I don’t get why you’ve enjoyed torturing us for four years, Natalee. But graduation is coming up soon. I just hope you realize that college won’t be so nice to you. Try pulling this crap and they kick your ass out in a heartbeat.” \n\nNatalee grinded her heel deeper into the mantrin’s belly, making him groan. “I’ll do whatever the hell I want, fatass. You think I care what some dumbass college thinks of me?” \n\n“No,” Xavier grunted as he wrapped his hands around the charizard’s boot. “But all this bad shit will catch up to you eventually and I’m sick of being your punching bag.” \n\nTaking a deep breath, the mantrin summoned every ounce of power he had and shoved it into his bully’s boot. Natalee was caught off-balance with her foot placed on his stomach and she windmilled her arms for a moment before crashing down on her butt. \n\nXavier gaped at the charizard for a moment before he felt a pair of spindly hands loop under his armpits. He realized it was Damon hauling him to his feet. \n\nTogether, the two friends dashed around a stunned Natalee and ducked into their homeroom just as the final bell rang. Staggering into their seats at the back of the class, Xavier took a moment to get his heart rate down while Damon did his best to suppress his giggles. \n\n“Oh, man that was amazing,” he whispered. “I can’t believe you took her down. Did you see the look on her face? I mean damn, I thought she was gonna have an aneurysm.” \n\nXavier blushed and rubbed his head. “All I know is she’s gonna try really hard to make these last couple months miserable for us. If you want to avoid being around me, I understand.” \n\nDamon looked at his friend like they’d just grown a third head. “You seriously think I’m gonna ditch you? Think again, big guy. You’re stuck with me ‘til the end.” \n\nThe gryphon reached out a feathered paw and Xavier bumped it gratefully. \n\n“‘Til the end,” he repeated. \n\n[center]*****\nOne Year Later: End of Spring Semester at Fallow’s University\n*****[/center]\n\n“Yo, Xavier! I’m baaaack! I brought you some take out if you want it.” \n\nDamon slid his backpack from his shoulder and headed for his friend’s room where he knew the mantrin would be holed up. Numerous signs on the doorway informed the gryphon of the deadly fate that awaited him if he entered, but he also had a secret weapon: food. \n\nSlipping into the darkened room, the gryphon found his best friend hunched over their computer playing Among Us. With a sigh, Damon took a moment to consider his roommate’s physical state. \n\nTo start with, Xavier spent more time on his computer than anywhere else. His bed was actually quite neat due to the fact that the mantrin only ever slept on top of the covers. When he wasn’t in class, Xavier preferred the comfort of his computer. Part of that had been thanks to Natalee. \n\nOn the last day of school, during graduation, the charizard rallied all her cronies into chanting “Fatass! Fatass! Fatass!” when Xavier went up to get his diploma. To Damon’s awe, the mantrin didn’t seem to let it bother him. He accepted his GED and walked down the other side of the stage without showing a moment of weakness. \n\nThen his robe caught the banister of the short set of stairs leading down from the stage, catching Xavier off-balance. The mantrin stumbled forward while his robe pulled away with a heart-wrenching rip. Beneath, he wore a regular shirt and khakis, but Natalee still wouldn’t let it go. She stood up and shouted, “Damn, he’s so fat he ripped his robes!” \n\nHalf the students joined in on the laughter which soon spread to those who were more sympathetic until only Damon and a couple other furs who’d been somewhat kind to the mantrin remained quiet. \n\nBiting back tears, Xavier rose to his feet with the aid of a couple teachers while the principal did their best to quiet down the crowd. After quietly thanking the professors, he hurriedly exited the auditorium with Damon quick to follow. The gryphon spent the remainder of the day trying to console his best friend, but Xavier didn’t really seem to listen. \n\n“I won’t have to see her again,” he sighed. “That’s enough.” \n\nAnd neither of them ever mentioned the charizard again. \n\nXavier also seemed to change a bit moving forward. He became quieter, more resolute and focused on his passions, which consisted primarily of programming, gaming and consuming unearthly quantities of junk food. \n\nIn the past year, he’d packed on another hundred pounds of fat around the midriff. His belly bulged into his lap and squished up against his keyboard as he focused intensely on his playing. Contrary to the usual stereotype of overweight gamers being messy, Xavier kept his area quite clean. It had been one of the reasons Damon didn’t feel compelled to intervene. That and the fact that he couldn’t imagine what that graduation ceremony must’ve felt like from Xavier’s point of view. \n\n“Got you some take out, bro,” the gryphon said as he put the food on the desk. \n\nThe fat mantrin flicked his eyes off screen for a moment and nodded in thanks. \n\nDamon lingered for another moment before deciding to leave. “Umm, well lemme know if you want to study later tonight. I’ll be watching something in the living room.” \n\nWith that, the gryphon left his best friend to their gaming. On the way out, he took another moment to observe his obese companion. Rolls of Xavier’s belly wobbled over his arm rests and a pair of voluminous black cheeks smothered his gaming chair. The mantrin’s tail, which was already considerably heavy, sagged limply through the giant opening in the back. More rolls of fat decorated it. As Damon slid out the door, he caught a glimpse of Xavier’s chubby paw reaching for the food.\n\n[center]*****\n2 Years Later: Beginning of Fall Semester, Junior Year\n*****[/center]\n\n“Yoooo! Guess who’s here, baby?” Zimmer called out as he burst through the door of his brother’s dorm. \n\nDamon, who’d been carrying a mug of Mountain Dew back to the couch, squawked and dropped the mug on the floor, which in turn promptly shattered and sent a spout of fizzy soda directly into the bird’s face. \n\n“Ahh, sorry about that,” the older mantrin said. “I thought I’d be surprising Xavier. Here, lemme get that for you.” \n\nTogether, Xavier’s older brother and roommate swept up the glass and dried the pooling Dew. As Damon wiped off the sticky sludge from his beak, Zimmer interrogated him about the past couple months. Zimmer himself had scored a big break with his band as an opener for Love Runs Hot and a busy touring schedule led to his being away for longer than usual. \n\nWhen the mantrin pressed the gryphon about his brother, Damon seemed to get a bit quiet. His feathered paws went to his belly, which Zimmer now realized seemed a bit softer than usual. Having known the gryphon since they were a chick, he was aware of Damon’s normally rail thin physique. It had been one of the reasons he was targeted by bullies back in highschool. When the bird caught Zimmer staring, he turned bright red and tugged his shirt back down over his plump waistline. \n\n“Uh, well we’ve both been good! University’s a pain for sure, but overall I’ve enjoyed it. Those coding classes are something else, I’ll tell yah.” \n\n“Oh, I know,” Zimmer said sympathetically. “They’ll grind you into dust with assignments, tests, theses, projects… all that crap.”\n\nDamon nodded. “Yeah, but we’re managing. It’s definitely been nice not having to deal with highschool anymore.”\n\n“No one’s giving you grief?” Zimmer teased. “No bringing up the Sophomore Six Pack you got there?” \n\nThe gryphon flushed again, his wings creeping over his belly. “Ahh, you know how it is. College hits us all differently. I’m sure you put on a few too.” \n\n“Oh yeah, but you shed it fast at this age. So it’s not a huge deal.” \n\n“Well that’s good,” Damon agreed quickly. His gaze became unfocused for a moment as he glanced back at Xavier’s closed door. “That’s really good to hear…” \n\nZimmer took a step toward his brother’s best friend. When he rested a hand on Damon’s shoulder, the gryphon flinched. “Damon, what aren’t you telling me?” \n\nDamon took a moment to meet the mantrin’s gaze. “Zimmer… your brother… he’s, hmm, I’m not sure how to put it, honestly. He’s changed, I guess.” \n\nThe mantrin tried to keep things light hearted. “Well college changes everyone. I’m sure he’s fine.” \n\nThe gryphon gave him a piteous look and nodded to the door. “Just… see for yourself. And keep in mind what he went through at graduation. That was pretty hard on him.”