Disclaimer: Neither Crime Scene Fairy nor xXWinterSonataXx owns Yu-Gi-Oh!. But we're sure you knew that already, right? ;)

Because Things Change

Chapter One

Morning birds always sing the sweetest melodies when daylight breaks. And when they do, a bright and cheery day is practically guaranteed. And well, if your day sucks, then at least a bunch of dumb birds will be mocking you too.

But Valon didn't hear birds sing. Instead, they twittered happily and flapped their wings outside his window, chirping so shrilly that he pulled his thick pillow over his head to block out the noise. When that did nothing, he fumbled around the bed for an extra pillow and hurled it at the window.

The resounding thunk was more satisfying than it probably should have been.

"Valon!" shrieked a voice from the kitchen. Bare feet pattered against the hardwood floor and suddenly, she poked her head into the room. Her brown eyes were wild. "What just happened?"

Unwillingly, he leaned his body up on one arm, to glare at her and raise one bleary eyebrow. She glanced down at the pillow on the floor and stifled a giggle.

"I should not have let you install that birdhouse on the deck," he mumbled, dropping back down and rubbing his eyes wearily. He brought the covers over his shoulder, snuggling back into his cocoon of white sheets. "Serenity—"

"I don't know," she said slowly, stepping towards the window. He could practically hear the smirk in her voice. She placed a few fingers on the pane of glass, gazing out at the simple wooden birdhouse sitting on their deck that she'd built from a kit. "I think it adds sort of a nice…homey-ness to this place."

"Serenity, you redecorated my entire apartment. What more "homey-ness" do you need?" asked Valon, his voice muffled by the pillow. "I think the birds need to go."

She laughed gaily, launching herself onto the bed so that she was on top of him. She brushed away a few stray locks of his mussed brown hair until she could see his face. "They're really sweet, you know."

He opened his eyes blearily, ignoring her comment as he eyed the white button down shirt she was wearing. "And you're even wearing my clothes."

A grin spread across her lips. Even though he was still half-asleep, he couldn't miss the gleefully teasing smile in the lovely brown eyes that hovered above his. She drew her finger down the slope of his nose. "You are always too cranky in the morning," she murmured, leaning in for a kiss. He caught a whiff of her morning coffee on her lips.

"Get me in a better mood then." He wrapped his arms around her thin waist, pulling her closer.

"Mm. Wish. But not today." She broke away and slipped off the bed, shattering the mood. Valon mentally groaned; she always had a knack for ruining moments. Unless she wanted something…and then, she was so skilled at getting what it was that she desired.

Independence did shine on Serenity Wheeler well.

"And why not?" he asked as he watched her scurry into her closet. He yawned and ran a hand through his hair again, still feeling exhausted.

"You really are tired," Serenity noted as she came back out of her closet with a fistful of clothes. She tilted her head to a side, a worried look on her face. "Are you okay? It's not like you to forget...well, anything."

"I did not forget," said Valon stoutly, suppressing a childish huff. He pushed himself off the bed, glancing briefly at the calender hanging near the window, where Serenity had hastily scrawled a note in bright red, accompanied with a silly happy face on the today's date. The words made him cringe. "I know we're leaving for Japan at two," he informed her. "I just thought we still had time."

"Yeah, sure," Serenity said, giving him another smirk. "Aren't you excited?"

No.

But he wasn't about to tell her that.

"Who's going to be picking us up from the airport again?" he asked instead, kicking open his green suitcase. He hadn't packed the night before, unlike Serenity, who'd spent the last week organizing. He pulled open a drawer of his dresser, surveying the clothes. "Your brother?"

"I think," said Serenity absentmindedly as she stuffed socks into the side pockets of her suitcase.

"Is Mai going to be there?" Valon posed the question nonchalantly. He tilted his face slightly away so she wouldn't see his face.

"I guess…" Serenity didn't seem to think much of the question, unaware that Valon's heart was racing. Would she suspect anything? "Hey, do you think they'll make us stay longer after we tell them?"

Clearly not.

"Serenity." Valon finally glanced over his shoulder, raising an eyebrow at her. "They're your family."

