Chapter 75: "Gravity is a Suggestion, and Modesty is a Myth"
[A/N: before anyone miss understand why sometime girls call Sunny captain it just a figure of speech or girls lovely saying crew unofficial babysitter ok]
Mixed POV — The Sky is Falling
The jungle of Little Garden was vibrating. Not from the dinosaurs stomping around, and not from the volcano smoking in the distance. No, it was vibrating from the sheer, unadulterated shock of what had just happened in the clearing.
Dorry the Blue Ogre was curled in a fetal position, clutching his heel and weeping about "blocks of infinite pain." Brogy the Red Ogre was trembling behind him, eyeing Sunny like he was a miniature demon lord sent to harvest souls. Usopp was hyperventilating. Zoro was smirking like a proud dad. Nami was questioning her life choices.
And Sunny? He was standing there, dusting off his hands, looking entirely too pleased with himself for traumatizing two century-old warriors with a piece of plastic.
{Ego}: "And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how you assert dominance. Forget Haki battles; just introduce playground hazards. Brutal."
Stockfish: "Checkmate via plastic brick. Elegant. I'll make a note: Lego is a weapon of mass destruction. Tactical efficiency: 100%."
[System]: "Fear established. Dominance asserted. Cuteness... somehow still intact? Master, you are a walking paradox. And I love it. ♡"
The silence was heavy, profound... and then it was shattered by a high-pitched, doppler-effect scream tearing through the canopy above.
"AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH—WHY-DID-I-FORGET-I-COULD-FLYYYYYY?!"
Nami looked up, shielding her eyes against the glare of the sun. Three distinct shapes were plummeting from the clouds like meteors made of bad decisions. One was blue and screaming. One was blue-haired and screaming. And one was a duck, who was also, impressively, screaming.
Nami slapped her forehead so hard it left a red mark. "Why? Just... why? Why is the idiot goddess, the princess, and her duck falling from the sky? Is gravity broken? Is logic broken?"
Zoro squinted. "Looks like rain. Idiot rain."
Sanji, appearing from the bushes with a basket of herbs, dropped his cigarette. "VIVI-CHAAAAAN! AQUA-SWAAAN! I WILL CATCH YOU WITH THE SOFTNESS OF MY LOVE!"
Sunny sighed, the sound deep and weary. "Of course. Because a peaceful morning is illegal on this ship."
Aqua's POV — The Descent of the Goddess
Current Status: Falling. Terminal Velocity achieved. Dignity levels critical.
"Think, Aqua! Think!" I screamed at myself, the wind whipping my beautiful blue hair into a tangled mess that was going to take hours to comb out. "If you don't do something, we're going to be pancakes! Royal pancakes! Goddess pancakes! Duck confit!"
How the hell did we get here?
Flashback: Two Hours Ago
The morning sun had filtered through the giant fern leaves, dappling the camp in gold. I woke up feeling glorious. Radiant. I stretched, my divine joints popping, and immediately, my thoughts drifted to Sunny.
"Mmm... my dear Captain," I purred to the empty air, adjusting my raiment. "He must be cold. Lonely. He needs a goddess to warm him up. It is my divine duty to offer cuddles."
I had a whole scenario planned out. I'd glide over, wake him with a soft poke, maybe a little water-magic sparkle, and he'd look at me with those big, dreamy eyes and say, 'Oh, Aqua, you are the light of my life, please hold me.' And then... well, things would get spicy. I'm a goddess of love too, right? Or water? Whatever, fluids are involved either way.
I floated over to his sleeping bag, lips puckered, ready for romance.
And my jaw literally dropped to the jungle floor.
Lucy. That rubbery, hat-wearing thief was sleeping on top of him. And not just sleeping—she was wrapped around him like a python, limbs tangled in a knot that defied anatomy, drooling on his chest. And Sunny? He was sleeping peacefully! Like he enjoyed being strangled by a stretchy limpet!
"Excuse me?!" I hissed, steam practically shooting out of my ears. My cheeks burned. "That should be me! I have better curves! I smell like fresh rain, not meat and rubber!"
I raised my hands, summoning a massive sphere of ice-cold water. "One splash. Just one. It's for their own good. Hydration is key."
