She touched a penis. No matter what she did to distract herself, from tidying up, to reading a book, to trying to sleep, no matter what, Hestia's thoughts drifted back to that thought. It wouldn't leave her head, playing on a loop or creeping up on her each time she managed to distract herself. Without fail, each time her face began to burn.
"Gah!" Hestia groaned, double face palming as she threw herself into her bed. A broom clattered to the floor, now forgotten, as she died of embarrassment. She kicked her legs up into the air, cringing so hard they kicked up and down. She had touched a penis. Full on. She grabbed it. And rubbed it and- "Ughh!"
The memory of what she did wouldn't stop replaying in her head. Never in a million bijillion quintillion years would she ever have thought...that...would happen when she snuck into his bed last night! Hestia never would have done it if she knew what would happen!
She just wanted to cuddle her new child is all! Hestia has tossed and turned for hours, her excitement keeping her up. Jericho's deep, even breathing certainly didn't help. For weeks, she slept alone in this abandoned basement, and the silence was unbearable. During the first few days, it was only her pride as a goddess that stopped from crawling back on her hands and knees to Hephaestus, begging to just spend the night there so she wouldn't feel so alone.
And then there was suddenly someone else other than her in this hovel. Hestia had nearly woken him up when she finally abandoned sleep with a frustrated shout, tossing her covers up to see that the couch was far to small for him. His legs hung off, almost at the knees. Jericho really was huge, easily the biggest human she had ever seen.
Hestia's face burned even hotter as if she were trying to cook her hands that still covered her face. She had watched him sleep for a time, poking at his cheek to make sure that he was really real. And he was. He was larger than life, powerfully built, and he was real.
And he was kind, the feeling of his hands on her feet, practically enveloping them, as he rubbed away the pain in her legs came to mind. Her face burned even hotter because of it. He bought her flowers than found their new home in a vase she went out and bought because there was no way she was going to let his gift wither away and die. Above all else, he chose her as his goddess.
Jericho was huge, almost unnaturally so. That alone would be enough to interest some gods. He looked so strong and powerful, his body made up of nothing but defined lines and hard planes. Hestia couldn't imagine any familia rejecting him from his appearance alone. When the found out how kind, gentle and thoughtful he was, they would never let him leave.
And she touched his penis. "Ughhh!" She groaned again, curling up into a ball and wanting to disappear. She did a lot more than touch it! She-she-she…!
Hestia blushed all the way down to her toes. "He must think I'm some kind of harlot! Like Freya or Ishtar, or...or...or Loki!" She heard rumors about how the latter constantly molested her children. Freya's familia might as well be her personal harem, that slutty goddess offered herself to anyone caught her eye. Ishtar, well, her familia were all prostitutes!
She couldn't stop herself though! When he was asleep, Jericho looked so inviting and she really wanted to just hold her child! But, when he woke up…!
"Ahhh!" Hestia yelled, her cry of horror muffled by her hands. She threw her head back, folding herself until the back of her head practically touched her feet, probably pulling something as she cringed. Hopefully to death. Her memories were all to cruel to replay the exact moment she realized what had been pressing against her stomach.
She was a virgin goddess! For thousands of years, she rejected all suitors, none of them ever so much as laying a finger on her. At first, when Hestia was much younger, she wanted to save herself for her soulmate, her perfect other half, just like the stories. Then it was because every single god wanted to sleep with her because she was a virgin, for bragging rights that they made the big three virgins in Heaven the big two. Then it was because they were all in on a bet on when she would lose it and to who.
Virgin goddesses weren't supposed to touch penises!
But he was hurting! All gods could tell when a mortal was lying to them and he lied when he said that it didn't hurt. And...and when her back was killing her, her legs felt like they were filled with lead and her feet ached, Jericho helped her. Hestia had practically melted under his touch, the stress of a long day, no matter how great it ended, erased. She...all...she wanted to help him like that.
