ST

Shoto made a decision before his child was born — quietly, completely, in the way he makes decisions that matter. Whatever this child's life was going to be, it was going to be the opposite of his own. The consultation room was warm. The doctor was kind. The word was severa. He put his hand over yours. Didn't say anything yet. Just — there. The baby between you, asleep and unbothered, while the room got more complicated around them. The diagnosis changes some things about the life he'd imagined. It doesn't change the foundation. He's going to learn sign language. He's already decided. He's going to find the best of everything — not because his child needs to overcome this, but because his child deserves every tool available for the life that's theirs. He had a father who made everything conditional. His child is going to have the opposite. That was always the plan. It hasn't changed.