Title: Legally Blond

Pairings: Eventual Puppyshipping, past Snareshipping. Sideships: Persevereshipping, Ardentshipping, Puzzleshipping

Rating: T

Words (Chapter 13): 2,300

Author's Notes: I don't want to give away too much about this chapter, but I'm really excited for it. I'm so happy we're up to this part of the story. There may or may not be some awesome friendship bonding in here, too.

Joey's POV:

Getting around campus was decently easy. People were often more focused on where they needed to be than dilly-dallying as my mother used to call it. So, when you leave class to go get food, you don't often expect to see a throng of students piled in the hallway.

"Hey, what's going on?" I asked a student I recognized from Pegasus' class but didn't know his name.

"Pegasus took on a high-profile murder case and he's starting his internship early." It took me a moment for that to register. Pegasus was taking interns months earlier than usual.

"He's already picked them?" I asked him.

"Yeah, he put them up."

I tried waiting in the line which wasn't even a line, but after a few impatient moments of it not moving, I ended up pushing through, getting closer to the front.

"Of course, I got it. I was probably the easiest choice he made about this," I heard Rebecca's voice before I saw her, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

I rolled my eyes, not caring if she saw.

"Duke! Duke, we did it! We're both in!" Téa sounded a lot more genuinely happy and a little surprised, and I took a deep breath. The only good thing about if my name wasn't on that list was that I wouldn't have to deal with those three in work as well as class.

I found my way where I could go close enough to read the names, seeing five in italicized black and white.

Mahad Akmen

Duke Devlin

Téa Gardner

Rebecca Hawkins

Joseph Wheeler

I couldn't believe it. I was actually there. Somehow, some way, I had been in the top five of the class and won that internship, before midterms even happened. I subtly pinched myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming. Ouch. Nope, this was real. Holy shit.

I maneuvered my way back out of the crowd, torn between who I should call second. First had to be Serenity, but then who. Yugi? I was pretty sure he'd be working, but he needed to know. I could tell Tristan by himself if he wasn't with Reni when I called.

I caught a glimpse of Duke walking out of the crowd with his arm around Téa. The petty part of me (which was bigger than I'd like to admit) had a good idea.

"Hey, guys, congratulations."

"Thank you," Duke answered, looking a little awkward. Clearly, he hadn't had a talk with Téa like he should have, because the diamond was still pretty evident on her finger.

"You got it, too, right?" Téa asked, a little too excited. I really should start being nicer to her.

"Wait, what?" Duke asked, glancing at Téa like she needed to be kidding or something. Rebecca looked up at me and tilted her head.

"Yeah, I did. This is going to be really fun working with you guys." I looked at Rebecca and raised my eyebrow. "Don't worry, I'll avoid the dog suit in court."

She laughed a little awkwardly. "Right, about that…"

"Don't worry about it. See you all tomorrow."

Rebecca and Duke both still looked uncomfortable. Good. Téa waved enthusiastically.

"Bye, Joey!"

As soon as I was out of the building, I called up my sister to tell her the good news. She was really excited for me, as I knew she would be. Sometimes I thought I didn't deserve such a good sister. She was like an angel.

Today was Tristan's day off, so he was there at the apartment with her when I called. She put me on speaker for me to talk to both of them.

"Alright, here, talk to Tristan. I have to go finish a paper for English. Bye, big brother. I'm so proud of you! I love you."

"Thanks, sis. I love you, too."

Tristan took me off speaker and there was a moment of silence before he spoke again. "Okay, she's in her room. Did Douche Devlin get in, too?"

I let out a huff of a laugh. "Yeah."

"Dammit."

I laughed louder. "You're the best."

"I know. So how's it going to be working with him?"

"I don't know. Tristan, I need to tell you something…" I explained what happened with the 'costume' party, barring the interaction with Kaiba, and he was quiet again for a few minutes.

"That fucking bastard." Yep, my thoughts exactly. "What an ass. When we come see you, I'm punching him in the gut."

"If anyone's punching him in the gut, it's gonna be me. Wait, you're coming to see me?"

