Mari had to give herself ten seconds to let her brain catch up.

She took a deep breath, then touched her lips. "Shit!" she said, out loud. The scene replayed in her mind. Suga looked concerned, and had taken her hands, but instead of asking her if she was okay he had just leaned forward and kissed her like that, out of nowhere. And now he was —

"Suga!" she yelled, standing up from her chair. Shit, where was he headed? She paused. Why had he kissed her? Why was he running away from her? Was he supposed to do that? Maybe he would get in trouble if he did. But he wouldn't have done it if he didn't want to, right? That thought hit her the hardest. Holy shit, he actually wanted to kiss me!

She looked around the studio. It was quiet, now, without Suga in there. She wasn't sure what to do. He couldn't just leave her. He kind of needed her to go back to the hotel room...didn't he? No, he probably didn't. He was probably calling for a car right now, so he could go back. She knew her kiss wasn't disgusting, but she had an inkling it was all hitting him really hard and he was trying to avoid it.

"Okay, Mari, if this weren't an international superstar, what would you do?" she asked herself out loud. "Go after him, or let him go?"

Suga stumbled out into the hallway, taking a left and sprinting toward Zane's desk. He then hooked a right and went through the main door, running down the stairs toward the exit. He made it about halfway down before he had to suddenly stop. Not only was he having trouble catching his breath, his energy was gone again.

"Shit," he muttered to himself, grabbing onto the railing to keep from falling down the stairs. He had to get downstairs before Mari stopped him. He had to call the assistant manager, and get a car back to the hotel. But most importantly, he needed to get out before Mari started asking questions. If he talked to RM, then RM would talk to Mari tomorrow, that would be that, and she would hopefully keep her distance from him, and then Hitman Bang wouldn't have to find out --

"Suga?" Shit. Her voice was frantic, all the way at the top of the stairs. Not only was she not going to forget he kissed her, but she wasn't going to let him get away with it --

He heard Mari descend the stairs, and then she took him by the shoulders, spun him around to face her. For a moment, the panic stopped. She didn't look mad, or like she was going to ask a hundred questions. She simply just looked worried.

And then she grabbed him by the face and kissed him, hard.

Suga shut down, powerless to stop the raw emotion and hormones that hit his body. The anxiety was gone from his brain again, along with about every other thought in it. He tried to reach for her and lost his balance, and in response she pushed him against the wall, kissing him harder. He protested for about half a second before he gave in, trapped between Mari and a hard place, kissing her back, letting his hands sit at her waist while she dominated the situation.

This was odd. Was he doing enough? Wasn't he supposed to be the one in charge? He had to be the man, right? Normally, yeah, but...this was different. This was, somehow, just another one of those moments where he felt safe.

She let her hands tangle his hair, pulling lightly before moving to his neck, stroking his cheeks. When he moaned, unable to stop himself, it gave her the chance to slip her tongue into his mouth. He moaned louder, then, caught off guard again by the girl he couldn't stay one step ahead of. He still couldn't stand up straight, still stuck on the stairs, but he was in Mari's arms and there was no danger of falling, he was safe here. God, he wanted more, he just wanted more and he felt too afraid to ask for it, but at the same time he felt content to not answer for what was happening yet. And then she pulled back, just a bit, still nose to nose with him, still with his face in her hands, still up against the wall, precariously perched on the railing.

He looked up at her, saw those same kind brown eyes, almost as if they were asking an unsaid question. It was then that he reached up, cupped her cheek in his hand, and leaned forward again. This was simpler, again, just a single kiss, confirming that yes, this was all wanted.

It made Mari pause. It reminded her that she wasn't just here to make out with him. "Suga?" she whispered into the kiss, no other name to call him by.

[Hmm?]

She pulled away. "Are you okay?"

He nodded, and then he pulled her close again, in a simple hug.

"Did I take all of your energy?"

[...maybe?]

She chuckled. "Do you care?"

[Hmm?]

"I took all of your energy. Is that a bad thing?"

[No.] Crap, he should probably tell her though. [But Mari -- um -- ]

"What is it?" she said, pulling away and looking him in the eyes. "What's got my Suga all worried?"

He blushed. He had caught the difference between just being called Suga and being called my Suga.

"I assume we can't tell anybody about this," she said with a smile, looking a little embarrassed herself. "Is that why you ran away?"

Suga nodded.

"It's okay to be scared," Mari said. "But I'd rather talk things out with you than have you run away. Even if we can't talk about it the best. We're still willing to listen, you know? So tell me. You ran away because you were embarrassed?"

[I ran away because -- ] Now it all just sounded stupid. [What if the others know, and -- ]

"Well, we don't have to tell them. We don't have to do this anymore, if you think it'll be a problem. It's okay."

[Is it?] He leaned forward and kissed her again, quickly.

"Okay, okay, that answers my question!" She giggled. "You've wanted to do that for a while, I take it."

He looked away. [Yeah. But -- ] He really should have kept his distance, he told himself. Because he knew this wasn't like every other time. RM was right. Mari was a rice cake, and she had been so close, and he had taken a bite and it had been so delicious, and yet the entire idea about rice cakes were that they were special and out of reach.

"You're overthinking this, Suga," Mari said, and she patted him on the shoulders. "How about this. We make music, together, until the end of the week, which is when we all go home. During that time, whatever happens between us, happens. But I won't tell RM or Hobi or Zane or anybody, so you won't get in trouble. If we get another moment alone, great. If not, then that's how it goes. But I don't regret kissing you. It's like...an extra thank you, for helping me. And yeah, I've wanted to do that too, for a bit. So how about we just see what happens? Don't stress about it? I mean, I know you're gonna stress about it."

[God damn it.] Suga gave Mari another gummy smile. [So, no...pressure?]

"Whatever happens, it's okay. And then at the end, you go back, and we someday make music again together. OK?"

He smiled. [OK. Can I kiss you again?]

She nodded, and she took his hand, sat by him on the stairs. When he kissed her, it was soft and slow, full of the appreciation and thankfulness of a saved day. But Suga also figured, if he just kept kissing her, he wouldn't be able to tell her how he was really feeling. She was just a rice cake. He couldn't fall in love with her, or stay with her. If this time was all he had, then he was going to take advantage of it.

No holding back.