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Lin yelped and clutched at her lower back, the world a sudden blur of blinding agony. Hurried footfalls sounded on concrete. Then Detective Mako’s hazy face appeared above her.
“Chief!” he shouted, though it sounded muffled and far away through the roar of blood in her ears. “Chief, what happened? Did they hit you? Are you hurt?”
“My back,” Lin tried to say. “I slipped on the ice.” The only sound that left her lips was a pathetic moan.
“You stay right here,” said Mako. “Don’t move. I’ll get help.” Then he was gone.
Lin lay on her side on the cold sidewalk outside the old Equalist armory they’d been checking out on a tip, tears sliding down her face, and wondered if it was okay to die.
***
“Don’t be so dramatic,” said Tenzin. Lin had regretted calling her ex almost the instant she’d dialed him. All she’d needed was a ride and his minivan, the one his plentiful kids cheerfully called Oogi, was the only car she knew big enough to take her to the hospital lying down. At the time she’d thought she’d be damned if she’d ride in the back of the bandage box with a bunch of cokehead paramedics who knew and feared her as Chief Beifong. Now, she wasn’t so sure she hadn’t miscalculated. Tenzin had called to check on her twice a day every day since. When she didn’t pick up he only called back later five minutes later.
“Have you ever been shot?” she countered.
“You know I haven’t. I believe in peaceful—”
“Well then you wouldn’t know what it feels like, would you?” Lin set her water glass down hard on the little table Iroh had dragged next to her sofa and wished for the thousandth time it was full of gin. He’d refused to bring her any from the sideboard though on account of the pain meds, the fucking goody goody, and Lin hadn’t managed to get any farther than the bathroom herself.
“I suppose not,” said Tenzin. “Still, the prognosis is good. You should be grateful you don’t need surgery for that disc. A little optimism wouldn’t hurt, Lin. Now, I’ve already—”
“Don’t say it.”
“—offered to get you in at Kya’s practice. She’s really quite good, and would—”
“It’s not a practice, Tenzin, it’s a naturopathic pilates studio.”
“—be able to put you into one of her rehabilitation classes right away. There’s one Monday morning. Pema could even swing by and take you after dropping off the kids.”
“No, Tenzin,” Lin growled. The idea of the woman he’d left her for ferrying her around the city like one of her offspring was horrifying. “All I did was slip a disc.”
“Are you still sleeping on the couch?”
“I’ll be back at work next week.” This was a lie. The doctor had said 4-6 weeks, but Lin hadn’t liked that answer and refused to acknowledge it. She wasn’t old. She wasn’t weak. All she needed was a little rest.
“Iroh says you have to pee standing up,” Tenzin replied.
“He what?”
“Urinate from an upright position,” he said, as if that hadn’t been perfectly clear. “Since you can’t bend over to sit. He told me he can tell from the sound. And… and from what he had to clean. Wouldn’t it be nice not to have to do that? I bet even one session with Kya would loosen you up.”
Lin closed her eyes. “If I say yes to your infernal class, do you promise to murder Iroh the next time you see him?”
“No. He’s a good kid. I’ll make the call.”
“Fine. But I do not need Pema—”
Tenzin hung up. Lin stared at her phone and considered throwing it across the room, then thought of having to ask Izumi’s little boy to come over and fetch it for her while she tried not to imagine him mopping up her piss and set the phone down on the table instead. Even that small motion caused a twinge at the base of her spine.
“Fuck,” she muttered to the empty room. “Fucking fuck.”
***
Kya’s Whole Body Care was situated in a nondescript complex just over the Kyoshi bridge west of the city. As Pema pulled the trundling Oogi to a stop by the curb Lin thought that it could have been anywhere. Everything was beige. A part of her still couldn’t believe she’d agreed to this.
“Here, let me help you out,” said Pema. She opened her door.
“I can do it,” snapped Lin. She curled her fingers around the handle and willed herself to push. The door moved. So did something in her lower back. White hot pain lanced up her spine and down the backs of her legs and she hissed out a curse.
“Lin.” Pema’s tone was the same one she used with Meelo when he farted on guests. “For spirits’ sake, wait a moment. I’ll be right there.”
Lin gritted her teeth and waited. A moment later Pema appeared around the side of the van and helped her down to the sidewalk like she was an invalid. Lin found herself leaning on the smaller woman far more than she liked. Together they shuffled towards the door.
“Can I be of assistance?”