\n\nZimmer glanced at the door. “I’ll do my best, man. Thanks for the heads up.” \n\nStepping up to the door, the mantrin turned the knob and let it swing inward. Light fell over a dark room where a computer glowed dimly on screen saver and a huge pile of laundry sat unmade on a rumpled bed. As Zimmer’s eyes adjusted, he realized that the pile of laundry was moving; it’s apex rising and falling ever so slightly. He now realized what Damon had meant. Why the gryphon had been so light footed around the subject of weight. If the bird had put on a Sophomore Six Pack, then Zimmer’s brother had packed on the Sophomore Several Hundred Pounds. \n\nXavier was massive. The dark mantrin laid in bed browsing his phone while a belly roughly the size of a tractor tire rose above him. It positively dominated the rest of the flabby college student, with rolls of midnight-colored fur bulging heavily over one another and more fat surging down into Xavier’s arms and enormous legs. His thighs, which were already characteristically thick as a mantrin, had swollen up into literal hams which formed ample crevices of fat at the joints. A soft, fuzzy trunk of a tail flopped out over the end of the bed, easily several times the diameter of Zimmer’s. Beneath the literal mound of fat around Xavier’s midriff, his rump had also ballooned into a pair of dark-furred medicine balls, but those remained hidden for the time being. \n\nAs Zimmer stepped up to his younger brother, he suddenly understood Damon’s hesitations. How could one exactly address this sort of transformation? Especially when it happened to someone he knew so well? Xavier had never been the most athletic or fit of furs, but he’d never gone beyond maybe ten pounds overweight in the time Zimmer had known him. And now, to see him with literal feet of blubber encompassing his form made the older mantrin feel very odd indeed. \n\nXavier seemed to be buried nose deep in his Nintendo Switch at the moment. Zimmer realized his brother hadn’t actually seen him enter because his enormous belly was blocking the way. \n\nTentatively, Zimmer reached out and poked the massive mantrin in his side, making Xavier jolt. \n\nTaking off his ear buds, the younger mantrin’s rounded face lit up when he realized it was Zimmer. \n\nThe older mantrin was caught off-guard as his brother sloshed to their feet and embraced him in a hug. For Zimmer, it was as if a mattress had come to life and decided to try and suffocate him. Bulges of pudding-soft fat squished around him as his brother’s heft encompassed his slender torso. Zimmer felt a pair of pillowy arms wrap around his shoulders and pull him into a vat of soft, heavy fat. When he went to return the embrace, his paws found nothing but marshmallowy resistance as his fingers slipped under his brother’s lovehandles and struggled to find purchase. Being the taller of the two was perhaps the only advantage Zimmer had as he did his best to not be completely overwhelmed by a veritable tsunami of friendly lard. \n\nAfter embracing for an appropriate length of time, Zimmer gently stepped back while Xavier plopped on the bed with a light gasp. \n\n“H-Hey, bro,” the obese mantrin said shyly. “Long time, no see.” \n\n“Yeah, well I heard your university gave a scholarship to a land whale and I had to see for myself.” \n\nXavier blushed and laughed, patting his enormous belly. Had anyone else made that sort of comment on his weight, the mantrin might have felt annoyed or even hurt. But Zimmer had a way of making these sort of jabs without them ever feeling mean spirited. \n\n“Yeah, I know my weight is a bit of a shock. Especially to a rock star who’s probably used to seeing all those fit lady rockers up on stage.” \n\nZimmer snorted. “Trade out fit ladies for well-aged hasbeens and you’ll be closer to the mark. Being on the road is nowhere near as fun as the movies make it to be.” \n\n“I’ll take your word for it,” the blubbery programmer said. “But don’t think that doesn’t mean I won’t be coming to you for free tickets.” \n\n“You’re welcome to as many as you want.” \n\nA long pause followed as the two brothers tried to find something to say. Finally, Zimmer decided to cut to the chase. \n\n“Xavier, I just wanted to ask outright: are you happy like this?” he rested a hand on his brother’s belly, which squished and gurgled beneath his palm. “I mean I know Natalee was a bitch to you in highschool and what she did at graduation was screwed up on a number of levels. No one deserves to be treated like that.” He sighed. “I guess I just want to make sure her tormenting is defining the rest of your life.” \n\nXavier spent a moment considering his next words carefully. “You’re right,” he said slowly. “What she did messed with me for awhile. But all this,” he jiggled his gut around, “wasn’t all her doing. When I finally moved out of her shadow, started living on my own in college, I found I rather enjoyed it. It’s kinda nice when you’re not being teased about it 24/7.” \n\n“I can see how that would help,” Zimmer acquiesced. “But what about Damon? When I saw him, he seemed so… I dunno… troubled, maybe?” \n\nXavier nodded. “He’s not sure how to handle his roommate ballooning up like a blimp. But I think there’s something else there. When you saw him, did you notice anything different?”\n\nZimmer held both his paws a couple inches away from his slender belly. \n\n“Bingo. He’s putting on a little himself and, between you and I, I think he’s rather partial to it too. I think he’s slowly coming to terms with it and seeing his roommate like this makes him nervous.” \n\nThe older mantrin sighed in relief. “Well if that’s the case, I think it would help him a lot if his best friend told him that. Being aware of one another’s well beings is key to happy roommates.”\n \n“Yes, mom,” Xavier said. He laughed when Zimmer slapped his belly lightly. “Alright, it’s a fair point. I’ll talk to him.” \n\n“Good,” Zimmer said as he slowly got to his feet. “Now, I’m free for a couple days, so why don’t we hit the town. Have some drinks… if you’re not too wide to fit through a bar door.” \n\n“I will smother you.” \n\nGrinning, the older mantrin turned to tell Damon of their plans, but Xavier called him back one more time.\n\n“Zimmer, um… you’re okay with this, right? Me being all big and everything?” \n\nZimmer held his brother’s nervous gaze for a moment before marching back over and engulfing that enormous belly in a powerful hug. \n\n“You’re my brother. If you’re happy this way, I’m happy for you. Far as I can tell, you’ve earned the right to be happy as you want.” \n\nXavier blushed, looking incredibly relieved. “Thank you,” he said weakly. “That means a lot to me.” \n\nSmiling, Zimmer straightened up and slipped out of the room to let Damon know the game plan.\n\nXavier sat there for a moment longer. Then he hoisted himself to his feet, turned off his Switch and lumbered out of his room to join his friends. \n\n[center]*****\nOne and a Half Years Later: Graduation Day\n*****[/center]\n\nOne thing Xavier appreciated about the pandemic: online classes. Quarantine had moved his education entirely online, meaning he could attend lectures, join discussions, learn coding and interact with his teachers from the comfort of his dorm. This proved especially useful when one considered his exceptional size. Since the mantrin had his heartfelt talk with Zimmer, he’d gone on to clear the air with Damon as well. From there, the gryphon began enjoying the weight he’d put on to the fullest extent and now the bird sported a handsome, quivering beer belly and much more confident personality. \n\nTheir relationship grew closer than ever with Xavier providing tips on how to put on extra weight and Damon helping the enormous mantrin out with school assignments. Eventually those late night study sessions turned into snuggle sessions as the gryphon became highly fond of burying himself into his roommate’s expansive middle. \n\nAnd Xavier’s middle was quite expansive. In that year and a half, the mantrin put on enough pounds for his stomach to reach positively ludicrous proportions. When he balanced on his powerful hindlegs, it spilled almost to the floor in a stunning cascade of ink-black lard. A pair of sizable moobs wobbled atop it, each one straining the mantrin’s various programming-related shirts rather tight. Love handles the width of care tires sagged under his massively soft biceps, which Damon loved to playfully grab and grope whenever he could. Xavier’s rump swamped whatever pair of pants he managed to squeeze over the bottom half of his cheeks. His