A/N: So this chapter is a continuation of IzuMina Week 2019's Space AU chapter! Go check that out before you read this! Enjoy!
Chapter Seven: Blue Planet (Space)
Izuku gazed out the glass into the vast blue of the ocean, lost in his thoughts as he sat, cross-legged, on the cold floor of the habitat.
Living underwater was a little like living in space, but the monotony of it was broken up by the schools of alien fish and other aquatic life forms swimming past the reinforced glass. He'd never been to this particular planet before, and they'd been allowed to reside here with Katsuki's permission.
This planet was part of his territory, after all. He had a few outposts here just to keep track of any intruders barging into his system, (as well as one hell of an anti-spacecraft gun on the surface of the planet) but it was primarily uninhabited, save for the indigenous life forms residing in the ocean planet.
And it was an ocean planet, unlike any Izuku had seen before. 95% of the entire celestial body was nothing but water, with a few scraps of land here and there, as well as some small ice sheets at the poles. The planet itself was gigantic, which made hiding the presence of the Ninth Star's crew that much easier.
They'd come to this planet for a single purpose—a purpose that regained Izuku's attention with a small gurgle.
He glanced down at the precious bundle in his arms, watching two tiny hands reach up for him. Izuku's lips twitched up into a soft smile as he supported his infant daughter with one arm, lifting his free hand up to offer his finger to the child. The baby grasped his index finger between her two, minuscule pink hands and pulled it to her mouth, where she started to chew on it whilst staring up at her father.
The green of her eyes and hair were definitely from Izuku, but the black sclera framing those eyes and the pink skin she got from her mother. Neither Izuku nor Mina were sure if she would ever grow horns. Xenosians were born without them, so there was no way of knowing if the baby would gain the signature of her mother's race until she was a few years old.
"Hungry?" Izuku asked the baby softly. His daughter, Izuna, gurgled again, still chewing on her father's finger.
He heard the door slide open behind them and glanced over his shoulder. Mina walked into their shared room and spotted them by the window immediately, walking over when she heard their daughter's excited squeaks. Izuku stood up as she approached, knowing the baby would want to return to her mother.
Mina happily accepted their precious offspring and cradled Izuna in her arms, lowering her head to rub eskimo kisses against her nose. The baby giggled loudly, pawing at her mother's cheek with her tiny hands in an attempt to grasp her hair.
Izuku watched them with joy swelling in his heart.
It had taken a while to set this up. From the moment they'd leaned on Mina's pregnancy, they knew they'd have to find a safe place to hide so she could give birth and recover from the ordeal. It was imperative that no one could get word of their situation back to All for One, and through him, Gigantomachia. The Planet Breaker would have redoubled his already relentless hunt for the Xenosian Princess as soon as he found out about the baby she was carrying.
Katsuki had begrudgingly allowed them to hide here, on one of his wild planets. He had a vague sense of respect for Izuku, but mostly it was so that he could get a favor out of him if he needed one. Ground Zero could be reasonable, but it didn't mean he wasn't still a ruthless, spacefaring pirate.
Izuku had been willing to do anything to make sure they found a safe place for Mina to give birth. Katsuki respected that.
So here they were, hiding beneath the waves of an ocean planet in a hidden titanium habitat capable of supporting them while they waited for Mina to recover from the birth. Momo had suggested they hide out as long as they could, even bringing up the idea of maintaining the habitat as a permanent hideout for the baby and one of her parents.
She was the one best at negotiating with Katsuki, especially since Izuku and the pirate had nearly killed each other on multiple occasions. She was confident she could pull it off.
Momo's suggestion was a good one; neither Izuku nor Mina felt comfortable bringing their child with them onboard the Ninth Star. Not that they didn't trust the crew with their lives, but bringing an infant onto a spacecraft that saw frequent battle was probably an awful parenting decision. It'd be ideal if Izuna could remain here, hidden and safe to grow up beneath the peaceful blue waves.
At least until the child was older, or All for One and Gigantomachia had been destroyed.
It meant that Izuku and Mina would have to start switching back and forth to rejoin the crew and help out with raids. For the foreseeable future, Mina would be the one staying here, but it wouldn't be long before Izuku would be taking breaks here to keep track of their child. It wasn't an easy decision to make—neither of them wanted to leave their partner and offspring here.
