(This story contains male weight gain. It also contains egregious misrepresentations of quantum physics, so if you know anything about that topic, I’m sorry.)
Juan and Andy walked down the sidewalk hand-in-hand on a warm September day. Their matching polos and khaki shorts matched the weather well, all light colors and loose fits. The two men were both on the thinner side, but weren't the type to show that off if the occasion didn't call for it. So they wore clothes that hung loosely around their body, able to breathe and keep them cool on a day like that.
“You really didn't have to get me something this… grandiose,” Andy insisted.
“Oh hush,” Juan teased. “Five years together is a big deal. And besides, it’s a present to both of us.”
“Right. How does it work again?”
“I’m sure the researcher can explain it better than I can. All I know is that by the end, we’ll have the perfect sex toy for us to share.”
“Maybe it’ll be some kind of double-sided strap on. Something to please you while you’re topping me.” An old man passing the two gave them a stare with his mouth hanging slightly open, before he kept walking.
“Ooh, that’s genius!” Juan said as he looked up at his much-taller boyfriend. “I hope we get that.”
“Can we make requests?” Andy said with a smile.
“I don't think so,” Juan admitted. “But I guess we’ll see when we get there.”
As the two were walking, they crossed paths with a very heavyset man who was walking the opposite way. He wore a blue tee shirt that draped over his ample belly, looking like a large sack of grain as it stuck out rotund over his athletic shorts. He ambled toward the two with his arms swinging widely and his spherical belly bouncing as each foot hit the sidewalk. He was the largest man either of them had seen in quite some time, and they couldn't help but steal some covert glances as he walked by.
“Damn,” Juan whispered once they were out of earshot.
“Yeah,” Andy agreed wistfully.
It didn't take much longer for the two to arrive at their destination, the quantum physics research building at the local university. Juan had worried they’d have a hard time finding the room, but they immediately spotted a sign to point them to their destination: Project Pleasure.
“Seems rather on the nose,” Andy remarked.
“Probably good for publicity,” Juan said. “Well, we’re thirteen minutes ahead of schedule. Should we walk around a bit?”
“Nah. Maybe if we go in now, they’ll take us early.”
After they walked in, the two found themselves in a small, white room, with a sign asking them to sign in on the tablet securely latched to the table. After Juan did the honors, the two sat down, before they were greeted by the opening of the other door in the room a few minutes later.
“Hi,” the scrawny young man asked. Juan reasoned he was probably a research assistant, maybe an intern. “Are you Juan and Andy?”
“Yep,” the two said in unison.
“Okay, great,” he mumbled as he looked at his clipboard. “Please follow me.”
The two followed the assistant down a short hallway, before they entered a much bigger room than the previous one. The room had several desks with computers on them, but the centerpiece was the configuration in the middle. There were two chairs with screens and wires attached to small sensors, and in the center, a platform with several large mechanical arms pointing at it. And standing admiring it was a woman in a lab coat who turned around as the two came in, her waist black hair floating up as she did. “Hello! You must be Juan and Andy.”
“That’s us,” Juan said as he came in, Andy following close behind him.
“Welcome!” she greeted enthusiastically. “I'm Doctor Gloria Hernandez. I’m sure you’re wondering what it is we do here.”
“Some clarification would certainly be appreciated,” Andy said.
“Of course,” she said as she rubbed her hands together. “Project Pleasure is a collaboration between the psychology department, the physics department, and the computer science department here at MU. The goal was to make a system that can scan your brain to figure out the perfect sex toy for you, and then manufacture it right here!”
“Like 3D printing?” Andy asked.
“That was our original plan. But with so much exciting research happening in the field of quantum physics, we were able to integrate that into our system and make a machine that simply manifests your toy, right in front of you.”
“Sounds too good to be true,” Andy said.
“I know, isn't it exciting?” Doctor Hernandez asked with glee. “Now, the way we determine the right toy for you is to rapidly show you sexual images, and measure your brain’s responses to them. Because we measure subconscious responses, you might get a toy that, at first, you don't think you’d like. But with our one month follow-ups, we've found a 98% satisfaction rate with the toys our clients end up with. So, all I ask is that you go into this with an open mind.”
After the two looked at each other and nodded, Juan said, “I think we can do that.”
“Great! I’ll also ask you to sign the release forms and waivers that my assistant Kennith will provide.”
“Yes,” Kennith blurted out, before motioning for the two to follow him to a desk.
“Waivers?” Andy asked.
“We are dealing with cutting edge quantum technology,” Kennith said. “We’ve had hundreds of clients before and never had any problems. But just about anything could happen, so we have to account for that.”
Once the two had signed the forms, Kennith lead them to the system where Doctor Hernandez stood. “Wonderful. Now we can get started!” After she motioned to the chairs, the two sat down, and both the doctor and her assistant started attaching the sensor nodes to their heads.
“So how does this work with two of us?” Juan asked.
