Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Out of all the gods, there are few who know the feeling of being trapped within the body of another. In fact, only the five oldest of them have ever been unfortunate enough to experience such a thing. To most of them, it is remembered only as a horrible, cruel thing, every memory of those days rotten to the core, like a fruit that had to be thrown out, lest the mold spread.

And yet Hestia, the eldest of the lot, had not seen it that way. No, she had been there before all the rest, and she remembered what the others did not.

She remembered that in the earliest days, Kronos would sob for her, speaking between sharp gasps for air about the insanity that had overtaken him, the curse that Ouranos had left within his mind. 

The day he had defeated his own father had brought relief to all those who walked the earth. All except for Kronos, who had been close enough to hear his parting words, the horrid prophecy that burrowed into him, dormant until he first held her in his arms. “You think you have changed anything?” Ouranos had hissed, the heavens shaking with his rage. “You will bring your children a terrible fate, just as I did to so many of mine.” 

And he had. Just as Ouranos had trapped the first Cyclopes and Hundred-Handed Ones within Gaia, the madness that awoke within him at the sight of Hestia drove him to devour her, his own willpower barely enough to stop him from biting down and tearing her to pieces as he did. 

She remembered the days when he would try to set her free. On those days, the madness would sense his struggle and surge forward, taking his mind in its entirety once more. 

She remembered that in his most aware moments, the moments when he could think past both the curse and his own sorrow, he would cradle his bulging, heavy stomach as if holding her in only his arms, his voice shaking as he spoke of the way he had been overcome by paranoia that was not his own, how he had to fight his own thoughts to keep himself from ripping her to shreds. 

“I only wanted to hold you,” Kronos would murmur, trembling in his room, “I swear that I only wanted to keep you safe, but this curse twisted what I wanted. This was the only safe way to hold you- I would have torn you apart otherwise. I’m so sorry.” 

For Hestia, the walls of her father’s belly had not always been a suffocating prison. To her, they had started out as the sturdy walls of a fortress, cradling her deep within his body where nothing could hurt her, not even the festering disease that plagued Kronos’s mind.

And yet, as time went on, each moment of lucidity lasted less time, took longer to occur, until her first sister joined her and he lost himself entirely to the madness.

The others had never known what Kronos had been like at first, never known that he had not wanted to trap them inside his stomach. Hestia had kept that from them, at first so they would not mourn what they would never have, and then, when they were freed, so that they would not falter in their fight against the titans. She loved her father, she did, but she knew he needed to be stopped, and she was sure that somewhere in his rotting mind, he knew it as well.

When the Titan war was won, Hestia looked after the others, tending to what was left of her family in the hopes of filling the hole her father had left behind. She cared for her siblings, her mother, her nieces and nephews, and so many more. She tended to the hearth, stoking the flames and keeping all of Olympus warm.

And yet, there were days when none of it felt like enough. She did not feel close enough to her family, and not just because they were often emotionally distant. Those days, she found herself with the phantom sensation of warm, wet flesh upon her skin, churning around her, as if she was back inside Kronos’s stomach. Each time, the feeling brought with it an old longing, a want for something far closer than any of her family would allow.

Keeping Olympus warm was not enough, not when she could give her family somewhere warmer, more comfortable. Watching over the demigods she could was not enough, not when she could keep them safer if she tucked them away inside of her. Even hugging her nieces and nephews was not enough, not when she could hold them closer, could envelop them in her belly. 

There were days when she wondered why she settled for this when she could swaddle her family in the embrace of her stomach, but then she would remember how afraid they would be, how she might never be trusted again, and she held herself back.

Still, she wanted it, craved it, her affection so great that it became hunger. She wanted to hold someone within her, to cradle them behind layers of her flesh, to feel a little, living weight nestled beneath her skin. 

Hestia was starved for it, practically drooling for a taste of that closeness.

She was ravenous.

Chapter Text

Gods are beings made more of emotion than logic, something that shows not only in their powers, but in the way their bodies behave. Sometimes it is in small ways, things that are almost human, like a hand upon a quick-beating heart after a fright, a sharp intake of breath despite having no need to breathe, or the sensation of butterflies in a stomach that their current form does not have. 