But I stopped. If I soaked him now, he'd get grumpy. And Grumpy Sunny is less likely to feed me snacks or give me headpats. I lowered my hands, huffing. "Fine. I'll make him pay later. Double headpats. Triple snacks. And maybe I'll flood his boots."
Needing to vent my divine frustration, I wandered off into the jungle and found Vivi and Karoo staring at a giant cactus with wide, fearful eyes.
"Oh, look at you," I scoffed, flipping my hair. "Scared of a little plant? I am the Goddess of Water! I could turn this entire desert island green with a snap of my fingers if I wanted to!"
Vivi blinked at me, that polite, 'I-don't-believe-you-but-I'm-too-nice-to-say-it' look on her face. "Oh! That's... wonderful, Aqua-sama. Very... impressive."
She was humoring me! Me! A deity!
"You don't believe me!" I accused, pointing a finger at her nose. "You think I'm just a party trick! Well, I accept your unspoken challenge!"
Vivi's POV — The Escalation
I really didn't mean to challenge her. I was just trying to not get eaten by a plant.
But Aqua puffed up her chest, pouting like a child, and declared, "Behold! I will show you the heavens!"
She raised her staff, and ice crackled from the ground. It wasn't just a patch; it was a pillar. A massive, spiraling elevator of crystal-clear ice shot upward, lifting us—me, Aqua, and a terrified Karoo—up through the canopy.
"Going up!" she chirped.
We broke through the tree line. Then the clouds. The air got thin and cold.
"Look!" Aqua gestured grandly. She started weaving her hands, and the ice spread out, forming a massive, floating platform in the sky. "I made a simple sky island! It's transparent ice! Isn't it beautiful? In reality, I could make this 1000 kilometers wide! I could build a castle! A water park! A shrine to myself!"
It was... breathtaking. We were standing on glass-clear ice, high above the world. We spent an hour up there—Aqua making ice sculptures of Sunny (which she hugged), me trying to calm Karoo down, and honestly... it was fun. We bonded. She told me stories about other worlds that sounded fake but were told with such conviction I almost believed them.
"And then I punched a demon king! Pow!" she mimed, slipping on the ice and landing on her butt. We laughed. It was nice.
Then the floor shook.
Far below, on the ground, two dinosaurs—a T-Rex and something with a spiked tail—had slammed into the base of our ice pillar during a brawl.
CRACK.
The sound was sickening. The pillar shattered.
"Uh oh," Aqua said.
The platform tipped. And then, gravity took over.
Flashback End
"I'M TOO YOUNG TO BE A PANCAKE!" I screamed, clutching Karoo, who was clutching Aqua.
I squeezed my eyes shut. This is it. I'm going to die. I'll never save Alabasta. I'll never tell my father I love him.
And then, suddenly, I wasn't falling.
I was... floating?
No. I was being held.
I opened my eyes. The wind was still roaring, but I was stationary, suspended in mid-air. Strong, warm arms were wrapped around my waist and under my knees. I looked up.
Sunny.
He was standing on a shimmering platform of blue light—air compressed into a solid foothold. His cloak whipped around us like a protective wing. His face was close, calm amidst the chaos of the fall, his eyes locked on mine.
"Gotcha, Princess," he said, his voice cutting through the wind like an anchor.
My heart didn't just skip a beat; it did a triple backflip. My face ignited. Being held like this... by him... high above the jungle... it was like a scene from a romance novel, but better, because he smelled like ozone and safety.
"S-Sunny!" I squeaked.
"And you too, luggage," he grunted, looking over his shoulder.
Aqua was clinging to his back like a barnacle, her arms wrapped around his neck, legs around his waist, burying her face in his shoulder.
"I KNEW YOU WOULD SAVE ME! MY HERO! MY KING! WHAT WOULD I DO WITHOUT YOU?!" she wailed, sobbing into his cloak.
"You could have just flown," Sunny deadpanned, watching Karoo float nearby, encased in a bubble of distorted space. "You know... wings? Levitation? Goddess powers?"
Aqua froze. She sniffled, lifting her head. "...Oh. Right."
She paused, then buried her face back in his neck. "I WAS TOO SCARED! THE FEAR PARALYZED MY DIVINE FLIGHT MUSCLES!"
