Our favorite fatass Arro has an important choice to make. And this one isn't only about his weight.
Meanwhile, Rangavar knows more than he's letting on, and might have to make some choices of his own.

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This chapter is SFW. Fairly mild

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The Darkal was lost in thought as they left the room, more than concerned. How much of the other technology in the room was Glitarian? If they’d brought it here to study the technology, then the contents of the room seemed fairly normal. But that was an awfully large pile of weaponry to be just ‘studying.’
He and Arro had made sure to arrange the lid back on the crate exactly as they’d found it— Well, all of the crates, actually. Upon their discovery, they couldn’t stop at just one. They’d begun to tear through the other closed containers, getting the same results every time.
Guns. Guns guns guns.
Rangavar knew that Arro wouldn’t recognize them. He’d told the Faerian that they were weapons. That they were guns, specifically, was fairly obvious with the context. But the Darkal felt a sinking feeling in his stomach as he mulled over their actual intended purpose. They were the kind of weapons that shouldn’t be needed anywhere other than Glitara; he would know.
Rangavar pulled the door closed behind him as they left, having to give it a little tug. Arro had been right about something intriguing going on at the research lab after all.
Arro just didn’t have an inkling of what they’d stumbled into.


The hulking Faerian couldn’t get his uniform off fast enough as the day ended and they prepared to clock out. He yanked down the zipper, his suffocated fat spilling out and pushing it apart faster as it burst forward. The overhang covered the top of his pants, hiding the belt from view. He realized maybe he should have taken them off in the opposite order.
The Darkal’s locker slammed shut as he finished stuffing his more lithe uniform into the metal box. He glanced over at Arro. “You coming?”
“Just a sec.” He fished around for the buckle beneath his gut, unsuccessfully. Earlier today, he hadn’t been able to reach because he couldn’t bend over. Now, he didn’t have an excuse. This was just embarrassing. “You know what? Why don’t you go on ahead.”
“Uh. Are you sure?”
Arro was huffing and puffing as he strained to figure out how to wriggle out of his clothes. For one thing, he didn’t like Rangavar staring at him with his arms crossed like that. For another, “You need to go get that wristband, remember? Can I just meet you back at the hotel?”
The Darkal tilted his head. Arro could tell he was doing that thing where he pretended not to notice Arro clearly wrestling with his fat body. “Okay. Sounds good.”
Arro felt a little better when he was alone in the room. He took a deep breath. Vaugh damn, he was so fat. He looked down at his traitorous gut, hanging far over his belt, keeping him from finding the buckle pinching underneath. He grabbed the flab and shook it angrily, the oversized lovehandles at his sides spilling through his fingers. He couldn’t believe he even let himself be this fat. And his trainer’s comment earlier, about gaining even more weight in just the several days since his uniform sizing, still stung. Arro wasn’t ever surprised by dirty comments anymore, and hadn’t been for a long time, but he still felt each one like a slap to the face.
He tried pulling his up gut paw-over-paw, walking his paws down the vast curve. He strained to hold the lump of fat out of the way while finally reaching his other chubby arm far enough to grasp the buckle. He fumbled with it until he got it open. Even he wasn’t prepared for the surge of potbelly that flung itself out into freedom. It burst the button off the top of his pants as the sudden stress hit the fabric like a punch.
Shit. Would they be mad that he’d already ruined his brand-new pants? Well, they’d been the ones to measure him, and they’d clearly done a bad job, so he thought they shouldn’t hold it against him.
Wait. He planning on leaving tonight anyway. He shrugged to himself as he folded up the damaged clothes and shoved them into the locker. He supposed it didn’t matter if they were ruined or not. He’d never have to see them again.
Arro didn’t stop on the way home. He didn’t need to pick up food or anything. He’d be catching his flight, and Rangavar would be leaving for the new housing Arro had signed. The female had proudly announced to them later in the afternoon that the other potential applicant wasn’t interested. The housing area now had a section for Rangavar, as long as he finished filling out the paperwork for tomorrow.
