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If Daniel wanted to be able to protect the people he loved in both of his bodies, he had to be physically fit in both of his bodies. He knew that.

But he didn't know was where the hell he should start. He'd spent hours looking through fitness magazines and scrolling through articles online looking for what he could start with and all he found was thousand of varying recommendations and pictures of grotesquely muscled men.

'Good god, are people even supposed to look like that?' Daniel wondered to himself, staring at the bulky man on one of the questionable forums he had found online (no homo?).

He had never seen anybody that looks like that in real life, not even the buffest guy he knew looked like that. Not even Vasco or that guy (Y/N) is always hanging out with look like that... (Hoo? Huon? Dojo? Who knows.)

He doesn't want to look like these guys he's seeing, he just wants a more realistic body, like those two. If only he knew how they got to be the way they are...

Aha! That's it!

He could just ask them! Simple!

A few moments after he came to his realization, Daniel face palmed.

'Getting so excited over figuring out the obvious solution? I need to hit the books as much as I need to hit the gym....'

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The plan of action was this:

1. Ask Vasco how to stays in shape

2. Ask (Y/N)'s friend how he stays in shape

3. Do,, what they say to do?

4. Lose weight

5. Get ripped

6. Get girls

7. Fall in love

8. Get married

9. Become stay at home hu-

Daniel shook his head shaking the though front his head. There he goes again, getting ahead of himself. He still has to hunt down Vasco and ask him for advice!

It was about an hour after his shift at the convenience store, the sun would be rising in a few hours, and Daniel was on a mission.

He was currently hunting down Vasco, knowing that he usually began his fitness regimen before the rest of the world began to wake up.

'What I would give to be that motivated...'

He turned the corner which he believed would lead him to the outdoor gym where he had bumped into Vasco before. It was just a short alley, minimum rats, a dumpster and a stinky puddle, usually void of people.

But it seems that this morning it wasn't void of people. Daniel froze when he saw a figure leaning up against the brick wall.

He would have lit up at the sight of bright green hair and a familiar face had it not been splattered with red. Daniel felt his heart begin to pound as he stared at the figure who was currently lighting up a cigarette.

The disheveled button up shirt he was wearing had similar red splatters on it, the sleeves haphazardly rolled up to expose similarly stained forearms.

As if the other powerful male could sense his presence, he whipped his head in Daniel's direction. Out of instinct, Daniel stumbled to hide behind the dumpster, taking a seat in the stinky puddle of trash juice.

He felt like prey, sitting there and trying to quiet his breathing as to not be heard.

It was disturbing to see somebody usually laid back and goofy seem so dangerous and... predatory for lack of a better word.

Daniel felt himself deflate with relief when he heard a sight followed by footsteps walking out the other side of the alley.

Still sitting in the puddle of grossly thick garbage water, Daniel made two changes to his plan.

Start over tomorrow so he can go home and shower (god it smelled fucking awful) and take step two off the list.

He wanted to be strong, sure. But he decided that very morning that he didn't want to be deadly.

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Alright! Flash forward a couple mornings and picture this. The sun is rising, yellow rays bouncing off of the many glass windows on all the buildings in the city. Two friends jogging next to each other, pushing forward to improve themselves!

Both are sweating, muscles and adrenaline pumping.

One is also struggling significantly more than the other, his tongue falling out of his mouth, his sweatband sliding down over his face and his tracksuit soaked.

Daniel regretted every choice he had ever made leading up to now. The only thing keeping him going was the fact that their endpoint was only a few yards away.

Once they finally reached it, Daniel collapsed on the ground, getting a mouthful of wood chips and dirt. Vasco stood next to him, barely panting, with a wide grin on his face.

"I'm really glad we could do this!" he said breathlessly. "Working out with a friend always makes me more motivated! We'll go even harder tomorrow!"

On the inside Daniel was crying, screaming, singing, and frothing at the mouth at the same time, but he mustered up the strength to lift his head off the ground to give Vasco a weak smile and a shaky thumbs up.