Work Text:
It was a day they would never, ever forget. A day where joy was replaced by repulsion, denial, and finally, hundreds of photos to use as blackmail when he grew into a rebellious teen.
Minami and Ryoto Aizawa, married for two years now, had been overjoyed when they learned Minami was pregnant with their first child. Ryoto, a careful and organized lawyer who was quirkless, put together a beautiful playroom and safe space for their child to sleep in, while artist/writer Minami, whose vision quirk could temporarily disable another if someone made her nervous, spent a good deal of time asking her other mommy friends, and her own mother, for tips. The family cat, Eggplant, was unassuming and did not know her life was soon going to be full of tail pulling. Together, they were determined to give their baby a happy, clean, perfect life.
November rushed in and Minami went into labor, and in the early morning of November 8, she delivered her baby, her Shouta, and cradled him in her arms. He was beautiful. He already possessed a tuft of black hair on his head, and his eyes were already so large. Minami smiled and let him sleep against her, skin to skin as her mother had told her to.
Two months went by, and Minami and Ryoto enjoyed every day they spent with their baby. He had a small head, making his eyes look bigger than ever. They hoped he possessed Minami's quirk, or perhaps inherited a dormant quirk from a grandparent. They knew they would most likely have to wait a few years before finding out, and they could deal with that.
But they learned one thing about their child they could not deal with.
It happened in the evening, after Ryoto returned home from a long, chilly day in his office in Tokyo. Minami set out their dinner over their kotatsu. Shouta lay in a rocking cradle beside his daddy, babbling and playing with a stuffed cat doll his mommy had made for him. Eggplant watched over him protectively while staying away from his chubby, grabby hands.
And then, it happened. Minami sat down across from Ryoto and smiled at her baby. And for the first time, he smiled back. Her face went pale.
"Ryo-Ryoto..." she whispered, "look..."
He turned his head to look at the baby before scooting back in shock. Both stared at Shouta as if he were a demonic horror. Then, Ryoto suddenly burst out laughing.
"Minami, you gave birth to Totoro! We should contact the news! We should send a photo to Hayao Miyazaki!"
"No!" She ran her hands through her hair. "Ryo, look at him! His smile is...good lord! It's terrible!"
"It's hilarious!" Ryoto was clearly loving his son's Ghibli-esque smile. "I mean, babe, come on. This is pretty funny. We have Totoro for a child. I have to tell everyone."
Minami walked away, scowling. "It's not funny! You know I hated that movie! It scared the hell out of me! And now I have it for a baby! Is he possessed? I think I need to call my mother."
Shouta started to laugh. They looked over to see Eggplant had come down from her perch to inspect the baby's newest face, and rubbed her nose over his cheek. He giggled and burbled happily, his bizarre smile growing wider and becoming more Totoro-like.
Minami stopped to watch, and finally sat back down with a sigh. "Okay," she said. "This is...I can deal with it. If Eggplant isn't freaked out, then the baby clearly isn't possessed. He's just got a horrible smile."
Ryoto ran into his small study, then returned with a camera.
"Please let me take photos. I have to show my friends. Please. It's important."
"You're so weird," she answered. "Fine."
"And you know," Ryoto added, "bakeries can print photos on cakes now. Guess what I want to do for his 16th birthday."
Minami gasped and smiled wide. "Yes. And let's frame a huge version of it to hang whenever he misbehaves. A just punishment."
Ryoto kissed her forehead. "I love you. And I love you, Totoro," he added, kissing Shouta's forehead as well.
"Oh god, don't call him that," Minami protested.
"Too late, he's Totoro now." Ryoto started to snap photos, laughing to make Shouta smile more.
And every year for the next 30 years, Shouta received a birthday card from his parents, and it always contained one of thousands of photos of him and his big, dumb Totoro smile.