Originally written in 2015

Although vore isn't really the main focus of this chapter, it was the one I wanted to work on next.

Whenever Edward went out to go shopping or to visit Yuki and her friends, he would usually leave Ginger at home to keep her safe. Every once in a while, he brought her to a restaurant or out to the movies, carrying her around in his pocket or on his shoulder beneath the collar of his jacket. However, the boy was still concerned for his friend's safety and frequently left her in their apartment. Needless to say, Ginger felt lonely on the days Edward went out without taking her along.

Her loneliness disappeared the moment her friend walked in the door, always there to greet her with a smile and a cheerful "Hiya, Gingersnap!" when he came home.

So, when Edward returned home one afternoon with a bitter scowl on his face, Ginger sensed his anger and immediately knew that something was wrong.

Instead of racing over to the door to greet the boy as usual, Ginger ducked down and hid behind a leg of the coffee table. She jumped in fright when she heard the front door slam shut with enough force to rattle the nearby window. Her tail fur bristled as she watched Edward stomp into the kitchen, grumbling and muttering angrily under his breath.

Once he was out of sight, Ginger scurried over to the wall that separated the front room of the apartment from the kitchen. Her tiny body shaking with fear, the ocelot slowly peeked around the corner just in time to hear her friend swear loudly as he kicked a chair, sending it toppling to the floor on its side.

Ginger cringed at the sound and flattened her ears against her skull. She felt timid and scared in Edward's presence, as she had never seen the boy act so furious before.

Edward yanked another chair out from under the kitchen table and sat down with a huff. He curled his left hand into a fist and glared at it, keeping his right arm resting at his side.

Gathering her courage, Ginger took a deep breath and stepped into the kitchen to gaze up at the blonde. "E-Ed? Are you alright? You're s-scaring me a little..."

Edward quickly turned his head and stared down at the ocelot. His gaze softened immediately when he saw the fear and concern in her eyes. Ginger glanced down and shied away from him, and the anger the boy felt was quickly replaced with an overwhelming sense of guilt.

"Aww, come here, Ginger..." Edward leaned over and unclenched his fist, holding his hand out for Ginger to climb into.

Ginger looked up to meet Edward's gaze and smiled, her ears perking up when she saw the familiar warmth and affection in his golden eyes. With a happy little squeak, she raced across the tile floor and leaped into his open palm.

Edward lifted the ocelot in his hand and held her up to his face, cuddling her against his cheek. "I'm so sorry, Gingersnap, I didn't mean to scare you..."

"That's okay, Edward." Ginger purred softly to the boy as she hugged his cheek. "What happened that made you so angry?"

Edward sighed. "I got into a fight with Oscar..."

"You what?!" Ginger gasped. "Oh no, did you get hurt?"

"Nah, the fox didn't even land a single punch!" Edward smirked at the thought before his expression turned solemn. "I wasn't hurt, but I busted my auto-mail arm..."

Ginger glanced down at his right arm and winced - it was hanging limply at his side, reminding her of a broken toy.

"I can still roll my shoulder and move my fingers, but my elbow won't bend." When Edward tried to move the joint, his auto-mail made a strange sort of grinding noise but refused to move even an inch.

Ginger tilted her head to one side and furrowed her brow. "How did that happen? Could you start from the beginning?"

"Sure," Edward sighed. "I went to Yuki's house to borrow some more books from her library, but when I got there, she was having tea with Oscar and Jessie…" He scowled, showing his teeth. "I was ready to turn around and walk right back out the door, but Yuki convinced me to stay for a little while and have some tea. I'm more of a coffee person, but she had baked some chocolate chip cookies, and of course I couldn't miss out on those…"

"So, I sat down in the living room - as far away from Oscar as possible - and chatted with Yuki. At some point, the girls got up and went into the kitchen to check on the lasagne they were making for dinner."

"While we were alone in the room, Oscar started teasing me about my height again," Edward growled through tightly gritted teeth. "-so I told him to shut his trap, and he did, for the moment. Then, Oscar started asking me about you and why you weren't with me, and I explained that I had left you at home to keep you safe here. When he taunted me, tellin' me I was too small and weak to protect you, Gingersnap, I got up and socked him in the jaw."

Ginger gasped in shock and her jaw dropped. "You did?!"

Edward nodded. "I did. I must've hit him too hard, because I heard something snap inside my auto-mail when my fist connected with his jaw. The joint in my elbow froze, and I haven't been able to move it since."

"After Oscar aimed a few punches and missed, Yuki and Jessie raced back in and pulled us apart. Yuki wanted to examine my arm to see if any parts had come loose or disconnected, but I told her I could fix it myself and left before saying goodbye or grabbing the books I wanted to borrow." Edward heaved another sigh as he gazed down at the ocelot in his hand.