Sunny's POV — Catching Clouds
"Your divine flight muscles are located in your brain, and they clearly malfunctioned," I muttered, adjusting my grip on Vivi.
She was trembling, her hands clutching my shirt tight. "Are... are we safe?"
"Yeah. Just hanging out," I grinned. Air Crunch held steady beneath my boots. Space Crunch kept the duck afloat. And sheer grip strength kept the Goddess of Uselessness attached to my spine.
[System]: "Contact established. Princess Vivi anxiety levels dropping. Princess Vivi arousal levels rising. Calculating... oh my. She likes the princess carry. Should I play romantic music in your head, Master? ♡"
{Ego}: "She's blushing so hard she's gonna set the atmosphere on fire. Nice catch, hero."
Stockfish: "Tactical positioning optimal. You have effectively secured the loyalty of the royalty and the deity in a single maneuver. Efficiency: High. Also, the view is... advantageous."
I ignored them, focusing on lowering us down.
"Hold tight," I said to Vivi. "Going down."
We descended smoothly, landing in the clearing where the rest of the crew was waiting. I set Vivi down gently, but she lingered for a second, her hand brushing my chest before stepping back, face bright red.
"T-Thank you, Sunny," she whispered.
Aqua refused to let go. I had to physically pry her off my back.
"I'm traumatized!" she declared, flopping onto the grass. "I need comfort food! I need praise! I need Sunny to carry me to bed!"
"You need a leash," I said, but I patted her head anyway. "Glad you're not dead, idiot."
Aqua leaned into the pat, purring instantly. "Hehe. He touched me."
The Lunch Interlude — Culinary Warfare
With the crisis averted and the adrenaline fading, hunger hit the crew like a physical blow.
"Lunch!" Lucy demanded, vibrating. "Meat! Dinosaur meat! Cook it!"
Sanji leaped up, eyes flaming. "I shall prepare a feast of love for my traumatized Nami-swan and Vivi-chan! A light salad, perhaps a—"
"Sit down, curly," Nojiko said, stepping forward and tying an apron over her outfit. She cracked her knuckles. "You're too jittery. You'll burn the garlic. I'm cooking today."
Sanji looked like he'd been slapped. "Nojiko-swan! But... the kitchen is my sanctuary! My domain of love!"
"And today, it's my domain of 'feed the idiots before they starve'," she countered, grabbing a frying pan. She looked at me, a sultry, knowing smirk playing on her lips. "Besides, I know exactly what someone likes."
I felt the heat rise in my cheeks. Nojiko's cooking was... heavy. Hearty. It tasted like home. And the way she looked at me promised that lunch wasn't the only thing on the menu.
"I'll help," I said quickly, escaping the teasing glares of the others. "I'll... uh... chop vegetables."
Sanji collapsed in despair. "He gets to be her sous-chef?! The injustice! The cruelty!"
Lunch was a chaotic affair of massive dinosaur steaks, spicy stir-fried jungle greens, and Nojiko's signature tangerine-glazed ribs. Aqua ate enough for three people, claiming it was "restorative mana." Vivi ate delicately but with gusto, stealing glances at me every few bites. Lucy just inhaled everything in a five-foot radius.
But my mind was elsewhere. Specifically, on the sick bay of the Going Merry.
"I'm going to check on Robin," I said, standing up and wiping my mouth. "She needs the medicine."
"I made soup," Nojiko said, handing me a covered bowl. Her fingers lingered on mine. "Make sure she eats. And... don't stay too long, little brother." She winked.
I gulped. "Right."
Robin's POV — The Fever Dream
The cabin was stifling. Even with the porthole open, the jungle humidity hung in the air like a wet wool blanket.
I lay on the bed, the sheets tangled around my legs. The fever had broken, thanks to Sunny's technique earlier, but my body still felt heavy, languid. My skin was sensitive, every brush of the fabric sending shivers through me that weren't quite cold, and weren't quite unpleasant.
Merry, the ship's spirit, had been a sweet companion, helping me sponge off the worst of the sweat with cool water. But she had faded back into the woodwork when footsteps approached.
