Hot Yoga Therapy
Shaw woke up on the couch with a crick in her neck, with her bladder pressuring her for immediate action. She looked around the suite and noticed the only bathrooms were inside the bedrooms. At first, she chose John’s room but then decided it would be more fun to wake up Root loudly and harshly. Shaw walked over and opened the door slowly. She could see Root still completely past out from sleep, having kicked off most of the covers on the bed and appeared to be spooning a pillow hard. To Shaw’s surprise, the tall brunette was wearing something resembling pajamas. The sleeping hacker had a look on her face that wasn’t seen very often, sort of peaceful. Shaw shook her head to stop herself from staring; she would never live it down if Root woke up and saw her watching her sleep. Never. Friends or frenemies or co-workers, whatever they were don’t watch each other sleep; well, Root might, but she’s weird. Shaw went into the bathroom quietly, changing her mind on waking Root since her co-worker didn’t ever seem to get enough sleep.
When Shaw exited the bathroom, again trying to be very quiet, she could feel eyes on her. She looked over to Root, who was sitting up in bed, smiling at her. Root was holding onto a pillow, half her smile hidden in the pillow.
“I feel honored you choose my bathroom over John’s,” smirked Root in a purple tank top and colorful pajama pants.
“It was closer, don’t get excited,” Shaw said while crossing her arms over her chest, “an interesting choice of pajama bottoms.” Shaw looked over at Root’s pajama bottoms with a Grumpy cat cartoon all over them.
“The cat reminds me of someone…” Root smiled slyly at Shaw.
It was too damn early and lack of caffeine early for the hacker to be so perky thought, Shaw. “I thought you slept…you know au natural?” Shaw couldn’t believe this question got past her brain, and her lips let it slide out too. Damn lack of caffeine again, she cursed.
“I didn’t think it was prudent to be sleeping nude with John a few feet away and 12 numbers at risk and Harry or The Machine calling at any minute.” Root got up from the bed and started walking across the room towards Shaw.
“I think nude might be better than those pajama bottoms,” Shaw cringed that did not come out the way she intended, and Root’s face lit up, “I MEANT those are ugly ass pajama bottoms. Like embarrassing. Even for you.”
“Noted. Primary Asset Shaw prefers me pantless,” Root’s huge beaming smile was too much for Shaw, who in turn shook her head, turned away, and left the room. As soon as she exited, John was standing in the kitchen, getting some water with raised eyebrows directed at her.
“I was going to the bathroom…I didn’t spend all night in there…with her,” Shaw walked over to the kitchen to search for coffee or anything. “And those hideous pajama bottoms.”
“You don’t have to be so discreet, Sameen. John doesn’t mind sharing his wife,” Reese raised his eyebrows again. Root sauntered over to the kitchen and sat on one of the barstools to the counter while watching Shaw and Reese.
“Yeah, Shaw. In fact, if you could take over the conjugal visits, it would be appreciated,” Reese did his sly smile to Shaw while she scowled back at him.
“Sure, Reese, you can take over mine with Fusco. I believe we have hot tub therapy tomorrow so you can soak with him and all his body hair in the 100-degree water,” Shaw grabbed one of the water bottles and took several big gulps.
“What?” Both Reese and Root said at the same time somewhat surprised looks on their faces towards Shaw.
“Did neither one of you read the therapy schedule for the rest of the week?” Shaw had a devious look on her face; she loved knowing more stuff than her teammates at times.
“I was kind of hoping we could wrap things up today,” said Reese with a grimace.
“Ditto. Although, I don’t mind the scenery,” said Root as her eyes traveled up and down Shaw’s black tank top and boy shorts. If eyes could drool, there would have been a puddle on the counter. “The beach is gorgeous.” Root’s eyes never left Shaw, who, in return, rolled her eyes and turned to Reese. “Shaw, let me know if you want to hit it again…the beach that is.”
Shaw had a quota for Root innuendos, come-ons and flirts in one day. The hacker was nearing the maximum, and it wasn’t even 8 am yet. So she took another water bottle and headed towards the door.
“Fusco is actually better company than you two,” Shaw grabbed her hoodie and slammed the hotel door heading back to her room.
Reese turned to Root, “Have you heard from Harold? For a twelve number gig, it seems too quiet,” asked Root to Reese, who had found some coffee in the cabinets and was brewing a small pot.
“Agree,” Reese tapped his finger to his ear. “Finch, are you there? What’s going on?”
“Good morning, Mr. Reese. Everything is under control at the moment.” Harold seemed out of breath. “We had a slight hiccup during the night, but it’s been taken care of.”
