"Another delivery!" Adam said as he brought the wide, greasy pizza into Evan's bedroom. "Curiosity of Mr. Derrick."
"Why couldn't he, like, get me a salad or something," moaned the lion. "Just, uh, set in on the bed."
The otter tried carefully navigating around the maze of discarded delivery containers and pizza boxes that littered the lion's bedroom floor. To make it up to Evan, Derrick insisted that he help take care of the lion, and that included food. Initially, Evan was grateful towards the German Shepard. But by the time the lion had his fourth pizza of the week, he realized that the dog was just ordering for Evan the same greasy, caloric take-out that the dog typically would get for himself.
Laid up in bed with a heavy cast around his right leg, he wore only a loose pair of boxer shorts. His stomach, bloated and swollen from the oil and carbs and fat he had been sucking down since he left the hospital, was ballooned out in a semi-permanently state, a distinct curve that had once been flat as a board. The fact that the lion hardly moved these days didn't help the situation either.
Aside from food, though, Derrick had generously set the lion up with all the amenities needed to stay comfortable while healing. A massive television screen hooked up with the lastest video game consoles and with access to all the popular streaming sites, anything like his medication and whatnot available at a table parked right next to his bed, and Derrick even had someone install a device similar to the one his own apartment door that allowed him to answer the door remotely from bed.
The pudgy otter set the huge pizza box next to the lion on his spacious bed. "Here, let me grab my wallet for a tip and..."
"No need! Derrick has got that covered, too!" Adam said.
"Really? Damn, what does that dog do for a living? He must be loaded or something," asked the lion.
"I dunno. Something with stocks or whatever. He told me once but it went completely over my head," the otter replied. "Anyways, enjoy the pie! Get well soon!"
***
A heavy knock came from the front door of Evan's apartment.
"Oh God, another delivery? I just ate..." The lion groaned as he activated the door opening mechanism to let whoever it was in. His belly was filled to the brim with beans and meat and cheese from an ungodly amount of Mexican food from El Burrito Diablito Derrick had ordered for him an hour ago.
Heavy footsteps, the swishing of cotton rubbing against itself, and soon Derrick peaked his head into the lion's bedroom. "Hey Evan!" he said. "How are things holding up for you? Everything working out alright?"
"Yeah, everything's...*urp*... everything's fine," he said, gas occasionally escaping his mouth.
"That's good!" said the German Shepherd. He turned his enormous body sideways and started shuffling through the door. Evan tried to stop him, not wanting a repeat of what had happened. Yet the dog was able to just barely make it through the wide doorframe on his own.
"Wait, how did you..." Evan began.
"Oh, I found this thing online!" The dog lifted up his billowy white shirt to reveal something that looked like an industrial strength corset. Thick plastic and heavy duty straps held back the dog's lard, though it peaked out over and underneath the plastic. Pockets of flab puffed out between the straps. "I knew these things existed, but I didn't know that they made them in my size."
"Huh, that would have helpful the other day," the lion said.
"Yeah, it's hard to put on and it's really stiff, but it slims me down enough to get me out of my bedroom!" Derrick said. "It's been quite a while since I've been out of it, let alone my apartment. A few months, at least." He looked around at the lion's bedroom. Stacks of pizza boxes, piles of Chinese food containers. Evan hadn't been able to properly take care of them and keep the place clean. The most he was able to do was very slowly get to the bathroom and back, and that was usually a painful experience. "Didn't someone from Manic Maids come by yet?"
"Manic what?" the lion asked.
"I arranged for someone to stop by every once in a while to help keep things tidy. Hasn't anyone stopped by?"
"Nope. Only the delivery boys."
The German Shepherd sighed. "If they couldn't send someone, they should have just told me," he muttered under his breath. "Alright then, I guess I'll have to pick things up a bit. I need the exercise anyways."
"You will? Thanks! Things had been getting a bit gross in here..." Evan said. Though at a glacial pace, Derrick slowly but surely emptied the room of all the of junk, his sweatpants straining against his rump as he bent down the best he could with the corset thing on.
Evan resumed watching television as the dog clean. He thought that it might be appropriate to discuss all the food Derrick was feeding the lion. While he certainly appreciated the gesture, his diet of exclusively takeaway was leaving the lion bloated, gassy, and lethargic. Maybe some healthier options would be better for the recovering lion.
His nose itched, and as Evan brought up a paw to scratch it, the lion caught a whiff of himself, a rank odor. He hadn't been able to properly clean himself in the past week or so. The lion's fur was becoming greasy, matted, and oily. Since Derrick was here and offering all the help he could offer, Evan might be able to get the dog to help clean himself up.
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