"Yeah, I know…" she scratched her head, puzzled. "Well, in that case…"

She stepped into her closest again. Valon breathed a barely audible sigh of relief. He looked over at the other side of the room where his girlfriend, well, now fiancée, was packing, totally unaware of his emotions.

In twelve hours, he would see the wife of his future brother-in-law again. Just the thought was enough to make his heart hammer away at his chest.

Valon gritted his teeth as he went back to focusing on his messy drawer. He reached in and grabbed a handful of clothes, then tossed them into the suitcase. He'd planted ecstatic smiles on his face when Serenity announced that she wanted to go back to Japan to tell her family and friends the good news, but inside, he'd been totally filled with dread.

Was faking an illness still possible?

But worse, would she believe him?

Serenity was naïve. But not definitely not stupid. And after a year of dating her and six months of living together, Valon was sure he knew which one his girlfriend was, no matter how closely related they might be.

"Valon, I'm just going to go around the corner and pick up some bagels for breakfast," said Serenity, as she quickly pulled on a pair of jeans and donned a her own, more fitted version of his white buttoned shirt. She quickly twisted her hair into a messy bun and turned around, giving him a smile. "Is that okay? The taxi should be here when I get back."

He'd been momentarily stunned by her. One moment, she was totally inappropriately dressed and the next, she looked so simple and beautiful with barely any effort. Did she have a superpower? It would explain a lot of things about her...

Mai would have taken hours.

"Valon?" asked Serenity, concerned. "Did you—"

He gave an easy grin, then stepped over the mounds of clothing to give her a quick kiss on her cheek. "Yes, it's fine," he reassured her. "We'll just take it to go. I promise I'll be ready once you get back."

"Alright," said Serenity, giving him a smile before heading out the door. "See you later!"

She hurried out, leaving Valon with his thoughts. He ran a hand through his disheveled hair and collapsed back against the bed, staring at the blank ceiling.

Is even going a good idea? He forced himself to take a deep, calming breath, and then turned his head to glance at the calender on the wall.

A week. He could last a week.

I guess we'll all find out...

-xxx-

"Joey!" called out Mai as she hurried out of the kitchen their small house. A frown was present on the blonde's face as she glanced around the foyer, but she still couldn't find the person she was looking for.

"We're going to be late!" she threatened, checking the clock on the wall. Her sister-in-law's plane would land soon, and Mai knew they had to get to the airport to meet them.

Of course, she had to find her husband first.

Mai suddenly heard a grating noise from above her. She frowned, wondering if she had just imagined it. She glanced towards the stairs, and then everything made perfect sense in her mind. The frown was replaced by a little half-smile as she trooped up the stairs and headed into the guest bedroom at the end of the hall.

"Joey?" Mai asked. He stood in the doorway of the bedroom, so focused on the task at hand that he jolted when Mai spoke.

"Oh, Mai," Joey said once he recovered. He gave an embarrassed smile. "Sorry about that, I'm just thinking, that's all." He surveyed the room. "Do you think the bed is better pushed against that wall or vertically?"

"Is that what you were doing?" asked Mai, trying to hide her exasperation. Joey had been doing this at least four times a day for the last week. Mai and Joey had gotten the bedroom ready for Serenity and her boyfriend last weekend, but Joey kept insisting that something was wrong. The first time he had suggested that thought, Mai had added in a picture of Joey and Serenity as children. She knew that her sister-in-law was going to like the bedroom, but Joey didn't seem to think so yet. Mai sarcastically suggested bringing in a feng shui expert, just as a joke, but to her horror, Joey actually ran to the computer to Google one in their area.

She tilted her head as she observed the room. It was simple and didn't even have anything extraordinary, but still, Joey just wasn't satisfied. A dresser had been placed against the left side of the wall, and there was a little alcove in the room beneath the window, where the bed had been pushed inside. But at the moment, Joey had dragged it halfway out.

"Maybe it goes better if the dresser were in there—"

"Joey." Mai set down her bag and pushed the bed back in, straightening the royal purple covers that Joey had actually accompanied her to get. The guy's dedication was amazing. "It's fine. I swear."

"Promise?"

"Stop being so worried."

Joey's easy grin grew. "That easy to tell?"

"No, I just know you very, very well." Mai rolled her eyes. "What do you think, Joseph?"

