Interns Chapter 10

"You've got some nerve trying to come at me like that. I was just trying to diffuse the situation." Duke said bitterly as he washed the dishes in his kitchen.

It had been decided that Joey was going to stay at Tea's for the night and then bring his bags over to Tristan and Duke's over the weekend. It was currently a Thursday.

Tristan turned to his slightly heated boyfriend and sighed exasperatingly.

"I'm sorry; I was just confused and pissed off. I wish he had told us sooner."

"…"

Judging by the lack of response, he could tell his apology wasn't going to do any good.

"You aren't going to hold this against me, are you?" Tristan asked, walking over to Duke, who was still hunching over washing dishes.

When he again, didn't receive a response, the spiky haired teen wrapped his arms around his boyfriend and squeezed him tightly.

"I love you, alright? And I'm truly sorry, I shouldn't have snapped on you. You're right; you were just trying to help." He said affectionately.

"That's better…" Duke teased, wiggling out of Tristan grip to finish the dishes.

"It'll be nice to have Joey here, don't you think?" Duke asked, turning his head to Tristan. The brown haired teen nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, I think it will be. But, I guess that means we'll have to be more private huh?" He replied with a wink.

"I'll reserve that to memory," Duke said with a smirk. "I still think he's in shock, by the way."

"I think you're right." Tristan said with a laugh.

xxx

"I heard Joey's coming back to the office today." Vivian said as she passed by Mai's cubicle at work.

The blonde scowled.

Does she really have to drop bombs on me and then walk off nonchalantly?

"How do you know?" Mai asked as her co-worker walked back from wherever she had come from.

"Tea called and said he'd be coming with her." Vivian admitted, sitting in her own cubicle and pulling her chair out so they could talk.

"Is he okay to be coming in though? I mean, you should have seen him Viv…"

"Tea said he's been healing fast. The swelling on his eye has gone down a lot and he's feeling a lot better." Vivian explained. Mai sighed in relief.

"That's good to hear. Hopefully he'll be okay to work today. Lots of last minute filing Kaiba sent to our floor." The blonde moaned.

"Aw, are you growing a soft spot for Joey? It's okay Mai; I won't tell anyone you're a cradle-robber." Vivian said with a smirk. Mai's face instantly turned a deep red.

"What did you just say? I'm like three or four years older than him, I could get him if I wanted him. But let's not forget whose corset is still at the dry-cleaners."

"That's only because you keep forgetting to go pick it up."

"You know what Vivian…"

"Hey, guys! Bad time?" The blonde and her co-worker turned to see a smiling Tea and sheepish Joey standing in front of them.

"It's been a while, hey guys." Joey said with a smile. Vivian slapped her forehead and got up from her seat.

"You had us worried sick! At least you look okay…don't push it alright?" Her voice was full of concern.

"Yeah," Mai found herself standing up as well. "If you ever feel like you need a break, just let me know."

Joey seemed surprised at first, but eagerly nodded and smiled. Mai noticed he was still trying to cover his healing eye with his golden blonde bangs.

"I'll be fine; don't worry too much about me." He replied, as if trying to reassure her, but after Mai had seen his home, she wasn't buying anything he was trying to sell her.

And while she was tempted to say so, she bit her tongue, realizing that it wasn't the time or place.

"Well we have a lot to get done today. Tea, you're with me, as always." Vivian said, latching on to Tea and dragging the poor girl into another part of the office.

Mai turned to Joey and offered him a small smile.

"Let's see what work I can get you to do…"

xxx

"So, are you really feeling better?" Mai asked abruptly, as the two blondes sorted out files in one of the private work rooms on her floor.

Joey turned to her with a look of confusion before going back to sorting files.

"I'm feeling alright, didn't think you'd care though." He admitted. Mai felt her heart drop.

Had she really come off that mean and merciless? Sure, she hadn't wanted to work with the interns, especially Joey, but now that she knew more about him, she found herself feeling sympathy towards the blonde teenager.

"I'm sorry for how I came off before. I'm not really a people person." She admitted, swallowing hard.

Joey snickered, and smiled at her.

"You could've fooled me." He said. Mai rolled her eyes. She could tell that that was his way of saying he forgave her.

"My offer still stands you know if you want to take a break or go home early…" Joey waved a hand in her direction and kept working.

She took that as him passing on her offer, and she turned back to her own work.

"I'm going to be moving out my place soon, so it won't take as long for me to get here." Joey stated, continuing to work without looking up.

Mai's eyes widened. He's going to move out of that crappy place he was in? Good for him.

"Mind if I ask where?" She replied, turning to him. Maybe I'm pushing it. She thought to herself.

"A friend's place, it's closer to downtown." He replied, looking up at her questioningly.

"Closer to downtown Domino? Maybe we can carpool, I live in a condo close to here." She was surprised that she had offered him that, but it was the least she could do to make up for her bad attitude before.

Joey's eyes widened.

"I wouldn't want to be a burden or anything; you don't have to do that." He stuttered. Mai shook her head.

"Oh please, the amount of times I have to go pick Vivian up because something is wrong with her car…its fine. Actually, I think it's a good idea." She said with a genuine smile.

Joey slowly nodded, and Mai could have sworn she saw a blush appear on his cheeks.

"Thank you, I really appreciate it." He said softly. Mai felt like giggling at his bashfulness, but she didn't.

"No problem, kid. Just leave a message on my work phone with your address and I'll come get you starting Monday. You have my number, remember? Vivian passed it on."

Joey nodded, and got up from his seat.

"Thanks again, Miss-"

"Call me, Mai." She interrupted, placing a hand on her hip.

"Okay, Mai. Thank you again, oh and I'm done the files." He said with a smile.

They stood there staring at each other for half a minute before Mai turned away and headed for the door.

"W-well, if you're done with that then I'll go find you something else to do before lunch."

She didn't even wait for a reply before walking out.

She wouldn't admit it to Vivian, but Joey was actually a good looking guy.

xxx

It feels great to finally be at a point where there will be some polarshipping. I think this story is almost done, two more chapters, tops. Hope you guys enjoyed!

-GeminiMercedes-