But sometimes, it is more extreme.

The feeling of yearning is familiar to Hestia, whose yearning is stronger than simple want, closer to craving, a sort of longing that bordered on starvation. It flared up from time to time, that old wish to hold, to protect, to devour. 

It manifests in her as hunger, an aching, gnawing thing in the pit of her stomach, forever denied the closeness it seeks.

The day had been hectic and stressful, the beginning of summer bringing with it the first group of returning campers. That alone wouldn’t have been so bad, but that group included Rowan, a son of Demeter who had stumbled into the camp with his tattered clothes still wet with his own blood. His injuries hadn’t been too bad, but the sight of her nephew’s unconscious body being carried to the infirmary still left Hestia on edge, her thoughts racing with a million ‘what if’s and her ever-present hunger making itself known. 

She wanted to swallow him whole, to swaddle him in the warmth of her stomach. She wanted to give him safety in the first way she had ever learned to do so, because Hestia was her father’s daughter through and through, and she had learned from him that the safest place she could offer was tucked beneath layers of skin and muscle, where nothing could reach without going through her.

Yet, who would ever allow her to hold them in such a way? Not her nieces and nephews, who had grown up hearing stories of their grandfather trapping their parents inside of him, and certainly not her siblings, who still shivered at the mere mention of their father. She would not do that to them, she refused to violate their trust like that. Even so, she yearned for that closeness, something she knew she would never get. 

But Hestia was a good aunt, a good older sister, just as always, and she knew better than anyone how to settle for less, how to keep the waters calm. After all, if she did not hold her family together, who would? It was her, always her, who did the things no one else would. When her siblings joined her in her father’s stomach and her father was lost entirely to madness, it was her that taught them of the world outside with the words and visions Kronos had used to teach her. When arguments broke out in a meeting, she was there to soothe bruised egos and find compromises. 

Her family came first each and every time, and it always would. 

The crunch of shoes on gravel brought Hestia back to awareness, her wandering having led her to the Demeter cabin. Rowan was outside, sitting on the cabin’s front steps, his wheat-blond hair gleaming silver in the pale moonlight as he looked up at the stars. She slowly walked closer, the sound of her own footsteps alerting him to her presence, and she sat down near him as he turned to face her. His shoulders relaxed as he realized who she was, but still held some tension as he spoke. “You’re not gonna tell Chiron I was out past curfew, are you?”

Hestia chuckled and shook her head. “Not at all. Though, I am a bit curious as to why you’re out so late.” Rowan relaxed fully, but playfully narrowed his eyes at her. “Well why are you out so late, Aunt Hestia?” He teased, flashing her a cheeky grin. “I didn’t have much else to do. It’s not as though I need to sleep. What about you, little one?” 

Rowan sighed, seeming to deflate as the smile slipped from his face. “Couldn’t sleep. I kept seeing the hellhounds when I tried, so…” Hestia winced at the reminder, the sight of his bloodied form sprawled on the grass still not having left her mind. Her stomach growled with a ravenous want, sending a fresh wave of agony through her as she thought of the safety she could offer him, how secure he would be within her belly. She clutched her middle in a feeble attempt to soothe the pain, hunching over as it slowly subsided.

“Aunt Hestia, are you okay?” Rowan cried, scrambling to her side to check on her. “I’m alright, little one. I just need to wait for this to pass.” She sighed, looking away as she felt saliva pool in her mouth. He was so close to her, but not close enough, not quite. She could change that, if she tried. She shook her head slightly to rid her mind of those thoughts, but they returned nonetheless, as persistent and stubborn as a horsefly. 

“Are you sure you’re alright? I mean, you sound like you’re hungry enough to eat me .” It was an attempt at a joke, Rowan’s way of trying to break the tension, Hestia knew that. Even so, the mention of the one thing she had wanted for centuries, the feeling she was practically starving for, made her stomach rumble even louder, and she tensed as she waited for him to make the connection. For a moment, he had forgotten that she was not human, that even her body responded more to emotion than logic, but he would remember it now. 

One of the first things young demigods were taught about their parents was that the moods of the gods were reflected in the forms they took, whether that reflection was external or not. It was yet another lesson in survival, a way to avoid the rage of the more volatile gods, the ones who would kill on a whim. 

