#i hyperfocused too hard now my arms hurt but at least i can finish tomorrow i hope

[capn-twitchery]

i was so close to finishing the feast outfit then my body said no more art 😔 so have this instead

tiny twitch, and worse, tinier twitch. don't talk to me or my son ever again

[professorchatwin]

Ryder dragged a hand across his face, “this. This is ridiculous. I’m trying to get a law degree not a history degree”. He lay his head on the keyboard. “I want that A damn it”

Taylor raised an eyebrow and slid a plate of cookies across the table, “a little early to be rage quitting. Some of us like that history you know”

Sighing heavily, Ryder ponderously took a cookie, “I like the history but going into this much depth is just beating a dead horse”

“This might be hard to hear but the horses being dead is part of what makes it history” Taylor smirked. “Maybe one day you’ll get a case and you’ll need Coates V Cincinnati” 

“Hmmm… refresh my memory”

“Being irritating in public is protected under the first amendment”

Ryder chewed that over with another cookie, “That’s a shame. It’s probably a good thing but for me but not thee right?”. He slumped forward, adjusting his shirt. The rigors of law school hadn’t left much time for working out and it was starting to take it’s toll on his waistline. Ryder had consoled himself with half assed promises of going back to his volleyball workout routine but the more McDonalds he had, the less likely it seemed. 

“Do you maybe want to take a break and get some real food? I love your cookies but I should probably eat something with actual nutrient value” he mused, “But I should also study”

Taylor grinned, “Sure, let me just finish grading this paper. Grab your flashcards. I’ll quiz you while we wait for the food”

---

Ryder fastened his wrist watch, grimacing. At least his watch still fit. He pinched his waistline, a little doughy but, he reasoned, hardly all that fat. Of course not. He’d just gotten used to being athletic is all. Still, there his medium t shirt sat, resolutely refusing to pull down any lower than his belly button. His pants weren’t in much better shape, the button puckering tightly just below a modest muffin top.

Taylor knocked on the doorframe, “dryer got you good huh?”

“Huh?”

“Your shirt. If you put the dryer on too high it turns them into doll clothes. Need to borrow an undershirt?”

Ryder rubbed his chin, “Yeah hun, that’d be great”

Taylor nodded and came back holding a shirt that, unknown to Ryder, was actually a large with the tag cut off. And he slipped into it, too relieved at the looseness of the fabric to question it. He hugged Taylor around the neck, “Thanks babe, I owe you one”

He got a kiss on the cheek for his efforts, “Don’t worry about it. Now go get lunch before your class starts or you’re not going to be able to focus”

---

“I’m so full” Ryder moaned. “I need to *hic* go to the gym *hiccup* immediately” 

Taylor, just setting groceries on the kitchen counter popped his head around the wall. The sight that greeted him was a certain law student surrounded by the wreckage of a prematurely opened bag of Halloween candy, clutching his stomach and whining. He bit his lip. Over the past month that little bit of chub had swollen into a plump pot belly. The large t-shirt clung perfectly to every soft curve. He walked over and kissed Ryder’s forehead, “Was there a point here or…?”

“I was g-*hic!*going to cond-*hic*-dition myself into *hiccup* liking case history…” he huffed. Taylor laughed, then helped him over to the couch, making very sure to steady his boyfriend’s tummy. Once there he had Ryder lay down with his head in his lap. Still hiccuping Ryder protested that he still needed to study but Taylor kissed him and told him that he’d be doing no such thing.

“What you need is a break”

“What I need is to pass my classes”

“And you will but not by killing yourself with stress. You need to lay down for a bit. Let your tummy settle. I’m going to work on my thesis paper a bit and then I’m going to make dinner which you will be having because,” he patted Ryder’s belly idly, “you need to eat something more substantial than chocolate. You can come back to your studying after dinner. Deal?”

Ryder groaned, “Fine. But only because I can’t move. And as of tomorrow I’m renewing my gym membership”

Taylor let his hand settle just on the lower curve of Ryder’s tummy, “Hear me out. You’re already stressed. Do you really want to carve out even more time to go to the gym?”

