Newton and Hermann returned to the lab after a long post-breach meeting and came face to face with a horrifying sight. They were looking at themselves, sitting at Hermann's desk, passionately kissing one another.

"What the f–?!" They stood, totally dumbfounded, mouths hanging open, unable to understand how there were duplicates of themselves, let alone why they were behaving in this extraordinarily embarrassing way. Herman was frozen still and Newton cleared his throat.

"Hey!" he yelled across the room at himself.

"I don't think we can hear us."

"How the hell are they...how are we over there and we're here?" Their other selves were still fully engaged. The occasional wet sound slipped out in the silence and Newton made a desperate attempt to say something, anything, to deflect any attention from any noise of intimacy.

"Um, so, any theories?" There is definitely an exchange of tongues going on there.

"I'm right here, Newton; you don't have to shout."

"Sorry, um, well obviously we're not, they're not on the same plain as we are..."

"Right, perhaps it is a time dilation brought about by the breach collapse."

"Yeah, that sounds logical," Newton said, trying to sound as calm and pragmatic as possible, though unable to take his eyes off the other Hermann who was sucking the air out of his own – well, out of his other self's – mouth. The Hermann next to him looked the other way and pretended to be brainstorming about scientific reasoning, but non-osculating Newton could see his pale skin was a shade or two more pink. His own temperature was rising as well. Then the other Newton gasped and the first Newt cleared his throat. Hermann number one tapped his cane and adjusted his jacket.

"They must be our alternate selves. We should make a report."

"A full report? Newton squeaked, as if to say 'you're going to tell Hansen and everyone that we saw our alternate selves making out as if your lives depended on it?!'

"Perhaps not every detail," Hermann admitted, a little more breathless than he should have been from just standing. And then his alternate self moaned. Actually moaned. He couldn't take much more of this. Sounds...sexual sounds were coming out of his own – his other self's – mouth. And Newton, watching this, hearing this. Hermann started to panic. He was just about to speak when he peripherally saw the Newton standing next to him tilt his head.

"I never knew I could do that with my tongue." Hermann swallowed audibly.

"I'm going to work at my board. Perhaps you could let me now when they're finished." Hermann walked away but then Newton held up his hand.

"Wait, I think we're done." Hermann turned back just in time to see their alternate selves disengage, looking at eachother fondly. They took hands and walked straight passed them. Half way down the corridor they faded away.

"Phew! Newton said, wiping the back of his neck.

"We'd better make a report. It could indicate a change in our world, perhaps a permanent change. Everyone should be informed in case there are other occurrences like this." Newton nearly said 'like this?!' and 'are other people's duplicate selves going to eat eachother's faces off in the middle of a laboratory?' but he said, "Good idea."

"I'll schedule a meeting for tomorrow. Would 11am be convenient for you?"

"Sure, sure."

The Next Day:

After an exchange of 'morning' and 15 minutes of dead silent, Hansen arrived.

"Well gents? What's this all about?"

Hermann began the diatribe and said with uncharacteristic vagueness that they had seen duplicates of themselves "sitting" in the lab. Hansen, was not going to go on without more information.

"Our alternates were sitting at the desk–"

"Talking," Newt cut in. Herc was expressionless, if not a little perplexed.

"Talking?"

"Engaged in a conversation," Hermann elaborated pathetically. Newton shifted from one foot to another.

"Yep."

"And you couldn't interact with them?" Newton's eyes widened. They were doing enough interacting on their own!

"Nope. I even yelled."

"So," Herc tried to get more out of them, "You've observed an alternate universe?"

"Perhaps," Hermann said, "but there is also a great possibility that it could be a time dilation that shows a future event." And then, he suddenly seemed to realize the full enormity of what that meant. He could see that Newton understood that too. There was a possibility that they were going to kiss eachother senseless in the future. After that point, the meeting was a bit hazy for both of them.