tail sagged over those dark mounds like a furry slug, immobilized by its own weight. Overall, the mantrin had become seriously hefty. He loved every moment of it. \n\nFor his graduation, the mantrin had been relieved to discover the ceremonies would take place online. While the obese furball could still walk with relative ease, he didn’t relish the idea of waddling up on stage at this size. Xavier was also fairly certain the company that made their graduation gowns didn’t have a size that put a dozen or so Xs in front of that L. Instead, he would get to sit back in bed and ignore all those long winded speeches the school’s alumni gave while binge watching The Mandolorian with Damon on the couch. \n\nWhen his name was called, Xavier briefly paused the show to acknowledge his virtual diploma. Then he cut his feed and pulled Damon’s feathery head into the side of his colossal stomach. The bird squawked and beaked the mantrin’s belly playfully. \n\n“You know, you’re putting on some serious weight there,” Xavier teased as his chubby paw found a soft, feathery roll lining Damon’s side. “How big do you wanna get?” \n\n“Oh, I have no clue,” the gryphon murred as he trailed a feathered hand over the side of Xavier’s bulk. The mantrin’s flesh felt hot and rubbery against his palm. “Probably not as big as you, but certainly in the three to four hundred range. How about you?”\n\n“Not sure,” Xavier murred. “This is a pretty good size right now, to be honest. Any bigger and you’ll have to roll me around. But who knows? With the quarantine and whatnot, things are sort of up in the air anyways.” \n\nDamon snickered. “If you managed to get airborne in any way, shape or form, I’d eat my controller.” \n\nXavier narrowed his eyes. He’d noticed one of the side effects of his friend’s gradual turn to the lard side had been a more confident sense of humor. The two were constantly cracking jokes about something that, at one point, had been the utter bane of Xavier’s existence. Now, as Damon gave the blubbery mantrin a smug grin, he dug his chunky fingers deep into those warm gryphon rolls and began tickling. \n\nBefore Damon could squawk, the mantrin had him pinned under his colossal belly, probing and poking and jiggling the squealing gryphon into a wobbling mess of feathers. In no time at all, Damon was flustered and gasping for mercy, but Xavier kept it up for a good minute before relenting. He slowly rolled back onto his side of the couch and rubbed his gurgling middle around while his roommate struggled to gain their breath. \n\n“What was that about me getting airborne?” Xavier asked in a singsong voice. \n\n“N-Nothin’,” the gryphon stammered. He turned a little red as he pressed his clawed feet up against the mantrin’s stomach and kneaded it around. “Would you um… mind doing that again though? The pinning thing?” \n\nXavier snorted and shifted his weight. Like a warm, furry glacier his belly heaved and groaned as it sloshed over Damon’s feet, then his legs and lower waist. The gryphon huffed happily as his lower body was smothered in a veritable avalanche of soft, squishy fat. He massaged the flab around his roommate’s underbelly with his feet and grinned up at the looming giant. \n\n“Thanks, big guy.” \n\n“Don’t mention it.” \n\nThe pair remained that way for a little while, watching the rest of Fallow’s graduating class receive their diplomas. When the ceremonies commenced, Damon cleared his throat. \n\n“So, you thought about where you want to celebrate tonight?” \n\nXavier hummer. “I was thinking that bar Zimmer played a while back. I think the same hostess still works there. If we name drop him, maybe they’ll give us free drinks.” \n\n“Sounds like a plan,” the gryphon giggled. \n\nTogether, the pair snuggled one another on the couch as newly-christened graduates of Fallow’s University.\n\n[center]*****\nThat Night\n*****[/center]\n\nXavier couldn’t recall the last time he’d felt so carefree. When he showed up to the bar, the hostess did indeed remember his brother. She’d treated them to free drinks all night on the promise that the enormously overweight mantrin would bring her up the next time he saw his brother as a potential roadie. To make matters even better, no one batted an eye at Xavier’s staggering waistline. Even with most of it on display as it bulged out of his highly strained Galaga shirt. \n\nHe and Damon partied well into the night, dancing, joking, dominating the bar’s antique collection of arcade games. When it got near midnight, the blubbery mantrin waddled off to get another round of beers when he spotted a familiar face in the shabby hall that led from the main bar area to the back entrance and restrooms. It took a moment for him to place it, as it was one he hadn’t seen for almost five years now. \n\nWhen he put the pieces together, a wave of old, unpleasant memories rose up in his mind. Then he took a deep breath and they instantly dissipated. Steeling his nerves, Xavier turned away from the bar and headed down the hall where Natalee was boredly scrolling through her phone. \n\nThe charizard didn’t seem to register the mantrin’s presence until his shadow fell over her. \n\n“Well well,” Xavier said. “Natalee Hawthorne. Long time, no see.” \n\nIt took a moment for Natalee to identify her favorite victim under all the plush lard he’d accrued over the years. Then it hit her. \n\n“Xavier,” she sneered. “Well aren’t you looking fatter than ever.” \n\n“Yep,” the mantrin chuckled. “It’s kinda nice, to be honest.” \n\n“No surprise there. How’s college been going by the way? You still a social reject?” \n\n“Actually, no,” Xavier said. “It’s amazing how little people care about that stuff in college. Made me realize how small you were in highschool. All that shit didn’t really mean anything in the long run.” \n\n“Well look who’s finally had their spiritual awakening,” the charizard said. \n\nAll of the sudden, a loud, squawking laugh rolled down the hallway. Natalee looked over and spotted Damon at one of the arcade machines. \n\n“Oooh, look at that,” she said gleefully. “My old friend Damon is here too. Maybe I’ll go say hi.” \n\nShe made to slide past Xavier, but suddenly felt the force of several hundred pounds of mantrin blubber slam her into the wall. Natalee gasped as the air was punched from her lungs. She tried to push Xavier off with no success. \n\n“Listen to me, Natalee,” Xavier said in a calm, measured voice. “You tormented me for years in highschool. Made my life hell for no real rhyme or reason. I don’t know if you’ll ever change, but I hope to the gods you do. I was going to ask if you went to college, but I realized I don’t really care. You mean little to me and I’ll probably forget about you altogether in another year or two. You can say and do what you want to me, but if you go anywhere near Damon, I will smear you into paint thinner. Understood?”\n\n“I… grrrk… let me go, lardass.” \n\nXavier only increased the flab smothering his ex-bully. He couldn’t believe how much he’d feared her at one point. Now, he felt nothing but pity. \n\n“Understood?” he repeated. \n\nNatalee’s face was turning purple from lack of oxygen. Finally she relented. “Fine,” she hissed. “Go and live your miserable life, fatass. No one really cares about you, you know.” \n\n“That’s a pity,” Xavier said as he backed up and let his tormentor slide to the floor coughing. “Because I really hope someone out there will eventually care about you.” \n\n“Fuck you, Xavier.” \n\n“Goodbye, Natalee.” \n\nWith that, the mantrin waddled back over to his roommate and cuddled the gryphon around the waist. \n\nDamon seemed to pick up on Xavier’s flustered state. “You okay, big guy?” \n\nXavier looked at his best friend. The chubby, energetic face. The wild, humorous eyes. All the endless possibilities that came with them. \n\n“Never been better,” the mantrin said, before playfully bumping Damon over a little. “Now scoot over. I’m gonna kick your ass at Street Fighter.” ","writing_bbcode_parsed":"It was senior year. Xavier couldn’t wait to get out of highschool. Sure he knew college was tough, especially in the field of programming and game design. But at the very least he wouldn’t have to contend with Natalee. The charizard was the bane of the mantrin’s world. Constantly finding new ways to humiliate him. Causing him to constantly be on edge when he tread down the halls of their school. The bullying had gotten so bad, Xavier actually put on weight due to stress eating. Which in turn only gave Natalee even more ammunition to use against him. Which led to more eating.

