"And today is going to be such a lovely day-"
"Momma! Momma!"
I look up from the berry bush that I was attending to. My older children scrambling towards me with their little baskets bouncing at their hips, spilling some of their collected berries out onto the path behind them. May scoffs slightly under her breath but smiles warmly, "Those children of yours are quite the balls of energy."
I laugh lightly, fixing my sun hat, "They take strongly after their father." I set down my basket and turn, with hands on my hips, towards the kids as they approached. "You two are dropping your berries."
"Momma!" Dew nearly tripped over her feet as she stopped in front of me. She hunched over to catch her breath as her brother, Eli, held up the transponder snail that Pops had given us.
"Daddy's coming back!"
They grinned widely.
"Is it that time already?" I ask them both, I glance up at the sun, pretending to take in what time it was. "No, I think you two might be mistaken."
"Momma! No, we aren't!" Dew giggled, "It's been a whole year since Daddy left!" "And Grandpa promised they would return on the exact day that they left!" Eli exclaimed. "Well if that is true, then we have some chores to do." I bend down slightly, "We have to make sure the house is spic and span for our guests."
"Aww, do we have to?" They both whine and I nod, picking up my basket, "Yes we do. We may be pirates but we are not slobs." I turn to May, "Please excuse us."
She gives me a nod, "I hope you all have a wonderful visit."
After helping the children tie their baskets close, we rush home.

I open the front door.
"Alright, Dew, you fold the laundry. Eli, I need to you mop the floor. I will get started on dinner." I handed Dew the basket of laundry and Eli the mop bucket. "How come I have to do the floors?" Eli grumbles.
"Would you rather dust?" I ask him and he lets out a sigh, "I have to do it before I mop the floor."
Before I can say another word to either of them a loud cry starts and I look down at their youngest brother swaddled close to my chest in the swing.
"Aww, Yuki, is it time for dinner?" I move to the bedroom to feed him as I hear Dew and Eli start their chores.

~Flashback Several Years Ago~

"ACE!"
"CLARITY!"
We hit the ground hard and I start rapidly gasping for air. The sudden hit to my back made it nearly impossible to catch my breath. I blink and glance around widely, trying to figure out where I was.
"Clarity!"
I can hear Ace calling for me but I can't seem to see him anywhere. "Look out!"
"Agh-!" I choke and grip the familiar hand of Akumazoku, his grip was tight against my throat. He chuckled, "Like I said before, if I can't have you...no one can." He lifts his other hand and brings down his fist onto my chest. Ace screams as I can feel nothing but hot tingles.
I part my lips slightly, taking in a ragged and shallow breath. My mouth tastes metallic.
Akumazoku laughs loudly, "Now watch closely lover boy." He glances over to his left. Ace must be over there somewhere, something is keeping him from getting us. But what?
Akumazoku turns back to face me and the murderous glint returns to his eyes.
"Get off me you jackass!" I spit through my teeth. He pulls his fist back and hits me straight in the left eye. I yelp out of reflex and I can hear Ace hissing with pain. The hot tingles in my face make me shiver and I turn my head towards the right.
I can see Ace barely.
It was hard to focus out of one eye and for the lack of oxygen getting to my brain.
Ace's earlier words begin to echo in my head.
"If pain is transferred through the kiss, maybe Devil Fruits..."
I frown slightly.
Was he suggesting...?
"Burn."
"What was that Lovely? I can't hear you." Akumazoku chuckles.
"B-burn us..." I gasp out, slightly louder. His grip tightens, "You know I hate it when you mumble Sweetie."
I suck in a hard breath and force my voice through, "BURN US!"
"Wha-?" Akumazoku starts before the flames gripped us both. The bloodcurdling scream erupted from the man atop of me as he began to forcibly hitting himself to put out the flames that were now licking his body. He smacks himself a few more times before he jerks his burning fist back and smashes it against my left eye.
I shriek as pain suddenly floods my entire body. I shove my hands up against Akumazoku's chest and use whatever energy I had left to knock him off of my body. He rolls over and continues to freak out as the flames melt his skin and begin to char his body. I gag at the horrendous smell of Akumazoku cooking alive in his own body.
I roll onto my side and then to my front, starting to crawl in the opposite direction.
Ace?
Where's Ace?
I squint in front of me but my vision only blurs and I cough harshly. All I can smell is smoke and blood.
"Clarity!"
I whip my head in the direction of Ace's voice. My eyes wander to find any shape that would resemble him. "A-ace?" I squint again but it doesn't help. I thrust my hand forward, grasping at air, "Ace!"
"Clarity." His voice his closer and something grabs my hand.
I jump slightly "Ace?"
"It's me, Clarity, are you okay?"
"I can't see. Everything's blurry."
"Don't worry, I'll get us out." He responds and I can feel my body being lifted up off of the ground. "How far did we fall?" I jerk my head, trying to find his chest.
"I don't know but stay still. You are badly injured." Came his response before I can feel my body being shuffled around, "I'm going to carry you on my front." I feel my arms rest around his shoulders and he begins to secure my legs around his waist, "Just hold tight, okay?"
"Is he dead...?" I mutter.
"Yes." I can feel his body shift underneath me, a slight turn; glancing back at the charred body. "He won't be hunting you any longer." I just tighten my grip and sort of snuggle against Ace, "Let's go home." The words quietly tumble out.

