As she sat on the bed of a private hotel room next to her furious fiance, Kanan sighed. The last 24 hours had certainly been a whirlwind, and the next 24 hours were likely to be just as eventful, albeit in a less than spectacular way.

After Dia had been restrained, Mari had instructed security to confine her to one of the high class villa suites so she could cool her head and wind down from her outburst. Then she had sat Kanan down in another room to extract the full story from her wife in a conversation that was far from reminiscent of newly-wedded bliss. Mari had done her best to be understanding of Kanan's circumstances, but truth be told she'd stormed away from the blunette with harsh words on her lips.

Not long after that, hotel staff arrived to escort both of them to the room they now shared, a far cry from the luxurious furnishings Kanan had experienced the night before but still a noticeable step up from the standard rooms. As soon as they'd crossed the door's threshold, the sound of falling tumblers rang out; they were locked in.

Kanan had immediately turned around and demanded they be let go, but Dia had simply walked over to the bed and sat, an inscrutable expression on her face. After her efforts proved futile, the blunette had followed. Dia hadn't even looked at her.

They'd spent a full minute in silence.

Eventually, the atmosphere became too much to tolerate, and with a furtive glance to her fiance, Kanan began to speak. "So..."

"For the record, I'm still mad at you," grumbled Dia, arms crossed.

"I know," sighed the blunette dejectedly. "I screwed up big time. And I'm sorry. Really, I am!"

Dia only offered a low hum of acknowledgement.

"You have every right to be upset with me, but I don't think this is the time. We're trapped in a locked room by a very rich, very powerful, and very emotional woman. I don't think it's too much of a stretch to say she's a bit heartbroken right now, and I... I don't know how she'll react."

Dia didn't say a word, but Kanan knew the ravenette was considering her words. Soon enough, Dia turned to look at Kanan. "Then what would you suggest?"

"We should find a way to get out of here."

"I don't believe your friend will let that happen. She clearly wants something from us. And if she's as powerful a woman as you believe, I doubt we'll be able to simply walk out of this place. Perhaps it would be best if we simply wait until she returns with her list of demands," reasoned Dia.

"Well we should still try! I... I dragged you into this mess, so I've gotta get you out of this mess."

The ravenette gazed at her considerately before letting out a permissive sigh. "Be my guest," she dismissed.

"Alright. Well." Kanan stood and surveyed the room. She stomped around the carpet, checked the bathroom, and inspected every drawer she came across before summarizing her conclusions. "The door's locked, the window doesn't open, and the floor's completely solid. So there's no obvious escape path. But if all the exits are blocked, then all we need to do is make our own!" She grabbed the lamp off the desk and held it like a club, heading over to the window. She raised her makeshift bludgeon.

"Kanan, stop!" cried Dia in alarm. "What are you doing?!"

"Getting us free."

"We're twelve stories high!"

Blinking, Kanan looked out the window at the beautiful blue sky before turning her gaze down to the street over a hundred feet below. After some thought, Kanan lowered the lamp. "You make a valid point," she said.

Dia sighed in exasperated affection, a small but significant return to normalcy for the couple. "I suppose if you're set on this course of action then I will do my best to support it. Even though I disagree with it." She flipped her hair as she took charge of the situation. "Allow me."

The next minute passed by quickly. Dia located a coat hangar and bent it to form a long hook, then used her new tool to retrieve a box of crayons hidden behind the dresser. She grabbed one of the crayons and colored on the complementary hotel notepad until they could see a string of numbers imprinted on the page from a previous writing. Dia put the code in the safe hidden behind a painting, the lock clicking open to reveal an intricate key.

Dia offered a small smile of success as Kanan clapped lightly in admiration. Then she stuck the key into the door and turned, opening the way to freedom.

"Congratulations!" exclaimed Mari as party poppers exploded from above.

"PIGYA!" Dia shrieked in alarm and threw herself into Kanan's arms before somehow managing to slip around the blunette to hide behind her. Kanan was just as surprised, her violet irises wide open as Dia peeked out from behind her shoulder.

Mari took the chance to blow into a paper noisemaker as glitter and confetti rained down on the trio, the couple before her too stunned to react.

Once the noise died down, they were plunged into an awkward silence, one that allowed Kanan and Dia to regain their composure.