"…Shit. That was supposed to be a surprise. When we do, pretend you're surprised. Serenity was really excited for this."

"Alright, deal. I'll secretly send you the best dates for you guys to come up here."

"Awesome. So, how many people got this thing?"

"Five."

"Look at you go. I knew you could do it, dude."

"Thanks, Tristan. Hey, I've got to go shopping. I think the dress code for working for this guy is like, prick couture, if his main associate is anything to go by."

He laughed on the other end. "Nice. Well, I'll let you go then. Don't turn into too much of a prick, alright? I'd like to be able to recognize my best friend when I see him next."

"No problem. I'll still be Jumpin' Joey Wheeler at the end of the day."

"You're a dork. I'll text you later."

"Bye, ya jerk."

I hung up and bit my lip, running to go catch a bus to the nearest shopping mall. When I sat down in a free seat, I took out my phone and texted Yugi. 'Guess what I got?'

It only took a few moments for a response. 'A blowjob?' A very non-Yugi response. A few seconds later, another one came in. 'Sorry, Marik took my phone. What'd you get?'

'Pegasus' internship.'

I didn't get a response for a few more minutes, until I was getting off the bus and my phone began ringing. "Hello?"

"You got it?!"

"Hi, Yugi. I thought you were at work."

"I am."

"So, how are you calling?"

"Well, I went to the bathroom."

"You didn't need to do that just to talk to me, Yug'. I could have waited." The line was quiet for a bit. "Atem's there again, isn't he?"

"…No."

"Liar." I rolled my eyes as I walked through the mall, looking for a place with affordable suits. "You can't keep running from him. He's going to think you're not interested. Not to mention, that's totally unprofessional."

"I see your point, but imagine this: I stay in here for the rest of my life and never face him again ever."

"Clearly the best way to go about things. Listen, Yug', as much as I want to tell you how ridiculous you're being, I have to make sure I have clothes that look really professional for this internship. I'll talk to you again, soon."

"Alright, Yugi, he's gone. You can come out now," I heard in the background. Marik's voice. "Tell Joey I say hi and congrats."

"Joey, Marik –"

"Yeah, I heard. Tell him thanks."

"Alright, goodbye and good luck."

"Thank you."

The next day, I didn't have class, but I had the internship. I was fiddling with a tie in the mirror when I heard a knock at my door.

I was surprised to see a very nervous but professional looking Téa when I opened it. "Hey, what's up?"

"Oh, you're not ready, either. I wanted to go get coffee with someone before the internship, but Rebecca left early and Duke's not ready yet…"

I gave her a crooked smile. "Come on in. I'll be ready once I figure out this thing, and then I'd love coffee."

She looked relieved and came in, sitting on my bed. "Where's your roommate?"

I shut the door and glanced at the basically pristine bed across from mine. "He's got a girlfriend down the hall. He's almost never here."

"Lucky. I shouldn't say that. Rebecca isn't that bad."

I furrowed my eyebrows, going back to trying to fix my tie in the mirror. "Rebecca's your roommate?" She nodded at me in the mirror and I tilted my head. "But she left without you today?"

"Yeah…" I could tell she was trying to be nonchalant about it. "Things are weird between us," she admitted.

I bit my lip. "Not to sound conceited, but is it…"

"Because of her trick? A little. She's a snob. It gets tiring. I was hoping, by some miracle, she didn't get this internship."

I chuckled. "So you have one less place you need to see her?"

Her eyes widened, but she smiled. "That sounds so mean! No! I just mean I think her ego could get taken down a couple of notches. Maybe then she'd be nicer to people." She stood up, standing next to me. "Need some help with that?"

I nodded. "I've done it before. I think I'm just nervous today."

"Aren't we all? Do you know the fifth intern? Mahad? I tried looking him up on social media, he doesn't even have anything."

"I think I've seen him but never talked to him."

She nodded, fixing the tie easily. "I'm glad you got in. You seem like a good guy to work with."

"Thanks. For that and the tie." I smiled. Without Rebecca or Duke around her, she really was a nice person. "Come on. Let's go get caffeinated and wonder why we're extra jittery later."