Reese and Root both looked at each other concerned.
“Finch, what’s going on?” Reese asked in an anxious tone, a tone that mirrored Root’s worried expression.
“Sorry, John didn’t mean to alarm you. There was a shipment of spoiled salmon that was almost served to the scientists, but thankfully I hacked into the hotel’s supplier system and had it diverted,” Harold seemed to regain his calmness.
Again, Reese and Root looked at each concerned expressions on their faces, now with a little confusion mixed in.
“Finch, are you telling me you think the threat to the 12 numbers was bad fish?” asked Reese.
“No, Mr. Reese, I think that might have been a tactic to slow down the proceedings,” Harold seemed distracted again, “Oh, it appears one of my employees from the hotel needs me. I need to keep up my cover. I’ll be in touch. Make sure you attend your therapy sessions today as your cover.”
Before Reese and Root could object, the communication line cut off. Reese grimaced so hard Root felt like she could feel it, although she was feeling her own. She didn’t know if she could take another sixty minutes of a group mediation session. However, it was nice getting to spend this extra time with Shaw without bullets or explosives swirling around them. She felt it was promising that the compact asset slept in their room last night, even if it was the couch. Maybe if she kept chipping away at the tough exterior, it would lead to getting to the tougher interior. She had no illusions about Sameen; she knew some people wouldn’t be drawn to someone who would possibly never show emotion or feelings back to them. Root didn’t care; she hadn’t cared since she first read Shaw’s file. At first, Root thought Shaw would be a worthy partner in any aspect. Over the years though as she had gone through so many changes and learned so much. Root was beginning to feel she would never be worthy enough for Sameen. Shaw was a hero, a true blood hero in every sense of the word. Root only learned the value of human life within the last few years. Even though she still pursued Shaw, she was scared that one day the woman might take her up on the offer. Then again, she knew it would probably only be temporary, and that might be enough. For the life Root had led so far, a good death would be an honor. Such as one night or one moment with the woman she loved would be an honor.
Reese snapped Root out of her thoughts. “I might have to feign food poisoning on this next thing?” He handed Root today’s schedule.
“Oh, c’mon, John. Fusco alone will make this worth attending,” Root almost laughed at the thought. And she realized she might have some fun with Sameen on this session. She went to change her clothes to get ready.
*****
As Shaw entered her hotel room, Fusco was sitting on the couch, eating a bagel with a cup of coffee holding the schedule.
“Did you read this crazy thing?” Fusco said in between bites.
“Yeah, I did, and that’s why I’m waiting to eat after the session,” Shaw couldn’t contain a small grin on her face as she looked at her partner’s discomfort reading what they had to do next. “Hope you brought a few track suits because you might tear one to shreds today. And I hope you’re good at holding in farts.”
“Very funny. Have a good night with your girlfriend?” Fusco couldn’t help rib Shaw on Root’s attraction to her. He had seen Cocoa Puffs flirt consistently and openly with his short partner but never knew if the feelings were mutual. He was surprised when he woke up this morning and found Shaw gone.
Shaw went into the bathroom and slammed the door shut fierce enough to shake the wall. Then she opened it again in a huff, “Your snoring wakes the dead. I saw actual zombies roaming the grounds last night. Reese has a freakin two-bedroom suite over there with a large couch. It’s so big you don’t even see the cochlear cuckoo for your information.” She went back and slammed the door again, very loudly.
Fusco laughed to himself; he could sometimes see why Coca Puffs did things to annoy Shaw; he had to admit it was pretty funny seeing the petite woman all huffy.
When they were both finally dressed, they headed down to the assigned room for the next group therapy session.
Fusco and Shaw entered the room to find the older couple and the younger couple in full-on yoga gear, stretching out on their mats. Fusco and Shaw stared at each other, this they could agree on, this sucks. Joan, the assistant, approached them.
“You two can take these mats,” said Joan motioning for Fusco and Shaw to take two mats in the back of the room, which didn’t go unnoticed by Shaw.
Reese and Root entered the room, followed by the middle-aged couple. Joan, of course, made a beeline for Team Rocket and started fawning over them. She directed them to two open mats. Root spied the mat right in front of Shaw and headed towards that one.
“Sam, Dr. Tinswell wanted you up in the front,” Joan motioned for Root to move to a different mat.
“I’m not big on being in the front of the class,” Root was determined to take the mat in front of Shaw, it was the only part of this charade she was looking forward to indulging in.
Reese moved to the mat in front of Fusco, he noticed his loose-fitting tracksuit and nodded. “Nice suit Lionel.”
