Work Text:
Out on the Continent, the four remaining members of Expedition 33, one man and three women, set up camp once more on a beautiful cliffside, with many elegant mysteries shining above them. Shattered buildings, swirling lights of chromatic energy, floating lanterns, all just… lingering in the star-littered sky.
The four paid it only a brief mind, for while it was a beautiful sight, it was one they were accustomed to already. So after some conversation over supper, and another journal entry from the thirty-two year old engineer and unofficial leader of the expedition, Gustave, it was time to get some sleep.
However, one among them struggled the most with that. Maelle, the youngest, who was merely a teenager, shifted restlessly on her bedroll.
The other two women slept well enough, as much as anyone could during all of this. Having left the only home they knew to set out on an unknown journey, seeking answers to end this accursed cycle of the Paintress taking lives through an annual event people have titled as the Gommage.
While this was a journey in which very few ever returned from, each member came willingly, whether they understood the danger they walked into or not. Something had to be done, or one day there would be no home to return to.
Though one among them couldn’t help but notice the poor girl’s struggles.
Gustave was laying on his own bedroll but not yet asleep. Instead, he frowned with concern and shifted himself to look at Maelle a bit better.
Her back was turned to him, but her shoulders were tense, and she kept shifting and fidgeting in place.
Gustave wanted to help her, to bring her comfort and peace in some way. He wasn’t quite sure how though, or whether he even could, but maybe... talking to her a bit would help, and give him a solution or some idea in the process.
He didn’t want to startle her, so he moved slowly as he stood up and walked over beside her.
“Hey Maelle. Can’t sleep?” He delicately asked before he came into view, then crouched.
The girl sighed, blowing a few strands of crimson hair from her face. She averted her gaze, but Gustave could see that she was afraid of something. Not himself, she never once was afraid of him, but that didn’t make the truth any better.
“No, I haven't been able to since the... since the nightmares started. Not really nightmares though, they’re something else.” She responded with a fearful tone.
Gustave didn’t pretend to understand exactly what she was going through, but he understood that it was frightening. It was also far too much for such a young girl to deal with; all of this was, but especially now. She shouldn’t even be here, much less having to shoulder this burden.
Maelle soon sat up and finally looked up to Gustave, her round face looking like a frightened little girl rather than the brave young expeditioner whom usually talked back at him, as teenagers often did.
It pulled at his heartstrings, and he fought the protective urge to pull her into a hug. At least for the time being.
Then, Maelle spoke again.
“I’m afraid, Gustave. I’m afraid that if I go to sleep, they’ll come back again, and— and maybe somehow... they’ll hurt us.” She admitted, and she spoke these words, her voice cracked.
The man could tell she needed help. She needed to feel safe again.
Maelle soon wrapped her arms around herself after speaking, while lowering her gaze with a whimper. He saw this as a queue to take a seat beside her and slowly wrap his organic arm around the poor girl.
His other arm was made of darkened metal, almost black, yet not sinister in appearance. It was just mechanical, with gold trimming the edges. Regardless, it wasn’t good for giving hugs.
“Hey, it’s alright. I understand why you’re afraid... But we don’t know that he can hurt us through your dreams.” He gently reminded her, hoping that maybe a bit of logic would bring her comfort.
“We don’t know that he can’t, either. We don’t know anything about him, except that he’s... Well, incredibly powerful, and killed most of us on that beach.”
More logic thrown back at him. A fair response, but it was not what he was hoping for. Her tone also lacked the usual spirit he was used to hearing from her whenever they disagreed on something.
“I know, but we survived, and we will find a way to defeat him if we have to. And I personally will do everything in my power to keep you safe Maelle, even as we speak.” He said back with warm encouragement and a smile to match.
Maelle returned it, though with a light scoff. “What can you do now? We don’t even know where he is.”
Gustave didn’t let the question discourage him, though he did let his own self-consciousness make him hesitate with what he considered saying. Thus, he let out a single awkward laugh and rubbed the back of his head with his artificial arm, glancing outward for a short bit as his mind scrambled for what to say.
In truth, the man did have an idea to help Maelle, but it wasn’t exactly all that normal. And it partly made him feel wrong to think about, only because it was so strange. However, Gustave had hoped that, if they tried it, then the girl would find it comforting and may even get some sleep.
“We don’t, no. But... what if you could sleep somewhere that, no matter what or who it is, they would have to literally go through me to even touch you?” He inquired, doing his best to let some confidence seep into his tone. Which was something he wasn’t very good at, but he needed confidence to help Maelle.
Her instinctual response was to scoot even closer to him, huddling against his side. He took that as a sign that at least some part of her liked the idea. However, her verbal response was an amused snort.
