The initial base was built. The robots had been leveled up with AI courtesy of Why-Man, although they were nowhere near sentience, and the bots had constructed and tested the base for human habitation. It wasn't a permanent thing, not a lifetime situation where people would live and work and raise kids or anything, but for research, like the ISS.

Senku had applied to go to the base—of course he had, how could he miss such an opportunity? For his research, he was focusing on chemistry. The gravity was so much less, and there were new experiments to do. No one was surprised when he was accepted.

Some people were surprised when Kohaku was accepted as well. She was officially invited along to see how her exceptionally tough body would react in long-term moon gravity, as opposed to Senku, who, while not a complete wimp due to his training, still wasn't what one would call 'athletic.'

The space elevator made all the difference in the world. Senku, Kohaku, and the four other members of the first team that would work on the moon were shot off at incredible velocity—mostly negated in their travel capsule due to the advancements of high-speed travel in recent years.

Step by step, they were reaching for the stars, into uncharted territory.

After exiting what was essentially a fancy elevator, they waited in the new ISS for various confirmations to transmit through and be confirmed themselves (there were a lot of failsafes designed into the system, now that they could afford to take some more time), Senku looked out the window of the 'guest area.'

Someone wrapped their arms around his shoulders and put their mouth near his ear. "What a view," Kohaku said in quiet awe. "What an incredible view."

Senku didn't say anything. It was incredible, just as it had been before, and while he thought he'd be able to go this time without getting all misty-eyed, it seemed it wasn't possible. That wasn't so bad, though. And Kohaku wouldn't tease him for that.

He leaned his head against hers. "I'm glad you're coming to the moon."

"Yeah?"

He snickered and straightened. "I'd get bored without you. Who would I tease? I'd go crazy and all the other astronauts would hate me."

She scoffed and reached down to pinch a rather sensitive part of his chest.

He did not squeak but did try to wiggle away, but the whole low-gravity situation left him a bit stuck, and Kohaku just laughed at his escape attempt. He felt his ears heating up. "Not in public," he hissed.

She looked around at the desolate guest room—the others had gone to check the 'cafeteria'—and back at him with raised eyebrows as if to say, "no one's here."

"There's cameras, lioness. I bet you just gave Ground Control quite the show."

She pouted, then sighed. "All right, all right. I can keep my hands to myself."

Before Senku could express his disbelief at that (she had turned out to be a very cuddly girlfriend), there was an announcement over the speaker system that the moon shuttle was ready for loading and departure.

It was time to visit the moon once more—an incredible achievement for one person, let alone two. The astronauts suited up in the cushioning suits and got into position for petrification, after which they'd be loaded onto the rocket. As the familiar green light engulfed them, Senku couldn't help but grin. It was time to get excited!

As he'd thought, Kohaku keeping her hands to herself was a bit far-fetched. But to be completely fair, he wasn't stopping her—he was having fun, too. Sex on the moon was kind of experimental, right?

About five months into their year-long stay, Kohaku grumbled as she pulled her dress over her stomach one morning (they still operated on Earth hours, in sync with Sri Lanka and Ground Control). "It's getting tighter," she told him as he got dressed himself. "I must not be getting enough exercise."

"Don't feel like you need to overdo it," he told her as he buttoned up his polo and she pulled on her stockings (the base was kept rather cold). "Remember, all this data is useful to know. And once we get back to Earth, you can get right back in shape."

She nodded firmly. "Right! Knowing this, new exercise machines can be made just for astronauts! Low gravity is no excuse for low fitness!"

He chuckled even as he dreaded the eventual workouts. But that was the reality of working in uncharted territory—they needed to know the risks and how to mitigate them. And she was right. Physical health was important. Any disruptions could have unforeseen consequences.

Senku and Kohaku sat quietly.

Ground Control was on the comms, and Xeno was pacing the floor in front of the camera. Senku didn't dare say anything—he knew they'd messed up, big time.

"How in the world didn't you notice?" hissed Xeno, not expecting a response.

Kohaku put a hand on her barely-visible baby bump. There was just one month left of gestation, and Kohaku had barely felt any effects of pregnancy at all.

"What the hell are we supposed to do?" Xeno finally muttered.