Fusco noticed Reese’s more appropriate yoga outfit with a form-fitting sweat absorbent fabric and stretchy loose pants. He whispered to Reese, “Hey, that’s not fair. Did Cuckoo Chanel pick those out?”
“It’s part of my cover,” Reese whispered back, then also leaned into Root, “Why couldn’t The Machine also get Lionel the anti-stink shirt, it would help us all.” Root just shrugged.
Shaw kind of hated to admit she didn’t like seeing Reese and Root all buddy buddy. Reese was her buddy, not Root’s. And what the hell was with Root’s yoga outfit. Root had on a light blue tank top with black yoga short shorts instead of pants. Shaw thought to herself, shorts again, really? She realized she had never seen the hacker in shorts before, and now she had seen her wear them twice in about a 20 hour time frame. Were her legs that long? Root’s legs went on for days, and even nights, it appeared. She scolded herself when she looked away from Root’s legs right into the hacker’s mischievous eyes. So Root had to give her one of her trademark winks, which most of the time involved just actual blinking. Okay, Shaw was willing to admit the hacker was pretty hot by generic standards. Well, maybe even above average in some situations, like in this yoga outfit. Shaw couldn’t help but think that Root wore such little on purpose, plus positioning herself right in front of her also screamed strategic move. Shaw looked down at her black yoga shorts and form-fitting workout shirt and decided to change her outfit slightly. She took off her shirt to just wear her free-flow sports bra, which did not go unnoticed by Root; in fact, she thought she might have heard a small gasp come from the taller woman. Score one for me, thought Shaw.
“Namaste to you, Sameen,” Root said while blatantly staring at Shaw’s chest.
Root thought that if she were a dude, her obnoxious leering might get her thrown out or a hard punch from Shaw herself. However, just before she thought anyone besides Reese might notice, she looked away. It was pointless to hide from Reese or Finch; they both knew her feelings for Shaw. She could never tell if Shaw knew or thought it was just a show to annoy her. Or the third more painful option, Shaw did know but never wanted to reciprocate in any way or disliked the notion altogether. She dashed the thought from her mind because that was a train of thought that wasn’t fun. Her gut did always whisper that the third option wasn’t true at all. Root knew she had to turn around and face the front, but it was so very hard to tear her eyes away from Shaw’s lean, muscular, very toned form. And now that the primary asset had taken off her shirt to just be in her sports bra, Root felt like it was getting unbearably hot in the room even though they hadn’t started class yet.
Dr. Tinswell entered the room in a conservative yoga outfit with a flowing robe on, that continued to enter the room long after her. “Welcome, everyone,” she bowed to everyone. “Are you ready for hot yoga?”
“Hot yoga? What the hell is that?” asked Fusco with a pained facial expression.
“Probably you’re worst nightmare, Lionel,” whispered Shaw. Shaw thought to herself that the actual room temperature was getting hotter, she was very glad to hear that and realize it wasn’t because of Root who was bending over now and looking up at her from between her legs.
Dr. Tinswell started with the tree pose, which was pretty lucky for the four people who didn’t want to be doing any poses period. Next up was the cat pose, which didn’t look good on Fusco. And Reese looked pretty awkward too.
Shaw watched Root get on her knees, and for no other reason because she knew she was being watched pushed her ass high in the air and straight towards Shaw’s direction. Root then turned her head to sneak a look at Shaw and was pretty pleased the petite primary asset was indeed watching her. Shaw then put her head down on the mat, shaking her head to block out Root completely, the good thing about this particular pose. Next up, was the boat pose, which was also proving extremely difficult for Lionel. And Reese just winced looking at the others around him doing the pose. Root and Shaw were by far the best yoga practitioners. Reese watched both of them go from pose to pose with ease and grace. Although, he did sense they were trying to outdo each other, some unspoken competition between the two women.
“Everyone now turn over for the pigeon pose,” instructed Dr. Tinswell.
“This is my worst nightmare along with Fusco’s,” said Reese, he looked like he had reached a cutting off point. Reese tapped his earpiece, “Finch, what’s your ETA? This is a waste of time…” he said discreetly as not to heard by any else besides the three other people near him also dying to get out of the sweltering room.
Before Reese could finish his sentence, Finch’s voice came over all their communication lines, “No, Mr. Reese. Please, stay in class. I’ve just uncovered that Mr. Roth has a shady background at best and might be undercover as well.” Reese looked around the hotter than hell room.
“Which one is Mr. Roth?” asked Reese, scanning the room.
“Caucasian, 40s,” Finch continued talking.
