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You awaken with a start, a ray of sunlight shining into your eye. For a moment you're disoriented, then you look around and get your bearings. You're back in the real world, with Val happily snoozing away next to you. You smile, and turn to look at her. She looks so happy when she's asleep. Leaning down, you give her a little peck on the cheek, and smile again.
Val stirs in her sleep, cracks a little smile, and sighs happily. Then, she opens her eyes.
"There you are," she smiles sweetly.
You feel your face flushing red, and you look away. "I... Uh, just had an interesting dream."
"Mmmm... did it involve me?" she asks, stroking your face.
You stare at the ceiling and nod slowly. "Yeah..."
"Good," she smiles, snuggling against you.
"There's more. Promise not to be jealous?" you continue.
Val sparks up a smile. "Of course," she replies. "Go on."
"Well, you were there but you were a lot fatter. I don't remember specifically how you looked other than you were really big and sexy."
"Was I really fat?" Val asks, sighing.
"Just... um..."
"I was an obese sexy beast," she giggles. Then she pinches your side playfully, "That's the sort of dream I like hearing about. But I don't think that's why you're embarrassed."
You sigh, "Well, there were several other fat girls in the dream. And they started kissing and cuddling us."
Val laughs, "Is that all?"
"Yeah."
"You're adorable," she smiles.
"You're not mad?”
Val bursts out laughing, "You were dreaming, you doofus. I'll assume they were there by mutual agreement if we were both getting some chubby action."
You sigh in relief, and laugh with her, "Of course."
Val kisses you, and snuggles against you once more. You place your arm over her body, and she curls her leg around you. You are completely comfortable with this. Keeping the embrace, you gently caress her body, from her arm, to her hand and her waist and then her hip and thigh. The two of you lay like this for a while. It's heavenly.
Eventually you turn to look at Val and say, "Shouldn't we get ready for the day? You've gotta be curious about what Dr Rohaz has for us."
She nods, and gets out of bed. You stand, and follow her as she walks naked to her dresser. She pulls on a matched set of blue zebra-stripe panties and a bra. She then picks out a gray dress with subtle abstract patterns, and a pair of black leggings. Val completes her look with a slim, stylish belt around her middle and a pair of flats. She seems to have thought of everything.
You stare in awe at her. "You're... everything I..."
"What? Want?" she smiles. "You like what you see, don't you?"
You nod, "Very much so."
"Then what is it that you want, humble one?"
You walk up to her, close enough to feel your breath on her lips, "I want you."
Val kisses you, her tongue slipping into your mouth for a bit. Her hand makes its way under your half-on clothes and briefly teases your crotch. Just as suddenly, Val pulls away and says, "I love you. But right now I want breakfast."
You laugh, "I love you too," and groan in protest, but you give in and let her lead you to the kitchen. You clumsily button up your shirt as you walk, and think. It still feels exciting and cathartic to express love so directly to each other. In moments you're milling around in the kitchen with Val, retrieving ingredients and utensils to cook something for breakfast. She shoos you away from the stove as she manages a pan of eggs and a pan of chopped sausage. You pour two glasses of orange juice and hand her one. Val sets it aside, pecks you on the cheek, and directs you to the table. You arrange the various ingredients for breakfast tacos as Val cooks, and soon enough she's transferred the eggs and sausage to bowls and brought them to the table. You each help yourselves to some of the steaming fillings and wrap them in tortillas. Happy with her cooking, Val eats ravenously. You don't have nearly as much, but you're still sated.
"This is delicious, Val," you compliment.
"Why thank you, honey."
Soon enough you're both done, and after pulling on your shoes and gathering a few things, you're on the way to Dr Rohaz's clinic. Val's excitement is palpable as she drives. The trip passes quickly and you've soon passed through a familiar highrise and are knocking on the doctor's office door. "Come in," you hear a voice from within say.
You push open the door and step inside, finding the doctor behind her desk. She looks up at you and smiles. "Val, Anon. Thanks for continuing to make these check-ins. Please, have a seat, I have big news and I wanted to tell the two of you in person."
You sit down and the doctor continues, "I'll get right to it. Val, we've taken some of what we've learned about your biology and have made an experimental treatment. A few of my other patients have volunteered to try it."
She pauses to give Val time to react, which she does by asking, "What is it?"
Dr Rohaz looks excited, "I don't want to get ahead of myself or jinx the project, but it could be what we've been after."
You chime in, "The cure for obesity's health problems, but for people?"
"That's the idea, yes."
Val is silent, yet excited by what she hears.
The doctor continues, "We've only just begun the trial about a week ago. One of the patients is an extremely heavy man with a lot of health complications. Within that week, most of his health conditions are majorly improved and still getting better."
"What's the catch?" you ask.
She replies, "None so far as we can tell, but the patients will need to stay on the treatment so long as they're overweight."
