Chapter Text
Lunch time at the motherlobe and the cafeteria is buzzing. Taco Tuesday only came once a month, and the Psychonauts would be damned if they didn’t stuff themselves sick at the ‘build your own taco’ buffet.
Hollis was generous enough to double down on the budget this year, providing not one but two containers of cilantro! Of course, she had only done so with a certain agent in mind.
Milla will lose herself in excitement! She thought.
Though come to think of it, where was Agent Vodello? It had been an hour since lunch was called and all but two of the agents on staff had come through. Those twoSasha was understandable at least. His tastes tended to the milder side, and he hated crowds. But Milla? She would be the first to line up, guarding the cilantro like a dragon would it’s hoard.
Fishy. This needs investigating.
~~~
She probed for their mind wavelength as she approached the agent offices, honing in on a stray thought floating outside Sasha’s lab, intending to connect to him, only to have the connection swerve to the left.
Milla’s room? What’s he doing there?
The thoughts multiplied as she came to a stop outside the entrance to the two rooms, the stray thoughts multiplying and making it harder to connect with the mind they came from. But the wavelengths were there- both Sasha and MiIllas’. They were of course scrambled- those two had a connection no one besides themselves could break into- but if she really listened, Hollis could make out some details.
Well, I suppose I should make sure I’m not interrupting anything before I barge in there. Though I don’t remember any meetings scheduled...
She focused as she tuned into the thoughts emanating from Milla’s room.
‘….’
‘……’
‘Ah..’
‘Darling..’
‘Milla…’
‘You’re getting better at this you know’
‘I-I can’t…’
‘Come now, I know you’re more flexible than that’
‘Ah! Milla!-’
‘Feels good doesn’t it?’
What.
Hollis coughed as she lost focus. What on earth were they discussing? Or...doing? She had heard rumours but-
No! She chided herself. They’re professionals- and your coworkers! Surely they…
“AH!!”
A sudden burst of mental energy erupted from their wavelength as a muffled cry could be heard from behind the doors.
Hollis flinched backwards. Was it Sasha? Was it Milla? Were they hurt, or in trouble? What on earth is going on in there?? She stood mere feet away from the door, conflicted. She really shouldn’t be listening in on private conversations, especially between her two most trusted agents... But what if...?
She sighed as she recollected herself, tuning in once more to their now pulsing wave length.
Curiosity killed the cat. She told herself, But satisfaction brought it back. I’ll make it up to them later.
‘…’
‘Camilla- we shouldn’t go any further-’
‘Aah..but darling, we’re so close’
‘Anyone could walk in! I-I don’t want anyone to see us like-’
‘Oh Sasha, they already know’
‘B-but- ah!’
‘Come now, baby...J-just a little more..!’
Hollis’s face burned as she listened. Both in the mental and physical worlds she could hear them panting, groaning, straining. But her focus waned as her own mind jumped from thought to thought, her grip on the link loosening. She instinctively stepped towards the origin of the link, attempting to reconnect it.
C’mon…
Another step.
Almost there…
And another.
Almost....Got it!
A final step.
The automatic doors to Milla’s room snapped wide open as Hollis jumped back in shock at the scene in front of her.
Sasha and Milla's half-naked bodies were tangled together (Sasha laying on his front, his arms being held back by Milla, who was seated atop him? Wow, you get it girl ) upon Milla’s cushioned mediation pod. The two of them gasped and fell apart as the doors opened, the man scrambling backwards and nearly falling off.
Hollis covered her eyes and spun around. “I’M SORRY- I’M SORRY, I’M SO SORRY I WAS JUST- YOU WERE-” The doors closed again as she backed away, though quickly opened again as Milla ran after her.
“Hollis-”
“Y-You didn't show up for lunch so I came to check on you and-”
“Hollis!” Milla caught the agent by her shoulders and spun her around, a bit breathless. “It’s okay, darling! What’s wrong? Why’re you so tense?”
Hollis sputtered indignantly. “W-why am *I* tense?! You and Sasha were-” Wait a minute.
She looked over Milla, who had in that split-second seemed half dressed, but was actually wearing... gym clothes? Her usual red dress and leggings had been switched out for a light-blue scoop-necked leotard and neon-pink leg warmers with matching sweat bands around her wrists.
Hollis turned her attention back to the room- where a half-humiliated half-furious looking Sasha was standing, dressed in purple knee-high gym shorts and a matching grey tank-top bearing a decal of an alien lifting weights, the man's red face partially obscured by a gym towel pulled over his head.
Hollis blinked. “What...were you two doing?”
“Oh, haha, we’ve been doing a bit of lunchtime yoga.” Milla laughed as she wiped her brow. “Razputin really amazed us with his acrobatics. We thought we ought to limber up as well, you know? We’ve gotten a bit stiff being counselors, particularly him.” She spoke the last part quietly, gesturing back to Sasha.
“....Oooh…” Hollis relaxed. Obviously.
She laughed, shaking her head. “Of course! I thought I heard some gossip about yoga floating around!”
“Gossip?” Sasha stood in the doorway, trying not to show how out of breath he was.
“Oh- nothing to worry about, Agent Nein. Just watercooler talk, you know.” Hollis backtracked. She was not about to have that conversation now. “A-anyway, I just came to check on Agent Vodello. I didn’t see either of you at lunch and it’s-”
“Taco Tuesday? Today?!” Milla gasped. “I thought it was next week! Oh, why didn’t anybody tell me?”
Halfway through her sentence she had already levitated herself halfway down the hall, not a single care that was still in her gym attire. They watched as she disappeared into the atrium.
“Agent Forsythe.” Hollis turned back to Sasha who was staring at her blankly. "I would highly appreciate if this didn’t-”
She held up a hand. “Not to worry Agent Nein. Your secret’s safe with me.”
He sighed, his body slumping as he pulled the towel off his head, the hair underneath spiked and tousled with sweat.
“It’s not exactly a secret, is it?”
Hollis gave him a coy smirk. “No. It isn’t.”