“How would you even do that? Are you going to eat me or something?” She asked in a non-serious tone, shaking her head with a wider smile.
Gustave felt his heart drop a bit though, and he let out a nervous chuckle.
“Well I... wouldn’t call it that. That sounds like something a nevron would do.”
He quickly realized he’d need to explain his idea much better than that.
Maelle curiously quirked an eyebrow at him, amusement still sparkling in her eyes as she waited to hear her guardian’s harebrained idea. Though she didn’t wait long; in fact, she gave him no time at all before mischief sparked in her eyes.
“If it involves me in here—.” She fearlessly poked his middle, right in between two neat buttons of his uniform. “—Then you’re offering to eat me.”
Gustave yelped from the poke, and then thickly swallowed. He considered giving her a little bit of space before confirming that was indeed what he had in mind, but surely she knew that the very last thing he’d ever do on this earth was harm her, right? Outside of their duels, that is, but he was pretty sure they both walked away from those with equal damage. And she certainly enjoyed them more than he did.
“I... prefer thinking of it as me sheltering you. You’d be warm and hidden away, and I’ll be all around, watching over you.” Gustave said with heartfelt sincerity, finding himself surprised by his commitment to confirming what he offered.
Now that the words left his mouth, however, he felt an aftershock of nervousness, for he was worried about how Maelle would take it. The fact she even thought about it before he fully explained at all put him even further on edge.
Of course, before she could even react, his stomach let out a soft groan, as if already inviting her inside. However, this only made Gustave wince and begin counting the seconds he had left to live.
“Would I have to listen to that all night?” She asked lightheartedly, somehow still not finding it all that weird or at least not outright rejecting it.
Gustave felt even more sheepish though, with part of him wishing he’d never brought this up at all. But at least her mood had improved, if nothing else. And he was still alive, so he let out the breath he didn’t realize he was holding and tried to will himself to relax a bit.
“M-maybe, yeah…” He admitted in a shy murmur. He couldn’t control it, after all – not that part, anyway.
And, as if on queue, his stomach sounded out again, this time in the form of a long but gentle rumble. Gustave winced, but Maelle softened her expression, and, to his surprise, he felt some tension leave her shoulders. Could it be that she actually found the noises... soothing?
“It does sound kind of nice…” She mused quietly while looking at his middle. Maelle then shifted her attention back to his face before she voiced an inquiry.
“If you do eat me, you won’t tell the others, right?”
Gustave blinked, but he answered quickly, knowing she’d probably find it embarrassing if the other expeditioners knew about it.
“Of course not. It would just be between us.” He assured with sincerity, though he couldn’t help the mutter under his breath. “And it’s not me ‘eating’ you…”
Maelle smiled a bit wider before she glanced back to his abdomen again.
“Okay, then I accept your offer to protectively consume me; is that better?” She asked with a mischievously innocent look.
Gustave scrunched up his face and bobbed his head left and right in thought.
“Sort of... not really, but I’ll take it.” He relented with a friendly smile.
He was honestly just delighted to hear her accept his strange offer. Because he was under no delusion that it was strange, but he had her best interests at heart. All he wanted was to offer her some comfort in these dark, trying times.
Maelle laughed lightly, then blinked, glancing back up at his face again with slight uncertainty, though in an amused way.
“This is sweet and all for you to worry about me like this, but uh.... How am I supposed to fit in you, exactly? I’m small, I know, but I’m not that small.”
Gustave did have a solution to that, and he finally allowed himself a genuine smile of his own.
“You’re right, you need to be a little smaller to fit comfortably. Which is why I have this.” He then presented his artificial arm, now shimmering with soft pink energy as he continued. “I’ve uhm, only used this once, as a test. But it can shrink a person to about fifty percent of their original size.”
The girl let out a quiet ‘oooh’ sound, before growing curious. “What original purpose did you invent this for?”
He felt a bit of excitement bubble up inside at the question, and he soon realized that missed this, explaining his work to someone and all.
“Oh, well... I thought about how it might help future expeditions carry injured members, so we wouldn’t have to consider leaving them behind. But I never managed to get the invention documented enough. I felt that the Lumina Converter was more important.”
To test it once more, he reached down and picked up a rock, causing an amused snort from Maelle, but he focused on the rock. Pink energy built up in his arm and swirled around the object in his metal palm... before it steadily decreased in size, by about half, as promised.
“See?” He chucked the rock upwards, and then caught it in his hand again.
“Can its size be restored?” The girl inquired, not out of distrust, but from genuine wonder.
“Of course! That’d be... well, pretty awful if I couldn’t.” He admitted, but he shook off the worry and focused on the downscaled rock.