The cycle proved vicious in the toll it took on Xavier’s waistline. He went up several sizes in clothing over the course of six months. Having always been on the chubbier side, the mantrin never claimed to be a pinnacle of his species’ fitness, but those six months of self-imposed isolation in his room, where he gamed and consumed junk food into the wee hours of the night, led to more than fifty pounds sliding onto his waistline. His charcoal furred belly blorped out over his waistband in a humiliating overhang that even his baggiest hoodies struggled to hide. Xavier’s parents voiced their concern over his expansion, but they knew there wasn’t much to be done with him graduating from college in less than a month.

Xavier’s siblings; Zimmer, Zelda, Ulysses, and Christian, were all somewhat sympathetic to their brother’s plight. They knew about the sway Natalee held over to the school’s social hierarchy. The charizard managed to somehow ingratiate herself into every clique there was, meaning Xavier couldn’t find an ounce of peace. Out of the four of them, Zimmer, Xavier’s older brother, helped the chubby mantrin out the most.

Having been in college for a year, the slender, brown mantrin had been on his own long enough to understand how stupid high school drama would become in a few years.

“Just think,” he told his brother as they messed around in Rocket League. “You’ll be out of here in what? Three weeks?”

“Yeah,” Xavier sighed. “But it feels like forever.”

“Believe me, I know,” Zimmer said sympathetically. “At least you got Damon going with you, though!”

That brightened the pudgy mantrin’s dour mood a little. “Yeah, we’re gonna be roommates. We’re even majoring in the same thing.”

Damon had been Xavier’s best friend since grade school. The gryphon’s easy-going personality coupled with his equally dorky interest in gaming had led to them becoming instant friends. Even better, he was one of the few furs in the school who had no trouble telling Natalee to shove it.