"And I messed up his blessing," Hestia groaned, curling back up into a ball. The most basic thing that a god could do, she somehow found a way to mess it up. She hadn't thought that was possible. If anyone found out about that, then she was done for. She'd actually die of humiliation, only to go back up to Heaven and be mocked there since the overworked gods still there had to find their enjoyment wherever they could.
A sigh escaped her. As much as she regretted it, Hestia knew exactly why she did it. Already, she owed Jericho so much. He chose her as his goddess. For messing up his blessing. For the flowers and the foot massage and for being so kind to her. So, when he said...it...hurt, she wanted to make it stop.
It wasn't until it came out of his pants that it dawned on her what she offered to do.
Slowly, Hestia lifted the hand that did the deed off her face, still blushing down to her toes. She stared at it for a moment, recalling how he had felt in the palm of her hand. Hard like steel wrapped in velvet, so warm and thick that she could barely wrap her hand fully around it. Hestia stared at her hand, practically seeing the seed that spilled on it.
Hestia could swear she could still taste it, no matter how much water she drank. It was thick, clinging to her tongue and throat. It tasted sweet. Hestia wasn't sure if she liked the taste at all, but she didn't think she hated it.
"He probably thinks I'm a slut," Hestia repeated, her heart falling. She crawls into bed with him and then she touches his penis within a single day of knowing him. It was hilarious in a way that really wasn't funny. She was a virgin goddess that acted like a harlot. All the other gods would laugh until they cried if they ever found out.
Then she brought that hand down onto her face. Hard. Her cheek stung, but it was the kick she needed to get out of bed. "Stop feeling sorry for yourself," Hestia ordered herself, pushing herself to her feet. She couldn't change the past, well, not without using her arcanum, so there was nothing she could do about it.
"I'll just have to prove to him than I'm not like those other floozy goddesses!" Right, this was no time to feel sorry for herself. Hestia closed her eyes, finding the blessing that connected her to Jericho. It was still there.
"He should be in the Dungeon by now," Hestia muttered, wondering if her first child was standing somewhere beneath her. He wasn't. He promised that he wouldn't go past the first floor, and it wasn't anywhere near as big as some of the others. Each floor got bigger the further you went down, the first was only the size of a couple of blocks, while the deeper floors were the size of countries.
If he was down there risking his life, then she could do something other than dying of cringe. With a surge of motivation, Hestia threw open her closet, revealing its sparse contents, and grabbed a well worn light blue coat. "I should tell Micha and Hephaestus the good news," she spoke aloud, an old habit from when she was alone to fill the silence.
Hestia left her home with a pep in her step that was only slightly forced, striding out of the ruined church and into the city. It was a little after noon, so the city was in full swing as she made her way towards the heart of Orario. Humming a tune to herself, Hestia's eyes bounced between stores, stalls, and people.
Her gaze lingered on a roll of cloth displayed behind a glass window. Between her savings and Jericho's, they had a little over 2000 valis. Which wasn't a lot. They didn't have money to throw around on pointless things.
But Jericho only had the clothes on his back, so was it really a pointless expense?
Hestia made a note to stop by later to see how much it would cost to get a tunic and a shirt in...XXXL size. At least then his normal clothes could be spared the wear and tear they would collect in the Dungeon since they were far too nice for it.
Her trek through Orario was uneventful, letting her enter the tower of Babel without any trouble. Hestia's eyes glided over the staircase that lead to the Dungeon. An impulse struck her to run down them, to find her child just to make sure that he was okay. Again, she checked the bond between them and found that her blessing was still there. He was okay.
"Stay safe," Hestia whispered, turning away to step onto a lift. Pulling one lever that would take her to floors 200 and above, then another to bring her to the 230th with the minimum amount of difficulty, the lift jerked for a moment before it began taking her up. As the lift climbed, Hestia fiddled with her gloves, made sure her ribbon was perfect and smoothed out her dress, wishing for a mirror.