A deeper pink swirled around it then. The energy was softer and more like slow, flowing waves than, say, the jagged, vicious-looking red energy of his combat abilities. It showed the gentle, benevolent nature of the invention, to make it easier for the wielder to protect others. Including to protect within his belly.
Surely enough, the rock was returned to its original size, and the energy flow settled down to a simple, subtle glow in his arm once more.
“Wow... alright then, we should get some sleep before morning comes, so let’s do this.” Maelle declared, which caused Gustave’s belly to let out a happy groan.
Both expeditioners let out amused, quiet laughs, before the man took a breath to prepare himself.
“Okay, let me just...” He trailed off and simply reached around with his metal arm to softly grasp her shoulder.
That soft pink energy swirled to life again, steadily engulfing Maelle in its power. She looked around at it, and Gustave watched as his charge steadily shrunk down in size, moving his arms with her as this happened. He wanted to make sure she was safe and close during this vulnerable state, and he soon found himself picking her up like a small child.
“Hey~!” She complained lightheartedly as she was held to his chest, all protectively cradled in his arms.
The downscaling was complete after just a few short moments, though he couldn’t be sure if it was exactly half. It almost felt like it shrunk her down a bit more than that. But it was fine, for her original size was stored in his arm, ready to be returned to her in the morning.
However, her new smaller stature triggered a strong, protective instinct in him, even more than usual. Gustave found himself just gently cuddling the girl with a quiet coo in his throat, wishing to all the stars above that he could just whisk her far away from this place.
Maelle laughed from the cuddles, sounding so much smaller and more delicate as a result. She did playfully try to push him away, though he just brought his face down towards her and nuzzled, engulfing her further in his care.
“You big lug, you’re supposed to swallow me, not fuss over me!” She exclaimed while batting at his scruffy face, laughing some more.
He smiled wider with a delighted chuckle of his own, feeling his heart soar from this moment. Oh, how he wished their lives could be just like this all the time. Harmless joy and warmth, without fear, pain, and loss. Alas, it could not be so, but they could savor this moment, and Gustave knew he would hold this deep within his soul for as long as he lived.
“Fortunately for you, I can do both~” He declared with a lace of his own benevolent mischief.
Maelle was so small now, he was confident that he could tuck her away with just one or two good gulps, so that’s exactly what he was going to do.
Thus, Gustave’s jaws yawned open and descended over Maelle’s head and shoulders. She went still for this part, allowing him to gently ease her down his gullet.
Admittedly, he was a bit worried about this part too. It was yet another invention of his that he tested on simple food items. He thought it might be useful to preserve food, to keep that full feeling without digesting the meal right away. Though no one else really seemed that interested, so he largely kept it to himself and even forgot it after enough time.
Swallowing a whole person, even such a small one, was a different feat compared to, say, apples and the like. But as long as he was careful, it should be fine.
Maelle’s hair tickled the back of his throat, but saliva quickly came to the rescue on that, coating her generously in a slick, protective layer.
“It’s so goopy Gustave! Your drool is going to take forever to get out of my hair!” The girl jokingly complained, not sounding that genuinely bothered by it, thus the man just found the corners of his mouth curving upwards in a smile.
His hands delicately supported her lower half as he raised both himself and Maelle up, and then steadily tipped his head back to recruit gravity on their side. He did it as slowly and fluidly as he could, not wanting to alarm his charge as she slid a bit deeper inside of him.
Gustave didn’t want to hold her upside down for too long though, nor did he wish to block his airways for much longer either. So, once he got the confidence to do so, the man took a thick swallow.
To his surprise, his throat warmly engulfed Maelle with ease, the girl quickly vanishing in a way that almost made him feel nervous. He’d never forgive himself if he ever actually harmed her, even if he was just trying to help, it didn’t matter. He was the one thing that was supposed to never hurt her in the vast cruel world they lived in now.
Thankfully, he soon heard muffled laughter from his chest, just as he found himself reflexively swallowing again, since she was slipping deeper in anyway, and just needed a helping gulp.
His heart lurched regardless, fearing he had consumed her a bit too quickly. His hands and arms were now empty to boot, which almost made him feel sad, if it wasn’t for the warm, precious weight that soon slipped into his belly.
Gustave blinked, taking a moment to process what happened and what he just did. There was a part of him that felt a little bit like a monster, having devoured Maelle with such frightening ease. Frightening to him, anyway. She didn’t seem to notice or care that much, given the curious movements he felt in his gut.
His hands were empty, but as he delicately laid his palms over his middle, he felt fulfilled again. That warm, filling weight in his belly, straining against the buttons of his uniform, it meant that Maelle was safe. She was tucked away and hidden from the outside world, where few would think to look for her.