“It did start as a one person only system, narrowing down what that person would enjoy most. But once we got the technology down, we were able to add a second chair, and program the system to find the toy that maximizes your joint pleasure.”
“It will take a bit longer because of that,” Kennith said.
“But because the images flash by so quickly, it won't take too long.”
“About that,” Juan asked. “Should we… go into this with a certain mindset to best work with the machine?”
“Oh you don't have to worry about that.” Doctor Hernandez assures the two. “Since the system measures subconscious responses, your conscious thoughts won't factor into it. Just relax and wait.”
“Cool,” Juan said, trying to stay still as the nodes were attached.
“Will we be able to see what’s on the images?” Andy asked.
“Most patients report that they can't, even toward the end, when the machine is showing you similar images and narrowing down exactly what you like. We try to make the images as distinct as possible, so your brain doesn't acclimate to them.”
“Who picks the images?” Juan asked.
“No one, actually. The CS department designed a neural network to scour the internet for them.”
“Then I go through and make sure they’re all correctly categorized,” Kennith added.
“Is it fun?” Andy asked with a chuckle.
“Not as much as you might think,” Kennith sighed. “I’ve had to look at all kinds of porn, and only a small portion of it is stuff I’m into. And it’s not like I can keep looking at my favorites. I have work to do.”
“Although we do let anyone who works on this project take home any images they find in the database that they want to.”
“Have you taken advantage of that?” Juan asked.
“No comment,” the doctor and her assistant said in unison.
Soon the two had attached all the necessary sensors to Juan and Andy’s heads. Juan watched as the screens were lowered to sit in front of his and Andy’s faces. They remained black as Doctor Hernandez and Kennith walked to one of the desks on the side. “Now, this can take anywhere from 30 seconds to a few minutes, but it shouldn't take an unreasonable amount of time. First the display will turn on and adjust brightness, and then we’ll begin.”
Indeed, the screen in front of Juan did turn on, and the light was at such a high level that he had to squint. But soon it dimmed to a level that he found much easier to stare at. Once the screen stayed at a consistent level of brightness, he heard Doctor Hernandez say, “Alright, gentlemen, here we go!”
Soon the screen was alight with images that flashed by faster than Juan could keep up with. Although he could occasionally make out fleshy parts of an image, the doc was right that they were moving too quickly for him to recognize them. Details occasionally stood out, but before he could process them, another dozen or so images had passed by, giving him so much to interpret that he couldn't fixate on any one image. He supposed this was intentional, so he didn't get stuck thinking about one idea. So he sat back and let the images fly by in front of him.
With as much stimuli as Juan was being bombarded by, those 30 seconds to a few minutes certainly felt longer. With so much to see, his eyes grew tired, like they did if he stayed up too late on his laptop. But he kept his eyes open, and soon enough, a zapping sound, followed by the screen shutting off, indicated they were done.
The screen slowly rose, allowing Juan to see the mechanical arms around the platform rise out of the way. But as he looked ahead, he saw that it was empty, with no toy in sight. He strained to look at the platform from other angles, but he couldn't spot anything on it. “Hey, did something go wro--”
Juan turns his head to look at Doctor Hernandez and Kennith, but his gaze immediately fell on Andy. At least, they fell on the man who was sitting where Andy had sat. If he was Andy, he looked nearly unrecognizable, save for what remained of his outfit, which matched what Andy had worn that day.
“Andy?” Juan asked hesitantly.
“Yeah babe?” Andy replied, looking at Juan with a smile framed by chubby cheeks that descended around his face to make a double chin. His eyes seemed a bit smaller too, his lids seemingly pushed together by the advance of flab around them. Below his head, his chest had expanded out into two modest yet impressive lobes. But his chest was nothing compared to what rested beneath: his gargantuan belly.
Andy’s flat stomach had been replaced by a rotund midsection that looked like it had been inflated with a gardening hose. If it weren’t rising and falling with his breathing, Juan wouldn’t have believed it was really him. His gut stuck out a great deal over his thighs, while his love handles spilled over his hips. If the chair had arm rests of any kind, he would have been wedged in. As it was, he spread out over it like a can of biscuits that had burst out of its casing.
But instead, he’d burst out from his clothes. The shirt seemed to have ripped at the sides, with one half still wedged behind him, while the other had been flung in front of him. HIs shorts suffered a similar fate, except the front half was still wedged under his mountainous belly. Only his underwear and sneakers seemed to still fit.
It didn’t take long for Andy to see that Juan was looking him up and down with surprise and concern. Once he looked down, his eyes opened wide and he shouted out, “Holy shit!”
Andy got up clumsily, unadjusted to moving around in his newly rotund body. As he struggled to find his balance, he knocked the chair over and let what remained of his clothes fall away. Looking down at his new flab, he grabbed his bare belly as if he couldn't believe his eyes. His hands grasped at various parts of himself, like he might somehow reveal it was all a dream or a joke by touching the fat and revealing it was fake. But it stayed on, in spite of all his grabbing and the jiggling that ensued. And in spite of his shock, Juan couldn't help but feel a stirring in his pelvis as he watched his husband explore his new hefty body.
