#I don't know if this counts as object vore but I guess maybe sorta

[toast-tales]

In the World of Monsters, P17

Read on A03  |  Chapter masterlist can be found here

Nathan decides to face his fears. Contains g/t safe, soft vore, a reluctant predator/willing prey, language, and a good bit of angst.

Hard to Swallow

"...what?" Christopher asked, wide-eyed and blinking as if he hadn't heard Nathan right.

Nathan breathed in slowly, trying to hide the anxiety in his voice. "Just listen. If it's a bad idea you can shoot it down, but I think it's the best chance we have if I...can do this."

Nathan did not look down towards Danny as he began telling them his plan. He was barely keeping himself together at this point—seeing what was surely a horrified, disgusted expression on her face would make him lose his resolve. It made him feel sick to his stomach even thinking about it.

Once he had finished relaying the full extent of his idea, an uncomfortable silence fell between them all.

"I...won't deny that's the best plan we've come up with so far," said Christopher slowly. Nathan could almost see the cogs spinning in his brain as he stared distantly, before meeting Nathan's eyes with a concerned expression. "But...Nathan, I mean, there's a reason I didn't suggest you eating Danny earlier. Her size aside, I know how you feel about that. You don't have to force yourself, we can figure something else out—"

"No!" cried Nathan, his voice coming out a bit louder than intended. He could feel his pulse quickening, but tried to take another breath to calm down. "It's just...you're right, I really don't want to, I think it's horrible, but if it's what it takes to free the humans..."

A quiet voice next to him interrupted his train of thought. "Nate..." He looked down, slowly, feeling shame creep into his face as he finally met Danny's eyes. But there was no disgust, no hatred in her expression—only sympathy. "You really don't have to do this if you don't want to. We'll figure something else out."

It's not like YOU want to either, he thought bitterly. "Danny...you can't be the only one who makes sacrifices here. I've been too scared for too long, and because of that, I couldn't protect you when you needed it. The least I can do is try this, if it means we can free those humans and keep you safe. You've been...so brave through all of this. I can only try to be as brave as you."

He wanted to hold onto her tiny hand so badly, but felt like he'd crush it with all of the nerves building up in his body.

Danny just stood there as he spoke, giving him a pained look he couldn't quite figure out. She nodded as he finished, seeming to understand his position. He noticed that her jaw was clenched—seriously, she couldn't be okay with this, could she?

Christopher spoke up, breaking the tension. "Have you eaten anything recently, Nathan?"

Nathan thought back, not having considered that. He felt like an idiot—a woefully underprepared, careless idiot. "Not since about noon," he said, oddly thankful for the empty feeling in his stomach now.

Christopher nodded. "If you're serious about doing this, I think it would be best to start with something...smaller. To get you used to the process. Eating Danny at her current size isn't easy for experienced giants, much less one who's never eaten a human before."

"Um...like, a different human?" Danny asked skeptically. Nathan had to admit, as uncomfortable as he was with the idea of eating his friend, eating a stranger seemed...worse.

Christopher was already halfway to his room. "Oh, god no. I've got something to help practice."

Nathan felt both relieved that he could practice with something that wasn't living first, and a bit grossed out that something whose purpose was to practice eating humans even existed.

Just a few minutes later, Christopher emerged with something small in his hands—what looked to be some kind of featureless, vaguely human form made of red silicone. Danny was eyeing it strangely.

"It's obviously not the same, but it will be the best place to start for you." Christopher placed the limp, rubbery figure in Nathan's palm. He could feel a sinking weight in his gut, knowing that both Danny and Christopher were watching him expectantly now. It was like the worst stage fright.

He held the figure up by its torso, trying not to think about how the faceless doll-like thing looked like it was judging him too.

Slowly, he placed it into his mouth, easily closing his lips around the entire thing. He could feel his throat run dry as it rested heavily on his tongue. Just do it. Don't think about it, just do it.

He tilted his head back to swallow, but his tongue reflexively got in the way as soon as the first part of the doll touched his throat. He choked, sputtering, and coughed the doll back into his hands.

"Aaand that's why I figured you should try with that first."

"Geez," Nathan gasped, "What the heck? Isn't this supposed to be easy?"