He contemplated it for a moment, “No. You’ll have to be okay with me getting chubby in the meantime though. You’re working on a PhD why aren’t you this stressed”

“Well,” Taylor mused, “My degree takes longer, I don’t generally have to argue with people on a daily basis, and I surrendered my soul to academia during my masters for a sense of perennial calm”

“You’re an ass”

“You know you like it”

---

“Really hun, what are you embarrassed about?” Taylor soothed, “you look cute”. He kissed Ryder’s neck, willing him to take a deep breath. The full length mirror stared back at them and in it Ryder pouted, hyperfocused on the gapping hole left by his errant shirt button and the slacks that wouldn’t even go up his thighs. “Why didn’t you tell me I was getting this big?”

“Why is it a problem?”

“Because I’m wearing a double XL and it doesn't fit” he said exasperated, “And my slacks won’t go over my ass, none of my belts fit, and… and… mhmm...that- that’s very distracting. Mhm! Taylor!” he swatted at his partner, “okay it’s not all bad”  

Taylor looked up from kissing Ryder’s neck, both of his hands cupping the plump, heavy potbelly that had taken over where Ryder’s hip bone’s used to reside. “Not all bad? Sure I can’t make it feel good?”

“You’re incorrigible”

Taylor kissed him with a grin, “I know”

---

Once again, Ryder was at his desk desperately pouring over textbooks and old court records. Taylor watched out of the corner of his eye from where he was grading papers. In the span of the last month or so his boyfriend had started stress eating without end and it had made it’s presence known. Even as Ryder chipped away at the plate of brownies Taylor could see how soft he’d gotten. His arms stretched the sleeves of his button up, his chest had softened, he’d let his beard grow to conceal the budding double chin.

He was in the middle of admiring the transformation when Ryder suddenly looked up with a certain look on his face.

“Babe”

“Hm?”

“I’m stuck”

Taylor raised an eyebrow, “you’re what?”

Ryder blushed furiously, “I’m stuck”

Ryder demonstrated his point by trying to get out of his office chair. The arms pinched his sides, hips spilling just over the sides of the seat. Every struggle caused his belly to bounce and jiggle leaving Taylor mesmerized. From this angle he could see how tight the buttons of Ryder’s vest were, how stressed the seams of his pants. 

“Well, I- fuck that’s hot” he hummed.

Ryder rolled his eyes, “Nothing I can do about that if I’m stuck” he pointed out. 

Taylor grinned. He walked over and started unbuttoning. Ryder met him halfway from the top and managed to get the clothing off just as Taylor blew a raspberry on his belly. The soft chub jiggled all the way down his thighs and up his chest. Ryder gasped, “Oh, oh not fair”

“Mhmmm I could do something about it while you’re stuck you know”

“Don’t be a tease”

Taylor just laughed and kissed him, “I’ll be right back. Hang on”

“Ah, yeah. Because I’m going somewhere” Ryder said wryly.

When he came back he was holding a tub of crisco with a big grin on your face. Ryder blushed harder, “I swear if you call that bacon grease…”

“Actually I was going to call you a butterball but bacon grease works too”

The second the lid was off Ryder’s stomach growled. Taylor did his best to distract Ryder from his predicament while he worked, kissing every inch of exposed skin while he rubbed the grease into his sides. By the time he was done Ryder was red, flustered, and slick. He only just managed to slip free and stumbled straight into Taylor’s arms. He kissed him hard, “What’d I say about being a tease?”

Taylor kissed him back, “I’m not teasing. Come on. Let’s get you showered and out to dinner. I’ll show you just how not teasing I am”

---

“Did you say buffet?” Ryder raised an eyebrow. “Babe, this shirt barely fits as it is”

“What? They have that chocolate cake that you like”  Taylor kissed his cheek, handing him his watch. 

Ryder pulled him back and pressed Taylor’s hands to his belly, “I like that, actually” he purred. Abruptly he pursed his lips, letting a sigh of irritation leave him. 

“What’s the matter?”

“I need a new wristband” he huffed. Taylor kissed his neck and gestured for him to hang on a minute. He pulled a small box out of the dresser drawer.

“Was going to wait until you passed this year’s classes but as I know you will it can’t hurt to give you this a little early”

Ryder opened the box, “Aw, babe I love it” he kissed Taylor, “thank you” he said sliding the watch on and fastening it. He bit his lip and raised an eyebrow, “It’s got a lot of growing room”

Taylor grinned, hands on Ryder’s hips, “So it does”