Moments Between Storms
The ocean shimmered like liquid gold beneath the setting sun, painting the deck of the Hyperion in warm, drowsy light. The crew had rested, healed, and cleaned the blood from the railings—but the true weight of what they endured still lingered in the way they walked, stood, looked at one another.
And that silence began to bloom… into something more intimate.
[Scene 1: Nami – In the Bathhouse]
The ship's luxury bathhouse, installed through Capsule Corp tech, steamed gently. Nami lounged in the wide mineral pool, hair pinned loosely, a slice of orange drifting lazily nearby.
The door slid open.
Vegito stepped in, shirt off, towel over his shoulder, tail casually swaying behind him.
Nami's eyes narrowed. "Bold of you."
He raised a brow. "I did install this place, remember?"
She rolled her eyes—but smiled. "You always show up when I'm vulnerable."
"Maybe I just like the real you," he replied, slipping into the other side of the pool.
There was a moment of quiet steam and drifting fruit.
"I thought I was going to lose you," she said suddenly.
Vegito looked up.
Nami's voice dropped. "During the CP-0 fight… there was a moment where I felt it. That twist in my gut. I hated it."
He swam over slowly, placing a gentle hand on her cheek. "You won't. I'll always come back."
"You're not a god, Vegito."
"No," he said softly, "but I have a reason to fight like one."
She didn't pull away when he kissed her.
[Scene 2: Robin – The Library]
Later that evening, Vegito found Robin curled on the large reading couch, wearing a silk robe, book half-read on her lap.
"'The Song of the Void,' huh?" he noted, eyeing the spine. "That's heavier than most bedtime reading."
Robin gave a tired smirk. "The void sings more sweetly when someone reads it aloud."
He sat next to her, shoulders brushing.
They didn't speak for a long while.
Finally, she closed the book.
"I was terrified," she whispered.
Vegito turned to her.
"Not of the agents," she said. "Of what I might become, if I lost this."
"This?"
"You," Robin said, finally turning toward him fully. "This ship. This… life."
Her fingers laced into his.
"I've lived in the shadows of tyrants. Been wanted by the world. I thought power was the only way to be free. But now I realize…"
He waited.
"…freedom is being held by someone who chooses you, every day."
Vegito leaned forward, pressing his forehead to hers. "Then I choose you. Every single one of those days."
She kissed him slow, with years of pain behind it.
And for once, she let herself be held.
[Scene 3: Kuina – Gravity Training Room]
The gravity chamber hummed quietly. Kuina stood in a sports bra and black shorts, hands wrapped, sweat glistening down her neck.
She threw another strike at the training dummy—then another. Her breath was ragged.
Vegito leaned against the doorway, arms crossed.
"You're going to burn out your muscles."
"I can take it," she growled.
He walked in. "That's not what I meant."
She turned to him, eyes blazing. "I was too slow."
"No, you weren't."
"I needed your help."
"And I needed yours."
She flinched.
Vegito stepped closer. "I've fought alone most of my life. You know what I've learned?"
Kuina didn't answer.
"That strength without connection is empty. You being here makes me stronger—not weaker."
She finally looked up, her voice barely audible.
"Then let me stand at your side… not behind you."
"You already do."
He took her hand.
She let him.
[Scene 4: Nojiko – Garden Deck]
Nojiko sat by the hydroponic garden plot she'd built, pruning herbs under starlight. Her usual cool demeanor was softer now, the blue of her hair catching moonlight.
Vegito sat beside her on the low bench.
"I heard you took out an agent with two needles and a prayer."
She chuckled. "I was aiming for poetry, really."
They watched the stars.
"I worry sometimes," she said. "That I'm not like the others."
"In what way?"
"I don't shoot lightning. I don't know ancient texts. I'm not a sword saint. I just…"
He tilted his head. "You just what?"
"I'm just… me."
Vegito turned, taking her chin in his fingers. "And that's why I trust you with everyone else."
She blushed, softly.
"You're the foundation, Nojiko. And I don't build anything without one."
When he kissed her, it wasn't fiery—it was slow, grounding, deep.
Like soil.
Like truth.
[Scene 5: Lyra – The Observation Dome]
The ship's crystal dome offered a view of the stars as if the world ended above them. Lyra sat cross-legged, casting faint illusion spells for fun—little galaxies spiraling on her fingertips.
"Still awake?" Vegito asked as he stepped in.
She nodded. "Couldn't sleep."
"Want company?"
Lyra glanced over her shoulder. "I always want your company. I just never know how to ask."
He came and sat behind her, wrapping his arms gently around her waist. Her back relaxed into him.
"I was scared you'd forget me in the fight," she said. "That I'd fade into the crowd."
"You never could," he whispered.
She pressed her forehead into his jaw. "Tell me again?"
"You'll always have me. You're not just one of many. You're you."
Lyra trembled softly.
And then kissed him, letting illusion fade, letting honesty bloom.
[Final Scene: Vegito – In the Captain's Chair]
He sat alone once more as the ship powered into slow cruise mode, drifting toward East Blue. The stars spun overhead.
His thoughts were no longer of battle.
They were of hands held. Tears shared. Smiles exchanged.
Of love—raw, honest, and burning like starlight across a pirate's sky.
And behind him, one by one, his crew joined him—not as soldiers.
As his women.
As his heart.