###

Milla stretched lazily out, tipping her head back as she levitated her pen through the air. She easily making it do a loop in the air as she tapped her fingers against her desk. Boredom settled in firmly as she briefly glanced over at the clock on her wall. Impatience rising as she realized her and Sasha's lunch break would start soon and the German man still wasn't here. He was never late, early, yes, late, no.

'Is he avoiding me…?'

The woman awkwardly shifted in her seat. Even with her ability to read minds, she hadn't expected Sasha to react like that. Some part of her was angry at him for leaving in the morning without waking her, he left a hastily scribbled note and awkward hands off apologies when she saw him the next day in private. She certainly had felt embarrassed herself, but Milla didn't think it would lead to Sasha full on avoiding her.

'Maybe I should call him?' She spared a glance back at her phone, easily catching her pen from the air as she shifted in her seat. The brown haired woman leaning forward to pick up her desk phone, easily dialing Sasha's office number. Milla didn't even really need to think about it by now, it was just in her mind as much as Sasha's own cell phone number.

She frowned somewhat by the third ring, her shoulders stiffening up when she realized he wasn't about to answer. Milla waiting until the machine picked up as she spoke, the brazilian woman keeping her tone light even if her words held heavy implications behind them. "Darling, are you up for lunch tomorrow? Come see me for conformation, dear. You know I love seeing you," with that she placed the phone onto its cradle. The Brazilian woman rising from her chair, reluctantly heading towards her coat rack next to her office door. Milla sliding her jacket on as she spared a glance back at the phone on her desk. She lingering for a moment half hoping it would ring.

Milla sighed, realizing it wasn't about to ring if she kept staring and hoping. She snapped her gaze back towards the door, checking her pocket for her wallet and keys as she stepped out of her office. The walk out of Psychonauts headquarters was a strange one without Sasha with her. It felt incredibly lacking without his presence.

She stepped out into the snowy concrete, looking up at the grey sky as white snow started to fall down over her. It seemed the snow wasn't going away just yet.

###

The German man stared at his phone, the message making him reach out and unplug his machine for the moment. The guilt clear on his features as he murmured softly to himself. "Ach,"

He wasn't really sure how he was going to face Milla again, not when he still felt so awkward about, everything. Eddie's advice had been helpful, more than helpful considering how little the two actually knew each other by this point. It didn't make the awkwardness any better.

It was why he ordered chinese food in for lunch whilst he hid out in his office, amongst the scattered piles of paperwork, empty coffee cups, and old battered bits of furniture that made up his office. He more or less curled up on his ratty couch to just eat his lunch in relative peace. Sasha levitating his drink over as his food container bobbed in the air next to him, he taking a sip of from the can as he contemplated what he would actually do.

The most obvious thing he could do was talk to Milla. Not that he really knew what he could say. He knew he sort of made up for his sexual failure with his handiwork, but it didn't lessen the sting of embarrassment any. He was a man, he should have been able to stay hard with a woman like Milla. The fact he couldn't just said something Sasha didn't particularly want to hear. He simply released his soda can, it bobbing back in the air with aid of his levitation before settling back on his desk. The German man digging back into his chinese food readily. He didn't feel ready just yet. He needed time to himself before he accepted the bruises to his pride.

"Sasha? Are you in there?"

The german man's voice came out muffled as he tried to simultaneously chew and speak at the same time, "Mrrgh!"

"I'll take that as a yes," With that a plump woman opened his office door, she poking her head in. "Are you hiding from Milla?"

"Mrghrg," He was still struggling to swallow as the woman rolled her eyes a little. The well dressed woman stepping further into the office, not needing an invitation to do so from the man. "Finish chewing already, Nein,"

"I'm attempting to do that Andrea," He dryly intoned after he managed to swallow his food. He lowering the box of food to offer Andrea an touch irritated look. "You're impatient,"

"You're just slow at eating and doing reports. Nothing unusual here," She snarkily offered back with a shake of her head, Andrea's loose violet hair going in every which direction. "Same old Sasha Nein,"

Sasha stabbed his plastic fork into his food, he winding the lo mien onto it as he spoke. "Ha, ha, ha," He hunching into himself sulkily as he worked on eating his lunch. He just not in the mood for his usual odd banter with the file clerk. Usually he groused at her about how inefficient American's were in filing and their language, today he wasn't feeling up to the game. Her unintentional barb at his slowness only made him feel embarrassed again. Was he always slow at everything and he had never noticed?