"How are you feeling, today, Clarity?" Marco asks as he enters the infirmity carrying his tray of burn ointment and new bandages. "Honestly, I'm getting sick and tired of waking up in the hospital. Am I really that unlucky?" I answer.
He laughs as he sets the tray down and I scoff.
"You sure do fit in with the family though. If it's not one thing, it's another with this clumsy group." He leans forward and begins to unwrap the head bandage. "Are you ready for your vision check?"
I shrug and my gaze drops to my hands, "I miss Ace."
"We all do, but he has a job to do just like the rest of us." Marco replied as he gently lifts my head, "Hm. The swelling around your cracked orbital bone has gone down greatly." "That's good." My lips jerk up slightly as a smile. "Ready for your eye test?" He asks me again. I close my right eye before sighing, "Okay." I swallow and then at a snail's pace, my left eye opens.
I wince at the stinging.
"The flashlight is coming." Marco announces as he leans over in front of my face, "Three, two, one." On one he passes the bright light across my vision and I resist the urge to close my eye, that starts to water.
"Your pupil still reacts to light."
"Is that a good sign?"
"Well, I can only tell if your vision is going. Some blind people's pupils still react the same way to light." He explains and I can hear the flashlight click off and set back on the metal tray. "Last time you had a hard time focusing on me and I was standing at the foot of the bed. I'm going to sit here next to you and you tell me what I look like." I close my eye, the water that had welled up, slipped down my cheek before I turn my head to the left and open my eye again. I grunt slightly and squint, "I can see you, but your outline is blurry." "You're still losing sight. There doesn't seem to be anything I can do except just monitor the loss." Marco lets out a frustrated sigh. I reach forward and clasp his hands within mine, "It's just one eye, you saved my life, and for that I am eternally grateful." He gives me a weak smile before he turns back to the tray and grabs the ointment, "After we finish here, I'll take you to the deck for some sun. The rest of your body seems to have healed at a much faster rate than your eye." "Aye aye." I mutter before we both chuckle at my terrible joke.

~End Flashback~

"Mom! We're done!"
Eli's loud voice carries through our small home and snaps me out of my train of thought. I look down at Yuki, bringing him up to my shoulder to burp him. "I'll be there in a minute!" I call back as I stand up. Yuki lets out a burp before snuggling into my warmth. I relax before moving over to the crib, "Okay little one, bedtime." I gently lay him down in his crib and softly rub his back. "Mommy will be right in the other room, okay?" He lets out a sound before suckling his thumb. I quietly tiptoe my way out of the bedroom and back in the living room to see the house in sparkling condition. "Wow, you two really out did yourselves." I praise them. They hurry over to my sides and hug me tight.
"While I'm cooking dinner, can you do Mommy a favor by taking your bathes?"
"Can you make our favorite???" Eli asks as he looks up at me with puppy dog eyes. "Please!"
"Since you two did such a good job cleaning, I will make your favorites. And please keep the noise down, your brother is sleeping." I pat their heads and give them both a kiss on their temples. "Okay." They giggle and pull away to go grab fresh clothes. I let out a heavy sigh as I begin to pull out all the uncooked food we had, which wasn't much. "If I recall, they will be expecting quite the feast." I tap my chin as I stare at the ingredients. "But what should I make for them?" A knock at the door brings me out of my thoughts and I made my way over, opening the door to see several neighbors.
"What a surprise." I look at all of them. "I rounded them up." May speaks up, "I remember the first time we were introduced to your pirate family. They all ate for days so we brought you all that we could to help you prepare, especially since you have your hands full with your children."
"Oh, you don't have to do that." I blush and May waves her hand, "Pish posh, Child, you are apart of this village and here we take care of everyone. Zu has offered the courtyard for the banquet so you do not have to squish everyone into this tiny house."
I have no words as they make their way inside and immediately begin to make as many dishes as they can.
May turns to me, "I did forget one ingredient, you wouldn't mind fetching it for me?" "I don't mind." I shake my head and she grins, "It's a yellow flower that only blooms in the moonlight. It sets over behind the meadow." She explains, "You can take Yuki as he still needs you but we can use the speed of Dew and Eli to finish getting everything ready."
"A yellow moon flower?" I raise a brow as I had never heard of such a thing. "Oh yes, your father loved these flowers." She nods as she shoos me towards the bedroom to get Yuki. "Well my father definitely loved yellow flowers." I carefully collect my sleeping son and explaining to my other children that I would return soon and to obey elder May.

I sat down near the trees at the edge of the meadow and glanced up at the sky, "In a few minutes the moon should rise and we will see this yellow flower that May was talking about." I yawned and shifted Yuki to sit more comfortably as I adjusted my back against the tree. "It should be okay if I close my eyes for a couple of minutes."
It was quiet.
My racing mind slows as I close my eyes and relax.