He was probably already at the hotel, ready to sign the credits he’d borrowed back over to Arro. It was his last bit of commitment before they parted ways.
The truth was, Arro didn’t mind helping him. He realized that, despite their rocky—well, VERY rocky—start, he actually didn’t mind the Darkal’s company. Maybe he even… enjoyed it a little, he admitted reluctantly. He wondered when it happened. Maybe just today, as they snuck away during lunch and broke into the storeroom together; bonded together by their newfound life of crime.
Dispersing his thoughts, Arro shook his head to himself. He shouldn’t bother thinking about it. His flight was only a few hours away, after all, and then he’d put all of this behind him and be in Jade’s arms again. He wondered how she was doing; he hadn’t bothered contacting her since he hadn’t expected to be gone very long. Just long enough to convince her with his misleading truth of finding a job here.
Upon arriving back at the room, he felt hesitant as he pushed open the door, for reasons he couldn’t really explain. He found Rangavar lying in the center of the bed, his arms stretched completely apart as he stared at the ceiling. He didn’t even come close to filling the massive mattress.
He glanced at Arro as the hulking Faerian entered the room. He held up one of his arms, flashing the dark band around his wrist and grinning. Arro had never seen him smile before. It turned into a frown as the Darkal noticed his pause. Shit, he’d been staring.
“Sorry, I’ve just… never seen you happy before.”
Well, now the Darkal was scowling.
Arro glanced around the room. He didn’t really have any possessions to collect, and neither did Rangavar. “Well, I guess this is it.” They were just here to exchange the credits.
Rangavar sat up and moved his arm towards him. “I have no idea how to use this thing,” he admitted.
“Oh, here.” Before he even thought about it, he’d gently taken the Darkal’s arm. He only noticed because Rangavar flinched. “Oh, Vaugh, I’m sorry.”
Rangavar’s face turned visibly darker. “No, it’s fine, you’re not hurting me.” He scowled down at his wristband. “Just, let’s do this. Show me how to transfer the credits.”
Arro began to tap the screen, swiftly bringing up the applications he needed.
“Would it be easier if I took it off? I actually don’t know why I didn’t just do that in the first place.”
“No, actually,” Arro answered absentmindedly. “It only works when it’s being worn by the dragon it’s connected to. It’s like a security measure.”
“Oh.” Rangavar watched closely as Arro maneuvered the files on the screen. He jumped again as Arro’s own band began to flash and vibrate right in front of him.
Arro snatched back his arm.
“Did it work?”
The Faerian shook his head. “No, it’s an incoming call.” He looked down at the name on the band.
It was Jade.
He glanced back at Rangavar anxiously. “I reeeeally need to take this. Is that okay?”
“Oh, sure.” He leaned back on his paws, wings tucked behind him, hind legs still splayed in a relaxed manner.
Arro answered. “Yes?”
Jade’s happy voice came through the band. “Arro, I haven’t heard from you!”
The Faerian stood facing the wall, but cast a sideways glance at the Darkal on the bed behind him. Rangavar had politely turned away, as if oblivious to the conversation, even though in reality the two of them were less than three meters apart. There wasn’t really anywhere else to go in the tiny room.
“Yeah, sorry, I’ve been really busy,” Arro replied.
“Tell me about your new job!” she beamed.
He gulped. “Oh, uh, it’s great. I love it.” Telepathy didn’t work over the communication devices. He could just lie through his teeth if he wanted.
“It’s been lonely without you here, but I’m so happy for you. This is such a huge career change.”
“Yeah.”
“I was a bit worried when you didn’t call or anything.”
“Right, sorry.” She still didn’t know about his imminent flight home. He’d decided to make his return a pleasant surprise for her, planning to use the vague excuse of his new job ‘not working out.’
Oblivious to all of this, she asked, “Have you found a place to stay?”
What could he say? If he pretended everything was fine, and then showed up home in a few days, she’d wonder why he’d been lying. She’d wonder why he’d lied about enjoying his job. And maybe some other difficult questions after that. He stifled a frustrated sigh. This call had thrown a wrench into his plans.