"Well," said Christopher slowly, glancing toward Danny with a slightly uncomfortable expression. "You kind of have to...well, saliva helps it go down easier."

Oh good lord. Nathan breathed in, steeling himself for another round of humiliation. "Any other tips?"

"Relax," said Christopher simply.

Repressing the urge to roll his eyes, Nathan decided to close them this time. He placed the doll back into his mouth, turning it over with his tongue a few times to hopefully help it go down easier. He was not looking forward to when he'd have to do this with Danny.

Tilting his head back again, he swallowed, focusing on keeping his tongue out of the way. He felt the figure slip deeper into his throat.

"Swallow again," said Christopher, with the trained and level tone of a medical practitioner giving instructions for a physical exam. "You're almost there."

The figure in his throat was not as painful as Nathan had imagined it being. It felt like his body was built to transport something of that size into his stomach, which did not make him feel better about any of this. With a final swallow, he felt it disappear further as a weight sank into his middle. It was in his stomach.

"See? That wasn't so hard." Christopher smiled gently. It made Nathan feel like a kid, as if Christopher was about to offer him a bandage and a lollipop.

Nathan did not feel relieved. "But...how do I make sure I won't digest it accidentally? What if I get scared and something happens? How do I get it out?" It was just a doll inside of him, but he could feel hysteria creeping into his voice as he thought about all the ways he could hurt it. All the ways he could hurt Danny.

"Hey. Listen. I'm going to walk you through it, okay? You're fine." Christopher moved his chair closer to Nathan until he was right next to him. "Everything's fine." He looked Nathan squarely in the eyes, his dark irises intent and focused. Nathan couldn't look away, not even if he wanted to.

"You are not going to accidentally digest anything. Your body naturally does not want to digest humans. It's really hard to do without eating actual food along with the human, and even then, it has to be very intentional."

"Wait, so does that mean you threatening to digest me was a fucking bluff?" Danny crossed her arms and glared at Christopher.

Nathan narrowed his eyes, a bitter, icy resentment crawling into his throat. His mouth set into a thin line.

Christopher gave Danny a pleading look, as if to say shut up about that. "I said really hard, not impossible. And that was a long time ago."

"About a week, you dickhead," Danny retorted.

Nathan felt the anger bubble up inside of him and spill out of his mouth. "I'm sorry, Christopher, you what?"

Christopher averted his eyes. "Listen, that's not important right now—"

"I'd say it's pretty damn important," snapped Nathan.

Christopher sighed, rubbing his temples wearily. "The first night I took Danny, I threatened it because she was fighting me. I didn't actually plan on doing it, though. I just wanted her to settle down. Seriously, I wasn't going to hurt her."

Even if Christopher was being truthful, it made Nathan want to smack him. He might have done it, too, if he hadn't felt a tiny hand on his arm. Danny looked up at him with a half-baked grin. "Hey. It's okay. I can give him shit for that later, but just focus on this for now, alright?"

Nathan sighed, letting his tense muscles relax slowly as he focused on Danny's touch. "Alright. Fine. What do I do now, Christopher?" He took the opportunity to meet Christopher's eyes like a challenge again—something he seemed to only be able to do when he felt he was defending Danny.

Christopher was quick to adopt his clinical tone again. "You're going to push upwards, underneath where you can feel it in your stomach. Once you push enough, your body should help with the process and it will come back up your throat. Put a hand on your stomach, see if you can feel it."

Nathan did so, but apparently he hadn't placed it in the right spot, as Christopher reached out to correct him. Nathan tried not to flinch away from the touch, but his hand stiffened and recoiled a bit as Christopher very lightly moved it to the correct position.

Christopher averted his eyes hurriedly, his hand still on Nathan's. He had definitely noticed Nathan's aversion to his touch. "You're going to push right here," he said, pressing Nathan's fingers gently into a soft spot just underneath his stomach. He let go, and moved his chair back further, putting more distance between the two of them. "Are you ready?"

"As I'll ever be," said Nathan wearily. He took in one long, deep breath and then pushed upwards where Christopher had indicated. He felt the doll's weight move upwards and then into his throat—it was the strangest sensation he'd ever felt, especially considering he wasn't choking.