“Auntie…?” Rowan’s voice was farther away now, laced with fear and hesitance. He was afraid of her, just as she knew he would be, because what kind of monster wants to eat the ones they love? Worse than that, did he not know that it was love that fueled this want? 

Of course he didn’t know. How would he know, when the only ones to ever try such a thing were the beasts which wished to bite and chew, to send him to their acid-filled guts in pieces? How could she ever regain his trust now that he knew of how she wanted to swallow him down, now that he thought she would hurt him? She shook with fear. 

He would tell the others, wouldn’t he, and she would not deny it when they came to ask her, for she refused to make them think her nephew had lied about such a thing. They would all know, then, and she would lose it all. Her family would cast her out, and she would be alone, because despite her best efforts to control herself, to keep her wants hidden, she had slipped up. 

“Auntie?” She jolted at the sound of Rowan’s voice. It seemed closer, more concerned now than frightened. “Are… are you okay?” 

“I would never hurt you, Rowan. I would never hurt any of you, any of my family, I swear it. I swear upon the river Styx that I do not wish any of you harm.” Hestia promised, her voice shaky and sorrowful as she slowly turned to face him. For a moment she saw only a smudge of color, but then she blinked and the tears dropped from her eyes, allowing her to see his face pinch in an expression that seemed oddly like guilt. “I know, Aunt Hestia. I was just… a bit scared, but I know you wouldn’t hurt me.” He mumbled, stepping a bit closer. 

He wrapped his arms around her trembling body in a hug, and it wasn’t quite the embrace she craved, but it was close, so close, and Hestia let herself be soothed by the feeling of almost-enough. “Why… why do you want to…” Rowan’s question was asked hesitantly, left unfinished, as if he was worried that his words would shatter the fragile peace between them. Hestia winced, taking a shuddering breath that she did not need, and began to speak, her words jerky and stilted as she tried to explain it in a way that wasn’t jumbled and confusing.

“It… it is not hunger that makes me want this. I just want to hold you, to keep you safe. I could make it safe, I promise you, even if I did eat you, I would never hurt you, I would never hurt my family in such a horrible way. I only want to hold you close, and you would be as safe as you could be inside of me, because nobody could get to you without going through me.” Although she had started speaking slowly, by the end her words had begun to flood out of her, the secrets she had kept walled off now rushing forth like the current of a river as they were finally spoken aloud.

At last, she turned to Rowan, expecting to see a look of disgust or fear, and her body sagged with relief as she saw neither on his face. Instead, he looked almost contemplative, as if it was something worth thinking over. “…you’d be careful? You would just hold me for a while?” His voice was quiet and small, something about him seeming so vulnerable as he spoke. “I’d be safe?” Hestia flinched, afraid that he was still scared of her, still worried she would hurt him. “Of course! I would never hurt you, I promise.” 

Seeing her hurt expression, Rowan rushed to speak again. “I know, I didn’t mean it like that! Just…” he paused, his expression turning weary and his eyes turning to the ground. “I haven’t really felt safe in a long time. Even here at camp, there’s been times when monsters have gotten in before. And then last year, I almost died here. Sometimes I see it in my nightmares. I don’t feel safe anywhere anymore. But…” He turned to face her again, and there was a glimmer of hope in his eyes that hadn’t been there before. “Maybe if you, well, ate me, I could relax? I just…” He sighed, curling in on himself a bit. “I just want to feel safe again. I want somewhere I can let my guard down. So if you can keep me safe in your stomach, then… can we try that?” 

Hestia’s eyes widened, her heart pounding as his words registered. The idea that he would want that, that anyone but her would find comfort inside the walls of a stomach, felt bizarre. It caught on the cogwheels in her mind and brought every other thought to a grinding halt, as jarring as the jolt of falling onto hard rock. She felt as though she must have misheard, and yet Rowan’s words, though stilted and awkward, had been clear. “You… you would want that? You’re sure?” 