“See?” Zimmer said. “You’ll be fine! I-OH SCREW YOU! HOW’D YOU EVEN SCORE FROM THAT ANGLE?”

Xavier cackled as his car flipped end over end and the ball vaporized in the goal. “Luck, dear brother! You have to know how to finesse it. You see when you reach an elite level of gaming like me I-”

“Save it,” the older mantrin growled. “Next time I see you, I’m gonna whoop your butt.”

“I’m shaking like a leaf,” Xavier snorted. “You heading out?”

“Yeah,” Zimmer sighed. “Jason and Seth just got in. We’re gonna have a practice session before we play at this club tonight.”

“Best of luck, then,” Xavier said. Zimmer reassured his brother that his life wouldn’t end in the next three weeks one more time and then disconnected.

Yawning, the chubby mantrin looked at his clock. 2:17AM. Not bad…

Rubbing his eyes, Xavier stumbled over to his bed and collapsed in it, not bothering to slip out of his hoodie and sweats.

The next day, the chubby mantrin waited until his younger siblings had crashed their way through a chaotic morning routine to leave his room. Then Xavier sluggishly slid out of bed, slipped on his favorite hoodie, and headed to school.

After meeting Damon along the way, Xavier’s mood brightened considerably. He and the gryphon made a bunch of plans for how they’d deck out their dorm room, what classes they’d take, what ones they were terrified of being forced to take, the freedoms they’d have and the jobs they’d get when they graduated. The mantrin almost forgot about his long-lasting misery until he dashed for homeroom with the gryphon hot on his tail.

As Xavier rounded the corner into F-Hall, a backpack swang out of nowhere and slammed straight into his exposed belly. The mantrin dropped like a sack of potatoes and Damon cried out as he stumbled over his friend’s legs into the linoleum floor.

“Oops.”

That single word managed to fill Xavier with complete, unbridled rage. Natalee had an incredible talent for injecting unparalleled amounts of snark and disdain into such small phrases. The tall, curvy charizard loomed over the mantrin, her hands on her hips and her hair highlighted in neon green. She wore a black shirt with some death metal band Xavier had never heard of scrawled across it in an ugly, thorny font. Natalee’s phony smile turned into a sneer as she drove a combat boot into Xavier’s belly.

“Sorry, fatass. Didn’t see you coming around that corner. Guess it’s hard to control your center of gravity when you’re the size of a freaking bulldozer.”

“Oh great,” Xavier wheezed. “Fat jokes. How original coming from a future Hooters hostess.”

Natalee’s boot grinded even deeper into the mantrin’s stomach, forcing every last ounce of air from Xavier’s lungs. He gasped as stars danced on the edge of his vision. “What was that, twerp? You finally grow a spine under all that blubber?”

“L-Leave him alone,” Damon stuttered as he climbed to his feet. The gryphon’s plumage was all puffed up.

“O-o-or what, feather duster? You gonna tell on me?”

Damon looked down at his clawed feet, ashamed.

Xavier knew his best friend was only trying to defend him. Remembering what Zimmer had told him about there only being three weeks left, he managed to summon up enough courage to turn Natalee’s attention back on him.

“I don’t get why you’ve enjoyed torturing us for four years, Natalee. But graduation is coming up soon. I just hope you realize that college won’t be so nice to you. Try pulling this crap and they kick your ass out in a heartbeat.”

Natalee grinded her heel deeper into the mantrin’s belly, making him groan. “I’ll do whatever the hell I want, fatass. You think I care what some dumbass college thinks of me?”

“No,” Xavier grunted as he wrapped his hands around the charizard’s boot. “But all this bad shit will catch up to you eventually and I’m sick of being your punching bag.”

Taking a deep breath, the mantrin summoned every ounce of power he had and shoved it into his bully’s boot. Natalee was caught off-balance with her foot placed on his stomach and she windmilled her arms for a moment before crashing down on her butt.

Xavier gaped at the charizard for a moment before he felt a pair of spindly hands loop under his armpits. He realized it was Damon hauling him to his feet.

Together, the two friends dashed around a stunned Natalee and ducked into their homeroom just as the final bell rang. Staggering into their seats at the back of the class, Xavier took a moment to get his heart rate down while Damon did his best to suppress his giggles.

“Oh, man that was amazing,” he whispered. “I can’t believe you took her down. Did you see the look on her face? I mean damn, I thought she was gonna have an aneurysm.”

Xavier blushed and rubbed his head. “All I know is she’s gonna try really hard to make these last couple months miserable for us. If you want to avoid being around me, I understand.”

Damon looked at his friend like they’d just grown a third head. “You seriously think I’m gonna ditch you? Think again, big guy. You’re stuck with me ‘til the end.”

The gryphon reached out a feathered paw and Xavier bumped it gratefully.

“‘Til the end,” he repeated.

*****
One Year Later: End of Spring Semester at Fallow’s University
*****


“Yo, Xavier! I’m baaaack! I brought you some take out if you want it.”

Damon slid his backpack from his shoulder and headed for his friend’s room where he knew the mantrin would be holed up. Numerous signs on the doorway informed the gryphon of the deadly fate that awaited him if he entered, but he also had a secret weapon: food.

Slipping into the darkened room, the gryphon found his best friend hunched over their computer playing Among Us. With a sigh, Damon took a moment to consider his roommate’s physical state.

To start with, Xavier spent more time on his computer than anywhere else. His bed was actually quite neat due to the fact that the mantrin only ever slept on top of the covers. When he wasn’t in class, Xavier preferred the comfort of his computer. Part of that had been thanks to Natalee.

On the last day of school, during graduation, the charizard rallied all her cronies into chanting “Fatass! Fatass! Fatass!” when Xavier went up to get his diploma. To Damon’s awe, the mantrin didn’t seem to let it bother him. He accepted his GED and walked down the other side of the stage without showing a moment of weakness.

Then his robe caught the banister of the short set of stairs leading down from the stage, catching Xavier off-balance. The mantrin stumbled forward while his robe pulled away with a heart-wrenching rip. Beneath, he wore a regular shirt and khakis, but Natalee still wouldn’t let it go. She stood up and shouted, “Damn, he’s so fat he ripped his robes!”

Half the students joined in on the laughter which soon spread to those who were more sympathetic until only Damon and a couple other furs who’d been somewhat kind to the mantrin remained quiet.