The doctor turns her attention to Val, "I also have findings that pertain to you," she says.
"Me?" Val says, showing that she's just realized this. "What do you have?"
Dr Rohaz pauses for a moment, thinking about how to proceed. Eventually she says, "Val, what I'm about to say should not be interpreted as an endorsement of any particular lifestyle. However, based on everything we've seen over the past few months..." She takes a deep breath, "We believe that your body will not suffer any health effects from excess weight."
A huge smile flashes across Val's face. "That's what I was expecting you to say," Val says, "Somehow, I just knew it," she adds, leaning in towards the doctor.
"Dr Rohaz," you say, leaning in as well, "Last week you were a lot less upbeat about Val's chances if she got bigger. What changed your mind?"
She replies, "A combination of factors. We've done a ton of biochemical simulations. When we combine that data with samples from when Val deliberately gained and lost some weight from her meds, I began to suspect. The trials on other obese patients this week convinced me."
Val presses the doctor for more details. Though you don't understand all the medical terms, Dr Rohaz does a good job of simplifying the concepts, "Basically, obesity changes the natural levels of many chemicals in the body. Insulin, cholesterol, and some other hormones are the main ones."
"Ok..."
"So, these chemicals can have cascading effects on each other. By balancing them out, we can prevent diseases like diabetes. The other component is heart function."
The doctor quickly sheafs through some papers and reads something before continuing, "This part is intuitive: the heart has to work harder for a bigger patient. Cruelly, the heart doesn't know the difference between extra fat and extra muscle. There's a reason why a lot of wrestlers and football players tend to have cardiac issues later in life."
"Why not just make the heart stronger?" you ask.
The doctor starts laughing, "Were it so simple! Yet you just took the words out of my mouth. Val's mutations include some sort of ...upgrade, if you will, that strengthens the heart in proportion to a patient's excess weight. Some obese patients already experience heart enlargement."
Val is enraptured, "And that's bad, right?"
Dr Rohaz replies, "Normally yes. But the quirk you have doesn't make an obese patient's heart bigger, it makes it, well, stronger. Healthier. Maybe even properly healthy."
You reply slowly, "I see."
She continues, "If the trends we're seeing continue, the only ill effects the test patients will see is the basic physical fact of weighing more and taking up more space. Their health should otherwise be on par with a skinny person."
"That's a big if," you reply.
"Maybe so," the doctor says evenly, "But the study is still early. Even if the health improvement isn't 100%, it's still a big step up for seriously obese patients. And again, we think Val may naturally have a more potent version of these protective factors."
"That's fantastic!" Val shouts, as you nod in agreement.
Val suddenly gets a bit more serious. "Doc,' she says, her voice even, "I know you won't suggest one way or another, but you know I feel a weird responsibility. Like I can somehow contribute to science by putting on lots of weight to see how my body responds." She pauses, and adds, "I'm sorry. I know it's silly."
"Well," the doctor smiles, "There's nothing to apologize for. I'm glad you still want to help, and I'll do my best to learn from you and keep you informed of my findings."
"Thank you for doing what you do, Leona," Val says with sincerity, "You're doing great work and I'm glad I can be a part of it somehow."
Val pauses then giggles, "Well, I should be off to start putting buffets out of business!"
Dr Rohaz's face turns very serious. She reaches across her desk and places her hand on Val's. She says, "Val, two things. First, I cannot reinforce this enough, if you're changing your body, make sure you're doing it for you. Don't do it for me, hell, don't do it for Anon. Do it because it makes you happy and because it's what you want."
Val's expression darkens as she stares back at the doctor. The doctor continues, "Val, I'm serious. Serious enough that I wanted to have this talk with you in person. Just, trust me on this. I can't be specific but some of my patients did something similar to what you're planning, they gained weight intentionally. A lot of weight, for some of them."
Val seems to take heed, and a somber look appears on her face.
The doc continues, "You can guess as to why they're my patients. But the ones who aren't miserable are the ones who didn't gain for somebody else. Foodies who genuinely don't want to put down the fork. Folks who find their own size alluring regardless of the drawbacks. This was my auntie Marsha by the way, she just loved food. She was devastated when her health started to falter, and losing weight was the hardest decision she's ever made."
The doctor pauses to collect her thoughts and then continues after a slow sigh, "Sorry, I didn't mean for this to get personal, but you know this whole matter is close to my heart. I'm not going to ask you to make a promise to me or anything, but I do want you to be absolutely certain you're doing this for you."
Val thinks for several moments, then smiles, nods her head and says, "I understand. Thank you, doctor."
Dr Rohaz then looks at you, and you feel compelled to speak up, "On my honor, I promise that I didn't put Val up to this. It's her idea 100%. I'll admit I'm enjoying her journey, but trust me when I say she's definitely the one driving."