"Once you feel it in your throat, you can move it up with your fingers from the outside to help, but it will mostly move up on its own." Christopher moved his fingers up and down along his throat and Nathan copied the movements, feeling relief as the doll finally entered his mouth. He reached in and pulled it out, breathing in deeply.

He'd done it. Not with a real human, but still. It was over.

He looked down at the silicone figure in his hands—covered in saliva, but no worse for wear otherwise. He gratefully accepted a small towel from Christopher to wipe off his hands with and place the doll in gingerly before setting it aside on the table.

There was another uncomfortable pause as the three of them sat in silence, not sure how to proceed.

"Well?" said Nathan finally. "Am I ready for the next size up?" He felt himself grimacing at his own words.

"Wait, you mean you're going to eat me...right now?" Danny's eyes widened as she looked between Nathan and Christopher. Christopher, for his part, looked just as surprised.

"If we go through with my plan, I'd rather my first time eating you not be in the Black Dragon," he said flatly.

"That's a fair point," muttered Danny. He saw her shake a bit, and his resolve nearly flew out the window.

"It would be a good idea to practice, yes," said Christopher, somewhat hesitantly. "But it's going to be a little bit harder this time." He gave a halfhearted grin. "I'm going to assume you don't want a demonstration first."

"No," replied Nathan and Danny in unison.

Christopher sighed. "Then I'm going to have to help guide you a little bit more. Are you okay with that?"

Nathan met Christopher's apologetic gaze. "Is it going to hurt Danny?"

"Danny is going to be fine. You have to go slow to focus on not choking, okay?" He seemed genuinely concerned for Nathan, and considering Nathan had almost choked on the normal-sized doll, maybe the concern wasn't unfounded.

Nathan nodded, feeling a bit shakier now that the moment of truth was upon him. He looked down at Danny, who had seemed to muster up a bit more courage.

"Are you ready, Nate?"

Nathan's heart felt like it was going to burst out of his chest as it thudded loudly against his ribcage. He tried to grin. "I should be asking you that, Danny."

"I'll be fine," she said, laughing with a smirk. "It'll be better than dealing with him, anyways." She jabbed her thumb toward Christopher, who chuckled weakly at her retort.

Nathan nodded and held out his hand for Danny to climb into. He carefully lifted her up in front of his face. This feels wrong, he thought, looking into her big, trusting eyes. He tried not to focus on her shaking, but it was impossible to ignore. "Are you sure you're alright?"

Danny gave a very unconvincing nod.

"Hey. Remember what we talked about, okay, dollface?" Nathan raised an eyebrow at the nickname—and then realized that Christopher was talking to Danny. His eyebrows furrowed. "Just focus on your breathing. It's going to have to go a little slower than with me. If anything happens, I can get you out. You're going to be okay, Danny."

In lieu of a response, Danny gave a thumbs-up with her back to Christopher, though Nathan could see her smile falter.

"Now," Christopher said, meeting Nathan's eyes in a question. "Are you ready?"

I have to be brave for Danny. He nodded, finding that was easier than actually saying "yes." "Um...Danny...what way would be...easiest for you?"

She blinked, seeming to have to think about it. "Feet first, facing away from you."

She turned around in his palm to face Christopher instead, who was watching her intently. "Oh, and don't pick me up by my sides. It kind of hurts."

Nathan obeyed, somewhat awkwardly repositioning his fingers around her torso as he lifted her up. She stood up with the movement, though he hesitated and left her feet still touching his palm.

"Just go a little bit at a time, the same as before." Christopher moved his chair a little closer, ready to help.

Nathan wished he could vanish—he wished he was under the covers at home, in his room, without Christopher's dark eyes staring at him or Danny waiting to be devoured in the palm of his hand.

I have to be brave for Danny.

He took a deep breath, closing his eyes—no way could he do this while looking at Danny—and as slowly and gently as possible, lifted Danny up and placed her feet in his mouth.

He didn't taste it until his tongue brushed against some exposed skin around her ankles, but he was still not ready for the intense flavor. It was something that was beyond description and unlike anything he'd ever had before—well, it was something he'd only tasted once, when Christopher had forced Danny into his mouth. He shuddered at the memory. He still couldn't see what all the fuss about the taste of humans was about—it felt like his senses were overloaded, although maybe that was just his anxiety talking.