Joey gave a small laugh. "I just want it to be perfect for her, Mai. I mean, she's my baby sister, and this is the first time that we've seen her since the wedding..." As Joey spoke, he turned his gaze towards another picture that sat on the dresser. This picture had been taken a few years ago at their wedding, and showed a glowing Mai, a proud Joey, and an ecstatic Serenity.

As Joey mentioned the wedding, Mai unconsciously fingered the wedding band on her finger, twisting it fully around. She and Joey had been married about three years now. Mai was happy, she knew that she was. But there was just something missing from it all. Joey seemed to be perfectly happy about where they were in life. Mai, however, felt... a bit awkward. Married life just wasn't what she expected.

She shook her head, trying to get rid of those thoughts. She wasn't going to think like that. Not today, when Serenity was coming back from Australia. Not when Serenity was finally going to introduce her boyfriend to her family. She knew how serious Serenity was about this guy. The younger woman was crazy about her boyfriend... even though Mai couldn't remember his name to save her life.

"She's your sister, Joey," Mai reminded her husband softly. She touched his upper arm, giving it a slight squeeze. "And if I know Serenity, she's just going to be glad to see you again. You've both missed each other like crazy, I guarantee it."

Joey looked thoughtful for a moment before giving a small, grateful smile. "Thanks, Mai," he whispered quietly. He leaned down, kissing Mai gently, before pulling away slowly. The smile on his face did nothing to stop a small smile from forming on Mai's face.

"Okay, come on, we better head out. The plane's going to land soon," Mai told her husband. She let go of Joey's arm, heading down the hallway and down the stairs. She glanced back as she realized Joey wasn't following her. "C'mon, Joey!"

Joey jumped in surprise before giving a bright grin. He followed his wife a moment later, closing the door of the guest bedroom behind him. As they left the house and got into the car, Joey suddenly frowned, glancing at his wife.

"Mai, do you even know that guy's name?"

Mai rolled her eyes, shooting Joey a half-scolding look. "Joey, he's not 'that guy', he's the young man who's been dating your sister for over a year. According to Serenity, they're getting pretty serious."

"...you don't know his name?"

"No, but we'll find out soon enough, won't we?"

Joey gave a small shrug. "Guess so." He gave a small smile before taking Mai's hand in his own and giving it a squeeze. "He better be good enough for my little sister, though."

Mai chuckled as the car pulled out of the driveway. She didn't realize that she hadn't stopped fiddling with her wedding band.

The ride to the airport consisted of a one-sided discussion, with Joey chattering on and on about what he had planned to do once his sister was finally around, and Mai just sitting in the front seat, playing with the circlet around her finger and nodding. His enthusiasm, today, was not infectious and Mai could feel herself grow weary of his chatter.

They got to the airport at least half an hour later than Joey had planned. He parked the car in front of the pick-up zone, where they were specifically not supposed to be, and Mai stifled a wry smile, shaking her head. This was the only sort of reckless thing Fate allowed her to indulge in nowadays. And as she ran with Joey throughout the airport, she couldn't help but remember how things used to be. How, before, everything was unpredictable. How, before, lives would depend on that one, single move. The rush of adrenaline from that alone was incomparable to the anxiety of getting a parking citation.

Oh, how things had changed.

"They're around here somewhere," said Joey, straining his neck as he searched the crowd. He fumbled for his phone, checking the screen. "She didn't send me a message or anything...but the guy at the info desk said the plane landed at least two hours ago!"

Mai suddenly caught a flash of red. "Joey—"

"Oh! I saw them!" He grabbed her hand tightly and dragged her with him. Before she knew it, her husband was jumping up and down like a maniac, waving his free hand, trying to get the attention of his sister.

Mai felt her cheeks redden. People were staring at both of them, and for once, she wished she was a part of the crowd. Mai focused her attentions instead on the young, red-headed girl, who had one hand covering half her face to stifle her laughter, the other holding the hand of a young man. Something about him was so familiar...Mai tilted her head...

And then, she froze.

Author's Note: This is the first chapter of the collab between the awesome Crime Scene Fairy and me :D We were talking about how we just could not see Joey with anyone else except Mai...but how Mai was just a little bit...different ;) Then boom, we got BTC!

Well, that's it for the first chapter. We hope you enjoyed it! :)