"...Mari, what are you doing?"

"Celebrating, of course," replied the blonde as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. She gestured to the trolley next to her piled with monitors, display screens, audio speakers, and other electronic surveillance equipment. "You've set the record for fastest escape. Quite an achievement, wouldn't you say?"

Dia exchanged a concerned glance with Kanan before stepping out from behind the diver. "Mari-san, what was the point of all this? What do you want from us?"

A small, wry grin appeared on the blonde's face as she answered. "I just wanted to see what the both of you have, and hopefully see that you appreciate it. And I'm glad to say that you do, as far as I can tell. Though that would be pretty presumptuous of me..." she trailed off with a frown. She shook her head. "Anyway! Now that you're both free, why don't we all head down to this wonderful little lounge bar I own? My treat! The pianist isn't on hand at the moment, but the drinks are superb and the service is top notch!"

She reached out and grabbed their hands, intent on dragging them along with the unstoppable force of her personality, only to stop as they became the immovable objects that broke her grasp. "Hold on one minute!" exclaimed Dia. "We haven't agreed to go with you! What's wrong with you?"

"Dia..." sighed Kanan. Though she had the same question, she shook her head at the lack of tact.

Blinking wide-eyed at the couple before her, Mari looked down, rubbing an arm sheepishly as her face turned scarlet. "I just... don't want to be alone again quite so soon," she admitted shamefully. "I don't actually have many close friends, and right now the two I have are currently entertaining your friends at the moment, so that means the closest companionship I can muster up is my ex-wife and her fiance."

Kanan and Dia shared a sympathetic look before the blunette stepped close. "Mari, I'm sorry. Truly, I-"

"Don't speak," murmured Mari, putting a finger to Kanan's lips. "I know. But at least I'll always have last night."

For a moment, no one knew what to say.

"...Wait, you said ex-wife?"

Mari wordlessly pulled out a manila envelope. "Annulment papers. Not difficult to get in the gambling capital of the nation, you know?"

Dia gingerly took the papers and leafed through them. "I suppose that's one problem sorted out."

A heavy sigh came from Mari's lips. "Well, if you don't want to go then I won't force you. The elevator can take you back to the lobby. Now if you'll excuse me..." With that, the blonde gently pushed her way past the couple and made her way to a security door at the end of the hall. She was about to head through when a voice stopped her.

"Mari-san."

She looked back to see Dia, her gaze trained on those piercing emerald eyes as they stared into her very soul.

"Why did you wish to marry Kanan last night?"

A small hum of reflection fell from Mari's lips. "Yesterday was... It felt like something out of a dream, for me. Although now it seems to have turned into a nightmare." The blonde winced. "I guess that's what I get for falling in love in less than a day. But you know what it's like, don't you? To have all your rationality and maturity swept away by the tides of passion, replaced with emotions so deep and intense that you may as well be living a first love all over again..."

She fell silent, lost in thought as Dia maintained her intense stare. Eventually the blonde returned to her senses.

"Well. I hope that answered your question. I'm not really certain how else to describe it. Did you want anything else?"

Through pursed lips, Dia let out a small breath. "If those are your true feelings, then perhaps we can accept your invitation for companionship."

"What?!" exclaimed Kanan and Mari simultaneously. They shared an incredulous look.

"Dia, not that I'm against spending time with Mari, but... why?"

The ravenette's face took on an expression of nostalgia as she answered. "Because she reminds me of myself when we first met, all those years ago. I've told you, a part of me fell in love with you during that first interaction, when you came up to me and asked for a hug. How can I not empathize?"

"Dia..."

"Mari-san, if you're sincere in your intentions, then I believe we can be friends."

Mari looked over to the blunette. "Kanan?"

Kanan nodded. "If Dia is fine with it, then I'd be happy to spend more time with you."

A wave of emotion crashed into Mari's heart, bringing a small tear to her eye. She gently reached up and wiped it away, swapping her despondency for hopeful elation. It brought a warm smile to her face, and on some level, she fell a little bit in love all over again. "Alright, let's go!" She reached out to take their hands again, and this time they let her.

"But no alcohol," stated Dia firmly.

Now that was something Mari could agree with. "We'll be sober as penguins!"