"Oh, Ed… You shouldn't start fights like that, you could end up getting really hurt!" Ginger reprimanded him. "I know Oscar's a big old bully, but it's not nice to hit people. Is he going to be okay?"

"He's gonna be fine. I gave him a bruise and a split lip, but it'll heal up in a week or two." Edward muttered. "It's my auto-mail I'm more worried about…"

Ginger glanced down at the boy's right arm hanging limply at his side. "You will be able to fix it though, right?"

Edward's expression soured. "That was a lie. I only said I could to get Yuki to stop worrying about me. I have no idea how to fix my arm myself, and the only two people who can repair it live in the world I came from."

"Hmmm, I see…" Ginger wrung her paws together anxiously and flicked her tail as she gazed up at him. "Maybe I can help you,"

"Oh yeah?" Edward smiled. "How?"

"Well, I'm not a professional auto-mail arm fixer-upper, but-"

"That would be called a 'mechanic', Ginger." Edward gently corrected her.

"-Right, I'm not one of those, but I think I'm small enough to fit in your arm. I can crawl inside, find out what's wrong, and try to fix it up!"

"You really think you can fit in there?" Edward looked skeptical at first, but as his gaze wandered from his right arm, to Ginger, and then back again, his expression quickly turned hopeful. If Ginger can squeeze in between the metal plates on my arm and climb inside to look around… But what if she gets trapped inside? Or worse, what if she gets hurt? He gulped at the thought. "I don't know about that, Ginger. I don't want you to put yourself in danger for my sake…"

Ginger playfully shook her head and put on a knowing smile. "Ed, I've been inside your tummy lots of times before and I've never gotten hurt in there! I read in one of the books you borrowed from Yuki that tummies can sometimes digest stuff like metal, but I haven't ever gotten so much as a scratch while I'm in your belly!"

"I know, Ginger, but my arm's made up of steel, screws, and wires, not soft and squishy walls like my tummy."

"I know...but I really want to help you, Ed! Can I at least give it a try? Pleeeeease?"

Edward paused for a moment before he gave a soft sigh. "Oh, alright. I guess we can give it a try,"

"Hooray!" Ginger cheered and happily wagged her tail. "I promise I'll be extra careful!"

"I know you will, but make sure you watch out for moving parts and anything sharp, okay?"

"Don't worry, I'll keep an eye out for dangers!"

"Good." Edward smiled and softly nuzzled the ocelot with the tip of his nose. "Now, let's get this over with," Grunting in effort, he lifted his stiff auto-mail arm and rested it on the tabletop.

"Alright, let's do this!" Ginger peered over the edge of his palm and glanced down at his right arm, studying it from it's metal digits to the steel shoulder. "Where do you think is the best spot for me to crawl in through?" She asked, tilting her head to the side.

"Right here," Edward lifted her up and held her under his auto-mail arm, in the space where his shoulder port connected to his upper arm.

Ginger stared down into the yawning metal abyss in front of her, where thick wires and cords trailed into the darkness below. "Okay, here I go…" Taking a deep breath, Ginger grabbed onto a curved metal plate and crawled into Edward's arm. "Wow!"

Ginger was bombarded with the biting scent of grease and metal the moment she stepped inside - the strong smell nearly overwhelming her as she cautiously ventured further into the dark cavern. The curved, sloping sheet of steel beneath her felt cold and slippery on her delicate hind paw pads. Grabbing onto a bright blue wire suspended above her for support, she slowly made her way down toward Edward's elbow.

Edward tried to track her progress by listening to her echoing pawsteps and the faint scratching of her tiny claws on metal. "Do you see anything yet, Ginger?" He wondered aloud. "Any frayed wires or maybe even a loose part?"

Ginger looked up at the arched ceiling above her as she took a few shuffling steps forward. "Nope, I don't see anything out of place just yet, but - ah!" She screeched as her paw caught on an object lying on the ground in front of her. She tripped and stumbled forward as she lost her grip on the wire above.

"Ginger!" Edward gasped when he heard her stumble. "Ginger, are you okay?!" His breath caught in his throat as his heart began to pound, fearing the ocelot was injured by the fall.

"I-I'm okay!" Ginger called. She had managed to wrap her long tail around a thin metal bar above her, catching herself before she could topple over.

"What happened? You're not hurt, are you?" Edward asked fearfully.

"I'm alright, just a little shaken up. I bumped into something lying on the floor and tripped, but I caught myself…" Ginger straightened up and brushed herself off before she turned around to see what she had tripped over. A length of red wire lay curled across the metal floor like a thin snake. Unlike the taut cables above her head, the wire appeared useless and limp.