“The middle-aged couple,” said Root softly, gesturing her head discreetly towards the couple.
“Mrs. Roth had an encrypted past for some reason that I finally dug up that included several nefarious things. It’s imperative you keep an eye on them,” continued Finch while all four co-workers groaned inwardly. “Mr. Reese you stay in class to watch over them, they are the biggest lead so far,” said Finch while Reese looked very skeptical, “And I hear yoga is good for bad backs, I think both you and Lionel could benefit from that as well.”
“Everyone the locust pose now,” voiced Dr. Tinswell loudly, while taking a glance around the room. She called out to Fusco, “Lionel, that looks more like the cobra pose, you need to lift your legs as well.” The detective groaned out loudly in pain as he tried to lift his legs, then it was followed by a loud release of flatulence. His teammates all had terrible times controlling a fit of giggles. Even Reese.
“Don’t be embarrassed everyone, we all need release. Everyone release,” said Dr. Tinswell as she waved her hands in the air.
“Please, no everyone hold in their farts,” said Shaw to herself.
Root’s legs were so long that they were dangerously close to hitting Shaw in the face. And it was tough for Shaw to concentrate on holding the locust pose with her arms and feet in the air when Root’s feet were nearly touching her face. Plus, that meant that she had a direct view straight down to Root’s center of annoyance, her vagina. It was like starring into the sun; it was hurting Shaw’s eyes and not to mention overloading all her senses.
Dr. Tinswell went over to help the older couple with their poses; Root took the opportunity to very quickly position herself lower on her mat so that she was clearly invading Shaw’s personal and yoga space. She had to hold down a giggle when Shaw’s head became nearly trapped by her legs. And Shaw’s facial expression was an explosion of pure annoyance. The petite primary asset was a very worthy opponent for her quick draw of grabbing Root’s ankle and gripping it firmly.
“If you don’t scoot up, I’m going to break one of your toes,” Shaw growled out, while she lowered her hand to pull and pinch Root’s pinky toe sharply.
Root did have to hold down a yelp, as Shaw knew how to break a bone precisely and swiftly. She regretfully scooted back up to her proper mat position, and just as Dr. Tinswell was calling out for a new pose.
“Excellent work, everyone. Now we are going to work on couple poses,” Dr. Tinswell motioned for the couples to face each other. “Let’s start with the double-wide boat.”
“What does that mean,” asked Fusco as he turned to Shaw, who shook her head and put her hand to her face to lightly pinch her nose in frustration.
“Here, sit down, open your legs, outstretch your arms,” Shaw instructed Fusco to sit in front of her. She shook her head when she saw Fusco panting, drenched in sweat with his legs barely open. Fusco looked like he was about to have a heat stroke. “Lionel spread your legs further apart.” Shaw held up a finger in Root’s direction but didn’t look at her. “Do not speak Root. Do not say a word to me.”
Reese and Root followed Shaw and Fusco’s lead. Both fake couples sat facing each other, legs completely wide open with bare feet touching, then arms outstretched to hold onto each other.
Dr. Tinswell started in again on instructions, “Look deeply into your mate’s eyes. Savor every moment in their presence.” The doctor waved her arms in some dramatic fashion.
Reese raised his eyebrows to Root; she was indeed staring deeply into his eyes. “You do have nice eyes, John,” Root said with a kind smile, no joke intended.
“And you have long legs, Root,” Reese smirked to Root.
“No shit,” Shaw chastised herself for saying that aloud. Root winked at Shaw, who rolled her eyes. Shaw then focused on her partner. “Lionel, your hands are the sweatiest hands I have ever seen or touched in my life.” Shaw did throw Fusco an appreciative smile; she admitted she did like the guy.
“Is that a compliment, Shorty?” Fusco was so over this hot yoga business, but he did manage a tired smile, “You got some pretty butchy arms there, Buttercup.”
“Butchy being the keyword,” said Root as she leaned over to Shaw, pulling Reese with her in the process, who almost lost his balance. Reese yanked Root back to her position.
“We are going to try something harder now,” said Dr. Tinswell, “I’m going to ask the two best yoga people in here to come to demonstrate if they will so kindly oblige. Sam and Sammy, would you mind?”
Okay, so Root thought that maybe she and Shaw’s not, so secret yoga competition wasn’t so secret. She was kind of killing herself to out pose Sameen. Shaw was going to kill her later for being called to the front of the class. And as if on cue Shaw just shot her an eye dagger.
“Could you both illustrate the double standard forward bend pose together please,” said doctor while giving them enough space.