He nodded, a nervous smile on his face as he glanced away for a moment. “How, um, how would we…?” Hestia did her best to offer a reassuring smile. “I could shrink you down a bit, and shapeshifting would allow for the rest. I’d have to lift you up to my mouth, I think, and then… then I’d start swallowing when you say that you’re ready.” A blush bloomed across Hestia’s face at the awkwardness of the conversation, and she looked away from him, fidgeting a bit as she waited for him to speak again. 

“Then… I want to do it. I want to feel safe again.” Rowan decided, and even knowing that he had been considering it, it still startled Hestia to hear him sound so sure as he chose to trust her in this way. 

After a moment of hesitation, she reached out to place a hand on his shoulder, a warm glow enveloping her hand. It spread from her to surround him, tiny embers swirling through the air around him as she focused, dancing in the darkness of night before dissipating and leaving Rowan at a third of her height, his legs now too short to reach the gravel three steps below him. Hestia reached down slowly, giving him time to back out, to stop her, but he simply looked up at her with trusting eyes, as if he knew how much she would do for him, for all of her family members.

She lifted him to her face, slipping his lower legs into her already drooling mouth and waiting, hopeful and fearful in equal measure, for him to say something, to back out or to keep going. “I’m okay,” Rowan said, a soft smile on his face, “you can continue.” A soft, gentle movement tugged his calves into her throat, her hands on his back holding him steady as she began to gulp him down. The movement of her muscles felt almost like a massage as he slipped down her gullet, his feet pushing their way into her stomach by the time he was enveloped up to his chest. 

Hestia’s swallows were slow and rhythmic, like the sweep of waves onto the shore, the rippling flesh of her throat pulling him deeper and deeper inside her body until at last, the crown of his head was kneaded down to join the rest of him inside her gut. 

Her belly bulged with his body, the shape of his limbs clear through the stretched skin that he was held inside, and Hestia’s hand hovered over her stomach, a part of her still not believing that this was real, almost afraid to touch him for fear that the illusion would fade. At last, she placed her hand atop his head, patting at her swollen gut with an elated smile before curling her arms around her stomach in a hug, holding him even closer to herself as her eyes slid shut with the drowsy satisfaction of a full belly. 

It was a wonderful feeling, to be able to hold him within her, to feel his shifting, living weight deep inside of her, to know that he was safe and warm, bundled up inside her where nothing could dare to hurt him. It left a feeling of contentment blossoming in her chest, as if her heart was growing too large for her body to hold. 

A hand pressed out against the walls of her stomach, and she shifted her focus back to her precious nephew, placing her hand atop his to let him know she was still paying attention, still there for him, even if he couldn’t see her face. “It’s so soft…” Rowan’s voice was muffled and quiet, barely a whisper, but Hestia heard it nonetheless, and the blooming affection in her heart seemed about to burst with her joy, her love, for the precious, tiny body that had begun to lean into the walls of her stomach. “Do you feel safe, little one? If you wish to rest, I will watch over you, you need not fear anything while I hold you within me.”

“Yeah, ‘m safe…” he murmured sleepily, snuggling into the plush organ that surrounded him, “I can sleep now, nothing can hurt me. Thank you, Auntie.” Hestia felt herself practically melt at the admission of trust, and she rubbed at the swell of her belly as he settled in, faint snores starting up as he fell asleep inside her warm gut. 

“Don’t worry, little one.” She whispered, curling her body protectively around her stomach.

“I’ll keep you safe.”

Chapter Text

Hailey crept from cabin nine with all the stealth she could manage, her slippers landing soft on the floor as she snuck out into the open air, bag slung over her shoulder.

Her first step onto the porch made the floorboards creak beneath her feet, and the sound seemed deafening in the vast silence of the summer night. She winced, half expecting someone to emerge from the shadows to ask her what she was doing, but continued on, too stubborn to turn back now. 

Hailey was determined to get a good night’s sleep tonight, and if that meant sneaking out to set up a tent in some hidden corner, then that’s what she’d do. 

She darted out past the cabins, heading for a little nook she’d found by the canoe lake, the perfect spot for her tent. In the shrouding dark of night, it seemed even more hidden, surrounded on all sides by tiny hills. 

With the click of a button, the tent sprang open, the whoosh of fabric cutting through the warm air sounding out as the walls unfurled, and she beamed bright at her success, crouching down to crawl in, hands and knees sinking into the padded floor. Hoisting her weighted blanket over her head, Hailey knew there was only one more thing left for her to do.