Andrea paused at that, her brows furrowing together as her snark drained away. Concern clear enough in her tone as she spoke. "Okay, so you are actually in a bad mood, sorry to intrude,"

"It is fine, Andrea. Perfectly fine," He didn't intend for his words to come out so sharp, but they did, it making the plump woman wrinkle her nose back at him.

"Wow, okay, you're kind of pissy, Nein. I'll come for your reports tomorrow," She placed a muffin she had on his desk as she moved to leave the office, "Be warned, Milla is looking for you, I'll tell her you're not here if she asks. Just remember to lock your door,"

"…Thank you,"

"No problem," She turned to leave, offering him a wave without a backward glance. She tugging the door shut with a flick of her own psychic energy before going on her way. Sasha already knew he was going to have pens stolen over this. Andrea had a fondness for stealing his pens when she was annoyed with him.

####

"Nice to see you finally eating with us lowly peons again," Che offered easily back as he leaned back into the plastic cafeteria chair. The hispanic smiling as Sasha settled down across from him. Sasha's tray was overly staked with healthy foods. Fruits, vegetables and a salad. Some days Che wondered how Sasha survived on his dietary plan at all. Che clearly needed to remember Sasha ate like a pig when the feeling struck him.

The German man easily answered back as he unwrapped the plastic utensils he had, "I figured I owed my lowly subjects a fond hello," He pausing to check their cleanliness before continuing, "Milla and I have been having too many lunches together recently. I figure I owed you some time as well,"

"Well, I appreciate it. Though I don't want to cut in between private time with you two,"

"No, its fine. Milla agrees," Or she would if he had asked her. Not that he was going to bring that up now. He hadn't seen Milla in two days, he was going to see if he could keep that up without having to change his current work schedule. He was rather fond of day light hours, night shifts were always too hard on him these days. "Besides, I've been less than a friend these past few months,"

The dark blue man laughed at that, he twirling his fork in his spaghetti as he spoke. "Psh, I know the feeling, Sasha. How do you think I felt when I first started dating my wife?"

"True, very true, I rarely saw you then," He only saw glimpses of Che during week and never on off times. The man had been gobbled up by love and only proposing had brought him back to the world at large. There had been plenty of jokes at Che's expense due to that.

"I sort of expected the same to happen with you and Milla, you two were dancing around the whole thing for a long time,"

"I wanted to be sure I was ready," He answered automatically back, not entirely sure why it had taken them so long to get together in the first place. "We both are co-workers after all, if it had ended disastrously it would cause a rift in our work place relationship,"

Che laughed a little at that, shaking his head, "You sound like the work handbook,"

"Knowing Psychonaut regulations is a good thing, Che,"

"I know, I know-" He waved his work a little, spaghetti sauce splattering on the table top between them. Sasha's gaze dropping to the splatters disapprovingly, not that Che noticed as he spoke, "I've read the manual myself, Sasha. You just live by the book on occasion,"

"It is good to know what rules you can and cannot break,"

"Sneaky, sneaky," The Hispanic man offered easily back as he wound spaghetti around his fork again.

"You must know what you can do after all,"

"I hope you know, Nein, they're going to add a gay chicken clause in there. Apparently we were frightening the younger agents,"

The German had to laugh at that, "Clearly, they fear our deep love for one another,"

"Two straight men need to make out after all," Che said mid-chew, the attractive sight of half chewed food hard to miss, "It is only gay if the balls touch,"

"Classy,"

Che grinned easily back, his teeth stained a reddish color from the pasta sauce. "I try,"

"So I gathered," He briefly cast a glance back over at the clock by the cafeteria's entrance, taking note of the time as he worked on eating his own lunch.

####

Milla was starting to wonder if Sasha had just unplugged his phone entirely as she stared at his office door. Half daring the German man to actually step out and talk to her. It would serve him right, to avoid her and then just run into her. The door remained very much shut.

Frustration swelled up in her chest, it felt like it could burst at any moment the longer she stared at the door. She knew he was here, she checked the time sheet and saw he had clocked in for the day. He wasn't sick, he was just avoiding her.

"Are you going to stare at the door all day?" Andrea's words startled Milla out of her glare-fest with Sasha's office door. The Brazillian woman jumping a little in surprise and clutching at the front of her dress as she glanced over at the orange skinned woman. Andrea leaning against her office door nonchalant as can be. "You could just knock,"

"I'm just checking if he's here,"

"By staring at his door,"

"…Yes," She had never been very good at improvising off the field.