Such thoughts brought him comfort, and it made his tummy happy too, given the content groan to which they were both treated.
“Are you alright, Maelle?” Gustave asked gently, his voice heavy already with a sense of peace, but he still wanted to check up on her, and thus he couldn’t help the lace of concern in his tone despite everything.
“I’m fine, you worrywart! You wouldn’t have done this if it wasn’t safe.” She retorted, while her hands explored the organic chamber, testing its durability by giving soft pushes.
He thought that he’d feel some discomfort, but it was just... strangely adorable instead, feeling her little bitty self protectively nestled within. In response, the man gently wrapped his arms around himself, specifically his stomach, and gave Maelle a warm hug in his belly, softly and harmlessly squishing her inside.
“You’re right, I wouldn’t have. But it’s still my job to worry.” He reminded her with a deep, content hum.
His hug caused a small yelp, followed by more amused laughter as she was subjected to his protective cuddles.
“Okay okay, don’t smother me!” She exclaimed with levity, yet Gustave did make a point to relax his arms a little bit, giving her some space. Though the cuddles didn’t entirely cease.
He knew he was being a little overprotective, but he wasn’t sure what he’d do if anything happened to Maelle. Well, a dark part of him did know, actually, but he refused to think about it right now. This was a time for joy, comfort, and perhaps even sleep. But nothing more than that.
“I’m sorry Maelle.” He said sheepishly as he shifted to lie down on what was her bedroll. She didn’t need it anymore, and he didn’t want the others to notice anything odd with him.
Thus, Gustave laid on his side with his back turned to the rest of the camp and his arms still snug around his middle, giving soft squishes. He curled himself a bit inward around her, protecting her even further with himself, while doing his best to not entirely squish her in his gut. During all of this, the man couldn’t help but let out a content murmur, eyes halfway closed.
“It’s alright, you lovable teenager-eating brute.” She jested with him, and to his surprise, he felt her snuggle into his stomach.
A part of him yet again wanted to protest at her word usage. He didn’t want to think of it as him having eaten her, but Gustave was in such contentment that he found himself just letting it go. Especially from her returned affection, something he wasn’t overly used to feeling, though he never took it personally. She was a teenager after all, and usually the last thing they wanted to do was hug their guardians.
“I’ll stay awake until you can fall asleep.” Gustave said in a slightly deeper, more serious voice than before. It was tempting to fall asleep now, but he didn’t want to just leave her alone emotionally.
“Thank you, and goodnight Gustave.” The girl said back, her voice cracking a tiny bit as she shifted to get comfortable for sleeping in his belly.
“Goodnight, Maelle.” He murmured more softly, barely a whisper as he gave a tender rub to the precious lump in his abdomen.
After that, no more words were exchanged between them, and Gustave made a point to remain still, no longer smothering her in squishes and cuddles. No, for now he simply held her close, his breathing deep and steady, eyes half open, but more than half awake. He was listening to her breathing, waiting for it to slow down enough for him to know that she was sleeping.
------------------------------------------------------------
He didn’t have to wait much longer. Maelle finally felt safe, truly safe, even as his stomach kept softly kneading and rippling around her, as if the organ itself was desperate to provide comfort and protection. Such motions didn’t disturb her or make it any harder to sleep though, and if anything, it just made it easier for her to drive any instinctual worries away.
Yes, she was technically trapped within a stomach, but it was inside of someone who meant a lot to her, and vice versa. With each ripple and gentle groan, it was apparent that it was all very much still Gustave. Warm and soft in nature, even if sometimes overbearing, yet in a caring way. It couldn’t be any more him if it tried.
She found herself listening to his heartbeat, steady and even in rhythm, as the stomach let out a content glorp around her. They were all sounds of life, something so precious and yet easily lost.
Out here, fighting for their lives against nevrons, plus what happened on the beach, and finding past expedition journals, learning what befell each one... It was a harsh reminder of how quickly life can be taken from one another. The Gommage was bad enough, but now, she knew it wasn’t the only thing looming over them.
She felt a bit more confident for tonight, at least for Gustave’s sake. Thanks to his weird yet strangely endearing idea of swallowing her up whole, that meant if the white-haired man did show up tonight... He would have to stick to his promise and flee. Because she was inside of him now, and the best thing he could do to keep her safe was to carry her away.
Alas, he’d have to let her out in the morning, but she didn’t have to think about any of that right now. That was for another day. For now, slumber called, and tonight, no nightmares or worries haunted her. Just the soothing groans and rumbles of her guardian’s nurturing belly, keeping her all safe and tucked away for the night.