Prank too far

Misty sat cross-legged on the living room floor, surrounded by colorful toys and laughter. Aiden and Michelle, her 18-month-old twins, were playing nearby. Aiden was giggling as he rolled a toy Poké Ball across the floor, while Michelle was carefully stacking blocks, her tiny brows furrowed in concentration.

Misty's heart swelled watching them, but a mischievous smile began to creep onto her face. Raising twins was a handful, but teasing Ash? That was just too tempting to resist.

As she sat there, an idea popped into her head—a little prank to see how her husband would react to some unexpected news.

"Aiden, Michelle," Misty said in a sing-song voice, leaning toward them conspiratorially. "You two want to help Mommy play a little joke on Daddy?"

Michelle blinked up at her with wide cerulean eyes, not fully understanding, but she clapped her hands anyway. Aiden responded with a cheerful babble that Misty decided to interpret as enthusiastic agreement.

"Good," Misty said, her grin growing wider. She reached for her phone and dialed Ash, who was out running errands. The phone rang twice before he picked up.

"Hey, Misty! What's up?" Ash's cheerful voice came through the speaker.

Misty made her tone soft, hesitant. "Ash, there's… something I need to tell you."

Ash's voice immediately grew concerned. "Is everything okay? Are the kids alright?"

"The kids are fine," Misty reassured him quickly. "It's just… well, you might want to sit down for this."

"Uh… okay." There was a pause, and Misty could practically hear him shifting nervously on the other end of the line. "What's going on?"

Misty took a deep breath for dramatic effect. "Ash… I'm pregnant again."

Silence.

Then, Ash let out a choked noise. "W-what? Pregnant? Again?!"

"Yep," Misty said, keeping her tone steady even as she struggled to suppress a laugh. "Can you believe it? We're going to have three kids under two years old!"

Ash sounded like he was about to pass out. "M-Misty… how… I mean… we were careful, weren't we?"

"Clearly not careful enough," Misty replied with a theatrical sigh. "But hey, it's exciting, right? You've always been great at handling chaos."

"Chaos?!" Ash exclaimed, his voice rising. "Misty, we already have twins! How are we supposed to handle another baby?"

Misty bit her lip to keep from laughing out loud. Aiden toddled over and plopped into her lap, babbling happily, while Michelle clapped her hands at her tower of blocks. Misty smiled down at them, her heart warming even as she continued the prank.

"Relax, Ash," she said soothingly. "You're a pro at this parenting thing. Besides, it's not like we have a choice now."

Ash groaned. "Misty, I love you, but you're going to be the death of me."

Misty grinned but didn't reveal the truth. "Don't worry, we'll talk more when you get home. See you soon."

Ash let out another groan but muttered, "Alright. I'm heading back after the conference. Love you."

"Love you, too," Misty said sweetly before hanging up.

As soon as the call ended, she turned to Aiden and Michelle, who were looking up at her with curious expressions. "See, kids? This is why it's fun to mess with your daddy"

Michelle clapped her hands, clearly amused by Misty's playful tone, while Aiden babbled something that Misty interpreted as approval.

Misty leaned back, letting out a contented sigh. "For the record, I don't actually want any more kids. I've got my hands full with you two. You're more than enough chaos for me."

The twins giggled as if they understood, and Misty spent the rest of the evening playing with them and keeping the prank fresh in her mind, waiting for Ash to come home.

Later that evening, the front door opened, and Ash walked in, his conference bag slung over his shoulder. His face was a mix of exhaustion and nervousness, clearly still processing the earlier conversation.

"Misty?" he called out, stepping into the living room.

Misty was sitting on the floor with Aiden in her lap and Michelle snuggled up next to her. She looked up with an innocent smile. "Welcome home, Daddy."

Ash hesitated, eyeing her warily. "Okay… what's going on? Is it true? Are we really… having another baby?"

Misty kept her expression serious, hiding her grin. "It's true, Ash. Surprise."

Ash groaned, dropping his bag and running a hand through his hair. "Oh, Arceus… Misty, how did this even happen? We were safe the entire time! You were on birth control, weren't you?"

Misty shrugged, her lips twitching as she tried not to laugh. "I guess nothing's 100%, huh?"

Ash stared at her, clearly spiraling. "We planned not to have any more kids! We talked about this! Oh, Arceus, why…"

That was the final straw for Misty. She couldn't hold it in any longer and burst into laughter, leaning back on the couch as tears streamed from her eyes.

Ash froze, his eyes narrowing. "Wait… are you laughing?!"

Misty nodded, gasping for breath. "Oh, Ash… you should've seen yourself. This was all a prank!"

"A prank?!" Ash repeated, his voice rising.

"Yes!" Misty said, still laughing as she got up and walked over to him. "Relax, there's no baby. It was just too tempting to mess with you."

Ash groaned again, dropping his head into his hands. "Misty… you scared me half to death!"

Misty wrapped her arms around his neck, grinning up at him. "Come on, admit it—it was funny."

Ash sighed but eventually cracked a smile. "You're lucky you're cute, or else I would've strangled you."

Misty smirked, leaning up to kiss his cheek. "You wouldn't dare. Besides, I think we can both agree our twins are enough, right?"

Ash looked at Aiden and Michelle, who were now crawling over to them. "Yeah, you're right," he said, his tone softening. "These two are already more than enough chaos for one lifetime."

As if on cue, Michelle crawled right up to Ash and stretched out her tiny arms. "Dada!" she said with a wide smile.

Ash's heart melted instantly. He scooped her up, squeezing her gently and kissing her cheek with a loud mwah. "You're the best, Michelle. Don't join mommy in pranking me ever, okay?"

Michelle giggled, and Misty grinned. "See? You're wrapped around her little finger."

"Yeah, and I wouldn't have it any other way," Ash said, hugging Michelle close.

Misty leaned into his side, watching their kids with a warm smile. Life was chaotic, but it was perfect.