This story is part of a collaboration with my good friend @the-craftsman and you’ll be able to find his part of the story here on his blog!
Blaine didn’t think he was the type to be all that boastful, even though his muscular body seemed to suggest otherwise to people. Truth be told, Blaine was actually rather bashful and a hopeless romantic at heart. He was a lot softer in personality than people gave him credit for, although he also took great pride in his hard body. It had been the result of many grueling years in the gym with a strict diet and relentless workout regime but it was paying off. Now the only thing he was missing was somebody to share his body with.
Glancing at the clock, Blaine stifled a yawn as he realized that it was getting close to nine in the evening. The majority of the Live Action office had cleared out, leaving him alone at his station, editing the latest episode of ‘Million Dollars But’. The experience felt especially laborious considering the lack of sleep he’d had but it was a sacrifice he had to make if he wanted to maintain his muscular body. That was in addition to the strict diet he followed and quite often he felt antsy at work, desperate to gorge on a pizza or hamburger but knowing that he couldn’t unless it was his cheat day.
Every now and then he thought about maybe relaxing his gym schedule and diet for even a week but that always led to paranoid thoughts that he was quickly fall out of shape. Blaine knew from experience that this body took a lot of work and he couldn’t afford to get lazy and start slacking, even if his mind was desperate for a break. He would keep running at his current pace until he crashed out altogether because that was just the way things had to be.
Tugging at the graphic tee that hugged his muscular chest, Blaine let out a noise of discontent as he noticed the rising heat. Had somebody put the heating on or something? They were in Texas in the middle of the summer, they needed the damn aircon on, not the heat! The t-shirt clung even tighter to him as Blaine’s body temperature began to rise and beads of sweat formed on his brow and in his armpits.
Doing his best to focus on the editing that needed completion before he’d able to head home, Blaine instead struggled with the sudden increased levels of heat. It only served to make him more irritable and he began rapidly tapping his foot against the ground. “Fuckin’ hell,” he grunted as his discomfort only rose, prompting him to shift in his leather seat. Not even a sip from his water bottle was able to settle him all that much. The knowledge that he probably could have finished the editing earlier on the day had he not delayed his arrival to the office in order to make room for his morning run continued to eat at the edges of his mind too, souring his mood further.
Working through the heat and his own emotions as best as he could, Blaine had barely made it a few minutes before he began to feel funny and had to pause. His pants felt uncomfortably tight around the thigh area, prompting him to reach down and massage them for a moment. The contact provoked another response for his body, one that Blaine normally did his best to avoid while he was in the office. With the rest of the team gone though, he allowed himself just a moment to rearrange himself in a more comfortable position.
Blaine had barely returned to work before his stomach began grumbling and he moved a hand to his gut, noticing quickly that it didn’t feel quite as firm as it should have done. He was very clearly muscular but the muscles felt far softer than he was used to. It should have been a cause for concern but he was quickly sidetracked by thoughts of getting home and ordering an XXL meat pizza to enjoy. The thoughts almost had him watering at the mouth and he quickly threw out the idea of it not being cheat day because he was desperate to treat himself. Besides, maybe it wouldn’t be too bad to break some of his self-imposed rules every now and then.
Powering through some more of the editing, Blaine noticed with muted confusion that his forearms looked a little hairier than he was expecting and looked slightly different in shape, with less lean muscle and more bulk. Dismissing it as merely being an imagined product of his tired mind, Blaine continued on with his work as best as he could. While still feeling hot, he was glad at least that his tee didn’t feel quite as tight anymore, even if he was sure that the design had originally been a ‘Red Vs Blue’ graphic as opposed to the Achievement Hunter one he was now donning.
Running a hand over his smooth shaved head as the project neared completed should have alarmed Blaine but instead he merely accepted the lack of hair, being able to recall shaving it off with his wife after getting fed up with how thin it was. Dyeing his hair a number of colors had been a lot of fun but he didn’t want to be the guy with dramatically thinning hair and people seemed to think the ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin look was cool anyway. It had taken some time but the fanbase had warmed up to his new look.
Feeling the need to itch his chest, Blaine complied and moved a hand under his shirt to scratch at the hair that covered his upper chest. Memories of shaving and waxing his chest to get his ideal look were quickly dismissed and forgotten. Why would he shave his chest hair anyway? That was way too much effort and the time could be better spent elsewhere, like playing on the Xbox or messing around with his cats. Better yet, he could spend more time with his wife.
Wait, wife? That didn’t seem right, Blaine couldn’t remember getting married and yet the thought had come to him almost like second nature. Glancing down, he inspected the wedding band around his ring finger and hummed to himself, vaguely beginning to remember the ring being placed onto his finger by the delicate hands of his bride.
Slightly bewildered, the man rose from his chair and opted to take a walk out of the Live Action office and around Stage 5. It was an impromptu decision and one that hoped would clear the headache that was beginning to brew. The Rooster Teeth offices were thankfully empty due to the late hour which meant there was none of the seemingly endless hub-bub of noise. As he walked from room to room, he was somewhat surprised to find that his surroundings looked ever so slightly different, as if the rooms were perhaps slightly larger and the ceilings higher, although it was difficult to place why he felt as such..
The walk only brought him into contact with one other person and it was impossible to miss him with his tall, muscular frame. The man’s ‘Million Dollars But’ shirt was stretched over his chest, highlighting his firm pectorals, and there was a vague look of confusion on the other’s face. Their eyes met as their paths crossed and both smiled, nodding their head in acknowledgement. “Workin’ late, Dooley?” the taller man asked, crossing his arms and showing off his impressive biceps.
For a moment all Jeremy could do was stare and wonder what made him feel so out of place. It was if there was something at the back of his mind that he couldn’t quite remember, something involving the man in front of him - Blaine. Whatever it was, the thought wasn’t returning and Jeremy let the concern fade into nothingness. “Gotta finish tomorrow’s Minecraft. You?” he replied, remembering the Let’s Play he had open in Premiere Pro back at his desk.
The two men exchanged a few more words before parting, with Jeremy finally making his way back to the Achievement Hunter office. As he settled down into his chair and loaded the project back up, the man affectionately nicknamed ‘Lil J’ felt strangely refreshed. It wouldn’t be long until he’d finished editing and was packing up for the day, vowing to pick up an XXL pizza on the way home to his wife and cats.
For a moment he considered going to the gym but that simply wasn’t a priority for him anymore. Maybe he’d try his hand at a chest workout tomorrow, although it was definitely more Blaine’s style. Everybody knew how dedicated he was to his fitness and diet. Jeremy simply couldn’t bring himself to commit and he was completely okay with that choice. Who had the time to hit the gym anyway? Going before would make him late to work and going after would take time away from gaming and his family, neither of which he was willing to sacrifice.
Thankfully Blaine was doing enough fitness for the whole company and he seemed damn happy about it too. Jeremy was quite content with keeping things that way!
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