After what felt like an eternity, the lift came to a stop, the doors sliding open to reveal a richly decorated hallway. Smooth marble floors, white painted walls with large panes of glass every couple of feet to display ridiculously fine weapons and armor. Sets of armor made of adamantine, trimmed with mithril, imbued characteristics like Featherweight, or Durandal to make it unbreakable…
"Y-you could buy a hundred million jabamarukuns with that kind of money," Hestia knew that prices inflated to an insane degree for first-class adventurers since they needed first-class gear made by first-class smiths, but it always shocked her every time she saw a price tag with more zeros than she wanted to count. Hespustus must be rolling in valis…
Shaking her head to get rid of the stray thoughts, Hestia continued down the hallways, trying not to think about how out of place she felt surrounded by so much wealth. She walked towards Hephaestus's office, treading a path she walked countless times before. She passed smiths by, or potential customers, smiling at them as she walked.
"Isn't that Hestia?" One of the muttered just loud enough for her to hear.
"Hm. She lasted longer than I thought she would."
Hestia twitched when she heard them talking behind her back. Instead of turning on her heel to shout at them that she wasn't here to mooch off Hephaestus, Hestia kept walking. It was hard to yell when she knew, deep down, they weren't wrong. But things have changed!
Reaching Hephaestus's office, Hestia wasted no time throwing it open, "Hephaestus, guess-" She started, beaming joy out of every pore, only to be interrupted by her redheaded friend. A beautiful woman sat behind a desk, a mountain of papers piled upon it, with a large black eyepatch that covered some of her forehead and cheek.
"You aren't getting a single valis from me," Hephaestus cut her off, her voice monotone and blunt. That took the wind form Hestia's sails, making her wilt practically instantly.
"I'm not here for money!" Hestia shouted forcefully, getting her friend's attention. A lone red eye bore into her as if she could see if she was lying since the lie detector all gods had didn't work on gods. When they first came down from Heaven, it was one of the only advantages they allowed themselves to have over mortals, a safety net to stop something...unfun from happening.
"Oh?" Hephaestus asked, leaning back, suddenly looking much more welcoming. She wore a white dress shirt, her sleeves rolled up past her elbows, the exposed flesh covered by black long arm covers to protect her when she applied her trade.
Hestia nodded quickly, planting her hands on her hips, puffing out her considerable chest. "I have a child now! The Hestia familia has officially begun!" Hestia declared, laughing confidently. An expression of surprise appeared on Hephaestus's face, but there was a smile playing at her lips.
"Did someone finally give in?" Hephaestus teased lightly, poking fun at the fifty or so times she was rejected.
"No! His name is Jericho and he asked me to join," Hestia stated forcefully, crossing her arms and looking sharply to the side. She heard Hephaestus humm at that. Cracking one eye open ever so slightly, Hestia saw her friend's lone eye narrow considerably.
"Did he?" Hephaestus questioned, leaning forward, brushing a hand through her untamed red hair. "Tell me about him." There was something in her tone that Hestia couldn't quite describe. That didn't matter, though, not when she could boast about her first child.
"He's really big!" She kinda felt bad about always using that as his main description, but it fit too well. It was the first thing that anyone would notice about him.
"...Big?" Hephaestus echoed, her eye narrowing even further as she interlocked her fingers, not quite managing to hide the frown tugging at her lips.
"Hm! And he's really sweet. He bought me flowers when he asked to join," Hestia gushed, skipping over to Hephaestus. "Then he let me have all the jabamarukuns to myself because he knew that I skipped my lunch and break. Oh, and he gave me a foot rub and it felt amazing!"
Hephaestus looked at her for a moment, her gaze growing more intense with every word that she said. Was she jealous? She should be!
"It sounds like you're rather fond of him already," Hephaestus observed, propping her head up by a gloved hand. "And it looks like I lost some money. I put a thousand valis that you're first familia member would be a girl."
"Hephaestus!" Hestia cried, annoyed but not surprised. She pouted for a moment, then nodding to her first statement. "I do like him," she said, taking a seat in one of the soft leather chairs in front of Hephaestus's desk. They really hadn't gotten the chance to get to know each other yet, but he seemed exactly what she hoped her first familia member would be like.