Root remembered this pose from having to be a yoga instructor once for a mission. Root thought to have her buttocks pressed firmly against Shaw’s was going to be a slice of euphoria, but payback from the petite primary asset was going to be rough, possibly deadly.
Shaw held back a massive eye roll as she turned around and put her back against Root’s, feeling skin on skin on their shoulders and legs. She then bent down to glare at Root, who also bent down. Both of them with their heads between their legs, their asses pressed so hard against each other Shaw thought she could almost feel Root adding a little motion for some friction. Yup, she was going to end Root later. They clasped their arms together and stared at each other. Shaw glared at Root, who couldn’t help but smile back. The temperature in the room seemed to spike up substantially for the two women.
“Great job, you two,” said the doctor while admiring the pose, “And now show everyone the down dog bow pose. If you know that one, I can illustrate it with Sam.” Dr. Tinswell moved in front of Root, but Shaw grabbed the hacker’s arm and pulled her away.
Root and Shaw exchanged a look, a mutual ‘what the fuck’ between them but directed at the doctor.
“You’re stronger. I think you need to be the bottom,” whispered Root to Shaw without even a hint of innuendo, which was completely shocking to the petite primary asset.
Shaw bent over once again, heels flat on the mat, palms flat on the mat; she was ready for Root for a better word to mount her. Root decided to play dumb for a second and positioned herself to blanket Shaw facing her, and she almost had full body contact until the doctor told her she had to turn over. Begrudgingly, Root turned over and arched her back to lean over Shaw. Shaw held herself solid while Root got into position, which wasn’t easy. She finally positioned her back over Shaw’s ass with the back of her head just below, rested in between the back of Shaw’s strong thighs. Root then reached out and grabbed her feet with her hands.
Reese and Fusco stood in amazement while watching their two co-workers tackle a hard pose, which essentially created a giant human pretzel.
“They’re both nuts,” said Fusco; he has happy for the floor show since he got a break and got his breathing under control again. His clothes were completely drenched.
As soon as class was over, Dr. Tinswell and Joan chatted up Root while the rest of the class was able to slip out. By the time she made it back to her and John’s room, she could hear both showers running. Root had to smile even though she was frustrated; she was happy to know that Shaw was naked in her shower; although she really had to go the bathroom. She checked the door; it was locked. Root knew Shaw would lock it. However, it was an easy pick. Root slipped into the steam-filled bathroom and tore off her yoga shorts. Thankfully, Shaw didn’t notice her until she was already in progress.
“WHAT THE HELL ROOT!” hissed Shaw, “Get out!”
“Sameen, once again, this my bathroom. What are you doing here?”
“Fusco grabbed the shower first, and I wanted to get that yoga stench off me as soon as possible,” Shaw stood dripping wet naked with her back towards Root. “Root? Are you actually peeing right now?” This was too much oversharing for one compact Persian sociopath. Usually, Shaw was unflappable in any situation, even including nudity, but with Root, it was always much harder to maintain any kind of coolness.
“Sorry I really had to go. Reese is taking a shower right now too, and well, I would rather see you naked…”
“Root, get out!”
“I can’t at the moment, I drank two bottles of water after hot yoga,” Root tried her most reasonable tone with Shaw.
“Root! I don’t want to see you pee.”
“Then stay turned around, Shaw.”
Shaw was beyond annoyed; she wanted Root out of the bathroom right now.
Shaw grabbed the removable showerhead and had an idea. She started spraying herself down, going lower and lower down her body until she reached between her legs, where she practically mounted the showerhead. Shaw let out a little moan for show. Although it would only take about ten seconds, and this wouldn’t be for show any longer, with the warm water hitting very close to her clit. She lightly turned her head to sneak a glance at Root, who was still on the porcelain throne, but the hacker’s mouth was hanging open, and she had a fire in her eyes. Shaw turned her head back around and leaned her forehead against the tile wall. She then heard the shower door open. She spun around in a flash and directed the showerhead right at Root’s face.
Root stood there stunned for a moment while water blasted in her face, then she grabbed for the showerhead cord and pulled hard on it. Root didn’t mean to throw Shaw completely off her balance, but it was slippery, she began to fall, Root reached out to catch her. Shaw fell straight into Root’s arms instead of smashing her head on the tile wall. Water spraying everywhere from the dangling showerhead, both women were squinting amongst the showering water to look into each other’s eyes. Root stared hungrily at Shaw’s lips, and then Shaw herself returned the same look. Just as Root was about to crash their lips together, not kissing Shaw was torture, even if she got actual torture for doing it. Suddenly, there was a massive pounding on the door.
“Finch needs us now!” yelled Reese.