Senku and Kohaku looked at each other and it seemed they were on the same page. They'd talked about having kids, and had actually planned to start trying once they got back to Earth.

"We could…petrify me?" Kohaku offered.

Xeno sighed. "The device would arrive right after you've given birth. Although we could trigger it in space once the radius could reach the moon without affecting the Earth, that would halt all current research and we would be relying on those timed-release watches. Plausible, but I don't like it."

And the padded suits weren't built for a pregnant-sized Kohaku; there was an increase in size, even if it was hardly visible.

There was another beat of silence as they all thought quietly. "We could have the baby here," Senku said. Xeno looked scandalized. Kohaku looked worried. He went on, "Dr Martinez is a trained physician, and she would have had to deliver babies as part of her training."

"On the moon?" Kohaku asked pointedly. "You think Lucia's been trained for baby delivery on the moon?"

He pursed his lips. Obviously not, but it wasn't that much different up here once you got used to it. Sort of. "The baby would be easier to transport as a single entity rather than part of you. Just swaddle it up well, petrify it, and wrap it up completely in padding. Like making really complicated and inedible sushi."

"Did you just call our child sushi?!"

"Not even a millimeter, lioness. I was making a comparison."

"First natural citizen of the moon," Xeno said. "Since it's officially and permanently unincorporated by any worldly nation, it functions as its own country." He snorted. "Never thought we'd be getting into this level of legality so quickly…" Then he sighed. "Well, I'm not telling your families. I'll let you handle that and working out the details with Dr Martinez." He narrowed his eyes. "And you'd better double her salary for the time she spends taking care of your kid. Neonatal care was not on her list of expected duties."

"Got it," Senku said dryly. If he could manage, he'd double her whole salary for the year—she'd taken great care of Kohaku without knowing the extent of the situation (none of them had), and he had no doubts the doctor would continue her excellent work.

They called Ishigami Village next. Byakuya burst into tears as soon as he heard the news, then suddenly grabbed the camera. "Senku, you need to marry Kohaku now."

Senku blanched. "Old man, what nonsense are you spouting at me right now?"

"Legal nonsense. Countries are going to get weird about the logistics of your child because of the location, and some of them will bring up legitimacy and custody and it will end up being a whole waste of time in courts and debating things normal people wouldn't even think twice about questioning when you could be doing science and spending time with your cute new baby." He frowned at Senku's skeptical face, then rolled his eyes. "To put it in a way you'll appreciate, it'll be ten billion times more efficient and time-saving to marry Kohaku now."

Senku couldn't find a refutation for that. He turned to Kohaku. She looked at him. "Well, lioness? Wanna get married?"

"I'm not a lioness! And yeah, sure."

Kohaku, never one to wait around, went and found the commanding officer for the trip while Byakuya and Chrome started getting other people on the call. In no more than thirty minutes, nearly all their friends were witnessing the first wedding on the moon via conference call. The other astronauts were also gathered, a little bit confused.

The commanding officer (an aeronautics engineer named Paula Achebe), with a wry smile on her face, said some of the most practical wedding vows Senku had ever heard: "Do you promise to stand by each other, a team against whatever challenges you will face?" "Yes," they said. Paula nodded. "If you have any personal vows to say, now's the time."

Kohaku looked at Senku. "I've never met a more infuriating man in my life. Ha! I can't wait to grow old with you."

Senku smirked. "The future is going to be ten billion percent exciting. I'm glad I'll have you with me to see it."

Paula nodded. "Then I pronounce you husband and wife." Then she snorted lightly. "You crazy kids."

"You're barely five years older than me," Senku reminded her.

"Thanks, Paula!" Kohaku said, wrapping the older woman in a hug.

Paula smiled more sincerely and hugged Kohaku back. "Yeah, yeah. Glad I could be a part of this."

Back on Earth, friends were celebrating and cheering. Senku could see Chrome and one of his kids dancing around while Ruri danced with their baby in place, could see Ryusui toasting something, Ukyo smiling widely, and Gen hiding his mouth and saying something to Tsukasa that made the taller man shake his head with a little smile. His dad, crying again. So many people, gathered in any way they could be gathered, to celebrate an official new beginning.

His wife, wife, smiling and talking with her family, one hand on her pregnant belly.

Ten billion percent completely uncharted and exciting new territory, for everyone.