“Oh, yeah, I have,” he told her. “It’s great.”
Her voice responded warmly. “I’m so glad to hear that.”
He was riddled with guilt. He wondered how he could get around this, putting a paw on his chin in thought. After a moment of hard thought, he had a realization.
You know what, maybe I don’t have to lie. I don’t have to catch that flight tonight. He was startled by his sudden certainty. How could he leave, after what he’d discovered at the research lab today? He couldn’t just put that juicy mystery behind him. It would be incredibly irresponsible to leave now. Especially in case, well, what if Rangavar still needed him…
“Arro? Hello?”
“Oh, sorry.” He snapped back to the present.
“Is everything okay?”
“Yeah,” he replied. Maybe a bit too quickly. He scrambled, “Everything is great. Very great. I love it here.” Out the corner of his eye, he noticed Rangavar’s head turn towards him sharply with a raised brow.
Jade laughed. “I can tell you’re distracted. If you’re busy, I’ll let you get back to whatever you were doing.”
He slowly settled his mass on the edge of the bed, bending the whole mattress, curling his tail out of the way. “Yeah, super busy, actually. Just getting used to things, you know?”
“Well, make sure you keep me updated!” He imagined the smile behind her voice, her bright green eyes gazing at him. “I love you!”
He tried to push the guilt away. If she knew what was really going on—the entire reason he’d come to Karraden; that he’d begun hanging out with her old mate she’d sent away; that he was using his time here to spy instead of working; she’d be livid instead.
“I love you too.”
The silence that followed the end of the call stretched heavily in the room.
“You know, she might not be able to tell that you’re lying over that thing, but I still can.”
Arro shot a glare over his shoulder. “You didn’t have to listen in.”
“I can’t turn my ears off.” He sat up and pushed his arms out in front of him, cracking his knuckles. “And I can’t help it, but I don’t like to hear someone lying to my…” He paused. “Uh, to Jade.”
They both knew what he’d been about to say.
“You know what,” Arro growled in a lower voice. “I am going to stay. I’m going to find out what’s going on at that lab.”
Rangavar blinked. “What? Why?”
Arro spread his paws. “You said those were a bunch of weapons we found. What exactly do you think the scientists in there plan to do with them?”
The Darkal continued to stare.
“Do you think the dragons working there are even scientists?”
“Well, presumably, at least the majority have to be.” Rangavar crossed his legs and moved his tail over them. Arro felt a touch of envy. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been able to come close to crossing his thick, tree-trunk legs.
Unaware, Rangavar continued, “A lot of the other stuff in that room was spare parts that were probably just more Glitarian technology. Studying Glitarian weapons, too, would make sense. Weapons are technology.
“That was a lot of weapons,” Arro pointed out.
“Very true.”
He wondered why Rangavar didn’t seem as interested. Curious, maybe, but when the topic would come up, he’d play it down or change the subject, like he thought Arro were overreacting. “I just think there’s a bit more going on in there than they’re letting on.”
Rangavar flopped backwards on the bed. “Well, I can tell you’re committed to your conspiracy theory, but I have to ask: Where are you staying, then? Since you’ve suddenly decided you’re going to be on Karraden a while.” He turned his head.
“Uh…” Arro realized that since he hadn’t been planning to stay, he hadn’t made any long-term plans.
He glanced back at his wristband. Rangavar hadn’t transferred him the credits yet. Rangavar hadn’t filled out any of the forms. The housing was essentially still Arro’s.
He heard the Darkal take a deep sigh. “You’re keeping the housing, aren’t you.” It wasn’t really a question. Rangavar put his paws up and rubbed his face, leaning deeper into the plush blankets behind him in defeat.
The Faerian stared guiltily at his knees. Well, what he could see of them from the other side of the belly resting on his lap.
“Why don’t we just… go stay there together?”
Rangavar turned and raised a brow.