Begrudgingly, he moved his tongue slowly around Danny's legs, preparing himself for what would come next. His mouth was full and he was only up to Danny's knees—how the heck would he be able to do this, anyways?

He tilted his head back and took a deep breath through his nose before swallowing. He felt his heart jump as Danny's feet entered his throat, taking up much more space than the tiny doll had before. His eyes flew open in fear and he saw Christopher instinctively reach out towards him—not touching him, but with hands near Nathan's throat.

"Just keep going. This is the easy part. Keep swallowing."

Nathan was not looking forward to whatever the hard part was. Once Danny had begun to enter his throat, it got much harder to use his tongue to coat her in saliva. He had to hold each new part of her in his mouth for a bit, sucking as gently as possible and feeling his face go red with shame as he did so. Just keep going. He closed his eyes, focusing only on swallowing and the motion of his throat, and tried to focus less on what he was swallowing. Though her taste was...fairly distracting, and made the corners of his mind fuzzy. A few swallows later, he had all but her head inside of his mouth.

Danny noticed him pause. "It's okay, Nate. Go for it."

He made the hardest swallow he'd had to make so far, and took Danny's head into his mouth with it.

Once his lips had closed behind her, it got easier to finish the process, and one last swallow took his friend all the way into his throat.

He could breathe, but not well. He still needed to swallow a few more times to get Danny all the way down. His eyes shot open as he felt Christopher touch his hand and move it up to his throat. Christopher guided his hand, massaging the bulge in his throat that was Danny to help her go further down.

"Keep swallowing," Christopher repeated gently. He could tell that Nathan had started to freeze up. Nathan obeyed, his previous worries replaced with the need to breathe properly again.

Finally, he felt Danny's full weight sink into his stomach. This was not like the doll at all. Just as he thought it was done, more of Danny filled his stomach until he felt more full than he'd ever felt before—but it wasn't uncomfortable. In fact, it was...nice. A wave of something close to relief flooded over him as he felt all of his muscles relax, slowly. For a moment he felt lightheaded, like he was on a cloud.

This...this is what the fuss is about, isn't it?

He felt his anxiety slip away as he took in a few more deep breaths. He couldn't remember the last time he'd felt so...calm.

"How are you feeling?"

Christopher's voice snapped Nathan back to reality. The growing realization of what he had done sunk back into him, and he looked slowly down at himself, lifting his shirt to see a small bulge under his skin. The sight of it made him queasy. "Oh my god," he breathed. "I...I did it. I...Danny? Can you hear me?"

"I'm okay, Nathan." He heard Danny's small, muffled voice come from his middle. A tiny handprint appeared as Danny pressed against the inside of his stomach—something that made his insides flutter in a strange way. He placed his own hand over hers, gently cradling the small distension of his stomach. Her voice—not frightened or angry—made him relax, but just a little.

"It feels good, doesn't it?" Christopher was looking at him expectantly, an uncharacteristically sincere expression on his face.

Only for a moment, thought Nathan. Until I remember that I ate my friend. The feeling of Danny inside of him felt much more normal than it should have, but neither Christopher nor Danny could convince him that he should be enjoying this. "I...I want to get her back out," he said. He felt his stomach clench, as if opposed to the idea. This only served to increase his fear.

"Okay, okay," said Christopher gently, moving closer to him. "But this is going to be the hard part. Luckily, if we go by your plan, you won't have to do this until we get away. But I'm going to have to help you right now, okay?"

Nathan nodded, trying to cling onto whatever sense of calm he'd felt earlier to ease the anxiety clawing away at his chest.

"We're going to do the same thing as before, but you have to go slow. If you feel yourself choking, stop and readjust. Try not to panic. Okay?"

There were few phrases that caused as much anxiety as "try not to panic." Nathan nodded, trying not to think about panicking. "Okay."

Christopher moved his attention to Nathan's stomach. "Danny, are you ready?"

"Y-yeah," came Danny's voice, sounding a little more hesitant than before.