"Hmmm…" Ginger grabbed the cord and gave it an experimental tug. "Hey, Ed? I found a red wire in here and it seems pretty loose!"

"Really?" Edward leaned over his arm, trying to peer in between the metal plates. "I bet it got disconnected somewhere! Do you think you could follow it and see where it leads?"

"Sure! I can give it a try." Ginger bent down and grabbed the loose wire with both paws, following along it as it let her deeper into his auto-mail arm. "Ed, Ed!" She cried out excitedly when she reached the boy's elbow. There, cables running from his shoulder were connected to identical wires that stretched up into his forearm, like a series of miniature extension cords. The red wire had disconnected from its twin, leaving both ends slack.

"I think I found out what's wrong with your arm!" Ginger exclaimed. "The red wire I found came loose from its connection in your elbow, which is probably why you couldn't bend it!"

Edward immediately brightened up at the news. "Good job, Ginger!" He grinned. "Do you think you could try to reconnect that wire?"

"Uh huh!" Giddy with excitement at the thought of helping her friend, Ginger grabbed the detached wire and dragged back into his elbow, where its red counterpart hung limply above her.

Standing on her tip toes and stretching her slender body as far as it could go, Ginger managed to plug the two wires back together. A whirring sound echoed somewhere above her before the two wires stretched and went taut.

"Ow!" Edward grunted and clenched his right arm into a fist as a stabbing pain shot up his arm.

"Oh, Ed, are you okay?! I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you!" Ginger wailed, thinking she had done something wrong while reconnecting the loose wires.

"Don't worry, Ginger, it's not your fault!" Edward quickly tried to explain. "The fact that I feel pain in my arm is actually a good sign - it means you fixed it!" He bent his elbow slightly to prove it, rubbing at his shoulder as the pain gradually subsided.

"I did?!" Ginger watched as the cluster of wires bowed down and hung suspended over her head. She purred happily at the sight and bounced on her heels in excitement. "I did it, I did it! Woo hoo!" She cheered.

Edward chuckled, grinning at the ocelot's enthusiasm. "You did a great job, Ginger. Thank you."
"You're very welcome, Ed. I'm so glad I could help!"

"I'm just glad you're alright!" Edward admitted. "There's a lot of moving parts in there, and I don't want you getting hurt or stuck in them. I want you to crawl back out now, okay?"

"Alright!" Ginger shivered and quickly wrapped her arms around herself. "It's starting to get kinda chilly in here, too…" With that, she turned away from the bundle of connected wires and began the trek back up the slippery slope toward his shoulder.

When he saw Ginger's head poke out from the darkness inside his auto-mail arm, Edward quickly reached up and held his hand out for her to crawl onto. Her tan fur was wet and matted with grease stains, but she was otherwise unharmed.

Ginger nestled into Edward's cupped palm, purring softly as his warm skin soothed her cold paws.
Edward smiled and rubbed Ginger's head with the pad of his thumb. "So, what was it like in there?" He asked, nodding at his right arm.

"It was like a huge metal cave-" Ginger held her arms out with her fingers stretched to show how big it was. "-with a maze of steel bars and plates and wires! The metal was super slippery, and every noise echoed like crazy! I felt like an explorer on some epic adventure."

"It was really cool being inside your arm, but it was also really cold in there and smelled like oil… I definitely prefer being in your tummy instead, where it's warm and soft and covered in saliva instead of grease!" Ginger giggled as she held up her dripping, grease-coated paws.

Edward snickered and playfully shook his head. "Alright, little explorer, let's get you cleaned up." With that, he got up and headed over to the kitchen sink, setting Ginger down on the edge of the basin.

"You did such a great job, Gingersnap." Edward gushed as he rubbed dish soap through Ginger's fur, gently working out the grease from her paws and tail. "It really seemed like you knew exactly what you were doing… Are you sure you're not a mechanic?" He teased, tickling Ginger behind the ear.

Ginger squeaked and playfully batted at the boy's finger with her soapy paws. "I already told you, silly! I'm an ocelot, not a mechanic!"

Edward chuckled and petted the top of her head. "If you say so." He winked at the girl before he held her paws under the warm water flowing from the tap.

As soon as Ginger was clean and dry, Edward carried her back over to the kitchen table and sat down, setting her on the tabletop in front of him. He smiled warmly as she tilted her head up and gazed up into his eyes. "In all serious, Ginger, thank you for fixing my arm. I really appreciate it."

"Aww," Ginger smiled. "You're welcome, Edward!"

"And I can't believe you fixed it so fast! Was it easy to reconnect the wires?"

"Oh, yes! It was simple, really. All I had to do was…-"

Edward listened intently as Ginger recounted her daring adventure in detail, but cringed when she got to the part where she tripped and almost fell. He glanced down at his arm, peering in through a gap between two steel plates near his elbow. A cold shiver shot down the boy's spine as he bent the joint - inside, two plates glided together right where Ginger must have been standing only minutes ago, at about waist-height.