There were a few other sightings. Tendo had witnessed himself typing at his computer, Raleigh had watched himself arguing with Herc about post-breach procedure, and Mako and Raleigh had seen her talking to to a technician who was dismantling a Jaeger. But no instance of kissing.

The comfort level Newt and Hermann had reached after they drifted had been seriously impaired. The polite formality was irritating in the extreme and talking to eachother for any length of time would bring back thoughts of their alarmingly amorous noises. The 50% minimal probability of them actually engaging in office space foreplay was deliciously inviting and yet it terrified the crap out of both of them. Three days of this apprehension and their nerves were beginning to fray. Newt had accidentally cut himself several times cleaning off the knives he would no longer be using, and Hermann nearly tripped over the base of his ladder on no less than three occasions. Tendo walked in with another massive pile of paperwork. Hermann had told him to put the piles down on any surface but the desk to the left of his chalkboard. He had avoided it ever since the 'incident' as if it was smeared with kaiju entrails. But Tendo dropped the stack on the desk. Hermann shouted at him.

"There's nowhere else to put it, ok!" he hollered back and left. The commotion made Newton very carefully turn to see what was going on and he caught sight of Hermann angrily fumbling with the misaligned stack of red tape, trying to pick it up with one hand and supporting himself with his cane with the other in order to move the pile over to the others. But in an effort to pick up the rapidly unfurling pile of papers, his hand left his cane and he stumbled, falling to his knees. He growled angrily under his breath with a couple of choice swear words. Newton didn't think twice. He ran over to him and helped him up.

"Hermann, are you ok?"

"I don't need help," he said gruffly. But as he slipped on some of the papers he added, "Well, alright, thank you, Newton." The biologist handed him his cane and they sat on the stools at the vast untouched bare countertop. Hermann had his head down, but looked at Newton in quick little upward glances. Newton was staring at him, a smile spreading across his face. He could feel what was coming. And then Newton just took Hermann's face in his hands and kissed him full on the mouth, demanding to be kissed back. Hermann gave in to the inevitable, gripping his lab parter around the middle, pulling him closer. Newton let his hands slip down to Hermann's chest. They engaged in the delectable activities that had filled their heads for days. So this is what Hermann's mouth feels like. I'm gonna explore him to death. Hermann himself thought something similar but was too enthralled with the tonguing Newton had been surprised to witness himself, that it didn't take the form of a full sentence. His own hunger surprised him and he was certain he wasn't allowing Newton much air. Sure enough, the man gasped just as he had done when they had been the observers. This sound made him even more rapacious and at one point he felt the dull clunk of teeth on teeth. Not entirely unpleasant. And then Newton, who had been circling his tongue with his own, sucked and tugged on his bottom lip. Hermann moaned. There it was. The sound that he's almost been ashamed of. The noise seemed to jumpstart Newton again and he was back to his previous treatment, not letting any air escape. He practically flat tongued Hermann's and the latter raised his eyebrows. A few more seconds of this and they pulled apart to catch their breath, looking at eachother with great affection and a little bit of irony. They stood, both taking eachother's hand, and walked out of the lab.

"Where are we going?" Hermann said, failing to pretend he didn't know.

"Somewhere more private." Hermann squeezed him hand.

"Um, you ok with kissing me?"

"Yes, of course," Hermann said in deeper tones than usual. He stopped. "Why?"

"Because you've been avoiding me for days!"

"So have you!"

"Uh, I've been thinking."

"About what?"

"Well, what about the 'no free lunch' thing in causality? I mean, we saw each other... together... and... This might not have happened if we hadn't seen eachother do...what we were doing... so...I guess I'm confused."

"I am a bit too, but for once in my life I really don't care." Newton's eyes widened again.

"Dude, did I do that?"

"You might have something to do with it," Hermann said with a sly smile. Newton grinned at him before unlocking his door.

"Come on, let's make out like teenagers." Hermann smiled but held onto Newt's arm to stop him.

"There is still the possibility that it was an alternative universe we saw and not the future,"

"And I know you're gonna drive yourself crazy trying to find out."

"That can wait."