Val giggles and nudges your shoulder with a goofy smile, "Well I guess you could have made that a lot weirder. But yes, doctor, my motivations have been clear this whole time. I appreciate the concern though."
You chuckle in reply, gently intercept Val's hand, and interlace your fingers with hers.
"You two are a cute couple," the doctor remarks. You and Val turn towards each other and smile.
Dr Rohaz waits for you to turn back to her then says, "The second thing. Would you care to join me for lunch?"
You and Val look at each other, and you think she's going to say no, but instead she smiles and responds, "That sounds lovely, doctor."
The doctor collects some papers on her desk and stands up crisply. She takes off her lab coat, neatly folding it over her chair, and says, "I know a place that's usually a real crowd-pleaser. It's a barbecue joint just down the street. It'll be my treat again, does that sound good?"
Val and you look at each other, and she remarks, "You buy, I'll eat."
The older woman laughs brightly and brushes out some wrinkles in her pants and blouse. You and Val follow her lead out of the clinic and before long you're sitting down at a heavy wooden table in a room suffused with the smell of smoked meats. You can't help but notice that most of the menu items involve some form of buffet access. You also wonder if this is some test or ploy from the doctor, but you decide to make the best of it. Val is chatting cheerily with Dr Rohaz and either doesn't notice or doesn't care about the restaurant's unusual setup.
A waiter comes by. The three of you put in drink orders, and you also order a pulled pork sandwich. Dr Rohaz orders some brisket. Val waffles for a moment, then orders a large serving of brisket with a generous amount of sides. You furrow your brow, and the doctor raises an eyebrow before bursting out laughing. The food does indeed turn up promptly, and before long you've dug in with gusto.
Your sandwich is delicious. The meat is extremely tender, and is well-mixed with a tangy sauce. The sandwich is also massive, and you don't know if you'll be up for any sides. Val is practically inhaling her own huge portions, yet somehow able to keep chatting with the doctor. Despite the oddness of the situation, you feel completely at home.
You join in the conversation as well, and, in keeping with your prior experiences, the doctor continues to be smart, amicable, and interesting. At one point, you finish your sandwich. Somehow still feeling a little peckish, you go over to the buffet bar and dish up some roasted vegetables. By the time you return to the table, Val has a fresh serving of brisket before her. You pick at your vegetables, chat, and make a point of not commenting on Val's portions. She keeps eating, swiftly yet somehow still daintily. Though she starts to slow at the end of her second brisket plate, she sure enough orders a third. The conversation slows down as Val visibly struggles to put away the final plate of meat. She does her best to keep her composure, but her heavy eyelids and a gentle swaying in the seat betrays her exhaustion. Finally, Val forks the last chunk of brisket, brings it to her mouth, and closes her lips around it. She chews and swallows as she sits back in her chair. Val then languidly says, "That was amazing."
You smile. "Yeah, it was."
"I'm stuffed," Val says. Her hand goes to her distended gut, and she stops herself from rubbing it.
Dr. Rohaz chuckles, "I'd bet. By my count, you've got two pounds of beef in there, plus I don't know how much in sides."
Val laughs. "Well, I guess I'm just one of those hungry types."
"If I didn't know better, I'd think you were trying to impress me," the doctor says.
Val laughs again, trying not to show her discomfort. "Well did I manage to impress you?" She asks with a smirk.
"Mm-hmm. Let's just say I'm convinced that you genuinely were hungry."
Val smiles, and lets her smile fade away. She seems to relax back in the seat.
Dr. Rohaz leans across the table and Val slowly leans forward to meet her. The doctor whispers something in Val's ear, and Val nods and smiles. The two women sit back in their seats, then Dr. Rohaz signals a waiter. A couple minutes later, the waiter shows up with a bill and a clear plastic box with a large slice of cherry pie. The waiter places the pie before Val with a knowing smile. The doctor signs the bill and hands it to the waiter, "Like I said, my treat."
The three of you get up, but Val gets up slowly. She huffs, "I might have overdone it..."
Your group walks outside, and Val pauses by a bench in front of the restaurant. She sits, and says, "Anon, this is embarrassing, but could you bring the car here? My tummy's too full and I don't want to walk..."
You nod and smile, "Sure thing."
Dr. Rohaz sits next to your girlfriend as you turn to leave. You can hear them starting to chat, but you can't make out any words. You hurry back to the garage in the clinic building and drive your car to pick up Val. She gets up, waves goodbye to the doctor, and you lean over to open the passenger door. Val steps into the car and flops into her seat.
"So what were you chatting about with Dr. Rohaz?" You ask.
Val looks out the window and replies noncommittaly, "Oh nothing important, just continuing the conversation from lunch."
"Val..." You say back cautiously, "I can tell there's something you're holding back."
