Sasha awoke to find himself on the couch of his lab at headquarters. The night before had been full of experiments, going late until Sasha crashed on the nearest surface. He recalled Raz coming by, far past his bedtime, asking if he could help with his work. He too, fell victim to sleeping on the couch eventually, once Sasha began explaining the ever-so-exciting intricacies of paperwork to him.

Razputin was absent from where Sasha remembered him being- rather, a foreign weight had settled on Sasha's chest, wrapped up in his jacket. Somewhere in the night, Raz had apparently decided Sasha made for a better bed than the edge of the couch, perfectly content and fast asleep. He supposed the couch wasn't that comfortable- it was more for aesthetic than anything. Did Razputin have to decide he more comfortable, though?

He had a meeting in an hour. He had spent the night so caught up in his project he hadn't paid attention to how groggy he'd be in the morning. Neither had Raz, unmoving besides his gentle breathing.

It was odd- Sasha soon found he was unable to move in any way that also moved Raz, as if keeping him from being disturbed was of top priority. He had to work sooner or later, and he honestly needed to be getting ready by now, but whatever force Raz was exuding was keeping him from doing so. Was this a new power? Something he was previously unaware of, that could only come out in an unconscious state?

He supposed he could miss a meeting or two to study this new power Raz seemed to have gained.

It wasn't a malicious power, per say, but it was one that could potentially keep someone in deadlock if uncontrolled- or better, honed. Mind control certainly wasn't a new power, confusion grenades being one of the first "subsets" of the skill. Could Raz have unlocked further skill on his own? Was it a latent ability? He'd heard plenty of stories where psychics had unawarely been controlling their friends for years- this could've been something already happening on a day-to-day basis, right under his very nose.

Sasha had been so caught up in his thoughts he hadn't noticed Oleander entering his lab, having come to see why he hadn't arrived for his meeting.

"Nein, just cause you're a top agent and all doesn't mean you can just hide out in your lab all-" He cut off as soon as he saw Raz, a sudden understanding that Sasha couldn't perceive dawning on him. He grinned as he switched to telepathic communication, stepping into the lab to have a look around.

So, Raz got you too, huh?

Sasha followed along, again questioning why he was so compliant to Raz's comfort.You're saying you've encountered this ability before?

Heh, yeah, Morry seemed more humorous about this than anything, confusing Sasha to no end. How could he laugh about a new, potentially dangerous power? He fell asleep on one of the beanbags while I was workin' on part of the radio. Went ahead and turned off the radio for him and nearly fell asleep right there.

So he managed to influence you enough for you to stop what you were doing?

I mean, that's a way to put it. Morry looked around the lab a bit, searching, Where'd you put those files? Y'know, for the meeting you're missing?

Ah, second desk, third drawer. Sasha gave a vague point in the direction of said desk before focusing back on the subject, It's almost impressive, really. I wasn't expecting Raz to have a grasp in mind control.

Oleander tapped the newly found files to straighten them, a confused look on his face. When in the hell has Raz had any skill in mind control? I saw him nearly choke to death with his own confusion grenade a week ago!

I haven't been able to get up since he fell asleep on me. It's strange- some force keeps me down so I don't disturb him, like-

Sasha paused as he noticed Morry trying to hold back laughter, a grin plastered across his face.

And what's so funny about that?

That's called love, you egghead. Why else would he fall asleep on you?

For a moment Sasha was dumbfounded. What did that have to do with anything? It's not like he saw Razputin as his son or anything.

Oh really? In his confusion, Sasha had forgotten to keep his thoughts to himself, and Morry was taking full advantage, Your clairvoyant view of him begs to differ. Did you really convince yourself Raz had some new psychic power just because you didn't know what emotions, of all things, are?

Clairvoyant views aren't that accurate, they're mainly based on impulsive thoughts-

And you first impulse was a smaller version of you?

Sasha huffed. Morry's badgering was wearing him down. You're implying he didn't immediately insert himself in at camp, as if he'd been there for months. He went to a first name basis with me in minutes, you know. He's just as eager as I was when- This isn't helping his case at all, I mean, no wonder I'd see him as myself! He's just-

A gloved hand softly smacked itself on Sasha's forehead, only enough force to snap him out of his thoughts.

"You're thinking too loud," Raz grumbled, before going ahead and climbing up the rest of Sasha, curling up once more on his chest.

What followed in Sasha's head was such a complicated wave of both fatherly love, adoration, and grudging annoyance that Morry was so right that Morry had to stop teasing him for a moment and keep his mind to himself, lest he fall victim to Raz's "mind control" as well.

Sasha regained his composure moments after, but his grave was already dug. He sighed, rested his head on the couch, and admitted his defeat.

Cancel my meeting so I can spend quality time with my son.

That's more like it, Morry dropped the files back onto the desk, heading to the door. I'll make sure to pick up some adoption papers on the way back.

Leave.

Morry left still snickering at him, finally giving Sasha a chance to relax. Mistaking paternal emotions for mind control was certainly something Morry was going to remind him about for at least a week, but at least he managed to gain a longer nap out of it. Working late had left him with less hours of sleep than necessary to finish a day of work.

He supposed spending that time with Raz napping on him wasn't half-bad.