With a bit of fumbling, her earbuds plugged into her phone, and she pulled up her favorite audio, setting it to play on loop. The soft grumbles and gurgles of a stomach filled her ears, and she let herself relax, her whole body sagging into the floor as she finally laid down, closing her eyes.

There was a tap on her shoulder. 

Hailey snapped awake, blood running cold as she sat up, whirling to face whoever had disturbed her, and almost fell over as she tangled herself up in her blanket. The camper in front of her peered down at her, and she could see his lips moving, but the sound still playing in her earbuds drowned him out. She gestured to it, but the cord was wrapped around her arm, and her movement pulled the cord from its socket, cutting off the connection. 

The sound kept playing.

Hailey’s face burned with embarrassment as the sounds of a groaning stomach filled the air.

“Uh… are you okay?” 

She’d seen the other camper around, but she didn’t know his name. Hopefully he didn’t know hers, either, so he’d at least not know who exactly the weird girl he’d found here was. 

But then, he could always find out, couldn’t he? It wouldn’t be hard for him to ask around. What would happen once he knew? Would he tell anyone? Gods, Hailey didn’t want to be a laughingstock again, she’d had enough of that at her schools–

“Um. Hello?” 

Oh, right. He’d asked her something. She scrambled to turn off the audio, fumbling with her phone and almost dropping it in her rush to hit the pause button. “Sorry, I… what did you say, again?” 

“Are you okay?” His question seemed sincere, but her heart was still pounding, her mind still racing.

“I’m okay, I just…”

“Couldn’t sleep?” he guessed, smiling sympathetically. 

“Yeah.”

“If you don’t mind me asking,” he began, making her tense up once more, “how exactly does that help you?” He motioned to her phone, brow furrowed with confusion.

Hailey winced, averting her eyes. How was she supposed to explain this? How could she tell him that she liked the idea of being eaten– not hurt, not digested, just held in a stomach, tucked away behind layers of muscle and fat– when she could already imagine his face contorting in disgust?

Tears stung her eyes, blurring the world into a wash of dim color.

“Hey, it’s okay, you don’t have to tell me! And I won’t tell anyone about this!” His frantic voice was barely audible over the pounding of her own heartbeat in her ears. “I mean, I’d get in trouble for being out so late too, and I’m not risking my dessert just to be an ass.”

A hysterical giggle wrenched itself from her lips, and for a moment, Hailey felt just a bit better.

But only for a moment.

As soon as her shaky laughter faded, the fear and embarrassment returned, like a wave sweeping her back out to sea, and her moment of amusement only served to make it crash down harder. 

She was so tired, and now she wasn’t going to get that night of sleep after all, and–

She only realized she was crying when the tickle of tears on her cheeks prompted her to raise a hand to wipe them away. 

The boy seemed to panic at the sight of her tears, hands erupting into a flurry of motion as he pulled them back and forth, reaching out to comfort her before drawing back again, unsure if his touch would be welcome.

“Hey, hey, it’s alright, you’re okay,” he babbled, finally settling his hands on her shoulders, and suddenly she couldn’t hold it in anymore. Words spilled from her mouth, and she was too stressed and exhausted to stop them.

“I just, I wanted to get a good night’s sleep, and I usually, I imagine that I, that I’m in a stomach, but like, safe? And I can’t listen to that around the others, ‘cause what if they judged me, and,” she took in a sharp gasp of air, well aware of how hysterical she sounded now, “and so I came out here to listen to it, but then…” She sniffled, swiping at her eyes. “I just want to sleep. I just wanted some rest.”

“You… imagine that you’re in a stomach?” He tilted his head, seeming almost contemplative. 

Hailey shrank in on herself, and he rushed to explain himself, waving his hands frantically. “I’m not judging you, not at all! I just, I think I might be able to help? Or, well, I know someone who could.” 

Hailey blinked up at him, sheer confusion drying her tears. “What? What does that even mean in this situation?”

“Well,” he said, grinning sheepishly, “you know how gods can shapeshift?”