Val sighs and turns to face you. She gives a big grin and says, "It's nothing bad, I promise!"
You smirk and return her smile, "You can trust me!”
She sits back into her seat and sighs, "Ok... So I asked her if the ladies in the group would be good candidates for the study."
You glance over with a raised eyebrow. Val quickly replies, "I just wanted to know if the option was open!"
"Well, what did the doc say?"
"She said that it was a possibility, but that it depended on the woman and obviously if she would be willing to participate."
You maneuver around an obstruction on the road and think for a second. Eventually you reply, "Well it's good that they've got the option. I wonder if any of them would do it."
Val nods back to you, "Yeah... I was sorta hoping that one of them would actually jump at the chance."
You roll to a halt at a stoplight and glance over at Val. She continues, "I don't think I can ask them to join directly, but I can tell them that the study has started."
You grunt thoughtfully. An awkward silence descends between you for a moment. You break it by teasing Val.
"You had a big meal today. Did you get enough to eat, piggy?"
Val sticks her tongue out at you, grinning from ear to ear.
She replies in a taunting voice, "If I had more room, I definitely would have eaten even more!"
The light turns green, and you drive off. You continue the conversation, "So... Not that I mind seeing you stuff yourself silly, but why did you eat like that in front of the doctor?”
Val shifts in her seat and replies, "Her comments about who I'm gaining for kinda got to me. Anon, I love you and I love that you're into this, but I would be fattening up or trying to even if you weren't here. And I had to prove that to Leona."
You consider this. "I love you too Val. And I know that you would. Your drive and independence are things that I particularly like about you."
Val beams at that comment. You continue, "I think Leona actually wants to see you pork up, but her ethics prevent her from saying so directly. She's just looking out for you in her own way."
"Hmm, perhaps. Regardless I think it's working, don't you?"
You shrug in agreement. The conversation ends there due to the impending arrival at Val's place. You park, and help Val out of the passenger's seat. The two of you walk to her condo, and she collapses tiredly onto the couch. Val then unbuckles her belt and starts gently rubbing her pained gut.
"I don't think I can walk anymore," she whines.
You turn and kiss her on the cheek, "Well that's ok. You can just stay there, and I can just keep bringing you food!"
"You're a god, you know that?"
"God? I dunno about that..." you begin. "But thanks for the compliments."
You chuckle and soothe Val's aching stomach with some gentle rubs. She coos with relief as you do so. You say, "Yup, you just lay here and eat. We gotta help you digest all that so you can stuff your face again."
Val giggles, then purrs, "Yeah, make me fatter, Anon. I want to fill up this whole couch with my blubber."
You giggle along at the dirty talk. "Get comfortable, baby. I'm gonna spoil my piggy princess rotten."
"Mmmm, I like the sound of that," Val smiles.
Inspired, you grab the take-out container with the slice of pie. Val's eyes light up. You noisily open the container, and set it on Val's tummy. "You sure you've got room in there?" You ask playfully, gently poking a finger into her swollen middle.
"Anon, just shove it in." Val giggles. You roll your eyes, and begin to feed Val the pie. Val grabs your hand and licks it, then bites it gently. She giggles, "Undoing that damn belt freed up juuust enough space, I think." Val then slaps her stomach, then points a finger at her open mouth. You oblige Val, and grab a chunk of pie and bring it to her mouth. She accepts it with a pleased moan, and sucks the residual filling off of your fingers. You repeat this process a few times, and soon the pie has all disappeared down Val's throat. Val seems to grunt in satisfaction, and her head falls back against the chair. She sighs contently, "That really hit the spot, Anon."
"Awful sweet, huh?"
Val belches, then giggles in embarrassment. She says dreamily, "Nope, just right..."
Val rubs her stomach, then feels around for the remote. She pauses, before turning to you and finding your gaze. She asks hesitantly, "Do... Do you think we could watch a movie, Anon?"
You nod, "Yeah, of course!"
Val tiredly raises the remote and starts flipping through channels, looking for something to watch. She settles on some romantic-comedy, and curls up next to you. She cuddles close, "I love you, baby."
"I love you too, Val."
Soon, the two of you are watching a badly-acted movie about two people who hate each other, but have an unhealthy attraction to each other. You laugh along with the movie. Later in the afternoon, a rainstorm rolls in, and the two of you enjoy the cozy, lazy vibes. You and Val savor each other's company, playing video games and reading. All in all, a pretty great day. Eventually in the evening, Val decides to order some delivery. She calls in some pizza. Her portion of the order is as ridiculous as usual, and she takes the liberty of ordering your usual. When all was said and done, you had to practically haul her to her bed. Val settled heavily into the soft blankets with a satisfied smile on her face and a belly stuffed to bursting. Mere moments later, she had fallen asleep in a blissful food coma. You play on your phone next to her for a little while, then eventually call it a night.