Biting back tears, Xavier rose to his feet with the aid of a couple teachers while the principal did their best to quiet down the crowd. After quietly thanking the professors, he hurriedly exited the auditorium with Damon quick to follow. The gryphon spent the remainder of the day trying to console his best friend, but Xavier didn’t really seem to listen.

“I won’t have to see her again,” he sighed. “That’s enough.”

And neither of them ever mentioned the charizard again.

Xavier also seemed to change a bit moving forward. He became quieter, more resolute and focused on his passions, which consisted primarily of programming, gaming and consuming unearthly quantities of junk food.

In the past year, he’d packed on another hundred pounds of fat around the midriff. His belly bulged into his lap and squished up against his keyboard as he focused intensely on his playing. Contrary to the usual stereotype of overweight gamers being messy, Xavier kept his area quite clean. It had been one of the reasons Damon didn’t feel compelled to intervene. That and the fact that he couldn’t imagine what that graduation ceremony must’ve felt like from Xavier’s point of view.

“Got you some take out, bro,” the gryphon said as he put the food on the desk.

The fat mantrin flicked his eyes off screen for a moment and nodded in thanks.

Damon lingered for another moment before deciding to leave. “Umm, well lemme know if you want to study later tonight. I’ll be watching something in the living room.”

With that, the gryphon left his best friend to their gaming. On the way out, he took another moment to observe his obese companion. Rolls of Xavier’s belly wobbled over his arm rests and a pair of voluminous black cheeks smothered his gaming chair. The mantrin’s tail, which was already considerably heavy, sagged limply through the giant opening in the back. More rolls of fat decorated it. As Damon slid out the door, he caught a glimpse of Xavier’s chubby paw reaching for the food.

*****
2 Years Later: Beginning of Fall Semester, Junior Year
*****


“Yoooo! Guess who’s here, baby?” Zimmer called out as he burst through the door of his brother’s dorm.

Damon, who’d been carrying a mug of Mountain Dew back to the couch, squawked and dropped the mug on the floor, which in turn promptly shattered and sent a spout of fizzy soda directly into the bird’s face.

“Ahh, sorry about that,” the older mantrin said. “I thought I’d be surprising Xavier. Here, lemme get that for you.”

Together, Xavier’s older brother and roommate swept up the glass and dried the pooling Dew. As Damon wiped off the sticky sludge from his beak, Zimmer interrogated him about the past couple months. Zimmer himself had scored a big break with his band as an opener for Love Runs Hot and a busy touring schedule led to his being away for longer than usual.

When the mantrin pressed the gryphon about his brother, Damon seemed to get a bit quiet. His feathered paws went to his belly, which Zimmer now realized seemed a bit softer than usual. Having known the gryphon since they were a chick, he was aware of Damon’s normally rail thin physique. It had been one of the reasons he was targeted by bullies back in highschool. When the bird caught Zimmer staring, he turned bright red and tugged his shirt back down over his plump waistline.

“Uh, well we’ve both been good! University’s a pain for sure, but overall I’ve enjoyed it. Those coding classes are something else, I’ll tell yah.”

“Oh, I know,” Zimmer said sympathetically. “They’ll grind you into dust with assignments, tests, theses, projects… all that crap.”

Damon nodded. “Yeah, but we’re managing. It’s definitely been nice not having to deal with highschool anymore.”

“No one’s giving you grief?” Zimmer teased. “No bringing up the Sophomore Six Pack you got there?”

The gryphon flushed again, his wings creeping over his belly. “Ahh, you know how it is. College hits us all differently. I’m sure you put on a few too.”

“Oh yeah, but you shed it fast at this age. So it’s not a huge deal.”

“Well that’s good,” Damon agreed quickly. His gaze became unfocused for a moment as he glanced back at Xavier’s closed door. “That’s really good to hear…”

Zimmer took a step toward his brother’s best friend. When he rested a hand on Damon’s shoulder, the gryphon flinched. “Damon, what aren’t you telling me?”

Damon took a moment to meet the mantrin’s gaze. “Zimmer… your brother… he’s, hmm, I’m not sure how to put it, honestly. He’s changed, I guess.”

The mantrin tried to keep things light hearted. “Well college changes everyone. I’m sure he’s fine.”

The gryphon gave him a piteous look and nodded to the door. “Just… see for yourself. And keep in mind what he went through at graduation. That was pretty hard on him.”

Zimmer glanced at the door. “I’ll do my best, man. Thanks for the heads up.”

Stepping up to the door, the mantrin turned the knob and let it swing inward. Light fell over a dark room where a computer glowed dimly on screen saver and a huge pile of laundry sat unmade on a rumpled bed. As Zimmer’s eyes adjusted, he realized that the pile of laundry was moving; it’s apex rising and falling ever so slightly. He now realized what Damon had meant. Why the gryphon had been so light footed around the subject of weight. If the bird had put on a Sophomore Six Pack, then Zimmer’s brother had packed on the Sophomore Several Hundred Pounds.

Xavier was massive. The dark mantrin laid in bed browsing his phone while a belly roughly the size of a tractor tire rose above him. It positively dominated the rest of the flabby college student, with rolls of midnight-colored fur bulging heavily over one another and more fat surging down into Xavier’s arms and enormous legs. His thighs, which were already characteristically thick as a mantrin, had swollen up into literal hams which formed ample crevices of fat at the joints. A soft, fuzzy trunk of a tail flopped out over the end of the bed, easily several times the diameter of Zimmer’s. Beneath the literal mound of fat around Xavier’s midriff, his rump had also ballooned into a pair of dark-furred medicine balls, but those remained hidden for the time being.

As Zimmer stepped up to his younger brother, he suddenly understood Damon’s hesitations. How could one exactly address this sort of transformation? Especially when it happened to someone he knew so well? Xavier had never been the most athletic or fit of furs, but he’d never gone beyond maybe ten pounds overweight in the time Zimmer had known him. And now, to see him with literal feet of blubber encompassing his form made the older mantrin feel very odd indeed.

Xavier seemed to be buried nose deep in his Nintendo Switch at the moment. Zimmer realized his brother hadn’t actually seen him enter because his enormous belly was blocking the way.

Tentatively, Zimmer reached out and poked the massive mantrin in his side, making Xavier jolt.

Taking off his ear buds, the younger mantrin’s rounded face lit up when he realized it was Zimmer.