I was... indecent. My nightgown was thin, clinging to damp skin, the top buttons undone to let the heat escape. The wet towel I'd been using was draped over my collarbone, water droplets tracing slow paths down the valley of my chest.
The door creaked open. No knock. Just urgency.
Sunny stepped in, a bowl in one hand, a vial of green liquid in the other. "Robin, I brought the—"
He froze.
The door clicked shut behind him.
I watched him processing the scene. His eyes, usually so sharp and confident, widened. They traveled—against his will, I'm sure, but instinct is a powerful thing—from my face, down my neck, over the damp, translucent fabric clinging to my breasts, to the curve of my hip where the sheet had slipped.
His face went from his normal tan to a shade of red that would make a tomato jealous.
"O-Oh," he stammered, his voice cracking. He spun around, facing the door, shoulders hunched. "I—I didn't—I should have knocked! I'm sorry!"
I felt a slow, amused smile spread across my lips. He was adorable. This man who could crush giants with a look, who ordered monsters around, who warped space... turned into a flustered mess at the sight of a little skin.
"My, my," I murmured, my voice husky from the fever and the heat. I shifted on the bed, the rustle of sheets deliberate. "Little brother... you really do have terrible timing. Or is it perfect timing?"
I saw his shoulders tense.
"I brought the medicine," he mumbled to the doorframe. "And soup. Nojiko made it."
"You can turn around, Sunny," I said softly. "I'm not going to bite. Unless you want me to."
He turned slowly, eyes strictly locked on my face, avoiding the dangerous territory below my chin with heroic effort. He looked like he was in physical pain.
"Here," he said, stepping closer, holding out the vial. "Drink this. It'll clear the rest of the toxin."
I made no move to take it. My arms felt heavy, limp at my sides. I looked at him through half-lidded eyes.
"I'm afraid I'm too weak to lift it," I lied effortlessly. "My hands are trembling. You'll have to help me."
[System]: "Liar. Her grip strength is currently normal. She is playing you like a fiddle, Master. And I am recording it because the lighting is excellent. ♡"
{Ego}: "She's good. She's really good. Go on, feed the lady. Be a good boy."
Stockfish: "Trap detected. Inescapable. Submission recommended for maximum morale boost."
Sunny sighed, a shaky, resigned sound. He pulled a chair over, sitting close to the bed. The scent of him—ozone, citrus, and that underlying masculine heat—washed over me, grounding and intoxicating.
"Fine," he whispered. "Open up."
He uncorked the vial. I parted my lips. He brought the glass to my mouth, his fingers brushing my lower lip. His hand was trembling slightly.
I drank it slow, eyes locked on his. The liquid was bitter, but his closeness was sweet. When it was done, a drop escaped, running down my chin.
Before he could reach for a cloth, I caught his wrist. My thumb brushed his pulse point—it was racing.
"You're blushing, Sunny," I teased, drawing his hand closer. "Is it the heat? Or is it your Oneesan?"
"It's the heat," he lied, his voice strangled.
"Liar."
I guided his hand—his warm, calloused, dangerous hand—down to the towel on my chest. "Help me with this? It's getting warm."
He flinched, pulling back slightly, but he didn't pull away. He looked at me, really looked at me, his eyes dark and dilated. The embarrassment was there, yes, but beneath it... hunger. Curiosity.
"Robin..." he warned, but it sounded like a plea.
"Just cooling me down," I whispered. "That's what a good doctor does, isn't it?"
He swallowed hard. He took the towel. His knuckles grazed my skin—electric shocks radiating from the contact point. He dipped the towel in the cool basin of water on the nightstand, wrung it out, and brought it back.
He dabbed my neck. My collarbone. He was gentle, devastatingly so. He avoided anything improper, but the intimacy of it—him caring for me, me exposed and vulnerable—was far more erotic than if he'd just grabbed me.
"You have... too many women around you," I murmured, watching his focused face. "Nami. Nojiko. Aqua. Lucy. Vivi. And now me."
He paused, the cool cloth resting on my sternum. He met my gaze, and for a second, the boy was gone. The Captain was there.
"I don't collect women, Robin," he said quietly. "I collect family. People I can't leave behind."
It hit me in the chest harder than the fever. Family.
