It was mid-afternoon; Esmeralda and Sosuke were in their room watching television after Esmeralda gave her husband a massage. Sosuke's upper body was exposed, and his head was on his wife's lap. He put his ear by Esmeralda's womb, and he could feel a slight bump; he smiled. Esmeralda touched her husband's hair. "I am starting to feel him move. I can't believe I didn't know I was pregnant."

Sosuke looked at Esmeralda. "You keep saying 'him,'  we don't know if it's a boy. It could also be a girl."

"I know, my billy goat. I would be happy if it's a boy or girl, but I have had dreams. I dream of you holding a baby boy. I see how happy you are."

Sosuke smiled as he gently touched Esmeralda's womb. "I can wait for you to be born, Anselmo Bradley. I am going to teach you everything."

"Yeah, I dread when he grows up to be a teenager and a man. You're probably going to teach him how to get women."

"It's in our blood. We have a talent for picking up women."

The young stuck her tongue out. "That's because of your looks, my love. Your looks have a major factor in picking women."

Sosuke raised an eyebrow and had a slight smirk. "Don't tell me you're jealous, my dear."

"I-I'm not jealous! I'm just saying it how it is!"

"It does sound like you are jealous. There's nothing with admitting it. Well, look at it this way. At least you have such a hunk of a husband, and I have the most beautiful woman for a wife." Esmeralda blushed, bent down, and kissed her husband; he kissed her back. "You know what I am looking forward to during your pregnancy? Certain hormones make women want their man even more." Sosuke wiggled his eyebrows.

Esmeralda's face turned red as she looked away. "Y-You pervert! W-Well, I hope you'd enjoy it when I have my cravings and emotional episodes!" She looked down at him, and his smirk was slowly going down. "I can't wait to have my nice foot massages, my husband tending to my needs, and him giving me all his desserts!"

"Well, lucky for you, I am not into desserts. I wouldn't mind you getting emotional on me once in a while. I imagine it's a great stimulator when we have fun together."

The young woman got Sosuke's head off of her. "P-Pervert!" She was about to get off of the bed, but Sosuke got a hold of her and gently put her back and got on top of her, making sure not to put all his weight on her, and began to kiss her on the neck, lips, and other parts of her body. Esmeralda squealed and giggled. Suddenly, there was a knock on their door. The two stopped, and Sosuke wore a shirt before opening the door. Tsukishima was on the other side. "I need to talk to you."

Esmeralda saw this and got off of the bed. "Sosuke, I will go out and cook dinner." The young woman walked out of the room but not before feeling Tsukishima looking at her. 

The half-brothers looked at one another. Sosuke motioned him inside, and Tsukishima sat on one of the chairs with his laptop in hand. "I found some interesting information regarding Yhwach. Since our uncles are out to identify the bodies, I decided to look deeper into his past. Sure enough, I found that the corner in charge of dedicating his father's death had a history of crimes involving falsifying information and causes of death. Yhwach paid him to lie about his father's death. The police chief in Romania during Yhwach's time also has a history of corruption and supposedly retired at a young age. I suspected that he was paid to keep the information quiet."

Sosuke's eyes became wide. "This is important information. Can we give this to the secret services?"

"I will. They will handle the situation and will contact the FBI in America. This will make the FBI doubt Yhwach's claims of you killing my mother and Kenpachi. There's something else. I saw in the news that your crazy ex died."

Sosuke raised an eyebrow. "I had many crazy exes. Which one?"

Tsukishima looked at his half-brother and shook his head. "It's the craziest one, Loly. Really, Sosuke. You have a terrible history with women. You always picked the one with issues. You being with your wife astounds me. Your wife must be such a woman to deal with your stupid choices."

Sosuke was shocked that Loly died but knew Yhwach had something to do with it. He felt pity for her since she was unstable, like him. However, she made her own choices. "I had issues of my own, Tsukishima. My mother was an escort, and Yhwach was her customer. My sister and I were born with no love connection between the two. Yhwach took in Masaki, and I was left with my mother, who tried everything to get more money. I was just a meal ticket to her. I was never loved or cared for by either. If Uncle Bradley and Aunt Amelia didn't rescue me, I would have ended up like Yhwach. My history with women wasn't good because I was trying to fill a void. Esmeralda was everything I needed, and I tried to stay away from her and deny that she was what I wanted and needed. I felt I wasn't worthy of such a woman; I was tainted."

Tsukishima was quiet for a moment. "Starrk and I were lucky that we had our mother and Kenpachi who raised us. We knew we were born out of forced duty and obligation. However, our mother did love us and had Kenpachi as a male role model. Fate is cruel for us being born out of a strange family. I found some corruption in Romania and other parts of America that Yhwach has made to other CEOs and more. I will see you later and will inform our uncles of my findings. I just wanted to let you know."

Tsukishima was about to walk out but heard Sosuke thanking him. He went on his way.

.....................................

Esmeralda was in the kitchen cooking. The other women were shopping for groceries. She heard someone walking in the kitchen and saw Ace standing in the corner. "Ace, I-I am sorry for being the one to tell your parents. It's just that you-!"

"No, I wouldn't have been able to tell them the news. I was more scared of my mother."

"I thought you were scared of your dad. Gol D is a jokester but looks intimidating if he gets angry."

Ace sighed. "My dad does tend to have a temper, but he tries not to let it out. I know he is still angry toward his pops, who killed his wife. I was afraid of my mom because I didn't want to break her heart, but I still did it anyway."

"So, who is the woman?"

"Her name is Makino. She is a preschool teacher who lost her husband in a sailing accident. I guess we had some similarities about heart."

It was silent between the two. "I'm sorry, Ace. I'm sorry that I couldn't return your feelings."

Ace crossed his arms and looked at the floor. "Don't apologize for something like that. I knew you had feelings for my cuz, but I wanted to try to get yer heart. I will always have feelings for you, Esmeralda."

Esmeralda bit her lower lip. "Ace, I don't want to cause you pain, and you shouldn't cause it yourself. You'll be a father, and I want you to live your life. Who knows, maybe Makino may open your heart. Anyway, I am happy you're back and safe."

Suddenly, Sosuke walked down to the kitchen. The cousins looked at one another. "Ace, you're back. We were worried about you," said Sosuke.

"Yeah, it's nice to see you, cuz. Congrats to the father-to-be. Although, you won't be the only one."

Sosuke raised an eyebrow. "Meaning?"

"I have a woman expecting."

Sosuke was quiet and was processing the information and slowly went to his cousin and hugged him. "We're going to be fathers, cousin. Are you sure that...?"

Ace rolled his eyes. "Yes! We had a DNA test to make sure, and it is mine! Geez!"

Esmeralda saw the cousin talking to one another. She smiled.