The older mantrin was caught off-guard as his brother sloshed to their feet and embraced him in a hug. For Zimmer, it was as if a mattress had come to life and decided to try and suffocate him. Bulges of pudding-soft fat squished around him as his brother’s heft encompassed his slender torso. Zimmer felt a pair of pillowy arms wrap around his shoulders and pull him into a vat of soft, heavy fat. When he went to return the embrace, his paws found nothing but marshmallowy resistance as his fingers slipped under his brother’s lovehandles and struggled to find purchase. Being the taller of the two was perhaps the only advantage Zimmer had as he did his best to not be completely overwhelmed by a veritable tsunami of friendly lard.

After embracing for an appropriate length of time, Zimmer gently stepped back while Xavier plopped on the bed with a light gasp.

“H-Hey, bro,” the obese mantrin said shyly. “Long time, no see.”

“Yeah, well I heard your university gave a scholarship to a land whale and I had to see for myself.”

Xavier blushed and laughed, patting his enormous belly. Had anyone else made that sort of comment on his weight, the mantrin might have felt annoyed or even hurt. But Zimmer had a way of making these sort of jabs without them ever feeling mean spirited.

“Yeah, I know my weight is a bit of a shock. Especially to a rock star who’s probably used to seeing all those fit lady rockers up on stage.”

Zimmer snorted. “Trade out fit ladies for well-aged hasbeens and you’ll be closer to the mark. Being on the road is nowhere near as fun as the movies make it to be.”

“I’ll take your word for it,” the blubbery programmer said. “But don’t think that doesn’t mean I won’t be coming to you for free tickets.”

“You’re welcome to as many as you want.”

A long pause followed as the two brothers tried to find something to say. Finally, Zimmer decided to cut to the chase.

“Xavier, I just wanted to ask outright: are you happy like this?” he rested a hand on his brother’s belly, which squished and gurgled beneath his palm. “I mean I know Natalee was a bitch to you in highschool and what she did at graduation was screwed up on a number of levels. No one deserves to be treated like that.” He sighed. “I guess I just want to make sure her tormenting is defining the rest of your life.”

Xavier spent a moment considering his next words carefully. “You’re right,” he said slowly. “What she did messed with me for awhile. But all this,” he jiggled his gut around, “wasn’t all her doing. When I finally moved out of her shadow, started living on my own in college, I found I rather enjoyed it. It’s kinda nice when you’re not being teased about it 24/7.”

“I can see how that would help,” Zimmer acquiesced. “But what about Damon? When I saw him, he seemed so… I dunno… troubled, maybe?”

Xavier nodded. “He’s not sure how to handle his roommate ballooning up like a blimp. But I think there’s something else there. When you saw him, did you notice anything different?”

Zimmer held both his paws a couple inches away from his slender belly.

“Bingo. He’s putting on a little himself and, between you and I, I think he’s rather partial to it too. I think he’s slowly coming to terms with it and seeing his roommate like this makes him nervous.”

The older mantrin sighed in relief. “Well if that’s the case, I think it would help him a lot if his best friend told him that. Being aware of one another’s well beings is key to happy roommates.”
 
“Yes, mom,” Xavier said. He laughed when Zimmer slapped his belly lightly. “Alright, it’s a fair point. I’ll talk to him.”

“Good,” Zimmer said as he slowly got to his feet. “Now, I’m free for a couple days, so why don’t we hit the town. Have some drinks… if you’re not too wide to fit through a bar door.”

“I will smother you.”

Grinning, the older mantrin turned to tell Damon of their plans, but Xavier called him back one more time.

“Zimmer, um… you’re okay with this, right? Me being all big and everything?”

Zimmer held his brother’s nervous gaze for a moment before marching back over and engulfing that enormous belly in a powerful hug.

“You’re my brother. If you’re happy this way, I’m happy for you. Far as I can tell, you’ve earned the right to be happy as you want.”

Xavier blushed, looking incredibly relieved. “Thank you,” he said weakly. “That means a lot to me.”

Smiling, Zimmer straightened up and slipped out of the room to let Damon know the game plan.

Xavier sat there for a moment longer. Then he hoisted himself to his feet, turned off his Switch and lumbered out of his room to join his friends.

*****
One and a Half Years Later: Graduation Day
*****


One thing Xavier appreciated about the pandemic: online classes. Quarantine had moved his education entirely online, meaning he could attend lectures, join discussions, learn coding and interact with his teachers from the comfort of his dorm. This proved especially useful when one considered his exceptional size. Since the mantrin had his heartfelt talk with Zimmer, he’d gone on to clear the air with Damon as well. From there, the gryphon began enjoying the weight he’d put on to the fullest extent and now the bird sported a handsome, quivering beer belly and much more confident personality.

Their relationship grew closer than ever with Xavier providing tips on how to put on extra weight and Damon helping the enormous mantrin out with school assignments. Eventually those late night study sessions turned into snuggle sessions as the gryphon became highly fond of burying himself into his roommate’s expansive middle.

And Xavier’s middle was quite expansive. In that year and a half, the mantrin put on enough pounds for his stomach to reach positively ludicrous proportions. When he balanced on his powerful hindlegs, it spilled almost to the floor in a stunning cascade of ink-black lard. A pair of sizable moobs wobbled atop it, each one straining the mantrin’s various programming-related shirts rather tight. Love handles the width of care tires sagged under his massively soft biceps, which Damon loved to playfully grab and grope whenever he could. Xavier’s rump swamped whatever pair of pants he managed to squeeze over the bottom half of his cheeks. His tail sagged over those dark mounds like a furry slug, immobilized by its own weight. Overall, the mantrin had become seriously hefty. He loved every moment of it.

For his graduation, the mantrin had been relieved to discover the ceremonies would take place online. While the obese furball could still walk with relative ease, he didn’t relish the idea of waddling up on stage at this size. Xavier was also fairly certain the company that made their graduation gowns didn’t have a size that put a dozen or so Xs in front of that L. Instead, he would get to sit back in bed and ignore all those long winded speeches the school’s alumni gave while binge watching The Mandolorian with Damon on the couch.

When his name was called, Xavier briefly paused the show to acknowledge his virtual diploma. Then he cut his feed and pulled Damon’s feathery head into the side of his colossal stomach. The bird squawked and beaked the mantrin’s belly playfully.

“You know, you’re putting on some serious weight there,” Xavier teased as his chubby paw found a soft, feathery roll lining Damon’s side. “How big do you wanna get?”