Arro pushed his index fingers together. “I mean, I’ve already been letting you stay with me. If I transfer the housing information over to you…” He fidgeted nervously. “Could you just let me stay with you?”
“Uh…”
“Until I find my own place, obviously,” he added quickly.
Rangavar turned to stare at the ceiling again, his arms behind his head. Finally, he seemed to make up his mind. “Okay. Yeah. I’ve been staying with you, so that’s fair.”
Arro let out a breath of relief.

The wind brushed past Rangavar’s wings, finding its way through the folds, fluffing the thick fur. It was long into the night, now; true night, not just because the sun set so early on this world. The city was asleep. It was fortunate that the public transit ran constantly around the clock, but it was empty aside from the two dragons on it now.
Arro seemed unaffected by the brisk wind as they walked the rest of the way towards what was supposed to be Rangavar’s section of the small housing community. It was a type of actual house, just tiny, and a reasonable amount of distance between each of the other tiny houses around them in the area.
Rangavar observed that even so, the ‘tiny’ house was larger than he’d expected. From the outside, he could tell it was two floors. “I can’t believe this was offered at such a severely discounted rent.”
“Yeah, I thought it was a bit weird that they didn’t offer that to me,” said Arro. “It’s like they reeeally want you to live here.” He put his paw on his chin. “Hey, do you think it has to do with being Glitarian?”
The Darkal shifted on his feet. “I don’t know.” He had a slight feeling it might, but had no idea why they would. Maybe he just seemed like good-employee material, and wanted to make sure he stuck with their team? That seemed pretty unlikely too, unless they had a weirdly massive shortage of janitors to wash their already-clean floors.
“It was nice of her to give us the key tonight, even without signing the paperwork.” Arro broke him out of his thoughts.
“Yeah, it works out really well. Why bother paying for the hotel another night?” Rangavar materialized the key. It was a pretty average, old-fashioned skeleton key. He’d half expected there to be some sort of swipe card or fancy wristband-thing, but felt a peculiar sense of satisfaction to see that house keys never changed.
Inside, a small kitchen with a counter in the middle greeted them, and a very short living room behind that, sporting a fairly plain blue couch and a unit on the opposite wall. To the right of the living room, a set of stairs climbed to the next floor. Rangavar put the key on the counter. “I guess the bedroom is upstairs.”
He made it to the top before Arro, the pink Faerian puffing behind him from the exercise. The plush bed in the room was huge. There weren’t any blankets yet, of course, but that didn’t stop the Darkal from dropping tiredly onto the edge. “And this place already has some furniture, too.”
The Faerian peered around. “I guess I’ll be sleeping on the couch downstairs, right?” He was looking at the bed enviously.
Rangavar looked from the bed back to Arro. Then back to the bed. Then he thought about the much smaller couch downstairs. “Do you think… Do you think the couch will support you lying down on it? I mean, I wouldn’t want to break it the first night here…”
Arro shifted self-consciously in the doorway, turning his head a bit towards the stairs to hide his face, although he pretended to just be looking down the towards the living room. His feelings were transparent to the Darkal. “I mean…”
Rolling his eyes, Rangavar moved to the side of the bed. “Just, come on, okay? You know… instead of breaking the couch.”
Arro sheepishly treaded over. “If you say so…”
“We’ve been sleeping next to each other for almost a week. What’s a few more nights until you find your own housing?”
As it turned out, the mattress was actually slightly larger than the one in their hotel room—Uh, Arro’s hotel room, Rangavar reminded himself— so they didn’t have to touch as they lay facing away from each other. The much smaller dragon noticed how unusual it felt to not have a squishy mountain of heat pressing into his wings.
“Don’t get me into trouble at work with all your poking around,” Rangavar reminded him in a sleepy voice.
The Faerian sighed deeply and snuggled harder into the bare mattress, and Rangavar felt him merely drift off to sleep, leaving Rangavar alone with his thoughts.
He marveled at how peaceful it was in the small house. The entire community was quiet, far from the city, and incredibly near his new job. It really did seem like the research facility wanted him around.