Walking for what seemed like hours, Templeton and Charlene continued their long journey to the fair. About two days had passed since Charlene's gorge, and Templeton continued to be sour at having not joined her. Filled with nothing but walking, the last two days held no opportunities for either rat to gorge themselves, which bugged Templeton's groaning stomach a lot. Charlene on the other hand was less flustered and more relieved having trimmed down some of her weight, though retaining a plump fluffiness about her.
In the dead of night, Templeton slightly lagged behind the doe. Noticing this, Charlene asked him to pick up the pace. Templeton curled his lip. "Don't tell me what to do. I'm tired, I'm hungry, and we've been walking for two days. If you know where we're going then when will we be at this stupid fair you keep telling me about?"
"We'll get there when we get there Tempy. So relax, I know where I'm going."
"Relax, how can I relax when my paws hurt, I'm starving, and thinking about cats--."
Charlene giggled, "You're such a child you know that? Anyways, I see where we'll be resting up ahead. You wouldn't have to worry about cats there."
Intrigued, Templeton focused his vision to the building not too far off. "A-M-P-M…what does that mean?"
"Oh you'll find out when we get there," Charlene chided.
Further intrigued, Templeton's stomach groaned in anticipation. For Templeton, waiting outside for the owners to finally leave proved an inconvenience. But as soon as they left and Charlene lead him through a vent exiting the side of the building, his eyes were met with disbelief. Though it was dark, his ratty eyes were able to see aisle upon aisle of food. Also, the succulent smell of hotdogs and nachos swathed at his tongue, causing him wipe off the drool from his mouth.
"Well, what are you waiting for," said Charlene, "dig in."
Like a bullet, Templeton sped off to this grand opportunity of feasting, while Charlene grabbed a bag of chips and lounged on the counter; watching Templeton enjoying himself. Starting with the sweets, tearing twinkies and cookies from their bags, he stuffed all he can down his maw, relishing the feel of his stomach getting fuller. Continuing to glut down the aisle, he grabbed at chips, cupcakes, donuts, candy, and all sorts of other snacks. Never experiencing this level of sugary sweetness (besides the ice cream) his bloated stomach soothingly churned as it continued to be appeased with sweets rather than real food.
Opening the fridge and guzzling down a bottle of rich chocolate milk, he pulled himself up to the hotdog counter. Grabbing a bag of buns and smaller bags of ketchup mayonnaise and mustard, he spilled as much as he could on his first hotdog; even guzzling the condiments themselves. Lifting the dog, he took his first bite. An explosion of different flavors erupted in his stomach the moment the chunk went down. It's gooey excellence too good to have one bite at a time, he glutted the entire dog whole, licking his mouth for condiment stains. Continuing to glut on the rest of the hotdogs, he then moved onto the pizza. Such cheesy goodness rivaled the tastes of the hotdog, and likewise, he folded slice after slice up, and ate with abandonment.
Each delectable morsel Templeton consumed continued to grow him fatter and fatter. And the fatter he became the more he wanted to glut. Resting for a moment besides Charlene, Templeton patted his bubbling swell, mesmerized by it's soothing sloshes.
"Finished already," chided Charlene.
"No," Templeton sighed, "there's much more this stomach can handle. I'm just wondering Charlene, is the fair anything like this?"
Charlene's stomach gurgled at the mention of the word. "It is much better than this and more. What part of having enough food to feed an army of rats don't you understand?"
He understood, it only pleased him in moments like this because he could imagine himself gorging at one. "Are we really almost there?"
"Yes, about a days travel is all we need. Then you can eat till your stomach's content. For now just enjoy yourself. You'd sleep easier on a full stomach."
Sticking out his gut and patting it obligingly, Templeton waddled off to finish his nourishment. Stuffing an over looked hotdog down his gullet, he made his way to the nachos. Finishing off the chips with rapidity, they didn't appease him as much as he liked. So leaning over the cheese pot, he accidentally fell in. Thankfully, the cheese was warm rather than simmering hot. Dunking his head under it, he attempted to swallow the thick liquid like a vacuum. The tender warmness of the cheese soothed his overworked throat, traveling down with a glop as his overfilled stomach grew for its new occupancy. Licking off as much cheese as he could from his body, the rat exited the pan with an loud gurgling squelch. Sloshing his robust belly about, he pulled himself over to the final piece of glutting; the Icee machine. Pulling the nozzle, he sampled some of the cold contents in his mouth. Wobbling his belly exuberantly, he placed his mouth over the nozzle and held onto the lever, pouring an endless stream of the cold refreshment down his gullet.
From where she lounged, Charlene shook her head in disbelief. "This rat certainly eats like there's no tomorrow," she giggled, stuffing a chip in her mouth. "Now I really can't wait to get to the fair"
===
After an hour had passed and Templeton finally ate the last thing his stomach could hold, he and Charlene went out back to sleep in the dumpster. Too tempted by the scraps of food inside it, Templeton begged Charlene to feed them to him, and she willingly obliged. Using his enormously over gorged gut as a mattress, Charlene laid atop of it, while casually feeding Templeton what little bits and pieces the trash held.
"You really can't control yourself can you fat rat?"
Clutching his enormous belly, Templeton shook it about. "What can I say, I'm a heavy eater and take untold satisfaction from a feast."
"I can see that," she said, dropping a scrap of meat into the rat's maw. "If you were to tackle some of the drinks in there we'd probably have to wait a day or two for you to trim down in size."
Templeton's body sloshed as he turned his head to the direction of the building. "There's more drinks in there?"
Charlene smacked his belly, "Tempy, no, hahaha. If you eat anymore you'll pop."
Templeton gave his stomach a series of pats. "My stomach can handle anything."
"I believe you, but you could gorge without stop once we get to the fair." Her stomach groaned, "Until then, you need to be travel size. Which isn't exactly what you are right now."
"Oh come on," snickered the rat, "I'm about the same size you were two days ago."
"That's not true…you're a little bit fatter."
Both rodents laughed, while Templeton's stomach joined in with it's sloshing. A moment of silence proceeded between the two. The only sounds being burbles and glorps emanating from the rat's corpulence.
"You should get some rest now," Charlene rubbed Templeton's girth, "We have a long day tomorrow."
Agreeing, Templeton snuggled further into the garbage, while Charlene rested atop his belly. Smiling at how cute and comfortable she looked from up there, he let out a content sigh. "I love you Charlene."
Looking at the content rat without turning her head, Templeton had immediately fallen asleep. Daintily patting his stomach once again, enjoying the soft squelches, Charlene sighed as well. "I love you too Tempy."