I reached up, threading my fingers into his hair at the nape of his neck, pulling him down until our foreheads touched.
"Careful, Sunny," I breathed. "Keep talking like that, and I might never let you go."
"Don't," he replied, closing his eyes.
We stayed like that for a long, heavy moment—breathing the same air, the tension thick enough to choke on. It wasn't sex. It was something heavier. It was a promise wrapped in desire.
Then, the door banged open.
"SUNNY! ROBIN! LUNCH IS GETTING COLD AND AQUA IS TRYING TO EAT THE TABLE!" Lucy yelled, poking her head in.
Sunny jerked back like he'd been shot, nearly knocking the chair over. I laughed—a low, throaty sound.
"Saved by the bell," I teased.
Sunny stood up, adjusting his cloak, face burning. "I... yeah. Eat the soup. I'm going to... go throw Lucy into the ocean."
He fled. Literally fled.
I lay back on the pillows, the taste of the medicine lingering on my tongue, feeling better than I had in years.
"Oh, little brother," I whispered to the empty room. "This is going to be fun."
Lucy's POV — Giant Tales and Tiny Fears
"So then," Brogy boomed, gesturing with a bone the size of a tree trunk, "The sea king tried to swallow the ship, but I laughed! GABABABA! And the sound wave shattered its teeth!"
I sat cross-legged on the ground, staring up at the giants with stars in my eyes. "So cool! Sound wave attacks! I wanna do that!"
Nami was sitting next to me on a log, sipping juice but watching me like a hawk. Every time my hand drifted toward the mug of ale the giants had offered, she slapped it away.
"No alcohol," she ordered. "You heard Sunny. No drunk captains."
"But it smells good!" I whined.
"No."
Across the fire, Dorry shivered. He looked at the ale in his hand, then at the memory of the Lego brick, and slowly poured the drink onto the ground.
"What a waste!" Brogy cried.
"I can't do it, brother," Dorry whispered, looking over his shoulder nervously. "I feel Him watching. The Doll Man. If I drink, the block returns. The pain... the infinite pain..."
Brogy paled. "You're right. No booze. Water! We drink water! To health! To surviving the Doll Man!"
The two massive giants clinked water barrels together, looking terrified.
I giggled. "Sunny really messed you guys up, huh?"
"He is a demon," Brogy whispered. "A cute, tiny demon."
Just then, Sunny walked into the clearing. He looked... flustered. His face was red, his hair was messy, and he was walking fast.
"Bounties!" he announced, slapping a stack of papers onto a rock. "Updated. News Coo dropped them off."
I scrambled over. "Did I go up?! Did I?!"
Sunny grinned, the red fading from his cheeks as he regained his swagger. "See for yourself."
He held up the posters.
WANTED
DEAD OR ALIVE
"Straw Hat" Lucy
50,000,000 Berries
("Captain of the Cutest Pirate Alive")
"FIFTY MILLION!" I screamed, pumping my fists. "YES! I'M HALFWAY TO A HUNDRED!"
WANTED
DEAD OR ALIVE
"Sunny"
200,000,000 Berries
("The Cutest Threat Level: Global")
"TWO HUNDRED MILLION?!" Nami shrieked, snatching the poster. "For cuteness?! The Marines are insane!"
Sunny groaned, burying his face in his hands. "Global threat level. Kill me. Just kill me now."
WANTED
DEAD OR ALIVE
Roronoa Zoro
10,000,000 Berries
("For Sleeping Menacingly")
Zoro woke up, looked at the poster, scowled, and went back to sleep. "At least it's double digits."
WANTED
DEAD OR ALIVE
Black Leg Sanji
5,000,000 Berries
("For Cooking While Simping")
Sanji fell to his knees. "FIVE MILLION?! AND THE PICTURE IS THE BACK OF MY HEAD?! WHY?!"
I laughed until my sides hurt. We were a mess. A chaotic, high-bounty, ridiculous mess.
And we were heading to Alabasta.
"Alright!" I shouted, jumping onto a rock. "Pack it up! We've got a desert to conquer! And a Warlord to kick in the teeth!"
Sunny looked up at me, that soft, proud smile returning to his face.
"Aye aye, Captain."