Edward frowned. It's my job now to protect Ginger no matter what, and yet I allowed her to climb into my auto-mail, where she ducked around wires and sheets of metal… He winced at the thought. What the hell was I thinking?! One little slip up and Ginger could've been seriously injured or even-

Unable to bear the guilt he felt any longer, Edward scooped Ginger up in his left hand and popped her into his mouth.

"And when I got to your elbow, I-" Ginger froze mid-sentence and let out a surprised mew. "Wha…?" The girl blinked as she glanced around his dripping maw. One second she had been standing on the wooden tabletop, and before she knew it was perched atop Edward's tongue, his hot breath swirling around her. "E-Ed, what're you doing? Why did you put me in your mouth?"

Gently nudging her with his tongue, Edward tucked the ocelot into his cheek in order to speak without slurring. "I'm keeping you safe." He said simply.

Ginger chuckled and shook her head playfully. I bet he's still worried about me after my journey inside his auto-mail. Even though I'm totally fine, he must've felt really scared for me! She thought to herself.

"Oh, Ed…" Ginger closed her eyes and cuddled into Edward's cheek, gently kneading the soft and silky flesh. She smiled and pawed at the boy's tongue when he gave her head a few affectionate licks.

Even though Ed just gave me a nice bath, I'm already drenched in sticky saliva...! Ginger giggled inwardly. Oh well. It's muchbetter than getting covered in smelly grease… Purring happily, she wrapped her little arms around her friend's spongy tongue and gave it a hug.

Edward closed his eyes for a moment and hummed, enjoying the attention he was getting from the little ocelot. When he felt Ginger hugging his tongue, he curled it under her and scooped her up to let her rest on top of the cushiony muscle.

"Eee!" Ginger squeaked and nuzzled Edward's tongue, happily rubbing her head up against it in affection. "Squishy!" She announced, giggling when a chuckle rose up from his throat at her remark.

After a while, Ginger rolled over and wiggled around on her back, getting comfortable on the surface of Edward's tongue. She then tilted her head back and gazed up into the back of his throat. Above her, the boy's uvula bobbed once with every breath he took, while the slick and squishy walls of his throat dipped sharply into darkness below.

Ginger hummed thoughtfully at the welcoming sight. "Hey, Ed?"

"Huh?" Edward asked. It was one of the few words he could say without sounding slurred while his mouth was fully.

"Do you want to swallow me now?"

Edward's eyes widened, his gaze quickly shifting to the side as he reached up and scratched at the back of his head. "Uh…" He hesitated for a moment before he nodded slowly in response. "U-uh huh,"

"Oh good, 'cuz I wanted to cuddle with your tummy," Ginger purred and eagerly rolled over onto her front. "Ready!"

Edward grinned. "'Kay," He tilted his head up and pulled Ginger into the back of his throat before he swallowed deeply.

A booming gulp echoed around the girl as she slipped smoothly down Edward's throat. Strong muscles gently pulsed around Ginger on all sides as the force of gravity pulled her further downwards.

Edward sighed and smirked contently when he felt Ginger drop into his previously empty belly. "Aah…" He reached down and softly patted his stomach, humming in delight as he swiped his tongue across his lips.

Inside Edward's stomach, Ginger curled up right where she landed and snuggled the 'floor' beneath her.

Edward glanced down at his tummy and softly stroked it with his thumb. You're nice and safe in there, Ginger. He thought to himself. Where there aren't any screws or wires or metal parts lying around…

Edward felt a rush of anxiety as an image of Ginger slipping inside his auto-mail and crashing into a sharp corner of metal inside flashed through his mind. One tiny little slip and Ginger could've been injured or...o-or worse, He gulped, feeling his stomach churn at the thought.

Ginger lifted her head and frowned when she heard his belly gurgle. By now, she was able to tell right away the difference between a hunger growl and an upset rumble. "Ed, is everything okay?" She asked, giving his stomach lining a few soothing rubs beneath her paws.

Edward relaxed immediately when he felt Ginger rubbing the walls of his stomach. "Y-yeah…" He smiled softly. "I'm fine, Ginger, don't worry."

"Good," Ginger smiled and purred softly to him. "You don't have to worry about me either, I'm safe and sound when I'm with you!" She reassured him, burying against his spongy stomach wall and hugging it softly

"That's right…" Satisfied, he settled back in his chair and gently rubbed at his tummy with both hands.

Ginger closed her eyes and mewed happily. She softly kneaded at the pillowy wall beneath her, humming quietly as she listen in to the relaxing grumbles and growls her friend's stomach was making.