Yuki started to get a bit fussy, pulling me out of my nap. I stretch my arms above my head, "I guess it's time to see if that flower bloomed." I stand and then look down at Yuki, who was staring at me with his yellow eyes. I smiled, "Did you sleep well?" He wiggled around in the swaddle and let out a happy squeal. I lean down to gently kiss his forehead before turning around to start hunting for the flower.
"Hm."
I placed my hands on my hips, "There doesn't seem to be any yellow flower. Maybe she remembered the location wrong." I shrugged my shoulders, "Time to head back and see if the family has arrived." I looked down at Yuki, "Are you ready to meet your Daddy and his family?" He gave another loud squeal. I chuckle, "Alright, back to town we go."

Once we got closer to the courtyard, we could already see the feast had begun.
The music was loud, accompanied by dancers.
Pops' guttural laugh echoed over the hills and I smile brightly, "I missed that laugh." I step onto the dirt path and made my way forward. I stayed off to the side as I watched Dew and Eli tackled their father, who stumbled backwards from their force. He laughs and hugs them tightly.
"Look at you two, getting so big!" He set Eli aside as he lifted Dew up into the air. She squeals with excitement and then grabs his hat on the way down. Once back on the ground, she places the hat firmly on her head, "Look Daddy!" The hat was far too big for her head and fell down over her eyes. He pushed the hat up slightly, "Maybe a couple more years and it will fit you." Eli tugged at his father's shirt, "I lift me up too!" Ace shifted and picked up Eli and then swung him upwards, "Up we go!" Eli laughed out loud as he was tossed up and down a few times before Ace stopped.
"So where is your mother? I haven't seen her since we got here." Dew pushed the hat back out of her face again, "She went to the meadow. Old lady May told her to go get a flower with Yuki." She turned to latch onto Marco's leg as he started to walk by. Marco stumbled slightly with the sudden weight and then pried Dew off of his leg and picked her up, "Man, you've gotten big." "Who is Yuki?" Ace looked at Eli, who stared off at the table, "Grandpa!" He struggled out of his Dad's grip and hurried over to Pops' side. I shook my head before fixing my clothes to the best of my ability. I ran my hands over Yuki's snow white hair so it wasn't sticking up, "Let's get you introduced to the family." I stepped out from behind the plants that I was hiding behind.
"Ace."
He whipped around and a giant grin broke across his face, "Clarity!" He took hurried steps over to me but I held out a hand to stop him before he tried to squish me in a big hug. He gave me a confused look and I smiled. I unwrapped the swing around my chest and held out Yuki to Ace, "Meet your youngest son, Yuki."
Ace stared at me. His eyes were wide and his mouth seemed to just flop open and close like a fish gasping on land. I giggled and stepped closer, Yuki reaching for Ace, who slowly moved his hamds forward to take the little one from me.
"W-we have another son?"
"Yes." I nodded and then leaned over to whisper in his ear, "I found out a week after you left." He looks at Yuki before giving off an awkward laugh, "That makes sense." He pulled Yuki close and the little boy gave off happy squeals, immediately going for Ace's dark hair. His tiny fist enclosed around several strands.
"So Yuki?"
"He resembles my father, I thought it was only fair to pass on his name."
"Ah-ow...!" Ace winced as Yuki jerked on his hair, babbling nonsense. Pops shifted in his chair before standing and making his way over to Ace and I. He leans down to see the young one, who turns and gives an owlish stare. They stare at each other for a few minutes before Yuki lets go of Ace's hair and reaches out for Pops' mustache. He grips it as tightly as his little fists will let him. He swings his fists up and down, causing Pops' mustache to dance slightly. I snort loudly before full on laughing. Yuki lets out a high pitch squeal, waving his arms harder. The mustache dances faster. Pops put his hand up for Yuki to sit in as he let out his guttural laugh, it drowns out the music and the loud chatter.
I have to steady myself with Ace as I try to catch my breath but everytime I look up at Pops, I just start laughing again.
"What is so funny over here?" Thatch walks over with a tray of food in one hand and a mug of rum in the other. The chatter had died down a bit as the crew was curious on why we were laughing so hard.
I can only point to Yuki still hanging onto Pops' mustache like it is his new favorite toy.
Thatch gives me a bit of a look before he looks up to see the child. He lets out a chuckle, "That makes sense." But the longer he stared, the funnier it got.

It took several minutes for the giggles to die down through the crowd. I couldn't get Yuki to even let go of Pops and just let him stay with the mountain of a man. I sat down and let out a happy sigh as Ace scoots his chair closer to mine, pulling me into a tight hug.
"I missed you."
"I missed you, too."
"The children seem to be getting along well here."
"Yeah, it took a bit of getting used to but we manage."
"You seem tired."
I yawn and shake my head, "No, not at all." I rest my head on his shoulder, "Just going to rest my eyes for a little bit." He snickers but pushes my chair back a bit. He puts one arm behind my back and the other underneath my legs and pulls me onto his lap. "Why don't you just rest? The children will be alright and we have a whole week to hangout."
I move my head under his chin and close my eyes to sleep.
"Are we really getting married?"
"You said yes." Came his response.
"Can we marry before you leave again?"
"Of course, Love." He shifts his head and kisses my temple.