And that was how Hailey found herself here, fidgeting awkwardly before Hestia as she waited for the goddess to speak. 

“How would you like to do this?” Hestia’s words were soft and quiet, but Hailey could hear the excitement in the tone of her voice.

“I’m not sure,” Hailey mumbled, shifting her weight from one leg to another. Her nerves had crept up on her, still frayed and raw from exhaustion and the anxiety of the last hour, and now that the reprieve that she so desperately craved was staring her in the face, she found that her stomach had tied itself in knots. She wasn’t sure, anymore, if this would really be something she wanted.

“Maybe I can go in first, and you can see if there’s anything you want to do differently?” Rowan offered.

She took a shaky breath. “Okay, yeah. That sounds good.” 

“Alright. Whenever you’re ready, Aunt Hestia.” 

Hestia stepped toward him, placing a hand on his shoulder, and little sparks bloomed from her hand. They circled him, glowing dimly like so many fireflies in the summer breeze. The smell of burning firewood filled the air, and Hailey forgot her nervousness entirely as she breathed in deep, taking in the scent of fire and family and home. 

As the swirling embers died out, she realized that Rowan had become smaller, barely reaching Hestia’s hip at his new height. 

He was hoisted up off the ground, shoes slipping off as he went, and placed feet-first into Hestia’s mouth. Hailey watched, transfixed, as the first swallow pulled his feet into Hestia’s throat, making it stretch to accommodate him. One after another, the gentle contractions of her throat pulled him deeper, further, until at last, he was enveloped entirely, sinking down her throat and curling up in her middle. 

“Is there anything that you want me to change for you?” The question snapped Hailey from her trance, and she realized Hestia was looking at her, awaiting her response. 

“Oh! Um, could I go in headfirst, actually? That and, um, I think it might be a bit uncomfortable with two of us in the same stomach.” She fiddled with the beads on her necklace, glancing over at Hestia. “Do you think you could make separate ones?” 

“Of course,” Hestia answered. She looked down at Rowan. “Would you mind if I made a sort of snake tail to move you into?” she asked, resting a hand on her swollen belly. 

“Go ahead, I don’t mind.” 

The grass rustled as Hestia’s legs fused, stretching out into a long tail that glimmered in the pale moonlight. Her abdomen shifted, the bulge of Rowan’s body moving down, becoming a bit less defined as it was pushed behind the layers of muscle and fat.

“Anything else?” 

Hailey shook her head. “Not that I can think of.” She stepped forward, far more relaxed now than she had been before. “I’m ready.”

The same whirl of warmth and safety from before washed over her, little specks of glowing orange clouding her vision, and when she blinked, the world had grown around her. 

Hestia scooped her up into her arms, opening her mouth wide, and Hailey leaned forward to peer into the warm cavern. Small strings of saliva stretched across the opening, and hot breaths huffed onto her skin, oddly reminiscent of the heat of the forges. Hailey let her head rest on the plush tongue tucked behind pearl-white teeth, laying limp as she waited for the first swallow. 

A gentle push sent her into Hestia’s throat, and another slipped her shoulders inside, each knead of muscle coaxing her further into the soft flesh that slowly engulfed her. It wasn’t long before her head was pressed into an even softer space, the stomach stretching out around her as she spilled into its gurgling depths. She closed her eyes, not that it made much of a difference, and leaned into the walls of the churning belly.

Above her, she heard Hestia’s heartbeat, steady and strong like the thunk of a hammer on stone, and she cuddled up to the snug embrace of the flesh-and-bone machinery which cradled her, hard at work just to keep her safe and sound in its plush walls. 

“How do you feel, little one?” The words were accompanied by a gentle pressure, a hand rubbing at her back through the layers of Hestia’s body that sat between. 

“Much better,” Hailey sighed, snuggling into the folds of Hestia’s belly with a smile. “Thank you.”

“Of course.” The world around her seemed to shift slightly, and then she felt the comforting weight of Hestia’s arms around her engorged stomach, holding it close. “Goodnight, little ones.”

“Goodnight.” 

And with the sounds of a beating heart and a gurgling gut, with the churning walls rocking her to sleep, with the knowledge that she was safe…

 Hailey drifted off in seconds, finally at peace.