“Fascinating…” Doctor Hernandez said.
“Oh no,” Kennith uttered. “Oh no, oh no, oh no. We’re going to be in so much trouble.”
“Nonsense, that’s what the waivers are for,” she whispered curtly at her assistant. After taking a few steps toward Andy, the doctor asked, “Andy, how do you feel?”
“Um… surprised.”
“Are you in any pain?”
“No, no. I guess that’s one silver lining to this.”
“I’m not sure how to explain it. The machine was never meant to reach beyond the boundaries of the platform in the center. If those programmers didn't program boundaries into the thing, I swear to--anyway. I've never seen the machine alter a person’s body before. I don't know how they could have accounted for that.”
In the time that Doctor Hernandez had spent talking, Juan had gotten up from his chair and walked slowly up to Andy, standing behind him in awe. As if running only on instinct, his hands rose slowly until they were on either side of Andy’s new massive gut. Slowly, his hands came together, until they closed in on Andy’s belly.
“Wha---”
Feeling the warm flab beneath his palms, Juan let his fingers dig more deeply into Andy’s heft. He enjoyed just how much mass he felt as he lifted it up, and the idea of how much more of his husband there was to grab. There was so much more weight to him now, perfectly embodying the way Andy was his rock. Yet the bottom was soft, like dough, and receptive to Juan pushing up on it in turn, like he was kneading it. But playing with his husband’s belly was so much more fun.
“Uh, babe?”
“Yeah?” Juan replied, moaning into Andy’s back as he ran his hands up and down Andy’s belly, a lengthy but enjoyable journey.
“What are you doing?”
“Is that a trick question?” Juan retorted, before extending his fingers over the top of Andy’s belly and pushing his hands in, squeezing his husband’s newly expanded midsection.
“Okay, why are you doing… that?”
“Don’t you enjoy it?” Juan asked sweetly, rubbing his hands around the top of Andy’s belly and causing his arms to rise at his sides.
“I…”
Andy was silent for a while. With Juan unable to see his face, he encouraged him, “Go on,” as he continued caressing Andy’s gut.
“I… yeah,” he said with a satisfied sigh. A smile spread across his face before he softly admitted, “I do.”
“That’s my big boy.”
“Uh, gentlemen,” Doctor Hernandez said. “I hate to interrupt, but perhaps you could enjoy your new… toy?... in the privacy of your own home.”
“Oh, sure,” Andy chuckled, his embarrassment clear in his tone and his red, chubby cheeks, before he stepped away from Juan. “Um… I’m not sure I can leave like this, though,” he said as he motioned toward his bare body, covered only by underwear and shoes..
“Right…” the Doctor said, looking him up and down with a pensive expression. “Kennith, cancel our other appointments for today, then go to the nearest big and tall store, and find something that will fit our client.”
“Why do I have to do all that?”
“There are a lot of notes that need to be taken about today’s events. Would you rather write all those down?”
“I’ll see myself out,” Kennith said, before walking toward the door.
---
It was a warm, sunny day, and Juan and Andy had decided to celebrate finally finishing buying him a new wardrobe with some well-deserved beach time. As they walked from the parking lot with their tote bags in hand, Juan could barely take his eyes off of Andy’s belly, which bounced as he walked. “If you don’t watch where you’re going, you’re going to trip,” Andy teased.
“It’ll be worth it,” Juan insisted as he kept staring.
With a sigh, Andy said, “Alright, give it a few rubs so you can look where you’re going.”
Juan didn’t have to be told twice. With a smile, he reached his hand out and rubbed it over the firm yet yielding top of Andy’s belly, grinning with glee as he felt his husband’s new protrusion. He did find it easier to keep his eyes ahead of him with a handful of belly, though he couldn’t help but look back at his husband to see him smile. Andy had come to love the attention just as much as Juan liked giving it.
The two made there way to a spot past where the ocean never touched the beach and the sand was dry and blew around easily. Once they got to the more compacted, moist sand, they both took towels out of their totes and laid them down, before setting their bags at their sides. They then lay down on their towels, with Andy having some newfound trouble getting all his girth to ground level. But soon he, like Juan, lay down and let out a sigh.
“Trouble, babe?” Juan asked.
“Nah, just part of the fun,” Andy said with a smile, before he looked back up and let his eyes close.
Juan had planned on doing the same. But watching Andy’s gut stick out above him like a beached jellyfish was just too much fun. It didn’t quite bulge out ahead as much as it did when he stood, but the way it resisted gravity was mesmerizing. With a smirk, Juan patted the side of it, the kind of spontaneous attention that Andy had gotten used to by then. As the smirk on Andy’s face seemed to indicate, he was coming to enjoy it too.