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The room was basically silent.
All Ash could hear was his wife’s gentle breathing. He couldn’t even hear his own…because he was holding it. There was no reason for him to do that, but for some reason, he thought he could feel things better if he did. Like eliminating one sense would heighten the other.
If Misty could hear her husband’s thought process, she’d remind him that breathing wasn’t one of the five senses because he needed it to live.
And so, it was times like these that Ash was grateful Misty couldn’t read his mind, even though she often insisted she could. Especially once he had to admit defeat to himself and suck in a deep breath to refill his lungs.
“I don’t feel anything,” Ash grumbled, rolling his brown eyes up towards his wife’s face.
Misty, whose own eyes had been closed, fluttered them open to look back at her husband. “I know that. I don’t either.”
Ash furrowed his brow. “Ha ha. You know sometimes you feel things that I can’t!”
“I do. But not right now.”
Sighing, Ash lowered his gaze and followed his arm down to his hand, pressed against Misty’s rounded midsection. He always thought Misty was the most beautiful woman alive, but that belly of hers really amplified that. It was so round and so cute; even though she’d had it for several months already, Ash’s heart quivered every time he saw it.
In the time that he’d looked away from Misty, she had shut her eyes once again. Smirking to himself, Ash inched closer to her, until his head was nestled against hers. Misty kept her eyes closed, but she smiled at the contact and quipped, “what?”
“Nothing,” Ash chirped in response. “You’re just really cuddly, that’s all.”
“Mmm, well, so are you,” Misty sighed as she tried to squeeze in closer to him. “And warm…”
Ash chuckled and pressed a kiss against her forehead. He lingered there for a moment, allowing his eyelashes to brush against her smooth, ivory skin. But then he got an idea, one that caused him to pull away from Misty. She whined at the loss of contact, but still didn’t bother to open her eyes. Squirming his way down the bed as delicately as he possibly could (which, for him, was no small feat), Ash soon found himself at eye level with Misty’s stomach. His smirk transforming into a more delicate smile, Ash laid his head down against the bump, which proved to be the key in getting Misty’s eyes open once again.
“What are you doing?” She asked with a snicker.
“I cuddled with you,” Ash innocently replied. “Now I’m cuddling with our babies.”
He could actually hear a lot more down there than he could by Misty’s head. Not only could he faintly hear her breathing, but he could also hear the hazy sound of her heartbeat, and blood pumping through her body at a fascinating rate.
“So, this is what they hear all day, huh?” Ash wondered aloud.
“I’d imagine so,” Misty confirmed. “I’ve read a lot about how babies are comforted by the sound of their mother’s heartbeat after they’re born, because they’ve heard it every day in utero.”
“That’s such a fun word,” Ash chuckled. “Sounds like something that’d be in an alien movie!”
Misty playfully rolled her eyes. “Honestly, sometimes I feel like I’m in one, what with the whole ‘having human beings growing inside of me.’ But I do kind of enjoy it! As long as they don’t burst out of my stomach, anyway.”
Ash tilted his head back and raised his eyebrows in alarm. “That’s not possible, is it?”
“No,” Misty refuted with a laugh. “Although, these are your kids, so who’s to say.”
“That’s not funny,” Ash groused before lowering his head again and encircling Misty’s belly with his arms. “Mommy’s not funny.”
Misty’s eyes twinkled when Ash called her that. Mommy. He sounded so sweet when he said it. Most of the time she couldn’t even bring herself to say it, the only exception being when she was talking to the babies in her womb (usually by herself with no one else around to hear). It wasn’t that she didn’t like being called that; she did. A lot, in fact. It just felt so odd and so foreign to her. Sometimes, Misty wondered if she should even be calling herself that. After all, she wasn’t really one. The twins hadn’t even been born yet. But she certainly wasn’t going to call herself by her first name to her own children. And whenever Ash called her that, it just made everything seem so much more real.
As if the extra 30 pounds and counting on her abdomen wasn’t making things real enough as it was.
She was soon drawn out of her distracted state, however, by a gentle nudge from within her midsection. As soft as it had been, Ash must’ve felt it too, because he suddenly shifted and glanced up at Misty.