Lin turned her head—and only her head—to see a man ambling towards them. From his lined face and salt and pepper hair looked to be about Lin’s age and, though he wasn’t tall, he had the kind of wide, powerful build that made him seem somehow larger than he was. Like someone who knew how to throw his weight around. His nose looked like he’d broken it at least once. Lin had spent most of her life around men, cops and perps both, and immediately knew this wasn’t the kind she’d want to meet down a dark alley. At least, not now. Maybe thirty years ago she would have. Men who could throw their weight around, well, they had a way of… and why the hell was she thinking of that now?
“Oh, it’s no trouble,” said Pema.
“I didn’t ask if it was trouble,” the man said. He came close and held out an arm. Lin could smell a faint aftershave on him, something musky and smoky and no-doubt expensive. “Come on, sweetheart, you look like you weigh nothing anyway.”
Lin clenched her jaw. “I’m fine.”
His warm amber eyes regarded her from beneath his bushy brows. “Suit yourself,” he said, and walked up to the door of Kya’s Whole Body Care. From the back Lin could tell he was moving more slowly than he ought. Was he injured, too? If so, he’d done a damn good job of hiding it.
“And here we are,” said Pema once they’d reached the door themselves. “I’ll go get some groceries and be back in an hour.”
“I can take a cab,” Lin replied with little hope.
“You can,” said Pema, “and I’ll see you in an hour.” Then she leaned around Lin and waved inside. “Hi, Kya!” she called. “I can’t stay now, but I’ll be back for Lin in a bit.”
Lin followed her gaze into the studio and paused. The inside of Kya’s Whole Body Care couldn’t be more different from the beige wasteland outside. Instead of some shitty paint job the walls were covered in warm cedar planks, like a sauna. Genuine from the smell. The carpeted floor was a cool glacial blue. A few cutaways in the planks revealed tasteful and interesting decorations from what Lin presumed were Kya’s travels: an ornate jade vase, a stone dragon holding a few sticks of incense, a stately otter penguin carved from what looked like pure lapis. Even the slowly twirling ceiling fan was etched with swirls and whorls of arrows that evoked a gentle breeze. It was, in a word, rather nice.
And then there was Kya.
Lin hadn’t seen Tenzin’s older sister since she was barely a teenager. She was a few years their senior and hadn’t given either of them the time of day, instead preferring to hang out with Izumi and Sokka and Suki’s older kids. Kya had always managed up in attempt to be the youngest of the older crowd rather than the oldest of the younger set. Then, at 18, after a disagreement with her father, she’d left. The fight hadn’t lasted more than a few weeks according to Tenzin but in the meantime Kya had found her passion. She’d been gone when Lin and Tenzin’s childhood friendship slid into romance and she’d been gone when it came crashing out again, too. She’d missed birthdays and holidays and milestones. In fact, the only event Lin knew for sure Kya had attended she herself had made a point to skip. Lin hadn’t gone to Tenzin and Pema’s wedding; a petty move she’d almost regretted. When, years later, Kya finally moved back to Republic City two years ago after her many years abroad Lin had only told Tenzin she was glad that his kids had an aunt to babysit. After all, after so long away, who was Kya to her now?
Which was why Lin hadn’t realized that Kya was gorgeous. She stood at the front of the room in tight blue spandex pants and a loose tank top that made it clear to anyone with eyes that she did all the exercises she taught. Her toned legs were long and slender, her dusky skin smooth and unblemished. The long brown hair she’d let hang loose in her youth was now the soft light gray of of goose down and bound up in a ponytail with a few loose strands framing her face. At least at a distance she seemed free of wrinkles everywhere but around her eyes and mouth, as if she’d spent all the years she’d been gone laughing herself silly. Lin fairly gaped at her. This was Kya now?
“Hi, Lin!” she waved, hurrying over. “It’s so good to see you. Oh my, how long has it been?” Without further ado she slipped her arm gently around Lin’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, Tenzin told me all about your fall on the ice. I’ll be gentle.”
Gentle didn’t describe the sensation Lin felt at Kya’s warm touch. Up close she smelled of cinnamon and sweat. “Long time,” Lin muttered.
“Well, come on in, we’ll get you all set up.”
Lin concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other as they made their way into the studio. She was not going to fall and make an ass of herself. Kya helped her along with an easy strength. “It’s not far,” she said. “We’ll start on the floor today for you both just to get everything warmed up, okay?”
At the word “both” Lin looked around the studio, for the first time noting its emptiness. There was only one other patron today: the man from outside, the bruiser who’d offered his arm like a gentleman. He was looking at both women with a curious expression from his lotus position on the mat.
