"You did what?"
"It may seem a bit unconventional, and I shared the same reaction as you. But believe me, it worked. I didn't murder him or roast him to ashes."
"And exactly where did the Fire Lord receive this piece of information?"
"Kya."
"I thought you were going to say Bumi."
"Look Linny, I'm just saying it worked for me when I was at the brink of insanity from the pain. It might work for you, who knows? Either way, you get to reclaim some pleasure from the pain."
What did she just say?!
"Pleasure me."
"Wha-why?"
"Just do it."
"You're in labor! I don't think this is an appropriate time to indulge in…" Tenzin nervously glanced around for extra feet and ears eavesdropping within the vicinity, lowering his voice to a hiss, "intimate affairs."
"I'm not doing it because I want to shake the room, Airhead!" Lin exclaimed, hissing as another contraction began to grasp at her. "It's to take…the edge off…these stupid contractions."
"Where did you hear this from?"
"...a friend of a friend…"
"Are they even reliable?"
"Izumi said it worked for her! And at this point, I'm willing to…hmm…. give it…a shot!"
"Izumi told you this? And what healer offered such salacious medical advice to the esteemed Fire Lord?"
"Your sister."
"My—what?!"
"Pipe down! It's not like you're…inexperienced in that arena. In fact…" Lin paused, inhaling deeply and releasing before continuing, "we're in this position because of it." Tenzin sighed, his mind spinning in circles trying to center his thoughts. "Lin, I respect what you need to help you through these pains. But…I don't think um—" his eyes travelled to the open door, searching for any signs of an extra presence. The last thing he needed was some curious ears and eyes to fall into a conversation of this nature, "uh, I don't think being inside you is very uh, helpful when the baby is trying to come out…"
Lin blinked a few times, a glimmer of amusement swimming in her eyes. "What?" she almost laughed.
Heat rushed to his cheeks and ears, and Tenzin was sure she could see his face reddening despite most of her back facing him. Was she really going to make him explain this to her? Actually, she would. She's a Beifong. "The baby's trying to come out," his hands motioned around her pelvis, "what if I'm just pushing the baby back in?"
"Hahaha!"
"Lin, it's not funny! I'm serious!"
"You're such an airhead, you know that?"
"I am not! I am concern—" Oh, no. Not this again. She's not going to win through a simple kiss. She may be a powerful earthbender and metalbender, but the son of the Avatar would not yield to such petty tactics. Precisely. Especially not when she traces her tongue longingly across his willing lips, slipping in to spell her name against his tongue—"Lin!"
His protest failed to drown out the amused chuckle from his wife. She shifted in his arms, creating distance between them as she turned to face him on the bed. "What?" she asked innocently.
"I know what you're trying to do and it won't work."
"Tenzin." She rested her hand on his thigh and alarm bells flashed in his mind. Tenzin resisted the urge to spread his legs further as an invitation to tip the gesture into a more provocative one. "All I said was 'pleasure me.' I didn't ask you to," she leaned forward, dropping her voice to a sultry purr, "fuck me. You made that assumption on your own."
"I'm just—"
"I just want you to touch me." She cupped his face, forcing him to stare into her eyes. If he blinks enough, her jade eyes will fail in hypnotizing him to conduct sexual favors against his better judgment. But there was a softness blooming the longer he stared without blinking. Her thumbs traced his cheekbones before her fingertips softly grazed down his cheeks and followed the contours of his jawline. The sweet stroking dipped between loving touches and seduction and Tenzin had to choose which path he should pursue. Based on the warm explanation and tenderness in her voice, his mind accepted it as love. His body, on the other hand, began to dissociate from logic and embark on a journey of its own.
He swallowed, eyes flickering between hers and the enlarged swell between them. "...you only want me to touch you?"
"Yes. I just want you to somehow take me over the edge, either with your fingers or whatever. But if you don't want to, I can do it mys—"
Swoosh, thud!
The door slid shut and with a snap, Lin successfully set the lock into place. Tenzin guided her closer to the edge of the bed, settling her perfectly between his legs and back almost flushed to his chest. "If it goes beyond this, we're stopping immediately," he whispered in her ear, taking immediate notice of the subtle shiver running down her spine. Lin simply nodded, leaning back completely into him.
Tenzin dipped his head forward into the smooth curvature of her neck, lovingly planting kisses behind her ear and extending down to the slope of her shoulder. Lin angled herself to grant him more access to the canvas of her skin. Hints of jasmine oil stamped his lips with every kiss and he allowed the tip of his tongue to taste it on her flesh. A new sweetness greeted his palette and he knew that under more ideal circumstances, he would run his tongue across her perfect body to savor that addicting taste no other man would have the luxury of knowing. She was his treasure and no one else's.
His hands slipped through her nightgown, wasting no time in cupping and palming her breasts that fully filled his hands. He gently grazed his thumbs across her nipples and his body delighted in the soft gasps as he stroked them back and forth, arousing sensational licks of pleasure through Lin. That faint "Tenzin" echoing in his eardrums instantly sent all the blood to flow into his groin. All of her heavenly moans encouraged his ego over his ability to create such divine music from a goddess.
A dash of possessiveness appeared, compelling his hands to move on their accord and clutch her breasts. He grinned against her warm skin at the rewarding mewl, secretly wishing he could remain in this position with her forever. But he knew if such a situation were to transpire, within minutes he would have a never-ending craving to stare at her face and count the number of new sun spots dusting her cheeks.