“I felt that,” Ash stated in a near whisper.
“Me too,” Misty snickered. “They’re starting to wake up.”
Smiling, Ash laid his cheek back down on Misty’s belly, the movements becoming stronger. “Hi, babies.”
He had experienced so many amazing things in his lifetime. He’d met legendary Pokémon, visited parallel worlds, discovered ancient lands, won championships in multiple regions. And yet to Ash, this was probably the most incredible all of them. Feeling his and Misty’s unborn children squirming around inside of her, alive and growing and oh so real, never failed to awe him.
“This is so cool,” Ash chuckled, not bothering to pick his head up.
“You say that every time,” Misty giggled, though she was hardly bothered by the fact.
“Cause it is!” Ash laughed. “I don’t think I’ll ever get used to it. Every time I feel them moving, it’s kinda like the first time all over again.”
“I know what you mean,” Misty murmured. “Except that every time they start to move, it’s stronger than the last.”
“That’s a good thing,” Ash breathed, turning his head so his lips were pressed against her stomach instead. “Right, you two? You just want to show us how big and strong you’re getting!”
He started to sprinkle endless kisses against her belly, leading Misty to giggle wildly. She loved when he did that, even though it set off her ticklishness. She was more used to his morning and nighttime routine of giving her a single kiss on the lips and two more on her bump; one for each baby she was carrying. But every so often, he would just unleash his barrage of smooches against her rounded midsection, fast and furious.
“Come on, quit it!” Misty tittered, gently tugging at Ash’s hair. “You know how much that tickles!”
“Yeah, that’s exactly why I do it,” Ash playfully teased. “I love hearing your laugh just as much as I love feeling the babies move!”
Misty let out a low hum. “Don’t you think we should be getting to bed? We both have work in the morning.”
“Nah, I know I can wake up,” Ash refuted. “Besides, how are you going to sleep while the babies are kicking you?”
“I’ll try my best,” Misty insisted.
“That’s never worked.”
“Well, maybe it will this time.”
Rolling his eyes, Ash reluctantly pushed himself away from Misty’s bump and placed his head back next to hers. He pulled her in close to him, wrapping one arm around her shoulders and slipping his other hand beneath the hem of her shirt so he could press it against her bare stomach. Ash felt the jabs against his palm, and he smiled beside Misty’s temple.
“Those tiny little feet sure move fast,” he murmured, still sounding mystified.
“They’re practicing so they can become professional swimmers,” Misty commented dreamily.
Ash chuckled. “Is that what you think?”
“It is. And I’m right! Those are swimmers’ kicks for sure.”
“Fair enough,” Ash breathed, his smile widening. “After all, you would know! You’re practically a professional swimmer yourself.”
Giggling, Misty looked up at Ash. “You know, it was really nice of you to give the twins all those kisses before! But…I’m kind of missing out on mine.”
Ash gasped dramatically. “Misty Ketchum, are you jealous?”
She smirked. “Maybe.”
Ash laughed. “That’s not necessary! I’m more than happy to give Mommy her own kisses.”
Misty blushed once again at being called that, but it was soon covered by Ash locking his lips with her own. His kiss for her was much deeper and more passionate; just as Misty liked it. He was a remarkably good kisser, proving that with everything Ash put his mind to, he could accomplish. Of course, getting that good has also required a bit of practice, but Misty certainly didn’t regret any of the past work they’d both put into it.
When Ash pulled away, Misty grumbled, but stopped as soon as she felt him rest his head atop her own. “Better?”
After a short moment of deliberation, Misty replied. “Almost.”
Her hand, which she’d rested atop her belly some time ago, suddenly slid down towards Ash’s, tugging her shirt off of it. Before he could say anything, Misty placed her hand atop his own, grinning when she felt the warmed metal of his wedding band against her skin.
“There,” she sighed. “Now it’s better.”
Chuckling contently, Ash closed his eyes, brushing his eyelashes against Misty’s bright red hair this time around. Letting out a long breath, Misty shut her own eyes, leaning back more deeply against Ash as she finally, despite the babies moving around inside of her, fell into a deep, peaceful sleep.