“You’re really that hard up, eh?” he asked.
“Fine,” huffed Lin.
The man gave her a roguish grin but didn’t reply. He only watched as Kya eased Lin down on the mat beside him. It took everything Lin had not to cry out as pain stabbed up her spine, but she managed. Then she was down.
“Can you manage your stomach?” Kya asked.
“I think so.” Kya helped Lin roll over. Her hands felt strong, yet soft. Next to her the older man grunted.
“Something funny?” said Lin.
“Not at all,” he said. When she turned her cheek towards him, however, he was staring right at her ass. Lin felt herself flush. She hadn’t been so blatantly checked out by a man or woman in years.
“Hmm, you’re so tight,” muttered Kya. She turned to the man, who had the decency to pull his gaze from Lin’s derriere long enough to look at the instructor. “Zoltan, do you mind if I start with a little manual therapy for Lin here? You can start stretching in the same sequence we used last week. Do you remember it?”
“Please, it’s Zolt. And by all means, take care of the lady.” Zolt got slowly to his feet, took a breath, and reached both arms up towards the ceiling. The motion pulled the hem of his red shirt up to the base of his ribs to reveal a surprisingly toned stomach covered in soft hair a few shades darker than his head. Lin bit her lip before she realized what she was doing. Then she felt Kya dig her fingers in to her back.
“Hrnggh!”
“Too much?” asked Kya.
“F-fine,” Lin grated. “Wh-whatever gets the job done.”
“Alright. Hold on.” Lin clenched her jaw as Kya’s fingers pressed into a muscle a few inches to the right of her slipped disc. At first the pain was blinding, but the more Kya pressed, the more it faded. After thirty seconds or so she moved her fingers a half inch down and started again.
“There we go,” she hummed. “Gotta loosen you up is all.” She lifted her fingers and shuffled a bit. “Do you mind if I straddle you?”
“What?”
“I won’t hurt you,” said Kya, “but I’ll have a better angle if I straddle your thighs.”
“Okay.” Lin felt Kya’s warm weight settle on the backs of her legs just south of her ass. As she did she caught another appreciative glance from Zolt, who was now sinking down into a lunge. The soft gray joggers he wore pulled tight against his crotch and for a moment Lin was treated to the outline of what had to be the biggest package she’d ever seen.
“Hrhgh,” she huffed.
“Doing okay?” asked Kya. Her thumbs dug in to the flesh just above her right ass cheek.
“Great.” Lin was not great. She was being straddled and manhandled by the ridiculously hot sister of her ex while ogling the biggest dragon ever to be held at bay by a pair of sweats. This was not good. It was, in fact, terrible. She was way too old for this shit.
“Done with my stretches, Miss Kya,” said Zolt. “What now?”
“I think we’ll do some partner exercises,” answered Kya. She rose off from the back of Lin’s thighs and patted her butt. “See if you can roll over and sit up, Lin,” she said. Lin did so, surprised to find that, though it hurt, Kya’s massage had made the pain at least manageable. Kya’s bright blue eyes met hers along with a warm smile. “And it’s good to see you again,” she added. “I’m sorry if this is all abrupt, but I didn’t want to waste Zolt’s time catching up. Can we chat after class?”
“Sure,” said Lin, her mouth dry. She could have added that Pema was picking her up, or that she didn’t need Kya’s pity, or that after things with her brother hadn’t worked out she hadn’t dated anyone seriously since and had, until ten minutes ago, been relatively content with that choice. She said none of these things.
“I look forward to it,” grinned Kya. “Now, stick your legs out, both of you. Feet to feet.” Lin did so, resting her small feet against Zolt’s giant ones. “Alright, grab hands.” Lin leaned forward as much as she could—which wasn’t much—and slipped her hands inside Zolt’s. His skin felt so hot to the touch, as if fire burned beneath his veins instead of blood. When she met his eyes one brow ticked up as the side of his mouth curled into a sultry smirk.
“Okay,” said Kya. “Zolt, I need you to be delicate with Lin. She slipped on the ice and injured one of her vertebrae. Lin, Zolt is recovering from left shoulder surgery.”
Zolt grinned. “You should see the other guy.”
“Lovely,” said Kya. “What I’m going to have you do is gently pull on one another, taking turns, like a seesaw. It should feel like a deep stretch. When it’s more than that, tap your partner’s foot so they know to relax. Got it?”