"Tenzin…"
"Hmm?"
"Contraction coming…"
Under any other circumstance, he would lure her on a chase for her own pleasure, him holding the grand prize within her grasp until she began to beg. But not this time. This wasn't about prolonging the pleasure into the night and making love until the morning sun rose over the calm lands. The focus was her. Her comfort, her pleasure, her love. As soon as the implication slipped, he removed his hands from the gaps beneath her arms and quickly traversed their child's first home.
Suddenly, Tenzin realized these were the final hours of he and Lin. After today, they would be appointed as parents—a title that would transcend their life and death. For a moment, he wished he were kneeling between her legs to pepper more kisses across her belly before dipping his tongue into her core. Shaking the thought away, he instantly positioned his hands where the skirt draped over her firm thighs.
Deliriousness began to descend upon him as it did every time his fingertips trailed along her inner thighs, encroaching closer to the junction between her legs. Inquisitive and skilled fingers glided easily into the soaking depths, welcoming him with warmth and pulsing urges for pleasure. The way her lips parted and cheeks would flush whenever his fingers dove into her or his entire manhood filled her was always a sight to behold, and with the gasp spilling an octave range higher than her normal voice? Sublime.
He silently thanked the universe for Lin removing her underwear hours ago, although not for pleasurable purposes. The speed and pressure of his fingers stroking and pushing into her was bound to extract deafening cries of pleasure over pain. Lin craned her neck to meet his lips, hoping Tenzin could swallow any uncontrollably loud moans that were bound to erupt from her sensitive body. And swallow them, he did.
Her teeth dug into his lips, close to drawing blood, but the pain was drowned out by her moans. She arched her back to the best of her ability, tilting herself to achieve the quickest route to a pleasurable oblivion. Curling his fingers upward and pushing hard at the top of her walls, Tenzin crashed his lips into hers in time to muffle a sharp cry prepared to soar into the room. 'She's close.'
Years of knowing her included acquiring the keys to the locked secrets of sending Lin over the edge in waves of bliss. The subtle rocking against his fingers, trembling pants resisting his long, deep exhales, and legs separating further…those were his clues that she was being pulled into the exact current he wanted her in. Without restraint, he pressed into her harder, faster, satisfaction blazing in the cavity of his chest as words died in Lin's throat as she stiffened and her walls quivered around his fingers. A searing kiss wasn't necessary to swaddle a loud scream—a bit unfortunate, but that only meant he had the opportunity to stare at her beauty. Unfortunately, she was a blur in his vision and he cursed the one downfall of being this close to her as she was submerged in her orgasm. Rather than focus on one trifling flaw, he redirected his attention to peppering her neck with tiny kisses to ground her back to him.
Lin sagged into him—her rock in the final phase of this journey—as sexual satisfaction quickly escaped. For once, it felt as if they switched elements—he, the earthbender and she, the airbender. Each contraction challenged her ability to remain grounded, enhancing the urge to release herself and allow the pain to possess her. Tenzin immediately sensed this "cut-and-run" desire growing within her and he stepped into a role of grounding her to the best of his abilities—whether she needed his physical presence, comforting words, or spirits' sake, an orgasm. He studied with a critical gaze, but most importantly, listened and waited to sense what she needed if she struggled to express it.
Her body radiated with the same passionate fire that could either create life or destroy it. Fresh beads of sweat formed at her crown, gluing a few loose strands of hair to her face. Tenzin blew another swirl of chilly air to lower her temperature until she relaxed further into him. As her breathing began to steady, he pressed a kiss to her temple, mumbling an "I love you," into her.
"Did it work?" he whispered, wrapping his arms around her waist and massaging the underside of her belly.
Lin rested her hands over his. "Hm?"
"The pain. Is it gone?"
"I think so…"
"Well, as unconventional as it is, I'm glad it helped." Another sweet kiss stamped against her cheek.
"I need you to do it again."
"What?!"
Lin twisted in his arms, eyes sharp with question and judgment at the reaction. "Now that we know it works, it should help when the contractions become stronger."
"I thought we were only doing this once, which is why I agreed to it," Tenzin explained. "How many times were you hoping for?"
"Every other contraction."
"What?!"
"What?"
"By the time your contractions are stronger, my mother and sister will probably be here to assist you."
"Well then, we'll just have to fit in as many as we can before that happens."
Tenzin removed his hands from her belly and rubbed his face. "Lin."
"You don't have to only use your hands. You could use your—"
"What if it just pushes the baby back in?"
A sigh. "Alright. I respect your position. I'll work on it then."
"No, no," he grasped her exploratory hands sliding beneath her dress, placing them firmly on her belly, "you need to save your energy when it's time to push."
"Well, you're unavailable and I know my body extremely well, if you didn't know that. I think I can do as well as you do."
Tenzin rested his chin along her shoulder. "That's not the problem. You should conserve your energy."
She rolled her eyes, leaning further into him. "You don't need to coddle me."
"I'm just trying to support you and watch you."
"You want to watch me?" her voice lowered in mischief.
"No, not like that!"
"Are you sure?"
"Positive."
"Shame. It will probably be the show of your life to see your wife pleasuring herself and gasping for air from the most earth-shattering—"
"Alright, fine. I'll do it one more time!" he conceded, slumping in defeat against her back. "Only because I love you. But only one more time, that's it. No more, no less."
"Of course," she pledged a little too innocently, chuckling into the searing kiss as the subtle pains slowly returned.