Fortunately, that wasn't something they had to worry about at the moment. It would be a little while longer before that would be necessary.
Mina walked to the bed and shifted her gown so that she could feed the baby, who suckled contentedly as Izuku turned back to the glass and let his sharp eyes scan the ocean. There were a few medium-sized predators out there, but none of them were overly dangerous. They were fortunate that the leviathans resided in the abyssal plains, far away from this place. He was confident he could fight them off if he needed to, but he really wanted to prevent any threat from reaching their child.
Mina watched her lover and smiled. "You keeping watch?"
Izuku looked back at her and his lips twitched up. "Still feels like one of us has to keep guard."
"I know," she replied, reaching for him with her free hand. He came over and sat on the edge of the bed beside her, taking her hand into his and lifting it so he could press a soft kiss to her skin. "Was she good?"
Izuku snorted and looked up at her, his eyes glowing happily. "Of course she was. We watched the fish for a little while and she took a nap. She only just woke up."
"Mm," she hummed, pleased. Her eyes glanced down to their offspring. "Did you have fun with your daddy, little one?"
Izuna gazed up at her, as though she wanted to respond, but had decided that food was more important. She made a little noise in the back of her throat between gulps, causing Izuku to snort.
"I'm counting that as a yes," he decided.
"Me too," Mina giggled. She leaned her head on the shoulder of her lover, he twisted so he could kiss her brow. "She's growing fast."
"That's normal, isn't it?" Izuku asked a little anxiously. He'd done significant amount of research in preparation for the baby, but they were still dealing with a child that held the blood of two immortal races within her. They were expecting a few things to be pretty standard, but couldn't know for sure.
"Yes," Mina told him, calming Izuku. "Don't worry. I can just tell she weighs a little more."
"She gets her appetite from you," Izuku told her, smirking.
Mina raised an eyebrow at him. Her lover fidgeted in place for a few moments before conceding the point. "Okay, maybe she gets it from me, as well."
"That's what I thought," she said smugly. He rolled his eyes, amused.
The child detached from Mina then, swallowing one last mouthful of milk before yawning hugely. Izuku helped her adjust her gown while Mina started to bounce the baby.
She planted a kiss to her daughter's cheek. "Time for another nap, little one?"
The baby yawned again and gurgled sleepily as her mother carried her to her cradle in the next room over. Izuku followed close behind, making sure he remained quiet as Mina steadily rocked their offspring to sleep.
It took a few minutes, but Izuna had a full belly and was quick to return to her dream world. Mina gently set her in her cradle and tucked her in, kissing her head one last time before she pulled away.
Being a baby was, apparently, exhausting.
Izuku wrapped an arm around Mina's waist and tugged her against his side. She took his hand in hers as he led her out of Izuna's room, leaving the infant to sleep peacefully. The door slid closed quietly, but they didn't need to worry about not hearing her—they'd installed a number of sensors in the room that would alert them if something was wrong, including one that would let them know the moment she woke up.
For now, they were content to enjoy some rarely-found alone time with one another.
Mina pushed Izuku onto the bed and crawled into his lap, curling her body into his as he wound both arms around her firmly. The exchanged long, languid kisses for several minutes, just enjoying the warmth between them.
Eventually, he pulled back and pressed his forehead to hers. "Feel good?"
"Mmm," she hummed in agreement. Her fingers combed through his hair, scratching at his scalp with her fingernails and causing him to shiver pleasantly. "I missed this."
"Me too," Izuku kissed her briefly again. "Parenthood is…demanding."
"That it is," she smiled. "We'd best enjoy what time we have. You know she'll be up before too long."
"Yeah," Izuku felt electricity flow through him as Mina shifted so she was straddling him. "How long do you think? Twenty minutes?"
"I think thirty," Mina planted a kiss on his neck. "I hope thirty."
"Lights," Izuku said a little more loudly, and the habitat lights switched off at his command as he pulled Mina's lips against his in a display of passion that had her gasping into his mouth.
A/N: Woohoo, just one more day to go! Tomorrow's prompt is Free! Yes, I know that technically it's meant to be a free day where we can write whatever we want, but I thought I'd take it a bit literally XD Tomorrow will be focused on Izuku and Mina having a day to themselves! Whatever will they get up to? ;)
As ever, please review and thanks for reading!