She laughed and nodded, grabbing her bag. "Thank god not all men take as long as Duke does. He takes longer than me."

I laughed with her. "Trust me, I know. It's that stupid eyeliner."

She shook her head as we left. "I hope he doesn't do it today. We're basically lawyers right now. He could do without the point."

"Have you seen the stencil yet?" I asked, and her mouth dropped.

"You're kidding. There can't be a stencil?"

I smirked, nodding. "Oh, yeah. There's a stencil."

She burst into laughter as we got on the elevator, making our way down to the main floor where the café was.

After coffee, Téa drove me to Pegasus' so I didn't have to take the bus. Duke's convertible was there as well, but when we walked in, Pegasus and Kaiba weren't there yet. Téa sat between Duke (who did have the eyeliner on) and me, and across from us were Mahad and Rebecca.

Mahad seemed a little too serious, but he was nice enough when we talked to him. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad, after all.

Pegasus came in five minutes later, and sat down at the head of the table. Kaiba sat next to Mahad and Pegasus, sliding us each a folder.

"Mai Magnum, age 30, charged with murdering her very successful, very rich, twenty years her senior husband. She was found standing over his dead body, covered in his blood."

"Found by who?" Mahad asked.

"Her stepdaughter and the pool boy."

"Gold digger?" Duke asked, flicking through the file.

"Possibly not. She had a fortune of her own before the wedding. Some sort of cosmetic line."

"Wait," I interrupted. "Are we talking about Mai Valentine?"

Pegasus nodded. "Maiden name, Valentine. I guess you've heard of her?"

Téa gasped. "Oh my god, Valentine Cosmetics. My mom swears by her stuff."

"She was from my neighborhood. She used to watch me and my sister." I opened the file, shaking my head. "She could not have killed anyone."

"I'm glad you have faith, Joey boy, but we need proof further than just believing in her character," Pegasus spoke.

"I think she did it," Rebecca said, as if that was the be all, end all. "I mean, come on. She was twenty years younger than her husband. That's so icky. Plus, she grew up poor. Totally wanted the money. The two biggest motives for murder are love and money."

"Right, because clearly her successful business wasn't making her enough. Murder's a safer option," I replied bitterly, and I thought I might have heard Kaiba laugh. Nah, couldn't be. I was hearing things again.

"She's got a point, Joey," Duke said. "If Mai didn't do it, who else killed him? He's Jean-Claude Magnum, no one outside the family and staff even had access to his house."

"I don't know, but it wasn't her. She works out daily. Exercise releases endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people just don't shoot their husbands. They just don't." The table looked at me weird for a moment before someone else spoke up again.

"My money's on the angry ex-wife. Hell hath no fury, right?" Mahad asked.

"Vivian Wong has an airtight alibi. She was filming a movie. Dozens of cast and crew members are willing to vouch for her," Pegasus answered.

"What about the daughter?" Téa asked.

"Trust fund baby. She didn't need the inheritance; it'd be hard to prove a motive for her," Kaiba spoke up for the first time.

"But Mai didn't need the money either," Mahad pointed out. "So what are they saying her motive is?"

"Rebecca's already said it. The two biggest motives, love and money." Pegasus shrugged. "They say she was having an affair."

"That's ridiculous," I cut in.

"Whether we believe it or not isn't the point. We must prove her innocent and that's that. Take those folders, study them, come up with ideas to do this. Tomorrow, we have a meeting with her. I expect you all in tip top shape." He shut his folder and stood up. "Oh, and congratulations to all my wonderful interns. Welcome to the hardest part of your law school career. If you don't believe me, feel free to ask Kaiba boy. This is the equivalent of hell. Ta, ta!"

Author's Notes: Next chapter, I'll either be bringing Mai back in for her meeting with all the interns or taking a break from the law stuff. I want to put more of the Kaiba family, Marik, Atem. Yugi and all them, and Serenity, Tristan, and the Bakuras. So, I'm gonna see how the next chapter turns out. Hope you're all excited! Thank you for reading!