“Got it,” said Zolt.
“Yes,” answered Lin. She tipped her head at Zolt, but he shook his back.
“Ladies first,” he said. Lin shrugged as much as she could with her hands clasped, then started to gently pull Zolt towards her. He leaned over, his smirk deepening as he head slipped between her legs. Lin felt a flush creep up her neck. Why was it so easy to picture that full head of hair buried between her thighs? His face was almost to her knees before she felt a tap on her foot. Lin stopped pulling, then felt a corresponding tug from Zolt. She took a deep breath as the pressure increased.
“That’s it, Lin,” said Kya. “All you have to do is bend.”
Lin bent, and much as she could. The bulge in the crotch of Zolt’s joggers got closer and closer. Lin wondered if he put a sock down there just to look good at the gym and abruptly discarded it. A guy with Zolt’s attitude practically screamed Big Dick Energy.
“Say, isn’t that great,” said Zolt. Lin tapped his foot. He let go of her hands and she rocked back. Only then did she realize she’d been so focused on the approach of Zolt’s package that she’d forgotten about her back almost entirely. They went back and forth like that a few more times, Zolt’s head inching ever closer to the increasingly warm place between her legs before she was gently pulled back towards the tantalizing lump between his. And was it her imagination, or was it getting bigger?
“Alright,” said Kya, “good progress, both of you. Now, for this last one, I’d like to help Lin along a little. Lin, I’ll get behind you and work on your back as you stretch towards Zolt.” With that Lin felt Kya’s warmth wrap around her back. Two long legs clad in blue spandex appeared on either side of her. Then Kya’s hands ran slowly up and down her back. Lin shivered and started to sweat. This wasn’t fair. “When you’re ready, Zolt,” said Kya. Her breath whispered against the back of Lin’s neck.
Zolt’s hands gripped Lin’s and pulled her forwards again. At the same time Kya pressed into her back. Her hands dug into either side of her spine, which Lin had expected, but then her chest pressed against Lin’s shoulder blades as well. Kya started massaging her back and also leaning forwards, molding the soft mounds of her breasts into Lin’s upper back. Slowly, slowly, Lin was pulled down towards Zolt’s package—it was definitely bigger now, or at least more defined—again as Kya’s hands and boobs caressed her from behind. Lin had never had a threesome before but here, sandwiched between a gorgeous woman and a ruggedly powerful man, she imagined just what that might feel like. Their clothes discarded on the floor. Kya’s hands lower than they were, slipping beneath her ass to her center, while her own mouth descended to take what Zolt would offer. Then they’d switch, Lin tasting cinnamon and sweat while he pounded her from behind. Soon it would be too much, and she’d—
“Lin?” asked Kya.
“What?”
“Are you alright?”
Lin opened her eyes to see Zolt staring down at her with a mixture of concern and dark-eyed amazement. His pupils nearly obscured his gold irises. “Fine,” said Lin through dry lips. “Why?”
“You moaned,” said Zolt.
Lin shot back upright, knocking into Kya. “I did not.”
“You did,” said Kya. “It’s okay if it hurts. It’s your job to tell us to stop when it does though.”
“Wasn’t that kinda moan,” said Zolt. He drummed his fingers on his thigh, looking thoughtful, then said, “Okay, cards on the table: this is hot. Lin seems into it. Miss Kya, at the risk of a lawsuit I’m not gonna say what your nippies are doing through that shirt, but grinding into Lin’s back is a dubious form of treatment to me. We’re all adults, and seasoned ones at that. If I said I’d be up for a little adult fun, how would you answer?”
“You’re clients,” said Kya. Her voice behind Lin sounded breathy and too fast.
“Say we weren’t.” Zolt grinned. “You’re fired. There. Now?”
“I’m not into men.” Kya unwound her legs from around Lin’s back. “But I might be open to sharing. If Lin is interested, and only if. If not, I’ll never say another word about it and I’ll encourage you both to find a different studio.”
Lin scooted back and eyed them both. Kya seemed flushed and impossibly pretty in spite of the uncertain look in her eyes. Next to her Zolt was all smug swagger. Yes, she could absolutely be sandwiched between these two.
“My back feels better,” she said. “I think whatever we’ve been doing is working.”
“That’s a girl,” grinned Zolt. Kya smiled beside him before cracking her knuckles.
“That’s not getting either of you out of planks today,” she said briskly. “Zolt, on your knees. Lin”—she paused, giving the phrase extra weight— “on your knees.”