Then she grabbed the hem of her dress, fingering the edge of it, a nervous habit she picked up at some point. "But, that's not the only reason why I came here today," Hestia started, seeing Hephaestus's guard went up. As much as she wanted to, she couldn't blame her friend for that.
Hestia bowed her head, her hands going to her knees, bending them slightly to create the image of complete submission. It wasn't the dogenza that Takemikazuchi had taught her. That was her secret weapon. Taking in a deep breath, Hestia begged, "please teach me how to be an excellent goddess like you!"
"...what?" Hephaestus asked, sounding more confused than surprised.
"I-" 'managed to screw up giving a blessing.' "I want to be able to care for my child like you do yours! But...I can't. And I don't want any money or anything like that, I just…" in hindsight, it might have been a good idea to figure out exactly what she wanted before coming here. "I just want him to be able to rely on me and right now he can't."
A sniffle escaped Hestia, "I can't give him potion or armor or anything that he actually needs! I can't do anything!" All she could do was provide a place to sleep that he didn't fit in. "So please, teach me your ways!"
Hestia bowed even further, hearing Hephaestus let out a tired sigh. Whatever it took, she would do it. Any skills she needed to learn, Hestia would master!
"Did Takemikazuchi teach you that?" Hephaestus asked, sounding exasperated.
"...he said you wouldn't be able to say no with this technique," Hestia answered honestly.
"What a troublesome guy," Hephaestus muttered under her breath, a deep sigh escaping her a moment later. "Fine, stop bowing. I'll help you a little bit."
Hestia jumped to her feet, throwing herself at her friend, uncaring of the stack of papers that got in the way of her hug. "Thank you! Thank you thank you thankyouthankyouthankyou! Thank you so much, Hephaestus! You're the best-!" Somehow, Hephaestus managed to slip in a hand between their faces to push her back.
"Be careful! Some of those were important!" Hephaestus shouted, but Hestia could tell she didn't mean it. She might not be able to use her arcanum, but Hephaestus was still a master smith and that meant she was strong. If she wanted to, Hephaestus could easily shove her away.
"You're the best Hephaestus!" Hestia ignored her, trying to bring her friend even closer. That Hephaestus didn't push her away was telling that she didn't want to. "I love you!"
"Alright, alright, enough," Hephaestus said, her cheeks a dusted pink. "I don't have much time today, Loki is coming soon and I don't want to deal with the two of you in the same room." Instantly Hestia let go as if she were burned, darting back to her chair with a look of disdain on her face.
"Ew," Hestia said, more or less summing up her feelings about the trickster goddess. If she could be called a goddess at all with that flat chest of hers. "Good idea," Hestia commended, putting her hands in her lap, looking like the perfect student.
Hephaestus sighed, scooping up some of the papers that were knocked astray, "We'll, if it makes you feel any better, Loki's familia is going on an expedition soon. She'll be causing every else trouble then." Again, Hestia grimaced. By that, Hephaestus meant there would be a pranking spree in Orario and no man, woman, or child would be spared. It always happened when Loki's familia delved into the Dungeon, trying to reach floors that had never been seen before. Worse, since she was one of the most powerful familias, none would dare to strike back at her.
Not yet, at least. One day, and one day soon, Hestia would make that flat chested goddess pay for all the wet willies, whoopie cushions and buckets of water perched on top of a door.
"Well then," Hephaestus started, leaning back into her chair. "Since I've never done this before, is there anywhere you'd like to start?"
"How about...the blessing I gave him?" Hestia asked, trying to stealthy nudge the conversation in the direction that would tell her how she managed to-
"Oh, you want me to show you how to hide his blessing?" Hephaestus guessed, earning a blink out of Hestia. Then another one. And another one. And one more to be sure. Then her eyes narrowed into slits.
"Hide?" She echoed, tilting her head.
"To make the blessing invisible to everyone unless you're using your blood or Status Thief," Hephaestus explained, knocking the breath from Hestia's lungs.
"You can do that?!" She shouted, though not quite enough to miss how her friend sighed in exhaustion.