“Oh, I have no clue,” the gryphon murred as he trailed a feathered hand over the side of Xavier’s bulk. The mantrin’s flesh felt hot and rubbery against his palm. “Probably not as big as you, but certainly in the three to four hundred range. How about you?”

“Not sure,” Xavier murred. “This is a pretty good size right now, to be honest. Any bigger and you’ll have to roll me around. But who knows? With the quarantine and whatnot, things are sort of up in the air anyways.”

Damon snickered. “If you managed to get airborne in any way, shape or form, I’d eat my controller.”

Xavier narrowed his eyes. He’d noticed one of the side effects of his friend’s gradual turn to the lard side had been a more confident sense of humor. The two were constantly cracking jokes about something that, at one point, had been the utter bane of Xavier’s existence. Now, as Damon gave the blubbery mantrin a smug grin, he dug his chunky fingers deep into those warm gryphon rolls and began tickling.

Before Damon could squawk, the mantrin had him pinned under his colossal belly, probing and poking and jiggling the squealing gryphon into a wobbling mess of feathers. In no time at all, Damon was flustered and gasping for mercy, but Xavier kept it up for a good minute before relenting. He slowly rolled back onto his side of the couch and rubbed his gurgling middle around while his roommate struggled to gain their breath.

“What was that about me getting airborne?” Xavier asked in a singsong voice.

“N-Nothin’,” the gryphon stammered. He turned a little red as he pressed his clawed feet up against the mantrin’s stomach and kneaded it around. “Would you um… mind doing that again though? The pinning thing?”

Xavier snorted and shifted his weight. Like a warm, furry glacier his belly heaved and groaned as it sloshed over Damon’s feet, then his legs and lower waist. The gryphon huffed happily as his lower body was smothered in a veritable avalanche of soft, squishy fat. He massaged the flab around his roommate’s underbelly with his feet and grinned up at the looming giant.

“Thanks, big guy.”

“Don’t mention it.”

The pair remained that way for a little while, watching the rest of Fallow’s graduating class receive their diplomas. When the ceremonies commenced, Damon cleared his throat.

“So, you thought about where you want to celebrate tonight?”

Xavier hummer. “I was thinking that bar Zimmer played a while back. I think the same hostess still works there. If we name drop him, maybe they’ll give us free drinks.”

“Sounds like a plan,” the gryphon giggled.

Together, the pair snuggled one another on the couch as newly-christened graduates of Fallow’s University.

*****
That Night
*****


Xavier couldn’t recall the last time he’d felt so carefree. When he showed up to the bar, the hostess did indeed remember his brother. She’d treated them to free drinks all night on the promise that the enormously overweight mantrin would bring her up the next time he saw his brother as a potential roadie. To make matters even better, no one batted an eye at Xavier’s staggering waistline. Even with most of it on display as it bulged out of his highly strained Galaga shirt.

He and Damon partied well into the night, dancing, joking, dominating the bar’s antique collection of arcade games. When it got near midnight, the blubbery mantrin waddled off to get another round of beers when he spotted a familiar face in the shabby hall that led from the main bar area to the back entrance and restrooms. It took a moment for him to place it, as it was one he hadn’t seen for almost five years now.

When he put the pieces together, a wave of old, unpleasant memories rose up in his mind. Then he took a deep breath and they instantly dissipated. Steeling his nerves, Xavier turned away from the bar and headed down the hall where Natalee was boredly scrolling through her phone.

The charizard didn’t seem to register the mantrin’s presence until his shadow fell over her.

“Well well,” Xavier said. “Natalee Hawthorne. Long time, no see.”

It took a moment for Natalee to identify her favorite victim under all the plush lard he’d accrued over the years. Then it hit her.

“Xavier,” she sneered. “Well aren’t you looking fatter than ever.”

“Yep,” the mantrin chuckled. “It’s kinda nice, to be honest.”

“No surprise there. How’s college been going by the way? You still a social reject?”

“Actually, no,” Xavier said. “It’s amazing how little people care about that stuff in college. Made me realize how small you were in highschool. All that shit didn’t really mean anything in the long run.”

“Well look who’s finally had their spiritual awakening,” the charizard said.

All of the sudden, a loud, squawking laugh rolled down the hallway. Natalee looked over and spotted Damon at one of the arcade machines.

“Oooh, look at that,” she said gleefully. “My old friend Damon is here too. Maybe I’ll go say hi.”

She made to slide past Xavier, but suddenly felt the force of several hundred pounds of mantrin blubber slam her into the wall. Natalee gasped as the air was punched from her lungs. She tried to push Xavier off with no success.

“Listen to me, Natalee,” Xavier said in a calm, measured voice. “You tormented me for years in highschool. Made my life hell for no real rhyme or reason. I don’t know if you’ll ever change, but I hope to the gods you do. I was going to ask if you went to college, but I realized I don’t really care. You mean little to me and I’ll probably forget about you altogether in another year or two. You can say and do what you want to me, but if you go anywhere near Damon, I will smear you into paint thinner. Understood?”

“I… grrrk… let me go, lardass.”

Xavier only increased the flab smothering his ex-bully. He couldn’t believe how much he’d feared her at one point. Now, he felt nothing but pity.

“Understood?” he repeated.

Natalee’s face was turning purple from lack of oxygen. Finally she relented. “Fine,” she hissed. “Go and live your miserable life, fatass. No one really cares about you, you know.”

“That’s a pity,” Xavier said as he backed up and let his tormentor slide to the floor coughing. “Because I really hope someone out there will eventually care about you.”

“Fuck you, Xavier.”

“Goodbye, Natalee.”

With that, the mantrin waddled back over to his roommate and cuddled the gryphon around the waist.

Damon seemed to pick up on Xavier’s flustered state. “You okay, big guy?”

Xavier looked at his best friend. The chubby, energetic face. The wild, humorous eyes. All the endless possibilities that came with them.

“Never been better,” the mantrin said, before playfully bumping Damon over a little. “Now scoot over. I’m gonna kick your ass at Street Fighter.” ","pools_count":0,"title":"College Years","deleted":"f","public":"t","mimetype":"application/msword","pagecount":"1","rating_id":"0","rating_name":"General","ratings":[],"submission_type_id":"12","type_name":"Writing - Document","guest_block":"f","friends_only":"f","comments_count":"0","views":"10"}