chapter 1

**This is Part 3 of a 5 Part series involving these characters**
**Part 1 - Rising Waters [COMPLETE]**
**Part 2 - Cherie Blossoms [WIP]**
**Part 3 - Golden Dome [COMPLETE]**
**Part 4 - TBD [NOT POSTED, WIP]**
**Part 5 - TBD [NOT POSTED, WIP]**
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“Wake up sleepy head…”

Josh’s eyes slowly opened as Dani snuggled up. Rolling onto his side, his belly drooped forward. Dani dug her head into his chest and caressed his belly.

“It’s time to get up”, she prodded. “Santa came!”

Josh rubbed his eyes. He heard a rich slapping sound of Dani patting his gut as she tangled her legs with his. This was comfort.

“Dani, it’s so early, how often do we get to sleep in together? Let’s go back to sleep for a li—“
The scent flowing from the kitchen interrupted that thought.

“Oh,” he said, “I see what you’re getting at.”

He looked down and met Dani’s gaze, painted over with a devilish grin.

“Leftovers.” She kissed Josh on the cheek, and rolled back out of bed. “Merry Christmas, baby.”

Josh listened as the kitchen sizzled and his stomach growled.

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“Okay, well, we’re really going to miss you all. Yeeees, of course we’ll send pictures. Yes. Yes, of course, me too. I love you too, Mom. Tell Dad and the rest of the family we said hi. Yes. Talk to you later. Ok. Loveyoutoobye.”

Josh heard Dani hang up the phone. She walked into the living room where Josh was watching the weather advisory on the local news.

“They’ve officially thrown in the towel”, she said. “They’re just nervous they’ll get stranded.”

“Ahhhh shit, I’m sorry, hon.” Josh knew she was heartbroken. Christmas was her favorite time of year, and she didn’t get to see her family as often as she used to. “Can’t say I blame them, sounds like they’re expecting over 25 inches tonight, and into tomorrow morning. The roads will be bad enough leading up to Christmas.”

“I know…” Dani plopped down on the couch and cuddled up next to Josh.

He felt her pain. Dani’s family was his, too. He always looked forward to getting together with the whole family.

“Well,” he said, trying to cheer her up, “we’ve never had trouble thinking of our own silly traditions! We’ll just get to spend more time together. Maybe some Netflix n’ Chill, IF you know what I’m sayin’…” He shot a corny wink at Dani and she giggled.

“Thank goodness for you.” she said, as she let her head rest on his shoulder. A small sigh slipped out, followed by little sniffle.

Josh could sense that Dani was going to be a little blue no matter what he said.

“Alright,” he said, “let’s surf around for some goofy holiday specials.”

Dani sniffed again. Josh could feel her hand slip under his shirt as he flipped through the channels, her fingers danced around his belly button, and her soft palm gave warmth to his protruding gut. He looked down and even he himself was caught a little off guard. His gut pushed forward quite a bit these days. 300 he thought, three fucking hundred. He sank deeper into the couch in a rush of pleasure.

Looking down at a blue Dani, he sucked in quickly, and let it out just as fast. His gut bounced forward and Dani giggled again. She gave his underbelly a little squeeze and wrapped her other arm around his back, grabbing what she could of his hip fat which spilled generously over his waistband.

“You know…” he trailed on, “the silver lining here…we’ve prepped for five guests. That’s a whole lot of Dani’s famous baked goods, and a whole Christmas feast to ourselves.”

“Ah!” Dani threw her head back, “A Christmas Miracle!”

She puckered up and Josh tilted down for a quick peck.

“I say we start to open gifts a little early,” he suggested.

“You’ve always been so greedy,” she joked, giving his belly a little jiggle, watching in awe as it swayed from side to side, somehow contained within his shirt.

In the kitchen, she grabbed the top tin of a tower neatly stacked on the counter. She opened it up and stuck her nose in. Peanut butter chocolate bars. Extremely calorie dense, and one of Josh’s favorites. A perfect snack before bed.

Rounding the corner into the living room, Dani spoke up.

“You know, it’s already December 23rd and I haven’t even seen Charlie Br—“

What she saw knocked the wind out of her. Josh watched in amusement. Her little legs were frozen, sticking out of the bottom of Josh’s 2XL shirt she often wore. Her mouth was left agape, mid sentence. Her eyes were wide, an eyebrow raised.

Josh sat on the couch, shirt on the floor, cast across the room. His round belly poured onto his lap and dipped slightly between his legs. Dani tried to lock eyes, but her attempt proved futile. She fixated on his belly, which glowed dully from the crackling fire.

“Have you lost weight?” she teased.

“God knows I haven’t,” Josh grunted. He picked up his belly from each side and shook it up and down. Dani’s heart fluttered in her tummy as she watched his deep belly button shake about. She imagined him 100 pounds heavier, her face buried in his belly button which grew deeper and deeper as the months rolled by. “I’m growing fatter by the day, Dani. Let’s keep that train rolling.”

He dropped his belly. It flooded forward and his fat bounced like a wave up and down until settling into a dome of soft flesh.

Dani, reclaiming her position on the couch, rested the tin between them and took off the lid.

“Mmmm, your famous peanut-butter chocolate bars. My baby knows exactly what I like.”
“Oh, you like these, do you?” Dani smirked as she picked one off the top.

“Feed me every last one,” Josh demanded as he slapped his gut. He wouldn’t speak again until the tin was empty.

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