"Remember what you did before," said Christopher, a slight smirk on his face. "You'll be fine."

Nathan tried to ignore the implication that Christopher had eaten Danny multiple times already. The way Christopher spoke to Danny was...unexpected, to say the least. He was acting so gentle and patient with her, and despite the obvious snark from Danny, they seemed to have...well, something at least friendship-adjacent going. But it was very different from the way Nathan interacted with Danny. There was something else, but Nathan couldn't put his finger on what.

"Alright." Christopher locked eyes with Nathan, instilling him with one last bout of confidence. "You can do this, Nathan."

Nathan breathed in and out a few times to mentally prepare himself for whatever was coming. He just wanted to see Danny again.

He pressed into his gut just as he had before, and when he didn't feel anything happen, Christopher moved his hand again to the right position. This time, Nathan didn't flinch away from the touch—he was too preoccupied with the feeling of Danny suddenly moving back up into his throat.

At first it was fine, though he had to push a little more than before. Danny didn't seem to be struggling at all. But as what he thought to be her shoulders pushed their way further up his throat, he felt his intake of air get cut off. The sudden asphyxiation sent a wave of panic coursing through him, and he temporarily forgot what he was supposed to be doing.

"Stop and readjust." Christopher's urgent voice was colored with a hint of worry.

Nathan got a handle on his fear, and used his other hand to move the slight bulge in his throat until he could feel air in his lungs again. He inhaled deeply through his nose before continuing, moving even slower than before now that he knew what he was trying to avoid. He only encountered a few more blockages before, mercifully, he could feel Danny emerge into his mouth. He reached in to pull her out, and felt relief as she grabbed his fingers. Slowly, he was able to remove her completely, and she fell into his palm in a soggy heap.

She inhaled deeply, taking in deep lungfuls of air as she hugged her knees and closed her eyes. Nathan had barely looked up before Christopher handed him another towel—how does he always seem to have a towel on hand like that—and he accepted it, carefully draping it over Danny and drying her off.

"You did it, Nathan." Christopher was smiling softly, looking...impressed? He looked toward Danny, who Nathan had placed carefully on the table. "And you too. That's the longest you've lasted without passing out, so congrats." His smirk returned.

Danny looked up at Nathan and...smiled. Covered in saliva, hair absolutely disheveled and stuck together with spit, clothes soaked...she still smiled at him warmly, the same way she always did. "I knew you could do it, Nate."

Nathan felt a blossom of warmth in his chest that helped to overshadow the horrible, creeping sensation of guilt. "I'm...I'm sorry, Danny..."

She shook her head. "You have nothing to apologize for. You were...really brave, to try this."

Nathan bent his head down and held Danny close to the side of his face in the best hug he could manage. "Thank you, Danny. I'm just glad you're safe."

She wrapped her tiny arms around his face in return. He noticed, out of the corner of his eye, that Christopher looked away.

"Ugh," Danny said finally, "I am absolutely starving. Christopher, when's dinner?"

The giant in question's head perked up at her words. "I can get started right now. I'm pretty hungry myself." He looked expectantly toward Nathan. "You'll stay for dinner, right?"

"Uh...well, my mom was going to make dinner, and she's probably expecting me back..."

"Oh, come on, Nathan, you're an adult," Christopher scoffed.

"Aw, Nate, please?" He couldn't say no to Danny's insistence—especially considering she was asking him as she was sitting there covered in his own saliva.

"Well, I suppose...it's the least I can do. But I'm going to have to leave after."

Christopher beamed before getting up and walking towards the kitchen. "Sounds like a plan. Oh, and you can use the bathroom down the hall to help Danny wash up a bit. I'm sure she'd appreciate it."

"Yes please," said Danny eagerly.

Nathan smiled to himself. The past few days had been crazy, and he still felt so unsure about...well, everything. But at the end of the day, even if eating her had felt wrong and weird, even if he still didn't like the fact that she had to stay with Christopher, Danny was okay—and that's all that mattered.

* * * * * * * * * * 

Part 18 ->

And with that, the gang is one step closer to the rescue plan coming together...but they’ll need the help of one more ally. Who? Well, better stay tuned for the next part!

Thanks for reading!