"Knocking is usually a thing you need to do,"

"No, I'm fine." She moved away from the door, crossing her arms stubbornly over her chest. "I'll come by later,"

"Riiiight," Andrea dryly intoned back as she walked towards the door, rapping on the wood. Milla stiffened up at that, "No-" Andrea cut Milla's protests off with a louder question aimed at the door. "Sasha, you in there?"

The answer they received was silence, either he was there and wasn't answering or not in his office at all.

With that as her answer, Milla turned her gaze back to the other woman. "Andrea, you don't need to help-" Irritation was clear in the Brazilian woman's voice as Andrea leveled an equally annoyed look back. "You are both grown ups, stop dancing around the issue and actually talk to one another, but since you're both intending to avoid each other forever- I'll let you get back to it,"

Milla could only awkwardly watch as Andrea walked away, stiffly closing her office door behind her, leaving Milla alone in the hallway. The Brazilian woman only able to stare at the door for a moment longer before leaving. Milla not entirely sure if she should feel embarrassed at how right Andrea's words were or the fact she hadn't just gone into Sasha's office.

###

"Okay, something is just, weird here," Raz had to peer across at Sasha, he laying his hands flat against the card table between them. Sasha seemed undeterred by his response, simply chewing his sandwich before he spoke."Weird?"

"Weird, so weird."

"Expound on the statement if you could, Razputin,"

"Why aren't you eating with Milla? Don't you guys like, do that every day?" Raz leaned forwardly nearly planting his elbow in his potato salad. It ruining his attempt to dramatically glare at Sasha from across the table. The mail room wasn't particularly big, so he didn't have to lean far at least.

The German man wasn't very impressed by the act, simply eating his lunch. "Would you prefer I leave, then?"

"No- but-,"

"Milla and I agreed I should be allowed to eat lunch with other people," He dryly intoned back as he set his sandwich down, he picking up a carrot to nibble on. "This includes you, Agent Aquatos,"

"Well, uh, thanks," The twelve year old picked at his peanut butter and jelly sandwich, pulling off the crusts of his bread. He dropping them onto the paper bag he had laid flat on the table as makeshift plate. It crinkling as he dropped his sandwich back onto it. "Hey- no, don't derail me! Haven't you guys been arguing?"

Sasha busied himself with pretending his carrot was the most delicious thing he had ever eaten. In actuality it was not, it was rather bland even with the ranch dressing. "No, not in the least," The German man would pat himself on the back later for lying so convincingly, for now he focused on keeping it going. "If you're so insistent on not needing my company-"

"No, hey- no, stay!" Raz didn't want to have to eat lunch with the other mail room clerks again. He struggled to find a topic, eventually stumbling onto something. "Tell me about that mission you went on?"

"It was a standard mission," Sasha earned himself a stare. The German man rolled his eyes behind his sunglasses. "Classify a young psychic and give them basic training if they exceeded expectations,"

"Oh," Disinterest was immediate, this was a low level mission obviously, one Sasha was actually willing to discuss. One day Raz would actually figure out any mission Sasha actually discussed with him openly was usually a low level one at best.

"You asked,"

"I appreciate it- really, but what happened to cool missions?"

"Surprise Razputin, there are no cool missions," Sasha drolly intoned as he picked up another baby carrot. He dipping it into a small cup of ranch he had on hand as he continued, "We are a government agency, most of our job consists of paperwork,"

Raz's gaze wandered around the mail room at the stacks of envelopes, packets, files and letter heads laying around. "So I noticed,"

"And you'll keep noticing as time goes on, the paperwork never ends."

Raz gave a groan, flopping back dramatically in his chair, "Don't remind me!" His drama didn't last very long though as his phone buzzed in his pocket, the pre-teen quick to dig it out and check his messages. If his grin was anything to go by, he clearly got a message from Lili. Sasha indulgently rolled his eyes as he worked on picking off a few more carrots. The sound of crunching carrots and the taktaktak of Raz's texting filling up the silence that settled between the two.

"Don't text too much, you'll ruin your eyes,"

The acrobat didn't seem particularly bothered by Sasha's words as he quickly typed out a message. "Yeah, yeah,"

"That and you'll use up all your time if you two keep it up,"

That got the pre-teen's attention as he paused, "…I think she has unlimited messages, right?"

Sasha merely shrugged in response. "Why are you asking me, Razputin? I don't text Lili everyday like you do,"

"…I'll ask her," Which he did if his furious texting was anything to go by. Sasha quietly checked the time, smiling to himself as lunch hour slowly started to come to a close. The week was over and he had yet to see Milla. It was an accomplishment, be it a incredibly stupid one